Ilyinsky frontiers - a feat of Podolsk cadets. Symbols of Podolsk: a monument to Podolsk cadets A monument to cadets of Podolsk military schools

The monument to the cadets of the Podolsk military schools, who, together with units of the 43rd Army, held back the onslaught of the Nazi troops and helped buy time to pull up reserves to Moscow, was opened on May 7, 1975 at the intersection of Kirov Street, Parkovaya Street and Arkhivny Proyezd.

Feeling of accomplishment. This idea, according to the artist Yuri Rychkov, was sought to be expressed in the monument Podolsk cadets its creators. The feat of Podolsk cadets is on a par with the military achievements of the defenders Brest Fortress, the legendary Panfilovites. What was done by them, historians call mass heroism, that is, something like an exception, which is also the rule - a feature characteristic of the Russian (Soviet) army. Not the acquisition of laurels for oneself, not self-affirmation for the sake of a military career, but the courageous, selfless fulfillment of military duty, for the sake of the Fatherland, for "one's own friends." The feat of the cadets, as well as the defenders of the Brest Fortress, was remembered in the mid-60s of the last century. Publications began to appear in the press about this "blank spot" of the Moscow battle. For the first time, veterans were able to meet, visit the battlefields, find their pillboxes, firing positions that have been preserved since those times. So the city of Podolsk strengthened its importance in the history of the battle for Moscow.

By the 30th anniversary of the Victory, the city leadership decided to perpetuate the feat of the cadets. By that time, the youth had made organized trips to the places of their battles, erected a monument at the site of the death of cadets near the village of Vasisovo, Detchinsky Defense Sector in the Kaluga Region. Now it was necessary to create a monument in Podolsk. The city committee of the Komsomol called on the youth of the city to hold a subbotnik and earn money for the construction of the monument.

The project was started by a working group: a member of the Union of Soviet Artists Yu.L. Rychkov, sculptors A.N. Novikov and A.G. Myamlin, architects L.P. Zemskov and L.A. Scrob. The authors suggested that the monument be made of stainless steel. On February 18, 1975, the draft design and the working model were approved by the Artistic Council for Sculpture of the Artistic Fund of the RSFSR. The project was approved by the bureau of the CC CPSU, the executive committee of the City Council and the CC VLKSM. The technical passport of the monument indicates that the production of a sculptural composition in terms of timing, quality and technology has no precedent in Soviet and world practice.

Its manufacture was entrusted to the machine-building plant named after S. Ordzhonikidze. The Komsomol members of shop No. 7 took up the work, led by the deputy. shop manager P.T. Prikhodko. Among them are electric welders Vladimir Loshchilin, Ivan Kashevarov, Valery Akhromushkin, fitters Alexander Maloveykin, Anatoly Rebrov and others.

Many years later, the then secretary of the party committee of the plant, V.G. Ovchar recalled what a unique technological work it was. On the spot, according to the sculpture, it was necessary to express the faces of the cadets by welding 300 meters of seams with a decorative (tank) seam. There were other difficulties as well. While working on the monument, Ordzhonikidzevtsy disrupted the supply of equipment. Minister S.V. arrived at the plant. Krutov and asked to be taken to the “lagging behind” shop. Arriving at the place, he was amazed: “What is this?” The leaders of the enterprise explained what kind of work they were doing. They expected a scolding, but Sergei Vasilievich allowed to disrupt the delivery time for another month with one condition: that the monument was made well.

The place for its installation was chosen extremely well: next to the archive of the Ministry of Defense, where in 1941 the artillery school was located and from where the cadets went to the front. The monument has a circular view. In the foreground are cadets going on the attack - three heroes who have stood up as an "indestructible wall" in the way of the enemy. The number three, according to Yu.L. Rychkov, should also symbolize the three lines of defense of the Podolsk cadets. The heraldic part, against which the cadets stand, represents a wall, a defensive line, a banner, a grenade explosion. The figures themselves face the Warsaw highway, along which the cadets made their way to immortality. On the back plane is a map of military actions of cadets.

The intention of the authors is revealed by the lines of R. Rozhdestvensky: “... Motherland, at that very bitter hour, Having met your death on the battlefield, Your sons last time They covered the Motherland with themselves. The height of the sculptural group was 8.5 meters, the cost of the entire complex was 50 thousand rubles. It includes a wall of initiation - monolithic reinforced concrete, with narrow slots, symbolizing the embrasures of pillboxes. Opposite is the firing position of the 57-mm gun. Concrete and landscaping works were carried out by Podolsk enterprises.

On May 7, 1975, the grand opening of the monument took place. Kirov Street was blocked for a while, and residents of Podolsk walked along it to the sounds of a brass band. The most crowded was the column of Ordzhonikidze. It was led by V.G. Ovchar. The memorial was opened by the former head of the Podolsk artillery school, Lieutenant-General I.S. Strelbitsky, cadet of this school N.M. Dikarev, secretary of the city committee of the Komsomol A.V. Kovalev and the welder of the plant named after S. Ordzhonikidze, who took part in the construction of the monument, P.D. Suslov.

I have four wars behind me, - said I.S. Strelbitsky. But when they ask me what I remember most of all from my military biography, I answer without hesitation: those October days of the 41st year, when the Komsomol cadets of two Podolsk military schools stopped the Nazis rushing to Moscow. One of the authors of the composition is L.P. Zemskov recalled that this work was especially dear to him, because in the forty-second year after graduating from the Arzamas mortar and machine gun school he himself went to fight near Stalingrad. Since then, the memorial to the Podolsky cadets has become a landmark in our city, its calling card. (V. EROKHIN, the newspaper "Podolsky worker", 08.05.2010)

In October 1941, three and a half thousand Podolsk cadets held back the advance of an entire tank army for two weeks.

In the early morning of October 5, 1941, the advancing German units of the 57th Corps of the 3rd Tank Group occupied the city of Yukhnov and reached the approaches to Maloyaroslavets, finding themselves in the rear of not only the Western, but also the Reserve Front. On the defensive Soviet troops a gap was formed in the Ilyinsky combat sector of the Mozhaisk defense line of Moscow, which the Germans could use to reach Moscow - 190 kilometers remained from Yukhnov to Moscow. . In the area of ​​​​the village of Ilyinsky, engineering units managed to build about 30 artillery and infantry pillboxes, but there was no one to defend them - our troops, who were surrounded, who were in a semi-encirclement, defended the long-broken front near Vyazma.
On October 5, in Podolsk, about two thousand cadets of artillery and one and a half thousand cadets of infantry schools were withdrawn from classes, alerted and sent to the defense of Maloyaroslavets. All passenger transport and even both Podolsk taxis were mobilized in the city, remembering how French taxi drivers saved Paris in 1914. All this transport was used to deliver cadets to positions.
The consolidated detachment of cadets was tasked with blocking the Germans' path at the Ilyinsky combat site for 5-7 days, until reserves from the depths of the country approached.

A cadet of the Podolsk artillery school writes a letter to his relatives the day before the start of the fighting.

The defense line ran along the eastern bank of the Vypreika River, which divided the village of Ilyinskoye in half.
In order to gain time for the deployment of the main forces of the schools near Maloyaroslavets, an advanced detachment was advanced to meet the enemy, consisting of the 6th company of the infantry school under the command of Senior Lieutenant Mamchich and an artillery battalion consisting of two batteries under the command of Captain Rossikov.
The advance detachment of cadets in motor vehicles left Podolsk in the evening of the same day, and in the morning, October 6, they threw back units of the 57th German Corps from the Izverv River to the Ugra River. For five days of fighting, this detachment destroyed 20 tanks, 10 armored vehicles and about 1000 enemy soldiers and officers.

Our anti-aircraft gun, which participated in the battles at the Ilyinsky line

On October 10, the remnants of the cadets of the advance detachment reached the Ilyinsky sector of the Maloyaroslavsky combat sector and joined the main forces of the Podolsk military schools.
On October 11, at noon, fighting began throughout the entire combat sector. From bombing attacks, artillery and mortar fire, it seemed that the whole earth around stood on end and nothing living on it would survive. After the 40th minute of preparation and treatment of the front line of the cadets of the 10th company, the enemy threw into battle five tanks and up to an infantry company. But the tanks and infantry were destroyed.
On October 12, the enemy tried to penetrate our defenses, but he managed to advance only 300 meters. By the end of the day, the entire defense sector of the 10th company was literally pitted with craters.
On October 13, the Germans decided to go for a trick. Having installed red banners on 15 captured tanks, on which they put paratroopers with our helmets on their heads, they approached the positions of Podolsk cadets from Maloyaroslavets, but the red flags on the tanks looked so theatrical that they managed to recognize the deception, and the tank column was destroyed.

At eight o'clock on October 13, the Nazis opened heavy fire from guns and mortars. Enemy bombers flew in.
The Nazis brought equipment and infantry into battle. The fight was brutal and unequal. The enemy managed to capture the village of Bolshaya Shubinka.
Late at night, having covered the village from two sides, the cadets suddenly attacked the village of Bolshaya Shubinka for the enemy.
On October 14, early in the morning, the Nazis again began intensive artillery preparation. Then they threw aviation at the cadets. By the end of the day, the enemy managed to capture the first and second trenches, but he could not completely break through the defense area.

Broken magpie
Miracles of heroism were shown by a platoon of cadets of Lieutenant Timofeev. Taking up defenses near the village of Malaya Shubinka, the platoon fought in complete encirclement throughout October 14, repelling numerous enemy attacks.
On the night of October 15, the encirclement was broken and the five survivors went to the location of the battalion.
On October 15, the remnants of the battalion, in cooperation with the detachment of Captain Chernysh, carried out seven attacks on enemy positions, each attack ended in hand-to-hand combat. During one of the attacks, Captain Chernysh and political instructor Kurochkin were killed.
Artillery cadets showed miracles of heroism and self-sacrifice. Leaving no firing positions, they repulsed the incessant attacks of the Germans. The cadets of the 4th battery of Lieutenant Afanasy Ivanovich Aleshkin especially distinguished themselves.

Artillery bunker in Ilyinsky

His battery was located in the village of Sergievka on Varshavskoye highway and was well camouflaged, and the pillbox with the gun was disguised as a wooden shed. The Germans could not recognize Aleshkin's gun for a long time and suffered heavy losses, and when they found it, they surrounded the pillbox and threw grenades at it. Lieutenant Aleshkin died along with six cadets.
October 16 German troops captured defensive lines in the Ilyinsky combat sector, and almost all the cadets who held the defense in this sector died. On October 17, the command post of the Podolsk cadets was moved to Lukyanovo. For two days, the cadets defended Lukyanovo and Kudinovo. On October 19, the cadets defending Kudinovo were surrounded, but managed to get out of the encirclement. On the same day they received the order to withdraw.
On October 20, the surviving cadets began to withdraw to reunite with the troops occupying the defenses on the Nara River. The Germans were delayed for two weeks, which was enough to form a continuous line of defense. On October 25, the surviving cadets marched on foot to Ivanovo to continue their studies.

In the terrible autumn of 1941, when the Nazis rushed to Moscow, everyone who could hold a weapon stood up to defend the capital. Some heroes were waiting for eternal glory and the memory of their descendants, others - obscurity.

A journalist who happened to be nearby managed to describe someone's feat, and the whole country learned about it. Most of the heroes remained in the background, hiding behind the term "mass heroism of the defenders of Moscow."

For almost three and a half thousand boys who took the main battle in their lives in October 1941, there was one common name - "Podolsk cadets".

On September 30, 1941, the German command began an operation under code name"Typhoon". The Nazis hoped to finally defeat Soviet forces in the Moscow direction, and speak to the Soviet capital, putting an end to the blitzkrieg.

Guderian's tank group closed the encirclement of Soviet troops near Vyazma, at the same time entering the highway to Moscow, passing through Yukhnov, Ilyinskoye and Maloyaroslavets.

The 57th German motorized corps, consisting of 200 tanks and 20,000 soldiers and officers, was heading towards the capital.

Ivan Semyonovich Strelbitsky, Guard Major General of Artillery Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Enemy at the gate

Since mid-summer, the construction of the Maloyaroslavets fortified area has been going on, which was planned to be completed by the end of November. By the beginning of October, they managed to build about 30 artillery and infantry pillboxes, which had not yet been fully equipped. Trenches and communication passages were also dug. However, there were no Soviet troops in the area of ​​fortifications.

On the morning of October 5, 1941, Moscow received shocking information - the Germans took Yukhnov. At first, the General Staff refused to believe it, because even the day before, the Wehrmacht units were 150 kilometers from it!

But everything was confirmed: the advancing enemy troops really ended up in Yukhnov, and they had less than 200 kilometers to Moscow.

It was a disaster - the Nazis found themselves in the deep rear of the Western and Reserve fronts, where there were no Soviet units.

For the most urgent transfer of forces, several days are needed, for which it was necessary to detain the enemy. But by whom?

Boys in overcoats

In 1939-1940, two military schools were created in Podolsk - artillery and infantry. The training course for junior officers was designed for three years, but in the summer of 1941 the program was urgently changed to a six-month one.

The 1941 recruitment consisted of students civil universities, as well as the boys whose high school graduation took place on the very day the war began.

The head of the Podolsky Artillery School, Ivan Strelbitsky, recalled: “There were many among them who had never shaved, never worked, never went anywhere without mom and dad.”

Classes with cadets-recruits began in September. And on the evening of October 5, the signal “Combat alert!” sounded in the schools.

The junior command staff is the link without which the army cannot exist. It is possible to use cadets, future officers, as simple infantry, only out of complete desperation and hopelessness. But there was no other choice.

Stop at any cost!

Of the cadets of the two schools, they made up a combined regiment of 3,500 people, to which an order was given - to occupy the Ilyinsky line (the very unfinished Maloyaroslavets fortified area) and at any cost to detain the enemy for 5-7 days, until the reserves approach.

Cartridges, grenades, rations for three days, rifles - that's all the cadets' equipment. Artillerymen advanced with their own training guns, even guns from the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878 went into action.

The advance detachment of cadets, who requisitioned cars at the enterprises of Podolsk, reached almost Yukhnov, which the Germans had already occupied. The cadets took their first battle on the evening of October 6 on the eastern bank of the Ugra along with a battalion of paratroopers.

After five days of fighting, having spent almost all the ammunition, the advance detachment retreated to the Ilyinsky lines, where the main forces of the cadets were already occupying positions.

No more than a third of the cadets remained from the forward detachment, but together with the paratroopers they destroyed up to 20 tanks, about 10 armored cars, and disabled several hundred Nazis.

Pass in captivity

At the Ilyinsky line, cadets installed guns in pillboxes, although, as already mentioned, they were not only not finished, but practically not disguised.

On October 11, the Germans began to storm the Ilyinsky line. The enemy actively used aircraft and artillery, after which he went on the attack. However, all attempts to break through on October 11 were repulsed by cadets. The situation repeated itself the next day.

On October 13, a detachment of 15 German tanks with an assault force was able to break through to the rear of the cadets. The Nazis counted on cunning, fixing red flags on their tanks. But their ruse was discovered, and the cadet reserve, which advanced towards them, in a fierce battle defeated the enemy that had broken through.

About those battles their participant with German side he recalled as follows: “These positions were defended by the Mongolian and Siberian divisions. These people did not surrender because they were told that the Germans would first cut off their ears and then shoot them.”

However, the Germans knew who they were actually fighting. From airplanes over the positions of the cadets, the Germans scattered leaflets: “Valiant Red Junkers! You fought bravely, but now your resistance has lost its meaning. The Warsaw highway is ours almost to Moscow itself. In a day or two we will enter it. You are real soldiers. We respect your heroism. Come over to our side. Here you will receive a friendly welcome, delicious food and warm clothes. This flyer will serve as your pass."

They fought to the end

But 17-18-year-old boys fought to the death. By October 16, after daily fighting, the cadets had only five guns left. The enemy launched a new massive assault.

The name of the battery commander, lieutenant, has been preserved in history. Afanasia Aleshkina. He, along with the fighters, acted cunningly. At that moment, when the Nazis began to shoot his pillbox from guns, Aleshkin and his subordinates rolled out the gun to a reserve position.

As soon as the fire subsided, and the German infantry went on the attack, the gun returned to its previous position and again mowed down the enemy's ranks.

But on the evening of October 16, the Nazis surrounded the pillbox, and after dark they threw grenades at its defenders.

By the morning of October 17, the main positions of the Ilyinsky lines were captured by the Germans. The surviving cadets withdrew to the settlement of Lukyanovo, where the command post had moved. For two more days they defended settlements Lukyanovo and Kudinovo.

The enemy managed to get around the positions of the cadets, but they continued to shoot through the road to Maloyaroslavets, because of which the Germans were deprived of the opportunity to transfer ammunition and reinforcements to their advanced units.

Former cadets at the opening of the monument in Ilyinsky. May 8, 1975 Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

“We have earned our Victory honestly…”

On October 19, the Germans surrounded the cadets in the Kudinovo area, but they managed to escape. In the evening of the same day, an order was received from the command - the combined regiment of cadets to retreat to the line of the Nara River to join the main forces.

On October 25, the surviving cadets were withdrawn to the rear. They were ordered to go to the city of Ivanovo to complete the training.

According to some data, about 2,500 cadets remained forever at the Ilyinsky lines. According to others, and 3500 fighters of the combined regiment, only one in ten survived.

But the meeting with the "Red Junkers" cost the Germans too, who in these battles lost about 100 tanks and up to 5,000 soldiers and officers.

The Podolsk cadets, at the cost of their lives, won the time necessary to consolidate the units on the new line of defense. The German offensive faltered. The Nazis failed to enter Moscow.

The film was released in 1985 Yuri Ozerov"Battle for Moscow", part of which was the story of the feat of Podolsk cadets. For this movie Alexandra Pakhmutov a and Nikolay Dobronravov wrote the song "You are my hope, you are my joy", which contains the following lines:

We honestly suffered our Victory,
Dedicated to holy bloodline.
In every new house, in every new song
Remember those who went to the battle for Moscow!
Gray overcoats. Russian talents.
The blue radiance of incorruptible eyes.
On the snowy plains, young cadets ...
Immortality has begun. Life is cut short.

The monument to Podolsk cadets was opened in the city of Podolsk near Moscow in the spring of 1975, on the eve of Victory Day.

The material from which the monument is made is stainless steel; the sculptural composition includes three figures of fighters, a fluttering banner, as well as a scheme of hostilities in which Podolsk cadets took part. The space in front of the monument is paved with concrete slabs.

In the first year of the Great Patriotic War, cadets became one of those who defended the approaches to Moscow. About three and a half thousand cadets of artillery and infantry schools were promptly withdrawn from classes and sent to the front (namely, near Maloyaroslavets). Their task was to repel enemy attacks in this area for several days, after which the reserve Soviet troops were supposed to approach.

The cadets repelled several attacks by the Nazis, and one of them was this: the Nazis raised red Soviet flags over their tanks, hoping that they would be mistaken for reinforcements that had approached. The deception failed, the Nazi tanks were destroyed.

The fighting continued for about two weeks, in which the cadets took part. Almost two and a half thousand of them died - but the enemy also suffered serious losses in the battles. When the reserve troops were already close, the cadets were surrounded, but they managed to get out of it. On the same day, they received an order to leave the scene of hostilities. The surviving cadets were sent to Ivanovo, where they continued their studies.

Speaking about the monument to cadets in Podolsk, it should be noted that there is also a street in the city named after these war heroes.

In October 1941, cadets of the infantry and artillery military schools, consisting of 5 rifle battalions and 6 artillery batteries, held the defense for 12 days 20 km west of the city of Maloyaroslavets near the village of Ilinskoye. Young infantrymen and artillerymen destroyed up to 5 thousand German soldiers and officers, knocked out about 100 tanks. At the cost of their lives, they delayed the enemy column, and made it possible to strengthen the near approaches to Moscow.

"Memories and Reflections", Marshal Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov about the situation around Moscow: “The defense of our fronts could not withstand the concentrated attacks of the enemy. There were gaping gaps that there was nothing to close, since there were no reserves left in the hands of the command.”.

At the beginning of October 1941, a 25-kilometer German motorized column moved at full speed along the Varshavskoe highway in the direction of the city of Yukhnov. 200 tanks, 20 thousand infantry in vehicles, accompanied by aviation and artillery, did not meet any resistance.

On October 5, 1941, the Germans entered Yukhnov. Moscow was 198 kilometers away, and there were no Soviet troops along the way. The enemy was looking forward to a quick victory: it is necessary to pass Maloyaroslavets, Podolsk and from the south, where Moscow is not protected, break into Moscow.

Ambitious plans were prevented by 3,500 thousand boys: 2,000 cadets of the Podolsk infantry and 1,500 thousand cadets of the Podolsk artillery schools. They were thrown in October 1941 at the Ilyinsky line in order to keep the enemy at any cost - there was no one else.

In 1938−1940. Artillery and infantry schools were created in Podolsk. Before the start of the war, more than 3,000 cadets were trained in them.

The Podolsk Artillery School (PAU) was formed in September 1938 and trained anti-tank artillery platoon commanders. It consisted of 4 artillery battalions. Each included 3 training batteries and 4 platoons. There were about 120 cadets in the training battery. In total, more than 1500 cadets studied here. The head of the school was Colonel I.S. Strelbitsky (1900-25.11.1980).

A hastily formed consolidated detachment of cadets withdrawn from training on combat alert was given combat mission: to occupy the Ilyinsky combat sector of the Mozhaisk line of defense of Moscow in the Maloyaroslavets direction and block the enemy’s path for 5-7 days until the Stavka reserves from the depths of the country approach. To help the combined detachment, the 53rd and 312th rifle divisions, the 17th and 9th tank brigades were given.

In order to prevent the enemy from being the first to occupy the Ilyinsky defensive sector, a forward detachment was formed. Together with a detachment of airborne troops defending the village of Strekalovo, he held back the offensive of superior enemy forces for five days. During this time, 20 tanks, 10 armored vehicles were knocked out and about a thousand enemy soldiers and officers were destroyed. But the losses on our side were enormous. In the cadet companies of the forward detachment, by the time they entered the Ilinskoye region, there were only 30-40 fighters left.

On October 6, the main forces of the cadets occupied the Ilyinsky combat site. The defense took place along the eastern banks of the Luzha and Vypreyka rivers from the village of Lukyanovo, through Ilinskoye to Malaya Shubinka.

These pillboxes can still be found on the defensive line:

A monument of history, a long-term firing point. Machine-gun polukapanir heavy type with easel machine gun system Maxim. Built in September 1941. In this pillbox in October 1941, cadets of the 2nd platoon of Lieutenant Lysyuk of the 8th company of the Podolsky Infantry School fought heroically repulsing the attacks of German tanks and infantry.

Machine gun cap.

Undermined bunker.

On the morning of October 11, the positions of the cadets were subjected to fierce combat attacks - massive bombing and shelling. After that, a column of German tanks and armored personnel carriers with infantry began to move towards the bridge at a higher speed. But the front line of our defense came to life, the attack of the Nazis was repulsed. The Germans, incomparably superior to the cadets in combat power and numbers, were defeated. They could neither accept nor understand what was happening.

During the fighting on the Ilyinsky line, the fourth PAU battery was assigned a responsible task - not to miss the breakthrough of German tanks along the Vorshavskoye highway to Maloyaroslavets.

The fourth battery of the Podolsk Artillery School under the command of Senior Lieutenant A.I. Aleshkina was hastily formed back in the school for combat operations on the Ilyinsky lines. In total, the battery had 4 45-mm horse-drawn anti-tank guns of the 1937 model. Lieutenant I.I. was appointed commander of the firing platoons. Museridze and A.G. Shapovalov. The commanders of the guns were sergeants Belyaev, Dobrynin, Kotov and Belov.

Personnel of the 4th PAU battery.
"Everything down to the letter, as in the list signed by s-m Aleshkin and com-m Sychev."

Gun crews were staffed on the basis of two cadets per position. The garrison of each pillbox had at its disposal one light machine gun to guard the approaches and fight the German infantry. The machine-gun crew of the guard consisted of four gunners, who at any moment could replace their retired comrades at the gun. One cadet outside the bunker served as an observer. Six cadets ensured the delivery of boxes of shells from a remote warehouse.

The battery commander Aleshkin was located in the pillbox, which was on the highway in the village of Sergievka. Together with him was the cadet crew of the first 45-mm gun from Shapovalov's platoon, where Belyaev was the commander.

Aleshkin's bunker was on the same diagonal as the peasant huts and was well disguised as a log cabin. Two spare gun trenches were opened next to the bunker. During the battle, the bunker garrison quickly rolled out a gun from the casemate, occupied a spare trench and accurately hit enemy tanks on the Varshavskoye highway east of the village of Sergievka near the opposite ditch in a well-prepared open firing position.

Platoon Lieutenant I.I. Museridze, consisting of two 45-mm anti-tank guns, was located on the edge of the forest east of Sergievka in the area of ​​​​the observation post of the head of the artillery school, Colonel I.S. Strelbitsky. One gun commanded by Belov occupied a pillbox. Meseridze was also in it. 300 meters to the left of the bunker, in an open trench on the edge of the forest, there was a second gun commanded by Dobrynin.

On the afternoon of October 13 (on the posters of the Ilyinsky Frontiers Military History Museum, these events are dated 16.10), the Nazi tank column managed to bypass the 3rd battalion, reach the Warsaw highway and attack the cadet positions from the rear. The Germans went for a trick, red flags were fixed on the tanks, but the cadets revealed the deception. In a fierce battle, the tanks were destroyed.

Head of PAU Strelbitsky I.S.: “On the afternoon of October 16, the roar of tank engines was heard. But he approached not from the west (from the side of the enemy), but from the east (from our rear). Here the lead tank appeared, followed by the second, third. The soldiers jumped out of the parapet of the trenches and, waving their caps and caps, joyfully greeted the tankers. No one doubted that they had come from Maloyaroslavets for support. And suddenly a shot rang out, followed by another. This is Lieutenant Shapovalov, a platoon commander from the 4th battery, examined the white crosses on the sides of the vehicles through binoculars, opened fire on them from his gun. Two tanks immediately caught fire, the rest, increasing their speed, turned around and, firing on the move, rushed to our positions. Now everyone has identified the enemy tanks. The crews quickly took their places at the guns. Almost simultaneously, several guns met the enemy with fire. To the left of the bunker, Museridze was fighting from a trench in an open position with a 45-mm gun by Yuri Dobrynin. The gunner Alexander Remezov hit the fascist tank with the first shot, which immediately caught fire. But the cadet did not take into account the recoil of the gun, and the eyepiece of the sight hurt his eye. His place was taken by gun commander Yuri Dobrynin. Another fascist tank broke out. Another shell hit the ammo truck - a huge explosion rushed over the highway. Opened fire on enemy armored vehicles and our 76-mm guns. This is Prokopov's division with old three-inch guns of the 1898 model with brass eagles riveted on the barrels, which is located on the edge of the forest south of the highway. Near the PAK command post in a sparse forest near the anti-tank ditch, Captain Bazylenko's 76-mm divisional gun model 1902/30 and Karasev's 45-mm anti-tank gun occupied positions. The battle between the gunners and the first group of eight tanks lasted no more than seven or eight minutes. Only one tank, marching with a red flag at the head of the column, tried to break through the positions at maximum speed, but near Sergiyevka it was covered by our shells. Lieutenant Aleshkin with his cadets beat without a miss. 10 hits were later found in the tank hull. The garrison of Dot rolled out a gun from a semi-caponier, occupied a spare trench and accurately smashed enemy tanks. However, during the battle with the tank column, when the last tank was destroyed by Aleshkin, right next to the pillbox, the Nazis discovered a well-camouflaged half-caponier gun and began to hunt for it. In this battle, the gunners destroyed 14 tanks, 10 vehicles and armored personnel carriers, destroyed about 200 fascist machine gunners, 6 tanks and 2 armored personnel carriers were burned by cadets of Dobrynin's calculation.

Cadet PAK Ivanov D.T.: “I was a machine gunner of the cover group in Museridze's pillbox, in front of which there was an anti-tank ditch. Observers reported that from the rear, right along the highway, a column of tanks and armored personnel carriers was approaching. At first it was difficult to make out, but soon we made out the crosses on the sides of the tanks. Museridze and Belov commanded "Armor-piercing, fire!". Gunner Sinsok caught sight of the lead tank with a predetermined lead. Shot! The tank exploded. But something was wrong with the gunner: he sat down on the ground, covered his eyes with his hands, blood flowed down his face. It turns out that he did not calculate the rollback, and the sight hurt his eye. Another cadet stood up for the gunner, and the shooting continued. The towers of enemy tanks turned their guns towards our bunker. Here, as luck would have it, three shells missed the tank. Finally a fourth hit, and another armored vehicle caught fire. On the left, Yura Dobrynin's gun led. Those guns that stood in positions near the highway, including the guns of Captain Prokopov, also joined the battle. One by one, the tanks light up, but the fascist infantry prepared for battle and rushed to our positions.

PAU cadet Rudakov B.N.: “Seeing that the provocation failed, the enemy tanks following the lead tanks turned into battle formation and opened fire. All the guns of the artillery anti-tank reserve of the 4th PTOP entered the battle. Some of the tanks nevertheless moved forward along the highway. Shapovalov's gun could no longer be fired. the enemy tank was in her position. The calculation quickly took the gun to cover and prepared grenades for battle. Lieutenant Shapovalov himself crawled up the ditch to the tank and threw two anti-tank grenades into it one after the other. The tank caught fire, but the lieutenant himself was wounded. Cadets carried him from the battlefield".

Rolf Hipze(German): “On October 16, a very significant battle broke out. The second battalion of the 73rd regiment was to prepare to link up to the right of Sergievka with the second battalion of the 74th regiment advancing from Cherkasovo along with a company of tanks of the 27th regiment. To the east of Sergievka was a previously undiscovered, well-equipped Russian cannon position that prevented any penetration. One by one, 14 out of 15 German tanks were knocked out. Only one tank reached the defensive line near the Vypreyka River..

Greiner(German): “At 13.00, a column of the fourth company of medium and light tanks of Lieutenant Pftzer from the 27th tank regiment is lined up in Cherkasovo. First, 8 tanks (2 Pz IV tanks and 6 Pz 38 tanks), then an infantry company on motorcycles and armored personnel carriers, and behind 7 more Pz 38 tanks. Part of the infantry sits on the tanks. Tanks can only move along the highway, because. the adjacent area to the highway is planted with trees. Already before approaching Sergievka from the forest, they open fire on the infantry, forcing them to jump off the armor of the tanks. Tanks drive on to break through Ilyinskoye, however two of them are knocked out. The infantrymen accept the battle, while not seeing the enemy. Soon a lagging second group of 7 tanks appears and engages in battle with the enemy. The infantry advances in a row in a ditch on both sides of the highway. The situation is getting worse than we expected. We figured that with 15 tanks advancing, we would encounter only minor resistance. The first half of the tanks reached the goal of the offensive, but did not return. Other tanks are slowly approaching our hill in front of Sergievka. In the middle of the highway there is a destroyed German tank, at a short distance from it another, which has slid into a ditch and cannot go further. Bullets whistle over our heads and there is no way to even stick our heads out. The lead tank burns with a bright flame, the hatch of the tower opens, from which the crew rushes into the funnel. The danger is that our advance has stalled. Tanks stand on the highway and are sure targets for Russian guns, which shoot very accurately. Shells hiss over the highway. Before we had time to move away from the first shock, another tank was knocked out. The crew also leaves it. Two more tanks were destroyed next. We watch with horror the burning tanks and hear the Russian "Hurrah!", although we do not see the enemy. Our ammunition is running out. Panic seizes us half an hour later. There are 6 wrecked tanks and guns are still firing. What should we do? Back? Then we get under machine-gun fire. Forward? Who knows how many enemy forces are in the village, and we are running out of ammunition. In dashes, the soldiers occupy the opposite ditch. Here, under the cover of Christmas trees, the 7th tank is standing, which calls for help the first group from Ilinsky. Soon this tank gets hit and catches fire. The lieutenant runs out of the tank. This is perhaps the decisive moment of this battle - 6 tanks returned from Ilyinsky. At this time, from the west, under fire from bunkers, military engineers are trying to establish a crossing in the area of ​​​​the destroyed bridge over the Vypreika River. The tanks that are returning from Ilyinsky appear as rescuers. At the head are two tanks Pz IV. They approach and aim at the enemy's anti-aircraft guns. But already after the first shots fired by them, the first tank gets hit and burns with a bright flame. The crew runs out of the burning tank. Soon after, the second tank also gets hit. We are disappointed. The last two Pz 38 tanks begin to move at full speed.

The situation at the Ilyinsky combat area was steadily deteriorating - the Germans unleashed a flurry of artillery and mortar fire on our positions. Aviation dealt one blow after another. But the cadets of the companies and batteries did not give up. The forces of the defenders quickly melted away, there were not enough shells, cartridges and grenades.

By October 16, the surviving cadets had only five guns, and then with incomplete gun crews. Using the small number of our infantry, the Nazis in night battles destroyed fire crews right on their positions.
On the morning of October 16, the enemy launched a new powerful fire strike on the entire Ilyinsky combat sector. The cadet garrisons in the remaining pillboxes and bunkers were shot with direct fire from tanks and cannons. The enemy was slowly moving forward when a camouflaged pillbox appeared on his way on the highway near the village of Sergeevka, commanded by the commander of the 4th PAU battery, Lieutenant A.I. Aleshkin.

The calculation of the 45-millimeter training gun cadet Belyaev opened fire and knocked out several combat vehicles. The forces were unequal, and everyone understood this. Unable to storm the pillbox from the front, the Nazis attacked it from the rear in the evening and threw grenades through the embrasure. The heroic garrison perished almost completely. The bodies of the heroes were found only in 1973, when a private house was being built next to the bunker in the village of Sergeevka. Their clothes and documents decayed, only one buttonhole of an artillery school cadet with the letters "PAU" was preserved. The combat crew of the Aleshkinsky bunker is buried in mass grave at the Ilyinsky rural cemetery.

Aleshkinsky bunker.

Afanasy Ivanovich Alyoshkin (January 18, 1913 - October 16, 1941) - was born in the village of Tserkovishte Smolensk region. In 1932 he graduated from an agricultural college with a degree in agronomy. After passing military service from 1935-1938 he studied at the Moscow State University. All-Russian Central Executive Committee (Kremlin cadet). In 1939 he was sent to serve in the PAU. Married, son Vladimir. The commander of the 4th battery of the Podolsky artillery school, died in the village. Ilinskoe October 16, 1941.

In this pillbox in October 1941, the commanders and cadets of the Podolsky Artillery School fought heroically and died, repulsing the attacks of German tanks.

On the evening of October 16, German troops captured the defensive lines in the Ilyinsky combat sector, almost all the cadets who held the defense in this sector died.

On the night of October 17, the command post of the Podolsk schools moved to the location of the 5th PPU company in the village of Lukyanovo.

On October 18, they were subjected to new enemy attacks, and by the end of the day the command post and the 5th company were surrounded and cut off from the cadets defending Kudinovo. Commander consolidated detachment General Smirnov gathered the remnants of the 5th and 8th cadet companies and organized the defense of Lukyanovo.

By the evening of October 19, the order to withdraw was received. The defenders of Kudinovo, thanks to the decision of the senior PAU group, Lieutenant Smirnov, and the assistant platoon commander of the PPU cadets, Konoplyanik, to throw grenades at the Germans, managed to escape from the ring.

Mass grave of Podolsk cadets in Kudinovo.

Only on the night of October 20, the surviving cadets began to withdraw from the Ilyinsky line to join with the army units that were defending on the Nara River.

On October 25, the surviving personnel of the PPU went on a march to the city of Ivanovo to continue their studies.

In honor of the feat of the cadets on May 7, 1975, a monument was erected in Podolsk. The authors of the monument are sculptors Yu. Rychkov and A. Myamlin, architects - L. Zemskov and L. Skorb.

May 8, 1975 in the village of Ilinskoye was opened memorial Complex, which includes the Military Historical Museum of the Ilyinsky Frontiers, the Mound of Glory with a monument to the Pdolsk cadets, at the foot of which the Eternal Flame should burn, two pillboxes that have been preserved on Ilyinsky land since 1941. The author of the memorial is Honored Architect of the RSFSR, laureate of the State Prize E.I. Kireev, the author of the monument, sculptor Yu.L. Rychkov.

Mound of Glory with a monument to Podolsk cadets.

In this bunker in October 1941, the commanders and cadets of the Podolsk Artillery School fought heroically and died, repulsing the attacks of German tanks: cadet Boldyrev
cadet Gnezdilov
cadet Grigoryants
cadet Eleseev
cadet Kryuchkov
cadet Nikitenko
Lieutenant Deremyan A.K.
foreman Sidorenko

Military Historical Museum "Ilyinsky Frontiers".

In the battles at the Ilyinsky combat site, Podolsk cadets destroyed up to 5000 German soldiers and officers and knocked up 100 tanks. They on 2 Weeks detained the enemy at the firing line near the village. Ilinskoye and made it possible to strengthen the near approaches to Moscow.
They completed their task - at the cost of 2500 thousands of lives.

During the Great Patriotic War, 36 Podolsk cadets of various grades became Heroes of the Soviet Union.