The article describes the main events of the Battle of the Dnieper: the beginning of the operation, the offensive of Soviet troops in the Donbass, the capture and expansion of bridgeheads on the right bank of the river. The plans of the parties and the disposition of troops at the beginning of the battle are considered. The results of the battles have been summed up.

Introduction: the strategic situation at the front in August 1943

By the end of August 1943, the impossibility of winning the war became obvious to the German government. After the defeat on the Kursk Bulge and the Oryol and Belgorod-Kharkov offensive operations carried out by the Red Army, all enemy reserves were depleted. Favorable conditions developed for a new offensive by Soviet troops.

The Battle of the Dnieper, according to the calculations of the Soviet command, was supposed to end with the liberation of Left Bank Ukraine and Donbass, and after reaching the Dnieper, it was planned to cross the river and capture strategically important positions on its right bank. There was no consensus at the General Staff regarding the organization of the future operation. Marshal G.K. Zhukov proposed delivering the main blow in the Donbass region, but the Supreme Commander-in-Chief insisted on delivering a blow on a broad front and seizing bridgeheads on the right bank of the Dnieper. According to I.V. Stalin, with the consistent cutting off and encirclement of significant groups of enemy troops, the offensive would take a long time and the Germans would have time to gain a foothold on the approaches to the Dnieper. It was decided to launch an offensive on the southern sector of the front. Delivering several simultaneous attacks scattered the forces of the Soviet troops, but the enemy lost the opportunity to predict the direction of the main attack.

In order to prevent the transfer of enemy troops to the southwestern direction from other fronts, the Red Army began to actively push back the enemy in the western strategic direction. In October - August 1943, the Smolensk, Bryansk and Nevelsk offensive operations were carried out.

German defense preparations

The German command made great efforts to contain the advance of the Red Army to the west. The enemy urgently needed to gain time to mobilize internal reserves. The Germans attached great importance to holding Donbass, where there were significant mineral reserves.

On August 11, 1943, Hitler gave the order to begin construction of a defensive line along the Molochnaya River, the middle reaches of the Dnieper, and along the Sozh and Narva rivers, called the Eastern Wall. Nazi propaganda was quick to declare these fortifications impregnable; in reality, the Eastern Wall was insurmountable only on the map. When constructing defense lines, German engineers took advantage of the natural conditions of the terrain: the right bank of the Dnieper was much higher and steeper than the left. Bridgehead fortifications were also created on the left bank. The civilian population of the occupied territories was forcibly recruited for the work.

But the Eastern Wall was prepared in a hurry, so the defense was not equally strong in all areas. The most powerful fortifications were built in the areas of Kremenchug, Zaporozhye and Nikopol - the supposed crossing points of Soviet troops.

Troop position before the battle

The defensive structures along the Dnieper were covered by German troops from Army Groups Center and South. The enemy units included more than 120 thousand soldiers and officers, 12.5 thousand guns and mortars, more than 2 thousand tanks and up to 2 thousand combat aircraft.

The Soviet group of forces created for the offensive on the southwestern front consisted of more than 2,600 thousand soldiers, over 50 thousand guns, 2.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, more than 2.5 thousand aircraft. In mid-September 1943, reinforcements from General Headquarters reserves were sent to the front.

Start of the battle

On August 26, 1943, the Red Army began its offensive. The first stage of the battle for the Dnieper is Chernigov-Poltava operation, which, by the nature of the tasks performed, consisted of the Chernigov-Pripyat, Sumsko-Priluki and Poltava operations. The most large-scale is the Chernigov-Pripyat offensive, carried out by a group of troops of the Central Front.

The main blow was delivered in the Novgorod-Seversk direction, and the auxiliary one in the Konotop direction. In the main direction, the strike group of Soviet troops encountered stubborn enemy resistance. By August 31, Red Army units had advanced only 20-25 km. In the Konotop direction, the actions of the Soviet troops were more successful. On August 30, the city of Glukhov was liberated. By the evening of August 31, Red Army units advanced 60 km deep into Ukrainian territory.

By September 3, the troops of the Central Front crossed the Seim River and occupied the cities of Nezhin, Bakhmach and Konotop. Having suppressed enemy resistance in the Kiev direction, Soviet troops liberated Novgorod-Seversky on September 16, and September 21 - Chernigov.

The enemy retreated, waging stubborn battles for every populated area. Red Army units suffered significant losses as they moved forward. However, it became clear to German military leaders that the Wehrmacht troops could not stop the Soviet offensive. Reserve tank and infantry divisions and Luftwaffe units were thrown into battle. But even after receiving reinforcements, the German troops could not hold the line for long.

Retreating, the enemy adhered to the “scorched earth” tactics. The Germans destroyed industrial and agricultural enterprises, administrative buildings, residential buildings, bridges and roads. Antiquities and material assets were destroyed or taken to Germany. The population was driven away for forced labor in territories still under Hitler's control.

On August 22, Soviet tank units crossed the Dnieper in the Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky area and captured a bridgehead south of Kyiv near Velikiy Bukrin. Then troops of the 40th and 47th armies crossed the river, expanding the bridgehead. After stubborn fighting, the city of Sumy, a regional center in northern Ukraine, was liberated on September 2. At the end of September, the troops of the 38th Army of General N. E. Chibisov captured a second bridgehead in the Lyutezh area. But in order to take Kyiv with one blow, the Soviet troops did not have enough strength.

On August 23, the Steppe Front liberated Poltava and by the beginning of autumn approached the Dnieper in the area of ​​Kremenchug and Cherkassy.

From mid-September, the enemy began an organized withdrawal of troops beyond the Dnieper. The Germans planned to gain a foothold in previously prepared positions.

Donbass offensive operation

The Donbass offensive, considered by many historians to be part of the Battle of the Dnieper, was undertaken by the Red Army to liberate the economically developed eastern regions of Ukraine. Donbass was also extremely important for the enemy. The Germans sought to retain the captured territories at any cost.

The troops of the right wing of the Southwestern Front crossed the Seversky Donets and on the night of August 18 occupied the city of Zmiev near Kharkov. The Soviet strike group then went on the offensive in the central sector, striking in the direction from Barvenkovo ​​to Pavlograd. But the Red Army was unable to break through the defenses of a strongly entrenched enemy on the move. A repeated attack on August 19 was also unsuccessful. The Germans brought tanks, aircraft and artillery to the front line. The fighting in the Donbass pinned down significant enemy forces, which facilitated the offensive of Soviet troops in other areas.

On August 18, the troops of the Southern Front broke through the enemy defenses on the Mius River and advanced 18-20 km. Developing their success, Soviet units split the 6th German Army into two parts. The Germans could no longer stop the advance of the Soviet troops and began to retreat. On September 8, the city of Stalino was liberated, and on September 10, Zhdanov.

The Southwestern Front, having regrouped its forces, also successfully launched offensive operations. Proletarsk, Pervomaisk, Barvenkovo, and Artemovsk were liberated. By September 22, Soviet troops pushed the enemy back beyond the Dnieper south of Dnepropetrovsk and moved towards Zaporozhye.

To facilitate the offensive of the troops of the Voronezh Front in September, a landing force was launched behind enemy lines. The paratroopers were faced with the task of seizing a bridgehead in the Bukrinskaya Bend area and preventing the approach of German reserve units. About 10 thousand soldiers armed with mortars, anti-tank guns and machine guns, 180 transport aircraft, more than 30 gliders and 10 towing aircraft took part in the operation.

The first airborne assault on the night of September 24 took place under unfavorable weather conditions and heavy German anti-aircraft fire. Some of the fighters landed at enemy troops and suffered significant losses. The Soviet command lost contact with the landing units. The release of the second echelon of troops was also unsuccessful.

The surviving groups of fighters, actively interacting with the partisans, fought behind enemy lines. On November 13, a combat group of paratroopers broke through to the right bank of the Dnieper and captured a bridgehead in the Lozovka area, which was later used by Soviet troops during the offensive. Having failed to complete the assigned tasks, the landing tied up large enemy forces and destroyed several enemy garrisons.

After the failure in September 1943, the Soviet commanders decided not to carry out such large-scale

Crossing the Dnieper, capturing and expanding bridgeheads

By the end of September 1943, the troops of the Central, Steppe, Voronezh and Southwestern Fronts almost simultaneously approached the Dnieper. The soldiers of the rifle units on homemade rafts or by swimming crossed to the other side and tried to gain a foothold there. The fight took place under extremely difficult conditions. The troops experienced a great shortage of boats and other transportation means. It was especially difficult to organize the delivery of artillery and heavy equipment to combat areas. But despite the difficulties of crossing and stubborn enemy resistance, by the beginning of October 1943, Soviet troops had captured 23 bridgeheads on the right bank of the Dnieper.

• Central - to Belorussky,
• Voronezh - to the 1st Ukrainian,
• Stepnoy - to the 2nd Ukrainian,
• South-Western - to the 3rd Ukrainian,
• Southern - to the 4th Ukrainian.

Continuing the struggle to expand the bridgeheads, Soviet troops carried out the Kyiv and Lower Dnieper offensive operations. The main battles during this period took place on the territory of Right Bank Ukraine.

Kyiv strategic offensive operation

The Kiev offensive operation was carried out by troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front from November 3 to November 13, 1943.

The battles for Kyiv began back in October, but attempts to attack from the Bukrinsky bridgehead did not produce the expected results. The enemy created a powerful defense in this area, concentrating 5 tank and 5 rifle divisions opposite the Bukrinsky bridgehead.

The Soviet command ordered the main efforts of the Red Army to be transferred to a bridgehead in the Lyutezh area, north of Kyiv. A large number of tanks and artillery were secretly transported there. But in order to hide the true direction of the main attack from the Germans, Soviet troops continued to attack the enemy from the first bridgehead.

On November 3, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front began moving towards Kyiv. Having broken through the enemy's defenses, Soviet units quickly moved forward. On November 5, Soviet tanks interrupted the railway connection between Kiev and Zhitomir. Fearing encirclement, the German command ordered the Kyiv group of troops to begin withdrawing.

On November 6, 1943, the liberation of Kyiv was completed. The next day, Soviet troops occupied Fastov. On November 13, the Germans, taking advantage of the fact that Soviet troops had not yet managed to gain a foothold in the area, launched a counteroffensive, which was repelled until December 23, 1943.

Lower Dnieper offensive operation

The Lower Dnieper operation lasted from September 26 to December 20, 1943. From October 10 to 14, Soviet troops liquidated the enemy’s Zaporozhye bridgehead, which was well fortified in engineering terms. It was defended by a significant group of troops, numbering 35 thousand soldiers and officers, more than 500 guns, and about 200 tanks.

Rapidly advancing, the Red Army reached the approaches to Zaporozhye on October 13. On the night of October 14, the assault on the city began. The enemy put up fierce resistance, but by the evening of October 14 he was forced to retreat. During the retreat, the Germans did not have time to blow up the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station, an important hydropower complex in Ukraine.

After the liquidation of the Zaporozhye bridgehead, the threat of a flank attack by fascist German troops against Soviet units fighting in the Dnepropetrovsk region disappeared. Favorable conditions have developed for isolating the enemy’s Crimean group.

During the Lower Dnieper operation, Soviet troops cleared the left bank of the Dnieper from Cherkasy to Zaporozhye and created a significant (up to 150 km wide) bridgehead on the right bank of the river.

Results of the battle

The result of the Battle of the Dnieper was the defeat by Soviet troops of the main part of the enemy's Eastern Wall. The plans of the German command to stabilize the front and begin positional combat were thwarted. The liberation of Donbass and Left Bank Ukraine has been completed. The Red Army gained a foothold in the captured bridgeheads on the right bank of the Dnieper.

The successful offensive raised the morale of the Red Army soldiers and civilian population of the USSR. A radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War has ended. Red Army units were ready for a further offensive in the Crimea, near Leningrad and in Belarus. The successes of the USSR armed forces influenced the policies of the allied countries: they strengthened the anti-Hitler coalition and accelerated the opening of a second front in Europe.

The best German troops were defeated on the Eastern Front. Nazi Germany's reserves were depleted; it could not provide assistance to satellite countries. In the second half of 1943, Romania, Hungary and Finland began searching for ways out of the war.

The battles took place along almost the entire length of the Dnieper bed; the operation was one of the largest and bloodiest in the entire history of the war. The losses of Soviet troops during the assault on Kyiv alone amounted to more than 30 thousand people.

More than 2 thousand participants in the battle for the Dnieper received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for heroism and accomplished feats. In 1975, the diorama “Battle of the Dnieper” was created- one of the world's largest dioramas dedicated to the events of the Second World War. Battles on the territory of Ukraine are described in many works of fiction. Photos, letters, orders and documents from the Battle of the Dnieper period are publicly available.

Diorama “Battle of the Dnieper”

Strengths of the parties 2,650,000 soldiers
51,000 guns
2,400 tanks
2,850 aircraft 1,250,000 soldiers
12,600 guns
2,100 tanks
2,000 aircraft Military losses 1st Ukrainian Front 63,874 dead 167,190 wounded
2nd Ukrainian Front 77,400 killed and missing 226,217 wounded
from 400,000
up to 1,000,000

The Great Patriotic War

Invasion of the USSR Karelia Arctic Leningrad Rostov Moscow Sevastopol Barvenkovo-Lozovaya Kharkiv Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad Rzhev Stalingrad Caucasus Velikie Luki Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh Voronezh-Kastornoye Kursk Smolensk Donbass Dnieper Right Bank Ukraine Leningrad-Novgorod Crimea (1944) Belarus Lviv-Sandomir Iasi-Chisinau Eastern Carpathians Baltics Courland Romania Bulgaria Debrecen Belgrade Budapest Poland (1944) Western Carpathians East Prussia Lower Silesia Eastern Pomerania Upper Silesia Vein Berlin Prague

Battle for the Dnieper- a series of interconnected strategic operations of the Great Patriotic War, carried out in the second half of 1943 on the banks of the Dnieper. Up to 4 million people took part in the battle on both sides, and its front stretched over 1,400 kilometers. As a result of a four-month operation, the left bank of the Dnieper was liberated by the Red Army from the Nazi invaders. During the operation, significant forces of the Red Army crossed the river, created several bridgeheads on the right bank of the river, and also liberated the city of Kyiv. The Battle of the Dnieper became one of the largest battles in world history.

Description of the battle. Features of the definition

The battle for the Dnieper also became one of the bloodiest - according to various estimates, the number of losses on both sides (including killed and wounded) ranged from 1.7 million to 2.7 million. Considering the significant area where the battle took place, some historians refuse consider the Battle of the Dnieper as one single battle. In their opinion, the bloodiest battle in human history was the Battle of Stalingrad.

The main battles, the totality of which represents the Battle of the Dnieper, are:

• Chernigov-Pripyat operation (August 26 - September 30)
• Dnieper airborne operation (September 1943)
• Melitopol operation (September 26 - November 5, 1943)
• Zaporozhye operation (October 10-14, 1943)
• Kyiv offensive operation (November 3-13, 1943)
• Kiev defensive operation (November 13 - December 23, 1943)

Before the battle

In addition to defensive measures, on September 7, 1943, the SS and Wehrmacht forces were ordered to completely devastate the areas from which they had to retreat, in order to slow down the advance of the Red Army and try to complicate the supply of its formations.

From this situation, I concluded that we cannot hold Donbass with the forces we have and that an even greater danger for the entire southern flank of the Eastern Front has arisen on the northern flank of the group. The 8th and 4th tank armies are not able to hold back the enemy onslaught in the direction of the Dnieper for long.

Manstein E. “Lost Victories.” Chapter 15, page 534

Despite the heavy losses, the Dnieper airborne operation diverted the attention of a significant number of German mechanized formations, which made it possible to carry out the crossing of troops with fewer losses. However, after the failure of the Vyazemsk and Dnieper landing operations, the Supreme High Command Headquarters abandoned the further massive use of landing forces.

Crossing of the Dnieper

Selecting an action scenario

Soviet soldiers prepare rafts and boats to cross the Dnieper

The Dnieper is the third largest river in Europe, after the Volga and Danube. In the lower reaches the river can be up to 3 kilometers wide, and the fact that the river has been dammed in some places only increases the possibility of it overflowing. The right bank is much higher and steeper than the left, which only made the crossing more difficult. In addition to this, the opposite bank was turned by German army soldiers into a huge complex of barriers and fortifications, according to Wehrmacht directives.

Faced with such a situation, the Soviet command had two options for solving the problem of crossing the Dnieper. The first option was to slow down the speed of movement of troops and gather additional forces to the crossing point, which gave time to discover the weakest point in the German defense line and subsequent attack in that place (not necessarily in the lower reaches of the Dnieper), to begin a massive breakthrough and encirclement of the German defense lines, squeezing out fascist German troops in positions where they will be unable to resist overcoming defensive lines (actions very similar to the Wehrmacht tactics when overcoming the Maginot Line in 1940). This option, accordingly, gave the Germans time to gather additional defense forces and regroup their troops to repel the onslaught of Soviet forces at the appropriate points. Moreover. this exposed Soviet troops to the possibility of being attacked by German mechanized units - this was, in fact, the most effective weapon of the German forces from the city.

The second scenario was to launch a massive strike without the slightest delay, and force the Dnieper along the entire section of the front. This option did not leave time for the German side to prepare to repel the attack, but led to much larger losses on the part of the Soviet troops. There is a version, not supported by documents, that for political reasons (the anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917) Stalin wanted Kyiv to be taken precisely by this date.

Soviet troops occupied the coast opposite from the fascist troops for almost 300 kilometers. All existing watercraft were used by the troops, including makeshift rafts made from logs, tree trunks and planks (see one of the photographs). The most important topic of discussion was the support of heavy equipment - without it, the forcing would not have taken place.

Forcing

Soldiers crossing the river

The first bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper was conquered on September 22 at the confluence of the Dnieper and the Pripyat River, in the northern part of the front. On September 24, another position was recaptured near Dneprodzerzhinsk, a third in the same area the next day, and a fourth on September 28 near Kremenchug. By the end of the month, 23 bridgeheads had been created on the opposite bank of the Dnieper, some of them 10 kilometers wide and 1-2 kilometers deep.

The crossing of the Dnieper is the clearest example of the heroism of Soviet troops. The soldiers, using the slightest opportunity to cross, crossed the river on any floating craft, especially considering the presence of NKVD barrier detachments on the left bank and suffered heavy losses under the fierce fire of the fascist troops. After this, the Soviet troops practically created a new fortified area on the conquered bridgeheads, actually digging themselves into the ground from enemy fire, and covering the approach of new forces with their fire.

Protection of bridgeheads

Soon, German troops launched powerful counterattacks at almost every crossing, hoping to destroy the Soviet troops before the heavy equipment reached the other side of the river and entered the battle.

Thus, the crossing at Borodaevsk, mentioned by Marshal Konev in his memoirs, was subjected to powerful enemy artillery fire. Bombers were almost everywhere, bombing the crossing and military units located near the river. Konev mentioned, in this regard, shortcomings in the organization of air support on the Soviet side, about the establishment of air patrols of the troop crossing area, in order to prevent bombing of approaches to crossings, and about his order to send reinforcement of artillery to the front line so that it would repel enemy tank attacks . When Soviet aviation became more organized and improved the synchronization of its actions with the ground forces of the front, supported by the fire of hundreds of guns and artillery formations of the Katyusha guards mortar, the situation with the defense of the crossings began to improve. Crossing the Dnieper became relatively safer for Soviet soldiers.

Such situations were not isolated, becoming a problem along almost the entire crossing line. Despite the retention of all crossing points in the hands of the Soviet army, the losses on its part were truly colossal - at the beginning of October, most divisions retained only 25-30% of their nominal personnel and weapons.

Right Bank Campaign

Capture of the lower Dnieper

By mid-October, the forces gathered by the command in the area of ​​the lower crossings of the Dnieper were already capable of launching the first massive attack on German fortifications on the opposite bank in the southern part of the front. Thus, a powerful attack was planned on the Kremenchug-Dnepropetrovsk front line. At the same time, large-scale military operations and troop movements were launched along the entire front in order to divert German forces (and the attention of his command) from the southern crossings and from the Kyiv region.
At the end of the crossing process, the Soviet armed forces controlled the crossing area more than 300 kilometers long and in some places a bridgehead depth of up to 80 kilometers. To the south of this region, in Crimea, the Soviet command carried out an operation that ended in cutting off the Crimean group of German troops from their main forces. All hopes of the Nazis to stop the advance of the Soviet troops were lost.

Kyiv offensive operation of 1943

Main article: Kyiv offensive operation (1943)

Criticism

Stalin's desire to recapture Kyiv by November 7 usually raises a lot of criticism among historians and military specialists. It is now widely known that the bridgeheads on the lower Dnieper were intended to divert German troops from Kyiv, which led to heavy losses on them. The losses of the 1st Ukrainian Front alone on the Bukrinsky bridgehead amounted to 647 thousand people in a month and a half (from September 22 to November 6, 1943). Writer Viktor Astafiev, who took part in crossing the Dnieper, recalls: “Twenty-five thousand soldiers enter the water, and three thousand, maximum five, emerge on the other side. And after five or six days, all the dead emerge. Can you imagine? Eyewitnesses say that the floodplains of the Dnieper were clogged with many thousands of decomposing corpses... Although this criticism may have some merit, it must not be forgotten that the operation of crossing the river itself can (and often does) lead to heavy losses.

Aftermath of the battle

The Battle of the Dnieper represented another major defeat for the Wehrmacht forces. The Red Army, which Hitler intended to destroy on the Dnieper, not only was not destroyed, but also forced the Wehrmacht to retreat. Kyiv was liberated, and German forces were unable to resist Soviet troops in the area where the lower crossings were established. The right bank was still largely in the hands of the German command, but both sides clearly understood that this situation would not last too long. In addition to this, the Battle of the Dnieper clearly demonstrated the strength and power of the partisan movement. The "Rail War", carried out by Soviet partisans from September to October 1943, greatly interfered with the supply of the warring German divisions, being the source of many problems in the German troops.

The Battle of the Dnieper is characterized by examples of mass heroism of soldiers and commanders. It is significant that for crossing the Dnieper, 2,438 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Such a massive award for one operation was the only one in the entire history of the war. Here are just a few of the many who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the successful crossing of the Dnieper River and the courage and courage shown during this:

• Akhmetshin, Kayum Khabibrakhmanovich - assistant commander of the saber platoon of the 58th Guards Cavalry Regiment of the 16th Guards Cavalry Division, guard foreman.
• Balukov, Nikolai Mikhailovich - commander of a machine gun company of the 529th Infantry Regiment of the 163rd Infantry Division of the 38th Army of the Voronezh Front, senior lieutenant.
• Dmitriev, Ivan Ivanovich - pontoon platoon commander, lieutenant
• Kiselev, Sergei Semyonovich - assistant platoon commander of the 78th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 25th Guards Red Banner Sinelnikovskaya Rifle Division of the 6th Army of the Southwestern Front, Guard Senior Sergeant.
• Lobanov, Ivan Mikhailovich - section commander of the 20th separate reconnaissance company of the 69th Red Banner Sevsk Rifle Division of the 18th Rifle Corps of the 65th Army of the Central Front, sergeant.
• Fesin, Ivan Ivanovich - Major General
• Budylin, Nikolai Vasilyevich - commander of the 10th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 6th Guards Rifle Division of the 13th Army of the Central Front, guard lieutenant colonel,

Literature

• Nikolay Shefov, Russian fights, Ed. “Bible. military history", M., 2002
• History of the Great Patriotic War, - . M., 1963.
• John Erickson Barbarossa: The Axis and the Allies, Edinburgh University Press, 1994
• Marshal Ivan Konev, Notes of the front commander" M., Nauka, 1972.
• Erich von Manstein, Lost victories. M., 1957.

The Battle of the Dnieper is a complex of interconnected military operations carried out by Soviet troops on the banks of the Dnieper during the Great Patriotic War.

The Battle of the Dnieper took place in the second half of 1943 and lasted almost four months. During the operation, the front line stretched for 750 kilometers, and the number of people who took part in it on both sides reached 4 million. As a result of the operation, Left Bank Ukraine was almost completely liberated from the German invaders - several strategic bridgeheads were created along the river bank, and Kyiv was liberated. The Battle of the Dnieper became one of the largest operations of the second half of the Great Patriotic War, and one of the most notable achievements of the Red Army.

Background of the battle. Position of the parties

After the German army lost the Battle of Kursk, the German military command had already lost all hope of victory over the USSR, in addition, the army, which entered the war prepared and well-equipped, has now thinned out significantly, while the Soviet army, on the contrary, gained strength and improved her technical situation. Despite this, the German command still periodically issued orders to attack in different directions, and sometimes these operations were crowned with success, but Hitler was unable to significantly change the state of affairs in the war.

The Soviet army launched a counteroffensive and gradually pushed the German army further and further towards the country's borders. By mid-August 1943, Hitler finally realized that it would not be possible to break the advance of the Red Army, so Germany’s tactics changed - it was decided to build a large number of fortifications along the Dnieper riverbed in order to hold back the Soviet offensive and in no case allow the Russians to reach the Dnieper.

At the same time, for the USSR, the Dnieper and the regions located there were extremely important strategic territories - coal mines were located there - so Stalin ordered the forced return of the territories captured by the Germans and made this one of the main directions.

Stages of the Battle of the Dnieper

The Battle of the Dnieper lasted from August 26 to December 23, 1943 and included several stages and battles:

• First stage. Chernigov-Poltava operation. (August 26 – September 30, 1943);
• Second phase. Lower Dnieper operation (September 26 - December 20, 1943).

Also, the Battle of the Dnieper can include several separate operations, which historians do not attribute to one of the stages, but consider an important part of this period of the war:

• Dnieper airborne operation (September 1943);
• Kiev offensive operation (1943) (November 3-13, 1943);
• Kiev defensive operation (November 13 - December 23, 1943).

Progress of the battle for the Dnieper

At the first stage, the Soviet army managed to liberate Donbass, the Left Bank of Ukraine and cross the Dnieper, capturing a number of bridgeheads on the right bank of the river. Troops of the Central, Voronezh and Steppe Fronts took part in the Battle of the Dnieper.

The troops of the Central Front were the first to enter the battle and managed to break through the German defenses in the southern section of the Dnieper. By August 31, Soviet troops managed to advance 60 kilometers deep into German defenses and 100 kilometers wide. This breakthrough gave the Soviet troops a serious advantage, which only increased when Voronezh and Stepnoy joined the Central Front.

By the beginning of September, the offensive of the Soviet army unfolded across almost the entire territory of Left Bank Ukraine, which completely deprived the Germans of the opportunity to make large maneuvers and use reserve divisions. The Soviet army continued to advance and by the end of September 20 bridgeheads on the Dnieper had already been captured, which finally broke Germany’s plans for a long-term defense of its fortifications on the river.

In October, the second stage of the battle began, which consisted of holding the captured bridgeheads and expanding them. At the same time, Soviet troops continued to build up their forces, bringing more and more reserves to the battle line. The main operations of this period can be considered the Lower Dnieper and Kyiv. During the first, Northern Tavria was liberated, Crimea was blocked, and a large bridgehead was captured in the territory from Cherkassy to Zaporozhye. Unfortunately, it was not possible to break through further, since the Germans offered fierce resistance and just during this period they brought up several reserve divisions. During the Kyiv operation, Soviet troops launched an attack on German fortifications around the capital of Ukraine from the north, and by November 6, Kyiv was completely liberated from the Nazis. Germany made an attempt to recapture Kyiv, but it was unsuccessful and German troops were forced to leave this territory.

By the end of the Battle of the Dnieper, Soviet troops were able to capture almost all of the largest bridgeheads, which gave them the opportunity to control the entire territory of the Dnieper, which finally destroyed all the plans of the German command for a short respite before a major counteroffensive.

Results and significance of the Battle of the Dnieper

The Battle of the Dnieper became one of the rare examples of such a large-scale and rapid crossing of such a vast territory captured and well-guarded by the enemy. Even the German command was forced to admit that the Soviet army showed its best qualities and enormous courage in this operation.

The liberation of the Dnieper, Kyiv and Ukraine as a whole had enormous political and moral significance for the Soviet Union. Firstly, it was possible to return the previously captured territories with all their resources, and secondly, Ukraine gave the Soviet Union access to the borders of Romania and Poland, and subsequently Germany itself.

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Messages in topic: 9

• City old Nikolaevka

68 years ago, on the night of April 12-13, 1944, the crossing of the Dniester River began.

Combat order of the commander of the 68th Rifle Corps No. 17 dated April 11, 1944 for the corps to cross the river. Dniester on the move.

Battle order
commander
68th Rifle Corps
№ 17
to force the hull
R. Dniester on the move
(April 11, 1944)
Series "G"
COMBAT ORDER No. 17 SHTAKOR 68 11.4.44
Map 100,000 – 41 g.

1. The enemy, covering the crossings across the river. The Dniester, with strong rearguard units, withdraws the main forces to the right bank and continues to stubbornly resist at pre-prepared intermediate lines.

The Dniester River will undoubtedly be used by the enemy as an advantageous intermediate line.

2. 68th Rifle Corps with the 374th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment, a company of the 251st Army Motorized Engineering Battalion

• City old Nikolaevka

On the morning of May 10th, General A.D. Shemenkov set the task for the commanders of the 172nd and 174th Guards Rifle Regiments to cross the Dniester River west of the village of Butory and, in cooperation with units of the 28th Guards Rifle Corps, to capture an advantageous terrain line in the bend of the Dniester River, as ensuring further expansion of the bridgehead into the depths of the enemy’s defense and to his flanks.
The Dniester River near the village of Butory was a powerful water line and a serious obstacle for the advancing troops. The enemy organized a strong defense on the western bank of the Dniester River, taking advantage of favorable terrain conditions - commanding heights above a flat floodplain overgrown with sparse bushes to a depth of three kilometers.
The commander of the first pontoon regiment received an order from the chief of the engineering troops of the 8th Guards Army immediately after crossing the Dniester River by guards riflemen in the area of ​​the village of Butory to organize the crossing of tanks and self-propelled guns on a ferry with a load of 60 tons to ensure the expansion of the bridgehead.
The next day, the second battalion of the regiment began organizing a ferry crossing, concentrating property on a steep bank. The left bank of the Dniester River at the chosen crossing point rose high above the river floodplain and sank steeply down. If this place was favorable and surmountable for lowering tanks to the river, then for lowering vehicles with pontoon equipment it presented the danger of the vehicles being torn apart.
The battalion commander decided to manually lower the property down to the river along the bank slopes. The pontoons dragged the half-pontoons to the cliff of the shore and lowered them down the steep slope using ropes. The half-purlins and flooring were carried by hand, sliding and often falling on the crumbling sandy cliff.
Usually, pontooners are pleased with cloudy, foggy, cloudy or rainy days, which in their vocabulary is called “favorable weather,” but here, as luck would have it, it turned out to be a clear sunny and even hot day.
The enemy easily noticed the pontooners on the steep bank and, in the midst of work, launched a series of artillery attacks. The work had to be stopped, and time is running out.
The battalion commander turned to the regiment commander with permission to move the crossing point to another location. The regiment commander listened to the report of Senior Lieutenant A.A. Panchenko. and said:
“Well, let’s go, I’ll take a look myself and talk to the people,” and added, turning to the assistant chief of staff, “Andreev, take your suitcase with you.”
Getting up, he put his belt and tunic in order, pushed his cap slightly to the side and walked along the street of the village of Butory, littered with the rubble of broken huts, straight to the cliff of the shore. Behind him are two senior lieutenants, a battalion commander and a deputy chief of staff.
The pontoons, seeing the regiment commander, shouted “Dad!”, “Dad is coming!” they came out of the shelters where they were hiding during the enemy’s just-made artillery attack, first with a cautious eye, then more boldly ran over to the abandoned property.
The regiment commander called the first daredevils to him and said:
- Follow me, my friend! - and he continued to walk further along the cliff. When more than a dozen soldiers and sergeants gathered near him, he ordered the officers to build their units right on the edge of the cliff. At the command of the officers, pontooners quickly began to run out from all the shelters and get into formation.
The lieutenant colonel walked expectantly along the line along the very edge of the cliff.
In a matter of minutes, the companies were formed into platoons, and Senior Lieutenant Panchenko reported to the commander.
“Let’s wait,” said the regiment commander, “there’s another brave man looking out of the shed.” Come on, hero, come, come here, straight to me!
The soldier approached, stood in front of the line and reported to the commander:
- Private Malin!
He was a strong soldier of average height. He was very embarrassed and color flooded his face.
The commander approached him, put his hand on his shoulder, looked into his face from above and asked:
- What, scary? – the soldier blushed even more, but did not answer.
“Don’t be shy and don’t even think of lying to me, it’s not scary,” and turning to the line, he said, “Honestly, it’s scary.” You just don’t need to think about it and it won’t be scary. It's war. And I know that you are all well done and brave, and I am sure that now you will all work together to spite the “Fritz”. And it can kill you in those sheds and crevices where you were hiding. You see, you need to overcome this slope together and at the same time, but there is already dead space and “he” cannot see the very shore. – and turning to the group that stood in front of the formation, he said, “Andreev, open your suitcase.” I am not Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin and I am not authorized to award other than these two signs of soldier’s valor, but the richer I am, the more I reward the bravest.
He took the medal “For Courage” from the open suitcase and pinned it on Private Malin’s chest before the formation.
With joy and excitement, the soldier blushed even more and, shouting “I serve the Soviet Union,” froze in place, indecisive, not knowing what to do: get into formation or run to the pontoons.
The commander pushed him towards the line and said quietly:
- This is for you in advance. – Then he began pinning medals to the tunics of the soldiers and sergeants standing near him, saying, “This is for those who were the first to rush into the “battle” at the sight of the regiment commander.
Senior Lieutenant Andreev barely had time to write down the names of those awarded for subsequent registration with an order for the regiment.
Having pinned the last medal, he said to the two remaining sergeants:
- That's it, you didn't have enough. He will follow me when you make the crossing. Now everyone get to work, quickly!
Platoon commanders, sergeants and their crews all rushed to the pontoons, and in less than a quarter of an hour all the property was near the shore. Everyone worked together, harmoniously, with enthusiasm, laughter and jokes.
Passing by one of the crews of the senior staff, I heard:
“Here’s Dad, even the Krauts are afraid of him, wow, the whole time he appeared at the crossing, they didn’t fire a single shot,” one soldier said admiringly.
At the same moment, the howl of a flying mine was heard.
- Get down! – the senior lieutenant gave the command.
Everyone lay down. A mine exploded nearby, but did not hit anyone.
- Well, it's begun! - said the same soldier, - Dad must have left the crossing.
- No, what are you talking about, there they are! – answered the second elderly corporal.
The crossing operated uninterruptedly, despite continuous artillery and mortar fire, without reaching the target.
Five days after receiving the medal, Private Malin, while on duty on the ferry, when three half-pontoons were damaged by fragments of an exploding shell, rushed into the water towards the ferry and, under a hail of fragments from mines and shells, sealed the holes, ensuring the safety of the ferry afloat.
When the ferry approached the shore, the company commander, who was observing its actions, said:
- Well done Malin, he acted bravely.
The pontooner proudly stroked the medal “For Courage” hanging on his wet tunic and turned to the company commander:
- Comrade senior lieutenant, report to Bata that Malin did not disappoint and justified his trust.
In the evening of the same day, the battalion commander reported to the regiment commander that during the next enemy artillery attack on the crossing, Private Malin died the death of a brave man.

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Extract from the ZhBD 9th Guards. VDD for 04.1944
TsAMO, f. 328, op. 4852, d. 188, l. 301

04/12/1944 To select a crossing point and clarify the position of the units, the chief of staff of the Guards division went to the banks of the Dniester. Colonel Goryachev A.Ya., who, together with the unit commanders, walked the entire east. river bank in the Grigoriopol area, marking the place for crossing the west. the suburb of Delakeu, where they began to concentrate all the crossing facilities built by parts of the division and glanders. battalion. By 20.00 2 A-3 boats were prepared and brought to the glanders crossing. battalion of the division, 3 fishing boats and 8 rafts with a carrying capacity of 4-5 people. All transportation facilities were concentrated to the east. bank of the river, opposite the church of the Delakeu suburb, where for crossing and seizing a bridgehead to the west. The landing detachment of the 26th Guards was preparing on the shore. VDSP, under the general command of the commander of the company of machine gunners of the Guards. (Art.) Lieutenant Klimentyev.

04/13/1944 Having prepared the landing detachment and brought up the regimental artillery for direct fire of the 26th Guards. At 01.00 the airborne forces began crossing the river. Dniester on the site of the Delakeu suburb. Having boarded the A-3 boats, the advance detachment under the command of Klementyev began to swim across the river, but discovered by the enemy, they were subjected to heavy machine-gun and mortar fire from the west. shores. Despite the intense enemy fire, a group of brave men under the command of Klimentyev persistently approached the shore occupied by the enemy. The boats, riddled with bullets, began to lose air and slowly fill with water, the water approached the level of the sides of the boat, and the boats rowed and rowed towards the enemy shore, shelling its defenses with machine-gun fire. The high water slowed down the pace of the crossing and only after 45 minutes. after the start of the crossing, the boats, half filled with water, moored to the west. shore. As soon as the boats approached the shore, 45 guardsmen jumped ashore and without shouting “HURRAY!” boldly burst into the enemy's front trenches, located 40-50 meters from the water. A hand-to-hand battle ensued, during which the airborne detachment destroyed up to 25 enemy soldiers and officers. Unable to withstand the rapid attack, the Germans abandoned the forward trench, retreated 100-120 meters from the shore, and took up defensive positions in depth.
Having occupied the enemy's advanced trenches, the detachment entrenched itself in them, continuing to support the crossing of the remaining units of the regiment with machine gun fire. Having loaded onto small rafts, the remaining units of the regiment began to sail away from the shore, but under strong enemy rifle, machine gun and mortar fire they were unable to control the small rafts, which were spinning disobediently on the fast flow of the high-water Dniester. After a 2-hour struggle with the elements, the rafts, one by one, began to moor to our shore 600-800 meters below the departure point.

All attempts to transfer reinforcements to the crossed detachment did not produce positive results, and 45 brave men who occupied the enemy’s advanced trenches remained on its bank, fighting off counterattacks. 23rd and 28th Guards During the day, the airborne forces continued to occupy their previous position, conducting a firefight with the enemy, and preparing transportation means. On the night of April 14, 1944, the division, fulfilling its assigned task, again tried to cross the river. The Dniester in front of the front of each regiment, but met by strong machine-gun and artillery-mortar fire from the enemy, was unable to transport the units to the west. shore, and having lost 8 people. wounded, remained to the east. shore, continuing to prepare crossing facilities.

The right neighbor /214 SD/ on the night of April 14, 1944 also tried to transfer units to the west. river bank, but encountering organized enemy fire from the west. shore, did not complete the assigned task. Three hours after the crossing began, Red Army soldiers of the 23rd Guards. The airborne forces began to catch boats and rafts near their shore with wounded soldiers and officers of the 214th SD, carried away by the current after a failed crossing.

04/14/1944 Having made sure that during the night of April 14, 1944, parts of the division were not able to be transferred to the west. shore additional forces, the enemy decided at all costs to deal with the group of brave men who crossed to its shore and occupied the first line of trenches. After a powerful artillery attack, a group of enemy infantry of up to 150 people launched a decisive offensive against the positions of 45 guardsmen, and a fierce hand-to-hand battle ensued. Shooting at point-blank range with rifles and machine guns, a group of soldiers under the command of Guards. (Art.) Lieutenant Klimentyev continued to fight an unequal battle, remaining in the enemy trenches. For 40 minutes, rifle and machine gun fire and cries of struggle were heard in the area of ​​defense of the airborne detachment. As dawn broke, the fighting began to subside, and then everything fell silent. And only on the bank of the river, right next to the water, was it visible from the east. shore, 2 people fled, one of whom was a guard. (Art.) Lieutenant Klimentyev, and the second is his messenger. Towards the east On the bank of the river in the area of ​​​​the Delakeu suburb, the soldiers who remained alive from the landing force began to swim out one by one, and throughout the day they continued to arrive at the regiment one by one. In just one day, 14 people arrived in the unit from the airborne detachment destroyed by the enemy, and the fate of 31 guardsmen remained unknown.
Having failed and having become convinced that it was impossible to cross the river on primitive rafts, units of the division were given the task of preparing 5 fishing boats for each regiment. Collecting boards, tow and resin around the city, the carpenters energetically set to work. By the end of the day, the units had made 3 flat-bottomed boats with a capacity of 8-10 people each.

04/15/1944 Having received a new task, the division began to carry it out, for which a reconnaissance group under the general command of the Guards left for the Tashlyk area. Colonel M.V. Grachev, and the units began to withdraw from their sites and set out along the Grigoriopol-Tashlyk route. The fishing boats manufactured in parts were loaded onto carts and transported to the new crossing area. To save Guards. (Art.) Lieutenant Klimentyev, who remained in the west. bank of the river, a team of fighters was allocated under the general leadership of the company's Komsomol organizer, which on the night of April 15, 1944 was supposed to cross the river and bring the wounded officer to our shore. But the group did not complete the task assigned to it, arriving in the Tashlyk area on April 15, 1944, they reported that there was no one on the river bank in the place where Klimentyev lay, and that the enemy was defending along the very bank of the river.

Extract from the ZhBD 26 Guards. Vdsp for 1944
TsAMO, f. 6971, op. 204695, building 1, l. 1

04/13/1944 On the night of April 13, 1944, under the cover of fire from a heavy machine gun, light machine guns, artillery and mortars of the regiment, as well as with the support of divisional artillery of the 26th Guards. VDSB began crossing to the right bank of the Dniester River. Under heavy enemy fire, on a dark April night, 39 brave volunteers, under the command of the commander of a machine gun company of the Guards. Lieutenant Klimentyev and adjutant senior 3rd Sat Guards. Lieutenant Cherchenko, crossed the Dniester in three boats with a telephone set. The second group was not transported because The boats, broken in several places, required immediate repairs. During the crossing, 2 soldiers were wounded, who, together with the boats, returned to the left bank of the Dniester. The landing group fought to occupy enemy trenches dug 20-30 meters from the shore, with the task of gaining a foothold and holding the captured bridgehead during the day, until reinforcements arrived on the night of April 14. At dawn, the enemy launched four counterattacks, which were repulsed with the support of fire from the left bank. Having used up 3/4 of their ammunition reserves to repel the first four counterattacks, the group that crossed experienced an acute shortage of cartridges and grenades, which could not be replenished due to strong enemy mortar and machine-gun fire. During the day, the enemy infantry did not show any active actions and conducted targeted fire on the left bank of the Dniester River, preventing the crossing of reinforcements by landing forces and ammunition. With the onset of darkness, enemy fire intensified, at times turning into heavy fire.
At 20.00 the enemy again launches counterattacks. With large infantry forces, supported by armored personnel carriers and artillery and mortar fire, the enemy pressed on the heroic guardsmen. Preferring death to captivity, shouting patriotic slogans, the guards and paratroopers courageously repelled enemy attacks. The regiment's artillery, experiencing an acute shortage of ammunition, could not have an effective fire impact on the enemy.
By 22.30, there were 9 people left in the landing group, including the lightly wounded, who could still resist the enemy. The cartridges were all spent, there were 2-3 grenades left per soldier, 5-6 cartridges in pistols and machine guns. The situation became more complicated every minute, the enemy crawled to the trenches, taking them into a semi-ring. Commander of a company of machine gunners of the Guards. Lieutenant Klimentyev calls artillery fire on himself on the phone in a calm, firm voice. The regiment's artillery and mortars open fire with their last ammunition.
Under enemy fire, two boats with ammunition and reinforcements were equipped on the left bank. The enemy opened powerful cutting fire. Before reaching the middle, both boats were shot in many places, and wounded appeared in the boats. One boat sank, the other returned to the left bank of the Dniester in a dilapidated state.
By 23.00 the enemy broke into the trenches. Hand-to-hand combat continued. Screams and single shots were heard until dawn on April 14.
39 people crossed to the right bank of the Dniester, 2 people returned with boats, and 7 people returned by swimming. In the landing operation, the regiment lost wounded - 1 officers, 10 privates; killed privates and sergeants - 26, missing - 11, among them Guards. Lieutenant Klimentyev, Guards. Lieutenant Cherchenko, Guards. Lieutenant Tishchenko*. Up to 70 Nazis and 4 machine gun points were destroyed. 2 dugouts were destroyed by artillery fire.

Note:
* - senior adjutant of the 3rd Sat Guards. Lieutenant Cherchenko and rifle platoon commander of the Guards. Lieutenant Tishchenko, after the Germans captured the trenches, disappeared into the forest and returned to the regiment on the 8th day. Fate of Guards Lieutenant Klimentyev has not been identified; according to unverified information, he was seen wounded in one of the hospitals.

List of landing party (not complete):
1) Guards (older) Lieutenant Klimentyev Timofey Ivanovich, born in 1915, commander of a rifle company, went missing;
2) Guards. Lieutenant Cherchenko Vasily Pavlovich, born in 1908, senior adjutant of the 3rd brigade, was listed as killed in battle on April 14, 1944, but in fact was listed as missing, and on April 23, 1944 he returned to his previous place of service wounded. Evacuated to hospital for treatment;
3) Guards. Lieutenant Tishchenko Ivan Nikolaevich, born in 1920, commander of a rifle platoon, was listed as killed in battle on 04/14/1944, but in fact was listed as missing, and on 04/23/1944 he returned to his previous place of service wounded;

List of those who retired from the 26th Guards. Airborne Forces for April 13-14, 1944 (probably from the same detachment):
4) Guards. Private Khludeev Oleg Pavlovich, born 1924, machine gunner, died of wounds on April 14, 1944. Primary burial place - urban settlement. Grigoriopol;
5) Guards Sergeant Kovalenko Nikolai Danilovich, born in 1920, commander of a rifle squad, was listed as killed in battle on April 14, 1944, but in fact he was listed as missing, but in reality he returned to his previous place of service. There are a number of questions about it... In the report of the 9th Guards. The VDD for May 1944 is listed as buried in the Grigoriopol region, on the right bank of the river. Dniester. But in the award list for the medal “For Courage”, which he was awarded on October 19, 1944, it is indicated on April 14, 1944 in the region of the village of Tashlyk, with a group of 3 people, acting in a night search to capture the “language” ", crossed the river. The Dniester was under heavy fire and was the first to enter the village of Pugacheni, where he personally killed 2 German soldiers with a machine gun, whose soldier’s books were delivered to the division headquarters. He went through the entire war, was awarded orders and medals;
6) Guards foreman Nekipelov (Nikipelov) Maxim Stepanovich, born in 1919, company foreman, died of wounds on April 14, 1944. The primary burial place was in the area of ​​the urban settlement. Grigoriopol, right bank of the river. Dniester;
7) Guards Art. Sergeant Perepilitsa (Perepelitsa) Yakov Ivanovich, born in 1919, battalion clerk, killed on April 14, 1944. The primary burial place is in the area of ​​the urban settlement. Grigoriopol, right bank of the river. Dniester / Grigoriopol district, Krasnaya Bessarabka village;
8) Guards Private Galustyan Begbash (Begbish) Anrezovich, born in 1923, machine gunner of the 3rd Battalion, killed on April 14, 1944. The primary burial place is in the area of ​​the urban settlement. Grigoriopol, right bank of the river. Dniester;
9) Guards Sergeant Medvedev Alexander Timofeevich, born 1917, commander of the telephone department, listed as killed on April 14, 1944. In the report of the 9th Guards. The VDD for May 1944 is listed as buried in the Grigoriopol region, on the right bank of the river. Dniester. It is noteworthy that according to the headquarters of the Volga Military District for 09.1945, he is listed as captured on 04/13/1944 in Grigoriopol on the Dniester, and later released from captivity. In the anniversary card index of awards he is listed as awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree, on 04/06/1985;
10) Guards Private Vishegorodsky Konstantin Iosifovich, born 1913, shooter, listed as killed on April 14, 1944. In the report of the 9th Guards. The VDD for May 1944 is listed as buried in the Grigoriopol region, on the right bank of the river. Dniester. The OBD has a guard. ml. sergeant Vyshegorodsky Konstantin Iosifovich, born in 1913, cook 2nd battalion, awarded the medal "For Military Merit" on August 10, 1944 for participation in battles on Polish territory in August 1944. In the anniversary awards card he is listed as awarded the Order of the Patriotic War I degree 04/06/1985;
11) Guards Sergeant Bessudov Dmitry Ivanovich, born in 1919, commander of a rifle squad, killed on April 14, 1944. The primary burial place is in the area of ​​the urban settlement. Grigoriopol, right bank of the river. Dniester;
12) Guards Private Dukhan Grigory Kharitonovich, born in 1914, machine gunner, killed on April 14, 1944. The primary burial place is in the area of ​​the urban settlement. Grigoriopol, right bank of the river. Dniester;
13) Guards Sergeant Sakharov Vladimir Platonovich, born 1919, commander of the telephone department, is listed as killed on April 14, 1944. In the report of the 9th Guards. The VDD for May 1944 is listed as buried in the Grigoriopol region, on the right bank of the river. Dniester. In the report of the 5th Guards. And for 1952 he is listed as having died from wounds on April 14, 1944, and the place of burial is Grigoriopol district, village of Krasnaya Bessarabka. It is noteworthy that according to the data of the 4th Guards unit. And for 08/1945 he is listed as captured on 04/13/1944 and was in captivity in Austria, and later released from it;
14) Guards Private Skvortsov Anatoly Aleksandrovich, born in 1924, telephone operator, killed on April 14, 1944. The primary burial place is in the area of ​​the urban settlement. Grigoriopol, right bank of the river. Dniester. In the report of the 5th Guards. And for 1952 he is listed as having died from wounds on April 14, 1944;
15) Guards Private Gladkov Saveliy Yakovlevich, born 1900, machine gunner, listed as killed on 04/13/1944. In reports of the 9th Guards. VDD for May 1944 and 5th Guards. And for 1952 it was listed as buried in the Grigoriopol region, on the right bank of the river. Dniester. It is noteworthy that, according to the data of the 21st WHSD for 07.1945, he is listed as captured in April 1944 on the Dniester River, and later released from captivity;
16) Guards Private Ermakov Alexander Vasilyevich, born in 1922, machine gunner, killed on April 13, 1944. The primary burial place is in the area of ​​the urban settlement. Grigoriopol, right bank of the river. Dniester;
17) Guards Private Georgy Georgievich Avolyan, born in 1912, machine gunner, killed on April 13, 1944. The primary burial place is in the area of ​​the urban settlement. Grigoriopol, right bank of the river. Dniester;
18) Guards Sergeant Kublo Nikolai Ivanovich, born in 1922, machine gunner, killed on April 14, 1944. In the report of the 5th Guards. And for 1952, the primary burial place is indicated - in the region of the urban settlement. Grigoriopol, right bank of the river. Dniester. In the report of the 9th Guards. VDD for May 1944, the burial place is indicated - the village of Pugacheny, the right bank of the river. Dniester.

Taking into account the discrepancies in the reinforced concrete structure of the 26th Guards. Airborne Forces and 9th Guards. Airborne Forces, the exact number of personnel of the airborne detachment of the 26th Guards is not clear. Airborne Forces under the command of Lieutenant Klimentyev. One document lists 45 guardsmen, another - 39. Hence the list is not complete, but approximate. It is known for sure that 2 people. returned with boats, 7 people. returned by swimming, 2 more people. - Guards Lieutenants Tishchenko and Klimentyev got out of the ring wounded. I don’t know whether everyone listed above was part of this detachment, but judging by the reports, they all left on the right bank of the river. Dniester, then we can assume that they are part of the detachment, because other groups were unable to cross.

While I was working with the reports, a number of questions arose. The division reported in May that the soldiers were buried in the Grigoriopol area, on the right bank of the river. Dniester. But, as can be seen from the analysis, some were captured and survived. Then who was buried instead of them??? It’s one thing when the report states that he went missing, but it’s another thing when he died and was buried. For such reports there should have been at least eyewitness accounts... And when did they have time to bury on the right bank of the Dniester in the area of ​​Grigoriopol, if the division went in the direction of Tashlyk - Pugacheny, and the enemy was defending along the very bank of the river in the area of ​​Grigoriopol?! The work of the headquarters, which kept records of reports, is also not clear. An elementary example with guards. Sergeant Kovalenko N.D., who took part in the battles on April 14, delivered the soldier's books of two enemy soldiers he killed to headquarters. And the same headquarters reports in May that he died.
I would like to clarify the fate of the commander of the airborne detachment of the Guards. Lieutenant Klimentyev T.I. Everyone saw him on the river bank near the water, as he fled with a messenger, but for some reason no one from among those who swam out (survivors from the detachment) in the area of ​​​​the Delakeu suburb helped him move to the left bank. It is also noteworthy that the other 2 officers disappeared into the forest and later returned to the regiment. Why didn’t he disappear with them? There are many questions, no answers. One can only guess. Apparently, he was a brave officer if he called artillery fire on himself. This is evidenced by the Order of the Red Star, which he was awarded for the battles in Poltava and Kremenchug. It’s sad.. The detachment held the first line of trenches on the right bank of the Dniester until the last round, participating in battles. And the team of fighters that went for the wounded Klimentyev was allocated only on the night of April 15, 1944. If the group reported that there was no one on the river bank in the place where Klimentyev lay, and the enemy was defending along the very bank of the river, then the conclusion obvious... Either he was captured or died. It is strange why, when leaving for Tashlyk, they did not leave a cover group for their wounded on the right bank. It was possible to leave snipers or machine gunners. This is all rhetoric, of course. I just feel sorry for the guys who died a heroic death without receiving help...

Whoever has lists of brothers in the Pugacheny-Delakeu-Grigoriopol area, take a look, you might see Guards somewhere among them. Lieutenant Klimentyev T.I. If you have time, then check the lists of the rest of the above-mentioned fighters, especially those who, according to some reports, are listed as dead and buried, but in reality were captured. This mistake could be included on memorial plaques, on lists in village councils/military registration and enlistment offices, etc.
Maybe someone wants to add information or express their opinion on the above described.

When I have time, I’ll rummage through the documents of the 214th SD, which were neighbors of the 9th Guards. Airborne Forces also tried to cross to the right bank in the Grigoriopol area. I'll post it here as a continuation of the topic. Otherwise, many people don’t even know about such heroic battles, about attempts to force the battle. Basically, they write about larger-scale ones.

The division's privates, sergeants and officers strive to cross the river as quickly as possible. Dniester and the liberation of Soviet Bessarabia. During the day of the battle, the enemy suffered damage: 18 soldiers and officers were killed. Our losses - 3 wounded, 1 killed.

04/13/1944 The enemy, defending to the west. bank of the river Dniester, conducting machine-gun fire and sniper fire. The most careful observation did not notice any enemy movements along the shore.
When approaching single soldiers and groups of 4-5 people. They do not open machine-gun fire; individual riflemen and snipers fire. When leaving groups of more than 5 people. strong machine-gun fire opens towards the water. The enemy's trenches and trenches lie right next to the cliff; individual soldiers were discovered in the trenches and trenches by observation. Units of the division, fulfilling the assigned task, crossed the river at 3.00 with one company of 24 people. Dniester and consolidated on the western bank. The rest of the rifle regiments are being prepared for the crossing on April 14, 1944.
During the day of defensive battle, 13 people were wounded by enemy sniper fire, among them pom. beginning headquarters 788 joint venture captain Egorov, wounded from a machine gun. 1 person killed. At 12.30 the 2nd assistant was killed. Chief of Staff of the 776th joint venture, Captain Reshetnikov K.A. and was buried in Grigoriopol in the civil cemetery.

04/14/1944 Defending to the west. bank of the river Dniester, during the day the enemy fired at the battle formations of the regiments with rifle-machine-gun fire and the fire of one heavy mortar from the Dorotskoye area.
The division, continuing to fulfill its assigned task, transported it to the west on the night of 13-14. river bank Dniester 114 people, 1 heavy and several light machine guns, 2 radio stations. The personnel transported on 14 rafts with officers, during 04/14/1944 there were no signs of life to the west. I didn’t show it to the shore.
There was no contact with the group; the most careful observation did not reveal any soldiers who had crossed to the right bank. The rafts did not arrive to the eastern shore. The fate of the landing party remained unknown. When crossing the river. Dniester units of the division suffered heavy losses in personnel. Only one of the regiments of the division /788 joint venture/ was wounded - deputy. com. regiment captain Belokon, deputy. com. regiment for political affairs, Lieutenant Colonel Zotikov, chief of staff of the regiment, Major Arkhipov, com. battalion captain Bolgov, deputy. com. b-at st. Lieutenant Yaskevich. A total of 11 people were injured. officers. Damage was caused to the enemy: an infantry platoon was destroyed, fire from 3 machine gun points was suppressed.

conclusions
The choice of crossing area was tactically correct, but the crossing operation was not successful for the following reasons:
a) the enemy, his forces, composition, intentions, defense and fire systems were not sufficiently explored;
b) the regime of the water barrier, which is of exceptional importance during the crossing, was also not explored;
c) the crossing took place on a narrow front, which made it possible for the enemy to concentrate fire on the landing force to destroy it on the water, and to bombard it and the crossing facilities with grenades near its shore;
d) the heterogeneous training of the rowers and helmsmen on the rafts did not allow the landing party to simultaneously moor to the enemy’s shore and bring down their fire on him;
e) crossing a water barrier at night could not ensure the suppression of enemy firing points by fire from the shore of those crossing.

Description of combat operations 788 joint venture 214 SD
TsAMO, f. 7445, op. 159837, no. 8, l. 1

04/13/1944 The enemy takes up defensive positions on the right bank of the river. Dniester. With all his might and means he strives to hold an advantageous line of defense and does not allow our advancing units to cross during the day.
During the night and day, sparse artillery and targeted rifle and machine-gun fire is conducted on the battle formations of rifle companies. In total, 6-8 enemy points were detected.
The regiment fulfills its assigned task. Since 1.00 he has been conducting offensive battles. At 3.00 one company of 24 people with 2 heavy machine guns crossed the river on improvised boats. Dniester and is located on the right bank of the southwest. Grigoriopol, where she dug in. Currently, they are conducting rifle and machine gun fire and improving trench work.
The regiment's artillery is located at the river crossing. The Dniester is in the battle formations, firing at spotted enemy targets.
Damage was caused to the enemy: 25 soldiers and officers, 2 machine guns, 2 vehicles were destroyed; Machine gun fire was suppressed 1.
The regiment lost: 4 were wounded, of which PNSh-1 captain Egorov was seriously wounded.

04/14/1944 The enemy firmly holds the previously prepared defense area on the bank of the river. Dniester. Conducts strong rifle and machine gun fire on our advancing units. It interferes with our crossing of the Dniester. But despite the strong resistance of the enemy, the regiment, under cover of darkness, successfully crossed the water line and started a battle with the enemy on the move; due to heavy fire and an insufficient number of rafts, it was not particularly successful. The senior commanders on the rafts were the middle commanders.
47 people were transported to the right bank: 40 riflemen, 5 machine gunners, 2 light machine gunners; materiel - 1 heavy machine guns, 1 light machine guns, 22 rifles, 18 PPSh.
Damage was caused to the enemy: more than 40 soldiers and officers were killed, 2 light machine guns were knocked out.
The regiment lost: 5 soldiers killed, 10 wounded, 11 command personnel.
Of these, it’s hard:
1. Deputy com. regiment by page captain Belokon
2. Battalion 2 Captain Bolgov
3. Adjutant Senior 2nd Sat Art. Lieutenant Rosenberg
easily:
4. Beginning headquarters Major Arkhipov /is in service/
5. Deputy com. regiment for political affairs Lieutenant Colonel Zotikov
6. Deputy com. for political department 2nd Sat, Lieutenant Zhukov
7. Beginning art. regiment captain Glushchenko
8. Pulse crew commander Lieutenant Redkin /recuperating in Sanrot/
9. Party organizer 2nd Sat Lieutenant Kipatov
10. Com. baht 45 mm battery st. Lieutenant Gribkov
11. Deputy battalion commander 2 according to page part of art. Lieutenant Yaskevich
Contacts with those who crossed to the right bank of the river. There is no Dniester, due to the fact that all the signalmen teams sent were out of order. The radio failed and was returned.

04/15/1944 The regiment redeployed to another crossing, 10 km south of Grigoriopol. Very scary.

Combat log 780 sp 214 SD
TsAMO, f. 7437, op. 166487, no. 10, l. 1

04/13/1944 The enemy, defending on the right bank of the river. The Dniester actively conducts sniper fire and illuminates the river area with rockets at night. Sappers and units of the regiment are preparing means of crossing.

04/14/1944 The enemy, defending the right bank of the river. The Dniester conducts sniper fire during the day and illuminates the river area with rockets at night. To support the 788th rifle crossing, fire weapons were allocated - 3 heavy machine guns, 2 light machine guns and 18 riflemen. The crossing, carried out by 788th joint venture at night, ended unsuccessfully. The crossing was carried out on rafts and boats, with the support of infantry fire and mines. batteries The enemy, who had not previously detected his fire system, when the rafts of 788 SP arrived on the right bank, opened hurricane machine-gun and machine gun fire on the infantry floating on the rafts. Of the small groups that crossed back to the left bank, none returned.

Officers (the list is not complete):
1) captain Belokon Taras Zosimovich, born in 1908, deputy. commander of the 788th combat unit;
2) Guards. captain Bolgov Stepan Petrovich, born in 1921, commander of the 2nd battalion 788th rifle regiment. The wound on the Dniester was the 3rd in a row;
3) art. Lieutenant Rosenberg Isaac Isaevich, born in 1920, senior adjutant of the 2nd battalion of the 788th rifle regiment, was admitted with a spinal injury to KhPG 5154, died of urosepsis on 05/07/1944. The primary burial place was Grigoriopolsky district, village. Glinoe;
4) Major Alexey Andreevich Arkhipov, born in 1908, beginning. headquarters 788 sp. He did not live to see the end of the war; he was killed on 02/03/1945;
5) captain Glushchenko Andrey Ivanovich, born in 1922, beginning. artillery 788 joint venture;
6) Lieutenant Redkin Pavel Dmitrievich, born in 1916, commander of the machine gun crew of the 2nd 788th rifle regiment;
7) art. Lieutenant Gribkov Mikhail Petrovich, born in 1923, commander of a battery of 45 mm guns 788 sp;
8) Guards (senior) Lieutenant Yaskevich Sergei Antonovich, born in 1920, deputy. battalion commander 788 joint venture;
9) captain Egorov Alexander Vasilievich, born in 1918, PNSh in ShShS 788 joint venture;
10) Captain Reshetnikov Konstantin Andreevich, born in 1916, PNSh for reconnaissance of the 776th joint venture, killed on April 13, 1944. Primary burial place - urban settlement. Grigoriopol, civil cemetery.
Note: Those who do not have a retirement date indicated on the list, then they survived and continued to serve.

It’s a disaster with the privates and sergeants; things with the lists there are even worse than in the 9th Guards. VDD. There are a lot of death notices, lists of missing used vehicles, lists of those buried who ultimately turned out to be alive, etc. A thorough analysis needs to be done, because... There were quite a few 214 SDs who left on April 13 and 14, 1944. The further into the forest, the more firewood. If I have time, I’ll post at least some of the information here, if, of course, someone else is interested. I see the topic is not particularly popular among forum users.

• Tiraspol city

Map of defensive battles of the 4th Wehrmacht Mountain Division on the Dniester (April - July 1944)

From the map we can conclude that in the Delakeu area the landing detachment of the 26th Guards. Vdsp 9th Guards The Airborne Forces were opposed by parts of the 4th Wehrmacht Mountain Division, namely III./13 - 3rd Battalion of the 13th Mountain Jaeger Regiment (commander major Fritz Gustav Backhauss) and A.A. 94 - 94 reconnaissance abtailung (commander rittmeister Andreas Thorey, died in battles on the Dniester on April 18, 1944). In turn, units of the 214 SD were opposed by I./13 - 1 battalion of the 13th mountain-jaeger regiment (commander hauptmann Herbert Fritz), I./91 - 1 battalion of the 91st mountain-jaeger regiment (commander hauptmann Wegscheider) and, presumably, III. /91 - 3rd battalion of the 91st Mountain Jaeger Regiment (commander hauptmann Seebacher).

Along with the defense of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Kursk Bulge, the crossing of the Dnieper in 1943 is one of the most significant and turning points of the Second World War. In the battle, which lasted about 4 months, over an extended area of ​​700 km, several million soldiers and officers, tens of thousands of tanks, aircraft, artillery pieces and other pieces of equipment were involved on both sides.

The significance of the local success, despite the large losses of Soviet troops, can hardly be overestimated, since a significant part of the occupied territories was liberated, and a powerful springboard was created for the further advance of the Red Army to the west. It is noteworthy that this is the largest operation in world history to force water boundaries.

Preparation

At the Supreme Command Headquarters there was no unanimous idea on how to defeat the enemy. , who was supported by the Chief of the General Staff A.I. Antonov, intended to cut through, encircle and subsequently destroy the main part of the defending Wehrmacht forces in the Donbass region. But I.V. Stalin insisted on immediately crossing the water barrier and further increasing the bridgehead. According to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, this maneuver deprived the enemy of time to regroup. As a result, it was decided to carry out successive attacks along the entire front line against enemy positions, followed by advancing forward and destroying the encircled German troops.

The situation was complicated by the fact that, despite the numerical superiority, the right bank of the river occupied by the Nazis was higher and steeper than the left, and a huge number of soldiers and equipment had to be transported, using ships, rafts and improvised means.

The well-fortified “Eastern Wall,” according to Hitler, was supposed to become an insurmountable barrier to the attacking troops. “The Dnieper would sooner change its course than the Russians would cross it...” the Fuhrer boastfully declared.

Battle of the Dnieper

The beginning of the operation is considered to be August 26, 1943. After intensive artillery preparation, the advanced forces of five fronts (Central, Voronezh, Steppe, Southern and Southwestern), under the command of talented Soviet military leaders (Zhukov G.K., Rokossovsky K.K., Konev I.S., Tolbukhina F.I., Vatutina N.F.).

German troops resisted fiercely, counterattacking whenever possible on each line of the defensive fortifications. That is why the losses of manpower on both sides amount to hundreds of thousands.

Historians divide the battle into two main stages:

• Chernigov-Poltava operation (26.08-30.09.1943);
• Lower Dnieper operation (09.26-12.20.1943).

In some historical reference books, it is also customary to refer to the Battle of the Dnieper:

• the Dnieper airborne operation, which began in September and, unfortunately, did not bring the desired success;
• Kyiv offensive (03.11-13.11. 1943)
• Kyiv defensive (13.11-23.12. 1943) operation.

Feeling that the territory could not be held by the Nazis, they began to use “scorched earth” tactics, destroying or sending local residents to concentration camps, mining plants, factories, and often entire city blocks.

As a result, after long, bloody battles for every village, city, and sometimes even street, the Red Army was able to liberate left-bank Ukraine almost completely by the end of December.