How Kolya Sirotinin stopped Guderian's Panzer Division

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

"The Germans rested on him, as in the Brest fortress." Kolya Sirotinin was the age of 19 to challenge the saying "One is not a warrior in the field." But he did not become a legend of the Great Patriotic War, like Alexander Matrosov or Nikolai Gastello.

In the summer of 1941, the 4th Panzer Division of Heinz Guderian, one of the most talented German tank generals, broke through to the Belarusian town of Krichev.

Parts of the 13th Soviet Army were retreating. Only the gunner Kolya Sirotinin did not retreat - quite a boy, short, quiet, frail.

If you believe the essay in the Oryol collection "Good Name", it was necessary to cover the withdrawal of troops. “There will be two people here with a cannon,” said the commander of the battery. Nikolai volunteered. The second was the commander himself.

On the morning of July 17, a column of German tanks appeared on the highway.

- Kolya took up a position on a hill right on the collective farm field. The cannon was sinking in the high rye, but he could clearly see the highway and the bridge over the Dobrost rivulet, - says Natalya Morozova, director of the Krichev Museum of Local Lore.

When the lead tank reached the bridge, Kolya knocked it out with the first shot. The second shell set fire to the armored personnel carrier that closed the column.

We must stop here. Because it is still not entirely clear why Kolya was left alone in the field. But there are versions. Apparently, he had just the task - to create a "traffic jam" on the bridge, knocking out the lead vehicle of the Nazis. The lieutenant at the bridge was adjusting the fire, and then, apparently, called the fire of our other artillery from German tanks to a jam. Over the river. It is reliably known that the lieutenant was wounded and then he left towards our positions. There is an assumption that Kolya had to go to his own people, having completed the task. But … he had 60 rounds. And he stayed!

Two tanks tried to drag the lead tank off the bridge, but were also hit. The armored vehicle tried to cross the Dobrost River not across the bridge. But she got stuck in a swampy shore, where another shell found her. Kolya fired and fired, knocking out tank after tank …

Guderian's tanks rested on Kolya Sirotinin, as in the Brest fortress. Already 11 tanks and 6 armored personnel carriers were on fire! The fact that more than half of them were burned by Sirotinin alone is sure, but some were also taken out by the artillery from across the river. For almost two hours of this strange battle, the Germans could not understand where the Russian battery had dug in. And when we reached Colin's position, he had only three shells left. They offered to surrender. Kolya responded by firing at them with a carbine.

This last battle was short-lived …

After all, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary?

These words were written down in his diary by Chief Lieutenant of the 4th Panzer Division Henfeld: “July 17, 1941. Sokolniki, near Krichev. An unknown Russian soldier was buried in the evening. He alone stood at the cannon, shot a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone was amazed at his courage …

Oberst (colonel) in front of the grave said that if all the soldiers of the Fuehrer fought like this Russian, they would have conquered the whole world. Three times they fired volleys from rifles. After all, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary?"

- In the afternoon, the Germans gathered at the place where the cannon was. We, local residents, were also forced to come there, - recalls Verzhbitskaya. - As someone who knows the German language, the chief German with orders ordered me to translate. He said that this is how a soldier should defend his homeland - Vaterland. Then, from the pocket of our killed soldier's tunic, they took out a medallion with a note, who was from where. The main German told me: “Take it and write to your relatives. Let the mother know what a hero her son was and how he died. I was afraid to do it … Then a German young officer, who was standing in the grave and covering the body of Sirotinin with a Soviet raincoat-tent, snatched a piece of paper and a medallion from me and said something rudely.

For a long time after the funeral, the Nazis stood at the cannon and the grave in the middle of the collective farm field, not without admiration counting the shots and hits.

Today, in the village of Sokolnichi, there are no graves in which the Germans buried Kolya. Three years after the war, Kolya's remains were transferred to a mass grave, the field was plowed up and sowed, the cannon was handed over for recycling. And he was called a hero only 19 years after the feat. And not even a Hero of the Soviet Union - he was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

Only in 1960 did the employees of the Central Archives of the Soviet Army reconnoitre all the details of the feat. A monument to the hero was also erected, but awkward, with a fake cannon and just somewhere off to the side.

How Kolya Sirotinin ended up in a mass grave Today, in the village of Sokolnichi, there is no grave in which the Germans buried Kolya. Three years after the war, Kolya's remains were transferred to a mass grave, the field was plowed up and sowed, the cannon was handed over for recycling. And he was called a hero only 19 years after the feat. And not even a Hero of the Soviet Union - he was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

Only in 1960 did the employees of the Central Archives of the Soviet Army reconnoitre all the details of the feat. The monument to the hero was also erected, but awkward, with a fake cannon and just somewhere off to the side. FROM THE KP DOSSIER Senior Sergeant Nikolai SIROTININ is from Orel. Drafted into the army in 1940. On June 22, 1941, he was wounded in an air raid. The wound was light, and a few days later he was sent to the front - to the Krichev area, to the 6th Infantry Division as a gunner.

Awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, posthumously. Vadim TABAKOV, Victor Malishevsky. ("KP" - Minsk ").

BY THE WAY

Why wasn't he given a Hero? We found Nikolai's sister, 80-year-old Taisia SHESTAKOVA, in Orel. Taisia Vladimirovna pulled out a folder with old family photographs from the closet - alas, nothing … - We had his only passport card. But during the evacuation in Mordovia, my mother gave it to be enlarged. And the master lost her! He brought completed orders to all our neighbors, but not to us. We were very sad. - Did you know that Kolya alone stopped the tank division? And why didn't he get a Hero? - We found out in the 61st year, when the Krychev ethnographers found Kolya's grave.

The whole family went to Belarus. The Krichevtsy tried to present Kolya for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Only in vain: for the paperwork, he definitely needed a photograph of him, at least some. And we don't have it! They did not give Kolya a Hero. In Belarus, his feat is known. And it’s a shame that very few people know about him in his native Oryol. Even a small alley was not named after him. When we asked why Kolya volunteered to cover up the retreat of our army, Taisia Vladimirovna raised her eyebrows in surprise: “My brother could not have done otherwise.” We thank Natalia Morozova, director of the Krichevsky Museum of Local Lore, and an employee of the Great Patriotic War Museum war to Galina Babusenko for help in preparing the material. Irina NIKISHONKOVA, Vlad CHISLOV. ("KP" - Eagle ").

It's hard to believe

For the first time about this rare case in the history of the Great Patriotic War, the public learned only in 1957 - from Mikhail Fedorovich Melnikov, a local historian from the Belarusian city of Krichev, who began to collect details of the feat of Nikolai Sirotinin. Not everyone believed that a person was capable of stopping a column of tanks alone, but the more information they managed to get, the more authentic the evidence of the guy's feat became.

Today we can say with confidence that the 19-year-old boy Kolya Sirotinin really alone covered the withdrawal of Soviet troops, not for a second letting the enemy descend.

From the book by Gennady Mayorov "Artillery Square":

“On July 10, 1941, our artillery battery arrived in the village of Sokolnichi, which was located three kilometers from the town of Krichev. One of the guns was commanded by a young gunner Nikolai. He chose a firing position on the outskirts of the village. All the crew dug an artillery trench in one evening, and then two more spare ones, niches for shells and shelter for people. The battery commander and artilleryman Nikolai settled in the Grabskys' house.

“At that time I worked at the main post office of Krichev, - recalled Maria Grabskaya. -After the end of the shift I came to my home, we had guests, including Nikolai Sirotinin, whom I met. Kolya told me that he was from the Oryol region and that his father was a railroad worker. He and his comrades dug a trench, and when it was ready, everyone dispersed. Nikolai said that he was on duty and that you could sleep peacefully: "If something happens, I will knock you." Suddenly, early in the morning, he knocked so hard that the whole window would be blown out. We caught up and hid in a trench. And then the battle began. Next to our hut there was a collective farm where a cannon was installed. Nikolai did not leave his post until his last breath. German cars, armored personnel carriers, tanks were driving along the highway, which was 200-250 meters from the cannon. He let them very close, hiding behind a gun shield himself. And when the cannon fell silent, we thought he ran away. A little later, the Germans gathered all of us, the villagers, and asked: "Mother, whose son was killed?" They buried Nicholas themselves, wrapping him in a tent."

From the diary of the German chief lieutenant Friedrich Henfeld:

“July 17, 1941. Sokolniki near Krichev. In the evening, a Russian unknown soldier was buried. He alone, standing at the cannon, shot a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone marveled at his courage. It is not clear why he resisted so much, he was still doomed to death. The colonel in front of the grave said that if the Fuhrer's soldiers were like that, they would have conquered the whole world. Three times they fired volleys from rifles. Still, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary?"

A few months later, Friedrich Henfeld was killed near Tula. His diary got to the military journalist Fyodor Selivanov. Having rewritten part of it, Selivanov handed over the diary to the army headquarters, and kept the extract.

In 1960, Nikolai Sirotinin was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, which is kept in the Minsk Museum. He was also nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but he never received it - the only photograph in which Kolya was captured was lost during the war. Without her, the title was not given to the hero.

This is what the sister of Nikolai Sirotinin, Taisiya Shestakova, recalled on this occasion: “We had his only passport card. But during the evacuation in Mordovia, my mother gave it to be enlarged. And the master lost her! He brought completed orders to all our neighbors, but not to us. We were very sad. We learned about the heroic deed of our brother in the 61st year, when local historians from Krychev found Kolya's grave. The whole family went to Belarus. The Krichevtsy tried to present Kolya for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Only in vain, since for the paperwork, his photograph was definitely needed, at least some. And we don't have it!"

Everyone who has heard about this story is very surprised by one important fact. In the Republic of Belarus, everyone knows about the heroism of the Oryol soldier. There is a monument to him, a street in the city of Krichev and a school-garden in Sokolnichi are named after him. Until recently, very few people in Oryol knew about the feat of their fellow countryman. His memory was kept only by a small exposition in the museum of school number 17, in which Kolya once studied, and a memorial plaque on the house where he lived and from where he went to the army. At the initiative of representatives of the Oryol Union of Journalists, it was proposed to immortalize the forgotten or almost unknown exploits of the heroes-artillerymen on one of the streets of the city. They also proposed a project of a memorial slab on which the legendary story of Nikolai Sirotinin would be told, and in the future the square was to be replenished with new slabs with photographs and names of heroes and a brief annotation of their exploits. But the city authorities decided to change the idea and instead of the initial project, they installed a cannon in the Artillerymen Square, assuring that after the opening a competition would be announced among designers for the second stage to organize the adjacent space and create new information elements. A year has passed since that moment, but at the site of the Artilleryists' Square, only a cannon remains lonely.

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