Novo-Peterhof military-political border school of the NKVD troops named after Voroshilov K. E. (VPU) It was formed on October 7, 1937 after the establishment in the Armed Forces of the Institute of Military Commissars, on the basis of the Military School of the Border and Internal Security of the NKVD of the USSR named after K. E. Voroshilov. The head of the school is the regimental commissar Grigoriev. The school trained political workers for the border and internal troops of the NKVD. The term of study is 2 years. The school accepted privates and sergeants of the border and internal troops of the NKVD, who had completed military service, and received excellent recommendations from the commanders of the units. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, the school switched to an abbreviated training program.
Due to the aggravation of the situation on the approaches to Leningrad on August 17, 1941, according to the order of the commander of the Northern Front, the battalions of cadets of the Novo-Peterhof Military-Political School of the NKVD im. K. E. Voroshilov received the task of setting up a screen at the turn: the 1st battalion under the command of Major N. A. Shorin. - collective farm Chukh. Antashi, Ozhogino, Volgovo, 2nd battalion, captain A. A. Zolotarev - Hulgizi, Pulevo, Smolkovo, Dylitsy. Ahead of them were units of the Red Army (1st and 2nd Guards Divisions), under the cover of which the battalions were supposed to take up and prepare the defense …, but the battery did not arrive at its destination and did not support the battalion's battle. An anti-aircraft battery was attached to the 1st battalion. Both battalions operated independently and were operatively subordinate to the commander of the 42nd Army, Major General Belyaev.
Actions of the 1st battalion
At dawn on August 18, 1941. The 1st battalion took up the defensive position and successfully repelled the advance of the enemy's forward and reconnaissance units, and only the 4th company (Lieutenant Gamayunov), which defended in the Volgovo region, received the task of advancing in the Torosovo-Gubanitsy direction, on August 18, 1941. in the evening it was attacked by enemy tanks and motorized infantry and partially surrounded. The company in groups went to join the battalion and on August 19 joined the battalion. The company commander with two cadets left the encirclement only on 24 August. 21 cadets did not return from the company. To the commander of the 1st battalion, Major Shorin, who was defending in the Chukh region. Antashi, all retreating Red Army men of the 1st Guards Division were ordered to stop and form units. By August 22, two battalions were formed from the retreating units, instructors were put in command and political positions in these battalions, who went to the front with the 1st battalion. It was supposed to organize a regiment from these two battalions and the 1st battalion (Shorin), but later the people were returned to the 1st Guards Division. On August 20 and 21, border guard cadets conducted reconnaissance raids in the area of the villages of Bolshoye and Maloye Zhabino, Volgovo, Volosovo, where they had military clashes with the enemy. By this time, the enemy on the Kingisepp highway was forced to suspend the offensive, encountering unexpected resistance from border units. Taking advantage of the opponent's indecision, Shorin decides to counterattack. And over the next few days, the border guards drove the fascists out of the villages of Kotino, Bolshoye and Maloye Zhabino. Later, by order of the commander of the Kingisepp fortified area, "the further advance of the VPU regiment to the south" was stopped. The battalion was returned to its original positions, and then on August 30 was sent to the command of the commander of the Koporsk operational group, Major General Semashko, the latter reassigned the battalion to the commander of the 2nd division of the people's militia, Major General Lyubovtsev, and sent it to the Zabolotye region (30 km. North west of the Russian Antash), where the battalion arrived at 17-18-00 on August 31, 1941. By this time, the enemy in the Koporye region began to push the units of the 2nd division of the people's militia. To restore the position, the division commander sent in a counterattack the newly arrived 3rd and 4th companies, which successfully counterattacked and threw off the enemy's infantry, inflicting a great defeat on him, destroying the enemy battalion. The 3rd and 4th companies lost in this battle up to 60-70 people in killed and wounded cadets and commanders. As a result of the battalion's counterattack, supported by 10 BT tanks, the units of the 271st Regiment of the 93rd Infantry Division of the enemy were driven out of their positions in the Irogoschi area and hastily retreated more than five kilometers. After a successful counterattack, the entire battalion was withdrawn to the reserve of commander 2- th bottom and took up defensive positions in the Florevica area. Ahead, at the Gostilovo-Lasuny line, units of the 2nd bottom were defending. It took the enemy several days to regroup and prepare for a new offensive. During this time, units of the 8th Army managed to retreat along the Peterhof highway, thereby avoiding the danger of being cut off from the main forces of the Leningrad Front. September 4, 1941 units of the 2nd bottom were to transfer the area to units of the 125th Infantry Division and retreat to rest. During the change of units, the enemy launched an offensive and the changing units, without warning our battalion, began to withdraw, thereby exposing the location of the battalion both from the front and from the flanks. The enemy, after a powerful artillery and mortar preparation against the battalion, went over to the offensive and began to push the subunits, which in separate groups began to retreat in the direction of Voronino. In this battle, the battalion lost up to 120 people killed and wounded, 171 people did not return, and their fate is unknown. The main part of the battalion retreated to the village of Dolgaya Niva, where the border guards tried to gain a foothold, but under pressure from superior enemy forces were forced to retreat to the villages of Novaya and Gostilitsy, having mined the fork of the Cheremykino - Oranienbaum road. Until September 7, the cadets defended Gostilitsy, covering the withdrawal of units of the 281st Infantry Division, after which they were taken to rest in the area of the village of Bolshiye Iliki. But the enemy knocked our units out of the village of Porozhki and the command of the 281st SD, they had to send cadets to eliminate the breakthrough. Fierce battles for Porozhki continued until the twentieth of September 41. The border guards seized the village several times, but due to the lack of forces and the lack of fire support from the rifle units, it was not possible to develop the success of the counterattacks. In these battles, the battalion suffered the greatest losses.
Due to the fact that the battalion of cadets under the command of Major Shorin, operated during September 41g. as part of the 281st Infantry Division, the command of the 8th Army, contrary to the directive of the General Staff of the Red Army regarding the use of military formations of the NKVD on October 2, 41g. tried to transfer the personnel of the battalion to replenish the 1062th regiment of the 281st rifle division. Major Shorin was appointed regiment commander. However, as a result of the decision taken by the Military Council of the Leningrad Front on October 10, the front headquarters instructed the commander of 8A of the 1st battalion of the school to immediately withdraw from the battle and the composition of the 281th rifle division and send it with all weapons, transport and equipment to the school in Leningrad to continue the study interrupted by the fighting. As of October 1, the battalion had 68 cadets and 10 command personnel.
Actions of the 2nd battalion
Battalion August 17, 41g. was hastily transferred from Novy Peterhof to Krasnogvardeysk and at 19-00 took the defensive line near the Elizavetino railway station, in the villages of Alekseevka, Pulevo, Dylitsy and Smolkovo. At 24 hours on August 17, 1941.by order of the communications delegate of the front headquarters, the 8th company was thrown into the village of Hulgizi. Thus, the front of the battalion was 10 km. Due to the lack of communications, communication was established with three companies. On the night of August 18, 1941. our reconnaissance established an enemy offensive by two mechanized combat battalions of the SS division and one reconnaissance tank battalion of the 8th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht, the movement of which was noted along the roads of Volosovo - st. Elizavetino and the lake - st. Elizavetino. Already on August 17, the reconnaissance of the 2nd battalion clashed with the advanced units of the enemy and entered the battle. After a short battle, as a result of which one tank was knocked out and one officer was killed, reconnaissance returned to the company's core without loss. At 5-00 on August 18, 1941. The 5th company moved to the western edge of the station. Elizavetino and focused for a throw across the highway and railroad track. By order of the battalion commander, the cadets blocked the entrances and exits from the village, with the exception of the road to the old park. The enemy broke through the front line of the battalion's defense, and a fierce battle ensued. The firefight began in the station buildings. In the park, in its central part, there was a palace, a hundred meters from the palace there was a church, and not far from it were several stone buildings. In them, and on the islets of a nearby pond, the cadets defended themselves until 23-00 on August 18, 1941. As a result of this battle, two enemy tanks were destroyed and burned. At 23-00 the enemy occupied the park of the station. Elizavetino, and by order of Colonel Roganov, the battalion was to occupy a new line of defense of Mikino - Shpankovo. By 8-00 on August 19, 1941. the battalion began to gain a foothold on a new line, repelling the pressure of superior enemy forces with short counterattacks. At 21-30 a new order was received: to gain a foothold in the forest, northeast of the village. Bolshie Bornitsy, and close the road to the enemy in Krasnogvardeysk. By 7-00 on August 20, 1941. the battalion withdrew to the third line and took up defensive positions. The reconnaissance revealed that in the village of Bolshie Bornitsy the enemy concentrated one battalion of motorized infantry and deployed 10 camouflaged tanks in the bushes against our defensive line. The rest of the enemy forces - 50 tanks and motorized infantry - began to bypass the left flank of the battalion. At 12-00, a member of the Military Council and the chairman of the regional executive committee Solovyov arrived in the defense area, who conveyed the order of the High Command to the battalion: to close the enemy's road to Krasnogvardeisk, while promising to add reinforcements: an artillery battalion, 6 tanks, mortars, ammunition, water and food, which in the future the cadets never received. At 14-00 the enemy began heavy artillery and mortar shelling on the defense area and completely completed the encirclement of the battalion, but the road to Krasnogvardeysk was still in our hands, and all enemy attempts to break through the path of the motorized mechanized convoy along the road were repulsed. From 17-00 to 19-30 the battalion repulsed a strong enemy onslaught with fire and short counterattacks. At 19-30 the battalion in full force launched a counterattack, and the enemy, suffering heavy losses, was scattered and put to flight. As a result of this battle, six medium tanks of the enemy were blown up and burned, seven officers were killed, one general, 12 officer briefcases, bags with maps, two machine guns, many machine guns, rifles, pistols, grenades, cartridges and other. The 6th and 8th companies of the Military-Political School and two companies of the 2nd Guards Division of the People's Militia, located on the flanks of the defense, were cut off from the battalion by the enemy, and it was not possible to establish contact with them. On the defense section of the Bolshie Bornitsy - Krasnogvardeysk road, there remained: 7th company - 73 people, 5th company - 52 people, a sapper company - 27 people and a combined team - 23 people, 175 people in total. August 21, 1941 From 2-00 to 4-00 the enemy again opened strong artillery and mortar fire and by morning brought in new forces and launched an offensive, which continued throughout the day and night on 22 August. On August 22, the enemy also continuously attacked the battalion with heavy artillery and mortar fire, but was repelled by our counterattacks each time. The battalion continued to hold the road to Krasnogvardeisk, and there was no enemy movement along it. From 18 to 23 August, the enemy conducted intensified attacks on units of the 2nd battalion, trying to break through to Krasnogvardeysk. However, all attempts to break through the battalion's line of defense were unsuccessful, and the enemy was forced to suspend the offensive. Only on August 23, when the enemy learned that there were no anti-tank weapons in the battalion's area, the technical equipment of our units was very insignificant, he moved a large number of tanks against the battalion, began a massive shelling from artillery and mortars. But, despite this, the cadets, commanders and political workers continued to resist with all the means at their disposal. However, the technical and numerical superiority of the enemy led to the fact that the divisions of the school were dismembered and then surrounded. By the end of August 23, 1941. a difficult situation was created for the battalion, anti-tank weapons - grenades and bottles dried up, the composition of the battalion was for three to four days without food and water and as a result of mortar and artillery fire suffered heavy losses in wounded and killed. Having made a decision to break through the encirclement and strike at the enemy garrisons in the direction of the village of Pitkelevo - Seppelevo and reach Pedlino, the battalion launched an offensive, but the enemy concentrated strong artillery and mortar fire along the route of movement, and the attacking infantry dismembered the battalion, and the latter broke through in companies independently. The battalion command group of 36 people, falling into ambushes, fought out of the encirclement. In the area of Malye Bornitsy, it was surrounded by an enemy company and with a decisive attack, breaking and dispersing the enemy, and in the future, repelling individual attacks, on August 27, 1941. went to the station. Susanino, from where she arrived in Leningrad by train.
Starting from August 23 to September 1, cadets and commanders of the 2nd battalion in small groups left the encirclement and on September 1 they left: cadets - 196, commanders - 9, in total - 205. The battalion commander, Captain Zolotarev, authorized 3rd Division Senior Lieutenant Safronov, company commander Lieutenant Usenko, platoon commanders Lieutenant Novozhilov, Pyatkov and others. Of the entire 2nd battalion, which by the time of its performance at the front consisted of four companies in the amount of 579 people, 2 companies remained - 208 people. Of these, command personnel - 12, cadets - 196. Thus, the 2nd battalion lost 30 people killed, 80 wounded and 261 missing (among whom there are killed, wounded, surrounded, detained by other units), and in total - 371 people, or 64% of its composition. The losses of the battalion could be significantly less if the battalion occupied a normal defense area, had sufficient technical equipment and proper support from its neighbors. Unfortunately, none of this happened. The task assigned to the battalion is to detain the enemy along the road to st. Elizavetino - Krasnogvardeysk maximum three to four days - the border guards carried out, not allowing the enemy to advance for six days. Thus, giving the 126th and 267th separate machine-gun and artillery battalions, as well as units of the 2nd Guards division of the people's militia, the opportunity to occupy the defensive positions of the Krasnogvardeisky fortified area.
After leaving the battles, the cadets continued their studies in Leningrad, where in September 1941. the school was evacuated. In November 41. the release took place. Most of the cadets were sent to the border and internal troops of the NKVD. About forty people were recommended by the command and party organization of the school to the military counterintelligence agencies, to special departments of the Leningrad Front. And some of the cadets were sent as political workers to replenish rifle and artillery units of the Leningrad Front.
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