But there was also the history of the KV tank, the crew of which in July 1942 entered into an unequal confrontation with the armored column of the Nazis. And even though a day later the Germans managed to shoot the crippled armored vehicle, 16 tanks, 2 armored vehicles and 8 trucks with crosses on the sides remained on the battlefield.
The KV-1 tank killed in the Battle of Stalingrad. The armor has numerous dents
From postmen to tankers
The future hero, and then a simple boy, Semyon Konovalov was born in the Tatar village of Yambulatovo on February 14, 1920. If someone from the villagers were told that in just 22 years their Sema would accomplish an unparalleled feat and become a Hero of the Soviet Union, the narrator would immediately be laughed at. What feats, if the Komsomol member Konovalov could only become a simple postman, delivering letters and periodicals around the village? His whole life should have passed in the Tatar wilderness, if not for the movie "Tractor Drivers" released in 1939, in which the legendary song "Three Tankers" sounded.
Like thousands of other young people, Semyon Konovalov decided that he would definitely become a tanker. After being drafted into the Red Army (1939), he announced that he wanted to become a tank commander, and was sent to study at the Kuibyshev military school.
In the summer of 1941, on the eve of the beginning of World War II, Semyon Konovalov received lieutenant shoulder straps and immediately went to hell, becoming the commander of the high-speed, but already outdated BT-7 tank.
The hell of the first months of the war
Only tactical knowledge and confidence in the reliability of his own combat vehicle, which was significantly inferior to German tanks in armor protection and weapons, allowed the young commander to get out of the most difficult situations with honor.
Soviet tank BT-7
Sources claim that tanks driven by Konovalov's crews received direct hits from enemy shells, and tankers had to jump out of burning vehicles more than once. Fate kept the future hero, who, after being seriously wounded in August 1941, ended up in a Vologda hospital.
The country needed to train professional tankers, and Semyon Konovalov, who went through a combat school, turned out to be very useful. He was sent to the Arkhangelsk training center, providing an opportunity to restore health, while simultaneously teaching new recruits the intricacies of military affairs.
I will not sit in the rear
Another would have been glad of such an opportunity, but Semyon threw reports at the command with a request to send him to the active army. As they say, water wears away the stone, and in April 1942, the authorities decided to get rid of the annoying officer. Moreover, the losses among the Red Army tankers were monstrous, and the summer campaign of 1942 promised to be very hot.
This time Konovalov was lucky. He was appointed commander of a platoon of KV-1 tanks, which were considered the most powerful armored vehicles in the world and had no worthy opponents before the appearance of the German Tigers.
Heavy Soviet tank KV-1 ("Klim Voroshilov")
The main disadvantage of this combat vehicle was its heaviness and sluggishness, but the shells fired from the powerful 76-mm cannon easily pierced the armor of enemy light and medium tanks.
Unfortunately, even this power at the beginning of the summer of 1942 did not allow to stop the Nazi offensive in Donbass, Stalingrad and the Caucasus. Soviet tankers inflicted unexpected strikes on the enemy's flanks, destroying his manpower and military equipment, but they themselves suffered serious losses from the anti-tank artillery of the Nazis.
Seven Brave
In mid-July, the Red Army continued its retreat eastward. Only a few dozen vehicles remained in the 15th Tank Brigade, and Konovalov's platoon consisted of only one commander's tank, which, moreover, was pretty battered in battles.
On the morning of July 13, 1942, the brigade received an order to withdraw equipment to new lines of defense. As luck would have it, Semyon Konovalov's KV-1 stalled on the march. Whatever the commander himself, driver-mechanic Kozyrentsev, gunner Dementyev, loader Gerasimlyuk, junior driver-driver Anikin and gunner-radio operator Chervinsky did, the tank engine did not start, delaying the entire convoy.
Staying in an open area near the village of Nizhnemitakina in the Rostov Region was like death, and the brigade commander decided to continue moving, leaving mechanic Lieutenant Serebryakov to help the tankmen.
The task was extremely simple. Start the engine as soon as possible and follow to the brigade's location. Or become a barrier for the German troops, covering the retreat of their comrades.
For the Motherland
The repair of the tank took surprisingly little time. The tankers were already preparing to "gasp" when, from behind a nearby hill, two German tankettes suddenly jumped out on them, conducting reconnaissance of the territory.
Semyon Konovalov, instantly oriented, opened rapid fire, destroying one of the tanks. The second, however, managed to escape, hiding behind the hill.
It was clear that the scouts were being followed by a tank column, which must be stopped at all costs. The fighters, without a moment's hesitation, began to prepare for battle, knowing full well that he would be the last in their life.
German tank column in the Don steppes
But even they were amazed to see the size of the German column, in which the soldiers counted 75 tanks and a large number of other military equipment.
The nearby ravine helped a lot. In it, it was possible to slightly disguise the KV-1, which, letting the enemy in 500 meters, opened rapid fire on the Nazis.
While the Germans got their bearings, they lost four of their tanks and were forced to leave the battlefield. The Nazis thought that they ran into a well-organized defensive position of the Red Army, which they decided to simply crush with their might.
You're lying, you won't take it
The next attack of the Germans was organized according to all the rules of military art. First, the hollow was covered by artillery, which cut through all the vegetation with fragments of their shells, after which 55 tanks went into battle.
Column of German tanks Panzer III
Semyon Konovalov began to maneuver around his hollow, opening fire from its various points. With this, he made the enemy even more confident that they were dealing with pillboxes and several gun mounts. The German attack was drowned out, and the number of tanks on fire increased by another 6 units.
Confident in their invincibility, the Nazis were not going to retreat, and the next attack on the KV-1 was supported by the infantry. True, the Germans did not calculate the range of the tank gun, having lost 8 trucks with soldiers as a result of direct hits.
Problems for our tankers came when one of the enemy shells deprived the KV-1 of the ability to move. A hail of armor-piercing shells rained down on the stuck car. But the armor held, and the return fire destroyed 6 more tanks and 2 enemy armored cars.
Until the last shell
Only in the evening, when our soldiers ran out of shells, and they were firing only from machine guns, did the Nazis manage to pull up a 105-millimeter cannon to the tank. The cannon was placed 75 meters from the Soviet armored monster and shot at it with direct fire. The KV-1 died, giving its comrades an extra day to organize the defense.
When the next day a group of scouts specially sent for Konovalov's crew arrived at the scene of the battle, their gaze was torn apart by direct hits from the KV-1, in which there were fragments of the bodies of his crew.
On the battlefield, the skeletons of 16 German tanks, two armored vehicles and 8 trucks were still smoking, and the inhabitants of the village of Nizhnemitakina told the story of an epic battle between Soviet tankers and fascists.
Destroyed German tanks and the corpses of their crew members
Having learned about the feat of the crew, the command decided to present the crew for government awards, and its commander was offered to award the Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).
Hero or Traitor?
But it turned out that the story doesn't end there. Imagine the surprise of the commander of the 15th Tank Brigade when, in response to the funeral sent to the family members of the crew, an unexpected reply came from the Tatar village of Yambulatovo.
It said that Semyon Konovalov was alive and was fighting on a captured tank in another military unit.
The Chekists immediately had understandable questions, and an intelligent NKVD investigator was sent to the right unit, who was supposed to expose the tanker of betrayal.
The truth turned out to be banal, and therefore even more incredible. The Germans began to shoot the Soviet KV-1 when it was getting dark. And after removing the machine gun Semyon Konovalov, gunner Dementyev and mechanic Serebryakov managed to get out through the lower hatch.
They escaped pursuit under cover of night. Moreover, the Germans did not even admit the possibility that one of the Russians could survive in such a meat grinder.
Incredible return to your own
Within a week, the fighters marched east, but were never able to catch up with the rapidly retreating Red Army. His Majesty came to the rescue by chance. One night, the Red Army went out to the crew of a German tank, which was resting carelessly in the Don steppes.
Hitler's tankers on vacation. Advertising picture
An unexpected blow, and the tank turned from a German into a Soviet one, although it had crosses on its sides.
Then everything was simple. The tankers overcame the occupied territory without problems, and breaking through the line of defense, they were forced to turn the barrel in the opposite direction. Perhaps this, as well as a quick fire on the Germans who did not understand anything, saved the incomprehensible tank from destruction by Soviet artillery.
July 1942 was perhaps the most critical for the Red Army. Therefore, the check of the fighters who left the encirclement took place within one day. The tankers, without hesitation, were enrolled in the staff of the unit to which they entered, and Konovalov and Dementyevs were allowed to fight on the tank they themselves captured.
The commander promised to report the soldiers to the 15th tank brigade. But in the heat of that time, they simply forgot about it, or the documents were lost somewhere along the way.
Simple Soviet man
The captured tank “survived” for another three months, participating in defensive battles on the outskirts of Stalingrad. Semyon Konovalov repeatedly got into serious trouble and was wounded several times. But he stayed alive.
A well-deserved award found the front-line soldier only in March 1943, when the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR decided to award Semyon Konovalov with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Not posthumously.
He went through the entire war, had a large number of state awards. He finished military service in 1956 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, after which he returned to his native Kazan.
Semyon Vasilievich Konovalov
Semyon Konovalov was a welcome guest in educational institutions, told young people about the exploits of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. At the same time, he tried not to talk about the most terrible battle of his life, believing that any Soviet person should have done this.
The humble hero died on April 4, 1989. Grateful descendants named one of the streets of Kazan after him.
