Hero City Brest: description and photo

According to the plan of the German invaders, the city-hero Brest should have been taken already during the first hours of combat operations. This settlement was located on the terrain, where the main attack of armies, called the "Center", was planned.

About the village today

The city of Brest is located on the south-west side of Belarus, is the administrative center of the region. The total area of the city today is 146 km ². According to 2016, its population is about 340 thousand people.

West Bug and Mukhovets pass through the territory of the settlement. It borders on Poland. There is a large railway and river navigation unit, as well as road transport.

The named settlement has an ancient and rich history. The first mention of it is contained in the chronicle of Novgorod the First and dates back to 1017 year. If we rely on these data, then Brest can be considered the fifth city of Belarus in the chronology of education.

The ancient city was often destroyed and rebuilt again, it passed from the hands of some rulers to others, obviously, the fault was its location. Now it is located on the territory between the Eurasian and European Union.

In the fire of battles

Of course, the special glory of this territory is attached to the heroic feat of the military, who fought here during the Second World War. When the Germans attacked the city-hero Brest on June 22, 1941, about 7-8 thousand Soviet soldiers were in the fortress. Together with the military there lived about 300 of their families.

Due to the fact that the troops were not in the position of combat readiness, the borders on the border were free. And in the first minutes of fighting this place was intensively bombed and fired from artillery installations.

The border became the site of bloody battles, as well as the fortress itself. The soldiers of the city-hero Brest repulsed the attack of the 45th Infantry Division, which exceeded them in number - it had 17 thousand officers and soldiers. For an hour, artillery raided the fortress. Because of it and the fires that followed, the material part and many warehouses were destroyed and destroyed, the water supply system ceased to function, and besides, the connection failed.

Unequal battle

The first attack was reflected by a detachment of border guards in the Terespol fortification area, as well as cadets and soldiers of the Red Army. On the morning of June 22, 1941, a significant breakthrough was made in the Kobrin and Volyn fortifications, thanks to which most of the personnel managed to get out, taking cannons and tanks with them.

They went to their own units to evacuate the soldiers who were injured. At that time, the city-hero Brest was a haven for 4 thousand military men. The enemy's forces exceeded them by a factor of 10, so the Germans were so easily able to surround the fortress.

Defense

It becomes clear why Brest was named a hero city when you find out what kind of pressure it was to confront the local military. After all, according to the plan of the Germans, the assault conducted by the advanced units of the 45th Division was to take no more than 12 hours, but Soviet soldiers did not agree to surrender the fortress so easily.

Near the Kholmsk gates, the 3rd battalion and the staff units of the riflemen began to offer resistance to the enemy. The engineering regiment and the communications battalion stood up for defense. Bayonet attacks were carried out, thanks to which the city-hero Brest stood. And next to the Terespol gate of the Nazis was a dense fire of the defenders of the settlement.

Fight to the last

At one point the whole fortress was blazing with fierce battles. The Germans transmitted threats and orders to surrender through radio communication channels. Also to the local soldiers sent the parliamentarians, but the resistance did not weaken, and the city-hero Brest continued to defend his freedom.

The brief content of this story may seem incredible, but the defenders of the fortress really managed to do the impossible. A defensive ring with a length of 2 kilometers, consisting of a barracks belt, was created. The bombing, attacks from the enemy and shelling did not stop.

The feat of patriots

Since June 23, the assault has reached heat, the battle has become hotter and more protracted. The German command did not expect such a reaction. In each fortification of the Nazis met the heroes of Brest, who are resisting. Often they had to show such devotion, for which, as a result, the settlement and made into hero cities.

Hero fortress Brest became the place where not only the military, but also the medical staff fought to the finish. But on June 23 the Nazis managed to seize children, wounded, doctors and patients, thanks to which they managed to create a living barrier.

Automakers went to the Kholmsk gate, followed by attackers. And the hostages shouted that the soldiers on their side would shoot, no matter what.

At the end of the week the focal defense had to fade near the fortifications.

Victory of the defenders

There was a large number of battles, as a result of which the defense was divided into separate centers, bearing heavy losses. Until June 12, continued resistance of a small group of military, led by Gavrilov.

When the soldiers managed to escape from the fort on the outer side of the shaft, the commander-in-chief and secretary of the Komsomol bureau, the political instructor Derevyanko, became prisoners of the Germans. Even so, the local soldiers continued their defense, which made the admired descendants understand why Brest is a hero city.

There are legends about the last days of the battle. On the fortress walls it is still possible to find inscriptions inscribed by the military. The enemy did not manage to capture any banner of the city. The Germans were struck by such resilience and manifestation of heroism. Shipper, a general in the 45th Infantry Division, wrote to a higher-level commander in July, in which he noted that Russian soldiers were persistent and persistent in the struggle, showed excellent fighting skills (that's why Brest is a hero city). Briefly describing the events in this way, the Hitlerite commander recognized the courage and patriotism of the enemy.

Honor and Glory

It is worth believing that just because of such examples, the Soviet Union won the war. Independence of the native land was protected, albeit at a very high price. The superpower remained unified and unbreakable.

In defense of the fortress, by the way, representatives of more than thirty different nationalities took part, who acted as one and did not abandon their duty. Their feat can be called one of the greatest achievements that the Soviet people made during the Great Patriotic War. Such heroism was appreciated by the authorities.

Lieutenant Kizhevatov and Major Gavrilov were awarded for valor and courage. Medals and orders were awarded to two hundred combatants. And on May 8 in 1965 the fortress received the title of "Hero City". Brest, whose photo you can see in the article, demonstrates that even decades later it still inspires respect and is an example of power. The more the impression is amplified when you learn more about the legendary events that have occurred here.

During the occupation period, fascists killed 40,000 civilians, and the country's economy was in complete decline. The tortures of the residents ended in 1944, when soldiers of the first front of Belarus appeared in the city.

Everlasting memory

The stories of the exploits of Soviet soldiers are passed from one generation to another, and to this day the inhabitants of Brest are proud of the heroic actions of their grandfathers. This place was the first of all cities of the Soviet Union, where the Germans sent their troops, but his defenders showed demonstrative resistance, forcing the enemy to radically overestimate his strength and capabilities. Despite the lack of training and warning, the soldiers were able to defend the city and protect it from invading the enemy.

To commemorate the victims, on September 25, 1971, a memorial was opened in honor of the Great Victory, which the soldiers achieved, defending Brest. Once here, you can look at the necropolis with three tiers. There are buried the remains of more than eight hundred soldiers who heroically defended the walls of the city.

In addition, a sculpture was created called "Thirst", which is a reminder of the painful experience that the soldiers had to undergo when they were deprived of the opportunity to deliver to the city and were exhausted from lack of water.

Access to the river was blocked, which only complicated the rather heated circumstances. Therefore, the monument named is a figure of a warrior who creeps to the river bank, holding a helmet in his hands. A little later, in 1992, within the framework of this memorial, a museum was opened dedicated to combat feats to the soldiers of the air forces.