July 3rd, 2017, 11:41 am

Speaking of a Kursk battle, today, first of all, the tank battle is remembered under Prokhorovka in the South Face Kursk Arc on July 12. However, events in the Northern Face have no less important strategic importance - in particular, the defense of Ponyry station July 5-11, 1943.




After the catastrophe near Stalingrad, the Germans were eased, and the Kursk ledge, created as a result of the offensive of the Soviet troops in the winter of the 43rd, geographically presented quite convenient for the formation of the "boiler". Although among the German command there were doubts about the feasibility of holding such an operation - and very reasonable. The fact is that for total offensive, a tangible vibrant advantage was needed and technique. Statistics also testifies to other - about the quantitative superiority of Soviet troops.
But on the other hand, the topsack of the Germans at that time consisted in the interception of the strategic initiative - and the Kursk battle becamein the case of an enemy attempt to move into a strategic offensive.
The rate was made not on quantitative, but on a qualitative factor. It was here, under Kursk, for the first time, the newest German tanks "Tiger" and "Panther" were massively involved, as well as fighters of tanks - "Fortress on wheels" - self-propelled artillery installations "Ferdinand". The German generals were going on the old manner - they wanted to hack our defense with tank wedges. "Tanks go rhombus" - as if he was entitled his novel dedicated to the Events, writer Anatoly Ananyev.

People against tanks

The essence of the "Citadel" operation was concluded in simultaneous strike from the north and south, receiving the ability to connect in Kursk, forming a giant boiler, as a result of which the path to Moscow was opened. Our goal was to prevent a breakthrough, correctly calculating the likelihood of the main strike of the German armies.
Along the entire front line on the Kursk arc, several defensive frontiers were built. Each of them is hundreds of kilometers of trenches, minefields and anti-tank pvv. The time spent by the enemy on their overcoming should have allowed the Soviet command to transfer additional reserves here and stop the enemy attack.
On July 5, 1943, one of the most important battles of the Great Patriotic War - Kursk battle began on the Northern Fac. The German grouping of the "Center" army, led by General Paulite, was opposed by the central front under the command of General Rokossovsky. At the head of the percussion German parts stood general model.
Rokossovsky accurately calculated the direction of the main strike. He realized that the Germans would start the offensive in the area of \u200b\u200bPonyry station through the thermal heights. It was the shortest path to Kursk. The commander of the central front was on a big risk, removing artillery from other front sites. 92 trunk per kilometer of defense - there was no such density of artillery in any defensive operation in the entire history of the Great Patriotic War. And if under Prokhorovka was the greatest tank battle, where "Iron fought with iron", here, in rejugments, about the same number of tanks moved to Kursk, and these tanks were stopped by people.
The enemy was strong: 22 divisions, up to 1,200 tanks and assault guns, only 460 thousand soldiers. It was a cruel battle, whose value understood both sides. It is characteristic that only purebred Germans took part in the Kursk battle, since they could not entrust with their satellites to the fate of such a fateful battle.

PZO and "Cheeky mining"

The strategic value of the reindium station was determined by the fact that it gave control over the Railway Eagle - Kursk. The station was well prepared for defense. Its condensed managed and unmanaged mine fields, which established a significant number of trophy aviation bombs and large-caliber shells, refurbished in tensioning fugasses. The defense was strengthened by a tanks and a large number of anti-tank artillery.
On July 6, against the village of 1st Ponyary, the Germans were thrown to 170 tanks and ACS, as well as two infantry divisions. By breaking through our defense, they quickly advanced in the southern direction to the second defense strip in the region of 2 reindium. Until the end of the day, tried three times to break the station, but were repulsed. Our forces of the 16th and 19th tank buildings were organized by Kontruddar than won the day for the rearrangement of forces.
The next daythe Germans could no longer appear on a wide front, and all their strengths were thrown against the defense node of Ponyry station. At about 8 am to 40 German heavy tanks, with the support of assault guns, they were put forward to the defense strip and opened fire at the positions of Soviet troops. At the same time, the 2nd reindium was subjected to a blow from the air of German dive bombers. In about half an hour, Tigers began to close with our advanced tranches, covering the average tanks and armored personnel carriers with infantry.
Five times managed to discard German tanks at the starting position by means of a dense PZO (moving barrage fire) of large-caliber artillery, as well as unexpected for the enemy actions of Soviet sappers.Where "tigers" and "panthers" managed to break through through the first defensive line, moving groups of armor-mixers and sappers entered the battle. Under the Kursk enemy first met with a new way to deal with tanks. In his memoirs, the German generals will later call him a "incoming way of mining" when mines did not dig in the ground, and often threw right under the tanks. Every third of the four hundred destroyed north of Kursk is German tanks - on the account of our sappers.
However, at 10 am, two battalions of German infantry with medium tanks and assault implements managed to break into the northwestern outskirts of 2 reindium. The reserve of the commander of the 307th division entered into battle, consisting of two infantry battalions and a tank brigade, with the support of artillery made it possible to destroy the broken group and restore the situation. After 11 hours, the Germans began to attack the reindeer from the northeast. By 15 o'clock, they were traded by the state farm name of the first of May and closely approached the station. However, all attempts to break into the territory of the village and the station were unsuccessful. This day - July 7th - was critical in the Northern Face, when the Germans managed to achieve the greatest success.

Fire bag at the village burned

On the morning of July 8, during the reflection of the next German attack, 24 tanks were destroyed, including 7 "Tigers". And on July 9, the Germans fastened the operational impact group from the most powerful technique, followed by medium tanks and motorcycles on armored personnel carriers. Two hours after the start of the battle, through the state farm name named May, the group broke through the burner village.
In these battles, the German troops applied a new tactical construction when in the first rows of the shock group of Perekats in two echelon moved a line of assault guns "Ferdinand", followed by "Tigers", covering assault tools and medium tanks. But at the village, our artilleryrs and infantrymen missed German tanks and SAU into a pre-prepared fire bag, supported by the fire of long-range artillery and reactive mortars. Once under cross-artillery fire, beyond the most powerful minefield and exposed to the raids of the pixel bomber "Pets", the German tanks stopped.
On the night of July 11, the blood enemy took the last attempt to press our troops, but this timeit was not possible to break through to the station Ponyry. A large role in the reflection of the occurrence was played by PZO, delivered by a special purpose of artillery. By noon, the Germans moved away, leaving seven tanks on the battlefield and two assault implements. It was the last day when the German troops came close to the outskirts of the Ponyry station.In just 5 days the battles of the enemy was able to move only at 12 kilometers.
July 12, when there was a fierce battle near Prokhorovka on the South Face, where the enemy has advanced by 35 kilometers, the front line of the front returned to the initial positions, and already on July 15, Rokossovsky's army moved to the offensive on the eagle. One of the German generals later said that the key of their victory was forever buried under the rejoices.

"I decided as soon as the weather conditions enable the offensive" Citadel "- the first offensive this year. This occurrence is crushing. It should be completed rapid and decisive success, to give our hands the initiative for the spring and summer of the current year ... Every commander and every soldier must penetrate the consciousness of the decisive value of this offensive. Victory under Kursk will be a guide star, torch for the whole world. "

In February-March 1943, the Army Group "South" under the command of General-Field Marshal Erich von Manstein managed to apply a serious defeat of the troops of the Voronezh and South-Western fronts and discourage Kharkov.

As a result, the Soviet command had to move to a tough defense, although the Germans were able to stop only at the end of March. The operational pause came, which lasted 100 days, - the longest calm for the whole war. On the southern flank, the front line acquired a double arc configuration. Such a situation was especially unprofitable for the German side, and Manstein considered it necessary to be necessary from the last strength, but start an immediate offensive to Kursk. For this, he was required to reinforce, which was able to get quickly only from the Commander of the Army Center "Center" General Field Marshal Blohem Background. The latter not only did not meet the manuststein, but also developed an emergency activity in Berlin, convincing Hitler, the head of the General Staff of Zeiscera and the Feldmarshal General of the Kaitel in the need to postpone the offensive in the area of \u200b\u200bKursk Speaker at least until the end of the Spring Rasputle. In vain, Manstein led arguments in favor of immediate offensive, referring to the fact that practically no defense soviet troops I still failed to build and then "cut" the protrusion will be the stock edge is heavier - everything was in vain.

Hitler said that for the offensive it is necessary to prepare to prepare, putting new tanks in the troops, and start it "from May 3, as soon as the weather conditions are allowed." For the Soviet command, the plans of the German leadership were not a secret - the impact groups of the Wehrmacht could hardly demonstrately. At this time, the Soviet troops built an unprecedentedly powerful system of field defense, which will eventually become the strongest anti-tank defensive position in history. In addition, a strong group of reserve armies was created - the Steppe Front under the command of I. Konev. The BGK rate canceled all offensive operations - literally all the forces were thrown into preparation for the defensive battle.

At this time, at the rate of Fuhrer, endless meetings were held and meetings of the Supreme Military Command of the Reich, dedicated to two issues - when and how to occur. Zeicler, Kaitel and Blevian background ratified for the offensive by double flanking coverage, "under the foundation" of Kursk protrusion and in the end - the environment and destroying of many Soviet divisions. Thus, the offensive gust of the Soviet troops should have been weakened to such an extent that the strategic initiative moves again to the Wehrmacht. Manstein hesitated, expressing doubts about success for which he could vouch in the event that an offensive began in April. A fierce opponent of Zeiclera Plan was the inspector General Heinz Guderian. From the very beginning, he stated that the occurrence is aimless, since the plan of the General Staff program programs heavy losses in tanks, and it will not be possible to significantly replenish the Eastern Front of the new armored vehicles during 1943 due to the limited possibilities of the German industry. This position of the "Father Tanks" was divided by the Reichs Minister of Arms and Ammunition Albert Speer, whose opinion Führer always respected.

Guderian also tried to dispel the illusions of opponents regarding the latest PZ tanks. V "Panther", reminding that these tanks were still indisputable design with many defects that could not be eliminated before August. Training crews of new machines was also not at the height, since the few "panthers" arrived in the part almost immediately went to repair. Heavy "tigers", who have already managed to prove their exceptional efficacy, was too little in order to "sell" Soviet defense to "sell" to "sell". At this meeting, held on May 3, Hitler, having heard all the parties, did not come to a certain opinion, but she finished it with such words: "No failures should be!" On May 10, Guderian again tried to convince Hitler to abandon the offensive, now in a personal conversation.

Führer said: "You are absolutely right. As soon as I start thinking about this operation, my stomach begins to hurt. " But no matter what Hitler suffers from Hitler, he did not listen to the proposal of Manstein, recommended to change the plan of the operation and step from the Kharkov district in the south-east direction, expanding the flank of the breakthrough, that is, where the Soviet strike command simply did not expect. During these endless discussions, Hitler himself was born an interesting proposal - to attack the Kursk from the West to the East, through Sevsk, forcing the Soviet troops to fight with the "inverted front", but Zeicleler, Kaitel and the Blevian background managed to force the Fuhrer to refuse even from their own idea. In the end, Hitler "surrendered" and finally agreed with the General Staff plan. The offensive that was to solve the outcome of war was scheduled for July 5.
The ratio of power

On the southern Face Kursk Arc
the defensive band of 244 km long held the Voronezh Front under the command N.F. Vatutin.

Wax of Voronezh Front (Two echelon):
First line 38th, 40th, 6th, 7th Guards Army
Second line 69th Army, 1st Tank Army, 31st Infantry Case
Reserve 5th and 2nd tank corps
Cover 2nd Air Army

The Voronezh Front opposed:
4th tank army as part of the 52nd Army Corps (3 Divisions)
49th Tank Corps (2 Tanks, 1 Elite Motorized Division "Grossdoychland")
The 2nd Tank Corps of the SS (Tank Division "Das Reich", "Totenkopf", "Leibstandart Adolf Hitler")
7th Army Corps (5 Infantry Division)
42nd Army Corps (3 Infantry Divisions)
Operational group "Cempf" in the composition of the 3rd tank corps (3 tank and 1 infantry division) and the 11th Army Corps (2 Infantry Divisions)
Reserve24th Tank Corps (17th Tank Division and SS Tank Division "Viking")
Cover 8th Aviakorpus 4th Air Fleet
Commander of the shock grouping General Field Marshal Erich von Manstein.

In the Northern Fac of Kursk Arc
the defensive strip of 306 km long held the central front K.K. Rokossovsky.

Troops of the Central Front (Two echelon):
First line 48th, 60th, 13th, 65th, 70th Army
Second line 2nd Tank Army, 19th and 3rd Tank Cases
Cover 16th Air Army

CentralGome Front opposed:
First line 9th German Army (6 tank and motorized divisions and 15 infantry divisions)
Second line 13th Army Corps (4 Infantry Divisions)
Commander Grouping Colonel-General Walter Model submitted by Field Marshal General Back Tepl.

Both Soviet front have sufficient forces to reflect the German offensive, but just in case, the TGC rate placed behind these two fronts of the Steppe Front under the command of I.S. Koneva, which became the most powerful strategic reserve of the Soviet command for all time of the war (2 Guards, 5 General, 5th Guards Tank, 5th Air Army, 3 Tank, 3 Cavalry, 3 Mechanized and 2 Rifle Cases). In the event of the most unfavorable outcome, the front troops would defele the arc base at pre-prepared positions, so the Germans would have to start all over again. Although the fact that the case can reach this, no one believed - for 3 months it was possible to build an exceptionally powerful field defense in all the rules.

The main strip of a depth of 5-8 kilometers included battalion resistance nodes, anti-tank obstacles and spare engineering structures. It consisted of three positions - in the first of them there were 2-3 solid trenches of the full profile, connecting with the moves of messages, the second and third had 1-2 trenches. The second defense band, removed from the front edge of the main strip by 10-15 km, was equipped in the same way. The rear army strip, which was held 20-40 km from the front edge, adjacent to three front defensive turns of a total depth of 30-50 km. The whole defensive system consisted of eight bands. The advanced tactical zone of defense consisted of a developed network of support paragraphs, each of which had from 3 to 5,76.2 mm-3-grade 3 or 57-millimeter ZIS-2 guns, several anti-tank guns, up to 5 mortars, to the company of sappers and infantrymen. . The terrain was literally littered with mine fields - the average mining density reached 1,500 anti-tank and 1,700 anti-personnel mines per 1 km of front (4 times more than in Stalingrad).

And behind the "Insurance Policy" was located - a defensive frontier of the Steppe Front. So the Soviet troops spent time in endless exercises alternating with rest. But the Germans were very high in the Germans - the troops never had 3 months before rest, studying and replenishment. Never before the Germans did not concentrate on such a limited sections such a mass of armored vehicles and troops. The best of the best were here. True, veterans, looking at all the preparations, remembered the first world, because the coming battle should have become like the battle of the past war, when one huge army trampled on a penchant, trying to "bother" the echelonized defense of the other, and both parties carried huge losses for meser results . But the youth was much more, and it was determined, however, in the air, there was a certain fatalism in the air - if such a number of armored vehicles and troops did not doubt "Ivanov" this time, what to do next? Nevertheless, everyone believed in the victory ...

Prologue

The Germans had to start the battle of not 5th, and July 4th. The case was that from the initial position of the 4th tank army in the South Faa, it was impossible to see no positions from the wind artillery, neither the defense system was prevented by the hills at the neutral strip. Soviet artillery observers could have been perfectly to see all the preparations of Germans and adjust the arthogon accordingly. So the Germans had to take this ridge in advance. On the night of July 4, the sappers from Grossdoychland have traveled passes in mine floors and several battalions of the Grenader from the same division after the intensive artery reception and the Aviation Piring bombers of the JU-87G "Stuka" at about 15.20 went to the attack. Only in the evening the Grenadiers managed to push the advanced part 3 of the Soviet guards divisions And healing at altitudes, there are big losses.

In the Northern FaAs on this day, not a single shot was observed. The commander of the central front of the Army General Rokossovsky was known for July 2 and an hour of German offensive, so he prepared an enemy surprise. In October 1, July 5, when German motorized parts have already been put forward to the initial positions for the attack, the Soviet artillery began intensive shelling of the concentration of German troops.

The artillery raid lasted for about an hour and caused severe damage, but did not affect the time of the German attack, which began exactly at 3.30 in the morning. In the range of 2 hours were required to be saved to carry out continuous fires in minefields for "tigers" from the 505th heavy tank battalion. Then the 20th TD was advanced on that day, who managed to achieve the second line of Soviet defense and capture the village of Bobrik - a strong support point 8 km from the original attack line. It was possible to move significantly and the 41st TC, but on the left wing of the model, in the onset of the 23rd AK, the Germans did not go too well. They "rested" into the defensive positions of the four rifle divisions and could not break through, even despite the use of two secret until these are new products - mini tanks (teletans) "Goliath" and machines for clearing B-IV.

Goliaphs had 60 cm in height, 67 cm wide and 120 cm long. These "mighty dwarfs" were controlled either remotely on the radio, or with a cable that was unwound from the machine's feed to 1,000 meters. They carried 90 kg of explosives. According to the design of the designers, they had to be summed up as close as possible to enemy positions and undermine by pressing the button in their own tap. Goliaphs showed themselves to an effective weapon, but only when they managed to try to the goal, which happened infrequently. In most cases, Teleanka was destroyed on the approach.

To do the wide passes in mineral fields, the Germans were used in battles in the Northern Facs a very exotic machine B-IV, weighing 4 tons and carrying a fugance subversive charge of 1,000 kg and reminding armored conveyor for ammunition. The driver had to drive up to the edge of the mine field, turn on the remote control device, and then run away as he did not run in his life. The Fuchitary charge undermined all mines within a radius of 50 m. The Germans have used 8 such "mechanical sappers", and quite successfully - a large minefield ceased to exist.

But four of the eight drivers died four insufficiently frisms, so since then it was difficult to find those who wish to manage B-IV. However, after the Kursk battle, the Germans practically did not use them. From the very beginning, the model was massively used by 90 heavy assault tools "Ferdinand" of the design of F. Porsche. Before this monster weighing 68 tons, armed even longer-life than the "tiger", an 88-mm tool and head armor in 200 mm, few people could resist, but one drawback suled all the efforts of their crews. "Ferdinand" did not have a single (!) Machine gun - only a gun.

It is strange that no one paid attention to the stages of development and testing, but now, the "retreating" Soviet trench, the low-speed "self-gun" could not anything, except for the caterpillars, fight infantry, which adapted to skip the "monster" and intensive fire to cut off German Infantry from his "Taran." As a result, Ferdinandam had to go back to at least somehow help her. In the course of these movements, there, Sau was often stuck in the trenches and funnels or undermined on mines, becoming the extraction of Soviet troops.

But, acting from the shelters, as a fighter of tanks, Ferdinand, guaranteed to destroy any Soviet tank or SAU at a distance of up to 2,500 m. As a "Taran" for infantry, this car was clearly not suitable. Of the 90 "Ferdinand", the Germans lost half of the Kursk arc.

To the end of July 6, the Soviet front was broken by a 32 km models in the width and up to 10 km deep, but it remained to break through even less than 16 km. With such an incredibly powerful defense, neither the modulus, nor any of his soldiers and officers faced yet. The closest goal of the Germans became the village of Olkhovatka, and mainly the ridge of the hills near her. From a strategic point of view, the significance of these heights was difficult to overestimate - they opened a view of Kursk - the final purpose of the offensive, which was 120 m below the Olkhovat hills.

If you managed to master these heights, an extremely important area between the rivers of the Oka and the Seima could be considered yours. To capture a bridgehead around Olkovka, the model sent 140 tanks and 50 assault guns of the 2nd Tank Division and more than 20 "tigers" with the support of numerous motorcycles. Picking bombers and attack aircraft FW-190F3 bombed non-stop and fired a Soviet position, clearing the path of tanks. On July 8, the 4th Tank Division joined the storming, but Soviet troops, replenished on the eve of 2 infantry and artillery divisions, with the support of 2 tank brigades (TBR) held their positions.

For 3 days there was a continuous fight for the village Warm and Olkhovat hills, but the Germans did not succeed with the decisive success. The companies in which 3-5 soldiers remained without a single officer, changed new, but nothing helped. To the left of Olkhovka 2 tank and 1 Infantry German divisions were fought for the village of Ponyry, which soldiers called "Little Stalingrad". The fights here went for each house, and the village passed from the hands to the hands of a dozen times. Only July 11, with the help of the last reserve of the model - the 10th Motorway Division - Ponyry managed to take. But on the Germans were not destined to advance. About the preparing counterattack of Soviet troops The German commander knew from the data of airflow. Now he had to think about keeping positions.

The combat order of the Chief Command of the Ground Forces of Germany von Manstein and the commander of the 4th Tank Army, Colonel-General Gota Personal: "To achieve connections from the 9th Army by direct breakthrough through the Oboyan." However, Manstein, and Goth understood that when all their forces would be before crossing the psel in the street, the Soviet tank troops from the Prokhorovka district will hit the flank of the upcoming German troops and, at a minimum, will seriously slow down the attack on Kursk.

Therefore, Goth suggested that a certain change in the action plan - after a breakthrough the main bands of Soviet defense, turn not to Oboan, but to the Prokhorovka to reflect the inevitable massive Soviet tank counterattack and only then move to the north in the direction of Kursk. Manstein approved this proposal, and on July 5, Goth went to the offensive on the new plan. The tactics of Manstein differed from the tactics of the model in the Northern Face - a quick breakthrough made not infantry, but tank divisions, and all at once. Manstein counted the traditional method of hacking the echelonized defense, when motor food with assault guns punches the gap, in which the tanks are rushed, too costly in time and forces, given the greater the width of the front.

Goths with their approximately 700 tanks had to be sold by Soviet defense immediately, "jerk, not a crawling", and meet Soviet tank reserves already on the operational spacious, where he supported by Luftwaffe had a good chance of defeating them. The operative group of General Kempfa south had to act similarly. Manstein was confident that the simultaneous strike of 1,300 tanks and assault guns will not stand Russian. Will not be able to withstand. But the beginning of hostilities did not confirm the optimism of Manstein - his troops, though it was possible to move on 8 km deep into the Soviet defense and master the village of Cherkasy, but the task for the first day consisted of a breakthrough of all the lines of enemy defense. The next day, July 6, the 11th TD was supposed to capture the bridge over the psel, south of Obovoi, 50 km from the initial position! But on the courtyard was not the 1941 year, and therefore it was no longer necessary to count on such rates.

Although it must be said that all plans flew into a trash can in many ways because of the incredible failure of the new "miracle weapons" - Panthan tank. As Hane Guderian predicted, a new combat vehicle, who did not have time to get rid of "childhood diseases," showed itself very bad from the very beginning. All "Panthers" were reduced in two battalions of 96 cars in each. Both of them became part of the 39th tank shelf under the command of Major von Lowert. Together with 8 cars, the regiment headquartered has exactly 200 tanks. Panther's regiment was given to Großdoychland Mote and with her tank regiment (about 120 tanks) throughout the operation operated on the Oboyan direction. Of the 196 pz tanks that went into battle. V "Panther" only for technical reasons was lost 162. In total, in the battles in the Kursk Dug, the Germans irrevocably lost 127 "Panther". It is difficult to imagine a more unsuccessful debut. Although in some cases, new tanks showed themselves very well: so, one "Panther" managed to bother T-34 at a distance of 3,000 m!

But all these though successful, but few episodes did not play any positive role for the Germans. But at one time, waiting for these tanks in line, Hitler moved the beginning of the "Citadel" at least one and a half months ahead! However, not paying attention to these failures, the German tank wedges pierced the defenses of the 6th Guards Army. Here, the Tank Divisions of the SS were especially distinguished, after a few hours being right in front of the KP commander M. Chistyakov. The commander of the Voronezh Front N. Vatutin gave an order to the Commander of the 1st Tank Army M. Katukov immediately to counterattack. In the army of Katukuvo 1/3, there were light T-70 tanks, which for German tanks were represented only by mobile targets, and the guns are inferior to German. Under these conditions, several brigades went to the attack and immediately suffered large losses. Catukov turned to Vatutin with a request to cancel the order, but he refused. The restless teammarm then contacted Stalin and proved its right thing to the Supreme Commander.

The order of Vatutina was canceled. T-34 continued to act from ambushes, which was much more efficient than frontal counterattacks. To the outcome of the first day, the Germans have advanced by 10-18 km and did not stop the fighting even at night. On July 6-7, they developed an offensive along the Oboyan highway on raw-dreaming, and to the outcome on July 7, Lybstandart and Totenkopf began a breakthrough of the key position of the Soviet defense between the Psöl and Donets rivers. The front of the 6th Guards Army no longer existed, and the 1st tank carried large losses. Arriving on the evening of July 7 at KP Katuku, member of the Military Council N.S. Khrushchev said: "The next day, two, three are the worst. Either Pan, or ... Germans in Kursk. They all put on the card, for them it is a matter of life or death. We must ... so that they rolled their neck, and we went ahead! " But on July 8-10, the Germans did not roll the neck of themselves, "and, on the contrary, the methodically loosening the Soviet defense, reached the top of the topper and forced the foam river. Then the TD SS "Labeshtandard" and "Das Reich" turned to Prokhorovka. The 48th tank corps partially went to the Oboyan, which was about 30 km, and partly supported the offensive of the SS tank corps to the east.

But Gota there was nothing to cover the eastern flank of his operation - the operative group "Cempf" threw a schedule, not having time to achieve the Dontunes. Nevertheless, the 2nd Tank Corps SS continued to advance, and the representative of the Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky together with General N.F. Vatutin asked Stalin to push the 5th Guards Army of Lieutenant General A.S. to enhance the Prokhorov destination. Zheadova and the 5th Guards Tank Army of Lieutenant General P.A. Rothmistrova from Ostrogozh region. To the outcome of the day on July 9, the 5th Guardsa approached Prokhorovka. At this time, Colonel-General Goth constructed the combat order of the 2nd TK SS and reduced his offensive strip. The "CermPF" operated on July 10 was preparing a blow to Prokhorovka from the south, through Rust.

Battle

Prokhorovsky battle began on July 10. To the outcome of the day, the Germans captured an important defensive point - state farm "Komsomolets" - and entrenched in the village of Red October. In total, the Germans could not achieve, even despite the shock power of their compounds, if not exceptionally effective actions of the Luftwaffe to support their troops. As soon as the weather allowed, German airplanes literally "lived" in the sky over the battlefield: 7-8, and then 10 combat runs on the day were not rare for pilots. The JU-87G with 37-millimeter guns in the suspended containers literally terrorized Soviet tank workers, applying very large losses to them. The artilleryrs suffered no less, especially since in the first week the battle of Soviet aviation could not be able to organize proper fans of the Luftwaffe.

To the end of July 11, the Germans pushed the Soviet parts in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Khutor's farmhouse and took part in the tight ring, defeated Andreevka, Vasilyevka and Mikhailovka. On this day, the platoon of anti-tank guns 284 SP of the 95th Guards SD under the command of Lieutenant P.I. Spetyny. 9 armor-miners joined the fight with 7 German tanks and all their knocked out. All Soviet fighters died, and the last enemy tank blew up a seriously wounded platoon commander, rushing under him with grenades. Until the Prokhorovka, there was only 2 km without any serious fortifications. Vatutin understood that the next day, July 12, Prokhorovka will be taken and the Germans turn to Oboyan, coming down at the rear of the 1st Tank Army. It was possible to hope only for the counter of the Rothmistrova army, which was supposed to turn the situation.

Tankists supported the 5th Guards Army. Her commander General Zhadov recalled: "Only a few hours of Light time and a short summer night remained on the organization of Conitary Conitary. During this time, you need to do a lot: make a decision, put the tasks of the troops, carry out the necessary regrouping of parts, arrange artillery. In the evening, mortar and warm artbrigady arrived at the enhancement of the army, having an extremely limited amount of ammunition. Tanks army did not have anything. " Rothmistrov Tankists also experienced a lack of ammunition. About midnight Vatutin changed the offensive time from 10.00 at 8.30, to, in his opinion, to prevent Germans.

This decision was fatal. Going into battle on a narrow 10-kilometer plot, the tank workers found that they were attacked in the forehead of the TD SS "Leibstandart Adolf Hitler". German gunners were perfectly seen by Soviet tanks and already in the first minutes of battle on the field there were dozens of "thirty highways" and light T-70, which could not be sent to the attack. The 19th and 29th TC of the 5th Guards Ta, in collaboration with the 42nd Guards Rifle and the 9th Guards Airborne Division, occurred at the SSEs. It is the battle of these two buildings with TD SS "Lybstandart Adolf Hitler" and was subsequently the name of the oncoming tank battle, and the place where he passed, the "tank field".

190 T-34, 120 T-70, 18 English heavy MK-4 "Churchill" and 20 Sau went into the attack on the German position. Leibstandart has numbered 56 tanks (4 "Tiger", 47 pz. IV, 5 pz. III and 10 SAU Stug. Iii).

Starting the attack at 8.30, the Soviet tanks only by 12.00 reached the German artillery positions and during that time were subjected to a powerful airline Ju-87G and Messerschmittov-110. As a result, both corps lost about 200 tanks and sau, the Germans are 10 times less. And could it be otherwise? The commander of the Voronezh Front threw 2 tank corps into a suicide frontal attack not on the German infantry, but for the deployed for the attack of TD SS, enhanced artillery. The Germans were in a very profitable position - they shot out of place, fully using the wonderful ballistic qualities of their long-life cannons and magnificent optics of sights. Being under the perfectly accurate fire of German armored vehicles, exposed to strong attacks from the air and without having, in turn, due to their own aviation and artillery, Soviet tankers had to make teeth, "tear" the distance to get along with the enemy as quickly as possible. Tank MK-4 "Churchill" under the command of Lutenant Lupakhin received 4 through holes, but the crew continued to fight until the engine was caught fire.

Only after that the crew, all the members of which were injured, left the tank. Mechanic-driver T-34 181st TBR Alexander Nikolaev, saving the wounded Kombat, on his damaged tank managed to successfully conclude a German tank. Soviet tankers fought literally to the last projectile, until the last person, but the miracle did not happen - the remains of the corps rolled back to the initial positions, the biases, however, slow down the German offensive and paying an incredible price.

And everything could be different if Vatutin had not transferred the attack time from 10.00 to 8.30. The fact is that according to the plan "Leibstandard" should have taken to step on our positions at 9.10, and in this case, the Soviet tanks would have met the fire from the place German. In the afternoon, the Germans switched to a counterattack, focusing the main efforts of the north of Prokhorovka, in the Division band "Tenkopf". Here they were opposed about 150 tanks from the 5th Guards Ta and the 1st Guards Ta, as well as the 4 Guards Rifle Divisions of the 5th Guards Army. Here the Germans managed to stop mainly due to the excellent actions of the anti-tank artillery. "Das Reich" fought with two tank corps of the 5th Guardsa, practically with an open right flank, since the 3rd TC Operse group "Cempf" could not approach Prokhorovka from the southeast in set time. Finally, the day on July 12 ended. The results for the Soviet side were disappointing - the 5th Guardsa, according to the magazine of hostilities lost 299 tanks and SAU on this day, the 2nd TC CM - 30.

The next day, the battle resumed, but the main events were no longer in the area of \u200b\u200bProkhorovka, but at the Northern FaAs, at the model. The commander of the 9th Army was going on on July 12 to go on a decisive breakthrough in the village of Village warm, but instead was forced not only to abandon the offensive, but also to remove mobile formations from the front to reflect a major attack on the eagle undertaken by the troops of the Bryansky front. But the most important thing was that on July 13, Hitler summoned Manstein von Bervis von in its bet in Eastern Prussia. As soon as Feldmarshals appeared in front of him, the Führer stuck them with the news that in connection with the successful landing of the Allies in Sicily, he stops the "Citadel" and moves the Tank Corps of the SS in Italy. However, Hitler allowed Manstein, acting only on the southern Face of the Kursk Arc, try to calculate the Soviet troops as much as possible, but on July 17, he ordered him to stop the useless offensive, to bring him a tank corps of the SS, and besides transferring the background of Tweak 2 more tank divisions to try Hold the eagle.

It was on this day that the Prokhorovsky battle ended. At the beginning of August, Manstein was forced to move themselves at his initial initial positions, on which he also failed to stay for a long time.

I.V. Stalin was extremely unhappy with huge losses incurred by the 5th Guardsa in the battles under Prokhorovka. As part of the official investigation of P.A. Rothmistrov wrote a few notes, one of which was addressed to G.K. Zhukov. In the end, the Soviet tank general was literally miraculously managed to justify.

Owls. Secret

First Deputy People's Commissar Defense of the Union of the SSR - Marshal Soviet Union Tov. Zhukov

In tank battles and battles from July 12 to August 20, 1943, the 5 Guards Tank Army met with exceptionally new types of enemy tanks. Most of all on the battlefield was T-V tanks ("Panther"), in a significant number of T-VI tanks ("Tiger"), as well as upgraded tanks T-III and T-IV. Commander of the tank parts from the first days of the Patriotic War, I have to report to you that our tanks have lost their superiority to the tanks of the enemy in armor and armament. Armament, armor and action of fire in German tanks have become much higher, and only the exceptional courage of our tankers, the big saturation of the artillery tank parts did not give the enemy to use the benefits of their tanks.

The presence of powerful weapons, strong armor and good sighting devices in German tanks puts our tanks into a clearly disadvantageous position. The efficiency of using our tanks is greatly reduced and their failure increases. I walked me in the summer of 1943 in the summer of 1943 in the years that we can now behave independently maneuverable tank fight, using the excellent maneuverable properties of our T-34 tank. When the Germans go with their tank units, at least temporarily, to defense, then they deprive us of our maneuverable advantages and, on the contrary, begin to fully apply the sighting distance of their tank guns, while at the same time almost in full inaccessible from our Aimicious tank fire.

Thus, when a collision, we switched to defense, German tank parts we like general rule, We carry huge losses in tanks and do not have success. The Germans, opposing our tanks T-34 and a kV of their T-V tanks (Panther) and T-VI ("Tiger"), no longer experienced a tankoboy on the battlefields. T-70 tanks simply can not be allowed to tank battle, as they are more than easily destroyed by the fire of German tanks. I have bitterness to state that our tank technique, except for the introduction of SU-122 and SU-152 self-propelled installations, during the war years did not give anything new, and the lack of disabilities on the tanks of the first release, somehow: the imperfection of the transmission group (Main friction, transmission change box and side friction), extremely slow and uneven turn of the tower, exceptionally bad visibility and close crew accommodation, not completely eliminated today.

Now T-34 and KV tanks lost the first place, which they rightly had among the tanks of warring countries in the first days of the war ... on the basis of our T-34 tank - best Tanka In the world to the beginning of the war, the Germans in 1943 were able to give an even more advanced tank T-V "Panther", which, in fact, is a copy of our T-34 tank, in terms of its qualities, it costs significantly above the T-34 tank and in Features of the quality of weapons. I, as an agile patriot of the tank troops, I ask you, Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union, to break conservatism and the reasoning of our tank designers and industrialists and with all the sharpness to raise the issue of a mass issue for the winter of 1943 new tanks that are superior to their combat qualities and constructive Registration of the current types of German tanks.

Commander of the Troops 5 Guards Tank Army Guard Lieutenant-General Tank Forces - (Rothmisters) Signature "20" August 1943. Existing Army

The actions of the Soviet command in the Kursk battle is difficult to call the role model - too great were losses, but still the main thing was achieved - the power of the tank parts of the Wehrmacht was broken, army tank and infantry divisions were no longer a full-fledged combat tool - their decline was irreversible. And although the SS division has retained high combat capability, they were too little to dramatically influence the situation at the front. The strategic initiative in the war firmly passed after the Kursk to the Soviet troops and remained for them to the complete defeat of the Third Reich.

The Memorial Complex "Poklonnaya Height 269" is located at the village of the Fabric District of the Kursk Region, where during the battles in the Northern Fac of Kursk Arc in July 1943, the team point of the 70th Army of the NKVD, established these heights before the upcoming 9th German army. The memorial complex is installed on the initiative and organization of ROO "Kursk Estraging" in Moscow in order to perpetuate the admixture of Soviet soldiers, the price of its lives not allowed a breakthrough of the German-fascist invaders to the Kursk in July 1943.

The construction of the complex began on November 12, 2011, when a positive cross was installed. The inscription is reading: "Here, in July 1943, the hardest battles of the Kursk battle - the decisive battle of the Great Patriotic War. At the price of his lives, the warriors of the 140th rifle division did not allow the enemy to strategic heights. In one day, July 10 killed 513 and 943 people were injured. Eternal memory defenders of the Fatherland. Poklonnaya Cross was established on November 12, 2011 with grateful descendants.

V.V. Prino and S.I. Kretov with Vetaran on the day of installation of the Poklonal Cross

Poklonnaya Cross on opening day

Installation of Poklonnaya Cross

Opening of Poklonnaya Cross 11/12/2011

After declassifying military archives and studying documents, it became known about the sinking of the facts of the courage and perseverance of Soviet soldiers and officers, as well as the civilian population at the Northern Face of the Kursk Arc, especially on the left flank of the front in the Molotachevsky district - the Teplovsky - Olkhovat heights.

Our warriors with an opponent who had significant technical superiority, in comparison with the equipment of the Soviet troops, were heroiched. 34 of them became the heroes of the Soviet Union. Most are posthumously.

The successful arrangement of the height near the road, visibility with which in good weather is open to the outskirts of Kursk, explains the reason for such a fierce zeal of the Germans for these heights.

portraits 34 Heroes of the Soviet Union at the Poklonal Cross

On July 19, 2013, Metropolitan Kursk and Rylsky Herman, together with representatives of Kursk Earthhood in Moscow, visited the above places. Their meaning was noted in part of the perpetuation of the memory of the heroism of soldiers and officers on the line of the Northern Face Kursk Arc and he blessed for the implementation of the project.

Metropolitan Herman on Ponal Height of 2013

On July 12, 1943, part of the central front passed into a counteroffensive, applying such a blow after which their offensive gust was broken, the "Citadel" operation was canceled on the taking of Kursk and the creation of a boiler for Soviet troops. On this day in 2014, a solemn laying of a time capsule took place with an appeal to descendants: "There is a time capsule here with an appeal to descendants. This capsule was laid on July 12, 2014 in the presence of leaders of the Kursk region, benefactors, landscaping on the day of laying the foundation for the construction of the monument "Angel of the World" memorial complex "Poklonnaya Height". Open the capsule on July 12, 2043. "

Ceremony Bookmark Capsules 2014

On May 7, 2015, a monument of the "Angel of the World" was opened, which was set to the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War at the height of "269", as the main object of the Memorial complex of the Northern Fas With other military compounds of the central front, the defenses of the Molotachevsky - Teplovsky - Olkhovat altitudes from July 5 to July 12, 1943, where the grandiose battle occurred, which decided the fate of the whole world and marked the beginning of the irrevocative sentence of fascism from Europe.

visit of the Presidential Plenipotentiary of the President in the Central Federal District
On Poklonnaya Height 269

Installation of the monument. November 20, 2014.

The first bucket of the earth. Start of installation
monument Angel of the World. August 6, 2014

Installation of the monument November 20, 2014

Installation of the monument of the Angel of the World. November 20, 2014

Opening of the monument 07.05.2015

The monument is a 35-meter sculpture, the vertex of which crowns an eight meter angel who holds a wreath and launches dove. The monument turned to the West with a call from the Russian people to stop new fascism. Worth on the spot of the death of more than 70 thousand Soviet and German soldiers, the "Angel of the World" reminds all mankind than all this ends.

The author of the art composition "Angel of the World" Sculptor A.N. Burgans. - Sculptor with a world name that made a huge contribution to the development of the domestic school of monumental sculpture. His monuments and major monumental ensembles are installed in the largest cities of Russia and abroad.

A.N. Burganov

Angel of Mira

The composition has a backlight, due to which it opens at night beautiful picture (soaring angel over Kursk Earth).

On December 10, 2015, a solemn ceremony of awarding of laureates and diploma of the FSB competition of Russia for the best works of literature and art activities on the activities of the federal security authorities took place in the Cultural Center of the FSB of Russia. According to the nomination "Fine Arts", the first premium was awarded to Burganov Alexander Nikolayevich, sculptor, stele author.

Presentation A.N. Burganov Award FSB of Russia

Prize FSB of Russia

The construction of the memorial complex was noted by the President of V.V. Putin. In 2016, a thanks to the president of the President of the Regional Public Organization ROO "Kursk Earthhood" was awarded, for his active personal participation in the preparation and conduct of events dedicated to the seventieth anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Thank you for the president

Presentation V.V. Pronos of the Thanksgiving letter of the President of the Russian Federation

On February 12, 2016, the construction of the temple was launched in honor of the glorious and all-willed primary apostles Peter and Paul. On July 12, 1943, the counteroffensive of Soviet troops on the Northern Face on the day of the above is the above-mentioned holiday. The official start of the work was given by Alexander Mikhailov, Vladimir Prinen and Bishop of Zhelendogorsk and LRovsky Veniamin. In the foundation of the building they laid the capsule with appeal to descendants.

laying capsules in the foundation of the temple

construction of the temple

At the memorial complex "Poklonnaya Height 269" 08/16/2016, the pre-settlement of Veniamin, the Bishop of Zheleznogorsk and the LR Wrigansky consecrated the bells and the main dome for the temple in honor of the Holy Rhinestone Apostles Peter and Paul. A feature of sanctification was the fact that for the sprinkling of the bells of holy water, the Lord on special equipment climbed to height. But the dome was consecrated on earth.

Consecration of the dome and bells of the temple

On August 20, 2016, a solemn opening ceremony of the cross for the dome of the Peter and Paul's holy apostles under construction took place at the memorial complex. Witnesses to this event were veterans of the Great Patriotic War, the delegation of ROO "Kursk farm" youth, residents of nearby areas that came here to honor the memory of the dead Soviet soldiers. Among the honorary guests of the solemn ceremony - the governor of the Kursk region Alexander Mikhailov, an honorary citizen of the Kursk region and the Fatest region, the head of the region, Vladimir Pronne, General Director of Metalloinvest, Andrei Varichev and many other high-ranking faces. Alexander Mikhailov, in his welcoming Word, expressed the hope that the temple built would become a spiritual center for residents of Kursk and neighboring regions.

Installation of crosses

In addition, geoglyph "70 years of victory" was created here - a gigantic inscription, which is "written" by the seedlings of pine. Each letter tipped from 100 to 200 trees, and its height will be 30 meters. Giant letters can be seen, driving along the road V. Lyubazh - Ponya at the foot of the monument, as well as from a bird's eye view or on cosmic pictures.

It is also planned to restore the drums of the command paragraph of the army.

Poklonnaya Cross, Monument "Angel of the World", Temple and other objects of the memorial complex are built exclusively for donations to individuals and legal entities - Kuryans living in Moscow and the Kursk region for future generations.

There is between Kursk and Eagle
Station and station one.
In distant time was
Silence lived here.

And finally hit July
And fifth in the dawn hour
Shells thunder and swelling bullets
And tanks rushed to us.

But all that no one ran
Did not flock about the mouth.
And every dead was lying here
Face to the enemy, face forward.

Stood guns on the hills
Almost at the very reindeer.
Stayed in their places
Lower battery calculations.

Evgeny Dolmatovsky.

During the times of Veliki wars, it often happens that some not a remarkable place earlier becomes a nodal for the fate of the world and the stroke of history. This will be the small railway station Ponyry in the battles of the Kursk battle. Today, this station was forgotten, and in 1943 he knew the whole world about her.

After successful fights near Moscow and Stalingrad, the Soviet troops committed a breakthrough at the Kursk direction. There was a giant protrusion with a length of 550 km, which was subsequently called the Kursk arc.

The German grouping of the "Center" army was opposed by the central front under the command of Rokossovsky. On the path of the army "South" stood the Voronezh Front under the command of Vatutin. The Germans, holding the occupied territories, prepared the citakers' decisive operation. Its essence was in simultaneous impact from the north and south, getting the opportunity to connect in Kursk, forming a giant boiler, the desire to break our troops and move to Moscow. Our goal was for all means to prevent a breakthrough and correctly calculate the likelihood of the main strike of German armies.

Spring in 1943. In the Kursk direction there was a strategic pause - 100 days of silence. Summaging reports invariably contained a phrase: "There was nothing significant on the front." Intelligence carefully worked, our troops were preparing, Germans were preparing. The success of the future operation these days was decided by ensuring the front of ammunition, appliances and new replenishment. The main burden in this hard matter lay on the shoulders of railway workers. 100 days of silence for them were 100 days of a fierce battle. On June 2, 1943, the most powerful raid of fascist aviation was performed on the Kursk Railway Knot. It lasted without a break exactly 22 hours. 453 aircraft dropped to the station Kursk 2600 bombs, practically destroying it. Perhaps it was easier at the front than here in the rear. And people worked, restored locomotives, did not leave the depot weeks to ensure military cargo transportation.

On July 5, 1943, one of the most important battles of the Great Patriotic War - Kursk battle began on the Northern Fac. Rokossovsky accurately calculated the direction of the main strike. He realized that the Germans would start the offensive in the area of \u200b\u200bPonyry station through the thermal heights. It was the shortest path to Kursk. The commander of the central front was on a big risk, removing artillery from other front sites. 92 trunk per kilometer of defense - there was no such density of artillery in any defensive operation in the entire history of the Great Patriotic War. And if under Prokhorovka was the greatest tank battle, where iron fought with iron, then here, in rejugments, about the same number of tanks moved to Kursk, and these tanks stopped people. The enemy was strong: 22 divisions, up to 1,200 tanks and assault guns, only 460 thousand soldiers. It was a cruel battle. "Both sides seem to recognize about the meaning that history will define her in the future," writes Paul Carrel in the book "Scorched Earth." Only purebred Germans took part in the Kursk battle, they did not trust anything. 17-year-olds did not have. 20-22 years - these were experienced and trained personnel. Fierce battles continued under the rejoices of July 6 and 7. On the night of July 11, the blooded enemy took the last attempt to fasten our troops and was able to advance for 5 days of battles by 12 kilometers. But this time the offensive of the fascists choked. One of the German generals later said that the key of our victory is forever buried under the rejoices. July 12, when a fierce battle was laid under Prokhorovka on the South Face, where the enemy has advanced by 35 kilometers, the front line will return to its position in the Northern Face, and already on July 15, Rokossovsky's army will go to the attack on the eagle.

The whole world knows about the tank battle under Prokhorovka - the largest of the war. But few people wondered how the Soviet troops managed to promptly transfer under Kursk such a mass of tanks. From March to August, only echelons with military equipment on the Kursk arc were delivered to 1410. This is seven times more than Moscow in 1941. Tanks right from the platform went into battle.

Kursk battle ended with the full defeat of the enemy, reaching the Dnieper and the capture of Kharkov. The first train came there on the 5th day after the liberation of the city. The main task is now, providing an offensive, keep up with the upcoming parts. After all, leaving, the Germans left the burned desert behind them. Behind the steam locomotive for one of the sleepers, a heavy hook joined, he goes and tears all the sleepers in half. Everything, the path disconnected, it is impossible to go along the way. There is a purerser, robel sleepers. The joke, the link is undermined. Rails at the time lay 12.5-meter. On each junction and in the middle of the joint after 6 meters, a dynamite checker was enthusiastic, and the rails were out of order. So there is no sleeper, and there are no rails. It all created a general background when it was practically impossible to work. But everything was done.

Victory was done. The commander of the central front of the Army General Rokossovsky wrote: "The exclusive heroism was shown by the Railway workers of the Kursk Knot, restoring the destruction under the ruptures of enemy bombs. Remember, railway! The Russian soldier will take place everywhere if every 20 minutes we will deliver the front of 30 cars with troops, ammunition, weapons and food. One hundred thousand fighters of the Red Army will be held where the deer will not pass. " Our railway workers did not leave the invaders not a single locomotive, not a single car, not a single arrow translation. Everything was exploded and destroyed everything that could not be evacuated. At this site, the train was very scary due to constant aviation bombing. Railway workers are very modest, simple workers soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. Without them, there would be no victory not only under Stalingrad, not only on the Kursk arc, there would be no such victory at all.

Every old soldier has a hidden dream once again to visit those places where his war threw. What do they want to see what else to remember what to survive? They know that in no newsreel in the world there are no frames that keep their memory. No one can ever measure their pain. No one, besides them, does not feel the smell of gunpowder, sweat, dry dust and warm blood. And therefore they return.

Go ahead, fight, burn,
After the war someday
Return to the native Ponyry,
Where I started a victorious path.

Thundered in shares and forests
Fights from dawn and to dawn.
Eagle and Kursk, like on scales,
And in the middle - ponya.

Evgeny Dolmatovsky.

Based on the films "Trains, winning war" (scenario and director Valery Titin) and "Kursk arc. Iron frontier "(author and director of Daria Romanova).

It was the second Stalingrad ... so the veterans of the Great Patriotic War and historians said about the Kursk battle.

What is seventy years? For space - just a moment, and for a person - a whole life, but what is there - the epoch. Today, rye grow peacefully in these places, daisy and cornflowers bloom, forest strawberries are raging, or, in a simple, berry, fiery fillings - beauty! I can not believe that some seven tens of years ago everything was existed in the trenches, fused by blowing shells and bombs, covered with the bodies of dead and broken by the abandoned technique. Ponyard land - North FAS. Kursk arc - what a difficult price she went to the fighters of the Red Army! After all, for each of her blocks, a small village, station, elevation of gibbies whole divisions. In order to clearly understand this, you need to visit the rejoices. What we did last week as part of a press tour "With Watering and Notepad", organized by the Committee of Information and Press of the Kursk Region.

Waiting for its o'clock

The village of Ponyry met us a bustle, which is not surprising, because before the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Kursk battle, which will be held on July 19, remained a few days. The masters were still put in order memorial signs - heroes-sapels, artilleryrs in the thermal heights and others. Landshedral villages. But the main work was on the central square of Poniye, where the memorial dedicated to the memory of the heroes of the Northern Face Kursk Arc is erected. The monument will be installed in the form of a colonnade with arched overlaps. Each of the columns are granite tables with numbers of military units and fronts - participants in the Kursk battle and the names of the dead heroes.

As it turned out, this memorable sign is one of the parts of a whole complex, which will be based on the Ponyrovskaya Earth. Its second part will be installed in the year celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory near the village of Olkhovka - it will be an observation deck at an altitude of 274.5.

By the way, funds for the memorial complex, and this is 77 million rubles, were allocated from the federal and regional budgets.

Together with a sense of pride and joy for the ponytskaya land, a question arose - why so long for hearing was the Southern FAS Kursk Arc - Prokhorovka and because of what the Northern Fast, where they were not less, and how the story proved, even more fierce battles, so Long stayed in the shadows?!

Versions are several. One of them is connected with Konstantin Rokossovsky, commander of the central front and led by the actions of the troops of this front in a great defensive, and then a counter-projective battle on the Kursk arc. It is no longer a secret that the commander before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War was arrested and imprisoned in the famous "crosses", of which was released in the spring of 1940. How far, Konstantin Konstantinovich was Konstantin, we understood by visiting the branch of the Kursk Local Lore Museum in rejugation dedicated to the Kursk battle.

From the reports of intelligence it was clear that in the summer of 1943, the Germans are planning a big offensive in the Kursk region. Commanders of some fronts offered to develop the success of Stalingrad and conduct a large-scale offensive, but Konstantin Rokossovsky was another opinion. He believed that for the offensive it is necessary to double, the triple superiority of the forces that the Soviet troops did not have in this direction. To stop the enemy, the commander offered to go to the defense, literally under the personal composition and combat technique.

Preparation for the Great Battle, the worst battles of which were held at the Ponyrovsky Earth from July 5 to July 17, 1943, was very serious on both sides.

In the Red Army, every fighter not only knew vulnerable points of German tanks, he was also taught not to be afraid of these cars. As for artilleryrs, each calculation was interchangeable, it was very useful during battles.

The Germans did not show the direction of the main strike for a long time, "said Olga Kushner, Senior Researcher of the Ponyrovsky Museum, - finally it became clear that this village of Olkhovka. The settlement was chosen for three reasons. First, through Olkhovatu, the shortest path to the coupie through the city fabaway. Secondly, to the West of this village, the ridge of heights stretches (they are known as Teplovsky), and this is a huge advantage for all types of troops. Thirdly, there was a huge field between the villages of the Supportion, Olchovat and warmth, which was very convenient for the management of a tank battle. When Konstantin Rokossovsky understood this, he did everything possible to not give the plans to the Germans. The commander on July 6 ordered the left wing of the 13th Army to apply counterdaddar and forced the enemy to redirect his strength to the village of Ponyry. The losses were colossal, but Olkhovatka and famous thermal heights remained impregnable.

There is also a legend that after the Kursk battle the head of the "crosses" sent Rokossov telegram with congratulations, and the commander like even answered him that, they say, glad to try. Despite all the merits, Konstantin Konstantinovich after the war still remained "in the opal".

A confirmed fact is also a story about how after the fight in the village of Borego, where the Soviet troops were knocked up 21 "Ferdinand", with the permission of Konstantin Rokossovsky, the panorama of the battlefield was photographed and published in the newspapers with the signature that this place was removed under Prokhorovka. Although it will be known later that the South Facs of the Kursk Arc "Ferdinand" was not at all.

The discharge of unconfirmed facts also got the version that, in the nineties, our famous countryman Vyacheslav Klykov proposed the regional authorities to build a belftle on the Ponyrovskaya Earth, which did not receive any answer. But the sculptor was supported in Prokhorovka - on the southern Face Kursk Arc, and she now bounces there.

Alas, it was or not, now no longer matters. The main one - the North FAS still waited for her happy hour, whatever happened without the participation of the Governor Alexander Mikhailov.

Here is a Russian man standing ...

Listening to the story of the guide, we were increasingly penetrated by the idea that they were in a truly unique place, and otherwise it could not be! It is not that divisions and brigades - almost every fighter one could assign a high title of hero.

A rather impressive number of tanks took part in the Kursk battle. Among the combat units entered into the fight against them was the 1st Guards Engineering and Special Direct Commission under the command of Mikhail Ioffe. It was a mobile barrier detachment consisting of fighters hardened in the Battle of Stalingrad. How did they act? When the tank column was separated, they crawled out as close as possible to them and put the charge under the caterpillar. It seems that everything is simple, but it was necessary to overcome the fear of such a mahina, as a tank, in addition, the weight of each mini was equal to 25 kilograms, and the fighter sapper took two on his back. The task was one - by all means stopping almost the "unhappy" car. In a Kursk arc, not one fighter rushed with such mines under the caterpillars of the tank and the price of life fulfilled the order. After the Kursk battle for their exploits, this brigade was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War.

The history of Captain's battery, Georgy Igisheva, who was part of the 3rd fighter-anti-tank artillery brigade was not less impressed. She held the defense in the village of the village of Slotting of the Ponyrovsky District and literally destroyed 19 enemy tanks for three days!

On July 8, when the calculation died, only the gunner of the tool Andrei Puumikov remained alive. At the gun was hit the sight, one of the wheels is lost. But it was not afraid of the fighter - he substituted the box from under the shells instead of the wheel and one continued to charge, aim "on the eye" and shoot the enemy tanks.

It was believed that Igyshevtsi died, their names were even carved at the famous monument to artilleryrs, built immediately after the Kursk battle - in November 1943. But what was the surprise of the ponytsev, when in 1995 as part of the Lipetsk delegation in the village came Andrei Pusikov himself.

Long silently stood veteran at the monument, looking at the instrument number 2242, hoarse on the pedestal, and then said: "The lathes is the same, and the wheel was replaced."

And how not to say about the first Guards battalion, which was part of the 9th regiment of the 4th airborne division under the command of the guard of Captain Alexander Zhukov, who in full swing died on July 10, 1943 in rejugments. It happened so that the Germans surrounded by his tight ring. The exit in the paratroopers left alone - fight to the last cartridge, what they did. The division destroyed the German artillery battery, capturing her tools, and sent them against enemy machines, having signed seven tanks, almost as many armored personnel carriers, killing about 700 German soldiers and officers.

And the paratroopers left the inscription made by their own blood: "We are dying, but do not give up. Farewell." None of this battalion surrendered to captivity.

At the thought of all this you understand how true the words from the poem of Yevgeny Dolmatovsky "Ponyry", by the way, carved on the monument to the heroes - Sipelam:

"There was no mountains, no rocks,

There were no pvov, no rivers,

Here, the Russian man stood ... "

But the memory was not enough ...

I would like to say about memorable signs separately. There are 28 fraternal burials on the territory of the Ponyrovsky district. Those are located near the village, in good condition, which you will not say about the distant fraternal graves. One of the laws, according to which monuments and burials were transferred to the balance of municipalities. Alas, some sat down so poor that they don't even have money on the jar with paint, so it turns out that almost no one cares for the graves.

With an equally sad spectacle, we faced the monument to the heroes sipers. The fact is that the eternal flame is not valid near him. The reason is banal - no gas cylinders, "feeding" it.

However, in one of the reports of the supervisory subjects of the Ponyrovsky district, it was said that it was gasified by 100 percent. But the cherished fuel was not enough for memory ...

And to the governor reached

At the same time, there are more positive examples in rejugation. We sincerely struck the story of nine-year-old Davithana Bellyov. The boy's family before his birth moved to the ponythous land and fell in love with the depths of the soul.

The boy was interested in the fate of the ponytsev who received the title of the heroes of the Soviet Union. Among them is a native of 2 reindeer Vasily Gorbachev.

Davithana struck the fact that no one knows about this hero in his native village! A nine-year-old boy with the help of social networks found relatives Hero - Son who lives in Yakutia, and a niece. He learned that Vasily Semenovich was very ill and in last years Life, being in madness, which was the result of the front contusion, left home and disappeared.

Davithana so touched this story that he wrote a letter to Governor Alexander Mikhailov with a request to establish a commemorative board of a hero in his native village and may be called the street and school in his honor.

We still have a funny street, "wrote a guy," and about what fun can we talk on Earth, which does not remember and does not know about their countrymen's heroes!

And the boy has already achieved the fact that a memorable board appeared in his native village in honor of Vasily Gorbachev, Hero of the Soviet Union.

Blood drops in thermal heights

The last point of the press tour was the height of 268.9 - one of the ridges located near the villages of warm, self-mass and a class, on which residents of the neighboring Fatest region were established by a Poklonnaya Cross. From a high hill, a stunning look opens, and he himself all overgrown with meadow strawberries. One of the veterans who visited this place seeing the raging berry, I was crying and said: "These are drops of soldier blood spilled for every block of the Ponyrov land."

Hope of Glakov