"This is our war!"
The Tuvan People's Republic became part of the Soviet Union already during the war, on August 17, 1944. In the summer of 1941, Tuva was de jure an independent state. In August 1921, the White Guard detachments of Kolchak and Ungern were expelled from there. The capital of the republic became the former Belotsarsk, renamed Kyzyl (Red City).
Soviet troops were withdrawn from Tuva by 1923, but the USSR continued to provide all possible assistance to Tuva, without claiming its independence.
It is commonly said that Great Britain was the first to support the USSR in the war, but this is not so. Tuva declared war on Germany and its allies on June 22, 1941, 11 hours before Churchill's historic radio statement. Mobilization immediately began in Tuva, the republic declared its readiness to send its army to the front. 38 thousand Tuvan arats stated in a letter to Joseph Stalin: “We are together. This is our war too."
Regarding the declaration of Tuva War on Germany, there is a historical legend that when Hitler found out about this, he was amused and did not even bother to find this republic on the map. But in vain.
Everything for the front!
Immediately after the start of the war, Tuva transferred to Moscow its gold reserves (about 30 million rubles) and all production of Tuvan gold (10-11 million rubles annually).
Tuvans truly accepted the war as their own. This is evidenced by the amount of assistance that the poor republic provided to the front.
From June 1941 to October 1944, Tuva supplied 50,000 war horses and 750,000 head of cattle for the needs of the Red Army. Each Tuvan family gave from 10 to 100 heads of cattle to the front. The Tuvans literally put the Red Army on skis, supplying 52,000 pairs of skis to the front. Prime Minister of Tuva Saryk-Dongak Chimba wrote in his diary: “they destroyed the entire birch forest near Kyzyl.”
In addition, the Tuvans sent 12,000 sheepskin coats, 19,000 pairs of mittens, 16,000 pairs of felt boots, 70,000 tons of sheep wool, 400 tons of meat, ghee and flour, carts, sleighs, harnesses and other goods totaling about 66.5 million rubles.
To help the USSR, the arats collected 5 echelons of gifts worth more than 10 million Tuvan aksha (rate 1 aksha - 3 rubles 50 kopecks), food for hospitals worth 200,000 aksha.
According to Soviet expert estimates, presented, for example, in the book “The USSR and Foreign States in 1941-1945”, the total supplies of Mongolia and Tuva to the USSR in 1941-1942 in volume were only 35% less than the total volume of Western allied supplies to those years in the USSR - that is, from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, the Union of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand combined.
"Black Death"
The first Tuvan volunteers (about 200 people) joined the Red Army in May 1943. After a short training, they were enlisted in the 25th separate tank regiment (since February 1944, it was part of the 52nd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front). This regiment fought on the territory of Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
In September 1943, the second group of volunteer cavalrymen (206 people) were enrolled, after training in the Vladimir region, into the 8th Cavalry Division.
The Cavalry Division took part in raids behind enemy lines in western Ukraine. After the battle of Durazhno in January 1944, the Germans began to call the Tuvans “Der Schwarze Tod” - “Black Death”.
The captured German officer G. Remke said during interrogation that the soldiers entrusted to him “subconsciously perceived these barbarians (Tuvians) as the hordes of Attila” and lost all combat capability...
Here it must be said that the first Tuvan volunteers presented themselves as a typical national part; they were dressed in national costumes and wore amulets. Only at the beginning of 1944, the Soviet command asked Tuvan soldiers to send their “objects of Buddhist and shamanic cult” to their homeland.
The Tuvans fought bravely. The command of the 8th Guards Cavalry Division wrote to the Tuvan government:
“... with the enemy’s obvious superiority, the Tuvans fought to the death. So, in the battles near the village of Surmiche, 10 machine gunners led by the squad commander Dongur-Kyzyl and an anti-tank rifle crew led by Dazhy-Seren died in this battle, but did not retreat a single step, fighting until the last bullet. Over 100 enemy corpses were counted before a handful of brave men who died the death of heroes. They died, but where the sons of your Motherland stood, the enemy did not pass...”
A squadron of Tuvan volunteers liberated 80 Western Ukrainian settlements.
Tuvan heroes
Of the 80,000 population of the Tuvan Republic, about 8,000 Tuvan soldiers took part in the Great Patriotic War.
67 soldiers and commanders were awarded orders and medals of the USSR. About 20 of them became holders of the Order of Glory, and up to 5,500 Tuvan soldiers were awarded other orders and medals of the Soviet Union and the Tuvan Republic.
Two Tuvans were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union - Khomushka Churgui-ool and Tyulush Kechil-ool.
Tuvan squadron
The Tuvans not only helped the front financially and fought bravely in tank and cavalry divisions, but also provided the Red Army with the construction of 10 Yak-7B aircraft. On March 16, 1943, at the Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow, the Tuvan delegation solemnly handed over the aircraft to the 133rd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Red Army Air Force.
The fighters were handed over to the commander of the 3rd Aviation Fighter Squadron, Novikov, and assigned to the crews. On each one was written in white paint “From the Tuvan people.”
Unfortunately, not a single aircraft from the “Tuvan squadron” survived until the end of the war. Of the 20 servicemen of the 133rd Aviation Fighter Regiment, who made up the crews of the Yak-7B fighters, only three survived the war.
The first Tuvan volunteers (about 200 people) joined the Red Army in May 1943. After a short training, they were enlisted in the 25th separate tank regiment (since February 1944, it was part of the 52nd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front). This regiment fought on the territory of Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
In September 1943, the second group of volunteer cavalrymen (206 people) were enrolled, after training in the Vladimir region, into the 8th Cavalry Division.
The Cavalry Division took part in raids behind enemy lines in western Ukraine. After the battle of Durazhno in January 1944, the Germans began to call the Tuvans “der schwarze Tod” - “Black Death”.
The captured German officer Hans Remke said during interrogation that the soldiers entrusted to him “subconsciously perceived these barbarians (Tuvians) as the hordes of Attila” and lost all combat effectiveness.
Here it must be said that the first Tuvan volunteers were a typical national part, they were dressed in national costumes and wore amulets. Only at the beginning of 1944, the Soviet command asked Tuvan soldiers to send their “objects of Buddhist and shamanic cult” to their homeland.
The Tuvans fought bravely. The command of the 8th Guards Cavalry Division wrote to the Tuvan government:
“With the enemy’s obvious superiority, the Tuvans fought to the death. So, in the battles near the village of Surmiche, 10 machine gunners led by the squad commander Dongur-Kyzyl and an anti-tank rifle crew led by Dazhy-Seren died in this battle, but did not retreat a single step, fighting until the last bullet. Over 100 enemy corpses were counted before a handful of brave men who died the death of heroes. They died, but where the sons of your Motherland stood, the enemy did not pass.”
A squadron of Tuvan volunteers liberated 80 Western Ukrainian settlements.
Marines of the Russian Navy celebrate their professional holiday on November 27. The ceremonial events will take place in the brigades of the Pacific, Northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets, as well as in two battalions of the Caspian flotilla, individual companies and units.
Sea soldiers
Marine Corps Day was officially established by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy in 1995. But the history of this type of troops began in the second half of the 17th century. It was then that special teams of archers - naval soldiers - were formed as part of the crews of the ships of the flotilla created by order of Ivan the Terrible. And in 1669, the first Russian military sailing ship "Eagle" already had a similar crew, there were 35 of them, for boarding operations and guard duty.
During the Azov campaigns, the most combat-ready Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments created the Naval Regiment - a regiment, it consisted of 4,254 people. On November 16, 1705, according to the old style, and on November 27, according to the new style, Emperor Peter I issued a decree on the formation of a naval regiment. This day became the birthday of the Russian Marine Corps. The “sea soldiers” are responsible for victories at Gangut and Chesme, the assaults on Izmail and Corfu, and the defense of Port Arthur and Sevastopol.
The Marines fought selflessly during the Great Patriotic War. They brought real horror to the fascists. The Germans nicknamed the Marines the "Black Death" because of their black peacoats and incredible courage. And even when all the soldiers of the Red Army were dressed in combined arms uniforms, the Marines kept their vests and caps. They went into battle wide open, biting the ribbons of their caps in their teeth.
The Marines fought bloody battles on the Hanko Peninsula, on the Kola Peninsula, blocking the path of fascist troops to Murmansk, Polyarnoye, and Kandalaksha. The Marines performed immortal feats in the Battle of Moscow, where examples of courage and heroism were shown by seven naval rifle brigades, a separate detachment of sailors and two companies of naval school cadets. Ten marine brigades and dozens of separate naval regiments and battalions took part in the battles for Leningrad, which, under the most difficult conditions, showed miracles of endurance and heroism in defending the city and breaking its blockade.
On a boat and with a parachute
For 73 days and nights, the Marines, together with army units, defended Odessa from enemy divisions. In November 1941, near Sevastopol, a group of five marines led by political instructor Nikolai Filchenkov stood in the way of German tanks breaking through to the city. At the cost of their lives, they did not allow the tanks to pass. Having tied themselves with grenades, they rushed under the tanks. All five sailors were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In general, 200 marines were awarded this high title for courage and heroism, and the famous intelligence officer Viktor Leonov, who fought in the Northern Fleet and then created the naval reconnaissance and sabotage units of the Pacific Fleet, is twice a Hero. The personnel of the landing force, Senior Lieutenant Konstantin Olshansky, who landed in the port of Nikolaev in March 1944 and completed the task at the cost of their lives, were fully awarded this high award. By the way, one of the largest landing ships of the Russian Navy is named after Konstantin Olshansky.
And today the Marines are an elite military unit, in which each of the sailors considers it a great honor to serve. The Marines are armed with amphibious military equipment, portable anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems and automatic small arms. Marines land ashore from landing ships and boats, and are landed by ship-based and shore-based helicopters. Sometimes fighters can cross water under their own power - in floating vehicles and armored personnel carriers. Marine units of the Russian Navy are equipped with new D-10 parachutes.
According to Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Lieutenant General Oleg Makarevich, in honor of Marine Corps Day, the “black berets” organized holidays, weapons exhibitions, and demonstrated their skills.
Image source: Russian Seven
Today, very little is mentioned about the role of the very first ally of the USSR in the fight against Nazi Germany. This ally became the Tuvan People's Republic.
The rewritten modern history mercilessly erases the faces and destinies of those who stood to the end in one of the bloodiest wars of the past century. During the Great Patriotic War, the Germans called the Tuvans “Der Schwarze Tod” - “Black Death”. The Tuvans fought to the death even with the obvious superiority of the enemy, and did not take prisoners. They received this nickname already in the very first battle.
On January 31, 1944, in the battle of Derazhno (Ukraine), Tuvan cavalrymen jumped out on small shaggy horses with sabers at the advanced German units. A little later, a captured German officer recalled that the spectacle had a demoralizing effect on his soldiers, who on a subconscious level perceived “these barbarians” as the hordes of Attila. After this battle, the Germans gave the Tuvans the name “Der Schwarze Tod” - “Black Death”.
In his memoirs, General Sergei Bryulov explained:
“The horror of the Germans was also connected with the fact that the Tuvans, committed to their own ideas about military rules, did not take the enemy prisoner as a matter of principle. And the command of the USSR General Staff could not interfere in their military affairs, after all, they are our allies, foreign volunteers, and in war all means are good.”
From the report of Marshal Zhukov comrade. To Stalin:
“Our foreign soldiers, cavalrymen are too brave, they do not know the tactics, strategy of modern war, military discipline, despite preliminary training, they do not know the Russian language well. If they continue to fight like this, by the end of the war none of them will be left alive.”
To which Stalin replied:
“Take care, do not be the first to attack, return the wounded in a delicate manner with honors to their homeland. Living soldiers from the TPR, witnesses, will tell their people about the Soviet Union and their role in the Great Patriotic War.”
“THIS IS OUR WAR!»
The Tuvan People's Republic became part of the Soviet Union already during the war, on August 17, 1944. In the summer of 1941, Tuva was de jure an independent state. In August 1921, the White Guard detachments of Kolchak and Ungern were expelled from there. The capital of the republic became the former Belotsarsk, renamed Kyzyl (Red City).
Soviet troops were withdrawn from Tuva by 1923, but the USSR continued to provide all possible assistance to Tuva, without claiming its independence.
It is commonly said that Great Britain was the first to support the USSR in the war, but this is not so. Tuva declared war on Germany and its allies on June 22, 1941, 11 hours before Churchill's historic radio statement. Mobilization immediately began in Tuva, the republic declared its readiness to send its army to the front.
38 thousand Tuvan arats stated in a letter to Joseph Stalin: "We are together. This is our war too."
Regarding the declaration of Tuva War on Germany, there is a historical legend that when Hitler found out about this, he was amused and did not even bother to find this republic on the map. But in vain.
At the time of entry into the war with Germany, there were 489 people in the ranks of the army of the Tuvan People's Republic. But it was not the army of the Tuvan Republic that became a formidable force, but its assistance to the USSR.
EVERYTHING FOR THE FRONT!
Immediately after the declaration of war against Nazi Germany, Tuva transferred to the Soviet Union not only the entire gold reserve of the republic, but also the production of Tuvan gold - for a total amount of 35 million of the then rubles (the payment and purchasing power of which is tens of times higher than the current Russian ones).
Tuvans accepted the war as their own. This is evidenced by the amount of assistance that the poor republic provided to the front.
From June 1941 to October 1944, Tuva supplied 50,000 war horses and 750,000 heads of cattle for the needs of the Red Army. Each Tuvan family gave from 10 to 100 heads of cattle to the front. The Tuvans literally put the Red Army on skis, supplying 52,000 pairs of skis to the front.
Prime Minister of Tuva Saryk-Dongak Chimba wrote in his diary:“They destroyed the entire birch forest near Kyzyl.”
In addition, the Tuvans sent 12,000 sheepskin coats, 19,000 pairs of mittens, 16,000 pairs of felt boots, 70,000 tons of sheep wool, 400 tons of meat, ghee and flour, carts, sleighs, harnesses and other goods totaling about 66.5 million rubles
To help the USSR, the arats collected five echelons of gifts worth more than 10 million Tuvan aksha (rate 1 aksha - 3 rubles 50 kopecks), food for hospitals worth 200,000 aksha.
Almost all of this is free of charge, not to mention honey, canned fruit and berry concentrates, dressings, medicinal herbs and traditional medicines, wax, resin...
From this reserve, 30 thousand cows were donated to Ukraine in 1944. It was with this livestock that the post-war revival of Ukrainian livestock farming began.
FIRST VOLUNTEERS
In the fall of 1942, the Soviet government allowed volunteers from Tuva and Mongolia to enter military service. The first Tuvan volunteers - about 200 people - joined the Red Army in May 1943 and were enrolled in the 25th separate tank regiment (since February 1944 it was part of the 52nd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front). The regiment fought in Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
And in September 1943, the second group of volunteers - 206 people - were enrolled in the 8th Cavalry Division, which participated, in particular, in raids on fascist rear areas and Bandera (nationalist) groups in western Ukraine.
The first Tuvan volunteers were a typical national part; they were dressed in national costumes and wore amulets.
Only at the beginning of 1944 did the Soviet command ask Tuvan soldiers to send their “objects of Buddhist and shamanic cult” to their homeland.
One can cite many other military episodes that characterize the courage of the Tuvans. Here is just one such case:
The command of the 8th Guards Cavalry Division wrote to the Tuvan government: “... with the obvious superiority of the enemy, the Tuvans fought to the death. So, in the battles near the village of Surmiche, 10 machine gunners led by the squad commander Dongur-Kyzyl and an anti-tank rifle crew led by Dazhy-Seren died in this battle, but did not retreat a single step, fighting until the last bullet. Over 100 enemy corpses were counted before a handful of brave men who died the death of heroes. They died, but where the sons of your Motherland stood, the enemy did not pass...”
This year, the next, already 305th, anniversary will be celebrated by one of the most famous branches of the Russian Armed Forces - the Marine Corps. Epochs changed, the political system in the country changed, the color of banners, uniforms and weapons changed. One thing remained unchanged - the high skill and high moral and psychological level of our marine, who was the image of a true hero, capable of breaking the will of the enemy with just his menacing appearance. For more than three centuries of existence, the Marine Corps, which has covered itself with unfading glory, has taken part in almost all major wars and armed conflicts waged by our state.
"Marine Regime"
The first marine regiment in our country, called the “marine regiment” and formed under the command of Admiral General Franz Lefort during the famous Azov expedition carried out by Peter I in 1696, consisted of 28 companies and provided invaluable assistance during the siege of the enemy fortress. The Tsar was listed as only the captain (commander) of the 3rd company of that same regiment. The “Maritime Regiment” was not a regular formation, it was formed only on a temporary basis, but the experience gained prompted Peter I to make a final decision on the need to “officially” form marine detachments as part of the Russian fleet. Thus, already in September-October 1704, in his “Discourse on the Beginning Fleet on the Baltic Sea,” the Russian Emperor indicated: “It is necessary to create regiments of naval soldiers (depending on the number of the fleet) and divide them according to captains forever, to which corporals and sergeants should be taken from old soldiers for the sake of better training in formation and order.”
However, the course of the hostilities of the summer campaign of 1705 that soon followed forced Peter I to change his decision and, instead of disparate teams, form a single naval regiment intended to serve in boarding and landing teams on warships of the Russian fleet. Moreover, given the complex nature of the tasks assigned to the “sea soldiers,” it was decided to staff the regiment not with newly recruited recruits, but with already trained soldiers from army regiments. This matter was entrusted to Admiral General Count Fyodor Golovin, who on November 16, 1705 gave the order to the commander of the fleet on the Baltic Sea, Vice Admiral Cornelius Cruys: “I am required, by order of His Majesty, to have one naval regiment, and so I ask you, please compose this, so that it consists of 1200 soldiers, and what belongs to that, what kind of gun and so on, please send it to me and not leave the rest; and how many are there in number or there has been a great decline, then we are trying to find recruits.” This date, November 16 according to the old style, or November 27 according to the new style, 1705, is considered the official birthday of the Russian Marine Corps.
Subsequently, taking into account the experience of the Northern War, the marine corps was reorganized: instead of a regiment, several naval battalions were created - the “vice admiral’s battalion” (assigned the tasks of serving as part of boarding and landing teams on the ships of the vanguard of the squadron); “admiral’s battalion” (the same, but for ships in the center of the squadron); “rear admiral’s battalion” (rearguard ships of the squadron); “galley battalion” (for the galley fleet), as well as “admiralty battalion” (for guard duty and performing other tasks in the interests of the fleet command). By the way, during the Northern War, for the first time in the world, Russia formed a large landing force - a corps of more than 20 thousand people. So in this we were even ahead of the Americans, who took similar steps only during the Second World War.
From Corfu to Borodino
Since then, our marines have taken part in many battles and wars that have become fateful for Russia. She fought in the Black and Baltic Seas, stormed the fortifications of Corfu, which were considered impregnable, landed in Italy and the Balkans, and even fought in battles for land areas hundreds and thousands of kilometers away from the sea coast. Commanders repeatedly used Marine battalions, famous for their swift onslaught and powerful bayonet strike, as assault troops in the main attack directions in many battles.
Marine detachments took part in the famous assault on Izmail - three of the nine assault columns attacking the fortress were composed of personnel from naval battalions and coastal grenadier regiments. Alexander Suvorov noted that the marines “showed amazing courage and zeal,” and in his report he noted among those who particularly distinguished themselves eight officers and one sergeant of the naval battalions and almost 70 officers and sergeants of the coastal grenadier regiments.
During the famous Mediterranean campaign of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov, there were no field troops on his squadron at all - all the tasks of storming coastal structures were carried out by the marines of the Black Sea Fleet. Including taking the previously considered impregnable fortress of Corfu by storm from the sea. Having received news of the capture of Corfu, Alexander Suvorov wrote the famous lines: “Why wasn’t I at Corfu, even though I was a midshipman!”
Even near the seemingly completely “land” village of Borodino, even then the Marines managed to distinguish themselves and gain the reputation of formidable warriors - persistent in defense and swift in the offensive. On the land fronts of the Patriotic War of 1812, two brigades formed from naval regiments, combined into the 25th Infantry Division, fought. In the Battle of Borodino, after Prince Bagration was wounded, the left flank of the Russian troops retreated to the village of Semenovskoye, the Life Guards light company No. 1 and the artillery team of the Guards naval crew advanced here - for several hours the sailors, with only two guns, repelled powerful attacks of the enemy and fought a duel with the French artillerymen. For the battles at Borodino, the artillery sailors were awarded the Order of St. Anna, 3rd degree (Lieutenant A.I. List and Non-Commissioned Lieutenant I.P. Kiselev) and insignia of the Military Order of St. George (six sailors).
Few people know that in the Battle of Kulm in 1813, soldiers and officers of the Guards Fleet Crew, located in St. Petersburg and formed in 1810, took an active part, the only formation in the history of our country, and, perhaps, of Europe, that was not just a ship's crew, but also an elite infantry battalion.
The Marines did not stand aside during the Crimean War of 1854–1855, the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the Russian-Japanese War of 1904–1905 and, naturally, the First World War, during which a number of soldiers distinguished themselves in the Baltic units and units of the Marine Corps that took part in operations to defend naval bases and islands and solved the tasks assigned to them as part of the landing forces. Based on the experience of combat operations in 1916–1917 in the Black and Baltic Seas, the formation of two marine divisions began, which, however, for obvious reasons, was not carried out in time.
At the same time, however, more than once, due to the short-sighted policy of the military-political leadership, especially the army command fixated on the “land character of the country,” the Marine Corps was subjected to disastrous reorganization and even complete liquidation, with the transfer of its units to the ground forces. For example, despite the high efficiency of the combat use of marine corps units and the Guards naval crew during the wars with Napoleonic France, in 1813 the marine corps units were transferred to the army department and over the next almost 100 years the fleet did not have any large formations of marine corps . Even the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol could not convince the Russian leadership of the need to recreate the Marine Corps as a separate branch of the military. Only in 1911 did the Main Naval Staff develop a project for the creation of permanent “infantry units” at the disposal of the command of the main naval bases - a regiment in the Baltic Fleet and a battalion each - in the Black Sea Fleet and in the Far East, in Vladivostok. Moreover, the Marine Corps units were divided into two types - for operations on land and for operations in naval theaters of operations.
Soviet marines
And what about those events that we usually call the Kronstadt rebellion? There, the marines and artillerymen of the coastal batteries, forming the backbone of those dissatisfied with the anti-revolutionary, in their opinion, policy of the then leadership of the Soviet Republic, showed considerable fortitude and courage, for a long time repelling numerous and powerful attacks by a huge mass of troops sent to suppress the uprising. There is still no unambiguous assessment of those events: there are supporters of both. But no one doubts the fact that the detachments of sailors showed an unbending will and did not show even a drop of cowardice and faint-heartedness even in the face of an enemy many times superior in strength.
As part of the Armed Forces of young Soviet Russia, the Marine Corps did not officially exist, although in 1920 the 1st Marine Expeditionary Division was formed on the Sea of Azov, which solved problems characteristic of the Marine Corps, took an active part in eliminating the threat from the landing of General Ulagai and contributed to squeezing out White Guard troops from the Kuban regions. Then, for almost two decades, there was no talk about the Marine Corps, only on January 15, 1940 (according to other sources, this happened on April 25, 1940), according to the order of the People's Commissar of the Navy, the separate special rifle brigade created a year earlier was reorganized into the 1st Special Marine Brigade infantry of the Baltic Fleet, which took an active part in the Soviet-Finnish war: its personnel participated in landings on the islands of Gogland, Seskar, etc.
But most fully, all the spiritual strength and military skill of our Marines were revealed, of course, during the bloodiest war in the history of mankind - World War II. 105 marine infantry formations (hereinafter referred to as MP) fought on its fronts: one marine division, 19 marine brigades, 14 marine regiments and 36 separate marine battalions, as well as 35 naval rifle brigades. It was then that our marines earned the nickname “black death” from the enemy, although in the first weeks of the war, German soldiers, faced with fearless Russian soldiers who rushed into the attack in their vests, gave the marines the nickname “striped death.” During the years of the war, which for the USSR was predominantly of a land nature, the Soviet marines and naval rifle brigades landed 125 times as part of various landing forces, the total number of units taking part in which reached 240 thousand people. Acting independently, the Marines - on a smaller scale - landed behind enemy lines 159 times during the war. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of the landing forces landed at night, so that by dawn all units of the landing detachments would be landed on the shore and take up their assigned positions.
People's War
Already at the very beginning of the war, in the most difficult and difficult year for the Soviet Union, 1941, the USSR Navy allocated 146,899 people for operations on land, many of whom were qualified specialists in their fourth and fifth years of service, which, of course, harmed the combat readiness of the fleet itself, but such was the severe necessity. In November - December of the same year, the formation of separate naval rifle brigades began, which were then formed into 25 with a total number of 39,052 people. The main difference between a naval rifle brigade and a marine brigade was that the former was intended for combat operations as part of land fronts, and the latter for combat operations in coastal areas, mainly for the defense of naval bases, solving amphibious and anti-amphibious missions, etc. n. In addition, there were also formations and units of the ground forces, the names of which did not have the word “marine”, but which were staffed mainly by sailors. Such units can also, without any reservations, be attributed to the Marine Corps: during the war years, on the basis of Marine Corps units and formations, a total of six Guards Rifle and 15 Rifle Divisions, two Guards Rifle, two Rifle and four Mountain Rifle brigades were formed, and a significant number of sailors also fought in the 19 Guards Rifle Divisions and 41 Rifle Divisions.
In total, during 1941–1945, the command of the Soviet Navy formed and sent units and formations with a total number of 335,875 people (including 16,645 officers) to various sectors of the Soviet-German front, which amounted to almost 36 divisions according to the army staff of that time. In addition, marine units numbering up to 100 thousand people operated as part of the fleets and flotillas. Thus, almost half a million sailors fought shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army on the shore alone. And how it was fought! According to the recollections of many military leaders, the command always sought to use naval rifle brigades in the most critical sectors of the front, firmly knowing that the sailors would staunchly hold their positions, causing great damage to the enemy with fire and counterattacks. The attack of the sailors was always swift, they “literally rammed the German troops.”
During the defense of Tallinn, marine units with a total number of more than 16 thousand people fought on the shore, which accounted for more than half of the entire Tallinn group of Soviet troops, numbering 27 thousand people. In total, the Baltic Fleet formed one division, nine brigades, four regiments and nine battalions of marines with a total number of more than 120 thousand people during the Second World War. During the same period of time, the Northern Fleet formed and sent three brigades, two regiments and seven battalions of marines with a strength of 33,480 people to various sectors of the Soviet-German front. The Black Sea Fleet accounted for about 70 thousand marines - six brigades, eight regiments and 22 separate battalions. One brigade and two battalions of marines, formed in the Pacific Fleet and taking part in the defeat of militaristic Japan, were converted into guards.
It was the Marine Corps units that thwarted the attempt of the 11th Army of Colonel General Manstein and the mechanized group of the 54th Army Corps to immediately capture Sevastopol at the end of October 1941 - by the time the German troops found themselves under the city of Russian naval glory, the troops were retreating through the Crimean The mountains of the Primorsky Army have not yet approached the naval base. At the same time, the formations of the Soviet Marine Corps often experienced a serious shortage of small arms and other weapons, ammunition and communications equipment. Thus, the 8th MP Brigade, which took part in the defense of Sevastopol, at the very beginning of that famous defense, with 3,744 personnel, consisted of 3,252 rifles, 16 heavy and 20 light machine guns, as well as 42 mortars, and the newly formed 1st Baltic Brigade, which arrived at the front The MP brigade was provided with riflemen only 50% of the required supply standards, having no artillery, no ammunition, no grenades, or even sapper blades!
The following record of a report from one of the defenders of the island of Gogland, dated March 1942, has been preserved: “The enemy is stubbornly climbing our points in columns, a lot of his soldiers and officers have been filled, and they are still climbing... There is still a lot of enemy on the ice. Our machine gun has two cartridges left. There were three of us left at the machine gun (in the bunker - author), the rest were killed. What do you want me to do?” To the order of the garrison commander to defend to the last, a laconic answer followed: “Yes, we are not even thinking of retreating - the Baltic people do not retreat, but destroy the enemy to the last.” People fought to the death.
In the initial period of the battle for Moscow, the Germans managed to approach the Moscow-Volga canal and even force it north of the city. The 64th and 71st naval rifle brigades were sent from reserve to the canal area, throwing the Germans into the water. Moreover, the first formation consisted mainly of Pacific sailors, who, like General Panfilov’s Siberians, helped defend the country’s capital. In the area of the village of Ivanovskoye, the Germans several times tried to launch, funny to say, “psychic” attacks against the sailors of the 71st naval brigade of Colonel Ya. Bezverkhov. The Marines calmly allowed the Nazis to march at full height in dense chains and then shot them almost point-blank, finishing off those who did not have time to escape in hand-to-hand combat.
About 100 thousand sailors took part in the grandiose Battle of Stalingrad, of which in the 2nd Guards Army alone there were up to 20 thousand sailors from the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Flotilla - that is, every fifth soldier in the army of Lieutenant General Rodion Malinovsky (the latter later recalled: “Sailors "The Pacific people fought wonderfully. It was a fighting army! The sailors are brave warriors, heroes!").
Self-sacrifice is the highest degree of heroism 
“When the tank approached him, it freely and prudently lay under the caterpillar” - these are lines from the work of Andrei Platonov, and they are dedicated to one of those marines who stopped a column of German tanks near Sevastopol - a historical fact that formed the basis of the feature film.
The sailors stopped the German tanks with their bodies and grenades, of which there was exactly one per brother, and therefore each grenade had to hit a German tank. But how to achieve one hundred percent efficiency? A simple decision comes not from the mind, but from the heart, overflowing with love for one’s Motherland and hatred for the enemy: one must tie a grenade to one’s body and lie down exactly under the caterpillar of a tank. There was an explosion and the tank stopped. And after the commander of that combat barrier, political commissar Nikolai Filchenko, a second one rushes under the tanks, followed by a third. And suddenly the unimaginable happens - the surviving Nazi tanks stood up and retreated. The German tank crews simply lost their nerves - they gave up in the face of such terrible and incomprehensible heroism! It turned out that the armor was not the high-quality steel of German tanks, the armor was Soviet sailors dressed in thin vests. Therefore, I would like to recommend that those of our compatriots who admire the traditions and valor of the Japanese samurai, look at the history of their army and navy - there they can easily find all the qualities of professional fearless warriors in those officers, soldiers and sailors who for centuries defended against various adversaries our country. These, our own, traditions must be supported and developed, and not bowed down to a life that is alien to us.
By order of the People's Commissar of the USSR Navy dated July 25, 1942, a Northern defensive region of 32 thousand people was formed in the Soviet Arctic, which was based on three brigades of marines and three separate machine-gun battalions of marines and which for more than two years ensured the stability of the right flank of the Soviet- German front. Moreover, in complete isolation from the main forces, supplies were carried out only by air and sea. Not to mention the fact that war in the harsh conditions of the Far North, when it is impossible to dig a trench in the rocks or hide from aircraft or artillery fire, is a very difficult test. It is not for nothing that a saying was born in the North: “Where a reindeer passes, a marine will pass, and where a reindeer does not pass, a marine will pass anyway.” The first Hero of the Soviet Union in the Northern Fleet was senior sergeant of the Marine Corps V.P. Kislyakov, who remained alone at an important height and held back the onslaught of an enemy of more than a company for more than an hour.
Major Caesar Kunikov, well-known at the front, became the commander of a combined naval landing detachment in January 1943. He wrote to his sister about his subordinates: “I command the sailors, if you could see what kind of people they are! I know that people on the home front sometimes doubt the accuracy of newspaper colors, but these colors are too pale to describe our people.” A detachment of only 277 people, having landed in the area of Stanichka (the future Malaya Zemlya), frightened the German command so much (especially when Kunikov plainly transmitted a false radiogram: “The regiment landed successfully. We are moving forward. I am waiting for reinforcements”) that they hastily transferred units there two divisions!
In March 1944, a detachment under the command of Senior Lieutenant Konstantin Olshansky, consisting of 55 Marines of the 384th Marine Battalion and 12 soldiers from one of the neighboring units, distinguished itself. For two days, this “landing into immortality,” as it was called later, pinned down the enemy in the port of Nikolaev with distracting actions, repelled 18 attacks by an enemy combat group of three infantry battalions, supported by half a company of tanks and a gun battery, destroying up to 700 soldiers and officers, as well as two tanks and an entire artillery battery. Only 12 people survived. All 67 soldiers of the detachment were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union - a unique case even for the Great Patriotic War!
During the offensive of the Soviet troops in Hungary, boats of the Danube Flotilla constantly provided fire support to the advancing troops and landed troops, including as part of units and units of the Marine Corps. For example, a battalion of marines distinguished itself by landing on March 19, 1945 in the Tata area and cutting off the enemy’s escape routes along the right bank of the Danube. Realizing this, the Germans sent large forces against the not very large landing force, but the enemy was never able to drop the paratroopers into the Danube.
For their heroism and courage, 200 marines were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the famous intelligence officer Viktor Leonov, who fought in the Northern Fleet and then stood at the origins of the creation of naval reconnaissance and sabotage units of the Pacific Fleet, was awarded this award twice. And, for example, the landing personnel of Senior Lieutenant Konstantin Olshansky, after whom one of the large landing ships of the Russian Navy is named today, who landed in the port of Nikolaev in March 1944 and at the cost of his life fulfilled the task assigned to him, was awarded this high award in full. It is less known that of the full holders of the Order of Glory - and there are only 2562 people, there are also four Heroes of the Soviet Union, and one of these four is Marine Sergeant Major P. Kh. Dubinda, who fought as part of the 8th Marine Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet .
Individual parts and connections were also noted. Thus, the 13, 66, 71, 75 and 154th Marine Brigades and Marine Rifle Brigades, as well as the 355th and 365th Marine Battalions were transformed into guards units, many units and formations became Red Banner, and the 83rd and the 255th brigade - even twice Red Banner. The great contribution of the Marines to achieving a common victory over the enemy was reflected in Order No. 371 of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of July 22, 1945: “During the period of defense and offensive of the Red Army, our fleet reliably covered the flanks of the Red Army, which abutted the sea, and dealt serious blows to the trade enemy fleet and shipping and ensured the uninterrupted operation of its communications. The combat activities of Soviet sailors were distinguished by selfless steadfastness and courage, high combat activity and military skill.”
It remains to be noted that many famous heroes of the Great Patriotic War and future commanders fought in the Marine Corps and Marine Rifle Brigades. Thus, the creator of the airborne troops, Hero of the Soviet Union, Army General V.F. Margelov, during the war years was one of the best commanders of marine regiments - he commanded the 1st Special Ski Regiment of the Marine Corps of the Leningrad Front. The commander of the 7th Airborne Division, Major General T.M. Parafilo, who at one time commanded the 1st Special (Separate) Marine Brigade of the Baltic Fleet, also left the Marine Corps. At different times, such famous military leaders as Marshal of the Soviet Union N.V. Ogarkov (in 1942 - brigade engineer of the 61st separate naval rifle brigade of the Karelian Front), Marshal of the Soviet Union S. F. Akhromeev (in 1941 - first-year cadet of the M.V. Frunze Military Military School - soldier of the 3rd separate marine brigade), Army General N. G. Lyashchenko (in 1943 - commander of the 73rd separate naval rifle brigade Volkhov Front), Colonel General I.M. Chistyakov (in 1941–1942 - commander of the 64th Naval Rifle Brigade).
