Podolsk cadets are combined detachments of military schools in the city of Podolsk, who, together with the 43rd Army, defended the southwestern approaches to Moscow in October 1941 during the Great Patriotic War. In 1939-1940, artillery and infantry schools were established in Podolsk.
The Podolsk Artillery School (PAU) was established in September 1938 to train commanders of anti-tank artillery platoons. At the same time, four artillery battalions of three training batteries of 4 platoons were being trained at the school. One training battery consisted of about 120 cadets. About 1500 cadets studied at the school by the beginning of the war.
The Podolsk Infantry School (PPU) was formed in January 1940, it trained infantry platoon commanders in 4 training battalions. Each battalion had 4 training companies of 120-150 cadets each. In total, more than 2,000 cadets studied at the infantry school.
By the beginning of the war, more than 3,500 cadets were studying at the schools.
By order of the Headquarters, they stood up for the defense of the city of Moscow, having studied for only three months.
It is not easy to make such a decision. This order was a last resort. The command understood that the cadets of military schools were a golden fund for the development of the army. But it was the only way out. The threat of the capture of Moscow by fascist troops loomed. From Yukhnov to Moscow, 198 kilometers remained; there was nowhere else to take troops to protect the capital along this path. 
Podolsk cadets took their first battle with the Nazis on October 6, 1941.
The 57th German motorized corps, consisting of 200 tanks and 20,000 soldiers and officers, marched on Moscow.
Having spent almost all the ammunition, after five days of fighting, the advance detachment of the Podolsk cadets retreated to the Ilyinsky lines, where the main forces of the cadets of the Podolsk schools were already occupying positions. 
At the Ilyinsky line, cadets installed guns in pillboxes, which not only were not completed, but were not even disguised.
The name of the commander of the 4th battery, Lieutenant Athanasius Aleshkin, has been preserved. Together with the fighters of his battery, he acted out of the ordinary. At the moment when the Nazis began to shoot his pillbox from the guns, Afanasy Ivanovich and his fighters rolled out the gun to a reserve position.
When the fire stopped, the gun returned to its previous position, and again the cadets fought the enemy.
On the evening of October 16, 1941, German soldiers surrounded the pillbox, and when it got dark, they threw grenades at its defenders. 
On the morning of October 17, the main positions of the Ilyinsky lines were captured by the Nazis. The surviving cadets withdrew to the settlement of Lukyanovo, the command post was also moved there. For another two days, the cadets defended the settlements of Lukyanovo and Kudinovo.
On October 19, in the Kudinovo area, the Germans encircled the cadets, but the fighters managed to break through it. In the evening, an order was received from the command - in order to connect with the main forces, the combined regiment of cadets should retreat to the line of the Nara River.
On October 25, an order was given - to complete the training, go to the city of Ivanovo. All the surviving cadets on the same day were taken to the rear. 
It is believed that out of 3,500 cadets on the Ilyinsky lines, about 2,500 cadets died. But according to some reports, it is believed that out of 3,500 soldiers of the combined regiment, nine out of ten cadets died. 
The meeting with the "Red Junkers" cost the Germans dearly, the Nazis lost about 100 tanks and up to 5000 soldiers and officers in these battles.
At the cost of their lives, the Podolsk cadets won time, which was vital for the formation of units on a new line of defense. The operation, codenamed "Typhoon," bogged down.
The Nazis failed to enter Moscow and pass through Red Square.
Surviving cadets on the day of the opening of the monument at the Ilyinsky lines.
PODILSKY ARTILLERY SCHOOL
The Podolsk Artillery School (PAU) was established in September 1938. It was located in the premises where the archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is currently located. The school simultaneously trained four artillery battalions of three training batteries of 4 platoons. One training battery consisted of about 120 cadets. More than 1.5 thousand cadets studied at the same time. On the territory of the PAU, artillery units of the reserve of the Supreme High Command were formed.
The storage building, which before the war was a cadet barracks. In addition to the main occupations, a lot of time and effort was devoted to horses. Cadets often went to live firing in the field camp "Luzhki", which was located in the Serpukhov region.
By October 1941, the school had mostly training models of guns, with which the cadets went to the front and took the fight along with the cadets of the Podolsk Infantry School near Maloyaroslavets.
A note scrawled on the vault wall. School location:
from September 1938 to 10/5/1941 - Podolsk.
from 10/5/1941 to 10/21/1941 - was part of the 43rd Army
from 10/21/1941 to 11/28/1941 - was relocated to Bukhara (SAVO), where it was until 08/14/1944.
from 08/27/1944 to 07/27/1946 - Tashkent.
School leaders:
from 10/31/1938 to 09/04/1941 - Balashov Georgy Ivanovich - colonel.
from 09/05/1941 to 12/08/1941 - Strelbitsky Ivan Semenovich - colonel.
from 12/08/1941 to 02/14/1942 - Smirnov Vasily Andreevich - Major General.
from 02/14/1942 to 05/08/1943 - Oganesyan Nikolai Alexandrovich - Colonel.
from 05/08/1943 to 07/24/1946 - Krasusky Mikhail Grigoryevich - colonel.
PAH HEADS
1. Balasho (e) in Georgy Ivanovich.
Born in 1901. In the Red Army since March 1918. He rose from colonel to major general of artillery. Before the Great Patriotic War, he was awarded the medal "XX Years of the Red Army". During the Civil War he fought on the Southern Front against Wrangel's troops, since 1920 - in command positions. On the fronts of the Second World War from the first day of the war, in the battles of 1941, he was slightly wounded and shell-shocked.
Balashev took part in the battles for the Crimea at Perekop in 1941, as the chief of artillery of the Army Group, Lieutenant General Batov. During the capture of Kerch as the head of the artillery of the left sector of the front, Georgy Ivanovich directly supervised the actions of the artillery. Since February 1942, Balashov was appointed commander of the 302nd SD. Under his personal leadership, the heavily fortified positions of the enemy were defeated. Then he participates in the battles of the 396th Rifle Division. From December 1942 to May 1943 he was appointed to the post of chief of staff of artillery of the 58th Army. Developed and organized military operations. Georgy Ivanovich repeatedly personally took part in combat operations as part of the infantry and artillery. Balashov was a resolute and courageous commander. In 1943, he was twice presented for the award of the Order of the Red Banner. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief J.S. Stalin thanked the artillerymen under the command of Colonel Balashov three times. Major General of Artillery Balashov Georgy Ivanovich from 1954 to 1958 was the head of Kolkau them. S.M. Kirov. First on the left - General Balashov G.I. on the NP during firing at the Rzhishchevsky training ground. Balashov Georgy Ivanovich died in 1965.
2. Strelbitsky Ivan Semyonovich.
Soviet Lieutenant General of Artillery, Chief of the Radio Engineering Troops of the USSR Armed Forces. Born October 7, 1900, in the city of Gorlovka, Yekaterinoslav province, Russian Empire, in the family of an employee. Since the time of the Galicia-Volyn state, the surname Strelbitsky has been known. It comes from an ancient Cossack-gentry family. As a Red Army soldier in 1918, Ivan Semenovich joined the ranks of the Red Army, where he served for more than 40 years. Participated in three wars, going from a Red Army soldier to a lieutenant general. When the repressions began in the Red Army, he was the chief of artillery of the 33rd Rifle Corps. Like many at that time, Strelbitsky was arrested as a "Polish spy", but was soon released. He met the beginning of the war in the rank of colonel, commander of the 8th anti-tank artillery brigade. The brigade under the leadership of Strelbitsky, together with the 24th Infantry Division, north of the city of Lida, took on the blow of the 3rd Panzer Group Goth. The brigade ended up in the Bialystok-Minsk pocket. Leaving the encirclement, he connected with the group of the deputy commander of the Western Front, General I.V. Boldin. On August 15, 1941 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
On September 5, 1941, he was appointed head of the Podolsky Artillery School, which he was until December 8, 1941. Together with the cadets he took part in the defense of Moscow in the Mozhaisk direction. Then, in the position of chief of artillery of the 60th army, commander of artillery of the 3rd shock, 2nd guards armies, Strelbitsky participated in the assault on Sevastopol and Koenigsberg. On April 21, 1944, the commander of the 2nd Guards Army of the Guard, Lieutenant General G.F. Zakharov, Major General of Artillery I.S. Strelbitsky was presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The award sheet noted: “... Under the personal leadership of General Strelbitsky, several dozen counterattacks by enemy infantry and tanks were repelled ... For active and skillful participation in the development and management of army combat operations to break through modern enemy defenses on the Molochnaya River, on Perekop and Ishun; for personal courage and heroism shown during the leadership of artillery units in breaking through the defenses at Perekop and Ishun. After the end of the war, from 1945 to 1947 he was the deputy chief of artillery of the Kharkov Military District. In 1947, Ivan Semenovich was appointed assistant commander of the armored and mechanized troops of the USSR Armed Forces, where he served until 1953. In the position of senior military adviser, from 1950 to 1953, he took part in the military conflict between the DPRK and the PRC against the United States. In 1953, Strelbitsky became a student of the Higher Military Academy named after K. E. Voroshilov, from which he graduated in 1955. From 1954 to 1956, he held the position of chief of the radio engineering troops. Ivan Semenovich wrote many books: "Storm", "Hurricane", military memoirs, a book about the civil war. A street was named in his honor. Podolsk (Moscow region) in the new territorial department "Grasshoppers".
Strelbitsky has state awards: the Order of Lenin (after 1945), the Order of the Red Banner (2 - after 1945), the Order of the Red Banner (1941, 1944), the Order of Suvorov I degree (1944), the Order of Kutuzov I degree (1945), the Order of Kutuzov II degrees (1943), the Order of the Red Star (1967), as well as medals. His merits were also noted by other states: Sino Soviet Friendship Rib. png. Ivan Semenovich died on November 25, 1980.
3. Smirnov Vasily Andreevich.
Vasily Andreevich was born on February 25, 1889 in the village of Pochinok, Galich district, Kostroma province, Russian Empire.
From December 8, 1941 to February 14, 1942 he was the head of the Podolsk Artillery School.
4. Oganesyan Nikolai Alexandrovich.
Born in Western Armenia in the city of Surmalu, in 1899. Graduated from the Academy. Frunze. Artillery commander of the 3rd Guards Tank Army. Killed in action on January 21, 1945. He was buried in Zhytomyr.
5. Krasusky Mikhail Grigorievich.
PODILSKY INFANTRY SCHOOL
The Podolsk Military Infantry School (PPU) was founded in January 1940 as a rifle and machine gun school on the basis of one of the battalions of the school named after the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. It trained infantry platoon commanders in 4 training battalions. Each battalion had 4 training companies of 120-150 cadets each. In total, more than 2,000 cadets studied at the infantry school.
The school was located in the building where the industrial technical school was located. Now there is the Russian State University of Tourism and Service. From 08/01/1941 - Podolsk Infantry School.
School location:
from 01/15/1940 to 10/25/1941 - Podolsk.
until 05.10.1941 - 2nd Sat. - Podolsk, 4th Sat. - Serpukhov, 1st and 3rd Sat. Luzhki camp.
from 10/25/1941 to 11/06/1941 - redeployment.
from 11/06/1041 to 07/05/1944 - Ivanovo, Ivanovo region, - 1st and 4th Sat. - the village of Bogorodskoye, Ivanovo region, 5th Sat. - Camp Harinka.
from 07/05/1044 to 06/15/1040 - the city of Shuya, Ivanovo region.
School leaders:
from 01/08/1940 to 03/15/1940 - Pshenichnikov Afanasy Stepanovich - Colonel.
from 03/15/1940 to 12/30/1940 - Shvygin Ilya Ivanovich - brigade commander, major general.
from 12/30/1940 to 11/25/1941 - Smirnov Vasily Andreevich - Major General.
from 11/25/1941 to 02/19/1942 - Zarembovsky Boris Sergeevich - major.
from 02/19/1942 to 07/27/1942 - Svishchev Mikhail Romanovich - Colonel.
from 07/21/1942 to 09/28/1947 - Valentin Andreevich Apakidze - Colonel, Major General.
HEADS OF PPU
1. Pshenichnikov Afanasy Stepanovich.
from 01/08/1940 to 15.03.1948 Colonel. He was born on August 21, 1898 in the village of Berestovka, Rogachevsky district, Mogilev province. From a peasant family. In 1911 he graduated from two classes of the parochial school. He was drafted into the Red Army on December 3, 1918. in rank private. In the same year, Afanasy Stepanovich entered the command courses in Simbirsk, which he graduated in 1920. In 1920 Pshenichnikov joined the party. Since 1921 to 1922 undergoes repeated courses at the headquarters of the Western Front. Since 1922 to 1923 studies at the Higher Tactical Rifle School. In 1929 he entered the main faculty of the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze, which she graduated in 1932. Since 1919 to 1920 Afanasy Stepanovich takes part in the Civil War on the Eastern and Western fronts. He served as a platoon commander of the 13th reserve, 37th rifle regiment from July to December 1920. From December 1920 to September 1921. Pshenichnikov is the commander of a company, battalion of the 37th Infantry Regiment. Company commander of the 13th Infantry Regiment since July 1922. to May 1925 He was appointed head of the regimental school, a special team of the same regiment in May 1925, where he served until September 1929. Then he receives a referral to the RU of the headquarters of the Red Army - RU of the Red Army, where he holds the following positions: at disposal from May to October 1932; head of the 1st sector from October 1932 to February 1933; commander-head of the 3rd department of the RKUKS from February 1933 to January 1935; head of the department of the 4th department from January 1935 to February 1936; head of the western branch of the 5th (district and naval intelligence agencies) department from February 1936 to June 1937; at the disposal of the RU RKKA from June to November 1937. November 17, 1937 Pshenichnikov received the rank of colonel. From 1936 to 1937, Afanasy Stepanovich was sent as a military adviser to Spain during the civil war, where he served in the office of the chief military adviser as an instructor in operational and information work. In November 1937, he was appointed head of the Regional Headquarters of the Kiev Military District, where he served until October 1939. At the disposal of the Directorate for the command staff of the Red Army, Pshenichnikov was sent from October 1939 to December 1940. From January 8, 1940 to March 15, 1940, Afanasy Stepanovich was appointed head of the Podolsk rifle and machine gun school. Then in December 1940 he was appointed commander of the 425th Infantry Regiment of the 110th Infantry Division. He met the Great Patriotic War as a regiment commander. Pshenichnikov Afanasy Stepanovich went missing in June 1941. He was awarded: two Orders of the Red Banner (1937, 1941), the Order of the Red Star (1937).
2. Shvygin Ilya Ivanovich.
From March 15, 1940 to December 30, 1940 brigade commander Major General.
Born on June 17, 1888, in the village of Maryino, Orel Region. He worked as a miner in the Donbass. Then he entered the army as a private of the 44th Kamchatka Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division and rose to the rank of non-commissioned officer. He fought on the Austrian front during the First World War.
In 1918 he joined the Red Army as an assistant battalion commander, then was appointed to the post of division commander. Joined the party. In 1937, Ilya Ivanovich became assistant commander of the 46th Infantry Division. He was awarded the jubilee medal "XX Years of the Red Army". In 1938, he led the reconnaissance of the Kamenetz-Podolsk fortified area under construction. On September 26, 1938, he was appointed commandant of the Kiev fortified area. Shvygin commanded the 138th Rifle Division from December 25, 1939. On March 15, 1940, Shvygin Ilya Ivanovich was appointed head of the Podolsk Infantry School. June 4, 1940 he was awarded the rank of major general. Since December 12, 1940, it has been in the reserve of the Criminal Code of the Red Army. April 26, 1941 Shvygin was appointed commandant of the fortified area of the Khanko Peninsula. From July 25, 1941 - and. d. commandant of the Krasnogvardeisky fortified area. August 31, 1941 Ilya Ivanovich - Deputy Commander of the 42nd Army. From December 10, 1941 to December 22, 1941 he commanded the 13th Infantry Division.
He held command positions on the South-Western, Don fronts. From July 30, 1943 to May 13, 1944 he commanded the 320th Infantry Division. He died on May 13, 1944 while crossing the Dniester River. Buried in Odessa. For participation in the battles for the liberation of Odessa, General I. I. Shvygin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of War. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the liberation of the city of Nikolaev in March 1974, secondary school No. 35 was named after Shvygin Ilya Ivanovich.
3. Smirnov Vasily Andreevich.
From December 30, 1940 to November 25, 1941 Major General. Vasily Andreevich was born on February 25, 1889 in the village of Pochinok, Galich district, Kostroma province, Russian Empire. Smirnov got into the 106th Ufa Infantry Regiment in Vilna in October 1909, after entering military service as a volunteer. In August 1913, he graduated from the Vilna Military School, to which he was sent in August 1910. After graduating from college, he was promoted to second lieutenant and assigned as a junior officer to the 141st Mozhaisk Infantry Regiment in the city of Orel. In August 1914 he went to the front and fought on the North-Western Front in East Prussia. From August to September 1914, he participated in the East Prussian operation with the rank of half-company commander. From February 1915, Smirnov was already a company commander and regimental adjutant, and from May he was appointed battalion commander in the same regiment. But on August 28, 1915, Vasily Andreevich was taken prisoner. Until December 1918, he was in a prisoner of war camp near Magdeburg. And only in December 1928, after the exchange of prisoners of war, Smirnov returned to his homeland. June 20, 1919 Smirnov was drafted into the Red Army and assigned to the 2nd reserve rifle regiment in the city of Kostroma. Thus began the Civil War for him. Vasily Andreevich was a platoon commander, for assignments under the battalion commander, a regimental adjutant. Subsequently, in March 1920, he was transferred to the 7th reserve rifle regiment in Yaroslavl, where he was appointed to the post of assistant. regimental adjutant and regimental adjutant. In June 1922 the regiment was disbanded. Smirnov receives a new appointment - adjutant of the divisional school of the 18th Infantry Division in the city of Yaroslavl. In December 1922, he held the post of chief of staff of the 54th Infantry Regiment, stationed in the cities of Rostov-Yaroslavsky and Shuya. In May 1926, Vasily Andreevich was transferred to the 53rd Infantry Regiment in Rybinsk for the same position. In November 1926 he was appointed assistant. commander of the combat unit and the commander of this regiment. From November 1929 to June 1930 he was studying at the Shot courses. From February 1931 he commanded the 9th separate rifle territorial battalion as part of the 3rd separate Ryazan regiment. In January 1934, Smirnov was sent to the Far East, where he was appointed commander of the training battalion of the 118th rifle regiment of the OKDVA. In June of the same year, he took command of the 119th Infantry Regiment in the village. Barabash. Since September 1937, he has been the chief of staff of the 66th, and since May 1938, the 26th rifle division. In June 1938, Colonel Smirnov was sent to the Moscow Military District pom. commander of the 17th Gorky Rifle Division. Since September 1939, he was appointed to the post of head of a special group under the Military Council of the district. December 8, 1940 Smirnov Vasily Andreevich is appointed head of the Podolsk rifle and machine gun school. On February 5, 1941, Major General Smirnov spoke with the school near Maloyaroslavets. From October 5 to October 16, the cadets of the school under his command fought heavy battles to the west of the city, holding their defensive positions. On October 25, 1941, the school, by order of the commander of the MVO troops, was removed from the front and relocated to the city of Ivanovo-Voznesensk in a marching order. Then Major General Smirnov was appointed commander of the 2nd Moscow Rifle Division. On November 7, 1941, she took part in the parade of troops on Red Square. From December 8, 1941 to February 14, 1942 he was the head of the Podolsk Artillery School. October 3, 1942 during the offensive of the army near the village. Kozlov, Major General Smirnov was seriously wounded and was in the hospital. Upon recovery in January 1943, he left for the North-Western Front, where in February he was appointed deputy. Chief of Staff for VPU of the 53rd Army. Since April 1943, he served as head of the combat training department of the headquarters of the Steppe Military District. In this position, he took part in the Battle of Kursk, the liberation of the Left-Bank Ukraine and the battle for the Dnieper. In December, Major General Smirnov was appointed commander of the 116th Red Banner Kharkov Division. Not once the commander of the division Smirnov Vasily Andreevich was mentioned in the orders of gratitude to I.V. Stalin. But even after the war, Vasily Andreevich continued to serve in the army. He remained in command of a division in the city of Sambir. In July 1946, Smirnov was appointed head of the military cycle of the Military Pedagogical Institute of the Soviet Army. From May 1948 he was the head of the 1st department of the Rifle and Tactical Committee of the Ground Forces, from March 1950 he was the head of the military department of the Moscow Institute of Foreign Trade. In October 1954, Vasily Andreevich was transferred to the reserve. One of the streets of Podolsk bears his name. Smirnov Vasily Andreevich died on November 19, 1979 in Moscow. Government awards: the Order of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov II degree, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky II degree, the Order of the Patriotic War I degree, the Order of Tudor Vladimirescu II degree, and was also awarded mdapami: "For the defense of Moscow", "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”, “Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR”.
4. Zarembovsky Boris Sergeevich.
5. Svishchev Mikhail Romanovich.
from 19.02.1942 to 27.07.1942 Colonel.
6. Apakidze Valentin Andreevich.
Lieutenant colonel. Colonel. Major General. From 27.07.1942 to 09/28/1947 Valentin Andreevich was born in 1904 in the village of Pakhulani, Kutaisi province, Russian Empire in the family of Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian army, Prince Andrei Levanovich Apakidze. Two of his brothers also served in the army. Its roots come from an ancient Georgian princely family - a vassal of the rulers of Megrelia. The ancestor is considered to be the commander Apak (Arpa-Kana), who came “from the Tatars of the time of Genghis Khan” (beginning of the 13th century), converted to Christianity and settled in Abkhazia. His descendants moved to Megrelia (Odishi). In historical documents, the names of representatives of the genus appear earlier - from the 11th century. In 1914, Valentin Andreevich was appointed to the Voronezh Cadet Corps. In 1918, Apakidze joined the Red Army. He was only 14 years old when he took part in the Civil War. As part of the 103rd Bogucharsky Rifle Regiment, he fought on the Southern Front, was wounded in the head and sent to the hospital for treatment. After being discharged, V. A. Apakidze entered the courses of red commanders in Orel. After completing the course, he was appointed commander of a platoon of a reserve regiment in Kremenchug. Then he receives a referral to a detachment at a special department of the 6th Army (Kherson), in which he took part in the battles on the Don Front. Then transfer to Fergana. In 1921-1922, as part of the Turkestan Front, he participated in battles with the Basmachi. During the Civil War, Valentin Andreevich was wounded twice. After the end of the Civil War, he served in Tula, then in Tbilisi. In 1928 he graduated from the Tiflis military infantry school and was sent to serve in the 57th regiment of the 19th rifle division, where he rose to the rank of battalion commander. In 1938 he was awarded the medal "XX Years of the Red Army". In December 1939 he was sent to serve in the 524th Infantry Regiment of the 112th Infantry Division, in the Urals. On June 12, 1941, the 112th Rifle Division began redeployment to the Leningrad Military District "for training camps." The echelons of the division arrived at the Dretun station already under enemy bombardment. V. A. Apakidze, as part of the 524th regiment of the 112th rifle division, participated in the Great Patriotic War from the first day. As part of the Northwestern Front, the division defended Kraslava, the city changed hands several times. By mid-July 1941, the 112th Rifle Division was fighting in encirclement. But on the night of July 19, parts of the division went on a breakthrough, the remnants of the rifle regiments managed to break through to their units. Valentin Andreevich was seriously wounded. After recovering in 1942, he was appointed head of the combat training department of the Moscow Military District. On July 27, 1942, V. A. Apakidze was appointed head of the Podolsk Infantry School, located at that time in the city of Ivanovo, Moscow Region, where he served until it was disbanded (09/28/1947). 11/07/1945 received the rank of major general.
In 1947 he entered the Academy. Frunze. In September 1948 he was appointed head of the military department of the Rostov State University. In May 1950 he was appointed head of the 2nd Tashkent Infantry School. From November 1952 to December 1953, Valentin Andreevich was the commander of the 201st Gatchina Motor Rifle Division. In 1960 he retires. Valentin Andreevich Apakizde died in 1969. Has government awards: Order of Lenin; two Orders of the Red Banner; Order of the Patriotic War 1st class and other medals.
Consolidated regiment of Podolsk cadets
In October 1941, about 3.5 thousand cadets of the Podolsk military schools wrote another heroic page in the history of Russia, they stopped the Wehrmacht units that were rushing to Moscow.
From the cadets of the Podolsky infantry and artillery schools, a combined regiment was formed, which was ordered to take up defense at the Ilyinsky line, the unfinished Maloyaroslavetsky fortified area and at any cost delay the enemy for 5-7 days, until the reserves approached.
The infantry school was divided into 4 battalions. PAU formed several divisions.
On June 14, 1941, a large group of Kremlin cadets was transferred to the Podolsk Infantry School, which, as part of the combined regiment of Podolsk cadets, took part in the defense of Moscow in the Mozhaisk direction.
Cartridges, grenades, rations for three days, rifles - that's all the cadets' equipment. PAU cadets advanced with their own training tools, cannons from the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878.
On the machines of the enterprises of Podolsk, the advance detachment 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.
No more than a third of the cadets remained from the forward detachment. The fate of most of the dead cadets of the combined regiment will remain unknown. There was no time to bury the dead, and after the battle the regiment often rolled back to a new position. Local women who collected stiffened corpses after the battle did not always look for documents, and some of the dead did not have them. Therefore, the names of half of those buried in mass graves remain unknown.
Documents of the Central Archive of M.O. Russia.
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 Ilyinskoye. 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 of the 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 assigned a 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 approached. 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 barn frame. Two spare gun trenches were opened next to the pillbox. 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 together 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 pillboxes, 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 was buried in a mass grave at the Ilyinsky rural cemetery.
Aleshkinsky bunker.
Afanasy Ivanovich Alyoshkin (January 18, 1913 - October 16, 1941) - was born in the village of Tserkovishche, Smolensk Region. In 1932 he graduated from an agricultural college with a degree in agronomy. After completing 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. The commander of the combined 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.
On May 8, 1975, a memorial complex was opened in the village of Ilyinskoye, which includes the Military History Museum of the Ilyinsky Lines, 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 Podolsky 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.
1. Who were the Podolsk cadets?
Podolsk cadets are pupils of two Podolsk military schools: infantry (until August 1, 1941 - rifle and machine gun) and artillery.
The infantry school was formed between January and March 1940. The building of the Podolsk Industrial College at the address: st. Rabochaya, d. 7. Nowadays, students of the Podolsk College of Service of the Russian State University of Technology and Communications are acquiring knowledge of a completely non-military profile here. The cadets were recruited from conscripts, Red Army soldiers, cadets from other schools in Moscow, Kyiv, Tambov, Ryazan and other cities.
“We were selected from the school named after the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR near the battalion. We had to bring the traditions of the Kremlin cadets into the walls of the newly organized school. Cadets of various nationalities met here. This did not prevent us from understanding each other, we were all united by a deep feeling of love for the Motherland ... ". S.A. Shtern, one of the first PPU cadets
Semyon Aleksandrovich Stern, PPU platoon commander
Indeed, the cadets were quite mature people, which is confirmed by the analysis of the first military recruitment in August-September 1941, enrolled instead of the lieutenants released in the summer. The cadets of the new replenishment arrived from the reserve and almost all had a secondary and higher education, or were transferred to the school from universities.
By October 1, 1458 people were studying in the first year of PPU. On the second - 633. Thus, before the fatal wake-up call on October 5, the freshmen did not actually have time to study military affairs within the walls of the Podolsk infantry school.
Cadets in combat training
By September 1938, an artillery school was formed. Now in his buildings on the street. Kirov is the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
With the beginning of the war, the acquisition of artillery regiments and artillery divisions for various purposes began. There was a headquarters, 5 separate divisions of the reserve and 7 artillery regiments of anti-tank defense with a total strength of about 1500 people. The names of the formations sound menacing, but it must be taken into account that the artillery cadets had training 45-mm anti-tank guns of the 1936 model at their disposal. Other types of weapons were deeply outdated tools of the late 19th century. All the best was given to the front. No one then imagined that the rear schools would have to go to the front line ...
Artillery School Graduation 1941
2. What feat did the Podolsk cadets accomplish?
Before talking about the feat, you need to find out all the previous events that caused the cadets to go to the front line of defense.
From the beginning of the war and for half a year, Soviet troops retreated, suffered heavy bloody losses. In the autumn of 1941, the Nazis were on the distant approaches to the capital. The mistakes of the command, the lack of human resources led to the fact that the enemy's plans to squeeze Moscow into their pincers from the north and south became more and more likely. Here, near Moscow, the construction of fortifications began in July.
The most prepared for the fall was the first - the Mozhaisk line of defense, stretching for 220 km. But no one could have predicted such a swift German breakthrough. By autumn, on the Maloyaroslavets combat site, more than 30 km long, the readiness of engineering structures was reflected in the following indicators: bunkers (long-term firing points) - 60%, bunkers (long-term camouflaged points) - 80%, scarps - 48%. There were no armored shields on pillboxes, scarps and ditches were largely passable for tanks. The frontier was, in fact, not yet ready for a full-fledged defense.
But the worst thing is not hidden behind these dry numbers - there were no troops capable of quickly and in a timely manner to stand on these lines and repulse the enemy. All the forces of an immense country were raised to defend the capital: numerous echelons rushed from Siberia and Asia to Moscow under the smoke of steam locomotives. But it took time to hold these positions until the Headquarters reserves arrived.
At the beginning of October 1941, when four of our armies were surrounded in the region of Bryansk and Vyazma, the Warsaw highway was left without cover. Yukhnov was separated from Moscow by only 200 km.
Warsaw highway, along which the cadets went to the front
On October 5, air reconnaissance detected the movement of a tank and mechanized column of the 57th and 12th German infantry corps, numbering more than 20 thousand people and 200 tanks. The Supreme High Command takes a single, but terrible decision: to throw cadets of Podolsk military schools into the gap in the defense. The hopelessness of the situation is tragically illustrated by the words of K.F.Telegin, a member of the military council of the Moscow Military District and the Moscow Defense Zone: “Our main hope and support at these hours is the Podolsk schools.”
The cadets were sent to the front so quickly that they didn’t even have time to change clothes - they had to fight in summer tunics and riding breeches. October 1941 turned out to be dank: endless rains and an average daily temperature of -0.1°C. Task: for 5-7 days to hold back the onslaught of the enemy, dying, retreating, but keep the defense!
They died, they were afraid, they cried, they retreated, but they slowed down the advance of the Germans! Behind were the lines of defense in the village of Ilyinsky, the Germans captured Maloyaroslavets ...
To emotionally feel the whole tragedy of the current defense, it is enough to open the operational report of the head of the infantry school V.A. Smirnov, who led the defense of the Ilyinsky sector:
“For the 12th day now, the Podolsk schools have been defending this strip and have had huge losses in human and material terms. Today, two platoons remain in the second battalion of the infantry school, in the first and third - the losses are being clarified. According to incomplete data, no more than 120-150 people remained in them. The command staff is almost completely lost. People are exceptionally overtired and fall on the go.”
But who would have thought that the boys would survive! And not 5 days, as the order said, but three weeks! During this time, the divisions that arrived from Siberia managed to take up defense along the Nara River, where they unshakably stood up on October 20, 1941. Thus, the combat readiness of the front was restored.
A tank column broken by cadets-artillerymen in the village. Ilyinsky
The Germans, in comparison with other sectors of the defensive front, were stopped at the greatest distance from Moscow. And this, first of all, is the merit of the cadets of the Podolsk military schools, who fought in the same trenches with scattered formations of the 43rd army of S.D. Akimov (later - K.D. Golubev), units of the 312th rifle division of A.F. Naumov and a detachment of paratroopers of the 269th airfield service battalion of I.G. Starchak and the 17th tank brigade.
Then, out of 3,500 thousand cadets, less than 500 guys and commanders survived. Their heroic feat found its worthy reflection in the memoirs of Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov:
“By their heroic self-sacrifice, they thwarted the plan to quickly capture Maloyaroslavets and helped our troops win the necessary time to organize defense on the outskirts of Moscow.”
In January 1942, after three months of German occupation, the Soviet troops took both Maloyaroslavets and Ilyinskoye. Hundreds of frozen boyish bodies lay in the January snow of the broken trenches near the Varshavskoye Highway, and next to them were rifles, notebooks and notes...
Reconstruction of the battles on the Ilyinsky lines. October 2016
3. What happened to the Podolsk military schools in the post-war period?
After the October battles, less than 500 people from the schools remained alive. On October 25, 270 cadets and commanders of the infantry school departed on foot in the city of Ivanovo to a new location. Later, the school, transferred to the city of Borovichi, was disbanded on December 1, 1956. At the end of October, the artillerymen left by rail for the city of Bukhara, Uzbek SSR, where the school was also disbanded in the 1950s.
Over the years the school has brought up 34 Heroes of the Soviet Union and thousands of holders of many military awards. For all types of training, the schools were repeatedly recognized as the best in their military districts. Thus, the military glory of the Podolsk military schools dawned not only on the defense lines near Moscow, but also on Europe liberated from fascism.
4. By whom and when did work on the study of the feat of the Podolsk cadets begin?
The first museum of cadets in the country was created under the leadership of Dmitry Pankov by students of the Klimov school No. 4, since 1996 - the Gymnasium named after Podolsky cadets. Since 1988, the educational institution has been bearing this honorary name. Exactly half a century ago, in July 1966, under the leadership of the fourth Klimov school, headed by D.D. Pankov and Komsomol members of Podolsk and the region, headed by V.M. Zhuchenko, the first monument to cadets and a mass grave were created in the village of Detchino, Kaluga region.
The museum was opened in 1965, it is alive and welcomes tourists. In May 2015, marked by the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory, a monument and a square created by schoolchildren, teachers, citizens, enterprises and organizations - the whole world and all the people - were opened in the gymnasium square!
Every year, gymnasium students and children of the 18th school named after Podolsky cadets, together with the administration of the G.o. Podolsk is headed by the Watch of Memory on the Ilyinsky frontiers. A lot of search work is carried out by students of schools No. 11 in Obninsk, No. 657 in Moscow, schools in the village. Shchapovo and, of course, professional historians, employees of archives and museums.
5. What memorable places are there in the city district dedicated to the Podolsk cadets?
Podolsk is filled with memory: the walls of the buildings where the cadets studied keep the silence of classroom lectures and bursting laughter in the corridors. On the facades of the buildings where the schools were located (the addresses are presented above), we will be met by memorial plaques. At the site of the training ground of the art school, the echoes of explosions have not been heard for a long time - the Yubileyny and Fetishchevo microdistricts have grown here.
The visiting card of our city has long been a stainless steel monument (1975) on Kirov Street, as if embodying the steadfastness and will of the cadets. The monument, installed in the Klimovskaya gymnasium (2015) and made of musical bronze, presents us with cadets as young soldiers, tightly clutching rifles in their hands and standing steadfastly at the line of defense.
Monument to the Podolsk cadets on Kirov Street (photo: press service of the administration of the city of Podolsk)
Monument to Podolsk cadets in the gymnasium of the same name (microdistrict "Klimovsk" G. O. Podolsk)
The memory of the cadets is forever immortalized in the name of the street in the hero city of Moscow, their name was given to the Klimov gymnasium and school number 18. Many educational institutions have museums and rooms of military glory, where the history of this once almost unforgotten feat takes its rightful place.
Rally in Ilyinsky to mark the 75th anniversary of the feat of the cadets. The village of Ilinskoye. October 2016
But the most important thing is the memory of them in the soul and heart of each of us, and this is more important than any monuments and memorial plaques. Remember!
Pavel Krasnovid,
teacher, head of the Museum of Podolsk cadets MBOU "Gymnasium named after Podolsk cadets" Podolsk md. "Klimovsk"
Photo provided by the Museum of Podolsk cadets
Classes: 8 , 9
Presentation for the lesson
Back forward
Attention! The slide preview is for informational purposes only and may not represent the full extent of the presentation. If you are interested in this work, please download the full version.
The story about the feat of the Podolsk cadets is accompanied by presentation with photographs of the chronicle and monuments of the events described (Presentation 1).
Reader (slide 1):
Bayonets from the cold turned white,
The snow shimmered blue.
We, for the first time wearing overcoats
Severely fought near Moscow.
Beardless, almost like children,
We knew in that furious year
That instead of us, no one in the world
For this city will not die.
1 presenter: This year our country celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Moscow. The battle for Moscow was not just a battle for the capital of a great country, but also a turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War. It was the first victory of the Soviet people, but it was not easy.
2 host: The fascist invaders wanted to wipe Moscow off the face of the earth. “At a meeting at the headquarters of the Army Group Center in the fall of 1941, Hitler declared that the city should be surrounded so that not a single Russian soldier, not a single inhabitant - be it a man, woman or child - could leave it. Any attempt to exit suppress by force." Hitler planned to flood Moscow. The plan of attack on Moscow was called "Typhoon": this was how the crushing power of the impending onslaught was emphasized. Against the Western, Reserve and Bryansk Fronts, which were defending the Moscow direction, the enemy concentrated more than 74 divisions, of which 14 were armored and 8 were motorized. The enemy outnumbered our troops by 1.4 times in terms of personnel, 1.7 times in tanks, 1.8 times in guns and mortars, and 2 times in aircraft.
3 presenter (slide 2): Our troops retreated. In early October, enemy troops managed to break through the front line and encircle our units near Bryansk and Vyazma. The road to Moscow was open. Then all the spare parts, air defense units and cadets of military schools were transferred to the defense of the capital. Among them were Podolsky cadets. They were sent near the city of Yukhnov to help the parachute detachment, commanded by Major Ivan Starchak. With a little over 400 fighters, he blew up a bridge on the Ugra River and took up defense on the Warsaw highway. The advanced units of the 57th motorized corps of the German invaders were advancing on them.
Lead 4: On October 5, at 5.30 am, the Germans occupied the city of Yukhnov. Moscow was 190 km away. A tank can cover this distance in a few hours. Cadets of two Podolsk military schools were alerted - artillery (about 1,500 people) and infantry (about 2,000 people). The cadets of the Podolsk schools were reservists and students - members of the Komsomol. Some of them managed to study for only one month. The task was to delay the enemy until the rest of the troops approached. According to the recollections of one of the participants in the hostilities, when Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov arrived at the position, he turned to the cadets, "Children, hold out for at least 5 days!"
Viewing a fragment from the film "Battle for Moscow" (meeting with Zhukov). The fragment is launched by clicking with slide 3.
5 presenter (slide 4): The remnants of the paratroopers (about 40 people), the remnants of the tank brigade (2 tanks) and the advanced units of the cadets, left practically without guns and ammunition, retreated to the Ilyinsky lines. They occupied the lines in Ilyinsky, Kudinovo and neighboring villages. In the area of Ilyinsky, they managed to build 38 artillery and infantry pillboxes. Anti-tank ditches, trenches, communication passages were dug. The pillboxes were already filled, but not completed - they were planned to be handed over only on November 25th.
1 presenter (slide 5): At Ilyinsky, the German troops had to linger, despite the numerical and technical superiority, as well as the support of aviation and artillery. Every day began with a powerful shelling. The slopes in front of the pillboxes were plowed up by explosions, anti-tank ditches were destroyed. Attaching red flags to their tanks, the Nazis tried to bypass the lines so that they would be mistaken for our units that had approached. Fortunately, the German tanks were identified and the attack was repulsed.
2 presenter (slide 6): The situation worsened. A cadet of the 6th company, Ivan Makukha, recalls: "With his tanks, the enemy approached the embrasures 50 meters and fired at the garrisons of the bunkers point-blank, and all the defenders of the bunkers of the 8th company were destroyed. The pillboxes were destroyed and occupied by enemy infantry."
3 presenter (slide 7): From the combat report of October 16, 1941: ": with the exit from Podolsk, they did not receive hot food. Up to 40% of the artillery was disabled by the fire of submachine gunners, grenade launchers and artillery. Heavy 152-mm artillery was left without shells. The evacuation of the wounded and the supply of ammunition and household supplies have been stopped." But the students continued to hold on.
Lead 4: On October 16, the Germans bypassed the defenses from the south and partially surrounded the cadets. On October 17, tanks attacked. There was nothing to fight them. The command decided to let the tanks through and detain the infantry. The infantry was thrown back. The tanks went to Maloyaroslavets, but soon returned. The next day the order was given to retreat.
Lead 5: The Germans were detained for 2 weeks. During this time, a continuous line of fortifications along the Nara River was formed. About 100 tanks and about 5,000 German soldiers and officers were destroyed. Operation Typhoon was thwarted. In addition, it began to rain, which prevented the advance of fascist tanks along rural roads.
Lead 1: Of the cadets, only one in ten survived. They were sent to finish their studies in Ivanovo. Most of the dead could not be identified. They are still listed as missing. And then there were no awards. The time was like this:
2 host (slide 8): It is believed that a hero needs to be born. But here, “out of 3,000 boys, no one chickened out. They held the defense for ten kilometers, practically without weapons. None of them surrendered. who have just graduated from high school.
3 presenter (slide 9): Lieutenant General of Artillery I. Strelbitsky, the head of one of the Podolsk schools, wrote: “I had a chance to see quite a few attacks. More than once I myself had to go through the moment when from the trench, which at that moment seems a safe place, you rise to your full height towards the unknown.I saw how recruits and experienced warriors go on the attack.One way or another, but everyone thinks about one thing: win and survive!But those cadets:.
I didn’t see exactly that attack, but a few days later I fought shoulder to shoulder with these guys and went on the attack with them. I have never seen anything like it before or since. Buried from bullets? Looking back at your comrades? But after all, everyone has one thing on their lips: "For Moscow!"
They went on the attack as if they had been waiting for this very moment all their previous lives. It was their holiday, their celebration. They rushed, swift, - you will not stop at all! - without fear, without looking back. Let there be few of them, but it was a storm, a hurricane that could sweep everything out of its path: "
Reader (slide 10):
From the movie screen
And from the TV screen
It's already the fifth
ten years
The guys are watching
Gone early,
Friends,
There are no replacements.
Tenth graders.
Fire release.
Photos in June
In the school yard.
Bangs, pigtails,
Loose shirts.
The world wide open:
And fight in October.
Lead 3: This poem was written by one of the surviving cadets. 400 of them returned to Podolsk.
4 presenter (slide 11): The feat of the Podolsk cadets will forever remain in the memory of grateful descendants.
A minute of silence (slide 12 with the image of the eternal flame, the "Requiem" sounds).
Information sources.
- "Ilyinsky frontiers",
- Melikhova I. "Who are the Podolsk cadets" http://shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-28989/
- Mikhalkina Larisa Gennadievna "History lesson in the classroom on the topic of the Battle of Moscow", September 1, festival "Open Lesson", teaching history.
On October 6, 1941, on the outskirts of the capital, Podolsk cadets took their first battle with the Nazis.
"Typhoon"
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 launched Operation Typhoon. The Nazis hoped to finally defeat the Soviet forces in the Moscow direction, and to 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 enrollment consisted of students from civilian universities, as well as boys whose high school graduation took place on the very day the war began.
The head of the Podolsk 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.
A participant from the German side recalled those battles 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 the settlements of 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.
