Live voices of history

Many documents on history of our city are stored in the Kobrin military and historical museum of A. V. Suvorov. Among them - reminiscence of eyewitnesses and direct participants of events of the beginning of war. As the fates decree all of them appeared on June 22, 1941 in Kobrin and witnessed what occurred that day. Each of them was on the post, everyone saw the same picture, but from the point of view. Their certificates gathered give material for understanding of what occurred on June 22.

V. A. GLASSES: "In May, 1940 after the termination of Gatchina school of junior aviaexperts (near Leningrad) I in a rank of the sergeant was directed for passing of further service to the 123rd destructive aviation regiment (DAR) deployed then near Orsha. I was appointed the electrician of the 3rd squadron of the 123rd IAP. The major Surin, and the commander of the 3rd squadron - the captain Savchenko was a commander of a regiment. In November or December, 1940 our regiment transferred the base in Kobrin. The regiment incorporated four squadrons. On arms there were about seventy fighters I-153 "Tea".

In May, 1941 to us 20 new fighters YAK-1 arrived. They were brought on railway platforms. The technical structure was accepted to assembly... But with flights on YAK-1 it was immeasurably more difficult... The technology of piloting on it was absolutely other. I do not decide to tell how many it would be required to pilots of time that they could, having been retrained on "yaks", to enter surely on them air fight with "Messerschmitts". But the best pilot, in my opinion, would not lack the remained month prior to war..."

S. A. COMMANDANT: "on June 15, 1941 I arrived in Kobrin to a staff of the 4th army for passing of further service. The staff of army settled down in Lepesakh - in a military camp... In the depth of the town the beautiful two-storeyed building with a socle, a letter "P" towered.

L. M. SANDAL-WOOD TREES: "… Evening was on June 21 for fighters and commanders of the 4th army in the usual Saturday evening: people had a rest, saw performances, movies, performances of collectives of amateur performances...".

MARTYNOV A. M.: "In the eve of war, in the evening on June 21, 1941, in a military camp the actors of the Belarusian operetta theater playing the operetta "Gipsy Baron" on an open-air stage acted. And here came fatal on June 22. Already at 2 o'clock in the morning enemy saboteurs worked: the city power plant was put out of action and tens of meters of telecommunication were diversely destroyed".

 L. M. SANDAL-WOOD TREES: "At 3 hours 30 minutes Korobkov (the commander of the 4th army) the commander of the district called to telephone the equipment and reported that this night the provocative raid of fascist gangs on our territory is expected. But categorically warned that on provocation we should not give in. Our task - only to captivate gangs. The frontier is forbidden to be crossed.

MARTYNOV A. M.: "Woke kobrinets at dawn a strained rumble of hard loaded German bombers. Soon explosions of bombardment which a dotted line blew over the southern suburb of the city, from the channel of the Check to Sverdlov Street roared. There were direct hits with the human victims".

L. M. SANDAL-WOOD TREES: "... The operations duty officer reported by phone that the Kobrin airfield underwent enemy bombing from air. I right there ordered to the person on duty to transfer to all to chiefs of departments: to immediately leave the room of a staff, to take with itself staff documents, to concentrate in a garden behind a staff...

Having headlong jumped out of a staff and having run off meters hundred, I lay down in a ditch near others. And that hour over us the enemy squadron appeared. From small height it began to drop 500-kilogram bombs. Terrible explosions shook air, and before our eyes the building of a staff began to collapse. The first wave of bombers was followed by the second. And we lay in a ditch, something to undertake the deprived opportunities: antiaircraft means at a staff were not, and the most part of fighters burned down in airfield.

All our military camp including houses underwent bombing. Fortunately, families of a nachsostav, having taken the most necessary, left the apartments at once as soon as the raid on Kobrin a cue airfield began...".
Martynov A. M. "During the day on the downtown one more bombing attack swept. There were destructions and the victims. But during the day explosions almost did not stop reaching from a military camp and adjacent military airfield. Already the first raid on it burned the majority of planes. The direct hit destroyed the building of a staff of the 4th army. Fortunately, losses in people were insignificant. Under ruins of a staff there was an employee of cryptographic department Stefan Aleksandrovich Komendant who held a position of the chairman of Kobrin district executive committee subsequently".

S. A. COMMANDANT: "... On Saturday June 21 at 18:00 I took up the person on duty on department, reported on it on the chief of the 8th department lieutenant colonel Bukharov... Night was warm and quiet, but at 2 o'clock in the morning our phones did not work. Communication was cut, it was impossible to call even the city.

At 4 hours 10 minutes strong explosion from which windows revealed, and glasses was distributed all took off. Quickly, directly head over heels, I took off for the yard. It is outside empty, in the sky turns the plane at the height of meters of 800. Near a staff a huge funnel from which bottom water is in full swing... Soon in a funnel many soldiers to whom ordered gathered: "In a staff!" We ran in a staff, and at this time Germans began to bomb airfield which was located behind town gate...

In a window from department I saw 12 German planes which went on a staff. My companions ran to the yard, and me as to the person on duty, it was impossible to do it. Bombardment of a staff began with small height. The building collapsed. The first bombs laid down in the center which occupied Political department, and in the left wing. Our department was in the right wing. After a small break companions took away documents, easy safes and left to the yard. Outside I was seen by the chief and disposed to go in the center of the building to help to pull out pressed down. At this time the voice asking about rescue was heard. I began to make the way on the fallen-off parquet floor upward. At this time again raid, again bombs. As I got to the socle room - I do not remember. Filled up with a lime and plaster, with the broken breast and a shin of a leg, I was pulled out by Red Army men and shipped on the lorry..."

V. A. GLASSES: "At 12 o'clock in the morning on June 22, 1941 the commander of the 123rd IAP major Surin lifted all on fighting alarm. Planes cleaned from "a red ruler", took away them on airfield and disguised in the bush surrounding an airfield. On "a red ruler" there were two or three "seagulls" demanding long repair. About any war people did not know and did not assume. Unusual dispersal of planes was apprehended as usual educational alarm, only with more difficult introduction. Some even discontentedly grumbled. At the same time for aviation machine guns began to fill cartridges because till this day it was authorized to have only one unit of fire on the plane. Other cartridges were stored in a warehouse in an original packing. To new parking of "seagulls" all special vehicles were thrown at night. Too planes had all staff of a regiment in a bush. Right there the command to warm up motors followed. All this also rescued further a regiment from sudden destruction.

About four o'clock in the morning over airfield there was the first armada of the fascist Yu-88 bombers, about 70 pieces. At first they poured out all bombing freight on "a red ruler". Then began to shoot the separate purposes from guns and machine guns. The new fighters YAK-1 lit up. None of pilots were able to fly on them, and they never rose in air...

With falling of the first bombs on airfield it became clear to all that it is war. The team arrived: "All in air!" It was also started turning... No, not "roundabout" as it is often written and told. This construction was in the form of a mosquito swarm. When in the warm summer evening mosquitoes gather in vertically extended swarm and quite peacefully buzz. Only "seagulls" settled down in air at the height from 200 to 5000 meters, with a diameter up to 5 km. And this "swarm" was continuously penetrated by gun and machine gun fire... Constantly about 60 fascist planes and 20-30 "seagulls" were groundless. Numerical advantage of fascist planes was constant.

First lit up "Yunkersa" damped an ardor of other fascist pilots. Having given up the mean business, bombers began to clean up home. But here attack planes of Me-110 and the fighters Me-109 appeared. Air fight of fighters was started. And again "seagulls" as equals conducted a battle with fascists. Our pilots used advantage of "seagulls" over "Messerschmitts" in maneuverability. It was very difficult for fascist to catch "seagull" in a sight, and the slightest miss was right there compensated by long turn from four machine guns of "seagull"...

Air fight did not cease. Groups of fascist planes ran on our airfield near Kobrin one by one. One of them contained 20 planes, others as it was at 11 o'clock, - to 60. But our pilots fought to death. When ammunition or gasoline, "seagull" came to an end, nestling on tops of trees, came in the land. Once the plane taxied up to the parking, right there the technical structure examined it, eliminated damages and malfunctions, fuelled also ammunition. And again take-off. A peculiar conveyor was installed: take-off - air fight - landing. But at the same time it is necessary to consider that over parking of planes continuously there was an air fight, and separate Me-109 and Me-110 stormed and bombed parking. And so without stopping from 4 o'clock in the morning till 13 o'clock. Nine hours of bloody and wearisome air fight...

At 13 o'clock the team arrived: to the remained planes (by this time in a system there were 12 "seagulls") to fly on Pinsky airfield. By the time of a departure of the remains of a regiment to Pinsk of fascist planes in the sky did not become...

Over Kobrin several tens German planes were shot down by pilots of our regiment, from them 6 planes carried into the personal account of the commander of a regiment of the major Surin. He participated in air fights from the first departure. Died approximately at 11 o'clock in the afternoon. Having disengaged, he led "seagull" on landing, but under unusually big corner to the earth. After small run the plane turned over. Eyewitnesses, having seen that the commander in air fight got several severe wounds, came to a conclusion that he in a plane landing time on the earth fainted.

To me as to the eyewitness of the majority of the events described above, it would be desirable to emphasize once again that in our regiment from first minutes of war there was no confusion. Everyone did the part and helped the neighbor or the companion. And the more passes time from that memorable day, the courage and firmness of our pilots appears more distinctly. By obsolete planes with speeds at 100-150 km there are less than the speeds of fascist planes, in the conditions of a complete ignorance during the first hours of war of a situation and misunderstanding even of nature of fascist actions (war it or provocation), in the conditions of lack of communication with other parts of army pilots of our regiment conducted an air battle with the opponent almost as equals".

MARTYNOV A. M.: "... And still the relative tranquility, at least, of panic reigned in the city it was not observed. Shops were open, besides without turns. Even the staff of city library was on the workplaces.

Soon from Brest there were first trucks overflowed with women with children. Their considerable part turned on Pinskoye Highway. Persons liable for call-up kobrinets collected holdalls waiting for mobilization announcements, but those did not appear. Over the city at big height enemy planes continuously soared. Our planes were almost not visible. From the West the continuous deaf rumble of explosions reached.

... To the population of the city had no time for a dream when hot June day was replaced at disturbing night... The gloomy period of fascist occupation which dragged on for infinitely long 1124 days began..."

This tragic day seen by eyes of eyewitnesses appears as it.

Elena BABENKO,
Kobrin's director
military and historical
museum of A. V. Suvorov

And some more words about how there was a future of with what memoirs we got acquainted.

Sandalov Leonid Mikhaylovich in July, 1941 is appointed the chief of a staff of the Central front. Battled near Gomel, Bryansk, Tula, Kursk, in Baltic. At the final stage of war the general Sandalov held positions of the chief of a staff of the 2nd Baltic and 4th Ukrainian of fronts. After the end of war served as the chief of a staff of Carpathian, and then Moscow military districts. The author of a number of books and memoirs about the Great Patriotic War.

Martynov Alexey Mikhaylovich during occupation of the city was forcibly mobilized for work. Since 1942 was coherent guerrilla group of Chapayev. Was engaged in supply of guerrillas with materials necessary for them and performed prospecting tasks in the back of the enemy at the request of the operative of guerrilla crew of Chapayev. After war restored work of city library, and since 1946 before retirement was the director of the Kobrin military and historical museum of Suvorov who is created thanks to his efforts. Together with the main work in the 1960th years was engaged in the organization of regional office of Society of conservation and protection of monuments.

The commandant Stefan Aleksandrovich after the wound got in the first day of war in Kobrin was on treatment in hospital of the city of Tambov. Since September, 1941 served as the chief of cryptographic department of the 323rd shooting division of the Western front. Finished war in a staff of Military air forces of Red army of Moscow in the captain's rank. After war was the chairman of Zhabinkovsky district executive committee, and then - the chairman of Kobrin district executive committee. Since 1958 worked as the director of Kobrin creamery.

Glasses Vikenti Alekseevich from the first days of war in structure of field army - the 123rd destructive aviaregiment. Since August, 1941 served in the 209th detached battalion of airfield service. Finished war in the major's rank. After its termination lived and worked in Leningrad.

Woman, E. Live voices History / Elena Babenko//Kobrynsk_ vesn_k. – 2004. – 19 chervenya. Memoirs of eyewitnesses and direct participants of events of the beginning of war in Kobrin district.


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