In war, anything can happen, and sometimes it is possible to fully realize the importance of an event only after decades. I will tell you a story about how the fates of the soldiers and leaders were intertwined in a whimsical way at an altitude of 5642 meters above sea level. And as a Russian lieutenant Nikolai Gusak, gave a slap in the face to Hitler himself …
On August 21, 1942, at a meeting at Hitler's Headquarters, Field Marshal Keitel, asking for a minute of attention, in a voice choking with joy, reported: "My Fuhrer! Allow me to report. The mountain shooters of General Konrad from the Edelweiss division, under the leadership of Captain Groth, installed imperial flags with Teutonic symbols! " But to Keitel's surprise, instead of congratulations, the Fuehrer made a uniform hysteria. He stamped his feet and yelled that instead of war, Konrad's soldiers were doing something unknown and this was unacceptable. After that, the meeting was interrupted and Hitler did not communicate with anyone all day, except for the Reichsfuehrer SS Himmler who arrived a few hours later and some unknown SS Brigadefuehrer with oriental features. So what made the Fuehrer so angry?
The leaders of the Third Reich paid great attention to mysticism, astrology and predictions. It was a mixture of Tibetan teachings, ancient Gothic and Cosmic Ice theory. According to Hitler and his entourage, the earth was in a giant ice bubble of cosmic ice, and the stars that we see in the night sky are the eyes of ancient Aryan heroes who have rested in their icy graves. There were secret organizations and institutions such as the Thule Society and the Ahnenerbe Society, institutions teeming with magicians, fortune tellers and astrologers, and in the secret SS castle Wewelsburg, there was a department staffed by Tibetan monks who were awarded the ranks of SS officers. So, all these structures predicted to Hitler the entire chain of successes from 1933 to 1942, but then the predictors saw poorly and only one thing could be said for sure that the one who dropped the enemy's flag from Elbrus would win the War. On this subject, Hitler was calm, because it is impossible to throw off what is not … But the mountain shooters of Captain Groth made a fatal mistake and Hitler lost some of his self-confidence, which in the end became fatal for the Reich.
Stalin most likely did not know about this legend, but the German flag on Elbrus caused him understandable irritation and the order was clear: "REMOVE THE Fascist RAG AND DRIVE THE SOVIET FLAG!" And this order, like other orders of the Supreme, was immediately accepted for execution.
In a small detachment, commanded by Captain Gusev, there were twenty people, the captain himself, political instructor E. A. Beletsky, engineer-captain N. A. Petrosov, senior lieutenants V. D. Lubenets and B. V. Grachev, lieutenants N. A.. Gusak, N. P. Persiyaninov, L. G. Korotaeva, E. V. Smirnov, L. P. Kels, G. K. Sulakvelidze, N. P. Marinets, A. V. Bagrov and A. I. Gryaznov, junior lieutenants A, I. Sidorenko, G. V. Odnoblyudov and A. A. Nemchinov, privates V. P. Kukhtin, brothers Gabriel and Beknu Khergiani. But these were the best of the best. Many of them knew each other from their student mountaineering camps. The deputy commander of the detachment was Lieutenant Nikolai Afanasyevich Gusak. He was no stranger to Elbrus. It seems incredible, but before the war Nikolai Afanasyevich taught the local mountaineers the mountaineering technique here. In addition, N. Gusak was one of the first winterers on Elbrus, when a small laboratory was organized here, which later grew into a high-mountain institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences. And now they were going to Elbrus, with a combat mission.
Frost, gusty winds, avalanches, bypassing German mine traps on difficult and dangerous slopes. Having reached the mark of four thousand meters, due to a strong blizzard, the group was forced to stop. Food began to run out and then at night, in the midst of a snowstorm, six volunteers went to storm the summit and on February 13, 1943 - Lieutenant Nikolai Gusak, Alexander Sidorenko, Evgeny Smirnov, Evgeny Beletsky, Gabriel and Beknu Khergiani - threw off the fascist rags and set a red flag. So, Russian lieutenant Nikolai Gusak gave a slap in the face to the Millennial Reich, which now had two years to go.
Honored Master of Sports of the USSR Nikolai Afanasyevich Gusak died at the age of 68, during his next ascent to Elbrus.
This was the generation of Heroes and Conquerors. Eternal Glory to them and Eternal Memory to them
