the Great Patriotic sometimes spinning such amazing stories that could generate the wildest fantasy of the writer or screenwriter. Today is a story about one of prostituzioni episodes first weeks of the war — a desperate counterattack, which together with our fighters took part one hundred and fifty guard dogs.
According to many experts-researchers, the fight that occurred at the end of July 1941 near the Ukrainian mudflow Lehedzyne, has no parallel in world history.
He became one of the bloodiest episodes of the battle on the far southern outskirts of Kiev in July–August 41-go. Wehrmacht troops broke through our South-Western front in the Zhitomir area. Through the unprotected plot by the Nazis was immediately thrown fresh troops — several infantry divisions and a mechanized corps of the 1st Panzer group. The enemy was expected from that direction to develop the offensive on the capital of Soviet Ukraine.
Our troops tried to detain the advancing enemy. A solid line of defense are often not. Skilled German commanders, using the proven tactics of detours and “ticks”, are in several places to encircle a large group of the red Army.
Especially the tragic situation in the so-called Green Barme — covered vast tracts of forest territory on the right Bank of the river sinyukha. Here, the Soviet command attempted to execute a planned in front of the headquarters of Uman defensive operation. However, it ended in failure. Into the ring came the remains of 6th and 12th armies, who were fighting to break out of German encirclement. It was a little: if in the beginning of the war the total strength of the two armies amounted to 130 thousand people, that of a “boiler” managed to get only around 11 thousand.
In late July the German units had received the order to attack one of the leadership centres of the troops of our army groups. Their goal was the village of Lehedzyne, where the headquarters of the 8th infantry corps major General Michael Snowline. The Nazis took advantage of the favorable situation and attacked the staff, separating the location of the body at the junction of its two divisions.
on 30 July the German military, a group of 30 tanks, fifty motorcycles, several artillery batteries and two infantry battalions came to the outskirts of the village and tried to immediately seize the headquarters of the Russian. In total, the number of advancing German units was approximately 2,500 people.
They were opposed by our division, to cover the staff corps: several divisions of anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, engineer company, armored car… one Main force of assorted troops, this was a Separate border detachment for the protection of the rear under the command of major Rodion Filippova, formed on the basis of the consolidated battalion kolomiyskogo Pogrankondushi. Just for the defense Legedzino managed to collect about 500 people. Before them was tasked to cover the withdrawal of the headquarters, holding the enemy in front of the village.
the First German attack repulsed. While artillery fire and grenades managed to destroy 6 tanks. Stepping back, the Nazis began to actively shelling our positions. Enemy shells killed and wounded several dozen border guards; in addition, was shot down 3 guns and 7 machine guns. Then followed another attack, then another… They successfully repelled, but after many hours of battle the defenders were knocked out all the guns and armored vehicles. Greatly thinned the company of guards. And the Germans again went on the offensive.
And then major Filippov (in some sources it is mentioned that the guards in this battle was led by another commander, major Lopatin) decided to use against the enemy his last reserve — the team of the Lviv school of working dogs border troops of the NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR. Is the training unit shortly after the outbreak of war, relocated from Lviv to Kolomyya, and during the retreat from there was included in the squad of guards of major Filippov. The team consisted of 25 handlers and about a hundred dogs (different sources name different numbers — from 75 to 150).
Here is told in his memoirs, prepared half a century ago, one of the eyewitnesses of the events, Lieutenant of the guards Alexander Fuca:
“…Left twenty-five dog handlers, led by senior Lieutenant Dmitry ye. Yermakov and his Deputy for political Affairs Junior political Commissar Viktor Dmitrievich Jazykovym. Each conductor had a few shepherds…”
the very fact that this “dog” division managed to get from the border areas of Ukraine to Legedzino — a unique episode in the first weeks of the war. As later recalled one of the former students of Oleg Ivanovsky, “the school of July 1, 1941, at 23.00 came out in full force from Kolomya to Kiev, and after 18 days, breaking the 600 km, the cadets of the dogs came in Brovary…” can You imagine such a March-throw in length to many hundreds of kilometers without the necessary transport, without sufficient food supply! But the dog was able to overcome difficulties and have saved all their four-legged Pets. And the dog, as if understanding the extremity of the situation, kept well done and endured all the hardships of the marathon. At some point, at the request of Filippov to help canine unit and allocate animal feed command suggested major just to release the hounds on all four sides. But the guards-withbackbody could not do so treacherously towards his tail “comrades in arms”.
From the memoirs of A. I. Fuki: “you just Have to be surprised that four-legged friends of man, passed us from the border hundreds of kilometres under enemy fire, and, of course, to the courage of their conductors, who not only cherished, but also shared with them the meagre rations”.
So exhausted the team of the Lviv school along with half a battalion of Kolomyia Pogrankondushi by the end of July had reached the outskirts of the village Lehedzyne, where guards were assigned to guard the corps headquarters.
When the German troops launched an offensive on the village, Filippov told the team of handlers to take refuge in a thicket of trees behind positions and not to engage in battle before his special order.
“…Ahead lies a wheat field. It came close to the grove, where the guides with dogs — we read in the memoirs of A. I. Fuki. — Dogs in all the time of the battle did not cast a vote: not barking, not howling, though for fourteen hours, never fed, not watered, and everything around was shaking from artillery fire and explosions…”
Another German attack seemed to have can’t be stopped: defenders of the approaches to Legedzino by that time left almost without ammunition, cannons and machine guns, there were many wounded and dead… In this most critical moment in the battle Filippov and ordered to join the business team of handlers. Such an unusual counter-attack stunned the Germans.
From the memoirs of A. I. Fuki: “…the Distance between us and the Nazis were all reduced to the positions remained 30-40 meters, have seen their evil faces. Across the line towards the enemy flying grenades, who had the bullets — fire! Another moment, and the Nazis all his weight will be able to destroy a handful of defenders of the corps headquarters. And here the unbelievable happened. At the very moment when the enemy rushed the position, our darlings, the battalion commander, major R. I., Filippov ordered to drop all service dogs. Dogs with lightning speed broke the plot of a wheat field that they were covered. They suddenly appeared in front of the Nazis. Nazi anger shepherd said his dog’s anger. In just a few seconds, the situation on the battlefield has changed dramatically in our favor. First the Nazis came into confusion, and then the state passed in confusion, which turned into a stampede. Dog knocked the Germans down, dug in their throat, somewhere else, tearing mercilessly. All of this dog pack in an instant turned into an incredibly formidable mass of animals. Now nothing could stop them, and no one thought to do this… Hitler’s thugs got off. Our four-legged friends a conversation with the fascist scum was short and merciless. All the defenders of the one impulse��m took off with an incredible enthusiasm pursued the running enemy with lead and bayonet. Trying to save his fighters, the Nazis unleashed on us mortar fire. Over the battlefield except the usual sounds of gunfire and explosions, of screams and moans mixed up even the terrible shrill sounds of a dog barking…”
From the teeth of four-footed fighters, some German fighters were saved by jumping on the armor involved in the attack tanks and then to stop shooting dogs with machine guns. Against such a tactic shepherd was powerless…
a Desperate counter-attack canines even slowed the Germans on the frontiers of our defense near the village of Lehedzyne. Here perished nearly all the guards, but their task they performed. The headquarters of our 8th corps managed to get out of the shot (although the General M. Snow has been wounded and captured). More than a day was delayed the German offensive towards Kiev in the area.
some of the dogs survived, although there were no conductors, were killed in battle. According to witnesses of those events — villagers, shepherds remained to the last faithful to their favorite hosts. When the battle ceased to rattle shots, animals were hiding in the surrounding bushes of the forest, returned to the place where lay the bodies of the guards. Each dog found among the corpses of his conductor, and, lying on the ground nearby, guarding him. Four-legged soldiers are not scared even appeared the German team, who was ordered to look for and targeting accident survivors (the Nazis had such a big grudge against the Soviet border guards in their desperate resistance in the first days of the war that rarely took prisoners, finishing off the wounded with bullet or bayonet). Shepherd defended the bodies of their owners, fiercely rushed at the strangers and killed by their shots.
However, multiple dogs, still managed to Dodge death. And they started independent “guerrilla warfare”.
From memories of old village Lehedzyne:
“Early in our area was not noticed, so many shepherds, and, moreover, weird. Sometimes, coming or going in our clothes, nothing, but as soon as they notice a man in German clothing, will chase as long as not to kill or, at best, not a bite of everything. The villagers said that a feral shepherd guards…”
“My neighbor, an elderly farmer, was returning with his granddaughter Oksana with Archangel in the village of Leskovka. On the road near the forest they were stopped by four fascists. They tried to abuse his 15-year-old granddaughter… the old Man sobbed, granddaughter desperately fought back. At the very moment when a healthy big man threw her to the ground, suddenly attacked the dog and bit the fascists to death. Especially got bezpecnemu the big man who gave up the Ghost near his victim. Grandfather with granddaughter verules home neither alive nor dead. It turned out that the dog accompanied them home. Dogs fed, watered grateful to people for their salvation…”
However, the Nazis did not put up with the constant threat of dog attacks and staged in the area sweep. They were killed with rifles and machine guns every dog who caught their eye. Not escaped this fate even the village domestic dogs.
In the end, the team of the Lviv school of dog died almost completely. (Preserved only fragmentary memories of the villagers about a wounded German shepherd dog crawled to one of the houses, whose inhabitants had hidden her from the Germans and was cured.)
Only a few days, the Germans allowed the villagers to bury the bodies of the guards. Together with them in the excavated pit and put the dead dogs. Years later, in 1955, the remains were moved to a mass grave, arranged on a mound near the highway near Legedzino. Alas, practically all these characters remained unnamed.
the Story of a unique dog’s counterattack for many years were forgotten. While General M. G. Snegov later wrote in his memoirs: “…it hurts Me to know that some kolomiyskogo programmedfor not noted for their feats of arms because of the fuzzy work of Central services. …Each of us honors the memory of the fallen and remember the living, remember the martial deeds of the border guards…”
Already in the post-Soviet era, may 9, 2003, at a mass grave near the village of Lehedzyne was solemnly opened the memorial complex created on the voluntary donations of veterans of the great Patriotic war from the town of Zvenigorod, and the inhabitants of the surrounding villages and districts. In the center of the composition — a monument to border guards and their faithful four-legged assistants.
the Inscription on the black granite slab reads: “Stop and bow. Then in July 1941, rose in the last attack on the enemy fighters Kolomyia separate border commandant. 500 150 border guards and their dogs perished death brave in battle. They remained forever faithful to the oath, the native land”.
And the adjacent plate, at the foot of the stone with the image of the shepherd, embossed lettering: “Brought by the guards, they (dogs) were faithful to the end.”
