The battle at height 3234 is one of the fierce battles in the Afghan war. This battle went down in history as a feat of the 9th company. On January 7, 1988, the Afghan Mujahideen launched an attack on the heights in order to open access to the Gardez-Khost road. The combat mission of the soldiers of the ninth company was to prevent the enemy from breaking through to this road.

Prerequisites for combat. Operation "Highway"

At the end of 1987, the emboldened Mujahideen blocked the city of Khost in the province of Paktia, where the Afghan government troops were located. The Afghans could not cope on their own. And then the Soviet command decided to conduct Operation "Magistral", whose task was to break through the blockade of Khost and take control of the Gardez - Khost highway, along which automobile columns could provide the city with food, fuel and other vital goods. By December 30, 1987, the first part of the task was completed, and the supply convoys went to Khost.

In January 1988, at an altitude of 3234, located 7-8 kilometers southwest of the middle section of the road between the cities of Gardez and Khost, the 9th company (9th parachute company of the 345th Guards Airborne Regiment) was located under the command of Senior Lieutenant Sergei Tkachev, served as deputy commander. At the height, the necessary engineering work was carried out with the arrangement of structures to protect personnel and firing positions, as well as the installation of a minefield on the south side. The company was reinforced by the calculation of a heavy machine gun.

Fighters of the legendary "Nine":
Yuri Borzenko,
Ruslan Bezborodov,
Iskander Galiev,
Inokentiy Teteruk.

From the memoirs of junior sergeant Oleg Fedorenko:
“After a few days of a hard journey, we reached our hill. They dug in, warmed up. It was snowing and a strong wind was blowing at an altitude of about three thousand, my hands were frozen, my face burned. Every day, in addition to the wind, several dozen “eres” flew over the hills, beaten along the road. An artillery skirmish began. Looks like we annoyed them great, because they did not spare the shells.
The time has come for height 3234. "Spirits" went to storm one of the blocks, mercenaries were attacking. Pakistani Suicide Regiment "Commandos" in the amount of about 400 people. The enemy outnumbered 10 times. They were fanatics and criminals sentenced to death by Islamic courts. Only by taking the heights, with the blood of the infidels, they could wash away their guilt.

The course of the battle at height 3234 briefly

• Around 15:30. At a height controlled by a platoon of senior lieutenant V. Gagarin, several dozen rockets were fired. At the same time, shelling from grenade launchers and recoilless rifles began from three sides. Taking advantage of the impenetrable "dead space" behind the rocky ledges, a large detachment of rebels was able to approach a distance of up to 200 meters to the Soviet post.
• At 16:10. Under the cover of massive fire, the rebels shouted: "Al-lah-akbar!" - from two directions rushed to the attack. They were all dressed in black uniforms with rectangular black-yellow-red stripes on the sleeves. Their actions were coordinated by radio. After 50 minutes, the attack was repulsed: 10-15 dushmans were killed, about 30 were wounded.
• 17:35. The second attack of the rebels this time began from the third direction. It was repulsed by the personnel of the platoon of senior lieutenant Rozhkov, who was moving forward to reinforce the post. At the same time, a reconnaissance platoon of senior lieutenant A. Smirnov was advancing towards him.
• 19:10. The third, most daring attack began. Under the cover of massive fire from machine guns and grenade launchers, the rebels, regardless of losses, marched to their full height. Competent and decisive actions of the Soviet soldiers made it possible this time to push the enemy back. At this time, a radio interception was received: the leaders of the counter-revolution from Peshawar thanked the commander of the "regiment" of the rebels for taking the height. The congratulations were premature.
• From eight in the evening until three in the morning the next day, helicopters took away the dead and wounded in the direction of Pakistan, brought ammunition and reinforcements to the rebels who continued their attacks. There were 9 more of them. The last, twelfth in a row, the most desperate, when the enemy managed to get closer to the post by 50, and in some areas - by 10-15 meters.

At a critical moment, a reconnaissance platoon of senior lieutenant Smirnov arrived, immediately entered the battle and finally decided its outcome in favor of the Soviet soldiers. When help approached, each of the defenders of the post at height 3234 had less than a magazine with cartridges for each. There was no longer a single grenade at the post.

Half day and night. it's not that much. But in war it's eternity

When it dawned, recoilless rifles, machine guns, mortars and grenade launchers, offensive mercury grenades, British-made machine guns abandoned by the rebels were found on the battlefield.

Participants in the battle. List

Soldiers of the 9th company at height 3234

The height was defended by: officers - Viktor Gagarin, Ivan Babenko, Vitaly Matruk, Sergey Rozhkov, Sergey Tkachev, ensign Vasily Kozlov, sergeants and privates - Vyacheslav Alexandrov, Sergey Bobko, Sergey Borisov, Vladimir Borisov, Vladimir Verigin, Andrey Demin, Rustam Karimov, Arcadia Kopyrin, Vladimir Krishtopenko, Anatoly Kuznetsov, Andrey Kuznetsov, Sergey Korovin, Sergey Lasch, Andrey Melnikov, Zurab Menteshashvili, Nurmatjon Muradov, Andrey Medvedev, Nikolay Ognev, Sergey Obyedkov, Victor Peredelsky, Sergey Puzhaev, Yury Salamakha, Yury Safronov, Nikolay Sukhoguzov, Igor Tikhonenko, Pavel Trutnev, Vladimir Shchigolev, Andrey Fedotov, Oleg Fedoronko, Nikolai Fadin, Andrey Tsvetkov and Evgeny Yatsuk. All paratroopers for this battle were awarded the Orders of the Red Banner and the Red Star, and Komsomol members Vyacheslav Alexandrov and Andrey Melnikov were posthumously awarded the title.

Information from the All-Union Book of Memory and open sources: the real names of soldiers, sergeants, and officers who died during the above operation:
- ml. Sergeant Rusinskas Virginayus Leonardovich 12/14/1987
-Private Zanegin Igor Viktorovich (07/13/1967 - 12/15/1987), conscription. Moscow region
- Private Kudryashov Alexander Nikolaevich (12/10/1968 - 12/15/1987), conscription. Kaliningrad region
-st. Lieutenant Bobrovsky Andrei Vladimirovich (07/11/1962 - 12/21/1987), conscription. UzSSR.
- ml. Sergeant Leshchenkov Boris Mikhailovich (03/25/1968 - 12/21/1987), drafted from the Kurgan region.
- Private Fedotov Andrey Alexandrovich (09/29/1967 - 01/07/1988)
- ml. Sergeant Krishtopenko Vladimir Olegovich (06/05/1969 - 01/08/1988), conscription. BSSR.
-Private Kuznetsov Anatoly Yuryevich (02/16/1968 - 01/08/1988), conscription. Gorky region
-Private Melnikov Andrey Aleksandrovich (04/11/1968 - 01/08/1988), drafted by the BSSR.
- ml. Sergeant Tsvetkov Andrey Nikolaevich 01/11/1988
-Private Sbrodov Sergey Anatolyevich 01/15/1988
-Potapenko Anatoly, conscripted Zaporozhye region

Eternal memory to the dead!

The results of the battle of the 9th company with the Mujahideen

As a result of the twelve-hour battle, it was not possible to capture the height. Having suffered losses, reliable data on the number of which are not available, the Mujahideen retreated. In the "9th company" 6 servicemen were killed, 28 were injured, 9 of them were severe. Some of the events mentioned in the memoirs of the participants in the battle are reflected in the feature film "9th Company".

Videos dedicated to the battle at height 3234

The film "9th company"

The battle of the 9th company from the film has little in common with the battle fought by the real 9th ​​company of the 345th Guards Separate Airborne Regiment on January 7-8, 1988. There was no unit forgotten by the commanders, which dies almost completely, performing a task that had no practical meaning. There was a real feat of Soviet soldiers who, in the most difficult conditions, solved an important combat mission.

Animated film "Fight for height 3234 - 9th company is true"

On September 29, 2005, Bondarchuk released the film "9th Company", the story of which is tied to the legendary reconnaissance company of the Airborne Forces during the years of the Afghan war. The film allegedly says that almost all the heroes died in that battle, allegedly tells the truth that the command abandoned our guys at that height, but in reality it was not so. The whole truth about the feat of the 9th company is told in this small video.

A photo

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Memoirs of fighters about the battle at height 3234

• From the story of Guards Sergeant Sergei Borisov, squad leader:
  “On January 7, shelling began, it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon. During the shelling, Private Fedotov was killed, the "eres" worked from the branch under which he was. Then everything calmed down, but not for long. Dushmans approached exactly in the place where the observers simply could not detect them. The senior in this direction was Mrs. junior sergeant Alexandrov. He did everything to enable his comrades to withdraw. Didn't manage to leave? a grenade exploded over him. This was the first attack. They could not get closer than 60 meters. The "spirits" had already been killed and wounded, they, apparently, did not expect such resistance. The Utes machine gun, which was in our direction, jammed after the first round, and under fire we were not able to fix it. At this time, I received my first wound. I noticed only when the hand began to weaken. After that, we took up places for observation, ordered the guys to reload magazines, bring grenades and cartridges, and he himself conducted observation. What I saw later stunned me: the “spirits” calmly walked towards us already at 50 meters and were talking. I released a whole magazine in their direction and commanded: "All to battle!"
  "Spirits" have already bypassed us from two sides. And so the most terrible and terrible attack began, when the "spirits" were able to approach at a distance of throwing a hand grenade. It was the last, 12th in a row, attack. Along the line, where ml. Sergeant Tsvetkov, at the same time, shelling from grenade launchers, mortars, and guns began from three sides. A large detachment of dushmans approached the height. The situation was complicated by the fact that two other machine guns were disabled, and machine gunners Alexandrov and Melnikov died. By the end of the battle, only one Tsvetkov machine gun was in operation. It was not easy for Andrey to run from one line to another under aimed fire and grenade explosions. But he couldn't do otherwise. I was standing next to him when a grenade exploded under us. Andrei was mortally wounded in the head by a shrapnel ... In a state of shock, without letting go of the machine gun, he began to fall, the helmet fell from his head, hit a stone. But the machine gun continued to shoot and fell silent only when Andrei lay down on the ground. I was wounded a second time in the leg and arm.
  Andrei was bandaged, laid down with other wounded, he spoke very quietly: “Hold on, men!” There were many wounded, they were bleeding, and we could do nothing to help them. There were few five of us left, and each had 2 magazines and not a single grenade. At this terrible moment, our reconnaissance platoon came to the rescue, and we began to pull out the wounded. Only at 4 o'clock the rebels realized that they could not take this hill. Taking away the wounded and dead, they began to retreat.
  The doctors promised that Andrei would live. But after 3 days he died in the hospital ... "
• The regiment also has detailed materials about the battle at height 3234. Maps, diagrams, memoirs of all those who survived. Among these touching human documents, there is also a political report from the Guards Major Nikolai Samusev. From the political report
  “Under the cover of massive fire from grenade launchers and machine guns, despite any losses, the rebels went to their positions at full height ... Junior sergeant Aleksandrov met the enemy with heavy machine-gun fire, whose decisive actions made it possible for his comrades to get out of the shelling and take more convenient positions . Vyacheslav ordered two of his assistants to withdraw (Guards Private Arkady Kopyrin and Sergey Obyedkov) and called fire on himself. He fired until his machine gun, pierced by bullets, jammed. When the enemy approached him at 10-15 meters, Aleksandrov threw five grenades at the advancing ones, shouting: "For the dead and wounded friends!" Covering the retreat of his comrades, the fearless Komsomol member died from a grenade explosion. There was a magazine with the last five rounds in his machine gun ... "
• From the memoirs of the Commander of the Order of the Red Banner Guard Sergeant Sergei Borisov:
  “When the machine gun fell silent, I shouted, called Slavik - we were friends with him from the training unit. He was silent. Then, under the cover of fire from my comrades, I crawled to his position. Slavik was lying face up, and the last thing he probably saw was an alien night sky in rare large stars. With a trembling hand, I closed my friend's eyes ... Three days ago he turned 20 years old. On that day, the rebels fired at us with “eres”. The whole platoon congratulated him, the number 20 was printed on a home-made cake. I remember someone said: “Slavik, when you return home, they won’t believe when you tell that you met the day of your 20th birthday under shell explosions. All soldiers and officers loved him for his responsiveness and courage. Until the end of my life, I will remember and be proud of his friendship in Afghanistan. And when I return home, I will come to the village of Izobilnoye, Orenburg Region. His parents live there - mother and father. I will tell you how fearlessly their son fought and died.”

Documentary film “9 company. 20 years later". Interview with the commander and former soldiers of the 9th company of the 345th separate airborne regiment, participants in the events. The film is dedicated to those who died and those who remember those terrible events.

Height 3234 in our time

If you look at the location of the height in Google Earth or in another application, you can see the approaches to the height and there is a subject for reasoning who attacked from where and who kept where. Height is not just height, but a section of the ridge. It was possible to put pressure on the guys along the ridge and get around from below. And it was easy to fire at them from the high-rises next to the ridge. Less than a mile in a straight line.

This is a view of the height from the road to Khost.

The flag is the height of 3234, and the yellow line is the distance of 954 meters to the nearest high-rise.

On January 7, 1988, at an altitude of 3234, the 9th company of the 345th Guards Separate Airborne Regiment took the fight.

Everyone who watched Fyodor Bondarchuk's film “9th Company”, which was sensational a few years ago, probably remembered its dramatic denouement: repelling the attacks of dushmans, a company of paratroopers dies in an unequal battle without waiting for reinforcements. And then the colonel, who arrived on a helicopter of the guards, confusedly asks the only surviving soldier what happened to the connection ...

Alexey Smirnov, a participant in those events, claims that everything shown in the film, “based on real events”, by a famous director, is very far from reality. And he has such a right. On January 6, 1988, it was the reconnaissance platoon of the Guards, Senior Lieutenant Smirnov, who came to the aid of the 9th company of the 345th Guards Separate Parachute Regiment, which had used up ammunition, which took the fight at a height of 3234.

... The report on admission to the Ryazan Airborne School of an ordinary training division A. Smirnov wrote immediately after the oath. And then, when the country found out about the introduction of a limited continent of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, he filed a second one, asking to be sent after training to the combat zone. The move was then given to the first report, and Smirnov ended up “beyond the river” after school - the commander of a reconnaissance platoon of the parachute battalion of the 345th regiment.

The first unforgettable impression after arriving in Afghanistan was a joke given to him by soldiers. Inviting the new platoon to help prepare for the first combat exit, the scouts equipped the “not fired upon” officer with such a backpack that he announced a halt after 300 m of the mountain crossing. The officers who guessed what was the matter helped out. Approaching the novice, who was clearly tired ahead of time, they, smiling, lightened his backpack for eight grenades, four packs of 120 rounds and three dry rations. Walking immediately became easier.

Smirnov did not punish anyone for this joke, he did not take offense either. But, having quickly caught how the relations of commanders and subordinates are built in the war, a month later he won genuine authority from his fighters. It took several combat exits for the scouts to understand that their lieutenant was a real pro. And after another successful operation, the entire personnel of the platoon was presented with orders and medals.

Paratroopers were thrown into the mountainous province of Paghman by helicopters. And it started...

First, a hellish ascent to a snow-covered pass 4,000 meters above sea level and an overnight stay in the snow, and in the morning - a descent down and reconnaissance and search operations in a village "cut" by the battalion commander. After completing the task - again climbing into the mountains and occupying another dominant height.

And here, having climbed the hill before the parachute units and having received instructions from the battalion commander to wait for the others, Smirnov suspected something was wrong. Sacrificing a halt, the officer decided to check the neighboring height. And he was not mistaken: the scouts found an empty stronghold of the "spirits". Judging by the freshly boiled potatoes and still hot tea found in the dugout, it was not difficult to guess that at the time of their ascent, only a duty shift of several Mujahideen was in position. If the dushmans had time to call for reinforcements, the parachute company could not have avoided serious losses: from the positions occupied by Smirnov, the height to which the paratroopers climbed was well shot through. The trophies collected at the “Dukhovsky” stronghold were also impressive: an anti-aircraft gun, machine guns, dozens of zinc with ammunition, German binoculars from the Second World War, a bunch of sleeping bags ... But one trophy was of particular value: an American-made portable anti-aircraft missile system, which had been in production for several months our scouts were hunting all over Afghanistan. The same "Stinger" for which the regimental commander promised to give the "Hero".

However, due to the short period of stay in the war, Smirnov was presented to the Order of the Red Star. “This is the order,” the battalion commander “consoled” the senior commander. “If you stayed here not for a month, but at least three, you would definitely become a Hero of the Soviet Union.” By the way, the order received for the Stinger was not only the first, but also the most expensive award for a paratrooper.

And the next day after receiving it, the large-scale operation "Magistral" began, during which Smirnov, who at that time had already fought in Afghanistan for six months, had a chance to fight along with the 9th company of their regiment at the height mentioned earlier.

At the end of November 1987, the 345th regiment was transferred to Gardez with the task of dislodging the "spirits" from the dominating heights around the city of Khost. In the twentieth of December, a division of the Guards, Senior Lieutenant Smirnov, occupied Hill 3234 without a fight, handing it over to the parachute platoon of the 9th company. Then, for several days, the scouts performed other combat missions: they occupied new heights and participated in the cleansing of a nearby village. Until January 6, 1989, the battle for that very height 3234 began.

Having fired at the hill with mortars and recoilless rifles, the dushmans tried to take it on foot. But the landing party fought to the death. When the first “200th” appeared in the 9th company, the battalion commander ordered Smirnov to rise to the height in order to carry the deceased Andrei Fedotov from the battlefield. But just a few minutes later he changed his mind, ordering Smirnov to take as much ammunition as possible and, having reached the neighboring skyscraper, wait for his further commands.

In the meantime, acting was pulled up to the defending platoon. commander of the 9th company with another platoon. However, it became more and more difficult to resist the growing attacks of the "spirits". Acting with his fifteen scouts as a nearby reserve for the already almost surrounded 9th company, Smirnov saw how the Mujahideen were storming more and more furiously, how the snow-covered hill was turning black from explosions and powder gases. At the same time, the battalion commander stubbornly kept him in reserve, thinking that spooks might try to bypass the company from his side.

From a few hundred meters, which separated Smirnov and the fighting 9th company, he clearly heard the cries of the enemies: "Moscow, surrender!" And when, already late in the evening, reports from the fighters to the company commander about running out of cartridges began to be heard from the battlefield, Smirnov radioed the battalion commander that it was no longer possible to pull. Having received the go-ahead, the scouts rushed to the rescue of the company.

As a result, 15 Smirnov's fighters and the ammunition they delivered did their job: after several hours of night fighting, the militants retreated. When it dawned, a lot of abandoned weapons lay on the approaches to the stable height, and the snow was full of bloody stains ...

Well, a week later, at the ill-fated height 3234, Smirnov himself, who remained there with a reconnaissance platoon after the departure of the 9th company, almost died. The disturbing mortar fire, which the "spirits" now and then opened up the hill, at first did not cause much damage to the paratroopers: the fragments could not fly into the trenches and into the tents deepened into the ground. But one day something incredible happened. When officers who came from neighboring heights were celebrating the birthday of Vladimir Alekseev, the Komsomol organizer of the battalion, in Alexei’s tent, one of the “spiritual” mines exploded next to the tent. When everyone poured out to look at the funnel, the second mine hit right on the tent. No one died just by some lucky chance.

... Over the next years of service in the life of Alexei Smirnov there will be many more hot spots, other difficult trials. But Afghanistan, where he received his first combat experience, from where he returned with the Order of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Red Star, and in which he lost his best friend, Guard Captain Oleg Yurasov, the paratrooper will always consider his most important war. Perhaps that is why Alexei Smirnov, like thousands of other "Afghans", was so disappointed with a blockbuster that had nothing to do with real events.

Participants in the operation "Magistral" from the 9th parachute company of the 345th guards separate paratrooper regiment:

Officers and Ensigns:

Guard Senior Lieutenant Tkachev Sergey - (acting commander) deputy commander of the 9th PDR;
Guard Senior Lieutenant Matruk Vitaliy - Deputy Commander of the 9th PDR for Political Affairs;
Guard Senior Lieutenant Gagarin Viktor - commander of the 1st platoon;
Guards Senior Lieutenant Sergei Rozhkov - commander of the 2nd platoon;
Guards Senior Lieutenant Ivan Babenko - artillery spotter;
Guard ensign Kozlov Vasily - foreman of the company.

Guard sergeants and privates:

Akulin Sergey;
Aleksandrov Vyacheslav — died;
Bobko Sergey;
Borisov Sergey;
Borisov Vladimir;
Verigin Vladimir;
Demin Andrey;
Karimov Rustam;
Kopyrin Arkady;
Krishtopenko Vladimir - died;
Kuznetsov Anatoly - died;
Kuznetsov Andrey;
Korovin Sergey;
Lash Sergey;
Melnikov Andrey — died;
Menteshashvili Zurab;
Muradov Nurmatjon;
Medvedev Andrey;
Ognev Nikolay;
Obedkov Sergey;
Peredelsky Victor;
Puzhaev Sergey;
Salamaha Yuri;
Safronov Yury;
Sukhoguzov Nikolay;
Tikhonenko Igor;
Trutnev Pavel;
Fedotov Andrey — died;
Fedorenko Oleg;
Fadin Nikolay;
Tsvetkov Andrey - died;
Shchigolev Vladimir;
Yatsuk Evgeny.

In total, 39 people took part in the battle, six were killed, twenty-eight were injured, nine of them severe.

All paratroopers for this battle were awarded the Orders of the Red Banner of War and the Red Star, guard junior sergeant V.A. Alexandrov and guard private A.A. Melnikov honored posthumously Hero of the Soviet Union.

Junior Sergeant Vyacheslav Alexandrov

Private Andrey Melnikov

End of 1987. Soviet troops are preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan. The period of active hostilities is over, and the Mujahideen only occasionally attack columns of Soviet troops. No one imagined that the bloodiest battle of the entire Afghan was ahead. It will take place on Christmas Eve at Hill 3234, which will be defended by the 9th Company of the 345th Airborne Regiment.

Sending the fighters of the 9th company to the heights, the regiment commander Valery Vostrotin did not know that the next day the Afghan Mujahideen would launch an offensive, trying to capture the height at all costs. The shelling will continue for exactly one week. The night before the decision

Helicopters will circle over Height 3234 in a devastating attack. The command headquarters will decide that this is a regular supply of ammunition from Pakistan. Only later do they find out that that night they were transferring detachments of the Pakistani special forces "Black Storks".

Sergei Tkachev, commander of the 9th company, was at that time at the height of the "Eagle's Nest". It immediately caught my eye - not ordinary Mujahideen were attacking, but mercenaries armed to the teeth of the most elite unit.

The morning of January 7 began as usual with shelling. Having beaten off another attack of the Mujahideen, the fighters went to check the fortifications and dugouts. Here began a real fiery hell.

First-class trained militants have their own unique style - they inflict the first blows on the command post and communication center. Trying from the very first minutes to disrupt the management of the defense. At the very beginning of the battle, the battalion commander and the only signalman perish.

When the battle began, private Vyacheslav Aleksandrov was at the first line of the fortifications. It was he who took all the fire upon himself. Incredibly, with one machine gun and a couple of grenades, he held off the Afghan fighters for almost an hour.

At this time, Andrei Melnikov, another hero of the battle for height 3234, was dying in the hands of the foreman of the 9th company Andrei Kuznetsov. He covered the positions of the 9th company from the right flank. From where he alone fired from a machine gun for almost five hours. By evening, the Mujahideen realized that the position defended by Melnikov could not be taken. Taking their wounded and dead, they began to retreat. Only after that Melnikov crawled to his own.

Later, soldiers at Melnikov's position will find three unexploded Mujahideen grenades. Fate kept him to the last. The Mujahideen failed to break the resistance of one soldier and break through to the rear.

After the death of Melnikov, only machine gunner Andrey Tsvetkov will remain in the 9th company. He will take the position of the deceased comrade. Dushmans did not stop attacks. Realizing that they will not be able to capture the height until they eliminate the machine gunner, they bypass his position from different sides and bombard him with grenades. Andrey Tsvetkov's machine gun does not stop for a second. He managed to stop the militants at the cost of his own life. They ceased fire and began to retreat. The soldiers of the 9th company have a half-hour respite. But soon the Mujahideen again rise to the attack.

The position of Nikolai Ognev was on the left flank. They, unlike other fighters, they did not have any weapons other than machine guns. Together with his comrade, Ognev did not interrupt the shooting even for a second. After several hours of continuous fighting, the machine guns jammed. It was at this moment that several Mujahideen managed to break through the defenses on the left flank and go to the rear. To break the resistance of the fighters, they are trying to throw grenades at the dugout where all the ammunition is stored. And then Ognev rushes across the Mujahideen, and opens heavy fire on them. It destroys almost everyone. And yet, one seriously wounded militant manages to throw a grenade.

Thanks to Sergeant Ognev, who managed not only to destroy the Mujahideen who had broken through the defense, but also to warn his comrades about the danger. The soldiers of the 9th company managed to beat off another attack of militants. There was a brief lull.

At night, the dushmans will again go on the offensive, and until the morning the soldiers of the 9th company will have to repel one after another, almost every hour. The Mujahideen will make 15 attempts to recapture the height. Soon, the soldiers of the 9th company will run out of ammunition. Now they will open fire when spooks get too close. The pomegranate by that time does not remain at all. To deceive the Mujahideen, Soviet fighters will throw simple stones.

Reinforcements arrived only at the end of the day. When the militants realized that they would not be able to break the resistance of the defenders of the height, the Black Storks began to retreat. In the ten-year history of the Afghan war, this was the only case when they did not complete the task. Until the very end of the war, they will take revenge on the Soviet paratroopers for this defeat.

For this fight, Andrei Melnikov and Vyacheslav Alexandrov received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. Without exception, all soldiers of the 9th company were awarded orders.

September 25, 2018, 21:20

On January 7-8, 1988, the battle for height 3234 took place, which became the legend of the Afghan war. The younger generation of Russians, those who have not seen the Soviet period in their lifetime, have rather vague ideas about the war in Afghanistan.

The brightest one is from the movie Fyodor Bondarchuk "Ninth Company", which became the highest-grossing Russian film in 2005.

The battle of the 9th company from the film has practically nothing to do with the battle fought by the real 9th ​​company of the 345th Guards Separate Airborne Regiment on January 7-8, 1988. The episode of the battle between paratroopers and dushmans shown in the film is completely different from what happened in reality: the real battle took place not during the day, but at night, it was winter, January, snow was everywhere, but in the film the bright sun shines and there is no snow at all, the battle was in 1988, and not in 1989, as in the film, six out of 39 fighters died, in the film only one survived, and the rest died. The course of the battle, its results, the nature of the entire combat operation were changed beyond recognition. In reality, there was no unit forgotten and abandoned by the commanders, a reconnaissance platoon came to the aid of the soldiers of the 9th company and the Soviet troops defeated the dushmans. This was a real feat of the Soviet soldiers, who under the most difficult conditions solved an important combat mission.

At the end of 1987, it was already clear that Soviet troops would leave Afghanistan in the near future. The Soviet leadership, headed by Mikhail Gorbachev, who sought to improve relations with the West, intended to end the Afghan war. While the politicians agreed, the military continued to solve current combat missions. The emboldened Mujahideen blocked the city of Khost in the province of Paktia, where the Afghan government troops were stationed. The Afghans could not cope on their own. And then the Soviet command decided to carry out the operation "Highway", whose task was to break through the blockade of Khost and take control of the Gardez-Khost highway, along which automobile columns could provide the city with food, fuel and other vital goods.

By December 30, 1987, the first part of the task was completed, and the supply convoys went to Khost. There was no doubt that the Mujahideen would do anything to damage the supply caravans. Attacks on convoys on mountain roads are a favorite tactic of the militants of the Afghan war. To ensure security, the Soviet units had to take control of the dominant heights on the outskirts of the Gardez-Khost highway, preventing the Mujahideen from carrying out their plans.

Height 3234 , located 7-8 kilometers southwest of the middle section of the road, were supposed to be defended by soldiers of the 9th parachute company of the 345th guards separate parachute regiment. 39 paratroopers led by the commander of the 3rd platoon, senior lieutenant Viktor Gagarin carefully prepared positions for defense. We carried out engineering work with the arrangement of structures for the protection of personnel and firing positions, set minefields.

The photo shows the legendary 9th company.

Where and when the enemy would strike the main blow, breaking through to the track, was unknown. But around 15:00 on January 7, 1988, mines and shells rained down on the position of the paratroopers at a height of 3234. Half an hour later, the Mujahideen went on the attack. Stormed the height "Black Storks"- militant special forces trained by Pakistani instructors. According to Soviet intelligence, the height of 3234 was also attacked by professional Pakistani military from the Chehatwal regiment. But the paratroopers of the 9th company were also not born out of the blue. This unit was considered one of the most experienced units trained in the Limited Contingent of Soviet Forces in Afghanistan.

The first attack of the Mujahideen stopped after they lost up to 40 people killed and wounded. The militants withdrew, resuming shelling from mortars. About half past six in the evening, the second attack began, this time from a different direction. The paratroopers did it again.

Often, feeling that they ran into a solid defense of the Soviet troops, the Mujahideen abandoned their plans. But not in this case. At the beginning of the eighth evening, the enemy launched a third attack on height 3234. The militants were held back by the Utes heavy machine gun, the crew of which was commanded by the junior sergeant of the guard Vyacheslav Alexandrov. Just three days before this, Slava Alexandrov turned 20 years old. On account of a guy from Orenburg, there were 10 military operations, not far off "demobilization" - in the spring of 1988 his term of service expired.

The Mujahideen focused their fire on the machine gun, trying to silence it. Junior Sergeant Alexandrov ordered two soldiers who were nearby to retreat, while he continued to mow down the ranks of the advancing Mujahideen alone. With one machine gun and a couple of grenades, he held back the onslaught of Afghan fighters for almost an hour. According to the descriptions of colleagues, because of the smoke and explosions, it was impossible to see Alexandrov's masonry, but the hero's machine gun did not stop. In this unequal battle, Vyacheslav Alexandrov died a heroic death. At the cost of his life, he repelled the attacks of the enemy and saved his comrades.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 28, 1988, for the courage and heroism shown in the performance of international duty in the Republic of Afghanistan, Guards Junior Sergeant Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Alexandrov was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

The third attack on the height was repulsed, followed by the fourth, fifth ... "Spirits" seemed to go berserk. Despite the losses, despite the fact that the artillery spotter aimed our artillery at the attackers, they got closer and closer. 30 meters, 25, 20 ... The paratroopers fired at close range, but their strength was running out. "Moscow, give up!" - yelled spooks. Bullets were the answer.

machine gunner Andrey Melnikov differed from his comrades in that, despite his age (Andrey was 19 years old), he was a family man. A tractor driver from the Mogilev region married at the age of 17, immediately after graduation, a daughter was born in the family a little later. When the question arose about serving in the army, Andrey had the opportunity, if not to completely avoid it, then to go through it in a place more peaceful than Afghanistan. But Melnikov did not refuse from the "hot spot". He had six military operations behind him, and in this battle he delivered a lot of problems to the enemy. Constantly changing position, he held off attacks until the ammunition ran out. When the bullets of the Mujahideen hit him, he, falling, managed to croak: "Ammunition, that's it ...". When the bulletproof vest was removed from the dead hero, they did not believe how he remained alive for so long. Judging by the wounds, Andrei should have died a few hours ago. The plates of the bulletproof vest were pressed into his body from the blast waves, but he courageously continued to fight.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 28, 1988, for the courage and heroism shown in the performance of international duty in the Republic of Afghanistan, Guards Private Andrei Alexandrovich Melnikov was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

At about three o'clock in the morning, the last 12th (!) Attack began. Five paratroopers remained in the ranks, the rest of the soldiers were wounded. Those who were no longer able to hold a machine gun equipped magazines and served them to their comrades. There were no grenades left, and then the soldiers of the 9th company began to throw stones at the Mujahideen, shouting: "Grenade." At first, the Mujahideen were led to such deception by the paratroopers, but later, realizing that they were being deceived, they stopped responding to such actions. There were fewer and fewer cartridges. There was simply nothing to deter the militants. The soldiers of the 9th company were preparing to call fire on themselves, but at that moment a reconnaissance platoon under the command of a senior lieutenant came to the rescue Alexey Smirnov. They walked with ammunition through the mountains in complete darkness. Arriving at the place, the scouts and the remaining soldiers of the 9th company launched a counterattack. The Mujahideen, assessing the changed balance of power, stopped the attack and took the wounded and killed, began to retreat. There was no new attack - having collected the dead, the Mujahideen left.

Five Soviet servicemen were killed directly in the battle - Vyacheslav Alexandrov, Andrey Melnikov, Andrey Fedotov, Vladimir Krishtopenko and Anatoly Kuznetsov. Sixth, Andrey Tsvetkov died in the hospital a day later. Nearly three dozen paratroopers were injured, nine of them seriously. The exact data on the losses of the Mujahideen is unknown. Approximately 200 to 400 militants participated in the battle for height 3234, against 39 Soviet soldiers.

Andrey Alexandrovich Fedotov - artillery correction group radio operator, corporal . He took part in 22 combat operations. During the battle for height 3234, he transmitted the coordinates of enemy targets to the firing positions of the howitzer battery. The rebels, having found Andrei, concentrated fire on him. In battle, having shown personal courage, Andrei suppressed the rebel firing point, but he himself was mortally wounded by grenade fragments. Andrey Fedotov was awarded a medal "For Military Merit" and the order Red Star(posthumously).

Vladimir Olegovich Krishtopenko- junior sergeant, senior shooter. At night, during one of the attacks, Vladimir was seriously wounded by an exploding grenade, he was immediately helped. During the provision of medical assistance, he was conscious and said that he saw a grenade fall at his feet, he wanted to throw it away, but because of the darkness he missed, not hitting the grenade with his foot. It exploded right under him. Vladimir died. For courage and courage Vladimir Krishtopenko was awarded the Order Red Star and a medal "To the warrior-internationalist from the noble Afghan people"(posthumously).

Anatoly Yurievich Kuznetsov- shooter of the 9th company. 1968 year of birth. Killed during the reflection of the second attack. Anatoly Kuznetsov was posthumously awarded the Order Red Star.

Andrey Nikolaevich Tsvetkov- junior sergeant, machine gunner. He took part in 14 military operations. During the battle for Hill 3234, Tsvetkov acted confidently, decisively and skillfully. Under heavy fire, he conducted well-aimed shooting from a machine gun, reflecting the onslaught of the enemy. In this battle, he was seriously wounded, from which he later died in the Kabul hospital. Awarded with the Order Red Star(posthumously).

“Along the line where he took up the defense ml. Sergeant Tsvetkov, simultaneously with
three sides began shelling from grenade launchers, mortars, guns. Large
a detachment of dushmans approached the height. The situation is further complicated by the fact that two
other machine guns were put out of action, and the machine gunners Alexandrov and
Melnikov died. By the end of the battle, only one Tsvetkov machine gun was in operation.
It was not easy for Andrei, under aimed fire and grenade explosions, to run across from
one frontier to another. But he couldn't do otherwise. I stood next to
him when the grenade exploded. Andrei was mortally wounded in
shrapnel head. In a state of shock, without letting go of the machine gun, he began to fall. But the machine gun continued to shoot and fell silent only when Andrey lay down on the ground. » - from the memoirs of one of the soldiers of the 9th company.

The last thing the mortally wounded Andrey said: "Hold on, guys!"

Andrew is right. In the center is the father.

The combat mission of the 9th company was completed in full - height 3234 remained under the control of the Soviet troops, the enemy could not break through to the road and interfere with the convoys. Apart from Andrey Melnikov and Vyacheslav Alexandrova, posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, all participants in the battle were awarded orders.

The feat of the 9th company became a legend of the Afghan war, a legend that absolutely did not need the “transformation” that the filmmakers gave it. But, apparently, in order to embody the courage of Soviet soldiers on the screen, you need a special talent.

Eternal memory to the Heroes! For me, these men (although in fact they were still just 19-20-year-old boys, but in battle they showed themselves as men) are real Heroes, and not all kinds of fictional characters from books and films!

It is believed that Soviet troops were brought into the territory of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) at the request of the then government. Trying to insure against the appearance of hostile forces on its borders, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU decided to meet the neighbors halfway and in December 1979 to introduce a limited contingent of its troops into the republic. Initially, no one in the USSR counted on many years of opposition, but they had to fight for 10 years.

Mujahideen (rebels) fought with government troops and units of the Soviet army - that was the name of Afghans and other foreigners who joined armed formations and received special training on the territory of neighboring Pakistan. Their sponsors were the United States, along with some Middle Eastern countries. With their help, the Mujahideen were armed, equipped, and provided financial support. This operation was called "Cyclone".

Prologue

In December 1987, one of the units of the DRA government troops was blocked in the city of Khost (province of Paktia), bordering Pakistan. After the departure of Soviet soldiers from these places, local troops were unable to withstand the strong onslaught of well-armed and trained bands of the Mujahideen. As a result, they not only lost control of the Khost-Gardez road, but were also blocked in Khost itself. The command of the 40th Army decided to help the encircled allies by delivering weapons, ammunition and food by air. Subsequently, the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces decided to conduct a military operation "Magistral" to unblock Khost and the road adjacent to it.

It should be noted that this operation was carried out brilliantly. Even before the new year, both the city and the highway were taken under the control of our troops, and on December 30, 1987, the first supply columns appeared on the road.

Component of the "Highway"

The battle at height 3234 (1988) was one of the components of the operation "Magistral". The fact is that in this mountainous area, this road was the only link connecting the region with the mainland, so it was heavily guarded.

Posted checkpoints and other types of outposts were constantly subjected to massive shelling and attacks by the Mujahideen. The battle for height 3234 described below has become the most famous in Russia. First of all, thanks to the film "9th Company", filmed by F. Bondarchuk.

Approximate chronology of events

The battle at height 3234 took place a few kilometers southwest of the middle of the Khost-Gardez road. The 9th Airborne Company of the 345th Regiment, consisting of 39 people, led by Senior Lieutenant Sergei Tkachev, was sent to defend it. As a reinforcement, there was a heavy machine gun with a crew led by V. Aleksandrov.

In many ways, the battle for Hill 3234 turned out to be won thanks to the work carried out: within a short time, trenches, dugouts, communication passages were dug, areas of the probable approach of the enemy were mined, and there was a minefield on the south side.

The beginning of the battle. First attack

So, in the early morning of January 7, a defensive battle was launched at a height of 3234. Without any reconnaissance, as they say, impudently, the rebels launched the first attack, during which they tried to immediately shoot down the outposts established here and open their way to the road. However, they miscalculated. The strong engineering structures built by the paratroopers and the resistance offered did not leave any chance for the transience of the battle. The Mujahideen realized that this nut was too strong for them.

New offensive wave

At 15.30, the battle at height 3234 continued with shelling, in which grenade launchers, mortars, and recoilless rifles were used. Even several dozens of rocket explosions were noticed. Under the cover of shelling, the Mujahideen were able to get close to the positions of the company by 200 meters unnoticed and attack from both sides at the same time. However, our fighters were able to fight back. The Mujahideen had to retreat.

However, the respite was short-lived. Having regrouped and received reinforcements, they continued the battle for height 3234 (photo below). It started already at 16.30 and turned out to be more difficult. To coordinate the attack, the Mujahideen began to use walkie-talkies. In some areas came to hand-to-hand fights. The fight lasted for about an hour. As a result, the attackers, having lost about one and a half dozen killed and about three dozen wounded, were forced to roll back without getting a centimeter close to our positions.

On our side, the first losses also appeared. Both in arms and in personnel. In particular, the Utes heavy machine gun was completely disabled. Killed the commander of the calculation ml. Sergeant V. Alexandrov. During this attack on his position, the Mujahideen concentrated the fire of all their grenade launchers - he really interfered with the attackers. After the machine gun was completely broken, the commander ordered the fighters of the calculation to retreat into the defense, while he himself remained in the masonry, covering the defense sector. At the end of the battle, the found body of Vyacheslav Aleksandrov turned out to be wounded, but the soldier’s hands still firmly held the machine gun from which he fired back. The defenders witnessed the death of a machine gunner. Subsequently, many of them said that what happened had a huge psychological impact on them.

Second attack

Feeling the weakening of the fire, less than an hour later the Mujahideen continued to fight at a height of 3234. The 9th company continued the defense. This time the area defended by the platoon of Art. they managed to replace Lieutenant Lost with the connection of regimental artillery, allocated to help the defending paratroopers. Fire spotter Ivan Babenko was able to build her work so competently that the Mujahideen had to once again roll back from the positions of the defenders without salty slurping. During this attack, Anatoly Kuznetsov died.

Third attack

The long and stubborn resistance of our paratroopers drove the spooks to rage. After a short break, at 19.10 local time, the battle for height 3234 (the photo of one of the episodes was taken from F. Bondarchuk's film) was continued by massive machine-gun and grenade launcher fire. The new attack turned out to be psychological - the Mujahideen went to their full height, regardless of the losses. However, for the paratroopers, such an outburst caused only smirks on their tired faces. The third battle at height 3234 was repulsed with heavy losses for the attackers.

Fifth attack

The last attack of that day, the fifth in a row, began shortly before midnight, at 23.10. She is considered the most violent. Apparently, the attackers have undergone certain changes in command, since this time the Mujahideen prepared more carefully. Having cleared the passages on and also using the explored dead spaces, they were able to get close to the positions of our paratroopers by less than 50 meters. In some areas, opponents could even throw grenades. However, this still did not help them. The last attack of the rebels that day, like all the previous ones, was repulsed with heavy losses for the attacking side.

Last attack

The last, twelfth attack began at 3 am on January 8. According to the prevailing situation, it was the most critical. Not only did the enemy have already begun to appear in certain areas of the territory occupied by the paratroopers, but our fighters practically ran out of ammunition. The officers had already decided to call the regimental artillery fire on themselves. However, this was not required.

The rescue

Salvation came just in time. Like in the movies. The reconnaissance platoon, led by Senior Lieutenant Aleksey Smirnov, who had broken through to help the paratroopers, immediately entered the battle and literally swept away the Mujahideen who had burst into our positions, and the attack organized after that, jointly with the defending paratroopers, threw the enemy far away.

The reinforcements arrived, which, moreover, delivered the ammunition so necessary to the paratroopers, as well as the intensified fire of the regimental artillery, decided the outcome of the entire battle. Finally realizing that it would not be possible to take the height and get the road they needed so much, the spooks began to retreat.

End of the fight

From that moment on, the battle at height 3234 could be considered over. Feeling a change in the balance of power not in their favor, the rebels, having gathered their dead and wounded, stopped offensive operations.

According to some reports, support for the Mujahideen came even from the official side. In particular, several helicopters constantly arrived in the neighboring valley, which was about 40 km from height 3234, throughout the battle. They delivered reinforcements and ammunition to the territory of Afghanistan, taking back the dead and wounded. Toward the end of the battle, the scouts were able to locate the helipad. It was hit by a multiple launch rocket launcher "Smerch". The hit was almost 100%. All helicopters on it were destroyed or damaged. The losses of the rebels were very sensitive. The latter fact also had a positive impact on the outcome of the battle.

The howitzer artillery battery, consisting of three D-30 howitzers and three Akatsiya self-propelled guns, provided great assistance to the defending paratroopers. In total, the gunners fired about 600 shots. In the most critical moments of the battle, spotter senior lieutenant Ivan Babenko, who was in the ranks of the paratroopers, managed to set fire in such a way that the shells that fell close to the positions of our fighters inflicted damage only on the advancing Mujahideen. The gunners fired about 600 shots at the positions of the rebels.

Everything that happened on the battlefield was closely monitored by the nearby command, headed by the commander of the 40th Army, Lieutenant General Boris Gromov. The commander of the 345th OPDP, Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel V. Vostrotin, personally reported to him about all the ups and downs of the battle.

To the end of the fight

The paratroopers of the 9th company became the heroes of this day. They won the battle for height 3234, as they say, outright. Having defended their positions, the guys became real heroes not only of the Soviet army, but also of the army of the Republic of Afghanistan. The battle for Hill 3234 was included in many textbooks as an example of competent tactical actions and courage.

After all, 39 paratroopers, with the support of regimental artillery, not only held out against 200 (according to some sources - 400) Mujahideen for more than 12 hours, suffering minimal losses, but also forced the latter to retreat.

Yes Yes exactly. In the film “9th Company”, the battle for height 3234, the missing, to put it mildly, is not shown quite reliably. However, let's not judge this too harshly. It's still a movie. According to the film, only one person survived. In fact, only 6 people died, 28 people received various injuries, 9 of which were severe.

All paratroopers of the 9th company for the battle at height 3234 were awarded military awards - the orders of the Red Star and the Red Banner of War. The commander of the calculation of a heavy machine gun, junior sergeant V.A. Aleksandrov, and the private were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).

All the Mujahideen who attacked Hill 3234 were dressed in black uniforms with black-red-yellow stripes on the sleeves - the distinctive sign of the Black Stork detachment. According to the encyclopedia, this name was used to hide a unit of Pakistani saboteur fighters. It was created in 1979 to counter the Soviet troops introduced into Afghanistan. At different times it was under the leadership of Amir Khattab and Osama bin Laden. By the way, the latter also joined the battle at a height of 3234 (photo of the event - in the article) and was even wounded.

According to other sources, people who committed serious crimes before Allah were hidden under this name. These include murder, theft, etc. In these cases, it was allowed to atone for one's guilt only with one's own blood. During the Afghan war, Europeans were seen among the participants in this unit. Most often, they moved in Isuzu jeeps, in the back of which a heavy machine gun was installed.

Epilogue

On February 15, 1989, the last Soviet soldier left the territory of the DRA. However, this did not bring peace to the long-suffering people of the neighboring state. Despite the many operations carried out, the civil war did not stop there. However, that's another story.