Аннотация: Vladimir Vasilievich and the first occupation of Rostov-on-Don (in November 1941). The story.
Vladimir Vasilievich and the first occupation of Rostov-on-Don (in November 1941). The story.
Sergey Sergeevich reflected: in what text could a mini-story (on the sheet of paper, which he put aside) about the tank, which was blowed up with the help of grenade, look appropriate?
He decided to write a story about the first occupation of Rostov-on-Don (in November 1941).
The story was a such.
"Vladimir Vasilyevich and the first occupation of Rostov-on-Don in November 1941.
There was most contradictory and disturbing information on events on the front. Vladimir Vasilevich and his mother, as family members of the commander (officer) of the Red Army, thought about evacuation from Rostov. The local military commissariat was responsible for the evacuation.
Yesterday they came to the military commissariat and they were told: "Wait! Perhaps, tomorrow!". Today they found an empty military commissariat with sheets of paper lying in the yard and on the floor - at night the military commissariat was evacuated. They stayed in Rostov.
The city became empty. There were a vague memories of the population 's attempt to provide themselves with food and things from the remaining shops and from other organizations.
There was a barricade next to Vladimir Vasilievich 's house... A fighters (a group of rank-and-file (officer cadets) and sergeants)... They lost a connection with the centralized commanding.
Attempts began on the part of Vladimir Vasilevich and his mother to support fighters. "
Sergey Sergeevich reproduced in the text several paragraphs (phrases) from the previously written story "Vladimir Vasilievich, the Holmes method and a sailor in a train" and continued the new story.
"To the place of defense, where the soldiers were located (at that time it was the outskirts of the city), two fascist tanks were moving. Located on one of the upper floors of the house, Vladimir Vasilievich and his mother helped the soldiers navigate the situation; perhaps they warned the fighters about the movement of the tanks when those were still far away.
Vladimir Vasilievich remembered this episode of defense more or less clearly.
The soldiers placed behind a some semblance of a barricade.
After the soldiers orientated themselves in the situation, and realized that the tanks were going directly towards them, the moment of making a decision was.
At last, one of the fighters said: 'I'll try!'
Taking grenades, he crawled towards the tanks. He succeeded in blowing up one of the tanks with a grenade. The tank caught fire. The second tank turned back.
The tank was burning. After a some time, two tankers got out of it, jumped out.
From the side of the defenders the machine-gun fire was opened. Both tankers were shot, killed.
Vladimir Vasilievich distinctly remembered the thought that appeared at that moment: 'How difficult it is to raise a human! And how easy it is to kill a human!'
The fight was amplifying. There were exchanges of fire during the defense. If there were any other injuries among the fighters, these events did not seem to be significant. But one of the wounds was substantial. One of the defencers was wounded in a lung. For those times, the wound seemed almost hopeless - difficult to cure.
Vladimir Vasilievich's mother bandaged the wounded man. The dressing was later assessed by the participants of events as exceptionally skilful action - the wounded serviceman survived.
There may have been some sanitary courses before the war began, and some part of the population was provided with dressings materials. Despite the slightly skeptical intonations against the regime, Vladimir Vasilievich admitted that at the scene of the events there was both a person capable to fulfill a simple medical care and the necessary dressing materials. In some issues Vladimir Vasilievich was showing a respect attitude to the regime.
Throughout the day of defense, there were a variety of disturbing rumors.
The turning point in the mood of the defenders came when some man ran up, who said with incredible confidence that the city is occupied by the opponent, and the defenders are surrounded.
"How, you are here, still?! Why you still didn t leave?! "- the competent, informed person addressed this questions to fighters.
The day was coming to an end. The fighters decided to retreat without weapons towards the Red Army units. The wounded soldier was not abandoned. Grenades and other weapons were left for storage in the apartment of Vladimir Vasilevich and his mother. Perhaps the soldiers took some weapons with them, and some arms were left for storage.
Apparently, the armed confrontation in the city allegedly (or actually) occupied by fascist troops, by the retreating soldiers was not planned. The intention was to go through the safest places, to be invisible, and to reach the Red Army units. Transporting of the wounded man by own forces (onto themselves) was also a significant difficulty.
Defense lasted almost all day. Throughout the day, the opponent was unable to enter the city from this direction.
The next day (or a day later) the officer of the Hitler army appeared in the yard in an unusual military coat (with a fur collar? in gloves?). He stood on some elevation and was looking around. On the right and to the left of it there were a submachine gunners.
Some man of the locals carried out an unexpected (skilful) political action - welcoming the officer in German. The first hours of occupation began with an alarming expectation.
Vladimir Vasilievich and his mother tried to spend more time in their apartment.
When they decided to pass several blocks around the city, they saw that the walls were covered with declarations of a new, occupying, authorities, where numerous prohibitions were declared, and for each violation the punishment - shooting [execution]. "The shooting [execution] ... the shooting ... the shooting ...".
A few blocks from their home, they saw a significant number of corpses lying right on the street. It may have been the bodies of civilians. A stray dogs were ripping them.
In the yard of the house where Vladimir Vasilevich lived, the following case occurred.
He inadvertently approached a group of people - locals were talked with a soldier of the Hitler army. One of the local residents informed the soldier that the family of the commander (officer) of the Red Army lives nearby (the surname was named), and surely they have valuable property.
Vladimir Vasilevich managed to return invisibly to the apartment and inform his mother about what he heard. The apartment contained weapons and grenades left by the retreating soldiers.
Decided to lock the door and not open.
After a while, steps were heard on the stairs. Then there were the punches in the door. The door did not open.
The soldier began to hit the door with all strength - apparently a butt.
The door kept.
Vladimir Vasilevich and his mother sat on the floor. They leaned their backs on the door or on the wall.
How long could the punches on the door continue? And how would the situation end?
Suddenly there was a change in the situation.
There was a signal in the yard. It may have been a signal for the collection of military men. Maybe there was no special signal, and there were some other events.
The soldier of the Hitler army stopped hitting the door. Loudly, he ran down the stairs.
A few days later, the sounds of a battle were heard.
The Hitler 's troops began a retreating. Near the house where Vladimir Vasilevich lived, a huge car - a truck - broke down and stopped.
After Hitler 's troops left, the local population dragged some things out of the truck.
Units of the Red Army appeared.
The population came out into the streets. Numerous people addressed passing fighters. One of the locals stopped the soldier and showed onto the man in a ridiculous home gown and other ridiculous clothes, who did not respond to the appeal to him, and something was mooing in response. (He changed into plain clothes? He didn 't know Russian?)
- "It is the spy!"
The shots - the light-weapons fire ...
The soldiers who participated in the defense near the house returned and took the weapons left for storage.
After some time, Vladimir Vasilievich 's father arrived and organized the evacuation of the family on his own.
Already as an adult, Vladimir Vasilievich wrote a small article about the defense of Rostov - about the events he observed.
The article was published in a regional newspaper.
Oddly enough, those fighters who participated in defense of Rostov (near the house of Vladimir Vasilievich) responded. Among them was the one who survived as a result of the qualified medical care performed by Vladimir Vasilievich 's mother.
They were all "simple" "provincial" people. They lived in the northern regions of the region (the town of Proletarsk?).
They came to visit Vladimir Vasilievich and his mother (Vladimir Vasilevich 's father had gone to a different world by then).
The meeting was joyful ...
They lived in the flat of Vladimir Vasilievich for several days. The mother of Vladimir Vasilevich by this time has already started to be sick...
Vladimir Vasilievich 's attempts to continue publishing on history (about the first occupation of Rostov and on other topics) turned into a kind of chess game. No new publications followed.
His appeals to the military commissariat provoked a counter-question from an employee of military commissariat: "What do you want?."
Really, what did he want? Did he want any official recognition of the fact of defense in a certain area of Rostov? Fighters, participants of events, were alive, but they could not provide effective assistance to Vladimir Vasilievich (in his appeals to official authorities).
What powers did the employee of the military commissariat have? To collect confirmations of an event? Write a some report, to direct it to somewhere? To formulate any suggestions in the report? Now it is difficult to say what powers, rights he had.
The direct participants of the events did not have the necessary experience for such situations. Also there was a modesty. The question "what do you want?" had a neutralizing effect on them. Everyday problems, health....
Attempts to appeal to public organizations turned into a chess game and into the asking of a questions...
Write to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR? And what to ask for?
Gradually, historical facts became increasingly transparent, invisible... "
Sergey Sergeevich looked at the written text. In the new story, the episode about the tank, which was blowed up with the help of grenade, was, it seems, in a right place and looked appropriate..
In any case, the defeat of Hitler 's troops near Rostov in November 1941 was the first and clear success of the Red Army. After this success a major victory in the counter-offensive near Moscow followed.
An alarmed Fuhrer arrived by plane onto the Rostov theatre of hostilities. But Vladimir Vasilievich didn't see him. Son and mother were evacuated to the Georgian city of Gori...
April 9, 2020 09:34
Translation from Russian into English: April 10, 2020 09:09.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Владимир Васильевич и первая оккупация г. Ростова-на-Дону (в ноябре 1941 года). Рассказ'.