The liberation of Voronezh from the Nazi invaders

The strength and courage of Soviet people won in the most terrible war of the last century. Their feat was everyday on the front line, in the rear, in the field, in partisan forests and swamps. Pages of the history of the Great Patriotic War are erased from the memory of people, this is facilitated by the peaceful time and gradual withdrawal of that heroic generation. We must remember and pass on to future generations the lessons of courage and the scale of the tragedy of the people. The blockade of Leningrad, the battle for Moscow, Stalingrad, the Kursk Bulge, the liberation of Voronezh and every battle of that war that helped to win the span of our native land at the cost of our own lives.

Situation at the front

The summer of 1942 was the second chance for the Germans to restore the initiative in the course of hostilities. A large grouping of troops was blocked in the northern direction (Leningrad), the huge losses in the battle for Moscow greatly tempered Hitler's zeal and reduced his plans for the lightning capture of the USSR to a minimum. Now every military operation was carefully planned, the troops regrouped, the ways of their supply and organization of rear services were being prepared. The atrocities of the Nazis in the occupied territories stirred the wave of guerrilla movement and the largest groups of the enemy did not feel completely safe. Disruptions in supply, hundreds of derailed railway cars with manpower and equipment, the complete destruction of small German units, the transfer of intelligence to regular parts of the Soviet army greatly hampered the invaders. Therefore Operation "Blau" (on the Eastern Front) was developed taking into account all possible variants of the development of events, but even with such a competent strategic approach, the fascists did not take into account the perseverance and courage of the defenders of Voronezh. This ancient Russian city stood in the way of Hitler, but his capture and destruction, according to the Germans, did not require a significant amount of time. The more unexpected for them was the final battle in the city of Voronezh. Its liberation was fully achieved as a result of active offensive actions in January 1943, but it remained "unconquered".

New goals of Hitler

Due to the large territory of the deployment of military units, the Germans faced the problem of supply. The army was constantly in need of food, uniforms and fuel. To replenish, resource bases were needed, which at that time were concentrated in the hands of the enemy. The seizure of the Caucasus would solve the problem of fuel and energy resources, but the Soviet command understood Hitler's plans, so considerable forces of resistance were concentrated in the east. The crossing of the Don River, followed by the destruction of the armed forces based in Voronezh, would have enabled the fascists to successfully conduct Operation Blau and develop a full-scale offensive on the city of Stalingrad. Therefore, in the south-east direction of the front, by the summer of 1942, the huge forces of the fascist army were concentrated. More than half of all motorized formations and 35-40% of the infantry units involved in the Soviet-German front were put forward to implement the Führer's dream of seizing the Caucasus. June 28, 1942, the Germans began Operation Blau, which was foiled by Soviet troops at Stalingrad and in the city of Voronezh. The liberation from the fascists was awaited by the Kursk, the Eagle, which were captured in the offensive against Moscow.

The offensive on Voronezh

Since the beginning of the war, Voronezh, like all the cities of the USSR, was transferred to a martial law. Mass mobilization took place, more enterprises were reoriented to military products (more than 100 items: IL-2, Katyusha, armored trains, uniforms, etc.), the largest and most significant for the economy were evacuated to the rear. Voronezh was preparing to repel a possible attack of the fascists from the west. Since the spring of 1942, intensive bombardments began that destroyed the tramways. At that time it was the only functioning mode of transport. The historical center of the old city of Voronezh was badly damaged. The Liberation of Labor Street (formerly Vvedenskaya) with the church and the monastery lost a significant number of historical monuments. The air defense division was created from girls who lived in the region and the city itself. Most men who were not mobilized in the regular army (workers, teachers, students) went to the militia, which took the first blow of the German war machine. In Voronezh direction the length of the front line was significant, that's why the German armies broke through the defenses and quickly approached the city's borders. July 6, the fascists forced the Don and entered the suburbs of Voronezh. At this stage, the German generals cheerfully reported on the capture of the city, they did not expect that it would not be possible to completely capture it. The liberation of Voronezh on January 25, 1943 will be lightning at the expense of the bridgeheads, which are kept all the time by the Soviet wars. By the time the Nazis attacked the city, most of it had been destroyed by bombardment, houses, factories were burning. Under these conditions, mass evacuation of the population, hospitals, the most important parts of the property of production enterprises, export of historical and cultural values was carried out .

Front line

The liberation of Voronezh from the Nazi invaders began from the left bank of the river. Coming from the south and west, the Nazis did not meet with a proper rebuff, so they considered the city captured. The right-bank part of the Voronezh River was not fortified for defensive battles, the regular parts of the Soviet army were far away, they required time and bridgeheads for their deployment. In the city were parts of the NKVD, a militia battalion, 41 regiments of border guards and anti-aircraft gunners, who took the brunt. Most of these compounds moved to the left bank of the river and began to erect fortifications. The task of the others was to delay the advance of the fascists. This made it possible to defend the crossing of the Voronezh River and slow down the advance of German units before the approach of reserve units. In the conditions of urban battle the Voronezhs exhausted the enemy and retreated to the left-bank borders. On the orders of Stalin, a reserve brigade 8 consisting of Siberians was sent to Voronezh. The Germans managed to gain a foothold on the right bank, but the river stopped their further advance, or rather, the impossibility of forcing it. The front line stretched from the station. The spur until the confluence of the river. Voronezh in the Don. The positions of Soviet soldiers were located in residential quarters and factory shops, this provided a good disguise. The enemy did not see the movements of units, command posts and could only guess at the density of fire about the number of defenders. From the commander-in-chief's orders came an order to detain the fascists on the Voronezh River, not to surrender positions. The Soviet Information Bureau reported on the conduct of military operations is rather vague. Information about heavy fighting in the Voronezh direction was voiced.

Defense

Since July 4, 1942 in the right-bank of the city fierce battles were fought. Several units of Soviet soldiers, officers, militiamen, part of the NKVD, anti-aircraft gunners operated in the center of Voronezh. Using as a cover the city buildings, they crossed to the right bank and destroyed the fascists. The crossing was carried out with the massive support of artillery, which was fixed on the left bank. Soldiers from the river immediately rushed into battle against superior enemy forces, which had an advantage in location. The right bank was quite steep, which made it difficult to move units. The desperate courage of these people led to the fact that on July 6-7, fighting was going on in the streets: Pomyalovsky, Stepan Razin, Revolution Avenue, Nikitinskaya, Engels, Dzerzhinsky, the Emancipation of Labor. Voronezh did not surrender to the invaders, but the offensive had to be stopped, the units suffered too great losses in the crossing. The surviving fighters returned to the left bank on July 10, their main task was to strengthen defensive positions and prepare bridgeheads for the next offensive. The liberation of Voronezh began precisely from the moment of this offensive and lasted for seven long months.

Hot spots on the map

The liberation of Voronezh continued, the left-bank defense line held back the enemy from seizing the entire city. Offensive operations did not stop, reinforcements arrived and Soviet troops based in the city continued to destroy the fascists. The front line changed several times a day, the struggle was for every quarter, street, house. German tank and infantry divisions repeatedly tried to cross the Voronezh River. The liberation of the left bank from the defenders meant the conquest of the city, its seizure. Otrozhensky bridges, Semiluki crossing were subjected to constant bombardments, bombardments and tank attacks. The defenders did not just stand to the death, they repaired damaged structures under fire and during raids. From the legal shore after the counter-attacks on the Nazis, the Soviet units retreated, carrying the wounded, the refugees walked, at that time the Germans tried to attack or slip behind the marching column. The Voronezh could not be forced to cross the railway bridge, Soviet soldiers, realizing that they would not be able to hold back the enemy for a long time, jammed the bridge with a burning compound. At night, the central span was mined and blown up. The liberation of Voronezh from the fascist invaders was due to the created bridgeheads on which the advancing parts of the Soviet army could rely. Keeping their position at Chizhovka and Shilovo at the cost of their own lives, the soldiers destroyed large enemy groups. These bridgeheads were in the right-bank part of the city, the Germans managed to gain a foothold on them and provided powerful resistance. Chizhovku soldiers nicknamed the "valley of death", but having seized and retained it, deprived the Germans of strategic advantage, pinned their actions in the central part of the city.

August, September 42

Violent clashes occurred on the hospital and campus. The area of the city park and agricultural institute is dug by bullets and shells, every piece of land is impregnated with the blood of Soviet soldiers who fought for the liberation of Voronezh. Photos of places of military glory preserved all the scale and cruelty of battles. The witness and monument of those days is the Rotunda (the demonstration hall of the surgical department), this is the only surviving building on the territory of the regional hospital. The Germans turned every building into a fortified firing point that did not allow Soviet soldiers to seize this strategically important facility. The fighting continued for a month, the result was the stabilization of the front line, the fascists were forced to retreat. The liberation of Voronezh, its right-bank part, lasted 212 days and nights. The fighting was in the city, on its outskirts, in settlements along the whole length of the river.

The liberation of Voronezh from the Nazi invaders

Operation "Small Saturn" was carefully planned and prepared by the Soviet command. In the history of military affairs, it is often called "Stalingrad on the Don," it was performed by outstanding military leaders: PS Rybalko, GK Zhukov, Vasilevsky AM, KS Moskalenko, ID Chernyakhovsky, F. I. Golikov. For the first time offensive operations were carried out from bridgeheads that served to regroup the units and remained full-fledged rear structures during the fighting. The liberation of Voronezh on January 25 was the result of the Voronezh-Kastornoy operation (January 24, 1943 - February 2). The 60th Army under the command of I. Chernyakhovsky captured the city and cleared it completely from enemy units. The actions of the Soviet military forced the fascists to flee the city, leaving their positions, before the possibility of encirclement the Nazis tried to keep the combat-ready units of the army. Long, exhausting fighting in urban conditions significantly reduced the size of the German grouping and undermined its fighting spirit. In the summaries of the information desk of 26 January 1943, the following message was sounded: as a result of the offensive operation of the Soviet troops, the Voronezh and Bryansk fronts liberated Voronezh on January 25, 1943. Photo and video of that day show an unprecedented scale of destruction. The city was completely destroyed, its inhabitants either left, or were killed by fascists. On the ruins of the remaining houses it was so quiet that people shuddered from the noise of their own steps.

Destructions

Hitler Voronezh was necessary as a convenient springboard for further offensive operations in the eastern direction. The fascists could not seize the city, so when they left the right-bank part, they received an order to mine all the remaining tall buildings. Powerful explosions destroyed museums, churches, the Palace of Pioneers, administrative buildings. All the valuables left in the city were taken to the west, including a bronze monument to Peter the Great and Lenin. The housing stock was destroyed by 96%, tramways and power lines were destroyed, communications were not functioning. The historical center of the city with its wooden buildings burned down during the bombings, stone and brick buildings, factory shops turned into ruins fortified for defense. Hitler wrote that he wiped Voronezh off the face of the earth, his incomplete recovery would take 50-70 years, he was pleased with this result. Returning from the evacuation of civilians restored the city literally on the brick, many buildings were mined, which led to casualties among civilians. Voronezh was among the 15 most destroyed cities during the Great Patriotic War. To restore it with a special decree, funds and building materials were allocated. Voronezh did not surrender to the Germans and the devastation, it is imbued with the spirit of that war, is covered by the common graves of its defenders, but lives and develops.

The value for the front

The units that defended Voronezh carried out several important tasks simultaneously. They linked a large group of enemy troops, which included not only the German units, but also their allies in this war. The Italian, Hungarian armies were defeated during the offensive operation on the Voronezh direction. After such a defeat, Hungary (which had not known such large-scale defeats before that day) withdrew from the alliance with Germany and wars on the eastern front. Defenders of Voronezh covered Moscow in the south and defended the necessary transport network. Defenders of the city did not give Hitler the opportunity to seize it with one blow and pulled on a part of the grouping, which was to go to Stalingrad. On the Voronezh direction, 25 German divisions were destroyed, more than 75,000 soldiers and officers surrendered. During the occupation of the region and the city by the fascists, mass brutal massacres against civilians led to the formation of partisan movement. After the liberation these detachments joined the regular units of the Soviet army. The day of liberation of Voronezh has become for many millions of people not only a holiday, but also the beginning of great creative work. The restoration of the city required new feats from its inhabitants, but by 1945, life in the "unconquered" was boiling.