249th regiment of the convoy troops of the NKVD of the USSR
The regiment was formed at the beginning of the war in June 1941, according to the mobilization plan of the NKVD of the USSR, consisting of three companies as the 129th separate convoy battalion of the convoy troops of the NKVD of the USSR. Location: Odessa, Ukrainian SSR. Soon the number of the battalion's personnel was brought to the state of the regiment -1070 people and on June 23, the unit was renamed the 249th escort regiment of the USSR NKVD convoy troops, it is part of the 13th division of the KV NKVD of the USSR.
Major Bratchikov Philip Ivanovich was appointed commander of the regiment, deputy commander for political affairs - battalion commissar Klimenko Vasily Artamonovich (Artomovich), chief of staff - Captain Zub Dmitry Ivanovich. The regiment includes two battalions, the commander of the 1st - Art. Lieutenant Kreshevsky Ivan Dmitrievich.
As of July 3, 1941, the regiment was staffed, but there was a shortage of items of material supplies and especially footwear (70%) (From the summary of the convoy troops of the NKVD of the USSR).
Having completed the formation and putting together of units and subunits, the regiment in late June-early July 1941 began to ensure security on the streets of Odessa and the region, performs tasks to protect the military rear of the Southern Front, the Primorsky Army, which is directly preparing for the battle for Odessa, as well as is engaged in the evacuation of prisoners from the prisons of Odessa, Nikolaev, Kherson (highlighted in the summary of the Directorate of escort troops of the NKVD of the USSR No. 21).
By August 1941, a difficult situation had developed along the entire length of the Soviet-German front: the Nazis captured the Baltic States, Belarus, and most of the Left-Bank Ukraine. The enemy, regardless of losses, rushed to the east. The main target of the fascist army group "South" in those days was Odessa - a major seaport and transport hub, one of the main bases of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. Already on August 5, 1941, units of the 11th German and 4th Romanian armies reached the distant approaches to the city and tried to break through the Odessa fortifications on the move. The first assault was repulsed, and the 73-day heroic defense of Odessa began. Together with units of the Red Army and the Black Sea sailors, soldiers of the internal troops of the NKVD of the USSR fought to death * …
The figure shows the NKVD troops in the uniform of 1937. On the left is a Red Army soldier in summer uniform, in the center is an infantry lieutenant of the NKVD troops in winter uniform, on the right is a senior political instructor of the NKVD troops in a jacket.
On the morning of August 8, when a state of siege was introduced in the city, the commander of the 249th regiment of the NKVD convoy troops, Major Bratchikov, was summoned to the commander of a separate Primorsky army, Lieutenant General Georgy Sofronov. The major received the order: with one battalion to take positions on the right flank of the defensive line near the village of Luzanovka, holding them to the last opportunity. An order is an order. But it was not easy for the major to fulfill it: by that time, almost all units of the regiment had already been involved in solving various tasks. Some ensured the evacuation of prisoners and prisoners of war to the rear, others served to guard the headquarters of the southern group of a separate Primorskaya army, others patrolled the Odessa streets … And yet the consolidated battalion was formed - on the evening of August 8, 245 people, led by senior lieutenant Ivan Kreshevsky, were already dug in at Luzanovka … For a week the enemy did not show much activity in this sector, trying to break through to Odessa from other directions.
However, on August 16, the situation changed dramatically: the Romanians managed to find a gap in our defenses and at about 16:00, with forces of up to one regiment, supported by tanks and artillery, they advanced to the flank of the 1st Marine Regiment near the village of Shitsli and at a height of 37.5. Kreshevsky received a new task - at the head of the combined battalion, to urgently march to the Novo-Dofinovka area, together with the sailors to counterattack the enemy and eliminate the breakthrough. The combined escort battalion, whose fighters had only rifles, light machine guns and grenades with them, reached the line of attack by one o'clock in the morning. Wasting no time, the battalion commander sent a platoon headed by senior sergeant Nikolai Ilyin for reconnaissance, and he himself contacted the commander of the marines by radio to coordinate actions. Having received information from the scouts, Kreshevsky realized that the enemy was not ready to repel a serious attack from this direction, expecting it from the positions of the marines. And the senior lieutenant had a daring plan: to attack immediately, at night, while the darkness hides the small number of his unit! Having informed the marines of his plans, Kreshevsky on August 17 led the battalion into a night attack. A platoon of senior sergeant Ilyin hit the enemy's forehead. Making as much noise as possible, he attracted the main attention of the Romanians. At the same time, two companies under the command of Lieutenant Alexander Shchepetov and Junior Lieutenant Sergei Konkin piled on the flank of the German allies.
Another group of fighters, led by battalion commissar Vasily Klimenko, entered the rear of the Romanians, cutting off their retreat to the crossing over the Ajalyk estuary. The enemy was caught on three sides. Panic broke out among the Romanians. And the enemy, who had at his disposal guns, mortars, tanks, four times outnumbered the soldiers of the combined escort battalion, fled! And he ran exactly where Senior Lieutenant Kreshevsky tried to send him, towards the village of Buldynka, where the marines had dug in. The Chernomors met the Romanians with dagger rifle-machine-gun fire. In that night battle, the soldiers of the internal troops showed miracles of courage, courage and heroism.
“On August 17, 1941,” the commander of the southern group of the Primorsky army, the commander of the Monakhs, reported to the commander of the army, “near the village of Shitsli, they distinguished themselves from the personnel of the battalion of the 249th regiment of the NKVD troops: the commander of the 2nd company, Lieutenant Shchepetov, captured enemy mortars with skillful and energetic actions, personally installed them against the enemy and hit the enemy with well-aimed fire of trophy mortars. In this battle, Comrade. Shchepetov died heroically. The platoon commander of the 2nd company, Lieutenant Mishchan, seizing two guns, being wounded, together with the Red Army soldier Vavilov, turned the captured guns towards the enemy and destroyed the Nazis with accurate fire. The Red Army soldier Barinov, armed with a light machine gun, burst into the enemy's location, destroyed up to 20 soldiers and officers with machine-gun fire, shot a retreating group of up to 40 Romanians, destroyed the command post, where there were 12 officers. Comrade Barinov, being seriously wounded, did not leave the battlefield until the enemy was completely defeated. Red Army soldier Tsykalov, being captured, was beaten and pinned to the ground with a bayonet. During interrogation, a shell exploded nearby, its explosion killed two Romanian officers, and the rest fled to the side. Comrade Tsykalov, using this moment, picked up a grenade lying nearby and, freeing himself from the bayonet, threw it into a group of officers, after which he himself got to the location of his unit. (Here it is necessary to clarify: he got there crawling, bleeding, as both of his legs were pierced by the Romanians with a bayonet). The battalion showed exceptional skill in hand-to-hand combat. I note the high training of the personnel. During the entire period of the battle, there was not a single case of not only panic, but even a semblance of cowardice. In the battle on August 17, 1941, the battalion defeated more than two enemy battalions with artillery, mortars and tanks ….
In his report, the brigade commander, for unknown reasons, did not mention two more heroes: the regiment military doctor Ksenia Migurenko, who participated in the battle on an equal basis with the men, and the machine gunner Timofey Bukarev. This fighter, who received 7 (!) Wounds, entered into hand-to-hand combat with two Romanian officers, armed only with a sapper shovel. Having opened both skulls, he lay down for the captured machine gun and continued to strike the enemies with well-aimed bursts. The adjusted result of that night battle is as follows: the battalion (and in fact - two incomplete companies), led by the senior lieutenant of the NKVD troops Ivan Kreshevsky, completely destroyed two Romanian battalions and seriously battered the third. As trophies, 4 serviceable light tanks, 20 artillery pieces and the same number of mortars, 20 heavy machine guns were captured. Hundreds of trophy machine guns were counted … The joy of victory was overshadowed by serious losses suffered by the battalion: 97 of its fighters and commanders fell in the battle at Shitsli or were seriously wounded, after which they could no longer remain in the ranks. There was no need to count on replenishment, and no order was received to retreat to the rear. That is why the convoy battalion, in which there were only 148 active bayonets, continued to hold positions between the settlements of Shitsli and Buldinka for another 10 days.
The command of the unit instead of the wounded Ivan Kreshevsky was taken over by the chief of staff of the 249th escort regiment, Captain Dmitry Ivanovich Zub, after his death on August 28 - the adjutant (head of the combat unit) of the battalion, junior lieutenant Sugak, then lieutenant Alexei Chernikov. Only on August 28, the completely exhausted and thoroughly thinned out units of the regiment were replaced at the defended line by units of the Red Army. The remnants of the regiment arrived in Odessa, where they began to prepare for the evacuation.
Odessa continued to fight, chaining significant forces of the Nazis to itself. And in the trenches, and in the most besieged city, side by side with the Red Army men, sailors, militias, the soldiers of the 249th escort regiment of the NKVD troops were still serving. Separate divisions of the regiment left Odessa together with its last defenders on October 16, 1941. On the ships of the Black Sea Fleet, they were evacuated to Sevastopol. And they got out of the fire and into the fire. From archival documents it is known that the 3rd convoy company of the regiment under the command of Art. Lieutenant Kurinenko and Jr. political instructor Korneeva from October 30, 1941 takes part in the battles for the Crimea.
Excerpt from the report of the head of the political department of the border troops of the NKVD of the Black Sea district, regimental commissar G. V. Kolpakov for November 20, 1941: “10/30/41. to the specified area to stop the advance of the enemy. At about 3.00, the company stumbled upon the advanced units of the Nazis. Lacking any information about the forces of the enemy, the company took up defensive positions and at dawn at about 6.00 entered the battle.
The battle showed that the enemy acts against the convoy company with many times superior forces, having, moreover, artillery and mortars. Despite this, the company fulfilled the task of holding back the enemy's advance in battle. All the fighters and commanders in the battle showed exceptional resilience. Particularly distinguished was the machine gunner of the Red Army Shatilov, a member of the Komsomol. With machine gun fire, he destroyed 2 gun crews, two motorcyclists and many enemy soldiers.
Having withstood an almost two-hour battle, by 8.00 the company, covered from both sides by the enemy, left its positions in an organized manner. The enemy in this battle lost up to 60 soldiers and officers. Losses of the company - 6 soldiers were killed and 6 people were wounded, including the company’s political instructor Korneev”.
On November 12, 1941, the 3rd company, which was part of the 249th escort regiment that arrived from Odessa, together with several units of the Crimean border guards, were brought to a separate regiment of the NKVD troops.
The regiment commander was appointed border guard Major Gerasim Rubtsov, who later fell in the battles for Sevastopol and was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
On November 25, a company as part of a regiment participates in the attack of German positions near Balaklava, thwarting another attempt of the Nazis to break through to the outskirts of Sevastopol. Later, as reported on March 2, 1942 to the Main Directorate of the NKVD Border Troops, the commander of the Black Sea border district, brigade commander N. S. Kiselyov, the fighters of this unit "firmly held the lines they occupied, and the military actions and feats performed by individual servicemen were widely popularized among the Red Army and Red Navy men of the Sevastopol garrison."
In the annals of the Sevastopol epic there is a little-known and rarely mentioned by historians fact: in February 1942, the Germans, unable to break the resistance of the defenders of the city by the usual methods, fired at the positions of the Soviet troops with chemical shells in one of the sections of the offensive. Whether by chance or not, the target of the gas attack was precisely the sector of defense where the units of the combined regiment of the NKVD troops were stationed. Apparently, the Chekist fighters strongly annoyed Hitler's warriors … But even after this act of intimidation, the spirit of the soldiers was not broken!
This company in full force perished in March 1942, when the Germans made another attempt to storm Sapun Gora - the key position of the Sevastopol defensive lines. She died without retreating a single step.
It remains to add that, having received a report on the heroic actions of the soldiers and commanders of the 249th escort regiment in the defense of Odessa, the chief of the NKVD troops of the USSR Major-General Arkady Apollonov in September 1941 personally petitioned the People's Commissar for awarding the military unit with the Order of the Red Banner. But the regiment never received this award. As the machine gunner Vasily Barinov did not receive the Gold Star, he destroyed over 70 Romanian soldiers and officers in one battle and was presented for this feat to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Only by mid-February 1942, a decree was signed on awarding the participants in the August battle at Shitsli. Five of them - junior lieutenants Alexander Perelman and Sergey Konkin, senior sergeant Nikolai Ilyin, Red Army soldiers Mikhail Vavilov and Vasily Barinov - were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Seven more servicemen - battalion commissar Vasily Klimenko, political instructor Ustim Koval-Melnik, senior lieutenant Ivan Kreshevsky, lieutenant Mikhail Mishchan, sergeant Grigory Kapralov, junior sergeants Sergei Mukhin and Alexander Sysuev - became holders of the Order of the Red Star.
And what about the regiment? At the end of September 1941, he, in fact, experienced a rebirth. Several of its subunits and units, which carried out planned convoy and other tasks in July-August, were unable to return to besieged Odessa. These units were concentrated in Kharkov (1st battalion), on the Crimean peninsula (3rd convoy company). At the beginning of October 1941, the main forces of the regiment arrived in Starobelsk, Voroshilovograd region, and the military banner of the unit was delivered there. In Starobelsk, parts of the regiment, replenished with personnel and weapons, are located until October 19, 1941.
A group of servicemen of the 249th regiment of the convoy troops of the NKVD of the USSR. In the center - battalion commissar Vasily Klimenko
On October 24, the newly formed 249th Regiment of the 13th Division of the KV NKVD of the USSR was redeployed to Stalingrad *. Arriving in the wrong place, the regiment's units began to carry out guard and convoy service, guard the law and order and the rear of the units preparing for the defense of the city, which bears the name of Stalin.
In February 1942, the 13th division was renamed the 35th division of the KV NKVD of the USSR. Parts of the 249th regiment, which became part of the newly formed division, continues to be commanded by an old soldier (in the Red Army since 1918), already Lieutenant Colonel Bratchikov.
In the summer of 1942, Stalingrad became a front-line city. The soldiers of the regiment carried out a security service at the entrances to the city, on the Volga crossings, patrolled the streets of Stalingrad, while doing combat training.
In mid-August, the regiment is transferred to the northern part of Stalingrad, where it takes up positions on the fortifications of the Northern section of the defense. The 249th entered the 10th division of the NKVD troops under the command of Colonel A. A. Sarajeva.
On the morning of August 23, the 6th army of F. Paulus, crossing the Don in the area of Vertyachiy - Peskovatka, with the forces of the 14th tank and 51st army corps launched an offensive from the bridgehead on the left bank of the Don and by 16 hours on 23 August, enemy units broke through to the Volga from the northern borders, on the section Katovka - Rynok settlement. Dozens of German tanks from the 14th Panzer Corps appeared in the STZ area, 1-1.5 km from the factory workshops.
At that moment, only insignificant parts of the Stalingrad garrison could be involved in repelling the German offensive from the north. The modest forces of the 62nd Army continued to conduct intense rearguard battles on the eastern bank of the Don, and the main forces of the front were concentrated on the right flank, the front command did not anticipate the possibility of such a quick breakthrough by the Germans on the left flank.
The regiments of the 10th division were faced with a difficult and responsible task. It was necessary to prevent the breakthrough of the shock fascist units to the city and, having gained time by active defense, to enable the troops of the Red Army to regroup and reach new lines. The task was complicated by the fact that the 10th division, which constituted the main force of the garrison, was deployed on the southwestern approaches to Stalingrad, and the enemy was approaching its northern outskirts.
Battalion Commissar Vasily Klimenko
In addition to five regiments of the 10th division, the Stalingrad garrison included the 21st training tank battalion (about 2000 people and 15 tanks), the 28th training tank battalion (about 500 people and several tanks), two battalions of cadets of the military-political school (about 1000 people), the 32nd consolidated detachment of the Volga military flotilla (220 people), the 73rd separate armored train of the NKVD troops, the combined battalion of the 91st railway regiment and fighter battalions. In total, this was about 15-16 thousand people who needed to cover the 50-kilometer front. The strength was clearly not enough. In addition, the garrison had absolutely no artillery and anti-tank weapons.
On August 23, the enemy struck a brutal air strike on the city; within a few hours, the enemy made up to 1200 sorties. The commander of the 10th rifle division of the NKVD, A. A. Saraev, was simultaneously the commandant of the fortified area of the city. By his order, the organization of the defense of the northern part of Stalingrad was entrusted to the 99th tank brigade, the combined naval detachment and workers' destroyer battalions. Major General N. V. Feklenko was appointed head of the combat area. On the line Gorodishche - Gnusina - Verkhnyaya Elshanka - Kuporosnoye, units of the 10th division occupied the defense.
According to operational report No. 251 of the General Staff of the Red Army, at 8:00 am on 1942-08-09, the division took up defensive positions at the forest zap. np Barricades - forest south-west. np Red October - mark. 112, 5 - adj. Minina - Elshanka.
The advance detachment of the 14th tank corps of the Nazis on the approach to the Volga split: part of it moved to the river, and part aimed at the northern outskirts of Stalingrad, where the defense was held by the 249th regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bratchikov.
The bulk of the German tanks moved towards Latoshinka and the Market. Here they were met with massive fire from the batteries of the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment of the Air Defense Corps. A fierce protracted battle broke out. Anti-aircraft gunners repelled one enemy attack after another, almost point-blank shooting armored vehicles. But the forces were too unequal. By morning, a German tank avalanche swept over the anti-aircraft gunners' positions. Almost all the gunners of the three divisions died heroic deaths, completing their combat mission to the end. About seven dozen Nazi tanks were left to burn out in front of their positions.
Several tank units of the Germans, at the cost of huge losses, managed to reach the northern bank of the Mokrai Mechetka. Here, the units of the 21st and 28th training tank battalions, the destroyer battalion of the tractor plant entered the battle. The night ended the fierce battle. The Nazis did not manage to break through to Stalingrad on 23 August.
Commander of the combined battalion Senior Lieutenant Ivan Krishevsky
August 24 was declared the day of the decisive assault on Stalingrad by Hitler's propaganda. The German command pulled fresh troops to the northern outskirts of the city, reinforced them with tanks and artillery. Several times the Germans undertook attacks in different directions that day, but all their efforts did not yield results. The enemy, leaving about ten tanks, 14 vehicles and 300 soldiers and officers on the battlefield, by evening stopped trying to break through to the tractor plant.
On August 25, an order was given to introduce a state of siege in Stalingrad. To strengthen the defense, the 282nd rifle regiment of the division was sent to the northern outskirts of the city, which on August 25 by 6.00 occupied the area along the Mokraya Mechetka gully at the front of the 28th training tank battalion. To the west, opposite Orlovka, at the same time the 249th escort regiment advanced.
After strengthening the defense of the northern sector, an attempt was made to counterattack the enemy in the area of the forest plantation and the Meliorativny farm. In the plantation area, the attack was unsuccessful. The farm was taken, but the destroyer battalions suffered heavy losses.
On the morning of August 26, the Nazis opened fierce fire in the northern sector. About a hundred German bombers took part in the raid on the positions of the city's defenders. A bomb strike was also struck at the tractor plant and Krasny Oktyabr, at workers' settlements.
On August 26, Major M. G. Grushchenko, commander of the 282nd regiment of the 10th division, was appointed chief of the northern section of the defense. In addition to the units already here, the 1186th anti-tank artillery regiment, which had arrived from the front reserve, was also subordinated to him. And although the onslaught of the fascists on the left flank, south of Orlovka, did not weaken, the division commander Sarayev made a decision by the forces of the northern sector to strike at the enemy in order to seize the dominant heights 135, 4 and 101, 3 and throw the Nazis away from the tractor plant. The front commander approved this decision, and on August 27 at 17.00 the offensive began.
The 282nd regiment was the first to move swiftly against the enemy in cooperation with tankmen, sailors and units of the 249th regiment.
Former company commander of the 249th regiment of the convoy troops of the NKVD of the USSR Sergei Konkin
On August 29, the 249th regiment was advancing in cooperation with the 124th rifle machine-gun brigade of Colonel Gorokhov, who came to its aid. Lieutenant Shkurikhin's company was the first to break through to height 135, 4.
As a result of the offensive battles on August 27-30, despite the enemy's superiority in manpower and military equipment, he was crushed and thrown back from the tractor plant by 3-4 kilometers. Our subdivisions took possession of the village of Rynok, a forest plantation and a height of 135, 4, which significantly improved their positions.
The 249th regiment, which occupied the line south of the village of Orlovka, took its main battle here, and performed its combat mission perfectly. On August 27, his soldiers drove the enemy out of the village and moved forward along the southern slopes of height 144, 2. The entire personnel of the regiment showed courage, will to win and high military skill.
In the battles for Stalingrad, the veteran and favorite of the regiment Ivan Kreshevsky also distinguished himself. Already the captain, battalion commander, Ivan Dmitrievich “… showed exceptional organizational skills and personal initiative. During the battalion attack to height 144, 2, he led the leadership of the subunit operating in the main direction of the attack and was the first to capture the height, which ensured the attack of the regiment and the defeat of the enemy in the area of height 144, 2 and the village of Orlovka. Despite the fierce attacks of the numerically superior enemy forces, the battalion of Comrade Kreshevsky courageously held the line he occupied. (From the award list, see the appendix). For the battles in the defense of Stalingrad, Captain Kreshevsky became a knight of the second Order of the Red Star.
After desperate attacks, having suffered a series of defeats, the enemy stopped attacks in the Orlovka area and turned his attention to the central part of Stalingrad. Parts of the 249th regiment, having received a respite, put themselves in order, strengthen their positions, and then on September 2, 1942 surrender their positions to the units of the Red Army and begin redeploying to the city of Uralsk. There are not many military units in the Red Army that took part in the defense of three cities, which after the war became hero cities!
It should also be noted that for the successful leadership of the regiment in the battles near Orlovka, the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Bratchikov, was awarded his first (!) And really deserved state award - the Order of the Red Banner. (This is me for the topic of the allegedly unreasonable, numerous, undeserved and regular awards of the NKVD units guarding the rear of the Soviet fronts and armies).
Former sergeant Nikolai Ilyin in the post-war period in the system of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs rose to colonel
Since January, the 43rd regiment follows the advancing units of the Red Army, provides the rear of the fronts, and carries out convoy service. Parts of the regiment are serving in the town of Balashov, Saratov region, in November 1943, the regiment's headquarters receives an order to redeploy to Zaporozhye, then to Dnepropetrovsk, where it begins to carry out operational tasks in the territory of Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye and Crimean regions. During this year, the regiment escorted more than 62,000 prisoners of war from the front line into the interior of the country.
In 1943-1944, the regiment carried out the tasks of protecting the military rear, escorting prisoners of war and protecting prisoner of war camps in the zone of the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts.
In April 1944, the regiment was again based in the liberated Odessa. Here a new order was received: "To send the 249th NKVD escort regiment to the city of Dnepropetrovsk for service."
For successes in combat and political training, the regiment was awarded the Challenge Red Banner of the 33rd NKVD Division and the Challenge Red Banner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (in 1965).
In 1975, the 249th separate escort brigade of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR was awarded the Order of the Red Star by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for successful battles in the Great Patriotic War.
Already in peacetime, the soldiers of this unit took part in the maintenance of public order in the Crimea, the republics of the Caucasus. They took part in the hostilities in Afghanistan, in the elimination of the consequences of the earthquake in Armenia, the Chernobyl disaster.
Today, the tasks of the military unit 3054 of the Central Territorial Command of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (UCTRK) are very diverse: the protection of public order in Dnepropetrovsk, escort, extradition and protection of the defendants, the protection of especially important state facilities, participation in the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters and man-made disasters on the territory of Ukraine …
Repeatedly, the UTSTRK took first place among the other territorial departments of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and military unit 3054 was recognized as the best in the department. The military personnel of the unit honorably fulfill the tasks entrusted to them and adequately multiply the glorious military traditions of their grandfathers and fathers.
