All data on the formation of the 337th Infantry Division in 1941. Puti-Dorogi (337th Rifle Division)

It was formed as part of 57A in the North Caucasus Military District in October 1941. The formation of the division took place in the village of Krasnoarmeysk near Stalingrad. The division is replenished with people from the Rostov region.

In November 1941, the 57th Separate Army, by order of Headquarters, was subordinated to the Commander-in-Chief of the South-Western Directed Marshal Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko and on December 18 began to transfer to the front along two railways: Stalingrad - Likhaya - Starobelsk and Stalingrad - Povorino - Liski - Valuyki - Starobelsk. On January 1, 1942, it was included in the Southern Front.

Despite frequent bombings, the railway workers worked exceptionally efficiently and harmoniously. All units and formations of the army, amounting to 153 echelons, were concentrated in the indicated places on December 28 without losses. After unloading, each division made a march to the concentration area. There were severe frosts with winds and snowstorms, the air temperature dropped to 25–30 degrees. The troops marched on foot across the impassable terrain, drowning in the snow, exhausted. We had very little motor transport; there were not enough camp kitchens and bakeries. All this greatly complicated the supply of food and the organization of meals for units. On January 5, the formations were completely concentrated in the areas indicated by them. The army headquarters was located in Starobelsk.

After unloading from the echelons, the 337th Rifle Division became part of the 6A SWF, which was preparing for an offensive in the Barvenkovo ​​direction south of Kharkov. By January 12, 1942, units of the division (1127th, 1129th, 1131st Rifle Regiments, 899th Artillery Regiments) occupied a defensive line along the western bank of the Seversky Donets River.

Early in the morning of January 18, 1942, the division as part of the 6th Army went on the offensive. At dawn, its units were subjected to air raids, followed by counterattacks by enemy tanks. The division's repeated attempts to break through the enemy defenses at the Morozovka, Olkhovatka line were unsuccessful. However, success came in the 411sd sector, where they managed to break through the enemy’s defenses. Taking advantage of the success of its neighbor, the division captured Zhukovka with an energetic blow, and on January 20 liberated Gusarovka, Volobuevka and Shurovka. In four days the division advanced to a depth of 10 km. Its units began fighting for the Balakleya bridgehead. Until the end of January '42. The 253rd and 337th Rifle Division, with the support of the 7th and 13th Tank Brigades, stormed the strong enemy resistance center Balakleya, but were unable to capture it.

Until May '42 held the river bank North Donets south of Balakleya. 12 May 42 6A went on the offensive against Kharkov from the Barvenkovo ​​ledge. By the beginning of May '42. The division consisted of 7151 people, 30 guns, 85 mortars, 4 anti-tank guns. The 337th Rifle Division continued to hold its previous line of defense. Despite our successful offensive on May 17, the enemy struck and, having broken through the defenses of the 9A Southern Front in the area of ​​Barvenkovo ​​and Slavyansk, began to develop an offensive with motorized formations to the rear of the SWF strike group.

The countermeasures taken by the command of the Southwestern Front turned out to be insufficient. The enemy also crossed the North. The Donets west of Balakleya in the 337th division section and connected with the 14th and 16th divisions that had approached from the south. On the evening of May 22, the Germans closed their pincer encirclement south of Balakleya. 6 and 57A and Bobkin's OG were surrounded. The 337th Rifle Division was also surrounded. Our troops made fierce attempts to break out of the encirclement both from outside and from inside the cauldron. However, only 22 thousand people managed to break out of the encirclement. By May 26, the remnants of the encircled group were trapped in a small area to the west and west of Lozovenka. On May 30, the encirclement was finished.

Division commander, Major General Vasiliev I.V. died on May 25, 1942, surrounded in the area of ​​the village. Protopopovka.

Continuation of the story about my father Nikolai Alexandrovich Lyshkov

In 1942, he studied at the Mining and Metallurgical Institute in Vladikavkaz, had a deferment (reservation) from conscription into the army, and completed the 3rd year with honors. Voluntarily joined the Red Army. Having asked to go to the front, he was enlisted in the 337th Infantry Division.

In 1985, at a meeting with veterans in Lubny in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Great Victory, fellow soldiers received as a gift a book of memoirs of soldiers of the 337th Lubny Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Rifle Division.

PREFACE

337th Lubny Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky rifle division was born in the Caucasus. The sons and daughters of the peoples inhabiting the Caucasus, representatives of our entire multinational Motherland, fought in its ranks. In the Caucasus she received a baptism of fire. Then, during the defense of the Caucasus, Soviet troops were inferior to the enemy in tanks by more than 9 times, and in aviation by 8 times.

But it was necessary to counter the enormous, heavily armed force of the invaders with courage, stamina, and skill. The defenders of the Caucasus knew one thing: they had to survive!

Formed in August-September 1942, the 337th Division took up defense near Mozdok, in the Malgobek area, from height 390.9 to a brick factory located south of the Voznesenskaya-Malgobek highway. 1131st rifle regiment straddled the highway, blocking the Nazis’ path to Voznesenskaya, the 1129th Infantry Regiment defended height 478.8, and the 1127th defended height 390.9.

Along the Voznesenskaya-Malgobek highway there were not sufficiently wide and relatively flat sections of terrain along the front, which did not allow the enemy to deploy a large number of tanks. The approaches to height 478.8 were replete with steep climbs, covered with forests, and were difficult to access for enemy tanks. But the approaches to height 390.9 were treeless and convenient for tanks.

Height 390.9 was a kind of key in our defense system; having mastered it, the enemy could successfully advance to the village of Voznesenskaya, to the Alkhanchurt valley and, ultimately, to the city of Grozny. Therefore, the enemy concentrated his main forces on capturing this height.

Height 390.9 and its spurs will long become the front line of defense of the 1127th Infantry Regiment. Its southern slopes were defended by a rifle battalion under the command of Senior Lieutenant B.I. Skatkov, the western slopes and the top by the first battalion of Senior Lieutenant V.A. Egorov, and the northern slopes by the second rifle battalion of Senior Lieutenant V.D. Yatkovsky.

The 337th fought fierce defensive battles in the Novorossiysk region near the village of Shapshutskaya.

In March 1943, by order of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the 337th was sent to the Voronezh region (south of Rossosh). Accepts replenishment here. Intensive mass political work is underway, communists and Komsomol members are setting an example in combat training, helping commanders prepare soldiers for new battles.

And again the 337th is on the march, again there are battles, again the pages of the division’s history are full of soldier’s courage, examples of loyalty to military duty, and soldier’s skill. A glorious milestone in the history of the 337th is the Battle of Kursk - one of the decisive battles of the Second World War.

Victory in the Battle of Kursk became the most important stage on the way to complete victory over Nazi Germany. The strategic initiative finally passed to the Soviet troops. In this battle, the enemy lost about 500 thousand soldiers and officers, 1.5 thousand tanks and over 3.7 thousand aircraft.

The Battle of Kursk and the exit of Soviet troops to the Dnieper completed a radical turning point during the Great Patriotic War.

Our soldiers captured a bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper, southeast of Kyiv, in the area of ​​Velikiy Bukrin. This bridgehead was used by Soviet troops during the Kyiv offensive operation.

On September 19, 1943, the radio transmitted the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief: “Our troops, as a result of a rapid offensive in Ukraine, liberated the cities of Priluki, Romny, Piryatyn, Lubny, Mirgorod, Krasnograd, Pavlograd from German invaders...”

Among those who distinguished themselves in this order, the 337th was noted. It was given the name “Lubnenskaya”.

1944 was an offensive year, marked by new victories of Soviet weapons. The Korsun-Shevchenko operation, the encirclement of ten fascist divisions, numbering about 80 thousand soldiers, up to 1,600 guns and mortars, 270 tanks, will never be forgotten.

The Korsun-Shevchenko operation went down in the history of the Great Patriotic War as one of the brilliant examples of Soviet military art.

The soldiers of the 337th are rightfully proud that the division contributed to this momentous battle, which ended in the historic victory of Soviet troops over the invaders.

from the heroes of the Korsun-Shevchenko battle to Stepan Moroz. To the question “Where did the soldier learn to read and write?” the brave machine gunner replied:

I went through front school

Tempered in the fire of battles

For Zvenigorodka and Shpola,

For Vygriev and for Steblev.

This is what any of the 337th soldiers can say with pride, remembering the famous Korsun-Shevchenko battle.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated February 26, 1944, for the exemplary fulfillment of command assignments in battles to complete the destruction of the group of German invaders, and for the valor and courage displayed at the same time, the 337th Lubny Rifle Division was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, II degree.

In the same memorable year of 1944, two more orders adorned the battle banner of the 337th: the Order of the Red Banner for breaking through the enemy’s defenses, crossing the Dniester, capturing the city and the important railway junction of Balti and reaching the state border, and the Order of Suvorov II degree for breaking through the defenses the enemy, the crossing of the Prut River and the valor and courage displayed at the same time.

The 1131st Infantry Regiment, which distinguished itself in those battles, was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, III degree.

In August 1944, the division took part in the Iasi-Kishinev operation in which our troops destroyed 22 Nazi divisions.

The collapse of the enemy's defenses on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front changed the military-political and military-strategic situation in the Balkans; Romania came out of the war on the side of Nazi Germany and declared war on it.

In ten days of fighting to destroy the encircled group, the division occupied up to 180 settlements, including the city of Focsani, the 1127th regiment received the name Focsani. The 1129th regiment was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, III degree. Later, for the capture of the city of Orade Mare and access to the Hungarian border, the 1131st regiment was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, III degree.

In December 1944, soldiers of the divisions entered Czechoslovakia and liberated the city of Dilyanovo.

In the history of the 337th, glorious pages will remain in the capital of Hungary - Budapest, near Lake Balaton, where the enemy tried to stop the advance of the Soviet troops, where the courage and skill of our soldiers and officers again won a difficult victory.

In Austria, the 337th celebrated the ninth of May 1945 - the historical Victory Day.

Twenty-three soldiers of the division were named Heroes of the Soviet Union by the Motherland. But not all of them lived to see the Victory. But the memory of them will always remain in the hearts of their fighting friends, in the glory of the people. Heroes of the Soviet Union are the pride of the 337th.

Here are their names:

Mikhail Fedorovich Bakulin,

Ibragim Belyanovich Berkutov, Dmitry Ivanovich Bondar,

Fedor Ivanovich Boriskin,

Yulian Maryanovich Bronitsky,

Ivan Dmitrievich Vichtomov,

Nikolai Evtikhievich Garkusha,

Taras Pavlovich Gorobets,

Ivan Andreevich Dobrikov,

Pavel Grigorievich Kozyrev,

Konstantin Alekseevich Korolev,

Pyotr Nikolaevich Kunitsyn,

Alexey Zakharovich Mashkov,

Mikhail Vasilievich Morkovin,

Ivan Ivanovich Nadtochiy,

Ivan Nikolaevich Nemchinov,

Mikhail Grigorievich Nepomnyashchiy,

Stepan Ivanovich Podkopaev,

Vasily Vladimirovich Fedorenko,

Anatarbek Charticoz,

Boris Vasilievich Shanin,

Vasily Ignatievich Shumikhin,

Sergey Andreevich Shchelkanov.

In the foothills of the Caucasus there are battles of unprecedented scale and ferocity. A serious danger looms over the Soviet Motherland. The enemy has captured important areas of our country. He wants to deprive us of bread and oil. He has set himself the task of cutting off the Soviet South from our country.

Here the most important knot in the events of the second year of the Patriotic War began. The fate of the Fatherland and freedom depends on the outcome of the battles in the South And life of Soviet people.

The defenders of the Soviet South now bear the most important responsibility for the outcome of the summer campaign of 1942. Their responsibility can be compared with the responsibility of the defenders of Moscow in the fall

When Nikolai Ivanovich Demenyev came from the NP, he greeted me as if we had parted just the day before, without a hint of emotion. They talked about military affairs, that is, about service for a short time, and switched to other things. The division commander asked where I had been during these almost three months and what interesting things I knew. He was especially interested in the service “with Vasilyan,” his old friend.

I learned about the period of formation and the first battles of the 337th from the combat log. The beginning of the formation of the 337th Infantry Division was determined by an order to the troops of the Transcaucasian Front dated July 29, 1942, based on Resolution of the State Defense Committee No. 2114 dated July 28, 1942.

At the beginning, until August 20, the division was formed in the city of Mozdok. In particular, a division administration, headquarters units and subunits were formed in Mozdok, including: the 449th separate communications company, the 398th separate reconnaissance company. As well as special units: 616th engineer battalion (battalion commander - Captain Alexey Fedorovich Kolonichenko), 47th separate anti-tank division (commander - Senior Lieutenant Job), 899th artillery regiment (commander - Major Fedor Ivanovich Grechukhin), separate machine gun battalion (commander - Captain Borisenko V.I.), 421 separate medical battalion, 1129 rifle regiment (commander - Major Lakhtarenko Maxim Nikolaevich, Cossack cavalryman).

The 1131st rifle regiment was formed in the city of Malgobek (commander - Major Nikolai Ivanovich Ustinov, former chief of staff of the Cossack regiment). The 1127th Infantry Regiment was formed in the village of Terskaya (commander - Major Pershev).

The 337th Rifle Division included, in addition to the command and control of the 228th Infantry Division and headquarters units, almost the entire existing staff of the artillery regiment and anti-tank division, and some of the medical battalion personnel. This is because artillerymen were not needed in those units that were fighting. But the personnel of the rifle regiments were completely absorbed into one of the divisions at the front. There was a huge shortage of infantrymen, because infantry losses exceeded the losses of artillery units several times.

Due to the approach of the enemy, by August 22, the 337th Infantry Division moved to the city of Karabujakhet in the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. I remember nothing about this period except an anecdote told in all seriousness by Nikolai Ivanovich.

We were sitting near the headquarters one day and saw a Dagestani man riding a donkey down the street. - Where are you going? - we ask.

I'm taking my wife to the hospital! - answers.

Where is the wife?

Don't you see? It's coming from behind.

The 337th arrived at the front on the morning of September 09, 1942. Having completed a long march, it concentrated in the area of ​​the village of Voznesenskaya, coming under the control of the 9th Army. At 18 o'clock on the same day, it reached the area of ​​heights 390.9 and 478.9, as well as the village of Sovetsky, with the task of advancing northwest of the city of Malgobek. From this area, together with the 9th rifle brigade, On September 10, the 337th began the destruction of the Malgobek enemy group and was successful, throwing the Germans back 2–3 kilometers and inflicting heavy losses on them.

However, due to strong enemy counterattacks, the division was pushed back to its original positions and here went on the defensive, replacing units of the 176th and 417th Infantry Divisions, through which it began to advance on the tenth.

When occupying the defense, the regiments of the 337th had to repel several enemy attacks per day.

Fierce fighting continued afterwards.

Short combat history of the division. Getting to know the division

I didn’t like the outline of the division’s front line. On the right flank, it passed at the foot of the ridge along the cornfield and nothing was visible from there, that is, there was no visibility and no possibility of shelling. The leading edge here had to be taken back to the northern slopes of height 390.9, that is, raised up the slope. As for the leading edge at an altitude of 409.1, there was obvious nonsense. Our forward trenches ran along a steep slope, the crest of which was occupied by the Germans. The enemy was sitting on a height and not only clearly saw what was happening with us, but also fired grenades along this slope, which inevitably fell into our trenches. And almost any stone that rolled down the slope, one way or another, harmed us.

At night, our soldiers made visors. These canopies saved our soldiers, but, firstly, they were not continuous due to the lack of timber, and, secondly, it was impossible for everyone to sit under the canopies all the time! It was necessary to conduct observation. I had to shoot. As a result, we suffered daily unnecessary losses, which, given the large shortage of personnel, was very sensitive for us. So fight!

From the article you will learn a detailed history of the 337th Airborne Regiment of the 104th Airborne Forces. This flag is for all the Wild Division paratroopers!

Characteristics

• 337 PDP
• 337 Guards RAP
• Ganja

Flag of the Airborne Forces 337 Guards Parachute Regiment

Absolutely all formations of the Airborne Forces are distinguished not only by the highest combat training and confidence in own strength, but also the continuity of traditions. Numerous reforms in the Armed Forces changed the deployment of airborne formations, affiliation with a particular division and the names of regiments and brigades. Today we will talk about the history of the 337th airborne division as part of the 104th Airborne Division in Ulyanovsk and Kirovabad.

Regiment as part of the "Wild Division"

The 104th Airborne Division, otherwise known as the Wild Division, was formed in 1944. Units of the formation, including the 337th airborne division of the 104th airborne division, were stationed in the Transcaucasian Military District. The Azerbaijani cities of Shamkhor and Ganja (formerly Kirovabad) became home to guards paratroopers for many years.

The specific features of the terrain in this region of Azerbaijan contributed to the fact that the 337th Airborne Regiment, as well as other units of the division, were trained in conditions of maximum autonomy and adaptability to combat in regions with mountain-desert landscapes. At the same time, the unofficial nickname “wild” was assigned to the division, as well as the scorpion as a symbol and emblem of the paratrooper unit.

It is curious that the famous politician Sergei Mironov served in the 337th airborne division of the 104th airborne division in Kirovabad. By the way, those interested can find his extensive memoirs about his years of service in the 3rd company (early 70s).

337 Airborne Regiment in Ulyanovsk

The collapse of the Soviet Union became a serious test for the Armed Forces. In those years, plans arose in someone’s head for a widespread reduction in the Airborne Forces. Fortunately, most of Airborne formations remained in service.

However, in 1993, 337 PDPs were redeployed from independent Azerbaijan to Russia. Ulyanovsk became the regiment's new base. Units of the regiment as part of the division's combined formations took part in peacekeeping missions in Abkhazia and Yugoslavia, and also took part in hostilities in the Chechen Republic. We have already written about these events in detail in one of the previous materials.

In 1998, the next stage of reform of the Airborne Forces took place. The 104th Airborne Division is disbanded and on its basis the 31st Guards Separate Airborne Brigade is created. As for the 337th RPD, the 91st Guards Separate Airborne Battalion and the 116th OPDB are being created in its place. The unit's banner, awards and historical records of the 337th Airborne Regiment were transferred to the 91st ODDB, which is considered the successor to this formation of airborne troops.

Several years ago, the 31st brigade received the name air assault. And at the moment, 91 Guards. OPDB continues combat training as part of this formation. For some time, the brigade’s personnel were replenished only by contract soldiers, but now conscripts are again being called up to the 31st Guards. ODSBr.

Dear friends!

I continue to post the next chapter of my memories of serving in the Airborne Forces. Today - Part 2. Kirovabad. Chapter I. 337th Regiment.
Photo of my army album. Memories of the Army

Dedicated to my friend, guard sergeant major of the Airborne Forces
Konstantin Borisovich Pavlovich

Part 2. Kirovabad
Chapter I. 337th Regiment

We arrived in Kirovabad by train late at night. From our company, besides me, two more went there. From my platoon it was Valery Serdyukov - our “grandfather”. Even in training, we learned that Serdyukov was married, he had a child (in my opinion, a girl) and for us, mustacheless boys, he was such a veteran. By the way, he really was older, he was about 21-22 years old, and maybe even older. He was wiry, thin, and grumpy in character (needless to say, a year before demobilization in my 3rd parachute company he became a company sergeant major).

They lined us up somewhere near the station. In the light of the spotlights, some high rank, in my opinion, a general, probably from the division headquarters, handed over gray cardboard boxes containing the “Guard” badge. Since the war and to this day, all airborne formations are guards, but the training unit (training) is not a linear unit, that is, not combat, not combat, so they did not give “guards” there. And upon arrival, a guardsman's badge is immediately assigned to the linear units.

Then we were put into cars and taken to the shelves. As I later understood, me, Valerka and also Yurka from another training platoon were sent to the 337th Guards Order of Alexander Nevsky Parachute Regiment.

We were lined up on the parade ground and assigned to companies.
Valerka and I got the 3rd company, which was located in the third barracks farthest from the headquarters. The barracks, in my opinion, were panel (or maybe not?), 3-story. At night the parade ground is illuminated. It was the month of May, very hot, the night was stuffy, cicadas were singing and it was very, very quiet. Having entered the location, the officer handed us over to the company duty officer, but the company commander was already there to meet us. They showed us our bunks; I got one on the first tier. I began to undress and carefully put my uniform on a stool, and then, out of nowhere, demobilizers came up.

Seeing my badges, they said: “Oh, sergeant, cool! Sergeant, let’s take a swing - you’ve just been given a new guard (and, by the way, the badge was in my pocket, I didn’t put it on my tunic), and I have a little bit here.” The enamel has chipped off, you don’t care, but I’m demobilized.” Having thought that I really had to serve for another year and a half and deciding that perhaps there was such a unique tradition here, I answered: “Okay, let’s go.” They waved.

In the morning, out of habit, I woke up a few seconds before getting up and, hearing: “Rota, get up!”, I jumped up, began to pull on my boots, and in the evening I saw that all the beds had boots. They took the company for exercise, and Valerka and I were told to go to the quarters to receive southern uniforms. In the south (this was later seen in Afghanistan) they wore loose-fitting trousers, boots with socks, and a canvas Panama hat on their heads - the brim was even, but it was considered especially chic to curl the brim in such a way that it looked like a cowboy hat. Having received uniforms, we began to get acquainted with the location, and in general with the life of our already native 337th regiment.

On the very first day (it turned out to be a park and maintenance day), we were sent by car to Geranium to prepare the barracks to receive young recruits.
Geran is an educational summer town about 50 kilometers from Kirovabad, not far from Mingichaur and the Mingichaur hydroelectric power station. You had to go there either by train or by car. We were taken in cars. On the way, I looked at the unusual surroundings with interest.

But we need to start with the fact that from the windows of the barracks, and, in fact, from anywhere in the regiment, mountains were visible, in some places even covered with snow. All the vegetation was unfamiliar. Vineyards, apricot and peach orchards grew around the regiment's location. The street that led to the regiment (in fact, the street abutted at the checkpoint) was lined with mulberry trees, before that I had never heard or seen such a tree, otherwise it is also called mulberry, very tasty, sweet berries ripen on it. At one time, when they were ripe, I tried them.

In Geran I began to become more familiar with my calling.
They assigned me to the second platoon of the second squad and appointed me the commander of this squad. As I already wrote, in the Airborne Forces there are 7 people in the squad and in my squad, besides me (the commander), there was a machine gunner (Kalashnikov machine gun), a grenade launcher (RPG-9) and a 4th rifleman. All of them had AKMS assault rifles, just like in training, with folding butts. Well, of course, we went to work near Geranium without weapons.

In general, in my platoon there were 7 people of my conscription - Vaska Antonov (from Riga), Ramazanov (from Dagestan), Valerka (also from Dagestan) and an interesting soldier named Viksna, he was from the Baltic states, spoke with a slight accent, completely blond , probably even reddish, with whitish eyelashes, naturally, covered in freckles. He had the type of skin that never tans, but only turns red. He was thin and short, but his palms attracted attention - like those of a healthy man, say, a loader. It turned out that Viksna, after turning 8, had already been working as a lumberjack in the forest for two years - as he said: he was cutting off branches from trees. This is where these paws come from.

I was greeted normally.
Those whom I listed (they were in the platoon), in my opinion, only Vaska and Ramazanov were in my squad, and my conscription was called “scoopers” (those who served for six months), the rest were either “godki” (this those who served for a year), or demobilization (those who served for a year and a half were also “grandfathers” - these are those who will have to go to demobilization in a few weeks). We didn’t have “newcomers” (those who had just come to serve); we were just waiting for new reinforcements.

The company commander said that when the young people arrive, I will go to Geran as part of a training platoon and, as a squad commander, I will train the young people for a month and a half.

The first few days in the regiment were remembered for one event.
The platoon commander (in my platoon) was, if I’m not mistaken, Yurka Gradov, in my opinion, he was from Moscow. A cheerful, handsome guy, for some reason I remember him with a golden fixation, or maybe it already seems so to me now. He was one of the breed of impudent impudent people - he always got into trouble, didn’t let anyone off the hook, and, of course, he wasn’t all right with army discipline.

It turns out that on the eve of my arrival, he and several other demobilizers got into some kind of trouble. Literally two days after my arrival, he was removed from the post of deputy platoon commander (and in fact, the platoon commander is also the commander of the first squad, and there are three squads in the platoon) and I was appointed to this position. Yurka, of course, could not forgive me for this and I initially got a lot from him.

Here it is necessary to say separately about the so-called hazing. Of course, our young people for demobilization cleaned badges, glued demobilization albums, someone could iron out a parade shirt, if someone knew how to sew beautifully and neatly, they hemmed something, again, when chores, demobilizers usually did not work, smoked if there were no officers nearby, and plowed with “salagas”, “scoopers” and “year-olds”. But there were simply no passions, which, unfortunately, are often written about, and which are actually happening now in our army, in those years, especially in the Airborne Forces.

By the way, we explained this to ourselves very simply.
Firstly, we have live firing very often. For example, combat shooting of a company or battalion, or even a regiment in a deployed formation, that is, this is when a unit marches in a chain, fires on the move, and a variety of targets appear in front of us in a variety of directions. And it is purely theoretically understandable that if there was some kind of offender, then we could lag behind a little there and, supposedly, the bullet could accidentally fly away in the wrong direction. Everyone understood this intellectually. And, secondly, we had this saying: “Insert a knitting needle.” The fact is that a backpack with a parachute (when the ring was pulled out, the backpack opened due to special rubber bands and the parachute was thrown out) could be pierced with a knitting needle, and the knitting needles were used for installation for a specific operation. And a backpack with a parachute pierced by a spoke would simply not open. As a hypothetical threat, when someone bothered you, you could often hear: “Well, I’ll put a needle in you, you pest, and you’ll fly and crow to the ground.” But still, this is not the main explanation. The main thing is how we were raised by officers and, above all, by our “father” - paratrooper number one, Commander-in-Chief of the Airborne Forces Vasily Filippovich Margelov, because we deciphered the Airborne Forces: “Troops Uncle Vasya."

Let me digress and give a very typical example of what the Airborne Forces are from the point of view of discipline in relation to other branches of the military.
On November 7, that is, it was the autumn of 1972, our regiment, together with other regiments and units of the Kirovabad garrison, took part in the parade on central square Kirovabad, opposite the Central Department Store. They took us to training, although it was probably already the spring of 1973, because it was warm, although no, it’s already forgotten now, after all, it was in November, because it was still warm in the south at that time. So, they chased us and chased us, but we had a consolidated “box” - a company - that is, 8 ranks of 8 people. We were the only paratroopers. There were infantrymen, tankmen, artillerymen, signalmen, and pilots. And at some stage they put us in “boxes” and ordered all the officers to gather to debrief the “flights”. Naturally, we, standing in such a “box”, eight by eight, were left to our own devices. Literally 10 minutes later there was only our “box” standing, and, indeed, standing - from all sides one could see clear rows, clear alignment, young people stood in front, so they were almost standing at attention, demobilization was behind - not leaving the ranks, without taking a single step to the side, but quietly smoking in their sleeves. But still other “boxes” lay on the lawns, sat, wandered, whatever they wanted. The officers were gone for about 40 minutes. And all this time our landing “box” stood, essentially, without moving. It was “wild” for us to see how fighters from other branches of the military allowed themselves to carry out the command “Freely” in this way. By the way, the Airborne Forces are still famous for this, that the spirit of brotherhood, the spirit of mutual assistance, unquestioning execution of the commander’s orders are the essence of our service and our pride in the Airborne Forces.

Returning to Gradov. He is removed from his post, I am appointed, and it turns out that I am already occupying a position that I could have occupied, in principle, only before demobilization. That is, in the absence of the platoon commander (and my platoon commander was Lieutenant Shavrin, a good guy, only a little sick, he spent a lot of time and for a long time in the hospital for some reason), I actually performed his duties. Even during checkpoints, when the command was given: “Platoon commanders, come to me!”, I, along with the officers, ran to the battalion commander or regiment commander. But all this was ahead.

This summer I saw grapes growing for the first time, and I tasted them straight from the vine for the first time in my life. I saw how peaches, apricots, persimmons grew (there was a variety called “Korolek” for some reason), and pomegranates. I remember once, but it was already, in my opinion, a year later, we were driving to an exercise in an open GAZ-66 in an absolutely wild place. And suddenly we saw (and this was apparently at the end of September): there were bushes, there were practically no leaves on them, only huge, red balls - grenades - hanging. We were moving in a convoy, it was impossible to stop, but the driver of our GAZ-66 had a great idea: he drove off the road, shook us a little on the bumps, drove up close to a bush, braked and skidded the body so that the side hit the bush and grenades fell straight to our body. They immediately burst, we were all red, as if in blood, but we ate plenty of pomegranates.

Every year, somewhere in August, our entire regiment took part in the grape harvest.
There was no need to go far - the vineyard was literally behind the fence. At first, of course, they ate “from the belly”, but they soon got tired of the grapes and looked for other varieties in distant plots - they still got tired of it. Well, we, enterprising soldiers, very quickly learned how to make mash. This was done very simply: they took the grapes, strained them, squeezed them into some containers, then these containers were placed in a warm place and after some time they could drink the so-called “bragulka”, but for this they had to wait several days. And working in the vineyard was relaxing; sometimes it felt like you were in civilian life. The commanders came in from time to time - the norm was clear to us and, in general, the work was “don’t hit someone who is down.” By the way, I still have a photograph where I hold two bunches of grapes, like mice by their tails.

Next to me is Valerka Serdyukov.

So, one day we decided to find somewhere " agdamchik". The local Azerbaijanis always had their own wine in every house. I don’t know, maybe specifically for soldiers, or maybe so, they made “Agdam”. It was fortified wine, to be honest, I don’t know what was added to it, but the strength was “atomic”. And, of course, I wanted to feel like a civilian and take a sip of this very “Agdam”.

And so we chipped in, whoever had what money, and, by the way, paid in full Soviet army privates got 3 rubles a month, paratroopers - 4, we were also paid for jumping (up to 10 jumps, I think they paid 4 rubles, and after 10 they paid 10 rubles - that was “serious” money). As a sergeant and platoon commander, I was paid as much as 8 rubles, plus jumping. In a word, we had some money, but most often we ate it very quickly in the soldiers' teahouse. And so, having reset, we realized that there was not enough, and one of ours had an old wristwatch. Let's encourage him: “Why do you need a watch? It doesn’t work well anyway, let’s sell it.”

So we sold this watch, bought an Agdam, sat down between the rows of grapes and had a picnic.
And the deputy company commander for drill training (as we called him “zampostroyu”) was senior officer Pozdeev. Quite recently he was a company commander in another company of our regiment, but there was a check, he had a shortage (either pea coats, or overcoats, or blankets) and he was transferred to a lower position “deputy” in our company, and most importantly - ordered him to compensate for material losses. I remember at ceremonial divorces, when all the officers put on their dress uniform, he always stood in field uniform. When they reprimanded him, he angrily replied: “I pay out of my salary what they “hung” on me and I don’t have the opportunity to buy myself a new uniform.”

In general, the man was very “cool”, but actually fair.
He was probably the main educator in our company, despite the fact that we also had a political officer. (By the way, in our battalion there was a political officer with the interesting surname Sasonny, his rank was captain, for some reason I remember him. In fact, he was a sincere man.) By the way, “Pozdeich” (as we called him among ourselves) was really he was cool, and if someone was rude or did something wrong, he could take him aside so that no one would see, and simply punch him in the teeth without any fuss, and he did it professionally - the jaw only clanged and then the offender’s cheekbone ached for a long time. Surely an attentive reader will understand that such details cannot be retold without experiencing it yourself, which means that I once fell under his “hot” hand. I’ll digress and tell you under what circumstances this happened.

Here I need to say a few words about packing the parachute; I already wrote about this when I talked about the training. The fact is that there is such an element of packing when the pilot chute cover was tied to the main parachute cover with a special thread (which in no case should be nylon, but only hebash) with a special knot, which we called the “prosecutor’s knot.” If something happened to the parachute, very often the cause was this part, and then they carefully looked to see if someone had replaced the hebash rope with a nylon one, or the knot was tied incorrectly, or something else. And we were taught that even if for some reason the rupture did not occur, it was never possible to break this knot on earth. And if this thread did not break, then the cover from the main canopy would not be pulled off, because the exhaust stabilizing parachute did not open, but in this case, the parachute designers came up with two huge pockets on the side of the cover. When a parachutist flies to the ground, the oncoming air flow inflates these pockets and, like a stocking, pulls off the cover.

One day a young recruit came to Geran, I even remember the soldier’s last name - Lunin, in my opinion, a Muscovite. He was somewhat similar to Viksna, with the same blond hair. This Lunin gave me a lot of trouble - he was not very physically developed. And now it’s time for the night jump. I jumped with everyone... And already at the landing site I’m running, holding a candle with a flashlight, questioning and counting all my fighters to see if everything is okay. And suddenly one of my friends says to me: “There’s Lunin, something’s wrong with him.” I got scared and screamed: is it broken or what? They answer me: “No, everything seems to be fine, but something didn’t work for him.” I ran to look for Lunin. I found it, I see that the dome is open, thank God, he is safe and sound, though he is all pale (and so pale), there are only eyes on his face and, in my opinion, he even stutters. I ask: "What happened?" He replies: “I flew for a very long time.”
- We all flew for a long time.
- No, I flew for a long time and the parachute did not open.
I'm asking:
-Did you pull the ring?
-He pulled.

Suddenly I see that the same situation happened, that is, the cover was pulled off by a stream of air and, of course, instead of the prescribed 5 seconds, it probably flew for about half a minute. It’s good that the cover managed to come off, the canopy opened and he landed. Lunin confirmed that when the dome opened, it jerked and after a few seconds there was already ground. I looked: everything was fine with him, but if they found out what had happened, they would look into it and pin this emergency on our training platoon. And without hesitation, I tore off the two covers, tore the lock between them, and pulled the cover off the pilot chute. In a word, I made it look as if everything worked properly.

And my “bulls” had already managed to tell about what happened with Lunin not only to me, but also to “Pozdeich”, who also ran and examined the entire company (he was the commander of a training company). And so he “flies up” right up to Lunin and me, shouting: “Where?” I answer: “Everything is fine, Comrade Senior Lieutenant, I’ve already done it.” And then “Pozdeich” silently turns around and hits me on the cheekbone with a hook, I hit him head over heels. He immediately extends his hand to me, helps me get up and says reproachfully: “I thought you were smart enough. Do you even understand that this is a judicial matter?” I say: “Comrade Senior Lieutenant, no one knows.”
- How does no one know? Everyone is already chatting.
“Now we’ll build it, give instructions, and say that it happened.”
He said:
- Still, you’re a fool, Mironov.

In fact, we hushed up this matter. By the way, bending down and taking the thread, I saw that it was nylon. Where did she come from? - unclear. Well, that's a thing of the past.

So, back to the vineyards.
In a word, “Pozdeich,” when we arrived at the company’s location, noticed with his experienced gaze that some of the fighters were “behind the scenes” and gave us a “debriefing.” “Pozdeich” knew as well as we did in which houses one could buy “Agdam”, and probably the locals also informed him that the soldiers had sold the watch. For some reason, he thought that we had either stolen this watch from someone or taken it away, and decided to organize a whole investigation. He called each of the participants of the feast one by one to the office and talked.
Left me for last.

Moreover, when someone came out, he did not allow them to approach us, but sent them to different places under the supervision of the company duty officer, so that we would not tell each other anything. It was my turn. I go into the office, “Pozdeich” asks: “Well, Sergeant Mironov, you’re the commander, your soldiers here have completely laid you down, if you don’t tell me now how it really happened, then we’ll pin it all on you.” . To be honest, I got a little scared, because they can lead to a disbat, but it’s not in my habits to “hand over” my own people - I stand there, silent. “Pozdeich” continues: “Why are you silent? Don’t you want to surrender? So you were “handed over” by your own people, I just need you to retell how it happened and that’s all, to complete the picture, consider that we are even.” I'm silent.

Ah well! - And suddenly he takes a leather glove from the table, puts it on right hand and with pleasure, stretching, squeezing and unclenching his fist, he comes up to me, and his face is angry, angry, breathes into my face and says: “Okay, since you’re such a silent person, I’ll have to teach you a lesson” (and this was after that story with the parachute and I knew firsthand what “Pozdeich’s” fist was).

It’s unpleasant, of course, but I think, okay, I’ll have to feel this “pleasure” again. I'm silent. “Pozdeich” looks intently into my eyes, apparently looking to see what is more there: fear or the will to say nothing (to be honest, there was an equal amount of both) and says: “Okay, free.” I exhaled: “Permission to go, comrade guard senior lieutenant?” - “Go.” I headed towards the door, but heard: “Stop!” I look around, and he says to me: “You’re nothing, a normal lad. Go, just don’t be naughty anymore.”

And having already left the office, I realized that, of course, all these stories about my “surrendering” me were what is called “getting caught.” I also realized that “Pozdeich” is a real officer and knows what soldier’s and officer’s solidarity is. And, by the way, he really didn’t have enough of an officer’s job in his difficult situation.