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Bialystok encirclement. Ideal conditions. Bialystok salient Bialystok cauldron 1941 causes of the disaster

The year 1941 and the first months of 1942 were overshadowed by painful defeats for the USSR against Germany. Despite a number of won battles that slowed down the enemy’s advance, a real turning point in the war was still far away.

Battle of Bialystok-Minsk

This is the first and largest clash between Soviet and German troops in the summer months of 1941, lasting from June 22 to July 8. On the German side, over 1.4 million military personnel took part in it, on the Soviet side - about 790 thousand, but at the same time, the Red Army outnumbered the enemy in the number of guns, tanks and aircraft.

The plan of the German troops was to launch powerful attacks from the flanks in the Minsk area with the forces of the 2nd and 3rd tank armies in order to encircle a large Soviet group. The tactics of such “pincers” with strong flanks and a weak center will be characteristic of the military doctrine of the Wehrmacht throughout 1941. In addition, the Luftwaffe command planned to win a crushing victory in the air, thereby depriving Soviet aviation of the opportunity for full resistance in the future.

The weakest section of the front turned out to be near Brest, where Soviet units, with the exception of the defenders of the Brest Fortress, were defeated in a matter of days. The attempt at a powerful counterattack, with which the Soviet military leaders intended not only to push back, but also to defeat the enemy, failed, resulting in the formation of two “cauldrons” - Bialystok and Minsk.

During the Battle of Bialystok-Minsk, German troops managed to advance 300 km deep into Soviet territory, over 320 thousand soldiers and officers of the Red Army were captured, and the Western Front was almost completely destroyed.

Battle of Vitebsk

After the defeat of the Soviet troops in Bialystok and Minsk and the “cauldrons,” German troops headed towards the Western Dvina and Dnieper rivers, after crossing which the road to Moscow was opened for them. Considering that the German formations, moving east, stretched for tens of kilometers, the Soviet command had the opportunity to defeat the enemy in stages.

To stop the advance of German groups towards Vitebsk, Marshal Timoshenko decided to launch a counterattack with the forces of the 5th and 7th mechanized corps in the Lepel area, however, due to the lack of coordination in the actions of the Soviet command, the powerful attack was reduced to a series of small isolated clashes.

This hitch made it possible to transport a significant part of the German motorized formations across the Dvina and create a strategic advantage. " The crossing of the Western Dvina in the area between Beshenkovichi and Ulla by three divisions of the 39th Tank Corps, as well as the capture of Vitebsk, were decisive for the entire operation,” Lieutenant General Pavel Kurochkin later wrote.

The Battle of Vitebsk, which lasted from July 6 to July 10, cost Soviet tankers heavy losses:The 5th and 7th mechanized corps lost over 800 tanks and a significant part of their personnel. According to the official version, Stalin's son was captured by the Nazis during the Battle of Vitebsk Yakov Dzhugashvili . As a result of the defeat, a gap was punched in the Soviet defense, through which German troops entered the Moscow Highway.

Kyiv defensive operation

For two months, from July to September 1941, the bloody defense of Kiev lasted, in which the troops of the Southwestern Front and the Pinsk Flotilla took part on the Soviet side under the general leadership of Marshal Semyon Budyonny, and on the German side - Army Group South, under the command of Field MarshalGerd von Rundstedt.

The concentration of Soviet troops near Kiev constrained the further advance of the German army, which planned to reach the industrial areas of Donbass. For the German command it was important not only to break through the Kiev defensive line, but also to prevent large units of the Red Army from retreating deeper into their territory.

For quite a long time, in the area of the Kyiv fortified area, Soviet troops with quick counterattack raids slowed down the enemy on the approaches to the Ukrainian capital. Everything changed dramatically when the German command decided to transfer troops from Army Group Center to Kyiv, temporarily suspending plans to attack Moscow.

As a result, by the 20th of September, German troops managed to break the resistance of units of the Southwestern Front and enter Kyiv. According to data published General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 1993, Soviet troops lost over 700 thousand people during the Kyiv defensive operation, of which 627 thousand were irrevocable.

Vyazemsky boiler

By the end of September 1941, the German command developed plans to capture the Soviet capital. Having carried out a major regrouping of troops, the Germans hoped to dismember the Moscow defense line, encircle and destroy the troops of the Western and Bryansk fronts.

The Soviet General Staff expected that the enemy would intensify offensive operations along the Smolensk-Vyazma direction at the junction of the 16th and 19th armies. This is where the main forces of the Red Army were concentrated. However, the Soviet command miscalculated: the Germans struck north and south of the intended direction.

The advance of the German troops was so powerful that the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief decided to withdraw troops to the Rzhev-Vyazemsky defensive line. In some sectors of the front, in a matter of days, the Germans managed to wedge 50-80 kilometers into the defensive ranks of the defenders. In the Vyazma area, Soviet troops were surrounded, where they fought stubborn battles until October 13.

The result for the Soviet command was disastrous. As a result of the Vyazemsky “cauldron”, the losses of the Red Army in killed and wounded amounted to 380 thousand people, over 600 thousand were captured.

Crimean disaster

In December 1941 - January 1942, Soviet troops managed to return the Kerch Peninsula, previously captured by the 11th Wehrmacht Army, but after attempts to further liberate Crimea, they suffered heavy losses and concentrated their forces exclusively on defense.

The German command noticed that in one of the sections of the defensive line between the Black Sea and Koi-Assan Soviet troops had limited strength. This guided it when developing the plan for the “Hunting for Bustard” operation.

On May 7, German troops, as a result of a sudden and massive air strike, were able to inflict heavy losses on the defenders. And on May 8, after a powerful artillery shelling, the offensive began. Despite the fact that the Soviet group of troops outnumbered the German one - 250 thousand versus 150 thousand, due to inept command it suffered a painful defeat, thereby exposing the Caucasian direction to the danger of invasion.

Soon after the defeat at Kerch, the defense of Sevastopol weakened. As a result of the almost complete blockade of the city and, as a consequence, the lack of a sufficient amount of ammunition, the defenders could not do anything to counter the destructive air raids and attacks from the sea by German troops. On July 3, 1942, Sevastopol was lost.

Second battle for Kharkov

After repelling the offensive of German troops near Moscow, the General Staff decided to begin active operations in other directions. This was facilitated by the expansion of the military industry and the creation of reserve armies. Against the backdrop of successes, the Kharkov offensive operation was planned, which, however, resulted in a complete encirclement of Soviet troops.

The strategic plan of the Soviet General Staff meant, through a series of operations, to force the enemy to disperse its reserves, preventing him from creating a strong group for an offensive in a specific direction. However, the May 1942 offensive of Soviet troops near Kharkov was successfully repelled by the Germans, and after this they organized their own counteroffensive.

On May 28, by order of Marshal Timoshenko, the offensive operation was canceled: now all efforts were aimed at unblocking the dense ring created by the German group. Despite the desperate attempts of the Soviet troops to break through the encirclement, only a tenth completed the task successfully. The operation cost the lives of 270 thousand Soviet soldiers. At the very end of May, Hermann Hoth's tank army broke through the defenses between Kursk and Kharkov and rushed to the Don.

FROM BREST TO BERLIN

Poetic epic

Seventeen days - and there is no front! - 1
Crushed, surrounded, defeated.
Will anyone understand, because he is also a poet?
Can’t a thought be harnessed to the shafts?
A third of a million were captured.
Guns, tanks, planes -
Can't count! The brain is on one side:
He can’t understand why this is so?
One in fifty two -
Our losses! It can not be!
No, this is a mockery of reason!
Frost creeps up your skin in the heat!
There were fewer of us, but there were 2
Guns, tanks, planes -
Almost the same. And what?
All regiments and companies were losing.
Seventeen days - and the front is broken.
On the seventh day we surrendered Minsk. 3
And Stalin angrily says:
“Lenin’s legacy was given away.” 4
He said a cooler word.
But since swearing is inappropriate here,
Then he is modestly replaced here,
Although it would sound more interesting.
Those who are slow-witted go to the Internet
Take a look at yours at your leisure,
And he will tell you a secret:
The truth will be revealed - hurry!
In two amazing "cauldrons"
Three of our armies were hit. 5
These are “big” things!
This is the “shine” of Soviet “steel”! 6
How many divisions? Twenty three
The Soviets were completely defeated.
Wipe away the tears from your face, my country,
Light, sadness, candles in churches.
There is confusion and anger in my soul,
And rage shoots arrows into the heart,
And our eternal Russian question:
“Who is to blame and what should we do?”
Joseph Stalin: “Shoot
All front leadership! Urgently!
Raze Pavlov to the ground. 7
Am I right, Tymoshenko?” - "Yes sir!" 8
And only our fortress “Brest”
Didn’t give up on the southern flank: 9
Then the fire roared all around,
Driving our rage into the Germans.
A year later there was news of her for the first time
Through the prisoners the following fell into our hands:
The country has learned - the Brest fortress
It sparkled with fire until August.
Seven thousand surrendered - alas! –
This is the result of a week-long battle.
And only four hundred were able
Fight for a month without looking back.
And the feat of those who to the end
Stood here to death, became forever
Victory symbol in the heart
Having entered with the courage of this battle.
So what was the big deal here?
How did this happen? What are the reasons?
And why can’t you count the losses?
And the trail of enemy victories is so long?
Alas, the doctrine failed! –
Not on defense - on offense
She called resolutely
To beat the enemy in his domain.
Dealt a blow to the army
Before the war, our Stalin himself -
He gave such a “gift”
That’s why the enemies started to pay attention:
Fearing the commanding higher powers -
The coup worried him -
He removed many from their positions
And then he destroyed it. 10
The leader was sure he would attack
Germany will not come to us soon:
Once the Pact is signed, it won’t work 11
A pack of enemies is attacking us.
So as not to give Hitler a reason,
Our General Staff ordered (oh yes zeal!)
Show the Germans clearly
What we don’t prepare for battles:
Airfields are for show.
War is about to begin - there is no doubt about it -
We have all the artillery
At summer training camps and exercises.
Ah, our Russian “maybe”!
“I suppose” follows him:
The world could not be kept
Holding back an arrogant neighbor.
“Do not open fire in response,
And wait for further instructions."
“What are they saying, checkmate! –
Didn’t you overheat in the bath for an hour?”
The earth is shaking from the explosions.
Shells are tearing people apart everywhere. –
“Do not return fire.
Perhaps we can still sort things out.”
The commanders shout:
“Let us return fire!”
And permits are rushing towards them
Three hours later, these requests:
While they were deciding what was what;
The Politburo was assembled in the Kremlin;
Von Schulenburg is coming; to him 12
Towards Molotov. “They attacked! –
Having returned, he urgently reported -
The Germans declared war on us.” –
Stalin swallowed his tongue
After all, it’s amazing how they shaved him off!
How Hitler deceived him! –
After all, I assured you just recently: 13
"There will be no war." And butted
Below the belt is insidious.
“How he deceived him, the scoundrel! –
The great Stalin miscalculated!
Silent. And Zhukov, finally,
Broke into his silence:
"I propose to the enemy
Bring down the fire decisively
And hold him back until
He didn’t go after our souls.”
“No,” Tymoshenko says, “
Not to detain, but to destroy!”
“Give us a directive. Be
Now it’s your way.” And what?
In response to Stalin's “Yes”,
A code message goes to the troops:
"Smash the fascists." But when?
When the drama is already in full swing:
When the border is all on fire,
And the artillery is broken,
And aviation - doubly so,
And a lot of our tanks are destroyed.
Here's Stalin's order for you -
It wouldn't cause a war - quieter than a mouse
To be at the border, on display
Present the troops to the view from above.
As a result, the enemy attacked us
Insidious, mean and cruel
And drove our armies
The “boilers” are huge in the end.
Everything is so, but Pavlov is like himself
Conducted himself before the attack
And during the days of war? We know
Not in the best way. Without zeal
He followed orders from above.
And the impression is created -
Ignored them and gave them up,
Essentially, your front in an instant.
I received it twice in June.
The signal from the General Staff is to be ready:
"War is about to happen." -Waited for something
And had fun in a harsh hour:
Before the attack, where is Pavlov? –
In the theater he sits in a box. 14
“What a performance! - On high!
How Popandopulo plays!
Ah, Yashka! Hey, artilleryman!
What feints he does!
What a fiery artist!
How famously he amuses us!
And this queen! So cute
And how wonderfully she dances with him!
To hell with military affairs! –
How charming life is with music!”
They report to him there:
“It’s very alarming at the border.” –
“More provocations? Bedlam".
He doesn't want to leave the theater.
Tymoshenko himself called
He's going to the theater. “Oh, evil fate!
No, I’ll watch the performance,” he decided.
What a hero! What a will!
The front did not raise the alarm.
The troops did not occupy the trenches,
They didn't turn around. The enemy crushed them.
This is our sad experience.
How could they not be captured? –
The Bialystok ledge itself asks
Strike from the flanks, tear the thread there,
Where it is much easier to tear it.
On the southern flank, where Brest is,
Three divisions sleep carelessly. 15
In an hour we smashed them all here -
They burn in the barracks: a moment and an eternity.
And in the citadel they sleep peacefully.
In the evening the Germans observe:
How copper pipes burn
And the guards inspire.
Ah, the citadel! - Such a stronghold!
Such power! Such power!
And so mediocre (damn it!)
Then they did it to you!
On the main line to Moscow,
You would have blocked the way to Smolensk. –
Became a trap at dawn,
Captured seven thousand warriors.
This is how we live in Russia -
We create problems for ourselves
And then heroically
We solve them by entering the poems.
But it might not have been like that.
Having taken up defense near Brest,
Could fight so that the enemy
He croaked out of grief like crows.
And they would say - not Moscow,
Smolensk closed the road to the enemy.
Alas, vain words
And belatedly they sound the alarm.
Result - Western Front then
Caused damage to neighboring fronts:
To the south and north - trouble
At the beginning of this summer battle.
And Kyiv fell, and Leningrad
In the end, I suffered for three years.
So one wrong step -
And even the gods will not help.
Pavlov and his 16 were shot
The chief of staff and others too.
Only sixteen years will pass -
They will be whitewashed - Khrushchev will help: 17
He will say: “Stalin is to blame,
And all others are his victims.”
No wonder they sometimes say:
“It is not the gods who lead us, but the devils.”

March 3, 2015
----------
1 From June 22 to July 8, 1941, the main forces of the West. front
were surrounded and defeated. From the summary in German. Ch. Command of Army Group "Center" on July 11, 1941: in the Bialystok and Minsk "cauldrons" 324,000 people were captured, including several senior generals, 3,332 tanks, 1,809 guns and many others were captured. war trophies. Our losses: 341,073 hours - irrecoverable and 76,717 sanitary. With him. sides: 6,535 killed, 20,071 wounded, 1,111 prop. without a trace. In total, on June 22, 1941, there were 44 divisions in the district. The remaining 20 formations lost on average half of their forces and assets, and the front air force lost 1,797 aircraft.
2 Forces of the parties: we have 790 tons, the Germans have 1.45 million hours. We have: 15.1 tons of guns and mortars, 2.1 tons of tanks, 1.7 tons of aircraft. He has it. sides: 16.1; 3.8; 2.1 t. resp.
3 June 28 approx. 17:00 parts German. 20th tank. divisions broke into Minsk from the north-west.
4 June 28 Stalin, after visiting with members of the Politburo Gen. headquarters told them: “Lenin left us a great legacy, and we, his heirs, have all this... (expletive).”
5 In Bialystok (on June 28, units of the 3rd and 10th armies were surrounded) and Minsk (from June 28 to July 8, the remnants of the 3rd, 10th and parts of the 13th and 4th were surrounded and captured armies) "cauldrons" were units of 11 corps, 2 cavalry, 6 tanks and 4 motorized divisions of the Red Army, 3 corps commanders and 2 division commanders were killed, 2 corps commanders and 6 division commanders were captured, and 1 more corps commander and 2 division commanders were missing.
6 In pre-war For years, the march of tankers was popular, in cat. sang: “Thundering with fire, sparkling with the brilliance of steel, / The machines will go on a furious march, / When Comrade Stalin sends us into battle / And Voroshilov will lead us into battle” (music by Dmitry and Daniil Pokrass, lyrics by Boris Laskin).
7 Commander of the Western Front.
8 People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR.
9 Until the end of June, fighting continued in the Brest Fortress.
Major P.M. Gavrilov, who led the defense of the so-called. “East. fort”, consisting of 400 soldiers and commanders of the Kr. Army, was
captured wounded among the last on July 23. According to witnesses, shooting was heard from the fortress until the beginning. Aug. 1941
101 Number of repressed people in 1937 – 1941 representatives
higher com. The composition of the Red Army (based on calculations by O.F. Suvenirov) amounted to 503 out of 767, 65.6% (412 were shot, 29 died in custody, 3 died by suicide, 59 returned from prison alive). Including the following were repressed: 3 marshals out of 5, 60% (V.K. Blyukher, A.I. Egorov, M.N. Tukhachevsky); 20 commanders of the 1st and 2nd rank out of 15, 133% (19 were shot, 1 returned alive from prison); 5 fleet flagships of the 1st and 2nd rank out of 4, 125% (5 shot); 69 corps commanders out of 62, 112.6% (58 were shot, 4 died in custody, 2 committed suicide, 5 returned from prison alive); 6 1st rank flagships out of 6, 100% (5 were shot, 1 returned alive from prison); 153 division commanders from the 201st, 76% (122 were shot, 9 died in custody, 22 returned from prison alive); 247 brigade commanders out of 474, 52.1% (201 were shot, 15 died in custody, 1 committed suicide, 30 returned from prison alive).
11 Aug 23 1939 in Moscow by the People's Commissar of In. Affairs of the USSR V.M. Molotov and Minister of Foreign Affairs German affairs I. von Ribbentrop signed the Non-Aggression Pact.
13 German Ambassador to Moscow.
14 May 15, 1941 on special. On a plane from Berlin, a letter from Hitler was delivered to Stalin in Moscow. he assured Stalin that Germany was not going to attack the USSR, but was concentrating on it. troops and its allies on the borders with the USSR - this is a diversionary maneuver to deceive England that Germany is not going to attack it, and a German resting place. army before attacking England. At the same time, Hitler insidiously warned Stalin that if the disobedient were mute. generals will begin provocative actions against the USSR, then he will punish them.
15 On the evening of June 21, 1941 in Minsk, at the theater of the military district, Pavlov watched the play “Wedding in Malinovka.”
16 June 30th Com. was arrested. front gen. army D.G. Pavlov and other generals. After a short investigation, Pavlov was sentenced to death. Together with him on July 22 the following were shot: beginning. front headquarters General-M. V.E. Klimovsky and the beginning. communications front general-m. A.T. Grigoriev. In the following days, several more high-ranking generals were arrested and executed.
17 July 31, 1957 Military Collegium Top. USSR court issued a ruling by which the sentence of July 22, 1941 was overturned
Due to newly discovered circumstances, the case was dismissed for lack of corpus delicti. D. G. Pavlov was posthumously restored to his military rank.

Above is the cover of Vladimir Tyaptin's new book. It includes 39 poems and 14 poems and songs dedicated to the heroic struggle of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945, which reflect the main battles on all fronts of this great war, starting from the border battles of 1941 before the storming of Berlin and the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945. The book is filled with extensive historical material, included in 309 notes. Essentially, these are two books - poetic and prose, united under one title. It presents 156 specific individuals, including 96 war heroes, from ordinary soldiers to Marshal Zhukov and Generalissimo Joseph Stalin. The book was designed by Yuri Lobanov, laureate of the State Prize of the Udmurt Republic.

Battle of Bialystok-Minsk- border battle on the central sector of the Soviet-German front during the Great Patriotic War June 22 - July 8, 1941. As a result of the battle, the main forces of the Soviet Western Front were surrounded and were partially defeated, partially deserted, partially became partisans, and partially were captured. On June 28, German troops took Minsk.

Plans and strengths of the parties

Germany

The German command delivered the main blow in the Moscow direction with the forces of Army Group Center (commander - Field Marshal F. von Bock) and the 2nd Air Fleet (Field Marshal A. Kesselring). As of June 22, 1941, the total number was 1,453,200 soldiers and officers (50 divisions), 1,700 tanks, 910 aircraft, 3,000 guns.

3rd Panzer Group (2 army and 2 motorized corps, a total of 4 tank, 3 motorized and 4 infantry divisions), advancing from the Suwalki area.
2nd Panzer Group (3 motorized and 1 army corps, a total of 5 tank, 3 motorized, 1 cavalry, 6 infantry divisions and 1 reinforced regiment), advancing from the Brest area.

The plan was to strike with strong flank groups against a relatively weak center. The 2nd and 3rd groups were supposed to connect and encircle Soviet troops west of Minsk. At the same time, infantry formations (7 army corps in total, 20 infantry divisions), consolidated into two armies, launched an offensive against the encirclement and were supposed to unite east of Bialystok.

The 4th Army advanced from the Brest area
The 9th Army advanced from the Suwalki area.

The creation of "double pincers" was a favorite Wehrmacht tactic throughout the 1941 campaign.

The German 3rd Panzer Group (commander - Colonel General G. Hoth) delivered the main blow in Lithuania, in order to defeat the Soviet troops located there and go behind the Soviet Western Front. On the very first day, the motorized corps reached the Neman and captured bridges in Alytus and Myarkin, after which they continued the offensive on the eastern bank. The battle for Alytus between the combat detachments of the German 39th Motorized Corps and the Soviet 5th Tank Division turned out to be one of the most difficult of the entire war for the 39th Motorized Corps.

The German 9th Army operating further south (commander - Colonel General A. Strauss) attacked the Soviet 3rd Army (commander - Lieutenant General V.I. Kuznetsov) from the front, drove it back and occupied Grodno the next day. A counterattack by the Soviet 11th Mechanized Corps near Grodno on the first day of the war was repulsed.

On the front of the Soviet 10th Army, the enemy carried out diversionary actions, but on the southern front of the Bialystok ledge, with three corps (in the first echelon), the German 4th Army (commanded by Field Marshal General G. von Kluge) delivered a crushing blow in the direction of Belsk. The three Soviet rifle divisions defending here were driven back and partially scattered. At noon on June 22, in the Bransk area, the Soviet 13th Mechanized Corps, which was in the process of formation, entered into battle with German troops. By the end of the day, Soviet troops were driven out of Bransk. The entire next day there was a battle for this city. After repelling Soviet counterattacks on June 24, German forces continued their advance and occupied Belsk.

On June 23, units of the Soviet 14th Mechanized Corps and the 28th Rifle Corps of the 4th Army counterattacked German troops in the Brest area, but were repulsed. German motorized corps continued the offensive towards Baranovichi and in the Pinsk direction and occupied Pruzhany, Ruzhany and Kobrin.

The German 20th Army Corps was temporarily forced to take up defensive positions, but the remaining German corps of the 9th Army (8th, 5th and 6th) continued to cover the main forces of the Soviet army in the Bialystok salient. Due to the failure of the counterattack and the actual start of the encirclement, by 20:00 on June 25, I.V. Boldin gave the order to stop the attacks and begin a retreat.

Bialystok Cauldron

The Bialystok salient, in which the Soviet troops were positioned, was shaped like a bottle with the neck facing east and supported by the only Bialystok–Slonim road. At the same time, all the headquarters of the 10th Army formations at the beginning of the war were located west of the Bialystok line:

1st Rifle Corps - Vizna
5th Rifle Corps - Zambrów
6th Mechanized Corps - Bialystok
13th Mechanized Corps - Belsk
6th Cavalry Corps - Lomza.

The stubborn resistance of the Russians forces us to fight according to all the rules of our combat manuals. In Poland and in the West we could take certain liberties and deviations from the statutory principles; this is now unacceptable.

On July 1, 1941, units of the German 4th Army came into contact with units of the 9th Army, completing the complete encirclement of Soviet troops retreating from the Bialystok salient.

On July 3, command of the infantry divisions of the 4th Army was taken by the headquarters of the 2nd Army (commander - Colonel General M. von Weichs, who, along with the commander of the 9th Army A. Strauss, led the German troops at the final stage of the battle). The 4th Army of Field Marshal G. von Kluge, to which the 2nd and 3rd Panzer Groups were operationally subordinated, continued its offensive to the east.

Until the end of June, fighting continued in the Brest Citadel. On June 29, German aircraft dropped two 500-kilogram bombs and one bomb weighing 1,800 kg on the Eastern Fort (the last center of resistance of Soviet troops). The next morning, the headquarters of the German 45th Infantry Division reported the complete capture of the Brest Fortress. The division claimed the capture of 7,000 prisoners, including 100 officers, while its own losses amounted to 482 killed (including 32 officers) and more than 1,000 wounded (more than 5% of the total killed on the entire Eastern Front by June 30, 1941).

Defense of Minsk and the Minsk “cauldron”

Meanwhile, German motorized corps advancing east encountered the second echelon of the Soviet Western Front on June 24. The 47th motorized corps of the German 2nd Panzer Group encountered three Soviet divisions in the Slonim area, which delayed it for a day, and the 57th motorized corps of the 3rd Panzer Group faced the 21st Rifle Corps in the Lida area.

At this time, the German 39th motorized corps, advancing in the operational void, reached the approaches to Minsk on June 25. Three tank divisions (7th, 20th and 12th), totaling up to 700 tanks, broke through to the capital of Belarus; the next day they were joined by the 20th motorized division. On June 26, Molodechno, Volozhin and Radoshkovichi were occupied. The German 7th Panzer Division bypassed Minsk from the north and headed towards Borisov. On the night of June 27, its advance detachment occupied Smolevichi on the Minsk-Moscow highway.

The German command, intoxicated by the success of the French campaign, put forward a new task—the destruction of the USSR in just 3 months.

It seems that for the German military, blitzkrieg became the only way to defeat the enemy, and they did not even think that the war would last more than 3 months..

The Germans apparently expected that it would be like in France—an easy walk with local pockets of resistance.

DIRECTION SET

The southwestern direction was the main one. But the Wehrmacht did not have the strength to fight in all 3 directions at the same time.

Therefore, it was necessary to defeat the Red Army units in the Polar Fleet with one powerful frontal strike within 3-5 days...

Then, liberate significant forces, including Guderian’s tank army, and send them to the southwestern direction...

Where they would link up with Kleist’s tank group and take Kyiv by storm by mid-July.

Such a powerful frontal blow fell primarily on the Bialystok ledge

ABOUT BIALYSTOCK

On June 17, for 3 hours, ZapOVO district pilot Colonel Georgy Zakharov makes a U-2 reconnaissance flight 400 km over the western border from south to north, landing in Bialystok.

Every 30-50 km he landed at any suitable site, a border guard immediately approached the plane, on the wing Zakharov wrote another report about what he saw, and they all immediately went, including to the General Staff.

And the pilot saw the same thing everywhere:

“The areas west of the state border are filled with troops. In villages, on farmsteads, in groves, poorly camouflaged, or even without camouflage, tanks, armored vehicles, guns... The number of troops left no doubt:... war is approaching... Any day now.”

Junkers Conducts Exploration of Bialystok

“On May 15, 1941, the German off-schedule Ju-52 aircraft was completely freely allowed across the state border and flew across Soviet territory through Bialystok, Minsk, Smolensk to Moscow.

No measures were taken by the air defense to stop its flight. Posts... ZapOVO air defense discovered it only after 29 km, but, not knowing the silhouettes of German aircraft, they mistook it for a scheduled DS-3 aircraft and did not notify anyone about the appearance of the off-schedule Yu-52.”

The Bialystok airport, knowing that it was after all a Junkers aircraft,... also did not notify... the air defense, since contact with them had been severed since May 9 by the military personnel.

But they didn’t restore the connection, but... litigated with the Bialystok airport about who... should restore the connection.”

The Moscow air defense leadership also knew nothing about the Junkers, although the duty officer on May 15 received a notification from the Civil Air Fleet dispatcher that an off-schedule aircraft had flown over Bialystok.

The command of the spacecraft air force did not take any measures to terminate the flight. Moreover, knowing that it was a Yu-52 contributed to its landing in Moscow. No one was punished or removed from office

THE ARMIES OF THE RED ARMY GROUPED ON THE BELOSTOK PROJECTION

The armies of the Red Army, consisting of 300,000 people, found themselves on the Bialystok ledge... it was an ideal position for the Wehrmacht.

The enemy couldn't have asked for anything more.

Taking advantage of the fact that the two armies of the Western Front were concentrated in an offensive manner on the Bialystok ledge, the Center group launched flank attacks, going deep into the rear of the Soviet troops and creating the threat of encirclement on the second day of the war.

Directive of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR and the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army to the Commander of the ZAPOVO troops" N503859. It gives the deployment of units of the district, including in the Bialystok ledge.

The commander of the Polar Fleet, D. Pavlov, before the German attack, formed troops in an offensive order, depriving them of the opportunity to repel the enemy attack

NOT PREPARE FOR DEFENSE

The commander of the Polar Fleet, D. Pavlov, before the German attack, built his troops in an offensive order, depriving them of the opportunity to repel the enemy attack.

Mechanized corps and rifle divisions were pushed to the forefront, which led to their immediate defeat...

After changing the combat formation, the flanks were sharply weakened and were not equipped to repel the threat.

PROVOCATION

On June 21, Wehrmacht troops reached the border strip and....received the provocation they wanted

While under investigation, General D.G. Pavlov testified that even at 1:00 a.m. on June 22, when Directive No. 1 had already been transmitted to other districts, ZapOVO did not receive a notification.

And at 4.00 Pavlov received information from Timoshenko that German troops were expected to cross the border and that it was ordered not to take any action, not to open artillery fire, but.....carry out aerial reconnaissance on German territory up to 60 km in depth!...

Important facts:

1. People's Commissar of Defense S. Timoshenko deliberately pushed ZapOVO to violate the border, which would provide the Germans with arguments in favor of the USSR's readiness to commit an act of aggression.

Despite the fact that the war against the USSR was a done deal, the Germans still could use a pretext for an attack...

For example, imaginary aggression from the USSR

2. Pavlov admitted (!) the existence of Directive No. 1 but... it was his district that did not receive it.

3. Tymoshenko warned about crossing the borders and... asked not to return fire

4.Only the Polar Front troops were formed in an offensive order...the rest of the districts retained defensive positions

ABOUT CASKING

Camouflage is extremely important during combat operations; it is what actually saves the main forces of armies from enemy attacks

However, Tymoshenko did everything contrary to his own instructions

On June 18, 1941, a directive from the General Staff and the People's Commissariat, initiated and personally sanctioned by Stalin, was sent to the troops of the western districts, warning of a German attack in the coming days and the need to bring direct covering troops to combat readiness.

However, the next day, June 19, a telegram from the People's Commissar himself flies to the districts, prescribing the deadlines for the implementation of combat readiness measures, including camouflage on July 1–5, 1941.

And this is not “the coming days” at all. ...

Important fact:

2.19 June telegram from only People's Commissar Timoshenko (without Zhukov)…..which postpones until July 1-5 important preparations to prepare the country for defense .….

The order came only from People’s Commissar Timoshenko, although it was endorsed by the Chief of the General Staff (Zhukov’s signature is not visible)

HOW IT WAS

Vladimir Alekseevich Grechanichenko, chief of staff of the 94th Cavalry Regiment, 6th Cavalry Division, recalled:

“In the morning I had to check the regiment’s readiness for equestrian competitions, which were to take place on June 22.

At approximately 3:30 a.m., the regiment’s telephone operator on duty called me at my apartment and said that a combat alert had been declared for the regiment, but with a strange addition:

“Be in full combat readiness, but don’t take people out of the barracks(!).”

At the entrance to the military camp, I met with the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel N.G. Petrosyants, also raised on alarm.

On the way to headquarters, we exchanged opinions about the strange combat alarm. On the parade ground of the town there stood a group of commanders, their political officers and chiefs of staff of the 48th cavalry and 35th tank regiments of our division, which were located in the same town as us.

It turned out that they had already called the division headquarters, but the duty officer at the headquarters confirmed the previously transmitted order. We tried to contact one of the departments of the division headquarters, but here they reported that everyone was at a meeting with the division commander, Major General M.P. Konstantinov."

Here's the continuation:

“Everything fell into place when fascist bombs rained down on the town. The air strike on the town was a combined one. After a massive bombardment, enemy covering fighters flew in, shooting with heavy machine guns the soldiers and commanders running out of the barracks, their horses tied to hitching posts.

Here the meaning of the phrase from the order on combat alert became clear:

“Don’t take people out of the barracks”...

I am far from thinking that an enemy, even a deeply secret one sitting at the division headquarters, could risk transmitting such an order.

Most likely, a saboteur could have done this by connecting to telephone lines running openly along a city street.”

Important fact:

Grechanichenko does not want to admit the idea that there were traitors inside the headquarters... he would rather believe in a saboteur connected to the telephone line.

It was necessary to arrange it so that unarmed soldiers would be killed right in the barracks...

Now Grechanichenko moves on to the most important thing. To Bialystok:

“As a result, the regiment suffered considerable losses. But we still managed to maintain controllability. The personnel concentrated at a collection point in the Gelchinsky forest, three kilometers south of the military town.

K At approximately 10 o'clock on June 22, we came into contact with the enemy. A shootout ensued... The Germans' attempt to break through to Lomza on the move was repulsed(!).

To the right, the 48th Cavalry Regiment held the defense. At 23:30 on June 22, by order of the corps commander, Major General I.S. Nikitin's division units moved in two columns in a forced march towards Bialystok.

The enemy gave us no rest - he constantly bombarded us. We covered a distance of 75 kilometers without stopping. The marching columns put themselves in order as they walked. There was no time to rest.

By 17:00 on June 23, the division had concentrated in a forest 2 kilometers north of Bialystok.”

“The forced march of 35 kilometers was carried out quickly. We went out to the copses, which are 3 kilometers south of the city. Here they took up defense on a wide front along the Sokolka-Bialystok railway.

Our regiment, reinforced by one battery of the 15th Horse Artillery Division, was ordered at 16:00 on June 24 to act as the forward detachment of the division along the route Verkholesye, Zhuki, Sidra and to sequentially capture the indicated lines to ensure the division's advance in the direction of Grodno. Its main forces were to follow our route.

The leading detachment of the regiment was the 1st saber squadron, reinforced by a platoon of heavy machine guns, under the command of Senior Lieutenant F. Lipko.

He successfully completed his task. At approximately 21:00 on June 24, the squadron came into contact with the enemy in the Biebrza River valley south of Sidra. The regiment commander brought artillery into battle to support the lead detachment .

The enemy could not withstand(!) the onslaught and retreated across the river. At the same time, his artillery opened fire .

Grechichenko's most terrible hours:

“The day of June 25 was for the regiment, and for the entire division, the darkest day. Starting at dawn, German artillery opened massive fire throughout the entire depth of the regiment's battle formation

Enemy aircraft were continuously patrolling in the air at low altitude. She bombed even small groups of our troops, and cover fighters chased after every(!) person…. I have not seen anything like this in four years of war.

Already in the first hours, all our heavy weapons were disabled, the radio station was destroyed, and communications were completely paralyzed. The regiment suffered heavy losses, was pressed tightly to the ground, and was deprived of the opportunity to conduct any active operations. Lieutenant Colonel N.G. died. Petrosyants. I took command of the regiment, or rather its remnants.

There was no contact with the division headquarters, and somewhere at the end of the day, at my own peril and risk, I decided to withdraw the remnants of the units beyond the Sokolka-Bialystok railway line. At about 21 o'clock, the deputy division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Trembich, appeared, who was also looking for the division headquarters.

He said that some units were retreating to Volkovysk across the Ross River. He ordered me to gather all the soldiers and commanders leaving the battle and, if we do not establish contact with the division headquarters before midnight, to retreat to Volkovysk.

At midnight, about 300 people gathered - ours and the 48th cavalry regiment. The group of soldiers and commanders of the 48th regiment was led by Senior Lieutenant Ya. Govronsky, whom I knew personally. There were other commanders among those gathered. After consulting, we made a collective decision to retreat to metro station Krynki.

The group of commanders categorically insisted on retreating to Volkovysk.

In the end everyone agreed on this. As soon as dusk fell, we moved to the line of the Ross River, hoping to unite with our own here.

At dawn on June 27, we approached Volkovysk. Here we met a group of commanders accompanying Marshal G.I. Kulika. He listened to my report and ordered me personally to lead my group along a field road to the Ross River and organize defense on its right bank north of Volkovysk.

But here we did not find any military units. Cars, tractors, carts, crowded with people, moved past in a continuous stream. We tried to stop the military who were traveling and walking with the refugees. But no one wanted to listen to anything. Sometimes shots were fired in response to our demands.

Everyone had already claimed that Slonim was already occupied, that German troops had landed ahead, screened by tanks that had broken through, that there was no point in defending here. And on June 28, as soon as the sun rose, enemy aircraft began sweeping the coast of Russia and the Volkovysk area.

Essentially, on this day the formations and units of the 10th Army finally ceased to exist as military formations. Everything got mixed up and rolled towards the east.

Persistent rumors circulated both among the military and among the refugees that our main forces were concentrated on the old state border. And everyone rushed there as best they could and as much as they could.

However, these rumors did not come true. When our small group reached the old border on the afternoon of June 30, the same chaos reigned here as on the shores of Russia. Minsk was already occupied by the Germans.

All the copses were filled with cars, carts, hospitals, refugees, scattered units and groups of retreating troops who found themselves surrounded.

Here I met with Colonel S.N. Selyukov, who was the deputy commander of the 108th Infantry Division and whom I had known since pre-war. With his assistance, we were included in the covering group for the impending breakout from encirclement.

It was organized by the commander of the 3rd Army, Lieutenant General V.I. Kuznetsov and was carried out on the night of July 1-2 in a south-eastern direction across the Baranovichi-Minsk railway between the Fanipol station and the Volchkovichi crossing. The core of those breaking through were the remnants of the 64th and 108th rifle divisions. The breakthrough was only partially successful.

Not everyone who took part escaped the encirclement. Our cover group was cut off from the breakthrough site and destroyed. Many died in an unequal battle, many were captured. I managed to avoid both. In the darkness of the night, I crawled to the forest.

In May 1942 he became a partisan, in May 1943 he was appointed commissar of the partisan detachment, and in April 1944 – commissar of the 1st Belarusian Cavalry Partisan Brigade. He finished the war in May 1945 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.”

CATASTROPHE

On June 24, the tragedy broke out on the Bialystok salient; in total, 7 “cauldrons” slammed shut in the first days

On June 26, fighting began on the near approaches to Minsk. General D. G. Pavlov signed an order for the retreat of the armies of his front.

Only the 13th Army will be able to escape. The 3rd and 10th were stuck tightly, and the 4th... Its remains were lost in the Pripyat forests.

Marshals G.I. Kulik (traitor) and B.M. Shaposhnikov, who arrived, also did not help. ..

Everything is collapsing... It’s scary to talk about losses, there are only five tanks left in the 17th Mechanized Corps... .. no ammunition, no fuel, no food.

CONCLUSION

Ideal conditions were created for the Wehrmacht command so that they could defeat an entire front in 2-3 days.

Flag of the USSR K. D. Golubev
Flag of the USSR A. A. Korobkov #†
Flag of the USSR P. M. Filatov

Battle of Bialystok-Minsk- the name of the border battle on the central sector of the Soviet-German front during the Great Patriotic War June 22 - July 8, 1941. As a result of the battle, the main forces of the Soviet Western Front were surrounded and defeated; on June 28, German troops took Minsk.

Plans and strengths of the parties

Germany

3rd Panzer Group (2 army and 2 motorized corps, a total of 4 tank, 3 motorized and 4 infantry divisions), advancing from the Suwalki area.
2nd Panzer Group (3 motorized and 1 army corps, a total of 5 tank, 3 motorized, 1 cavalry, 6 infantry divisions and 1 reinforced regiment), advancing from the Brest area.

The 4th Army advanced from the Brest area
The 9th Army advanced from the Suwalki area.

The creation of "double pincers" was a favorite Wehrmacht tactic throughout the 1941 campaign.

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On June 24, a Soviet counterattack began in the Grodno area with the forces of a formed cavalry-mechanized group (KMG) under the command of the deputy front commander, Lieutenant General I.V. Boldin. The combat-ready 6th Mechanized Corps (more than 1,000 tanks) of Major General M. G. Khatskilevich and the 6th Cavalry Corps were involved in the counterattack, but the air supremacy of German aviation, poor organization of the strike, an attack on a prepared anti-tank position and the destruction of the rear led to that German troops managed to stop the troops of KMG Boldin. The 11th Mechanized Corps of the 3rd Army operated separately, which even managed to reach the suburbs of Grodno.
The German 20th Army Corps was temporarily forced to take up defensive positions, but the remaining German corps of the 9th Army (8th, 5th and 6th) continued to cover the main forces of the Soviet army in the Bialystok salient. Due to the failure of the counterattack and the actual start of the encirclement, by 20:00 on June 25, I.V. Boldin gave the order to stop the attacks and begin a retreat.

Bialystok Cauldron

The Bialystok salient, in which the Soviet troops were positioned, was shaped like a bottle with the neck facing west and supported by the only Bialystok-Slonim road. At the same time, all the headquarters of the 10th Army formations at the beginning of the war were located west of the Bialystok line:

1st Rifle Corps - Vizna
5th Rifle Corps - Zambrów
6th Mechanized Corps - Bialystok
13th Mechanized Corps - Belsk
6th Cavalry Corps - Lomza.

However, on June 28, German troops occupied Volkovysk. Some German divisions went over to defense with an “inverted front” at the line of Slonim, Zelva, Ruzhany. Thus, the escape routes of the 3rd and 10th armies were cut, and the troops that managed to withdraw from the Bialystok ledge found themselves surrounded in several “cauldrons” between Berestovitsa, Volkovysk, Mosty, Slonim and Ruzhany. The fighting in this area reached particular tension on June 30. Fierce fighting, according to the Chief of the German General Staff F. Halder, pinned down the entire center and part of the right wing of the German 4th Army, which had to be reinforced by the 10th Panzer Division. In his war diary, he cited the impressions of the German Inspector General of Infantry Ott about the battles in the Grodno region:

The stubborn resistance of the Russians forces us to fight according to all the rules of our combat manuals. In Poland and in the West we could take certain liberties and deviations from the statutory principles; this is now unacceptable.

On July 1, 1941, units of the German 4th Army came into contact with units of the 9th Army, completing the complete encirclement of Soviet troops retreating from the Bialystok salient.

Defense of Minsk and the Minsk “cauldron”

Minsk was defended by the 44th Rifle Corps of Divisional Commander V. A. Yushkevich, which occupied the positions of the Minsk fortified area, as well as the 2nd Rifle Corps (commander - Major General A. N. Ermakov); In total, there were 4 Soviet rifle divisions in the Minsk area. On June 27, command of the troops defending Minsk was taken by the headquarters of the 13th Army (commander - Lieutenant General P. M. Filatov), which had just emerged from an attack in the Molodechno region. The People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, Marshal S.K. Timoshenko gave the order: Do not surrender Minsk under any circumstances, even if the troops defending it are completely encircled. On the same day, the Soviet 100th Rifle Division launched a counterattack on Ostroshitsky Gorodok north of Minsk, but it was repulsed.

Meanwhile, on June 26, the German 47th Motorized Corps of the 2nd Panzer Group occupied Baranovichi, approaching Minsk from the south. On June 27 he captured Stolbtsy, and on June 28 he captured Dzerzhinsk.

On June 28, at about 17:00, units of the German 20th Panzer Division broke into Minsk from the north-west. Two divisions of the 44th Rifle Corps remained to hold positions west of Minsk, while the 2nd Rifle Corps withdrew east of Minsk to the Volma River line.

As a result of the envelopment of the German 2nd and 3rd tank groups in Nalibokskaya Pushcha, the remnants of the 3rd, 10th and parts of the 13th and 4th armies were surrounded. By July 8, the fighting in the Minsk “cauldron” was over.

Consequences

During the offensive, the enemy achieved serious operational successes: inflicted a heavy defeat on the Soviet Western Front, captured a significant part of Belarus and advanced to a depth of over 300 km. Only the concentration of the Second Strategic Echelon, which took positions along the river. The Western Dvina and Dnieper helped delay the Wehrmacht's advance towards Moscow in the Battle of Smolensk.

The German historian W. Haupt writes about 287,704 prisoners, the capture of 2585 tanks, 245 intact aircraft and 1449 guns, but this is data from the order of F. von Bock dated July 8, 1941.

Official Russian data on losses on the Western Front take into account all losses of the Armed Forces from June 22 to July 9, including counterattacks on the Borisov and Lepel directions, but do not take into account the losses of border troops, NKVD troops and other services not related to the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR. They amount to 341,021 irretrievable losses and 76,717 sanitary losses, for a total of 417,729 people.

Moral effect

The defeat at Minsk had a strong psychological impact on the Soviet leadership. On June 28, J.V. Stalin told members of the Politburo

Lenin left us a great legacy, and we, his heirs, have it all fucked up…

The Soviet Information Bureau did not report the surrender of Minsk.

The fate of the generals

On June 30, the commander of the Western Front, Army General D. G. Pavlov, and other generals were arrested. After a short investigation, D.G. Pavlov was convicted by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, stripped of his military rank and all awards and sentenced to death. Along with him, the following were convicted and executed on July 22: the chief of staff of the front, Major General V. E. Klimovskikh, and the chief of communications of the front, Major General A. T. Grigoriev. The chief of front artillery, Lieutenant General N.A. Klich, and the commander of the 14th Mechanized Corps, Major General S.I. Oborin, were arrested on July 8 and subsequently shot. The commander of the 4th Army, Major General A. A. Korobkov, was removed from office on July 8, arrested the next day and executed on July 22, along with Pavlov, Klimovskikh and Grigoriev. The deputy commander of the Air Force of the Western Front, Aviation Major General A. Tayursky, was arrested and a little later (February 23, 1942) shot. The commander of the Air Force of the Western Special Military District, Aviation Major General I. I. Kopets, upon learning of the losses of the district Air Force during the first day of the war, shot himself. The commander of the 9th Mixed Aviation Division, which lost 347 of 409 aircraft on the first day of the war, Aviation Major General S.A. Chernykh, was arrested on July 8, 1941 and was soon executed.

After Stalin's death, all executed military leaders were posthumously rehabilitated and restored to military ranks.

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Notes

Sources

Egorov D. June 41st. The defeat of the Western Front. - M.: Yauza; Eksmo. 2008. - ISBN 978-5-699-27810-7
Drig E. Mechanized corps of the Red Army in battle. - M.: AST, 2005. - ISBN 5-17-024760-5
Martov V.
Haupt W.
Mitchum S. Hitler's field marshals and their battles. - Smolensk: Rusich, 1998. - ISBN 5-88590-866-4

Additional sources

http://poisk.slonim.org
http://liniastalina.narod.ru/str/main.htm
http://maps.ruzhany.info/index.html#rzd11

An excerpt characterizing the Battle of Bialystok-Minsk

- Well, why not together? Together, of course! I just promised... And she always loved children. So we decided to all stay together until a new life takes them.
- So this is wonderful! – Stella was happy. And then she jumped to something else. – You are very happy, aren’t you? Well, tell me, are you happy? She's so beautiful!!!..
Arno looked into our eyes for a long time and carefully, as if wanting to, but not daring to say anything. Then, finally, I decided...
- I can’t accept this happiness from you... It’s not mine... It’s wrong... I don’t deserve it yet.
“How can you not do this?!..” Stella literally soared. - How can you not - how can you!.. Just try to refuse!!! Just look how beautiful she is! And you say you can’t...
Arno smiled sadly, looking at the raging Stella. Then he hugged her affectionately and quietly, quietly said:
“You brought me unspeakable happiness, and I brought you such terrible pain... Forgive me, dear ones, if you ever can.” Sorry...
Stella smiled at him brightly and affectionately, as if wanting to show that she understood everything perfectly, and that she forgave him everything, and that it was not his fault at all. Arno just nodded sadly and, pointing to the quietly waiting children, asked:
– Can I take them “up there” with me, do you think?
“Unfortunately, no,” Stella answered sadly. “They can’t go there, they stay here.”
“Then we’ll stay too...” a gentle voice sounded. - We will stay with them.
We turned around in surprise - it was Michelle. “That’s all decided,” I thought contentedly. And again, someone voluntarily sacrificed something, and again simple human kindness won... I looked at Stella - the little girl was smiling. Everything was fine again.
- Well, will you walk with me a little more? – Stella asked hopefully.
I should have gone home a long time ago, but I knew that I would never leave her now and nodded my head affirmatively...

To be honest, I wasn’t in too much of a mood to go for a walk, since after everything that had happened, my condition was, let’s say, very, very “satisfactory... But I couldn’t leave Stella alone either, so it would be good for both of them, though If only we were “in the middle”, we decided not to go far, but just to relax our almost boiling brains a little, and give our pain-wracked hearts a rest, enjoying the peace and quiet of the mental floor...
We slowly floated in a gentle silvery haze, completely relaxing our frayed nervous system, and plunging into the stunning, incomparable peace here... When suddenly Stella shouted enthusiastically:
- Wow! Just look, what kind of beauty is there!..
I looked around and immediately understood what she was talking about...
It really was extraordinarily beautiful!.. As if someone, while playing, had created a real sky-blue “crystal” kingdom!.. We looked in surprise at the incredibly huge, openwork ice flowers, dusted with light blue snowflakes; and the intertwining of sparkling ice trees, flashing with blue highlights at the slightest movement of the “crystal” foliage and reaching the height of our three-story house... And among all this incredible beauty, surrounded by flashes of real “northern lights”, a breathtakingly majestic ice palace proudly rose, the whole shining with the shimmer of unprecedented silvery blue shades...
What was it?! Who liked this cool color so much?..
So far, for some reason, no one showed up anywhere, and no one expressed any great desire to meet us... It was a little strange, since usually the owners of all these wonderful worlds were very hospitable and friendly, with the exception of only those who had just appeared on “ floor” (that is, they had just died) and were not yet ready to communicate with others, or simply preferred to experience something purely personal and difficult alone.
“Who do you think lives in this strange world?” Stella asked in a whisper for some reason.
- Do you want to see? – unexpectedly for myself, I suggested.
I didn’t understand where all my fatigue had gone, and why I suddenly completely forgot the promise I made to myself a moment ago not to interfere in any, even the most incredible, incidents until tomorrow, or at least until I had at least a little rest. But, of course, this again triggered my insatiable curiosity, which I had not yet learned to pacify, even when there was a real need for it...
Therefore, trying, as far as my exhausted heart allowed, to “switch off” and not think about our failed, sad and difficult day, I immediately eagerly plunged into the “new and unknown”, anticipating some unusual and exciting adventure...
We smoothly “slowed down” right at the very entrance to the stunning “ice” world, when suddenly a man appeared from behind a sparkling blue tree... She was a very unusual girl - tall and slender, and very beautiful, she would have seemed quite young , almost if it weren’t for the eyes... They shone with calm, bright sadness, and were deep, like a well with the purest spring water... And in these wondrous eyes lurked such wisdom that Stella and I had not yet been able to comprehend for a long time ... Not at all surprised by our appearance, the stranger smiled warmly and quietly asked:
- What do you want, kids?
“We were just passing by and wanted to look at your beauty.” Sorry if I disturbed you...” I muttered, slightly embarrassed.
- Well, what are you talking about! Come inside, it will probably be more interesting there... - waving her hand into the depths, the stranger smiled again.
We instantly slipped past her inside the “palace”, unable to contain the curiosity rushing out, and already anticipating something very, very “interesting” in advance.
It was so stunning inside that Stella and I literally froze in a stupor, our mouths open like hungry one-day-old chicks, unable to utter a word...
There was no so-called “floor” in the palace... Everything there floated in the sparkling silver air, creating the impression of sparkling infinity. Some fantastic “seats”, similar to groups of sparkling dense clouds accumulated in groups, swaying smoothly, hung in the air, sometimes becoming denser, sometimes almost disappearing, as if attracting attention and inviting you to sit on them... Silvery “ice” flowers, shining and shimmering, they decorated everything around, striking with the variety of shapes and patterns of the finest, almost jewelry petals. And somewhere very high in the “ceiling”, blinding with sky-blue light, huge ice “icicles” of incredible beauty hung, turning this fabulous “cave” into a fantastic “ice world”, which seemed to have no end...
“Come on, my guests, grandfather will be incredibly glad to see you!” – the girl said warmly, gliding past us.
And then I finally understood why she seemed unusual to us - as the stranger moved, a sparkling “tail” of some special blue material was constantly trailing behind her, which sparkled and curled like tornadoes around her fragile figure, crumbling behind her. with silver pollen...
Before we had time to be surprised by this, we immediately saw a very tall, gray-haired old man, proudly sitting on a strange, very beautiful chair, as if thereby emphasizing his importance to those who did not understand. He watched our approach completely calmly, not at all surprised and not yet expressing any emotions other than a warm, friendly smile.
The white, silver-shimmering, flowing clothes of the old man merged with the same, completely white, long hair, making him look like a good spirit. And only the eyes, as mysterious as those of our beautiful stranger, shocked us with boundless patience, wisdom and depth, making us shudder from the infinity visible in them...
- Hello, guests! – the old man greeted affectionately. – What brought you to us?
- Hello to you, grandpa! – Stella greeted joyfully.
And then, for the first time in the entire time of our already quite long acquaintance, I was surprised to hear that she had finally addressed someone as “you”...
Stella had a very funny way of addressing everyone as “you”, as if emphasizing that all the people she met, whether an adult or a completely toddler, were her good old friends, and that for each of them she had her heart wide open. the soul is open... Which, of course, instantly and completely endeared even the most withdrawn and loneliest people to it, and only very callous souls did not find a way to it.
– Why is it so “cold” here? – immediately, out of habit, questions started pouring in. – I mean, why do you have such an “icy” color everywhere?
The girl looked at Stella in surprise.
“I never thought about it...” she said thoughtfully. – Probably because we had enough warmth for the rest of our lives? We were burned on Earth, you see...
- How did they burn it?! – Stella stared at her, dumbfounded. - Really burned?.. - Well, yes. It’s just that I was a Witch there - I knew a lot... Like my whole family. Grandfather is a Sage, and mother, she was the strongest Sage at that time. This means that I saw what others could not see. She saw the future the same way we see the present. And the past too... And in general, she could and knew a lot - no one knew so much. But ordinary people apparently hated this - they didn’t like too many “knowledgeable” people... Although, when they needed help, it was us they turned to. And we helped... And then those whom we helped betrayed us...
The witch girl looked somewhere into the distance with darkened eyes, for a moment not seeing or hearing anything around, having gone into some distant world known to her alone. Then, shuddering, she shrugged her fragile shoulders, as if remembering something very terrible, and quietly continued:
“So many centuries have passed, and I still feel like the flames are devouring me... That’s probably why it’s “cold” here, as you say, dear,” the girl finished, turning to Stella.
“But you can’t possibly be a Witch!” Stella said confidently. – Witches can be old and scary and very bad. This is what it says in our fairy tales, what my grandmother read to me. And you are good! And so beautiful!..
“Well, fairy tales are different from fairy tales...” the witch girl smiled sadly. – After all, it’s people who create them... And the fact that they show us old and scary is probably more convenient for someone... It’s easier to explain the inexplicable, and it’s easier to cause hostility... You, too, will have more sympathy if they burn the young and beautiful rather than the old and scary, right?
“Well, I’m also very sorry for the old women... just not the evil ones, of course,” Stella said, lowering her eyes. “It’s a pity for any person when there’s such a terrible end,” and, shrugging her shoulders, as if imitating a witch girl, she continued: “Did they really, really burn you?!” Quite, completely alive?.. How painful it must have been for you?!. What is your name?
Words habitually poured out from the little girl like a machine-gun burst and, not having time to stop her, I was afraid that the owners would eventually be offended, and from welcome guests we would turn into a burden that they would try to get rid of as quickly as possible.
But for some reason no one was offended. Both of them, the old man and his beautiful granddaughter, answered any questions with friendly smiles, and it seemed that for some reason our presence really gave them sincere pleasure...
- My name is Anna, honey. And “really, really” I was completely burned once... But that was a very, very long time ago. Almost five hundred Earth years have already passed...
I looked in complete shock at this amazing girl, unable to take my eyes off her, and tried to imagine what a nightmare this amazingly beautiful and gentle soul had to endure!..
They were burned for their Gift!!! Just because they could see and do more than others! But how could people do this?! And, although I had long ago realized that no animal was able to do what a man sometimes did, it was still so wild that for a moment I completely lost the desire to be called this same “man.” ..
This was the first time in my life when I actually heard about real Sorcerers and Witches, in whose existence I had always believed... And so, having finally seen a real Witch in reality, I, naturally, terribly wanted to “immediately and everything- everything” ask her!!! My restless curiosity was “fidgeting” inside, literally squealing with impatience and begging me to ask now and definitely “about everything”!..
And then, apparently, without noticing it myself, I was so deeply immersed in an alien world that had so unexpectedly opened up to me that I did not have time to react correctly in time to the suddenly mentally revealed picture... and a fire, terribly real in its eerie sensations, broke out around my body !..
The roaring fire “licked” my defenseless flesh with burning tongues of flame, exploding inside, and almost depriving me of my mind... Wild, unimaginably cruel pain overwhelmed me headlong, penetrating into every cell!.. Soaring “to the ceiling”, it hit me in a flurry unfamiliar suffering, which could not be appeased or stopped. Blinding, the fire twisted my essence, howling with inhuman horror, into a painful lump, not allowing me to breathe!.. I tried to scream, but my voice could not be heard... The world was collapsing, breaking into sharp fragments and it seemed that it could not be put back together ... The body blazed like a terrible festive torch... incinerating my wounded soul, which burned along with it. Suddenly, screaming terribly... I, to my greatest surprise, again found myself in my “earthly” room, still chattering my teeth from the unbearable pain that had so unexpectedly struck from somewhere. Still stunned, I stood, looking around in confusion, unable to understand who and why could do something like that to me...
But, despite the wild fright, I gradually managed to somehow pull myself together and calm down a little. After thinking a little, I finally realized that this, most likely, was just an all too real vision, which in its sensations completely repeated the nightmare that had once happened to the witch girl...
Despite the fear and still too vivid sensations, I immediately tried to return to the fairy-tale “ice palace” to my abandoned, and probably already very nervous, girlfriend. But for some reason nothing worked... I was squeezed like lemon, and there was no strength left to even think, let alone such a “journey”. Angry at myself for my “softness,” I again tried to pull myself together, when suddenly someone else’s force literally pulled me into the already familiar “ice” hall, where my faithful friend Stella was rushing about, bouncing excitedly.
- Well, what are you doing?! I was so scared!.. What happened to you? It’s good that she helped, otherwise you’d still be flying “somewhere” right now! – choking with “righteous indignation”, the little girl immediately blurted out.
I myself still didn’t really understand how this could happen to me, but then, to my great surprise, the voice of the unusual mistress of the ice palace sounded affectionately:
- My dear, you are Darina!.. How did you end up here? And you are alive!!! Are you still in pain? – I nodded in surprise. - Well, what are you doing, you can’t watch something like that!..
The girl Anna tenderly took my head, still “boiling” from searing pain, into her cool palms, and soon I felt how the terrible pain began to slowly recede, and after a minute it completely disappeared.
“What was that?..” I asked, stunned.
“You just looked at what happened to me.” But you still don’t know how to defend yourself, so you felt everything. You are very curious, this is your strength, but your trouble is also, dear... What is your name?
“Svetlana...” I said hoarsely, gradually coming to my senses. - And here she is – Stella. Why do you call me Darinya? This is the second time I've been called that, and I would really like to know what it means. If possible, of course.
– Don’t you know?! – the witch girl asked in surprise. – I shook my head negatively. – Darinya is “the one who gives light and protects the world.” And at times, even saving him...
“Well, I wish I could at least save myself for now!” I laughed sincerely. - And what can I give if I myself don’t know anything at all? And so far I’m making only mistakes... I still don’t know how to do anything!.. – and, after thinking, she added sadly. - And no one teaches! Maybe grandma sometimes, and then Stella... And I would so like to study!..
“The teacher comes when the student is READY to learn, dear,” the elder said quietly, smiling. – And you haven’t even figured it out within yourself yet. Even in things that have been open to you for a long time.
In order not to show how much his words upset me, I tried to immediately change the topic and asked the witch girl a sensitive question that was persistently spinning in my brain.
- Forgive me for my indiscretion, Anna, but how could you forget such terrible pain? And is it even possible to forget this?..
– I haven’t forgotten, my dear. I simply understood and accepted it... Otherwise it would have been impossible to continue to exist,” the girl answered sadly shaking her head.
- How can you understand this?! And what do you understand about pain?.. – I didn’t give up. – Was this supposed to teach you something special?.. Sorry, but I never believed in such a “teaching”! In my opinion, only helpless “teachers” can use pain!
I was seething with indignation, unable to stop my racing thoughts!.. And no matter how hard I tried, I could not calm down.
Sincerely feeling sorry for the witch girl, at the same time I wildly wanted to know everything about her, which meant asking her a lot of questions about what could cause her pain. It was reminiscent of a crocodile, which, devouring its unfortunate victim, shed burning tears over it... But no matter how ashamed I was, I could not help myself... This was the first time in my short life when I almost I didn’t pay attention to the fact that I could hurt a person with my questions... I was very ashamed of this, but I also understood that for some reason it was very important for me to talk to her about all this, and I continued to ask, “closing on “all eyes”... But, to my great happiness and surprise, the witch girl, without being offended at all, calmly continued to answer my naive childish questions, without expressing the slightest displeasure.
– I understood the reason for what happened. And another thing is that this was also apparently my test... Having passed it, this amazing world in which my grandfather and I now live together was revealed to me. Yes and much more...
– Was it really necessary to endure this just to get here?! – Stella was horrified.
- I think yes. Although I can't say for sure. Everyone has their own path...” Anna said sadly. “But the main thing is that I still got through it, managing not to break down.” My soul remained pure and kind, not angry at the world or at the people who executed me. I understood why they destroyed us... those who were “different.” Whom they called Sorcerers and Witches. And sometimes also “demon children”... They were simply afraid of us... They were afraid that we were stronger than them, and also that we were incomprehensible to them. They hated us for what we could do. For our Gift. And also, they envied us too much... And very few people knew that many of our killers themselves secretly tried to learn everything that we could do, but nothing worked for them. The souls, apparently, were too black...
- How is it that you studied?! But didn’t they themselves curse you?.. Didn’t they burn you because they considered you creatures of the Devil? – I asked, completely taken aback.
“So it was,” Anna nodded. “Only at first our executioners brutally tortured us, trying to find out what was forbidden, only known to us... And then they burned us, tearing out the tongues of many, so that they would not accidentally divulge what had been done to them. Yes, you ask my mother, she went through a lot, more than everyone else, probably... That’s why she went far after death, by her own choice, which none of us could.
-Where is your mother now? – Stella asked.
– Oh, she lives somewhere in “alien” worlds, I will never be able to go there! – Anna whispered with strange pride in her voice. - But sometimes we call her, and she comes to us. She loves and remembers us... - and suddenly, smiling sunnyly, she added: - And she tells such miracles!!! How I would like to see all this!..
“Can’t she help you go there?” – Stella was surprised.
“I think not...” Anna was saddened. “She was much stronger than all of us on Earth, and her “test” was much more terrible than mine, which is why she probably deserved more. Well, she was much more talented, of course...
– But why was such a terrible test necessary? – I asked carefully. – Why was your Fate so Evil? You weren’t bad, you helped others who didn’t have such a Gift. Why did they do this to you?!
– In order for our soul to become stronger, I think... So that we can withstand a lot and not break. Although there were also many who broke... They cursed their Gift. And before they died, they renounced him...
- How is this possible?! Is it possible to renounce yourself?! – Stella immediately jumped indignantly.
– As much as possible, dear... Oh, as much as possible! – the amazing old man said quietly, who had previously only observed us, but did not interfere in the conversation.
“Grandfather confirmed it to you,” the girl smiled. – Not all of us are ready for such a test... And not all of us can endure such pain. But it’s not so much about the pain as it is about the strength of our human spirit... After all, after the pain there was still fear from what we had experienced, which, even after death, tenaciously sat in our memory and, like a worm, gnawed at the remaining crumbs of our courage. It was this fear, for the most part, that broke the people who went through all this horror. As soon as later, already in this (posthumous) world, they were only slightly intimidated, they immediately gave up, becoming obedient “dolls” in the hands of others. And these hands, naturally, were far from “white”... So later “black” magicians, “black” sorcerers and various others like them appeared on Earth, when their essences returned there again. Magicians “on strings,” as we called them... So, it was probably not for nothing that we passed such a test. Grandfather also went through all this... But he is very strong. Much stronger than me. He managed to “get away” without waiting for the end. Just like my mother did. Only I couldn't...
- How to leave?! Die before he was burned?!. Is this even possible? – I asked in shock.
The girl nodded.
– But not everyone can do this, of course. It takes a lot of courage to dare to end your life... I didn’t have enough... But grandpa doesn’t have to do that! – Anna smiled proudly.
I saw how much she loved her kind, wise grandfather... And for a short moment my soul felt very empty and sad. It was as if a deep, incurable melancholy had returned to her again...
“I also had a very unusual grandfather...” I suddenly whispered very quietly.
But the bitterness immediately squeezed my throat in a familiar way, and I could no longer continue.
– Did you love him very much? – the girl asked sympathetically.
I just nodded in response, internally indignant at myself for such an “unforgivable” weakness...
- Who was your grandfather, girl? – the old man asked affectionately. - I don't see him.
– I don’t know who he was... And I never knew. But I think that you don’t see him because after death he came to live in me... And, probably, that’s precisely why I can do what I do... Although I can, of course, still very little. ..
- No, girl, he just helped you “open up.” And you and your essence do everything. You have a great gift, honey.
– What is this Gift worth if I know almost nothing about it?! – I exclaimed bitterly. – If you couldn’t even save your friends today?!

Bialystok encirclement. Ideal conditions. Bialystok salient Bialystok cauldron 1941 causes of the disaster

Battle of Bialystok-Minsk

Battle of Vitebsk

Kyiv defensive operation

Vyazemsky boiler

Crimean disaster

Second battle for Kharkov

Plans and strengths of the parties

Germany

Bialystok Cauldron

Defense of Minsk and the Minsk “cauldron”

Plans and strengths of the parties

Germany

Bialystok Cauldron

Defense of Minsk and the Minsk “cauldron”

Consequences

Moral effect

The fate of the generals

see also

Write a review of the article "Battle of Bialystok-Minsk"

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An excerpt characterizing the Battle of Bialystok-Minsk

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Bialystok encirclement. Ideal conditions. Bialystok salient Bialystok cauldron 1941 causes of the disaster

Battle of Bialystok-Minsk

Battle of Vitebsk

Kyiv defensive operation

Vyazemsky boiler

Crimean disaster

Second battle for Kharkov

Plans and strengths of the parties

Germany

Bialystok Cauldron

Defense of Minsk and the Minsk “cauldron”

Plans and strengths of the parties

Germany

Bialystok Cauldron

Defense of Minsk and the Minsk “cauldron”

Consequences

Moral effect

The fate of the generals

see also

Write a review of the article "Battle of Bialystok-Minsk"

Notes

Sources

Additional sources

An excerpt characterizing the Battle of Bialystok-Minsk

We recommend other articles

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