SS "Galicia": defeat near Brody - And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not embrace it. Ukrainians in the SS and Wehrmacht or "Our heroes lie under Brody M

The nationality of those who fought in the "Galicia" is absolutely not important - crimes and cruelty are always international. Let's recall a little history in order to better understand who was honored on July 19, 2008 in the village of Krasnoe.

The winter of 1943 became a nightmare for the German army and their allies. After Stalingrad, it became obvious that losses in manpower could not be compensated for by the "true Aryans". Then it was decided to form several special SS divisions from the collaborators of the occupied territories. So, one after another, thirty-six SS divisions appeared, recruited not from native Germans, but from "sympathizers" - "Viking" (Norwegians and Danes), "Charlemagne" (French), "Wallonia" (Belgians), "Netherlands", 15 -I (Latvian), 20th (Estonian), "Handshar" (Croatian), etc. "Galicia" became the 14th both by number and by the time of formation.

G. Himmler inspects the training camp of the division "SS-Galicia"

Memo on the assignment of the Iron Cross 2nd class. division war correspondent Marchuk

By July 18, the Brodsky boiler slammed shut. All attempts to break out of the encirclement were unsuccessful. According to V. Heike, no more than 500 soldiers and officers managed to escape from the cauldron together with the division commander. At the assembly point of the division, they were joined by another 1200 soldiers and officers of the auxiliary divisions of the division who were not in the boiler. Another small part was able to go out with other parts.

Members of the Baersdorf battle group who received Iron Crosses for the "pacification" of Guta Penyatskaya (near Brody)

This was the first and last clash of the "spiritual value of the nation" with the Soviet troops. And it ended completely disgracefully.
A good tradition of Ukrainian nationalism is to honor scoundrels and losers, to celebrate only defeats.

Really interesting. If the fighters of "Galicia" stood to the last bullet, held onto the Ukrainian land with their teeth, thwarted the offensive of the Soviet army, or at least delayed it for a couple of days, then one could understand the current enthusiasm. Do not accept, do not justify, do not forgive, because the atrocities of the Nazis cannot be forgiven, but at least understood. Heroism remains heroism, even if it is done in the name of false and criminal ideals. But in reality, the "freedom fighters" put on their pants and fled after a couple of artillery salvos. What is there to admire?

The further combat path of the "glorious" division is also very remarkable. In August 1944, the division was reorganized. Volunteers were recruited, and a new command staff arrived from Germany. After that, the "bearers of spiritual values" had a chance to play heroics with might and main. The truth is already against the civilian population.
So Polish historians Richard Torchesi and Andrzej Zeba noted the participation of the division's units in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising. Then the division is transferred to Slovakia, where the "Galician knights" also fight with barely armed rebels. The division, which has gained "combat experience", is transferred to Yugoslavia to fight Tito's partisans. In early May 1945, the entire division surrendered to American and British troops.

Since, during the surrender, the members of the division claimed that they were not Ukrainians, but Galicians , then this fact served as a formal reason for the refusal to extradite the "Ukrainian SS" despite repeated requests and demands from the Soviet side.

Already after the war, the Association of Former Members of the Galicia Division appeared in the American occupation zone of Germany (the prefix SS was prudently omitted). After several moves, the headquarters of the association finally settled in Toronto. Former SS-sheep engaged in the favorite business of true Ukrainian patriots: they began to glorify their non-existent exploits in magazines and books that they themselves published. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the attempts to rehabilitate "Galicia" in Ukraine.

We must remember that those who glorify the exploits of the SS "Galicia", take the side of fascist Germany and spits on the graves of millions of Ukrainians who became victims of countless Nazi crimes or laid down their lives in the name of ensuring that these crimes would never be repeated in human history.

Source -

April 9th, 2014

“On June 22, 1944, the Red Army launched Operation Bagration. Army Group Center was bursting at the seams and falling apart under the blows of the 1st Belorussian Front, all the reserves of the German army were transferred to the central sector of the Eastern Front. At the same time, the Lvov-Sandomierz operation continued, the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal Konev continued the offensive and increasingly pushed the defense of the German troops to the east. On June 25, the division headquarters, led by SS-Sturmbannführer Heike, arrived at the headquarters of the Model, where he received an order to transfer the division to the XIII Army Corps of the 4th Panzer Army. Heike immediately reported to Freytag and notified Wächter of the change in the area of ​​operational deployment of the division. On June 28, 1944, units of the division began to be sent to the front. 4 echelons were sent per day.

The division was assigned a 12-kilometer zone in the second echelon of defense. In the ranks of the division on June 30, 1944, there were 346 officers (196 Germans and 150 Ukrainians), 1131 non-commissioned officers (439 Germans and 692 Ukrainians), 13,822 privates (382 Germans and 13,440 Ukrainians), total 15,299 people (1017 Germans and 14,282 Ukrainians). That is, the division experienced a clear shortage in officers (112 people) and non-commissioned officers (1300 people) and an overabundance of rank and file (2712 people).

…………….

On July 12, 1944, the division was located by Freytag on the front as follows (from north to south):

in the Turya area - the 31st SS regiment and the III division of the artillery regiment;

in the Sokolovka area - a sapper battalion;

in the Zabolottsy area - II division of the artillery regiment;

in the area of ​​​​Lugovoe (the former name of the Czechs) - the 30th SS regiment;

in the Chishkov area (formerly Chishki) - the headquarters of the artillery regiment;

in the area of ​​Luchkovtsy (the former name of Kadovbyshchi) - the IV division of the artillery regiment;

in the area south of Dubye - the 29th SS regiment and an anti-tank division;

in the area of ​​Ozhidov - the headquarters of the division and other divisional units;

in the area of ​​Bezbrody - a reserve battalion;

in the area of ​​​​Sukhodola - a reconnaissance battalion and the 1st division of the artillery regiment.

The reconnaissance battalion with the 1st division supporting it was advanced by Freytag 2 km east of the division's positions.

By a strange coincidence, the destroyed (“pacified”) Guta-Penyacka was located 4 kilometers northeast of the positions of the 29th SS regiment.

The Ukrainian population very happily greeted the Ukrainian SS, in addition, UPA units (two choty) operated in this area. The headquarters and headquarters company of the 29th SS regiment was located in Yasenov, where, with the tacit consent of Dern two Ukrainian scarführer began to train young UPA fighters(that is, fighters of the army, which "fought against both Nazi Berlin and Bolshevik Moscow").

On July 8, an extremely unpleasant incident occurred in the division - a machine-gun crew and part of a squad from the 7th company of the II battalion of the 29th SS regiment went to the UPA. As a result of the active actions of the Waffen-Obersturmführer Maletsky (he personally arrived at the UPA chota, where the Ukrainian SS men left, and negotiated a return), the "deserters" were returned. No disciplinary action was taken against them, although the Waffen-Hauptsturmführer Paliev reported to Freytag about the incident. There is unconfirmed evidence that it was Paliev who argued that any measures against “deserters” were inadmissible in order to prevent a decrease in the morale of Ukrainians. Freytag, apparently, accepted Paliev's arguments (and this is "a stupid martinet who hates everything Ukrainian"?). Explanatory conversations were held in the regiment with the personnel (which, remarkably, were conducted by Ukrainian officers) about the inadmissibility of such actions. As a result, it was possible to prevent the desertion of Ukrainian SS men into the forests.”

Now we go directly to the Brodovsky boiler itself. Here is how Marshal Konev wrote about it:

“We firmly planned to deliver two powerful blows and break through the enemy front in two directions, spaced one from the other at a distance of 60-70 km. The first blow was planned to be delivered from the area west of Lutsk in the general direction to Sokal, Rava-Russkaya and the second blow - from the Tarnopol area to Lvov with the task of defeating the Lvov group of Germans and capturing the powerful Lvov defense center and the Przemysl fortress.

“... our offensive developed successfully. Here it is impossible not to dwell, at least briefly, on the encirclement of the enemy's Brod grouping and its destruction. The encirclement was completed on July 18 with the exit of the cavalry-mechanized group of V.K. The Brodsky group of Nazi troops consisted of eight divisions, which occupied a relatively large area.

It was clear to us that the enemy no longer had reserves that could delay or stop the successful offensive of the troops of the front, since the nearest operational reserves of the Germans had already been used up and there were no other reserves nearby. Under these conditions, the resistance of the encircled troops could not last long. All attempts by the enemy to break out of the encirclement, as well as to liquidate our corridor with simultaneous counter-attacks by infantry and tanks from the north and south, did not bring any success to the enemy.

In the "Koltuv corridor", against which continuous enemy attacks were carried out, there was an advanced command post of the commander of the 60th Army, Colonel-General P. A. Kurochkin, which had a positive effect on command and control.

General K. V. Krainyukov, a member of the Military Council of the Front, and I arrived at Colonel-General P. A. Kurochkin at the forward command post and watched how he skillfully led the reflection of enemy counterattacks.

The observation post was at the edge of the forest. At this time, our units combed the forest, clearing it of enemy submachine gunners. There was fierce machine gun fire, but this did not violate the control and management of the battle.

The enemy was especially active on the flanks of the 60th Army and counterattacked them from the north and south. The place chosen by the army commander was justified by the prevailing situation. There were many troops in the army, and he had to lead them, being at a close distance from them and, if possible, seeing the battlefield. In addition to units of the 60th Army, among which the 15th Rifle Corps stood out in particular (corps commander General P.V. Tertyshny), the 3rd Guards and 4th Tank Armies were already operating in this corridor, and also, on my order, there were additional introduced the 4th Guards Tank Corps under the command of General P.P. Poluboyarov and the 31st Tank Corps under the command of General V.E. Grigoriev.

The main factors that ensured the success and rapid encirclement and destruction of the Brod group were: the exit of the 1st and 3rd Guards Tank Armies and the cavalry-mechanized group of General V.K. Baranov deep behind enemy lines; rather fast advance of the 13th Army on the right flank; reliable support of the flanks of the corridor" by building up forces from the depths at the expense of the second echelons and reserves of the armies of the front; building up the strike force in depth; the successful development of the offensive in the Ravarus direction, which did not allow the enemy to maneuver with his own forces and reserves.

The situation for the enemy was difficult.

All enemy troops were pinned down and could not maneuver.

The encircled German troops were disorganized by continuous air strikes, artillery fire, tank and infantry attacks.

At first, individual soldiers and small groups began to surrender, and then whole units.

By the end of July 22, the Brod grouping of the enemy had ceased to exist. Soviet troops destroyed more than 38 thousand Germans, captured large trophies, captured 17 thousand soldiers and officers, including the commander of the 13th Army Corps, General Gauffe with his headquarters, as well as division commanders, Generals Lindemann and Nedtwig .

As it turned out from the interrogation of the captured generals, they did not even imagine the danger that arose as a result of the encirclement of their group.

The defeat of the Brodsky enemy grouping within five days was of great operational importance. Now the troops of our Lvov shock group could fully deploy their forces for an attack on Lvov.

Konev "Notes of the Front Commander"

In the Brodovsky cauldron

What is the participation of parts of the SS division "Galicia" in all this?

You can read more about this in Beglyar Navruzov’s book “14th SS Grenadier Division “Galicia”, but I want to focus your attention on only one day from this battle - July 19, 1944.

“On this day, part of the personnel of all regiments of the division began to arbitrarily leave positions and leave the battlefield. This was mainly due to the death or injury of company and platoon commanders. The non-commissioned officers who had not been fired upon could not replace the commanders who were out of action and followed their squads. Moreover, even companies left their positions. For example, before his injury, on the morning of July 19, Dern included in his regiment some units of the 30th and even 31st SS regiment. This indicates the beginning of the disorganization of the Ukrainian SS (after all, from the positions of the 31st regiment to the positions of the 29th SS regiment - 5-6 km). The replacement of retired officers by staff officers was not successful, as in most cases newly appointed commanders could not take command due to the rapidly changing operational environment. The defense of the division broke into pockets.

On July 20, 1944, the commander of the XIII Army Corps, General Haufe, having assembled a strike group, began to break through in the direction of White Stone. It was this advance of the corps units through the battle formations of the SS "Galicia" that was perceived by many Ukrainian SS men as a flight. Howe himself, as mentioned earlier, was taken prisoner.

In the current situation, the commander of the SS division "Galicia" Fritz Freytag, in fact, lost control over it, and in the future, the division left the encirclement already in separate battle groups.

And now let's evaluate the losses of the division and their causes:

“The surviving members of the division were sent to Neuhammer:

- 1614 who left as part of various combat groups;

- 1193 who left as part of the Klyaynov group (reserve battalion, a number of rear units);

- 815 wounded and released as part of combat groups of other units of the XIII AK.

Total 3622 survivors . Including: 171 officers (55 Ukrainians and 116 Germans), 220 non-commissioned officers (208 Ukrainians and 12 Germans), 3232 privates (3229 Ukrainians and 2 Germans).

Official historiographers estimate the loss of the division at 6130 people, of which 28 officers, 62 non-commissioned officers, 199 privates were killed, 112 officers, 18 officials, 1008 non-commissioned officers, 4883 privates were missing, but this figure is in doubt. If we accept it, then it turns out that 9752 soldiers of the division arrived in Brody, and this is far from even the figure of 11,000 people, which is given by almost all sources.

About 900 people were taken prisoner, of which 11 officers and 73 non-commissioned officers. Ukrainian sources determine the number of people who left for the UPA at 3,000 people. This is a clear exaggeration, given that after the battles of the Brods, about 30 divisionmen became some kind of instructors, 2 chots were formed from divisions, and in 3-4 chots there were from 10 to 20 divisions; we can safely assume that about 300 divisions remained in the UPA , including 4 officers and 17 non-commissioned officers. Most likely, another 2,000 people arose taking into account deserters from police regiments, but even in this case the figure is clearly overestimated. In addition, there are two interesting points in the memoirs of Ukrainian SS men. In the first case, a group of Ukrainian SS men joined the UPA, but when the UPA attacked the German units, they went over to the side of the Germans. The second case - when trying to get out of the encirclement, a group of divisionists ran into the UPA, the divisionmen were asked to surrender, but, having learned that it was the Ukrainian SS men, they let them through, and along with the Ukrainians there were Germans in the group. So the divisional soldiers were not eager to join the UPA and they, the Ukrainian SS men, should not be equated with the UPA fighters. In fact, rejecting the opportunity to join the ranks of the Ukrainian army, albeit insurgent, and remaining in the ranks of the German armed forces (and to be meticulous, as part of the fighting party units that are called upon to protect a particular person), these people deleted themselves from the ranks of fighters for Independent Ukraine and put themselves in the position of foreign mercenaries.

So, how many divisional soldiers died? We know that the following were sent to the front: officers - 136 Ukrainians and 193 Germans, non-commissioned officers - 631 Ukrainians and 379 Germans, privates - 13,030 Ukrainians and 81 Germans.

It broke out of the boiler, was wounded, was captured and transferred to the UPA (in a word, survived): officers - 63 Ukrainians and 123 Germans, non-commissioned officers - 249 Ukrainians and 61 Germans, privates - 4324 Ukrainians and 22 Germans. Total: 4842 people, of which 186 officers, 310 non-commissioned officers, 4346 privates.

Consequently, the following perished: officers - 143 people (73 Ukrainians and 70 Germans), non-commissioned officers - 700 people (382 Ukrainians and 318 Germans), privates - 8781 people (8706 Ukrainians and 59 Germans). Thus, total deaths: 9608 people (9161 Ukrainians and 447 Germans) .

Summarize. The total losses of the division, including those killed, wounded, deserted to the UPA and captured, amounted to 11,643 people (11,088 Ukrainians and 555 Germans), including: officers - 212 people (112 Ukrainians and 100 Germans), non-commissioned officers - 873 people (499 Ukrainians and 374 Germans), privates - 10,558 people (10,477 Ukrainians and 81 Germans).

Senior Ukrainian officers died in the battles of Brod: Palienko, Paliev, Zhuk. Rembalovich got into the UPA. Among the German commanding staff there were the following losses: Herms (commander of the 31st regiment under the SS) and Adlerkamp (commander of the II battalion of the 29th regiment of the SS) were killed, as well as Wagner (commander of the III division of the artillery regiment). Wounded were Schutetzenhofer (commander of the 2nd division of the artillery regiment) and Dern (commander of the 29th SS regiment), Wuttig (commander of the communications battalion).

On August 6, 1944, Freytag arrived to report to Himmler in Berlin. Himmler dismissed Freytag's accusations against the Ukrainians, as "the more experienced German formations were unable to resist the Soviets and suffered similar losses."

The reasons for the defeat of the division cannot be called the unsuccessful actions of the division commander or the cowardice of the soldiers, the "superiority" of the Red Army. All this did not happen, Freytag acted quickly and clearly, the Ukrainian SS fought selflessly and bravely, the forces of the Red Army were approximately equal to the German ones (though, due to concentration in narrow areas, an advantage was created).

- non-firing of the personnel of the division;

- the unwillingness of non-commissioned officers to take on the duties of officers who died during the fighting;

- unlike the German SS, Ukrainian units often left the battle, abandoning their flanks, while they were taken out of the battle by Ukrainian non-commissioned officers;

- shortage of non-commissioned officers;

- the death on July 17, 1944 of the communications battalion. Therefore, even if it is true that Freytag blamed the Ukrainians for all the troubles, then this is not far from the truth. They weren't cowards, they weren't badly trained, they simply were not mentally prepared for such heavy battles. It is impossible to write off the defeat on the Germans, because the main link of command - the company - was controlled by Ukrainian officers. In the 29th and 30th SS regiments, all companies were under the command of Ukrainian officers. In the 31st SS regiment, the situation was different: it had only 3 Ukrainian company commanders.

As you know, the 30th SS regiment was the first to be defeated. However, thanks to Freytag's quick "castling", the division held out for another 4 days, until the 31st SS regiment lost its commander. At the same time, responsibility cannot be removed from Kurzbach, who led the regiment, but did not take into account that the dead company commanders would be replaced by platoon commanders, and the dead platoon commanders would not be replaced by squad commanders. Then, on the same day, an artillery regiment was practically destroyed, which meant that the division was left without artillery cover, because the defense of Olesko pulled all the anti-tank units of the division to itself.

July 20, 1944 was the completion of the defeat of the division, the 29th SS regiment, deprived of artillery support (since after the death of the artillery regiment, all anti-tank units were deployed to repel the Soviet troops advancing from the west), began to fall apart. And it was the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 29th SS Regiment, the Waffen-Hauptsturmführer Brigider, who, following the lead of his officers, became the unwitting culprit of the collapse of the battalion and the destruction of the 2nd Battalion and the actual death of the regiment. Regimental Commander Dern, who had the power to stop this, was wounded and evacuated. Finally, the most weakened 30th SS Regiment was forced to "fight to the last", ensuring the exit from the battle of other parts of the division.

On September 1, 1944, promotions and awards were carried out in the division. Bristot, Kashner, Kleinov, Kurzhbakh and Podleshch received the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer, Beiersdorf - SS Standartenführer. The ranks of the division were awarded 101 Iron Cross II class (79 Germans and 22 Ukrainians), as well as 18 Iron Crosses of the 1st class (all to the Germans).

On September 17, 1944, additional awards were held, during which 1 more Ukrainian received the Iron Cross II class and 1 Ukrainian received the Iron Cross I class. In total, 280 people were awarded for Brody, of which only 57 were Ukrainians. On September 26, 1944, another 123 people were awarded the Second Class Military Merit Cross (of which 33 were Ukrainians). On September 30, 1944, the SS Brigadeführer and Major General of the SS Troops Fritz Freitag was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Concluding the topic of awards, I would like to note two facts: first, not a single German was awarded the Knight's Cross "just like that", therefore, Himmler rated Freytag's actions very highly; the second - SS-Sturmbannführer Heike was not awarded and was not promoted.

Meanwhile, the restoration of the division began.

As of September 4, 1944, the division had:

134 officers (96 Germans and 38 Ukrainians);

522 non-commissioned officers (329 Germans and 193 Ukrainians);

4419 privates (1063 Germans and 3356 Ukrainians).

Total: 5075 people (1488 Germans and 3356 Ukrainians) (against full-time 480 officers, 2587 non-commissioned officers, 11,622 privates)."

In preparing this post, fragments from Beglyar Navruzov's book “14th SS Grenadier Division “Galicia” were used

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PART 2. DIVISION IN PERSONS

"Brodovsky Cauldron" is a book about one of the brightest pages of the Great Patriotic War. The collection tells about how the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, carrying out the Lvov-Sandomierz operation, in the summer of 1944 broke through the strongest enemy defenses, surrounded and defeated eight Nazi divisions.

The memoirs of the direct participants in these battles, essays by writers and journalists, published documents tell about the exceptional intensity and fierceness of hostilities, about the courage and courage of infantrymen, tankers, artillerymen, horsemen, pilots, sappers, signalmen, about the heroic deeds performed by our soldiers during the encirclement and liquidation large enemy group. The materials of the book emphasize the importance of defeating the Nazis in the Brodov cauldron for the further offensive of our troops.

With this collection, the publishing house "Kamenyar" continues the story about the struggle for the liberation of the western lands of Ukraine from the fascist invaders, begun by the books "In the battles for Lviv region", "Stars of military valor", "Year 1941. South-Western Front".

BREAK 1

KOLTOVSKY CORRIDOR 15

ENEMY IN THE CAILER 28

DESTROY 38

TO LVOV! TO THE VISLU! 51

Notes 63

M. V. Verbinsky
B. V. Samarin
BRODOVSKY BOILER
Memories. Essays. Documentation

DEAR READER!

The book you are opening is dedicated to the terrible events of the Great Patriotic War, when Soviet soldiers liberated their native land from fascist invaders.

Our people, giving all their strength for the front, for victory, excitedly tore off the leaves of the 1944 calendar, each day of which brought new successes in the fight against the enemy. The soldiers of the Soviet Army fought offensive battles along the entire front. It was a truly grandiose and heroic offensive. It showed the skillful unity of the high impulse of the soldiers who went through difficult trials and the skill of the commanders, the military wisdom of the generals.

The fascist hordes, under the crushing blows of the Soviet troops, rolled back to the west. Our soldiers, one after another, surrounded and destroyed large enemy groups. The first giant cauldron was prepared for the enemy near Stalingrad in the forty-second year. And in the forty-fourth, the Nazis more and more often fell into the boilers. A large grouping of the enemy was surrounded near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky. The Nazis were burning in cauldrons near Vitebsk, Bobruisk, Minsk, in the area of ​​the city of Yassy, ​​near Brody.

In June of the forty-first year, north-west of the city of Brody, the largest tank battle thundered, in which more than one and a half thousand tanks took part from both sides. The Nazis then climbed out of their skin to destroy the formations of the Southwestern Front here. It didn't work! Our soldiers for a long time held back the onslaught of superior enemy forces, inflicted serious losses on him and retreated to new positions in an organized manner.

And now, three years later, in 1944, Soviet soldiers southwest of the city of Brody surrounded a large group of Nazi troops. Carrying out the Lvov-Sandomierz operation, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front presented a truly instructive lesson in skillful maneuver, speed, swiftness in offensive battles. It took six days to break through the enemy's strongest defenses with two blows in the Lvov and Rava-Russian directions, move forward and surround eight enemy divisions - over 50 thousand Nazi warriors.

This impressive military success was not easy. After all, the enemy possessed a large mass of troops united in the Northern Ukraine Army Group.

Soldiers and commanders of the 3rd Guards, 13th, 38th, 60th Combined Arms Armies, 1st Guards, 3rd Guards, 4th Tank Armies went on the offensive with great fighting impulse. They were supported from the air by nine fighter, bomber, and assault air corps of the 2nd Air Army. The fighting of all these associations was directed by the famous commander Marshal of the Soviet Union I. S. Konev.

The fighting reached its highest intensity when our troops stormed the enemy fortifications, breaking through the defenses, when they stubbornly moved along the narrow "Kolt corridor", when the encirclement of the enemy was completed and the assault began on the Nazis who refused to lay down their arms in the cauldron.

In these battles, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Kazakhs, Georgians, Uzbeks, soldiers of other nationalities fought shoulder to shoulder. Every soldier understood that by fighting the fascist invaders here, on the soil of Ukraine, he was defending the freedom, honor and independence of his Soviet Motherland, and was bringing the final defeat of the enemy closer.

Devotion to the great Leninist ideas. The Communist Party, the Soviet people, boundless love for the socialist Fatherland inspired the soldiers to selfless struggle.

The events of those days, the courage and heroism of soldiers and officers are told by Air Marshal S. A. Krasovsky, Army General P. N. Lashchenko, Army General A. L. Getman, Colonel General K. V. Krainyukov and other military leaders speaking in a collection of memories.

In this book, the reader will find pages about the courageous battalion commander N. N. Silin, a holder of the Golden Star, who distinguished himself during the assault on the enemy’s defense, about the courageous act of P. P. Gorshenev, who went into battle on a burning self-propelled gun, about the dedication of the tank battalion commander F. And Gorenchuk and his political officer V. N. Krasov, who were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, about the stamina and endurance of the tankman V. P. Lisitsin, who fought for several days without leaving the tank, about the legendary bomber commander, twice Hero of the Soviet Union I. S. Polbin, fighter pilot, cavalier of two Golden Stars G. A. Rechkalov, about the pilot M. Khokhlachev, who repeated the feat of Captain Gastello, and many other soldiers who distinguished themselves in battles.

The defeat of the Brody enemy grouping was a major victory for our troops at the first stage of the Lvov-Sandomierz operation, which greatly facilitated the further offensive operations of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front. The heroes of the encirclement and defeat of the Nazis in the Brodov cauldron are the heroes of the liberation of Lvov, the heroes who paved the way to the Vistula, Oder, to complete victory over the enemy.

Thirty years have passed. The wounds of the war have long since healed. Thanks to the fraternal help of the peoples of our entire country, the socialist Lvov region flourished. It became the land of developed industry and collective agriculture. It produces buses, forklifts, machine tools, agricultural machines, instruments, televisions, kinescopes and other industrial products, coal, gas, oil, and mineral fertilizers are mined.

Lviv region was awarded the Order of Lenin. The Order of Lenin was awarded to the city of Lvov. Based on the results of work in the third, decisive year of the ninth five-year plan, the Lviv region emerged as the winner in the All-Union Socialist Competition for workers in industry, construction, and transport and was awarded the Red Banner of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the Central Committee of the Komsomol.

In response to the Appeal of the Central Committee of the CPSU to the party, the Soviet people in the cities and villages of the region, socialist competition for the early implementation of the plans of the ninth five-year plan, for new successes in the development of the economy and culture, was widely developed.

Scorched by battles, watered with the blood of Soviet soldiers, the land is now blooming with the happiness of peaceful everyday life. The memory of those who fought against the fascist invaders will live for centuries. In honor of the heroes of the battles near Brody in the Lviv region, monuments, obelisks were erected, monuments are being erected. But the best monument to the heroes of past battles is the labor exploits of the Soviet people in the name of the further prosperity of our beloved Soviet Motherland.

BREAKTHROUGH

With powerful two wedges, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front plunged into the defenses of the Nazi troops.

To the north of the city of Brody, on July 13, the 3rd Guards and 13th combined arms armies went on the offensive against Rava-Russian. The Nazis threw 150 tanks into a counterattack in the Gorokhov area. Our gunners, tankers, and from the air pilots broke this armored avalanche.

From the area west of Ternopil on July 14, an offensive began in the Lvov direction. The breakthrough of the enemy's defense here took place in a complex and tense situation. The soldiers of the 60th and 38th combined arms armies met fierce resistance from the Nazis. Only the 15th Rifle Corps, in cooperation with the 69th Mechanized and 56th Tank Brigades of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, managed to penetrate the German defenses south of the village of Koltov in two days of stubborn fighting.

On the second day of the offensive, July 15, the enemy launched a strong counterattack from the Plugov and Zborov areas, bringing two tank and one infantry divisions into battle in order to push the Soviet units back to their original positions. Soviet troops thwarted the enemy's plan. In fierce battles, our soldiers showed mass heroism and, stubbornly breaking the enemy's defenses, moved forward.

Original taken from klim_vo HOW THE RKKA DIVISION "GALICHINA" DESTROYED UNDER THE FORDS.

In June 1944, preparations began for the division to leave for the front. Field Marshal General Model sent a telegram to the division commander and his staff to come to headquarters to discuss the conditions for introducing the division into battle. After receiving the telegram, the staff officers of the division discussed with the governor O. Vekhter the general situation of the Ukrainian formation. At Wächter's headquarters, the German officers of Galicia met with SS Obersturmbannführer Gunther Dahlken, who was responsible for carrying out the Scorpion-Ost propaganda campaign aimed at disintegrating the enemy army. For his part, Dalken promised his support to the divisionalists and asked the division command to pay attention to propaganda on the Soviet side by groups of propagandists specially created for this.

From Lvov, the officers of the division arrived at Model's headquarters. In a conversation with the divisional commander, the commander-in-chief listened to his proposals regarding the upcoming entry of the division into battle. The model took into account Freitag's opinion and, taking into account the wishes, allocated for "Galicia" a section of the front in the vicinity of the city of Stanislav in the area of ​​​​responsibility of the 1st Panzer Army. The next day, the divisional commander and the chief of staff went to the headquarters of the 1st TA. In the face of the army commander, former officer of the Austro-Hungarian army, Erhard Raus, the visitors met their ally. For the division, he allocated an area east of the city of Stanislav. A day later, the division command returned to Model's headquarters for a report. The first echelons of the division were to leave for the front two weeks after the return of F. Freitag to Neuhammer. Freytag, V. D. Gaike immediately returned to the location of the division and began its preparation for leaving for the front.
Before leaving for the front, the 14th SS division "Galicia" included:
1. Division headquarters
2. 29th SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment
3. 30th SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment
4. 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment
5. SS Fusilier Battalion
6. SS-battalion of anti-aircraft artillery
7. SS artillery regiment, consisting of 4 divisions
8. 14th SS Sapper Battalion
9. 14th SS Communications Battalion
10. SS Field Reserve Battalion
11. Transport column
12. Administrative division
13. Sanitary unit and supply department.

Encirclement under Brody
On June 28, 1944, the transfer of the division to the front began. Every day, 4 echelons with people and equipment departed from Neuhammer. Already on June 25, the advanced part of the division left Neuhammer, followed by the commander and chief of staff on the 26th. Literally 20 minutes before the departure of Wolf Dietrich Gaike, a telegram arrived at the place of arrival of the division's units in Neuhammer - an order from the High Command of the Ground Forces, which reported that the division would be brought into battle not in the previously approved and surveyed area near the city of Stanislav, but on another section of the front line in the center of the location of the German group "Western Ukraine". In this area, there was a revival in the Soviet rear and a clear strengthening and replenishment of the Soviet group. According to the OKH, the beginning of the Soviet offensive east of Lvov was supposed.
Thus, all the initial plans for the gradual involvement of the division in combat operations collapsed. The very course of hostilities in the East and the successes of the advancing Soviet troops during the legendary Lvov-Sandomierz operation led to the subsequent tragedy for the Galicians near Brody. It was no longer possible to create "sanatorium" conditions for the Ukrainians - they became the vanguard at the forefront of the enemy's main attack.
In June 1944, the division was included in the 13th Army Corps of General A. Hauffe, which was part of the 4th Panzer Army of the Western Ukraine Army Group. Realistically assessing the forces, the division "Galicia" could successfully defend the front with a width of 8-12 kilometers, and received a 36-kilometer section of the second front line. In addition, there was a shortage of tanks at the front, and there was no reliable air cover. The German command, which had no reserves, tried to reinforce the thin line of defense near Lvov with the newly formed division.
The command of the 13th AK did not hide from the chief of staff of "Galicia" their joy at the arrival of his division. The division was entrusted with the equipment of the second line of defense. Hauffe himself, in a conversation with V.D. Gaike, described his sector of the front as, until recently, safe. On the front line, the entire war has so far been reduced to the actions of reconnaissance groups. Before the appearance of formidable signs of preparation for an offensive, Soviet aviation acted passively in the sky, but in the last days before the arrival of the division, it increased air reconnaissance.
The 4th TA was tasked with defending the area in the vicinity of the town of Brody. While there was no offensive, the Germans successfully maneuvered and fought off local offensives with their own forces. The corps included 4–5 divisional groups (each of small numbers). The 4th TA was "tank" only in name, because it had at its disposal only 50 tanks, which, moreover, had a small amount of ammunition. German aviation at the front was virtually inactive. Based on intelligence data, A. Hauffe believed that the Soviet offensive would be launched in two weeks, and Brody, an important communication hub, would be its main goal. The fact that the Soviet troops would break through in two sectors of the front and cover Brody "in pincers" was out of the question.
Parts of the division systematically arrived at the front and went to their places of deployment. The reserve training regiment was transferred from Wandern, where it did not have enough space, to Neuhammer. In the regiment at that time, there were about 7 thousand soldiers.
The divisional command unofficially appealed to the command of the 4th TA with a request not to send the division into battle in parts and take into account its features both in terms of insufficient military training and foreign composition.
The internal mood of the soldiers of the division was ambiguous. The young and hot were eager to join the fight. Many did not know what, in fact, they would go to die. Colonel Bizantz, still in Neuhammer, shouted: “Go, fight and don’t ask why, just as we didn’t ask in 1918!”
Upon arrival at the front, the division began to create fortified positions. According to the developed plan, three infantry regiments and a battalion of Fusiliers strengthened the front line. All other parts of the division were located in the depths of the front area. Supply departments and convoys were located in the vicinity of the city of Ozhidov. The reserve battalion dug in to the west of Ozhidov and represented the division's reserve. Despite the fact that parts of the division were stationed near villages and towns, the personnel were forbidden to leave their locations. The front line was 20 kilometers away.
The division was supplied with food through deliveries. Supply commissions traveled around the villages to buy livestock. According to Major Gaike, the soldiers of "Galicia" often intervened in the work of the members of the commission with weapons in their hands.
Soon after the arrangement of new positions, the command of the division, following the order, was forced to transfer two regiments to new places.
Gradually, the situation at the front is heating up. The activity of Soviet artillery is increasing. The number of opposing Soviet troops is increasing every day. Soviet aviation is activated, while German aviation is absent in the sky. The 13th Corps does not have any reserves. On this sector of the front, the 13th Corps was opposed by the 1st, 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies, a separate tank corps, the 6th, 7th and 8th Cavalry Divisions. Each of the tank armies consisted of 3 tank corps (each with 2 tank brigades). Each of the brigades had from 300 to 400 tanks. In addition to them, this also included separate mortar and artillery units. Cavalry divisions, except for cavalry regiments, had 50 tanks each.
In general, the situation at the front developed according to a similar scenario. Against the Germans were three tank armies of three TK each, one separate TK, three cavalry divisions, about 20 divisions in reserve, approximately 1800 tanks.
The Germans could oppose two TK ("tank" only in name), two infantry corps (15 divisions) and 2 reserve divisions. Shortly before the start of the Soviet offensive, the 3rd, 5th and 6th Panzer Divisions, parts of which were scattered in the area east of Kovel, were redeployed to Hungary.
On July 13, 1944, after massive artillery preparation, the Soviet troops launched an offensive. In its first stage, the Red Army broke through the German front in two strategic directions: 1st - along the Ternopil - Lviv road (the blow fell in the middle of the 38th Corps), 2nd - to the north-west of Brody at the junction of the 13th Army and 46th tank corps. Both blows were so strong and swift that they could not be stopped without tanks and aircraft. The main ramming force of strikes was the T-34 tanks, supported from the air by attack aircraft and fighters.
The actions of the Soviet tanks, which closed the encirclement of the 13th German Corps, turned out to be especially quick and successful. The northern blow of the Soviet forces fell on the left wing of the 13th corps, and its main burden fell on the neighboring 46th TC. The commander and chief of staff of the division, which was located on the left wing of the 13th corps at the beginning of the offensive, ran into a mine in a headquarters car. Panic arose in the unruly units, which exacerbated the overall picture of chaos. Soviet tank units crushed with caterpillars and shot the mixed German orders, broke through to the Bugsk area, where they closed the encirclement.
The 13th corps, and with it the 14th SS division "Galicia" were surrounded within a few days. The command of the units that were in the boiler had no idea about what was happening outside of it. The Soviet command had no plans to encircle the corps before. The directive of the Stavka stated that the main goal of the offensive was Lvov. Thus, the German units, who were surrounded, pulled over the shock fist, which was intended to break through to the capital of Galicia.
Without stopping the attacks, the Soviet units begin a maneuver aimed at destroying the corps. Tank attacks follow from Podkamen in the direction of Brod. Tanks break through the right wing of the 13th Corps and new reserves rush into the gap. The advanced units of the 14th SS division retreat under the blows of superior forces. The only reserve command of the corps becomes the 14th SS division.
Instead of using the "Galicia" with a single fist, the German command preferred to throw it into battle in separate regiments. The first to launch a counteroffensive was the 30th regiment, whose task was to close the gap on the right wing of the corps. To go on the counteroffensive, the regiment was forced to remove it from positions near Sasov. Making a ten-kilometer transition, the personnel of the regiment saw with their own eyes the demoralized and retreating German units and the burned skeletons of military equipment. For the unfired and not fully trained Ukrainians, such a picture was a harbinger of defeat. On the march, units of the regiment were repeatedly raided by Soviet aircraft and suffered irreparable losses in men and cavalry.
Having taken their intended positions in a small forest, the regiment went on the offensive under heavy fire. The Soviet infantry did not resist the attackers, they were met by Soviet tanks. Most of the regiment was wound up on tank tracks and shot down on table-flat terrain. The light artillery division attached to the regiment repeatedly tried to take up positions for battle, but could not turn around under enemy fire. The division soon took up positions under the cover of several haystacks in open country. After the guns entered the battle, the "haystacks", which turned out to be Soviet tanks, shot the guns of the Galicians at close range with the fire of their guns.
The Soviet infantry went on the attack under the cover of aviation and artillery. The former artilleryman, SS Unterscharführer Vladimir Molodetsky recalled what was happening on the front lines:
“Three of our guns spoke. The Bolsheviks, however, are gradually approaching. Our shooting reaches the maximum. The barrels of the guns are hot, and the machine guns are heated to the point of impossibility. Soviet soldiers are dying, torn apart by shrapnel and quartered by machine-gun fire, but they are getting closer, non-stop firing from machine guns. At this time, the command to stop firing sounds. Any more 250-150 meters, and our shrapnel will touch our own soldiers. The order needs to be executed quickly. I shout to the gunners: "Cease fire!" The boys immediately lay down. From behind the bushes that spread along the left side of the cemetery and stretched to a small river, a company of Fusiliers runs out with bayonets attached to rifles. Mighty "Glory!" covers shooting.
The Bolsheviks stopped, lie down and open heavy fire. A minute later, from behind the collapsed huts, the second company of the Fusiliers spills out, which rushes to the right wing of the Bolshevik breakthrough. Loud "Glory!" mixed with a wild "Hurrah!". I look at everything that is happening now, squeezing the machine gun in my hands, and sweat rolls down in large drops from my forehead. A mass of soldiers mingle in a terrible struggle. Short rifle shots, flashing blows with bayonets, terrible blows with rifle butts.
Soon, the 29th and 31st regiments, along with attached artillerymen, were thrown to the aid of the regiment. Initially, both regiments tried to break into the Podgortsy region. Their attempt to attack differs little from that made by the 30th Regiment. Soviet tanks did not leave the Ukrainians the slightest chance of success. Soon the regiments suffered huge losses, and the surviving soldiers were demoralized. The command threw into the breakthrough all the available and pulled where possible remnants of German units. The remnants of the division "Galicia", supported by the fire of their artillery, occupy the central sector of the front. The remnants of the 30th regiment were withdrawn from the front line to be reorganized into a reserve. Within four days it was reorganized into a much smaller regiment. After the reorganization, the 30th regiment was thrown into combing the forest area filled with Soviet units that had made their way into the enemy rear. Now the main thing for the division is to create a barrier in the Sasov and Yasenov valleys and prevent the enemy from breaking through into the forest area.
At this time, information arrives about an enemy breakthrough in the northwest of Brody. From Bugsk, the field-reserve battalion reports strong tank attacks and its withdrawal to the west, the same situation develops in the rear of the division, where the supply units are located. The divisional headquarters could not believe such an early appearance of the enemy in the rear.
The still existing lines of communication with the front command notify of two operational enemy strikes on Lvov. The understanding comes to the German command that the first phase of the battle was successfully completed for the Soviet forces by closing the ring with the 13th Corps inside. The Soviet offensive on Lvov unfolds. On July 16, Zolochev fell, and the Soviet troops reached the Bug and closed the Brodsky ring.
The connection of the corps with the command of the army is torn. Under such conditions, the corps command understands that the only thing left is to hold out to the end. The command of the division gives the order to hold on to the occupied positions with all their might. The complete dominance of Soviet aviation does not allow for the repair and strengthening of positions with mines, and all this work has to be done in short nights.
For ten days, the corps fought the hardest battles, riveting significant Soviet forces to itself. It was especially hard for the Ukrainians and their neighbors in positions - the 349th division. The enemy directed the tip of the blow precisely at the junction of two divisions.
The regiments stood in front of the breaking through Soviet tank units in the valley of Sasov and Yasenov. Fierce battles unfolded for the villages of Penyaki, Guta Penyatskaya, Guta Verkhobugskaya, and Sukhodol. Supply problems began, the troops began to feel a shortage of ammunition. The situation was complicated by the lack of normal communication. All telephone lines were cut off during artillery and air raids. The radio equipment did not work, as a result of which orders and reports had to be sent by messengers.
Guards rocket launchers "Katyusha" were used against the German-Ukrainian positions on the plain. This was a turning point in the Battle of Brody. Many soldiers go into shock and then panic.
The ruins of an ancient castle in Podgortsy changed hands several times. The first enemy tanks appear in the rear of the defending 29th and 30th regiments. The anti-tank units thrown towards them engage in confrontation at the shortest possible distance. The 31st regiment, whose headquarters was completely destroyed near Sasov under the blows of the Katyushas, ​​begins to disintegrate.
At this time, an attempt was made from outside to help the encircled. The 8th Panzer and 20th Panzergrenadier Divisions went to break through the ring. The offensive of these two formations was repulsed by the Soviet units, while the German breakthrough group was lucky enough not to be surrounded by itself. At the moment, the Soviet command has already suffered the brunt of the main attack in the direction of Lvov.
In such a catastrophic situation, the command of the 13th Corps receives an order from the command to break through the encirclement. The corps commander chooses the direction to the Podolsk heights - the place of the most sluggish offensive of the Soviet troops. Major General F. Lindemann, head of the breakthrough group, is given the 14th SS division "Galicia" and the German infantry division. Other parts of the German army must be moved into the breach. The concentration of all forces encircled begins. Part of the encircled group is designed to hold back the breakthrough of the Soviet troops, the other - to break through the encirclement with a swift throw.
On the night of July 17-18, German and Ukrainian units made an attempt to break out of the ring and link up with the 8th Panzer Division, but the attempt ended in failure. On July 19, the city of Koltev was taken by Soviet units, and the encirclement was compressed. A cauldron measuring 9 by 8 kilometers was formed, in which 65 thousand people found themselves.
At this tragic time for the division, Fritz Freitag informed Major General Lindemann that the division was uncontrollable. The telephone conversation took place in the presence of the chief of staff V. D. Gaik, and he could not believe his ears - he was struck by this statement of the commander. Until this moment, units of the division strictly followed all Freitag's orders. Amazed. the corps commander ordered Freitag to transfer control of the division to General Lindemann, and Freitag himself was seconded to the disposal of the corps headquarters.
SS Standartenführer Porfiry Silenko in his memoirs said that during the Brod tragedy, Ukrainian officers came to Freitag with a proposal to break out of the ring at night, while leaving all military property, put all the wounded on horses and wagons and put the most combat-ready in the head of the breakthrough column. To this proposal, Freitag said: “With everything we have, we will go further. Send the healthy ones forward to the head of the column, and the rest will remain with the property. Do you know how military property is preserved and how difficult it is to replenish it? As a result, all military equipment, along with the wounded, remained in the ring. The same Silenko recalled: in the Brodsky ring, not a single German officer remained in the advanced units, and young German non-commissioned officers, under various pretexts, sought to go to the rear.
Freytag was not the only one panicking. The German personnel of the division also panicked. Not being spiritually and friendly with the Ukrainian staff, the German soldiers preferred to “retreat” from the front line. So, in the trenches near Olsk, SS Hauptsturmführer Weiss abandoned his subordinates. Subsequently, after the battle, Weiss returned to the remnants of his hundreds with the Iron Cross on his chest. On July 16, in the village of Kuty, Soviet troops captured the first-aid post of the division with 400 wounded soldiers of Galicia. Even before the capture, German tanks took out the wounded Germans on their armor, and the crews refused to pick up the Ukrainians.
The division's breakthrough was planned for the predawn hours, but the operation began in the afternoon, when the sun had already risen. Particularly fierce battles were fought for the wooded heights and the village of Gavarechina, as well as near the village of White Stone.
On July 22, 1944, parts of the corps made a hole in the encirclement near Zolochev between the villages of Knyazhye and Yasinovtsy. Four German self-propelled guns of the 8th Wehrmacht Panzer Division made their way to the besieged. The Ukrainians fought as part of the Lindemann units, which held back the pressure of the Soviet troops in the area of ​​​​Pochapy - White Stone - Gologory - Belzec - Skvaryava. The breakthrough of the ring was initially only 150–200 meters, and gradually the German troops “gnawed through” it more and more. The “gates” outside were under constant fire from all types of enemy weapons. Soviet tanks cruised along the aisle up and down, plowing the sand with their caterpillars and shooting any daredevil. The breakthrough site had a difficult terrain - near the Bugsk - Zolochiv railway line, nature created an insurmountable barrier - the "shores" of the Podolsk Heights, already occupied by Soviet units, among which were snipers. During the assault on these heights, thousands of German soldiers died from sniper fire and artillery fire. Those who occupied these sandy "shores" had an excellent view of the underlying terrain. When the cauldron broke through, the encircled stumbled not only on the fortifications created by nature itself, but also on completely man-made fortified areas. Such strongholds of the Soviet troops consisted of small garrisons, reinforced by 2-3 tanks. In the town of Gologory, such a fortified area thoroughly patted those who were breaking through - during the battle, the Germans lost their corps commander killed here.
In the heat of the retreat, when the units were mixed with each other, people were also led by fear, constantly reinforced by the appearance of Soviet tanks here and there, they went to the breakthrough in groups and alone. Such groups were formed hastily by German and Ukrainian SS and Wehrmacht officers from the personnel that was nearby at that moment. The Germans and Ukrainians, Kazakhs and Russians from the eastern divisions went to the breakthrough. Few managed to break through to their own. Most of the daredevils were killed or captured. Pavlo Hrytsak, one of the Ukrainian artillerymen of the Galicia division, did not escape this fate:
“... Having formed a company, the lieutenant went to hand over the command to one of the Wehrmacht officers. German companies were forming near us, the long tail of the convoy was also preparing for the road. When a battery of German field howitzers opened fire, it seemed that the situation was not so tragic.
On the evening of July 22, 1944, our group was marching, consisting of about two infantry battalions, without heavy weapons, only with the support of the fire of German batteries. The group was placed in three lines, the last of which was occupied by the Galicians. Friedrich, the commander of our second battery, our only officer from the division, was in command of our sector. There are many such groups from Pochap (and, apparently, not only from Pochap), and the further fate of our group is typical for all the others.
Our group entered the battle on the evening of July 22 without great difficulty, from a village to the west of the river that flowed through the Pochapy. Night fell, the Bolshevik resistance increased, a long line of machine-gun fire cut through the night over the village. One of the groups pulled ahead, and it is not known what became of it. They were probably broken by the fire of Bolshevik mortars, which at that time bombarded our village. Part of the group, which included me, entrenched itself on the edge of the village and contacted several Wehrmacht companies that had approached from Pochap. On the morning of July 23, this fortified group went into a breakthrough. There was a company of Galicians there, our officers were not. The Germans from our group had "Panzerfaust" and "Ofenrory", there were very few machine guns. The group was led by a German chief lieutenant. There were few officers in the group, and they kept each other.
Having spilled out of the village, the group rushed forward in bulk. Crazy machine-gun fire from the nearest woods hit us towards us. We ran through the pits of water, over which there was a thick fog. Maybe that's why the Bolshevik fire was not aimed. We did not respond to enemy fire. The German battery was still punching our way.
As we approached the forest, the enemy's fire increased. Mortar fire was added to it. Columns of water from the swamp with wet sand rose into the sky. Our losses were mounting. Nobody thought about the dead. Nobody gave orders. It was clear to everyone what was at stake. The scope and decisiveness of the attack forced the Bolsheviks to leave their positions near the forest and be drawn into the village, into which we broke in at the same time. Quite numerous "Khivi", some black Asians, squealed intimidatingly. They could not support the attack with anything else, because they did not have weapons. Maybe for the better… In a few minutes the village was ours. Frightened people showed up from cellars and cellars. Images of saints are displayed everywhere on the huts. There are bread, milk and cheese on the tables along the road. The force of the offensive was colossal. It turns out that the nearby village, two kilometers from the one occupied by us, was ours in just a few minutes.
Bolshevik shelling intensified. Artillery, quite strong, joined the machine-gun and mortar shelling. The village was on fire, people rushed under fire to save their property. Soviet reconnaissance aircraft appeared. It became obvious that the high command of the enemy was interested in our breakthrough. The second village, as I said, was not defended by the Bolsheviks, and our breakthrough on it ran out of steam. Our greatly thinned chains broke into the village and - unexpectedly for themselves - did not meet with a rebuff. The surprise was great.
For a short time calm reigned. Instead of the infantry, which up to this moment had repulsed our offensive, 7 tanks appeared. They began to raid the village back and forth, destroying everything in their path. We didn't even have a battalion. The Germans, the old warriors from the Eastern Front, even admitted that they had never seen such inferno.
Some desperate German heads with panzerfausts went to save the situation. Soon one tank caught fire and stopped, and the other - the crew left itself. Having no infantry support, the tanks turned, then we followed them and soon reached the outskirts of the village. The situation was as follows: we are on the edge of the village, in front of us is a meadow for 300 meters. Behind the meadow is a railway embankment, behind the embankment is a mountain covered with forest. There is still free space between the embankment and the forest. It clearly shows two companies of Soviet infantry and five tanks that came out of the village.
A short respite - and everything that is alive, tears into the last, as it turned out, breakthrough. Our battery is still here in the rear and is helping us with fairly targeted fire. We run through the meadow. A shower of fire and iron is pouring down on us. These are the 75-mm and 125-mm guns of the Soviet KV-II and T-34 tanks. Now I understand what the expression "People are dying like flies" means. Soon we reach the railway embankment. I never thought that 300 meters is so far. We lie down in front of the embankment. In front of us is a slope of 50 meters, and on the other side of it lie the Red Army. There are fewer of them than us, although there are no more than 300 of us. But 5 tanks ...
We hear the rumble of caterpillars, and five tanks leave for the embankment. We lie prone near the steel growling coffins. And they don't shoot because we're in dead space. But the Soviet infantry fires in unison from machine guns, machine guns and rifles.
"Damn, everyone back!" roars a nearby Wehrmacht major. Blood flows from his mouth. The soul of a breakthrough, but he is only a man. In a second lies already motionless. With us, everyone who is still alive (and there are already very few of them) is rolling back. The Bolsheviks fire heavily, a hail of iron flies after us. Tanks are firing shrapnel from the embankment - they know that now their prey will not go anywhere from them. Good training for enemy tankers - we are 100-150 meters away from them and run at full speed to the village.
I fly head first into some kind of ravine. I look back again. We look back more than we look forward. Again some ditch. We run into it and run along its bottom in single file. The Soviet tanker has time to take aim. Whistling, roar - and the tail of our "goose" was destroyed by the explosion. Pieces of soldier's meat are flying. Another explosion - the “goose” is even shorter. I close my eyes, but my legs carry me forward ... Whistling, roar, hot smoke - and those that ran in front of me fall down lifeless. I skip them and run further ...
The tanks carefully probe the village with their guns. And in the evening, masses of Soviet infantry appear from everywhere, comb the village, and everyone who, by the will of heaven, is not killed, maimed, or torn to pieces, is taken prisoner.
On the evening of July 23, 1944, from a navigator, I became a prisoner of war ... "
A small detachment of Ukrainian volunteers manages to break out of the cauldron and join a similar group led by Freitag. The remnants of the 13th Corps, which included the Ukrainians, continued to retreat in the direction of the southwest.
Having managed to unite only a part of the surviving Ukrainians around itself, the division headquarters is making efforts to gather other remnants of its personnel around itself. The divisional transport was all killed in the cauldron, but help comes from the command of the 8th TA, which allowed Ukrainian officers to move on armor. With the help of couriers, it is possible to collect the remnants of the division that left the boiler and lead them further to the west. The remnants of the division in the form of a column retreat across open areas and constantly endure enemy air raids, from which the places where troops are concentrated - bridges, crossings and crossroads - are especially hit. From such a march, the unfinished division again suffers irreparable losses. The retreat route of the 14th division lies through Stryi - Drohobych - Sambor. In Drogobych, Freytag meets Colonel Bizants and tells him about the entire Brodsky epic. In the meantime, units of the division, together with the remnants of the defeated 13th Corps, begin to move to the Uzhgorod-Mukachevo region in Transcarpathia.
When calculating the total number of people who left the boiler, the figure of 500 Ukrainians arose. O. Vekhter came to these people, who survived hell and concentrated in the village of Spas over the Dniester. Here Wächter was in for a surprise. The division commander Oberführer Freitag unleashed on him a tirade wild in his hostility to the Ukrainians. According to Freitag, it was the Ukrainians who were to blame for everything that happened. They did not follow the orders of the commander, they sabotaged the orders of their German officers, and finally, it was the Ukrainians who ruined Freitag's career. Wächter, as best he can, calms Freitag's hysteria and informs him that Berlin is well aware of how heroically the Ukrainian division stood under Soviet fire. Gradually, having poured out to Wächter everything that had accumulated on his soul, Freytag reluctantly admits that the division really fought well under such conditions. V. D. Gaike, who was present at the first half of the Freitag hysteria, left the premises when the divisional commander began to blame the Ukrainians. In the future, Freytag could not get rid of hostility towards his Ukrainian subordinates. In August 1944, at a speech to Ukrainian officers at the officer training school in Prosechnitsy (Czech Republic), he “explained” to everyone present that the division’s failures stemmed only from the Ukrainians themselves. He agreed to the point that a German officer, the head of the school, stood up to protect the Ukrainian soldiers.
Having crossed the Carpathians, the remnants of the division in the amount of 1500 people were concentrated in the area between the cities of Mukachevo and Uzhgorod. The veterinary and technical companies, most of the reserve battalion, arrive in full force. In addition to part of the light small arms that the fighters who had broken through had, the lion's share of the division's weapons remained in the cauldron.
The surviving officers of the division from memory restored the course of hostilities, since all the documents were lost in battle. The results of the first campaign for the division were tragic. The division went into battle with 11,000 troops. 7 thousand people were lost in the cauldron - most died, some were captured. A certain part ended up in army hospitals, and one could count on their return to duty. Part of the divisionalists ended up in the 18th SS Volunteer Division "Horst Wessel" in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe town of Jaslo. The opinion was expressed that part of the soldiers of the division had already joined the ranks of the UPA near Brody. According to the most conservative estimates, at least three thousand people should have escaped from the fire. The reserve training regiment, which did not take part in the battle, retained its personnel - 8 thousand people.
The losses were devastating. Two Ukrainian officers died in the cauldron - Mykola Palienko and Dmitro Paliev. Of the German officers, the commander of the 31st regiment and the commander of the communications battalion were killed.
Soviet sources contain little information about enemy losses. According to Soviet estimates, 17 thousand soldiers of the German army, including two generals, were captured. About 30,000 servicemen remained on the battlefield.
A contemporary of those events, Yevstakhy Zagaychevsky, who served in infantry units before moving to Galicia, argued that the broken morale of the German troops did not contribute to stamina. After the assassination attempt on Hitler, the troops "lost their heart":
“... This was no longer the same German soldier from 1941–1942. I myself witnessed the events when, during the attack of our units of the Totenkopf division near Grodno on July 23–24, 1944, two batteries of Wehrmacht field guns fired at us. After this incident, the personnel of the batteries were withdrawn from the front and taken through the “tensing”, that is, every tenth of them, including officers and non-commissioned officers, were shot, while others were taken to penal divisions. Also, those who returned from Brody said that during the encirclement, both officers and German soldiers threw down their weapons with a cry of “War is over! Hitler is dead! and surrendered to the Bolsheviks.
From Transcarpathia, the remnants of the division were transferred to Neuhammer, where there was a full-blooded reserve regiment of the division, for reorganization. Fritz Freitag left for Berlin, and SS Standartenführer Beiersdorf became the temporary commander.
Freitag received the Reichsführer SS and thanked him for the behavior of the division in the encirclement. Following the praise, Freytag received orders to re-form the division. To the honor of the Oberfuehrer, it should be noted that he turned to Himmler with a request to remove him from the post of commander and give him a German division under his command. Himmler did not heed the request of his subordinate and only repeated his order.
Sergei Chuev