The village of Pukhovo, Liskinsky district, Voronezh region. An unremarkable road makes a sharp turn, and the following picture opens up: to the left of the road there is a high railway embankment, to the right, a kilometer away, there is a village. And next to the road is ISU-152.
At the outskirts of this small village, which is 30 kilometers from the junction station Liski, two roads crossed - a railway and a highway. In January 1943, on the field maps, ours and the Germans, they were marked as objects of strategic importance. Trying to strangle the Liski railway junction, the Germans and Magyars pulled equipment and army reserves along those roads to the Don. The Voronezh Front, preparing the Ostrogozh-Rossosh offensive operation, planned to stop the retreat of the Nazis along these roads to Rossosh and Kantemirovka, Belgorod and Kharkov.
The separate guards tank regiment of the breakthrough of Lieutenant Colonel Caravan, advancing as part of the 18th separate rifle corps, was ordered the day before: crush the enemy's defensive zone in the Shchuchye area, break through it into the depths and pave the way for the infantry, carry it along along the tank trail. The tank company of the communist Pyotr Kozlov was to become the ram of the enemy's defense. She was to make a swift raid to the Pukhovo junction and, riding the highway and the railway, cut off the Nazis' escape routes.
On the morning of January 14, heavy KVs, covered by artillery and Katyusha volleys, rushed across the virgin snow towards the village of Petrovskoye, dragging the infantry along with them. On the field near Petrovsky, a powerful explosion almost knocked the commander's car on its side - the tank ran into a minefield. While the company was smashing the defenses on the outskirts of the village, Kozlov's crew replaced the broken tracks and re-entered the battle. Behind the Petrovsky outskirts, Kozlov's tanks rushed westward with a landing party on their armor. A short battle at Kolomshevo overturned the resistance of the Magyars and forced them to flee, abandoning their weapons and equipment. The infantry was to complete their defeat, the tanks were rushing towards the main goal - the Pukhov patrol.
Here are the outer houses of Pukhovo. Nearby there is a railway embankment crossed by a highway. On the outskirts are the trenches of the Magyar outpost. Tanks rush into them on the move. On the right, from an ambush near the gardens, four Hitlerites assault guns hit the KV. An anti-tank battery also opened fire on the left. But Kozlov's tanks continue the raid. Still, even in 1943, the KV was a tough nut to crack for the Germans.
The explosion of a tank shell smashed the assault gun - it was knocked out by the commanding crew. The second tank is ironing the trench lines. Deploying the heavy KV, Kozlov rammed the second assault gun. A terrible explosion in the stern of the tank - a Magyar anti-tank gun almost point-blank shot a Soviet tank from the left flank. Having regained consciousness, Kozlov through the optics of the sight sees how the second "KV" is blazing nearby. Tankers tumble out of the hatches of the burning car into the snow. Having accepted the crew of the burning tank, the seriously wounded commander continues the battle. Many times the Nazis rushed into the attack, trying to take the tankers alive. Machine guns mowed them down on the approaches to the tank, leaving enemy corpses around the mountain. In the twilight glow from the "KV" blazing nearby, one could see how the anti-tank guns were deployed for direct fire. And yet the turret gun of the destroyed tank was ahead of them. This unequal battle lasted about two hours …
Two tankers were killed in it, the remaining 8 were wounded, four of them, like the commander, were severely. The Siberian infantry who arrived in time lifted the siege of the tank and liberated Pukhovo. The wounded tankers, along with their commander, were sent to the hospital, where Kozlov died of his wounds …
On April 19, the presentation for the awarding of a brave tanker will be approved by the commander of the Voronezh Front, Colonel-General Golikov and a member of the Military Council of the front, Lieutenant-General Khrushchev. From the award list of PA Kozlov: “… his guards feat will serve as an example for the personnel of the regiment. The crew of the Guards. Art. Lieutenant Kozlov destroyed: bunkers and dugouts - 3, anti-tank guns - 8, assault guns - 2, machine guns - 2 and up to 180 enemy soldiers and officers. Worthy of being awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And on April 28, 1943, for the feat near the village of Pukhovo, by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the guard senior lieutenant Kozlov Petr Alekseevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Posthumously.
Departure Pukhovo. With its trunk to the west, a hundred meters from the "piece of iron" repulsed by the tankers in the 43rd from the enemy, the "St. John's wort" froze. It is a pity, of course, that it is not "KV". It is a pity that the monument is gradually decaying. Unfortunately, human memory is generally short. And the desire to take care of your memory, apparently, is also short-lived.
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