Igor Vostryakov - the incredible adventures of Colonel Gavrilov. Didn't hold a grudge

Ivan Vasilievich Gavrilov(-) - Soviet military leader. Participant of the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars. Hero of the Soviet Union (1945, posthumously). Guard Colonel.

Biography

Ivan Vasilyevich Gavrilov was born on October 19 (October 7 - old style) 1899 in the city of Yeisk, Yeisk department of the Kuban region of the Russian Empire (now a city in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation) in a working-class family. In 1920, Ivan Gavrilov voluntarily joined the ranks of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Participated in the Civil War in the North Caucasus. In 1921 he graduated from cavalry command courses. He served in various cavalry units, holding the positions of platoon commander, squadron commander, and chief of staff of a regiment. Before the war, he served as commander of the 129th Cavalry Regiment of the 14th Cavalry Division of the 5th Cavalry Corps of the Kyiv Special Military District, which was stationed in the city of Slavuta, Kamenets-Podolsk (now Khmelnitsky) region of the Ukrainian SSR.

In battles with the Nazi invaders, Lieutenant Colonel I.V. Gavrilov from the first days of the war as part of the Southwestern Front. He took part in the battles of Dubno, Berdichev, Tarashchey, and then in the Kharkov direction. In December 1941, the 5th Cavalry Corps covered itself with unfading glory in the battles near Livny as part of the group of Lieutenant General F. Ya. Kostenko. On 7 December 1941, the 5th Cavalry Corps, 1st Guards Rifle Division, 129th Tank Brigade and 34th Motorized Rifle Brigade counterattacked the 95th and 45th Infantry Divisions of the Wehrmacht's 2nd Army, forcing them onto the defensive. The regiment of Lieutenant Colonel I.V. Gavrilov in the battle near the Serbino farm on December 7, 1941, defeated the enemy units opposing it, and on December 14, 1941, recaptured the village of Rossoshnoye from the Germans. In total, during the battles, Gavrilov’s regiment captured 50 prisoners and a large amount of ammunition. For his distinction in battle, Lieutenant Colonel I.V. Gavrilov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The 5th Cavalry Corps was reorganized into the 3rd Guards Corps by order of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR No. 366 of December 25, 1941. The 14th Cavalry Division was renamed the 6th Guards Division. In the winter - spring of 1942, the division in which I.V. Gavrilov served took part in the defensive battles of the Southwestern Front as part of the 21st, 38th and 28th armies, then in the Battle of Stalingrad. In March 1943, Guard Lieutenant Colonel I.V. Gavrilov was wounded. After recovery in May 1943, he was sent to courses at the Military Academy of Armored and Mechanized Forces of the Red Army named after I.V. Stalin.

In June 1944, Colonel I.V. Gavrilov was appointed commander of the 35th mechanized brigade of the 1st mechanized corps of the 1st Belorussian Front. Gavrilov's brigade distinguished itself in the Belarusian operation during its component - the Bobruisk offensive operation. On June 24, 1944, the 35th Mechanized Brigade, with a roundabout maneuver from the north, ensured that infantry units overcame the German defense in the area of ​​the village of Zubarevskaya Buda, Gomel Region of Belarus (now the village of Zub Buda), after which, in cooperation with the 219th Tank Brigade, it liberated Starye Dorogi, and At the end of June 29, 1944, it captured the city of Slutsk.

In October 1944, Ivan Vasilyevich was wounded a second time. He returned to the front in early February 1945 and on February 14, 1945 he was appointed commander of the 19th Guards Mechanized Brigade of the 8th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. During the East Pomeranian operation, the 19th Guards Mechanized Brigade under the command of Guard Colonel I.V. Gavrilov, transferred to the 2nd Belorussian Front for the duration of the operation, acting in the vanguard of the corps, quickly marched north of the city of Lauenburg, ensuring its capture by parts of the corps. Then the brigade captured crossings in the area of ​​​​the settlement of Kneverbruch, which ensured the brigade’s breakthrough into the Bolschau region, after which, in cooperation with other brigades, it captured the city of Neustadt. By March 20, 1945, the brigade broke through the heavily fortified enemy defenses and reached the approaches to the city of Gdynia in the area of ​​the village of Janowo. During the battles from March 2, 1945 to March 20, 1945, Gavrilov’s brigade destroyed 2,865 enemy soldiers and officers, 78 machine guns, 4 guns and mortars, 10 self-propelled guns, 129 cars and motorcycles. 486 Wehrmacht soldiers surrendered. 41 machine guns, 10 mortars and 9 guns of various calibers were captured as trophies.

The best brigade of the 1st Guards Tank Army was the 19th Guards Mechanized Brigade. Already on April 15, 1945, she broke through the heavily fortified and deeply echeloned enemy defenses on the Oder River. Moving forward in battles, repelling constant enemy attacks, the brigade broke into Berlin on April 25, 1945 and captured several canal crossings within the city. During the period of fighting, the brigade destroyed 713 enemy soldiers and officers, 2 guns, 9 mortars, 9 machine guns, 15 vehicles, 2 aircraft. 40 aircraft, 15 cars and a large number of warehouses with various property were captured as trophies. On April 26, 1945, during street battles while repelling a counterattack by the enemy guard, Colonel I.V. Gavrilov died a heroic death. He was buried in Berlin in the Tiergarten park. Later, a memorial to fallen Soviet soldiers was erected here.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, guard Colonel Ivan Vasilyevich Gavrilov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on May 31, 1945.

Awards

• Medal "Gold Star" (05/31/1945, posthumously).
• Order of Lenin (05/31/1945, posthumously).
• Order of the Red Banner - twice (12/29/1941, 04/11/1945).
• Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (09/08/1944).

Memory

• The name of Hero of the Soviet Union I.V. Gavrilov is immortalized on the memorial to fallen Soviet soldiers in Berlin.

Note

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Literature

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov. - M.: Voenizdat, 1987. - T. 1 /Abaev - Lyubichev/. - 911 p. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN ex., Reg. No. in RKP 87-95382.
• Zhukov Yu.A.. - M: Soviet Russia, 1975.
• M. E. Katukov. At the forefront of the main blow. - M: Voengiz, 1974.

Documentation

• . . No. in database . . , . . , . . , . . , . . , . .
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Links

Anton Bocharov.. Website "Heroes of the Country". Retrieved September 18, 2015.

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Excerpt characterizing Gavrilov, Ivan Vasilievich

In October 1805, Russian troops occupied the villages and towns of the Archduchy of Austria, and more new regiments came from Russia and, burdening the residents with billeting, were stationed at the Braunau fortress. The main apartment of Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov was in Braunau.
On October 11, 1805, one of the infantry regiments that had just arrived at Braunau, awaiting inspection by the commander-in-chief, stood half a mile from the city. Despite the non-Russian terrain and situation (orchards, stone fences, tiled roofs, mountains visible in the distance), despite the non-Russian people looking at the soldiers with curiosity, the regiment had exactly the same appearance as any Russian regiment had when preparing for a review somewhere in the middle of Russia.
In the evening, on the last march, an order was received that the commander-in-chief would inspect the regiment on the march. Although the words of the order seemed unclear to the regimental commander, and the question arose how to understand the words of the order: in marching uniform or not? In the council of battalion commanders, it was decided to present the regiment in full dress uniform on the grounds that it is always better to bow than not to bow. And the soldiers, after a thirty-mile march, did not sleep a wink, they repaired and cleaned themselves all night; adjutants and company commanders counted and expelled; and by morning the regiment, instead of the sprawling, disorderly crowd that it had been the day before during the last march, represented an orderly mass of 2,000 people, each of whom knew his place, his job, and of whom, on each of them, every button and strap was in its place and sparkled with cleanliness . Not only was the outside in good order, but if the commander-in-chief had wanted to look under the uniforms, he would have seen an equally clean shirt on each one and in each knapsack he would have found the legal number of things, “sweat and soap,” as the soldiers say. There was only one circumstance about which no one could be calm. It was shoes. More than half the people's boots were broken. But this deficiency was not due to the fault of the regimental commander, since, despite repeated demands, the goods were not released to him from the Austrian department, and the regiment traveled a thousand miles.
The regimental commander was an elderly, sanguine general with graying eyebrows and sideburns, thick-set and wider from chest to back than from one shoulder to the other. He was wearing a new, brand new uniform with wrinkled folds and thick golden epaulettes, which seemed to lift his fat shoulders upward rather than downwards. The regimental commander had the appearance of a man happily performing one of the most solemn affairs of life. He walked in front of the front and, as he walked, trembled at every step, slightly arching his back. It was clear that the regimental commander was admiring his regiment, happy with it, that all his mental strength was occupied only with the regiment; but, despite the fact that his trembling gait seemed to say that, in addition to military interests, the interests of social life and the female sex occupied a significant place in his soul.
“Well, Father Mikhailo Mitrich,” he turned to one battalion commander (the battalion commander leaned forward smiling; it was clear that they were happy), “it was a lot of trouble this night.” However, it seems that nothing is wrong, the regiment is not bad... Eh?
The battalion commander understood the funny irony and laughed.
- And in Tsaritsyn Meadow they wouldn’t have driven you away from the field.
- What? - said the commander.
At this time, along the road from the city, along which the makhalnye were placed, two horsemen appeared. These were the adjutant and the Cossack riding behind.
The adjutant was sent from the main headquarters to confirm to the regimental commander what was said unclearly in yesterday's order, namely, that the commander-in-chief wanted to see the regiment exactly in the position in which it was marching - in overcoats, in covers and without any preparations.
A member of the Gofkriegsrat from Vienna arrived to Kutuzov the day before, with proposals and demands to join the army of Archduke Ferdinand and Mack as soon as possible, and Kutuzov, not considering this connection beneficial, among other evidence in favor of his opinion, intended to show the Austrian general that sad situation , in which troops came from Russia. For this purpose, he wanted to go out to meet the regiment, so the worse the situation of the regiment, the more pleasant it would be for the commander-in-chief. Although the adjutant did not know these details, he conveyed to the regimental commander the commander-in-chief’s indispensable requirement that the people wear overcoats and covers, and that otherwise the commander-in-chief would be dissatisfied. Having heard these words, the regimental commander lowered his head, silently raised his shoulders and spread his hands with a sanguine gesture.
- We've done things! - he said. “I told you, Mikhailo Mitrich, that on a campaign, we wear greatcoats,” he turned reproachfully to the battalion commander. - Oh, my God! - he added and decisively stepped forward. - Gentlemen, company commanders! – he shouted in a voice familiar to the command. - Sergeants major!... Will they be here soon? - he turned to the arriving adjutant with an expression of respectful courtesy, apparently referring to the person about whom he was speaking.
- In an hour, I think.
- Will we have time to change clothes?
- I don’t know, General...
The regimental commander himself approached the ranks and ordered that they change into their overcoats again. The company commanders scattered to their companies, the sergeants began to fuss (the overcoats were not entirely in good working order) and at the same moment the previously regular, silent quadrangles swayed, stretched out, and hummed with conversation. Soldiers ran and ran up from all sides, threw them from behind with their shoulders, dragged backpacks over their heads, took off their greatcoats and, raising their arms high, pulled them into their sleeves.

A very strange interrogation. We should start with the fact that Colonel Gavrilov, according to the OBD Memorial, does not exist.
There is Captain Gavrilov Fedor Grigorievich - intelligence assistant to the chief of staff of the 12th motorized rifle regiment, born in 1909. Missing in August 1941
The fact that we are talking about the same person is confirmed by the wife’s full name - Vera Semyonovna Gavrilova and her place of residence - Staro-Konstantinov.

In the interrogation materials themselves, what was seen with one’s own eyes is generously mixed with rumors and speculation. Almost all information about Vlasov and around seems to be second-hand. Finally, the interrogated’s own position is not entirely clear. Sometimes it varies within one paragraph.

SURVEY
former colonel of the Red Army GAVRILOV Fedor Grigorievich, delivered by plane from behind enemy lines on the night of 22.4.43.

In 1930, I graduated from the Kharkov Automobile and Highway Institute and in the same year I was drafted into the Red Army, where I remained until September 22, 1941, i.e. until the moment I was captured. I was six months old. After six months of service, he was promoted to platoon commander and was retained in the army as an assistant brigade chief of staff. He served in Staro-Konstantinov in the 8th Tank Brigade. Then they gave me the fourth category and with this category I went to Kyiv. Here I worked as a teacher at the Kiev Tank Mechanical School, first in the battery, and then as an assistant to the head of the educational department.

From 1939 to 1940 - teacher of general tactics at the Belo-Tserkovsky Rifle and Machine Gun School.
From 1940 to the day of capture, assistant commander of the 24th tank regiment of the 12th tank division. In 1939 he received the rank of lieutenant colonel.
On September 22, 1941, in the Orzhitsa area he was captured. He had two wounds, the first in Brody (Western Ukraine), the second in Orzhitsa.
- Did you have any awards?
- I was nominated for an award, but I don’t know whether it was approved or not.
- Captured while wounded?
- Yes.
- Were you conscious?
- Yes, I was conscious. The entire regimental headquarters was captured. At the same time, the operational department of the headquarters of the Southwestern Front, the commander of the 7th Tank Division, Colonel Gerasimov, and many others were captured. Front commander Kirponos shot himself on September 19, 1941.
- I was in Orzhitsa for three days. There the Germans picked me up and took me to Krestilevo. From Krestilevo we were taken wounded to Kremenchug. From Kremenchug to Vladimir-Volynsk, where he was in a general hospital until May 1942. At the hospital there were no dressings or any treatment.
- Where was the first survey carried out?
- The first survey was carried out in Vladimir-Volynsk, after two months of my stay there.
- What about the first registration?
- Right there.
- Were you captured wearing insignia?
- No. I was wearing overalls then. The Germans took off my watch, boots and suit.
- Were you wearing a uniform?
- No, I managed to take off the suit myself and put on the overalls. They also took away documents and identification. .
- Was there a party document?
- I destroyed the party document even before I was captured.
- You said that the first survey took place in Vladimir-Volynsk?
- Yes, two weeks after arriving in Vladimir-Volynsk they asked me: last name, first name, patronymic, year of birth.
- They asked what part?
- Which unit was asked already in January. They also asked about the deployment and armament of the unit. The first survey was at the end of October. At the same time I received personal number 27441 prisoner of war.
- Did you say your last name, first name, patronymic correctly?
- Yes.
-Have you been to the command staff camp?
- The camp was common. There were commanding officers, political personnel and Red Army soldiers here. This camp was called an officers' camp, but there were also Red Army soldiers here. Camp number 119.
In January, we were given a questionnaire with 4-5 questions. The questions are as follows: the name of the unit where it is stationed, what formation it was part of, weapons and approximate strength by the day of the war.
- Where did you participate in hostilities? The Germans were not interested in such a question?
- There was such a question.
- Was there a question about your position or rank?
- Were there no such questions in the questionnaire or in the questionnaire?
- In your profile, and in the profiles of other prisoners of war?
- In questionnaires and sheets from comrades. who were in the hospital with me, I did not see such questions.
-Have you indicated which unit you are in?
- I couldn't write. The form was filled out by a Russian translator, to whom I told that I served in the 64th Infantry Regiment.
- Did you also indicate the division?
- To this question I answered that I went straight from home, so I don’t know which division and formation.
- You said that you were stationed in Brody?
- Yes.
- And at the beginning of the captivity, you also pointed to the 64th regiment?
- Yes.
- Why did you point to the 64th regiment?
- The 64th regiment was stationed in Tarnopol, it was a variable regiment, consisting of Western Ukrainians. Was part of the 6th Army. I knew this regiment roughly and therefore pointed to it.
- Did you know the commander of the 64th Infantry Regiment?
- No.
- Did they ask you who the regiment commander is?
- We were not interested in such a question.
- Did you tell us what kind of weapons the 64th regiment has?
- I said that the battalion I was in had rifles. They especially didn’t pester me, because I was unwell, I was lying without underwear, scurvy appeared, they didn’t do any dressings, I was lying on a bunk. And when they start asking something, you mutter under your breath and they didn’t pester you.
From Vladimir-Volynsk I was taken to the Buchenwald camp.
- His number?
- Doesn't seem to have a number.
- In what month were you transferred there?
- Around July 25-26. I was there until December 12th.
- Were you used at work?
- No, I couldn't walk.
- And others?
- Others worked. From the Buchenwald camp I was sent to a work camp in Hamburg. From Hamburg we were taken to the Sondenberg camp in Upper Silesia. This was around December 12th. On the morning of March 6 in Sondenberg we were lined up and the camp commandant informed us that we were being sent to the fighting squads of the Russian national troops.
- Without asking your consent?
- Yes, after the commandant’s message that we were leaving for the fighting squads of the national troops, we arrived in Lublin, where Sadovsky met us. Sadovsky is an emigrant. Until 1939 he was in Russia, then he defected to Germany, received an estate and now works as a propagandist for the SD group.
He announced to us that we were enlisted in the Russian national troops. Here we were given the uniform of the SS security detachments and on the 13th we left for Luzhki.
- Which unit were you made up of?
- A battalion of 300-350 people was organized. I entered the second company.
- What command?
- All were Russian officers. The battalion was led by Major Blazhevich. The company commander was Ivanov, a former chief of staff of one of the rifle divisions, a member of the Russian nationalist party. I didn't have time to meet him.
The platoon commander was Barzakov, a former major or captain, and battalion commander before the war.
The battalion's weapons are small arms, German Skoda carbines. Heavy weapons - 82-BM mortars, Russian.
- What tasks were you given?
- The operational task was set in Luzhki. We arrived in Luzhki on the 15th and stayed until the 25th. On the night of 25-26, we went out on an operation to fight partisan detachments along the route Luzhki-Golubichi-Kublich-Umachi-Polotsk.
On the evening of the 27th we crossed the old border in the Kublic area and stopped for the night in Kublic, four kilometers from the border. On March 28, I left the detachment.
- Under what circumstances?
“When we were told that we were going to fight against bandits, that’s what the partisans were called, I understood what it meant and decided that if I didn’t establish contact with the partisan detachment, I would somehow cross the front line myself.
While still in Kublich, I found an old woman and asked if she knew where the partisans were. At first she didn’t want to talk to me, she was scared, but when I threw down the rifle and said that I was Russian, she sent me to some Nyusya, indicating where she lived. When I approached this place, there was a commandant’s office there, but there was no Nyusia.
In the morning, when the partisans began to fire at us, I, taking advantage of the turmoil, decided in the evening to go to the battalion headquarters in order to work, where, by order of the command, I picked up maps. Having received permission for this, I headed towards the headquarters. I didn’t go into the room, but stopped around the corner of the headquarters and decided to wait for everyone to leave. When everyone left, I entered the commandant's office. There was no one there. I went to a guy's house to have something to eat. At this time, the partisans began to occupy Kublich. Taking a rifle and a bayonet, I went to the partisan detachment.
- And then you acted with a partisan detachment?
- I was in Dubrovsky’s brigade. A whole group had to cross with me. But it was impossible to speak openly. We were declared outlaws, enemies of the people, traitors to the motherland, and therefore I decided to go over to the partisans myself.
I brought newspapers with me, all the material about Vlasov, which I will talk about below, and handed them over to the brigade commander. These materials contain all the spies who were sent to us and people who were at work behind the front line.
I brought newspapers from Berlin under the pretext of wrapping bread and other things. I did this with the aim of delivering newspapers here so that they would know about our traitors who work there. He also brought material about Vlasov’s school.
- What exactly do you know about him?
- I knew him a little personally. His height is about the same as mine, 38 years old, glasses, former commander of the 99th Infantry Division, which was stationed next to us. That's why I knew him. The division took first place in the Red Army. Then he was the commander of the 4th mechanized corps, later the commander of the 37th army. He defended Kyiv and recently commanded the 16th Army. He has been in captivity for 7 months.
Last summer, the Germans elected Bessonov, the former head of training for internal troops of the NKVD of the USSR, as a candidate to organize the Russian government. Colonel Pastushenko, formerly, was appointed his assistant. commander of a special regiment of the NKVD in Moscow. In the month of August 1942. they wrote a declaration outlining the political system of the new Russia in the event of the defeat of the Soviets. Specifically, it was written about private industry and issues of organizing the armed forces.
the declaration took the form of an appeal to all segments of the population - collective farmers, intellectuals, scientists, and army command personnel. This was supposed to be printed in Berlin and sent to the USSR through the appropriate people.
The Germans approved the declaration, but they treated Bessonov with suspicion as an old security officer and did not trust him. When Vlasov was captured, they found in him the person they needed.

Where was Bessonov?
- In Buchenwald. Vlasov was taken to organize the Russian government, and Bessonov went to recruit spies from Red Army prisoners of war and command personnel.
Recently, the Germans began to identify command personnel among the prisoners of war. Each person who declares himself a commander is processed and sent to the USSR for sabotage work.
I met with Major Kuznetsov, who had our rank of lieutenant colonel or colonel, formerly. head of the 1st department of the Black Sea headquarters. He was in the Soviet rear on a mission, and is now in Luzhki.
When I was in Sondenberg, our pilots and two signalmen who graduated from the naval communications school came. They were also on operations behind the front line and returned to rest. Why they ended up in Sondenberg I don’t know. From their words, I know that in January, about 1,500 spies from prisoners of war were transported behind the front line. The pilots also talked about sabotage carried out by saboteurs.
The Germans have a great need for radio operators. They staff their units with our radio operators, and also send our radio operators to the Soviet rear for communications. These radio operators first go through the Breslavl Communications School, headed by Bessonov.

Let's return to Vlasov.
- There is also Malyshkin, who was captured before Vlasov, last year during the Kharkov encirclement. Now he is Vlasov’s right hand on organizational issues relating exclusively to the organization of the new government. He is also the commander-in-chief of the RNNA.
Rodionov, aka Gil, is a person who should enter the “military ministry”; He is also Vlasov’s assistant in organizing the armed forces.
- What does Vlasov do in practice, where does he go?
- Vlasov’s headquarters is in Berlin, I don’t know exactly on which street, but in house 35. Now he has moved to Minsk. When we were traveling from Lublin, he met us in Minsk. I don’t know where it is located in Minsk.
- Did he give you a speech?
- No. At the end of March, Vlasov was in Luzhki, where he dealt with the issue of the armed forces. Meadows are the center around which the Russian corps should be formed.
- How is he dressed?
- He is dressed in a Red Army uniform without insignia, a khaki cap.
- Are any of the Germans coming with him?
- Never saw.
- Who is his driver?
- Russian. On February 23-24, there was a meeting in Breslavl, which was attended by Rodionov-Gil, Vlasov, and a representative of Himmler. Antipov went from the camp to the meeting.
At this meeting, Vlasov raised a question with the German command about improving the situation of prisoners of war, arguing that they were orphans, the government abandoned them, so we must take care of them, because they will still be useful to us. Vlasov also raised the question of changing attitudes towards civilians in the occupied regions.
The Germans agreed with Vlasov’s proposal and stated that if they had treated prisoners of war better from the beginning of the war, then, as Hitler defined, most of the Red Army would have been captured. If the Germans had treated the civilian population well, then now the entire population would have gone against the Bolsheviks for the Germans.
At the meeting, a draft program of the Russian National Socialist Workers' Party was developed and adopted. This program is exactly copied from the program of the National Socialist Party of Germany, only changed in some minor details, in relation to our conditions. Antipov gave us a report about this meeting, and therefore I am aware of it.
- Therefore, the National Socialist Party was created?
- Yes, there is such a party. All are headed by Vlasov and Rodionov. I don’t know how things are going with the elections. At the meeting, in addition, salaries were approved, starting from the platoon commander to the corps commander inclusive. The platoon commander should receive 150 marks, the corps commander about 1,500 marks. A married soldier receives 54 marks, a single soldier receives 27. This is what the Rodionites receive.
- Do those in captivity receive any kind of salary?
- No.
- Has Vlasov appeared in print?
- The newspaper "Zarya" is published in Berlin - the organ of Russian nationalists. The newspaper has been published since January 1, 1943. The March issue contains an article by Vlasov “Why I took the path of fighting Bolshevism.” The article begins with the words “The Soviet government did not offend me in any way.” There is a photograph of him in the newspaper. Photos were posted of Vlasov together with Hitler. edit the newspaper of the former Colonel Bogdanov and Blagoveshchensky.
The newspaper is designed to popularize among prisoners of war the ideas of a new Russia, which should be part of the new Europe. The content of the articles in the March issues of the newspaper is as follows: why the Red Army is fighting, what moves the Red Army into battle. What is characteristic is that the materials indicate that now the Russians are going into battle under the fire of barrage detachments at a time when before they fought and boldly went into battle without any coercion. Regarding England, they write that England is fighting at the expense of Russian blood.
The second newspaper, “New Word,” is also published in Berlin and is the organ of Russian emigrants and has been published for 10 years. The publisher and editor of the newspaper is a certain Vladimir Despotuli. This newspaper has now raised its voice for the unification of all reactionary forces against the Soviets, against Bolshevism, regardless of political direction or nationality.
These two newspapers, published in Russian in Berlin, promote the idea of ​​​​the struggle against Judaism-Bolshevism.

Tell us more about RNNA?
“I knew the layout of the regiment and brought it to the partisan brigade. The SS has a national flag. When you enter the unit’s location, on one side the SS flag is a black cloth measuring 1.5x1.5 meters, on the other side the Russian national flag is a combination of colors red, white and blue with the sun rising from above.
Everyone wore a triangle on their right sleeve with a color combination of red, blue, white. On the triangle, in addition, it is written in gold letters - “For Rus'”. One German also wore the “For Rus'” emblem, but I don’t know what this has to do with Russia.
On the left hand there is a fascist swastika - a chicken. The buttonholes are black - they have a death skull on them - 2 bones and 1 arrow, this is on the right side, on the left side the buttonhole is clean, black. Officers wear buttonholes with a skull on one side and the other. There is also a black swastika on the helmet. There is a skull on the cap.
- What kind of propaganda work do the Germans carry out among SS units?
- The Germans do not interfere in political work. Political work is carried out by the political apparatus of the propaganda company. This company includes former political commissars and prisoners of war. The main topic of classes on the political indoctrination of people is the fight against Judaism-Bolshevism. During classes, the following material is presented: hunger strike in the USSR, executions, gallows, exile to Solovki.
- Do political instructors have insignia?
- No. They wear gold shoulder straps.
- Meadows of which district?
- Plissky district. 13-14 km from Plissa, 34 kilometers from the station. Deep.
- The size of the “Russian” army?
- There are battalions and regiments operating at the front. I don’t know how many there are and where exactly they are located. There are battalions in Minsk and Breslavl. The regiment of the Russian SS, which should serve as the support of the Russian national government in the amount of 900 people, is otherwise called the 1st regiment of the RNA Rodionova-Gil.
The majority of the regiment is command staff. Many engineers serve as fighters. Old ranks and positions in the Red Army are not taken into account.
Morally, I divide the regiment into three parts. The first part is people who, at the first opportunity, will go over to the side of the partisans. The second category of people - neither yours nor ours - are afraid. Germany guarantees their citizenship in the event of the arrival of the Red Army. The third group of people are criminals who used to be in prison.
In order to prevent soldiers and officers from going over to the side of the partisans and the Red Army, the command, in addition to appropriate political treatment, uses threats.
Blazhevich said that if anyone plans to use us as a springboard to jump into the Soviet Union, then our bullets are accurate, they will find you in the Soviet Union.

How is discipline built in these troops?
- Discipline is easy to build. I must say that they are soldered together quite well. Discipline was established on issues of plastering in the German rear. There are physical punishments. Theft is highly developed. For example, a soldier steals from a warehouse and his boss sees it. Seeing this, the boss will not say anything. If you fall asleep and betray your comrade, then there is a dark one - they cover your head with some kind of bag and beat you until you lose consciousness. Discipline is built on such principles.
For failure to follow orders, they are punished with the same kind of punishment. For example, everyone goes and gets drunk. The sergeant major knows about this, but doesn’t say anything to anyone. Everyone left, and suddenly there was alarm. Everyone is drunk. The sergeant major lines up the remaining people and reads from the list. If someone is not there, he is responsible for him - he is there. Being in the ranks, when they called a comrade standing next to me, I replied that he was not there, they made me dark. This only happened because I did it unconsciously, without being aware of the matter.
If one or another soldier does not carry out a purely official order, the entire platoon or company is responsible for him. If you are guilty, then they line up the whole company and force you to do “plastering”. Therefore, everyone warns each other, don’t do anything wrong, otherwise we won’t “plaster” you.

Current page: 1 (book has 1 pages in total)

Igor Vostryakov

Stories - horror stories

The incredible adventures of Colonel Gavrilov

Three old men drank tea, sipping savorily from saucers. They were no different from ordinary old men, except that they were sitting on boxes with anti-personnel mines, each had a machine gun hanging on his shoulder, and on the table, next to porcelain cups, were bundles of grenades.

- Eh-he-he! - one sighed. – What a pity that the resident retired, went to Australia and left us without work! We would send him a spy, Uncle Petya, and pretend that we know nothing about it.

“And the resident would instruct the spy Uncle Petya according to the most secret instructions and pretend that he didn’t understand anything,” picked up another old man, who looked very similar to the old woman.

Suddenly one of the old men became wary and vigilantly looked around the room. The beeping of Morse code could be heard from the right corner.

- Colonel Gavrilov and the spy Uncle Petya! - whispered the old man, who looked very much like an old woman. - We're being watched! Let's pretend we didn't notice anything.

- Yes, boss! Pretend we didn't notice anything! - the brave old men barked, standing at attention and clutching cups of tea to their chests.

The boss smiled contentedly.

- Colonel Gavrilov! - he ordered. - Neutralize the infiltrator!

Gavrilov instantly disappeared into a dark corner, from where the chief heard a strange fuss and hissing.

- Chief! - Gavrilov shouted, appearing in front of the boss. - The scout has been captured!

In the colonel's hand, an artificial spider with an antenna on its head hissed and wriggled. Suddenly the spider bit the colonel. Gavrilov unclenched his fingers. The spider, with its paws tucked in, jumped across the floor like a rubber bullet.

- Chief! Grenade! - Gavrilov yelled.

The chief deftly threw a bunch of grenades at the colonel's feet. When the smoke cleared, the chief saw a deep hole in the place where the colonel and the spider had just stood.

- Chief! - Gavrilov exclaimed, jumping out of the pit as if nothing had happened. – What a nice pensioner’s gift we received from the resident! He managed to hide a small aerial bomb in the spy spider!

“Three days ago, Colonel,” the chief boomed in a malicious voice, “I also sent the resident a gift!” Such a cute little flower, under whose roots I buried a mine with an inertial fuse.

“What a pleasure, boss, to receive such gifts,” spy Uncle Petya rasped in a broken voice, “unfortunately, people have forgotten how to do nice things for each other!”

“What an amazing time we lived in,” Gavrilov picked up. “Everyone around us was eavesdropping and spying.” They were watching us. We've been keeping an eye on them! Explosions, sabotage, chases, shooting! P R O T I V O S T O Y N I E!

- Oh, boss! – the spy Uncle Petya croaked dreamily. - Will this never happen again?

– Intelligence is immortal! – the boss said in a stern voice. – It’s not for nothing that children from generation to generation tell “horror stories” about Colonel Gavrilov and the resident. It was not for nothing that the resident cried like a beluga when he heard the historical words about himself: “The resident was no different from the crowd, except for the parachute dragging behind him...”

“They write books about us,” picked up the spy Uncle Petya, “one of these books began with the words: “There was a time when there was nothing on Earth yet, but there was Colonel Gavrilov and a resident with a grenade...”.

“But the best and most truthful book,” the boss proudly declared, “is in front of you!” It's called: "The Adventures of Colonel Gavrilov"

Chief

Cleverly masquerading as an ordinary passer-by, Colonel Gavrilov marched up to the decrepit old woman selling greens.

The old woman's freshly shaved face was inscrutable.

- Chief! There is a resident in the city! - Gavrilov reported.

The chief straightened up and quietly moved three boxes of grenades from the right pocket to the left, clicked the shutter of the machine gun and adjusted the belt of the heavy machine gun with a professional movement.

“I order you to immediately track down the resident and report him!” - he barked.

In order not to arouse suspicion among others and thus not to fail the skillfully disguised appearance, the colonel bought a bunch of greens from the chief and, clearly marking his step, left.

From the chef's description.

The character is Nordic, strong.

Education too...

In ambush

Colonel Gavrilov was sitting in ambush, astride a trash can, in the middle of the sidewalk. He was no different from the crowd, except for the machine gun hanging on his chest and five grenades tucked into his belt.

The resident appeared at the appointed time, unexpectedly as always. He was dragging behind him a small surface-to-surface missile device. Having dragged him onto the roof of the newsstand, he took aim at the colonel and pulled the trigger.

A terrible blow knocked the urn out from under Gavrilov. Tossed by the blast wave, the colonel managed to fire at the resident with a machine gun and throw grenades at him, but the resident was not found among the ruins and burnt newspapers.

Concerned, Colonel Gavrilov took the resident’s trail two steps from the broken kiosk and, wrapping it in a clean handkerchief, jumped into the car.

Food for thought.

What size shoes does the resident wear? If the left shoe barely fits a small kitten, and

end of introductory fragment

Attention! This is an introductory fragment of the book.

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Major Gavrilov is one of the most famous heroes of the Great Patriotic War. His feat is still remembered by the descendants of the winners, and the life path of Pyotr Mikhailovich is set as an example for the younger generation.

The defender of the Brest Fortress - the first line of resistance to the Nazi occupation - surpassed the physical and moral abilities of man, thereby immortalizing and forever inscribing his name in history.

Biography: youth

Major Gavrilov was born in 1900 on the territory of the modern Pestrechinsky district. His family were ordinary peasants. Left without a father, Peter worked hard from childhood. To provide for his family, he helped his elders with housework. And at the age of fifteen he was already working as a farm laborer. After that, he went to Kazan, where he got a job at a factory and was a laborer. Inhuman working conditions and the arbitrariness of his superiors aroused in Gavrilov a sincere hatred of the existing regime and social inequality in the Russian Empire.

When the first unrest began, he immediately joined the revolutionaries. He took direct part in the proclamation of the power of the people's councils in Kazan and the region. With the outbreak of the Civil War, at the age of eighteen, he volunteered for the created Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. He fights at the front against the White Guards. Personally participated in battles with the units of Kolchak and Denikin. Visited many fronts. Two years after the end of the Civil War, he joined the Bolshevik Party. Starts studying. Graduates from infantry school. A few years later he marries and adopts a child.

First war

Career is moving up. At thirty-nine years old, the newly minted Major Gavrilov graduates from the Higher Military Academy. He is entrusted with a rifle regiment. In the same year, another war begins. Gavrilov is sent to the cold forests of Finland to participate in the Winter War. The Red Army is fighting in the most difficult conditions of food shortages and the actions of Finnish saboteurs. Despite this, Gavrilov’s unit fulfills the tasks assigned to it. After the war, Gavrilov was transferred to Brest. This city became Soviet as a result of the Polish campaign of the Red Army. There the soldiers are stationed in an old fortress.

First attack on the fortress

In June 1941, there were about nine thousand people in the Brest Fortress. Major Gavrilov and his soldiers were also stationed inside the old castle. Considering modern conditions of warfare, the fortress was not a serious fortification at all, and the soldiers were placed there solely for reasons of logic. In the event of an attack by Nazi Germany, the fighters located in the fortress were supposed to occupy the Brest line of fortifications. However, on June 22, at night, the old walls suddenly shook from artillery strikes. The shelling continued for about 10 minutes. The Red Army soldiers, taken by surprise, died in their own beds. Due to the suddenness, as well as the confusion, panic began. On the territory of the fortress there were also families of commanders with children. Many tried to escape behind the fortress walls, but were caught by enemy fire.

Storm

Immediately after the shelling, the first attack began. A special Nazi battalion broke through the gates and practically captured the citadel. However, the Soviet troops managed to group and launch an attack. Gavrilov led one of the divisions. By morning, almost all the Nazis who entered the fortress were destroyed. But immediately during the day reinforcements approached them. The defenders lost contact with the command and were not aware of the situation in the surrounding areas. Under almost constant fire, the remnants of the military personnel managed to gather and draw up a plan of action. They divided into several groups, one of which was led by Major Gavrilov. The Brest Fortress was half destroyed, and by the evening the Germans organized a new attack. The defenders fought day and night. Despite the lack of ammunition and provisions, they even managed to make sorties. The most difficult thing was with water, since the water supply did not work for several days. Gavrilov and his soldiers took refuge in the Eastern Fort, where they managed to organize stubborn resistance. For several days the Nazis unsuccessfully stormed the fort and could not take it.

Destruction of the citadel

By the twenty-ninth, the Nazi command decided to drop a heavy aerial bomb weighing about two tons. After its hit, the ammunition depot detonated, many soldiers were killed. A handful of defenders survived, among whom was Major Gavrilov. The Brest Fortress was almost completely captured by the Germans. Separate groups of fighters barricaded themselves in the premises and continued to resist.

Major Pyotr Gavrilov with a dozen Red Army soldiers leave the destroyed fort and take refuge in the casemates. In addition to personal weapons, they had only four machine guns and little ammunition. While in the dungeon, they made forays and repelled German attacks. The defense of the dungeon lasted almost a month. In conditions of meager rations, darkness and lack of ammunition, the defenders stubbornly resisted. These events had a bad effect on the morale of the Nazis. At the beginning of the war, Hitler promised to enslave the Soviet Union within a year. And the Nazis tried unsuccessfully to take the old castle for several weeks.

The last fighter

July 29 Major Pyotr Mikhailovich Gavrilov was left alone. The Nazis found him in one of the basements. Despite extreme exhaustion, he entered into battle with them. With the help of a pistol, he killed and wounded several Germans. After being seriously wounded, he was taken prisoner unconscious. The Germans were shocked. The major was exhausted and looked like a corpse. Gavrilov was dressed in a tattered, decayed ceremonial officer's uniform. The doctors could not believe that just some time ago this man could fight. After being captured, Gavrilov is sent to a concentration camp. There he meets, among others,

After the war

In the spring of '45 he was released from the camp. In the fall, his rank was restored and he was given the position of head of a camp for Japanese prisoners. In this service he also distinguished himself by preventing an epidemic. After leaving the reserve, he went to Kazan and found his family. In the fifties, excavations of the fortress began, and the world learned about the heroic resistance of its defenders. In 1957, Major Gavrilov, defender of the Brest Fortress, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He participated in writing a book about the defense of the fortress and gave interviews that helped shed light on the events of the summer of 1941. He spent the last years of his life in Krasnodar, where he died in 1979. He was buried in Brest, in the garrison cemetery.

In battles with the Nazi invaders, Lieutenant Colonel I.V. Gavrilov from the first days of the war as part of the Southwestern Front. He took part in the battles of Dubno, Berdichev, Tarashchey, and then in the Kharkov direction. In December 1941, the 5th Cavalry Corps covered itself with unfading glory in the battles near Livny as part of the group of Lieutenant General F. Ya. Kostenko. On 7 December 1941, the 5th Cavalry Corps, 1st Guards Rifle Division, 129th Tank Brigade and 34th Motorized Rifle Brigade counterattacked the 95th and 45th Infantry Divisions of the Wehrmacht's 2nd Army, forcing them onto the defensive. The regiment of Lieutenant Colonel I.V. Gavrilov in the battle near the Serbino farm on December 7, 1941, defeated the enemy units opposing it, and on December 14, 1941, recaptured the village of Rossoshnoye from the Germans. In total, during the battles, Gavrilov’s regiment captured 50 prisoners and a large amount of ammunition. For his distinction in battle, Lieutenant Colonel I.V. Gavrilov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The 5th Cavalry Corps was reorganized into the 3rd Guards Corps by order of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR No. 366 of December 25, 1941. The 14th Cavalry Division was renamed the 6th Guards Division. In the winter - spring of 1942, the division in which I.V. Gavrilov served took part in the defensive battles of the Southwestern Front as part of the 21st, 38th and 28th armies, then in the Battle of Stalingrad. In March 1943, Guard Lieutenant Colonel I.V. Gavrilov was wounded. After recovery in May 1943, he was sent to courses at the Military Academy of Armored and Mechanized Forces of the Red Army named after I.V. Stalin.

In June 1944, Colonel I.V. Gavrilov was appointed commander of the 35th mechanized brigade of the 1st mechanized corps of the 1st Belorussian Front. Gavrilov's brigade distinguished itself in the Belarusian operation during its component - the Bobruisk offensive operation. June 24, 1944 35th mechanized the brigade, with a roundabout maneuver from the north, ensured that rifle units overcame the German defense in the area of ​​the village of Zubarevskaya Buda, Gomel region of Belarus (now the village of Zub Buda), after which, in cooperation with the 219th tank brigade, it liberated Starye Dorogi, and by the end of June 29, 1944, captured the city of Slutsk .

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, guard Colonel Ivan Vasilyevich Gavrilov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on May 31, 1945.