The battle for Pavlov's house is one of the brightest pages not only in the history of the defense of Stalingrad, but also in the entire Great Patriotic War. A handful of fighters repulsed the fierce attacks of the German army, preventing the Nazis from reaching the Volga. So far, there are questions in this episode that researchers cannot yet give exact answers to.
Who led the defense?
At the end of September 1942, a group of soldiers of the 13th Guards Division, led by Sergeant Yakov Pavlov, captured a four-story house on January 9th Square. A few days later, reinforcements arrived there - a machine-gun platoon under the command of Senior Lieutenant Ivan Afanasyev. The defenders of the house repelled the onslaught of the enemy for 58 days and nights and left only with the beginning of the counteroffensive of the Red Army.
There is an opinion that almost all these days the defense of the house was not led by Pavlov, but by Afanasiev. The first led the defense for the first few days until Afanasiev's unit arrived at the house as reinforcements. After that, the officer, as a senior in rank, took command.
This is confirmed by military reports, letters and memoirs of participants in the events. For example, Kamalzhan Tursunov - until recently, the last surviving defender of the house. In one of the interviews, he stated that it was not Pavlov who led the defense at all. Afanasiev, by virtue of his modesty, deliberately pushed himself into the background after the war.
With a fight or not?
It is also not completely clear whether Pavlov's group drove the Germans out of the house with a fight or whether the scouts entered an empty building. In his memoirs, Yakov Pavlov recalled that his soldiers were combing the entrances and noticed the enemy in one of the apartments. As a result of the short-lived battle, the enemy detachment was destroyed.
However, in post-war memoirs, battalion commander Alexei Zhukov, who was following the operation to capture the house, denied Pavlov's words. According to him, the scouts went into an empty building. The same version is shared by the head of the public organization "Children of military Stalingrad" Zinaida Selezneva.
There is an opinion that Ivan Afanasyev also mentioned the empty building in the original version of his memoirs. However, at the request of the censors, who forbade destroying the already established legend, the senior lieutenant was forced to confirm Pavlov's words that the Germans were in the building.
How many defenders?
Also, there is still no exact answer to the question of how many people defended the fortress house. Various sources mention the number from 24 to 31. Volgograd journalist, poet and publicist Yuri Besedin in his book "A Shard in the Heart" said that the garrison had a total of 29 people.
Other figures were given by Ivan Afanasyev. In his memoirs, he claimed that in just over two months, 24 Red Army soldiers took part in the battle for the house.
However, the lieutenant himself in his memoirs mentions some two cowards who wanted to desert, but were caught and shot by the defenders of the house. Afanasiev did not include the faint-hearted fighters among the defenders of the house on January 9 Square.
In addition, among the defenders, Afanasiev did not mention those who were not permanently in the house, but were periodically there during the battle. There were two of them: sniper Anatoly Chekhov and medical instructor Maria Ulyanova, who, if necessary, also took up arms.
"Lost" nationalities?
The defense of the house was held by people of many nationalities - Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Kazakhs and others. In Soviet historiography, the number nine nationalities was fixed. However, it is now being questioned.
Modern researchers claim that Pavlov's house was defended by representatives of 11 nations. Among others, Kalmyk Garya Khokholov and Abkhaz Alexei Sugba were in the house. It is believed that Soviet censorship cut the names of these fighters from the list of defenders of the house. Khokholov fell into disgrace as a representative of the deported Kalmyk people. And Sukba, according to some reports, after Stalingrad was captured and went over to the side of the Vlasovites.
Why did Pavlov become a hero?
Yakov Pavlov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for the defense of the house named after him. Why Pavlov, and not Yakov Afanasiev, who, according to many, was the real head of the defense?
In his book Shard of the Heart, the Volgograd journalist and publicist Yuri Besedin noted that Pavlov was chosen for the role of the hero because the image of a soldier was more preferable to propaganda than an officer. The political conjuncture also allegedly intervened: the sergeant was in the party, while the senior lieutenant was non-partisan.
It is unlikely to attract the attention of those who do not know its history. Only the memorial wall-monument, located at the end of the building, says that Pavlov's house is a symbol of the steadfastness and courage of Soviet soldiers.
Before the war, when Lenin Square was called the 9th of January Square, and Volgograd was Stalingrad, Pavlov's house was considered one of the most prestigious residential buildings in the city. Surrounded by the houses of Signalers and NKVD workers, Pavlov's house was located almost next to the Volga - an asphalt road was even laid from the building to the river. The inhabitants of Pavlov's house were representatives of professions that were prestigious at that time - specialists from industrial enterprises and party leaders.
During the Battle of Stalingrad, Pavlov's house became the subject of fierce fighting. In mid-September 1942, it was decided to turn Pavlov's house into a stronghold: the favorable location of the building made it possible to observe and fire at the territory of the city occupied by enemies 1 km to the west and more than 2 km to the north and south. Sergeant Pavlov, along with a group of soldiers, entrenched himself in the house - since then, Pavlov's house in Volgograd has taken his name. On the third day, reinforcements arrived at Pavlov's house, delivering weapons, ammunition and machine guns to the soldiers. The defense of the house was improved by mining the approaches to the building: that is why the German assault groups could not capture the building for a long time. A trench was dug between Pavlov's house in Stalingrad and the Mill building: from the basement of the house, the garrison kept in touch with the command located in the Mill.
For 58 days, 25 people repelled the fierce attacks of the Nazis, holding the enemy's resistance to the last. What were the losses of the Germans is still unknown. But Chuikov once noted that the German army, when taking Pavlov's house in Stalingrad, suffered several times more losses than when taking Paris. It is also noteworthy that a group of soldiers of various nationalities participated in the defense of the house, which managed to become a stronghold of friendship and unity of peoples during the Great Patriotic War. With the exception of the Russians, Georgians, Ukrainians, and even Jews took part in the battles for Pavlov's house in Stalingrad - about 11 nationalities in total. All participants in the defense of Pavlov's house, including Pavlov himself, who did not take part in the defense of the house due to injury, were awarded government awards.
After the end of the war, a long restoration of the house began - the building was literally assembled piece by piece by a team of female builders. Pavlov's house in Volgograd was one of the first to be restored. A colonnade and a memorial plaque appeared on the end of the building, on which a soldier is depicted, which has become a collective image of the participants in the defense. The words are also inscribed on the board - "58 days in fire."
On the reverse side of the house in May 1985, a fragment of a red brick wall appeared with the lines “We will rebuild your native Stalingrad!” Dedicated to the labor prowess of the construction team of A.M. Cherkesova.
And now Pavlov's house in Volgograd is not just a symbol of resilience and courage, but also a silent reminder that the unity of the people is capable of defeating evil.
Pavlov's house became one of the historical objects of the Battle of Stalingrad, which still causes controversy among modern historians.
During fierce fighting, the house withstood a considerable number of counterattacks from the Germans. For 58 days, a group of Soviet soldiers bravely held the line, destroying more than a thousand enemy soldiers during this period. In the post-war years, historians carefully tried to restore all the details, and the composition of the commanders who carried out the operation led to the first disagreements.
Who was on the defensive
According to the official version, Ya.F. Pavlov, in principle, is associated with this fact and the name of the house, which he received later. But there is another version, according to which Pavlov led the assault directly, and I.F. Afanasyev was then responsible for the defense. And this fact is confirmed by military reports, which became a source for restoring all the events of that period. According to his soldiers, Ivan Afanasyevich was a rather modest person, perhaps this pushed him a little into the background. After the war, Pavlov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In contrast, Afanasiev was not awarded such an award.
The strategic importance of the house
An interesting fact for historians was that the Germans marked this house on the map as a fortress. And indeed the strategic importance of the house was very important - from here a wide view of the territory was opened, from where the Germans could break through to the Volga. Despite the daily attacks from the enemy, our fighters defended their positions, reliably closing the approaches from the enemies. The Germans who took part in the assault could not understand how the people in Pavlov's house could withstand their attacks without food and ammunition reinforcements. Subsequently, it turned out that all provisions and weapons were delivered through a special trench dug underground.
Is Tolik Kuryshov a fictional character or a hero?
Also, a little-known fact that was discovered in the course of research was the heroism of an 11-year-old boy who fought along with the Pavlovians. Tolik Kuryshov helped the soldiers in every possible way, who, in turn, tried to protect him from danger. Despite the commander's ban, Tolik still managed to accomplish a real feat. Having penetrated into one of the neighboring houses, he was able to get documents important for the army - a plan of capture. After the war, Kuryshov did not advertise his feat in any way. We learned about this event from the surviving documents. After a series of investigations, Anatoly Kuryshov was awarded the Order of the Red Star.
Where were the civilians?
Was there an evacuation or not - this issue also caused a lot of controversy. According to one version, civilians were in the basement of the Pavlovsk house for 58 days. Although there is a thorium that people were evacuated through dug trenches. Yet modern historians adhere to the official version. Many documents testify that people really were in the basement all this time. Thanks to the heroism of our soldiers, none of the civilians suffered during these 58 days.
Today, Pavlov's house has been completely restored and immortalized with a memorial wall. On the basis of the events associated with the heroic defense of the legendary house, books have been written and even a film has been made that has won many world awards.
Pavlov's house in Volgograd. Photo from www.wikipedia.org
It just so happened that during the year a private (by the standards of war) object of defense and its defenders became the object of attention of two creative teams at once. Directed by Sergei Ursulyak, he staged a wonderful multi-part television film "Life and Fate" based on the novel of the same name by Vasily Grossman. Its premiere took place in October 2012. And in February of this year, a television film is shown on the Kultura TV channel. As for the blockbuster "Stalingrad" by Fyodor Bondarchuk, which was released last fall, this is a completely different creation, with a different concept and approach. About his artistic merits and fidelity to historical truth (or rather, the absence of such) is hardly worth spreading. Enough has been said about this, including in a very sensible publication “Stalingrad without Stalingrad” (“NVO” No. 37, 10/11/13).
Grossman's novel, his television version, and Bondarchuk's film show the events that took place in one of the strongholds of the city's defense - albeit to a different extent, albeit not directly. But literature and cinema are one thing, and life is another. Or rather, history.
FORTRESS TO THE ENEMY DOES NOT SURRENDER
In September 1942, fierce battles broke out in the streets and squares of the central and northern parts of Stalingrad. “The fight in the city is a special fight. It is not strength that decides the issue, but skill, dexterity, resourcefulness and surprise. City buildings, like breakwaters, cut the battle formations of the advancing enemy and directed his forces along the streets. Therefore, we firmly held on to especially strong buildings, created in them a few garrisons capable of conducting all-round defense in the event of an encirclement. Especially strong buildings helped us create strongholds, from which the defenders of the city mowed down the advancing fascists with machine guns and machine guns, ”general Vasily Chuikov, commander of the legendary 62nd Army, later noted.
Unparalleled in world history in terms of scale and ferocity, the Battle of Stalingrad, which became a turning point in the course of the entire Second World War, ended victoriously on February 2, 1943. But street fighting continued in Stalingrad until the end of the battle on the banks of the Volga.
One of the strongholds, the importance of which the Commander-62 spoke about, was the legendary Pavlov's House. Its end wall overlooked January 9 Square (later Lenin Square). The 42nd regiment of the 13th Guards Rifle Division operated at this turn, which joined the 62nd Army in September 1942 (commander General Alexander Rodimtsev). The house occupied an important place in the defense system of the Rodimtsev guardsmen on the outskirts of the Volga. It was a four-story brick building. However, he had a very important tactical advantage: from there he controlled the entire surrounding area. It was possible to observe and fire at the part of the city occupied by that time by the enemy: up to 1 km to the west, and even more to the north and south. But the main thing is that from here the paths of a possible breakthrough of the Germans to the Volga were visible: it was within easy reach. Intense fighting here continued for more than two months.
The tactical significance of the house was correctly assessed by the commander of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment, Colonel Ivan Yelin. He ordered the commander of the 3rd Infantry Battalion, Captain Alexei Zhukov, to seize the house and turn it into a stronghold. On September 20, 1942, the fighters of the squad, led by Sergeant Yakov Pavlov, made their way there. And on the third day, reinforcements arrived: a machine-gun platoon of Lieutenant Ivan Afanasyev (seven people with one heavy machine gun), a group of armor-piercers of senior sergeant Andrey Sobgaida (six people with three anti-tank rifles), four mortarmen with two mortars under the command of Lieutenant Alexei Chernyshenko and three machine gunners. Lieutenant Ivan Afanasiev was appointed commander of this group.
The Nazis almost all the time conducted massive artillery and mortar shelling around the house, attacked it from the air, and continuously attacked it. But the garrison of the "fortress" - this is how Pavlov's house was marked on the headquarters map of the commander of the 6th German army, Paulus - skillfully prepared him for all-round defense. The fighters fired from different places through loopholes pierced in bricked-up windows and holes in the walls. When the enemy tried to approach the building, he was met by dense machine-gun fire from all firing points. The garrison steadfastly repelled enemy attacks and inflicted significant losses on the Nazis. And most importantly, in operational and tactical terms, the defenders of the house did not allow the enemy to break through to the Volga in this area.
At the same time, Lieutenants Afanasiev, Chernyshenko and Sergeant Pavlov established fire cooperation with strongholds in neighboring buildings - in the house that was defended by the soldiers of Lieutenant Nikolai Zabolotny, and in the mill building, where the command post of the 42nd Infantry Regiment was located. The interaction was facilitated by the fact that an observation post was equipped on the third floor of Pavlov's house, which the Nazis could not suppress. “A small group, defending one house, destroyed more enemy soldiers than the Nazis lost during the capture of Paris,” said Army Commander-62 Vasily Chuikov.
INTERNATIONAL SQUAD
DEFENDERS
Pavlov's house was defended by fighters of different nationalities - Russians Pavlov, Alexandrov and Afanasiev, Ukrainians Sobgaida and Glushchenko, Georgians Mosiashvili and Stepanoshvili, Uzbek Turganov, Kazakh Murzaev, Abkhaz Sukhba, Tajik Turdyev, Tatar Romazanov. According to official figures - 24 fighters. But in reality - up to 30. Someone dropped out due to injury, someone died, but they got a replacement. One way or another, Sergeant Pavlov (he was born on October 17, 1917 in Valdai, Novgorod region) celebrated his 25th birthday in the walls of “his” house along with his fighting friends. True, nothing is written about this anywhere, and Yakov Fedotovich himself and his fighting friends preferred to remain silent on this score.
As a result of continuous shelling, the building was seriously damaged. One end wall was almost completely destroyed. In order to avoid losses from blockages, part of the firepower, by order of the regiment commander, was moved outside the building. But the defenders of the House of Sergeant Pavlov, the House of Lieutenant Zabolotny and the mill, turned into strongholds, continued to steadfastly hold the line, despite the fierce attacks of the enemy.
It is impossible not to ask: how did Sergeant Pavlov's brother-soldiers not only manage to survive in a fiery hell, but also effectively defend themselves? Firstly, not only Lieutenant Afanasiev, but also Sergeant Pavlov were experienced fighters. Yakov Pavlov has been in the Red Army since 1938, and this is a solid period. Before Stalingrad, he was the commander of the machine-gun squad, gunner. So he does not need experience. Secondly, the reserve positions they equipped helped a lot. In front of the house was a cemented fuel depot, an underground passage was dug to it. And about 30 meters from the house there was a water tunnel hatch, to which an underground passage was also made. Ammunition and meager supplies of food came to the defenders of the house through it.
During shelling, everyone, except for observers and outposts, descended into shelters. Including civilians who were in the basements, who for various reasons could not be evacuated immediately. The shelling stopped, and the entire small garrison was again in their positions in the house, again firing at the enemy.
For 58 days and nights the garrison of the house held the defense. The fighters left it on November 24, when the regiment, along with other units, launched a counteroffensive. All of them were awarded government awards. And Sergeant Pavlov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. True, after the war - by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 27, 1945 - after he had joined the party by that time.
For the sake of historical truth, we note that most of the time the defense of the outpost house was led by Lieutenant Afanasyev. But he was not awarded the title of Hero. In addition, Ivan Filippovich was a man of exceptional modesty and never stuck out his merits. And “above” they decided to present the junior commander to the high rank, who, together with his fighters, was the first to break through to the house and take up defense there. After the fighting, someone made a corresponding inscription on the wall of the building. She was seen by military leaders, war correspondents. Under the name "Pavlov's House" the object was originally listed in combat reports. One way or another, the building on January 9 Square went down in history as Pavlov's House. Yakov Fedotovich himself, despite being wounded, fought with dignity after Stalingrad - already as an artilleryman. He ended the war on the Oder in the uniform of a foreman. He was later promoted to an officer's rank.
FOLLOWING THE PARTICIPANTS
DEFENSE OF STALINGRAD
Now in the hero city there are about 8 thousand participants of the Great Patriotic War, of which 1200 direct participants in the Battle of Stalingrad, as well as 3420 combat veterans. Yakov Pavlov could rightly be on this list - he could remain in the restored city that he defended. By nature, he was very sociable, many times he met with the inhabitants who survived the war and restored it from the ruins. Yakov Fedotovich lived with the cares and interests of the city on the Volga, participated in events for patriotic education.
The legendary Pavlov's House in the city became the first restored building. And the first was telephoned. Moreover, part of the apartments there were received by those who came to the restoration of Stalingrad from all over the country. Not only Yakov Pavlov, but also other surviving defenders of the house, which went down in history under his name, have always been the dearest guests of the townspeople. In 1980, Yakov Fedotovich was awarded the title of "Honorary Citizen of the Hero City of Volgograd". But...
After demobilization in August 1946, he returned to his native Novgorod region. Was at work in party bodies in the city of Valdai. Received higher education. Three times he was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR from the Novgorod region. Peaceful ones were added to his military awards: the Order of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, and medals.
Yakov Fedotovich Pavlov passed away in 1981 - the consequences of front-line wounds affected. But it just so happened that there were many legends and myths around the “House of Sergeant Pavlov” that went down in history and himself. Sometimes their echoes can be heard now. So, for many years the rumor was that Yakov Pavlov did not die at all, but took monastic tonsure and became Archimandrite Kirill. But at the same time, they say, he asked me to convey that he was not alive.
Is it so? The situation was investigated by the staff of the Volgograd State Panorama Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad. And what? Father Kirill in the world really was ... Pavlov. And he really participated in the Battle of Stalingrad. That's just with the name of the problem came out - Ivan. Moreover, Yakov and Ivan Pavlov were sergeants during the battle on the Volga, both ended the war as junior lieutenants. Ivan Pavlov served in the Far East in the initial period of the war, and in October 1941, as part of his unit, he arrived at the Volkhov Front. And then - Stalingrad. In 1942 he was wounded twice. But survived. When the fighting in Stalingrad died down, Ivan accidentally found among the rubble a gospel burnt by fire. He considered this a sign from above, and Ivan's war-scorched heart suggested: keep the volume with you!
In the ranks of the tank corps, Ivan Pavlov fought through Romania, Hungary and Austria. And everywhere with him in a knapsack was a burnt Stalingrad church book. Demobilized in 1946, he went to Moscow. In the Yelokhov Cathedral I asked: how to become a priest? And as he was, in military uniform, he went to enter the theological seminary. They say that many years later, Archimandrite Kirill was summoned to the military registration and enlistment office of the city of Sergiev Posad near Moscow and asked what to report “upstairs” about the defender of Stalingrad, Sergeant Pavlov. Kirill asked to be told that he was not alive.
But this is not the end of our story. During the search, the employees of the panorama museum (it is located just opposite the Pavlov House, across Sovetskaya Street, and I have been there many times as a student, as I studied at a nearby university) managed to establish the following. Among the participants in the Battle of Stalingrad were three Pavlovs, who became Heroes of the Soviet Union. In addition to Yakov Fedotovich, this is a tankman captain Sergei Mikhailovich Pavlov and an infantryman of the guard senior sergeant Dmitry Ivanovich Pavlov. On the Pavlovs and Afanasievs, as well as on the Ivanovs and Petrovs, Russia is holding on.
Volgograd–Moscow
Why did the Fritz call this battle the "rat war"? Why did the Nazis need this city? Blitzkrieg plans. Why was Pavlov's House so important? If they hadn't won, what would have happened...
The Battle of Stalingrad is the bloodiest battle in human history. During the defense of the city, about 2 million soldiers died.
The Fuhrer needed Stalingrad for 2 reasons:
Use Stalingrad to capture the oil of the Caucasus.
Humiliate Stalin by destroying the city that bears his name.
Any strategist, looking at the alignment of forces before the Battle of Stalingrad, predicted the death of the Red Army. But no victory!
This battle lasted 200 days and nights.
Stalin did not allow the evacuation of citizens - after all, this way the fighters would better protect the city.
The scariest there was a day on August 23 ... The Germans had 6 times more aircraft than the Soviet troops. The Wehrmacht hoped to destroy the city by bombarding it with high-explosive and incendiary bombs. And then - they thought - it remains only to occupy the burnt Stalingrad ...
Blitzkrieg! One powerful blow and the battle is over!
By the way, Türkiye was going to attack the USSR from the south. In the event of a successful capture of Stalingrad.
On August 23, Soviet aircraft were destroyed. A massive blow from the Fritz swept through the city like an avalanche. The center of the city turned into ruins and ashes ... A colossal fire began. 40,000 civilians died that day...
The Nazis went on the offensive - to occupy the city. BUT! Russian arrows appeared from somewhere and hand-to-hand fighting ensued. Here the forces were approximately equal: the Germans could not use either aircraft or artillery! Street after street, house after house, the Soviet soldiers slowly retreated...
For the Germans began the fiercest battles throughout the war. They called them "Rattenkrieg" ("Rat War").
The battles were on the ground and underground: fighters dug tunnels and entire systems of underground tunnels. Every home or business there were basements!
The Germans said that the purpose of thisunderground war - get to the bottom of hell andsummon demons from there ... It was then that the Germans had STEEL HELMETS.
More than once it happened that these tunnels were buried alive ... Houses with strong walls that could withstand artillery attacks turned into fortresses.
Stalingrad is a city located on the western bank of the Volga. Pavlov's house and Gerhardt's mill were HIGH, review which was about a kilometer! After the houses there was a steep descent to the Volga. If the houses had been occupied by the Fritz, the Soviet troops would then have been very, very sad: thousands of soldiers would have died storming the height ...
The defense of Pavlov's house went on 58 days. The Germans carried out heavy attacks - sometimes up to several attacks per day!!! Several times they occupied the 1st floor... But the Soviet soldiers fiercely held the line. A trench was dug from the house, through which the fighters received food and ammunition.
Where does the name of the house come from?
Yakov Pavlov led the reconnaissance group (3 fighters). They knocked out several Fritz from a 4-storey building and found that the house had been defended by our residents for two days! Civilians lived in the basement of the house. 3 days kept the defense of the Pavlov house, its fighters and residents !!! Then a machine-gun platoon of the Guard Lieutenant Ivan Afanasyev arrived in time (24 fighters).
Afanasyev built the defense very competently - only three fighters died in 58 days.
58 days... On German military maps, the house was listed as "fortress". Sergeant Pavlov received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and Lieutenant Afanasiev - the highest military award of the USSR - the Order of the Red Banner.
The main citadels of the battle of Stalingrad were its large factories - tractor, "Red October", "Barricades" - battles were in full swing in their numerous workshops for a long time.
On November 19, the Soviet Union launched a counteroffensive and on November 23 the encirclement ring was closed. The USSR did the unthinkable: in a short period, about a million people joined the ranks of the Red Army! These were not just "newcomers" - they were already trained, and the weapons were - not like in the first months of the war. It was they who decided the outcome of the battle: about 230 thousand soldiers of the Nazi coalition were surrounded.
Paulus asked for a retreat. Hitler refused. There was no supply. The Soviet air defense thwarted all Goering's plans to supply the encircled troops. The Russian winter has begun... Frostbitten, hungry, doomed soldiers of the Wehrmacht fought furiously to the last...
Von Paulus did not follow the Fuhrer's order to "shoot himself", but surrendered.
Of the 110,000 soldiers taken prisoner in Soviet labor camps, about 5,500 survived and returned to Germany.
The Battle of Stalingrad is a victory over the troops of Germany, Italy, Romania, Hungary and Croatia.
The hardest victory ... It changed the course of history: Turkey refused to attack the USSR, Japan also canceled the "Siberian" campaign.
If not for the courage of the Soviet soldiers and the inhabitants of Stalingrad ... the USSR ... 2 more fronts ...
Eternal glory to you, defenders of Stalingrad!
