Soviet tank aces … Pavel Danilovich Gudz was at the front from the first day of the Great Patriotic War. Together with the 4th Mechanized Corps, he participated in the battle in the Lvov salient, and experienced all the bitterness of the retreats of the summer of 1941. He took part in the defense of Moscow, where he conducted a productive battle on his KV, destroying ten enemy tanks in one battle. In one of the battles in 1943, he lost his hand and was seriously wounded, but still returned to the front - already with a prosthesis.
The pre-war life of a hero
Pavel Danilovich Gudz was born in the village of Stufchentsy, Proskurovsky district, Kamenets-Podolsk region on September 28, 1919 (today it is the territory of the Khmelnytsky region of Ukraine) into an ordinary family of Ukrainian peasants. The childhood of the future Soviet general was not sweet in all respects. The recently ended World War I, the collapse of the Russian Empire as a result of two revolutions and several years of bloody civil war seriously undermined the life of the peasantry. To support his family, Pavel's father went to work in the Far East, where he got a job as a loader in the port. When Pavel Gudz was finishing a rural school, the boy's father died at work as a result of an accident, after which only his mother was involved in raising his son.
Despite all the difficulties of peasant life, Pavel showed an interest in studying, he managed not only to finish the rural seven-year period, but also to continue his further education, enrolling in a cultural education school located not far from his house in 1933. The choice of the future place of study was largely influenced by the cinema, with which the young man met in his native village, when the cinema-traveling came there. After graduating from college, Pavel Gudz moved to the city of Satanov, Khmeltsnyk region, where he was sent to work in the local cultural center. Already in 1937, at the age of only 18, Pavel was appointed inspector of public education in the Satanovsky district executive committee, at the same time the young man joined the CPSU (b). At this time, he showed himself more creatively, staged performances in a local club, was fond of photography and even dreamed of entering the Kiev film school.
Ahead of the young man, either a creative or a party career loomed, but unexpectedly for everyone in 1939, Pavel Gudz submitted documents and entered the 2nd Saratov Tank School, which trained personnel for medium and heavy tanks, at first these were multi-turret vehicles T -28 and T-35, but just before the start of the war, the school began to train tankers for the KV tank. New heavy tanks began to enter the troops en masse before the war, turning out to be an unpleasant surprise for the Nazis. Gudz graduated from the school in Saratov with honors, after which, with the rank of lieutenant, he was sent for further service in Lvov at the disposal of the 32nd Panzer Division of the 4th Mechanized Corps. The newly made lieutenant arrived in his 63rd tank regiment a week before the start of the Great Patriotic War.
It is worth noting that at that time, the 4th mechanized corps of General Vlasov was one of the most equipped in the Red Army and did not experience problems with tanks, including modern designs. The hull included up to 101 KV tanks and 313 T-34s. The problems of the corps were the same as those of the entire Red Army. The troops were in the process of forming, the same 32nd Panzer Division was part of the new formation. The command and rank personnel of the formation were not united, the tankers did not sufficiently study the new combat vehicles that were massively supplied to the units before the war itself, there was a serious shortage of middle and junior command personnel. While on June 22, 1941, a fully mobilized army crossed the border of the USSR, having accumulated serious combat experience over two years of victorious military campaigns in Europe. It was with such an opponent and in such circumstances that Pavel Danilovich Gudz had to face immediately after graduation from the school.
The battles in the Lviv ledge and the parade on Red Square
The first morning of the war, June 22, Pavel Gudz met the duty officer. From the very first days of the war, the corps began to move to the front line in order to fend off the attacks of German units in the Lvov ledge. While advancing to the front, the unit in which Pavel Gudz was located collided on the highway in the direction of Kristinopol (since 1951 - Chervonograd) with the enemy's forward detachment. The vanguard of the Soviet troops consisted of an impressive force of five KV tanks, two T-34s and two BA-10 cannon armored vehicles. Having entered the battle, the Soviet tankers first destroyed the enemy's cannon. As a result of the first meeting with the enemy, they reported on the destruction of five German tanks, three armored personnel carriers and several vehicles.
Later that day, the KV, under the control of Lieutenant Gudzia, delivered a glancing blow to the steering wheel of an enemy tank, knocking down a track and pushing the combat vehicle into a ditch. It is worth noting that the experienced fighter Galkin, who had previously been a tester of KV tanks at the Kirov plant in Leningrad, was the driver-mechanic in the crew of the newly made lieutenant. It is believed that this was one of the first tank rams of the Great Patriotic War. In the book of Mikhail Baryatinsky "Soviet tank aces" it is indicated that for the very first battle Pavel Gudz was nominated for the Order of the Red Banner. However, he did not manage to receive the award then, the situation in the region of the Lvov salient did not develop in favor of the Soviet troops, which had to hastily retreat to the east, these days there was no time for awards.
By August 10, 1941, all that remained of the 32nd Panzer Division was concentrated in the area of the city of Priluki, and here the unit was finally disbanded. The surviving materiel was transferred to the 8th tank division, and the personnel were sent to the Vladimir region, where the process of forming the 91st separate tank battalion and the 8th tank brigade began. Lieutenant Goodz was enrolled in another new unit - the 89th separate tank battalion, the composition of which was formed from the most distinguished commanders and Red Army men of the 63rd tank regiment. By the end of August, Lieutenant Pavel Gudz was already the chief of staff of the new unit.
The new unit was equipped with tanks only by the beginning of November 1941, when the tankers received a somewhat unusual assignment. Late in the evening before the parade, he was summoned by the battalion commander K. Khorin, who told the lieutenant that in order to participate in the traditional military parade on Red Square on November 7, it was necessary to send a company of heavy KV tanks, only five vehicles. At the same time, Hudz learned that the parade would take place at 8 o'clock in the morning, that is, two hours earlier than the usual time. The command transferred all other vehicles to the 16th Army, which fought heavy battles with the enemy in the Skirmanovo-Kozlovo area. Thus, the heavy tank KV of Lieutenant Gudzia was captured in the photo and video at the moment of passing by the monument to Pushkin.
Fight of one KV against eighteen German tanks
Throughout November 1941, in the midst of fierce battles near Moscow, tanks from the 89th separate tank battalion were used by the command to parry German attacks. Heavy combat vehicles were attached to infantry units, first in several pieces, and by the end of November, as the materiel was retired in battles, and one tank each. On December 3, the Germans made a last desperate attempt to break through to the capital of the USSR. Units of the German 40th Motorized Corps struck in the direction of the villages of Nefedyevo and Kozino to the left of the Volokolamsk highway. The Germans managed to capture these settlements, pushing the soldiers of the 258th Infantry Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division out of their positions. The battles with the 10th German Panzer Division continued in this direction for two days, until the Germans were forced to stop.
On December 5, Soviet troops were preparing a counterattack on the enemy, to strengthen the 258th Infantry Regiment, the only KV heavy tank of the 89th separate tank battalion that remained in service at that time was transferred. Pavel Danilovich Gudzu was to command the tank in this battle. The advancing Soviet troops were to drive the Germans out of Nefediev. At night, Hudz and his crew, using a guide, led the tank to a firing position closer to the village. At the same time, they observed the maximum camouflage, using only sidelights, the engine was also muted. According to one of the versions, in order to hide the advance of the tank into position, Gudz agreed with the artillerymen to approach the village of Nefedyevo as close as possible, about 300-400 meters, under their volleys.
In the morning, the tankers were able to count 18 German tanks in the village and the surrounding area, the silhouettes of which began to appear in the cold frosty dawn. At the same time, the Guja crew achieved complete tactical surprise. The Germans did not expect a counterattack and did not think, and it was difficult to imagine that a single tank would attack them. Tanks stood between the huts without crews, who were quietly resting in the village. The KV began to shoot the enemy, and by the time the crews rushed towards them, 4 tanks were already on fire. At the same time, the crew fired machine-gun fire at the German tankers running up to the vehicles, not all of them managed to get inside, remaining on the streets of the captured village, literally 35 kilometers from Moscow, which remained an unattainable target for them.
Pavel Gudz organized the fight as competently as possible. No matter how strong the combat vehicle at his disposal was, in an open battle with 18 enemy tanks, he would never have won. Therefore, he used the surprise factor as much as possible. But even in such an environment, there were not many chances that the KV would not be damaged or destroyed by the enemy. Tanks outside the village opened heavy fire on the HF. One of the shells soon hit the tower, although it did not pierce the armor, the crew's feelings were not the most pleasant, many were shell-shocked, the gunner Sablin lost consciousness, and Pavel Gudz took his place. Having fired 20 shells, the crew destroyed 4 more enemy tanks. After which Gudz decided to attack. Shooting from stops, the KV destroyed two more enemy tanks, after which the Germans wavered and began to retreat, hiding from the scene of the battle. The crew of the KV tank used up almost full ammunition in this battle, and the tankers counted 29 hits of enemy shells on the armor of their tank.
For this battle at Nefedyevo, the crew of the KV tank was awarded, Pavel Gudzia was presented to the Order of Lenin. It is believed that there was a misunderstanding between Rokossovsky, Stalin and Zhukov about this case, Stalin proposed to award the tanker the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but a day earlier Zhukov had already signed documents for awarding the Order of Lenin, which was already the highest state award of the USSR. In any case, Gudz himself was never upset about this, and he did not consider himself a hero, as such, he simply performed his task, proceeding from the path of life that he had chosen back in 1939, having entered a tank school.
Last volleys
In the future, Guja's career in the army only went up. In May 1942 he was a senior lieutenant, in July he was already a captain and commander of a tank battalion of the 212th Tank Brigade. In November, Pavel Danilovich received the rank of major and became deputy commander of the 8th Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment. In the battles at Stalingrad, the officer was seriously wounded; in total, 8 wounds were counted on the tanker's body: six shrapnel and two bullet wounds. According to the hero's relatives, Paul was considered dead, so bad was his condition. However, fellow soldiers did not believe in the death of the officer, they found the body of the major, who was already with the dead and literally pulled him out of the other world, handing him over to the doctors. Despite severe injuries, in May 1943, after treatment at the Saratov military hospital, Gudz returned to the front. By the fall of the same year, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he became the commander of the 5th separate guards breakthrough tank regiment.
Hudz fought his last battle during the liberation of his native Ukraine in October 1943. In Zaporozhye, near the Dneproges, the KV officer was beaten. Three crew members were killed, the driver survived and Pavel, who received serious injuries to his hand, his left collarbone was damaged, and the shattered hand hung only on flaps of skin. When Pavel came to his senses, through the periscope he saw two "Tigers", which bypassed the immobilized shot tank, which no longer showed any signs of life. The decision came instantly, cutting off the remnants of the hand that was interfering with him with a knife, Gudz from the already knocked-out KV opened fire on the enemy, which substituted the side, and knocked out two tanks. Already during the battle, another shell hit the Soviet tank. The commander of the combat vehicle woke up only in the evening in a crater next to the KV, where the driver had pulled him out.
There were hospitals ahead again, this time it was a real disability. The tanker lost his arm, but did not lose the courage and desire to fight the enemy. Again after being wounded in April 1944, Hudz returned to the front - already with a prosthesis, again taking command of the 5th separate guards breakthrough tank regiment. True, now he stayed at the front only until May 1944. In the regiment he was met by Marshal of the Armored Forces Fedorenko, who conducted inspection trips to units equipped with the new IS-1 tank, also known as the IS-85. It was on his initiative that Gudz, on whose account there were officially 18 destroyed German tanks, was nevertheless recalled from the front and enrolled as a student of the command faculty of the Military Academy of Armored Forces, from which he graduated with honors in 1947.
His entire further career was directly related to the army, tactics and the use of tank forces, including in a nuclear explosion, teaching, testing new military equipment, including the BMP-3. The renowned tanker retired only in 1989 with the rank of colonel general. Despite the severe front-line wounds, Pavel Danilovich lived a long life. He died at the age of 88 in Moscow in May 2008.
