Faucets

How the Urals created a tank corps that beat the Nazis from Kursk to Prague. Ural Volunteer Tank Corps

Back in 1942, when the Battle of Stalingrad was taking place on the battlefields, a proposal was born among the workers of the Sverdlovsk factories: to make a gift to the front - to create our own, Ural, tank formation. At the initiative of the tank builders, the newspaper “Ural Worker” on January 16, 1943 published the material “Tank Corps - Above Plan”: the tank builders of the Urals pledged to exceed production plans for the production of military products, work for free and, in excess of the plan, regularly deduct part of their earnings to equip the corps with combat weapons. cars, weapons, uniforms.

The patriotic initiative of Sverdlovsk residents was picked up by the Chelyabinsk and Molotov regions. A letter was sent to the Chairman of the State Defense Committee, which stated:

“...Expressing the noble patriotic desires of the Urals people, we ask you, Comrade Stalin, to allow us to form a special volunteer Ural Tank Corps in your name in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Red Army...”

“YOUR PROPOSAL TO FORM A SPECIAL VOLUNTEER URAL TANK CORPS IS APPROVED AND WELCOME. THE ORDER HAS BEEN GIVEN TO THE GABTU TO PROVIDE YOU WITH ASSISTANCE IN SELECTION OF COMMANDS. J.STALIN."

On February 26, 1943, the Commander of the Ural Military District, Major General Katkov, issued a directive stating that on the territory of the Ural Military District, according to the decision of the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Molotov regional committees of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, approved by the People's Commissar of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union Comrade Stalin, a special Ural Volunteer Tank Corps with a strength of 9,661 people is formed. The commanders of units and formations were instructed to begin training personnel as they arrived, without waiting for regular staffing.

In the very first days after receiving Comrade Stalin’s telegram, a stream of applications poured into the military registration and enlistment offices from volunteers wishing to become soldiers of the corps. More than 100 thousand applications were submitted by factory workers. 12 people applied for one place in the corps. Commissions were created at enterprises and military registration and enlistment offices. They selected physically strong, healthy people who knew how to operate equipment and those whose specialties were applicable in tank forces. At the same time, voluntary fundraising for the fund for the creation of the corps continued throughout the Urals. We collected over 70 million rubles. This money was used to buy military equipment, weapons and uniforms from the state.

Based on local conditions and resources of the regions, formations and corps units were formed in Sverdlovsk, Molotov, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Tagil, Alapaevsk, Degtyarsk, Troitsk, Miass, Zlatoust, Kus and Kyshtym.

On March 18, 1943, Lieutenant General of the Tank Forces, front-line soldier Georgy Semenovich Rodin, was appointed to command the corps. Junior command and enlisted personnel arrived to staff the corps' units and formations, mainly by April 1, 1943.

On April 24, 1943, the corps command turned to the District Military Council with a request to petition the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to produce battle flags for the corps units and formations. On May 1, 1943, in all units and formations of the corps, volunteers solemnly took the military oath and were presented with military weapons. On May 9, 1943, at the Sverdlovsk Opera House, the working Urals advised the volunteers of the corps units and formations formed in Sverdlovsk to battle the enemy, and presented the corps with its ORDER: “Do not disgrace the centuries-old military traditions of the Urals, defeat the enemy, take revenge on him for the desecration of his native land, return to our native Urals only with victory.” The corps was presented with the CHEF'S banner. The corps commander, Lieutenant General G.S. Rodin, bowed his knee. The volunteers vowed to fulfill the NAND of the Urals people.

On June 2, 1943, units and formations of the corps with personnel, tanks, vehicles and ammunition were loaded into trains and redeployed to the Moscow region. In the act of transferring the 30th UDTK to the Kosterevsky tank camp, it was noted that the corps personnel were satisfactorily prepared. The middle ranks of the command staff were staffed by tank schools and KUKS. Junior commanders and rank and file are Ural volunteers. Out of 8,206 people. The corps personnel are only 536 people. had military experience. Women also served in units and formations of the corps: 123 privates and junior commanders, 249 signalmen and radio operators.

On July 17, 1943, the material part of the corps consisted of: T-34 tanks - 202, T-70 - 7, BA-64 armored vehicles - 68, self-propelled 122 mm guns - 16, 85 mm guns - 12, M-13 installations - 8, 76 mm guns - 24, 45 mm guns - 32, 37 mm guns - 16, 120 mm mortars - 42, 82 mm mortars - 52.

The material part of the combat vehicles and artillery weapons received by the corps was completely new. Having arrived at the Kosterevsky tank camp (Cuban branch), the units and formations of the corps began combat training under the program “Bringing together tank brigades and corps and tank military camps.”

By order of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps became part of the 4th Tank Army of Lieutenant General of Tank Forces Vasily Mikhailovich Badanov. At the beginning of July 1943, a commission of the Main Directorate for the Formation and Training of Armored and Mechanized Troops of the Red Army, under the leadership of Marshal Fedorenko, checked the combat readiness of units and formations of 30 UDTK, noting its good preparation.

By order of the USSR NKO No. 306 of October 23, 1943, the 30th Ural Tank Corps was transformed into the 10th Guards Ural Tank Corps.

In the active army:

from 07/20/1943 to 09/29/1943

How the Urals created a tank corps that beat the Nazis from Kursk to Prague

On March 11, Russia celebrates the Day of National Feat for the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps during the Great Patriotic War.

This memorable date, marking the feat of the Soviet people during the war, appeared on the calendar in 2012, when the governor of the Sverdlovsk region issued a corresponding decree, where the first paragraph reads: “Set a significant date for the Sverdlovsk region “Day of National Feat” for the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps in years of the Great Patriotic War" and celebrate it annually on March 11."

The historical event that served as the basis for the establishment of the holiday occurred in 1943. The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps was formed in 1943 and equipped with weapons and equipment manufactured by the workers of the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Molotov regions (now the Perm Territory) with unpaid labor in excess of the plan and through voluntary contributions. When formed (February), the formation was called the Special Ural Volunteer Tank Corps named after I.V. Stalin, from March 11 - the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. Thus, on March 11, 2013, the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps turned 70 years old. In connection with this, a holiday was established.

The Ural Tank Corps is known for the fact that 3,356 Finnish knives (“black knives”) were specially produced for it in Zlatoust. The tankers received HP-40 knives - “Army knife of the 1940 model.” The knives differed in appearance from the standard ones: their handles were made of black ebonite, and the metal on the sheath was blued. Similar knives were previously part of the equipment of paratroopers and reconnaissance officers; in some units they were awarded only for special merits. These short blades with black handles, which were in service with our tank crews, became legendary and inspired fear and respect in our enemies. “Schwarzmesser Panzer-Division”, which translates as “Tank Division of Black Knives” - this is what German intelligence called the Ural Corps on the Kursk Bulge in the summer of 1943.

The Ural tank crews took the nickname given to them by the Nazis with pride. In 1943, Ivan Ovchinin, who later died in the battles for the liberation of Hungary, wrote a song that became the unofficial anthem of the Black Knife Division. It also contained these lines:

The fascists whisper to each other in fear,
Hiding in the darkness of the dugouts:
Tankers appeared from the Urals -
Black Knife Division.
Squads of selfless fighters,
Nothing can kill their courage.
Oh, they don’t like fascist bastards
Our Ural steel black knife!

T-34-85 tank of the 29th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps on Prague Square

From the history of the corps

The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps is the only tank formation in the world created entirely with funds voluntarily collected by residents of three regions: Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Molotov. The state did not spend a single ruble on arming and equipping this corps. All combat vehicles were built by Ural workers overtime, after the end of the main working day.

The idea of making a gift to the front - creating a Ural tank corps - was born in 1942. It arose in the factory teams of the Ural tank builders and was picked up by the entire working class of the Urals in the days when our country was under the impression of the decisive and victorious Battle of Stalingrad. The Urals, who at that time produced the bulk of tanks and self-propelled guns, were rightfully proud of the victory on the Volga, where the armored forces showed the irresistible striking force of the Red Army. It became clear to everyone: the success of the upcoming battles and the final victory over Nazi Germany largely depend on the number of our magnificent combat vehicles, combined into large tank formations. The workers of the stronghold of the Soviet state decided to give the front-line soldiers another unique gift - a volunteer tank corps.

On January 16, 1943, the newspaper “Ural Worker” published the article “Tank Corps Beyond Plan.” It spoke of the obligation of the largest teams of tank builders in the Urals to produce in the first quarter, in excess of the plan, as many tanks and self-propelled guns as required per corps, while at the same time training vehicle drivers from their own volunteer workers. The slogan was born on the factory floors: “Let’s make above-plan tanks and self-propelled guns and take them into battle.” The party committees of three regions addressed a letter to Stalin, in which they stated: “... Expressing the noble patriotic desire of the Urals, we ask that we be allowed to form a special volunteer Ural Tank Corps... We undertake the obligation to select the best who are selflessly devoted to the Motherland into the Ural Tank Corps people of the Urals - communists, Komsomol members, non-party Bolsheviks. We undertake to fully equip the Volunteer Tank Corps of the Urals with the best military equipment: tanks, aircraft, guns, mortars, ammunition, produced in excess of the production program.” Joseph Stalin approved the idea, and work began to boil.

Everyone responded to the cry raised by Uralmash tank builders, who contributed part of their salaries to the construction of tanks. Schoolchildren collected scrap metal to send it to furnaces for melting down. Ural families, who themselves lacked funds, gave away their last savings. As a result, residents of the Sverdlovsk region alone managed to collect 58 million rubles. Not only were combat vehicles built with people's money, but also the necessary weapons, uniforms, and literally everything were purchased from the state. In January 1943, a recruitment of volunteers for the Ural Corps was announced. By March, over 110 thousand applications had been submitted - 12 times more than needed.

Volunteers represented the best part of the workforce, among them there were many skilled workers, specialists, production managers, communists and Komsomol members. It is clear that it was impossible to send all the volunteers to the front, since this would damage production and the entire country. Therefore, they made a tough selection. Party committees, factory committees, and special commissions often selected one of 15-20 worthy candidates with the condition that the staff recommend who would replace the one leaving for the front. Selected candidates were reviewed and approved at work meetings. Only 9,660 people were able to go to the front. In total, 536 of them had combat experience, the rest took up arms for the first time.

On the territory of the Sverdlovsk region the following were formed: corps headquarters, 197th tank brigade, 88th separate reconnaissance motorcycle battalion, 565th medical platoon, 1621st self-propelled artillery regiment, 248th rocket mortar division ("Katyusha" ), the 390th communications battalion, as well as units of the 30th motorized rifle brigade (brigade command, one motorized rifle battalion, reconnaissance company, control company, mortar platoon, medical platoon). On the territory of the Molotov (Perm) region the following were formed: the 243rd tank brigade, the 299th mortar regiment, the 3rd battalion of the 30th motorized rifle brigade, the 267th repair base. In the Chelyabinsk region the following were formed: the 244th tank brigade, the 266th repair base, the 743rd engineer battalion, the 64th separate armored battalion, the 36th fuel and lubricants delivery company, an engineering mortar company, a motor transport company and units of the 30th motorized rifle brigades (2nd motorized rifle battalion, anti-tank rifle company, motor transport company and brigade technical support company).

Thus, the 30th Tank Corps was formed in a surprisingly short time. By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of March 11, 1943, it was given the name - 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

The first commander of the corps was Georgy Semenovich Rodin (1897-1976). Georgy Rodin had extensive combat experience: he began serving in the Russian Imperial Army in 1916, rose to the rank of senior non-commissioned officer, and then joined the ranks of the Red Army. He began his service as a platoon commander and fought with whites and bandits. After the Civil War, he served as a platoon commander, assistant company commander, deputy battalion commander, and battalion commander. Since 1930, he served as assistant commander and commander of the 234th Infantry Regiment, and since December 1933, as commander of a separate tank battalion and head of the armored service of the 25th Infantry Division. In 1934, he completed academic courses for technical improvement of the command staff of the Red Army, and in 1936, for the excellent combat training of the unit, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. He took part in the campaign in Western Belarus and fought with the Finns.

Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the 47th Tank Division (18th Mechanized Corps, Odessa Military District). The division under the command of Rodin covered the retreat of the 18th and 12th armies of the Southern Front; during the fighting in the area of the city of Gaysin, the division was surrounded, during the exit from which it inflicted significant damage on the enemy. During the fighting for Poltava, Rodin was seriously wounded. In March 1942, he was appointed commander of the 52nd Tank Brigade, and in June - to the post of commander of the 28th Tank Corps, which at the end of July took part in a frontal counterattack against the enemy who had broken through to the Don north of the city of Kalach-na- Don. In October, he was appointed head of the Automotive Armored Troops of the Southwestern Front, and in April 1943, he was appointed commander of the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

The commander of the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps, Lieutenant General of Tank Forces Georgy Semenovich Rodin (1897-1976), awards Guard Junior Sergeant Pavlin Ivanovich Kozhin (1905-1973) with the medal “For Military Merit”

Since the spring of 1944, the corps was commanded by Evtikhiy Emelyanovich Belov (1901-1966). He also had extensive combat experience. He began serving in the Red Army in 1920. He served as a squad commander, platoon commander, assistant company commander, rifle battalion commander, and tank battalion commander. In 1932 he graduated from armored tank advanced training courses for command personnel, and in 1934 he completed the M.V. Frunze Military Academy in absentia. Before the start of the war, he was the commander of the 14th Tank Regiment (17th Tank Division, 6th Mechanized Corps, Western Special Military District).

After the start of the Great War, he took part in the border battle, participated in the counterattack in the Bialystok-Grodno direction, and then in defensive battles in the Grodno, Lida and Novogrudok regions. In September 1941, Evtikhiy Belov was appointed commander of the 23rd Tank Brigade (49th Army, Western Front). In July 1942, he was appointed to the post of deputy commander of tank forces of the 20th Army (Western Front), while there he took part in the Rzhev-Sychevsk offensive operation, and then in the defense of the army of the Rzhev-Vyazma defensive line. In January 1943, he was appointed deputy commander of the 3rd Tank Army. In May 1943, he was appointed to the post of deputy commander of the 57th Army, in July - to the post of deputy commander of the 4th Tank Army, and in March 1944 - to the post of commander of the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

Medium tanks T-34, manufactured above plan for the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. The stamped turret for the tank in the photo was produced at the Ordzhonikidze Ural Heavy Engineering Plant (UZTM) in Sverdlovsk

An echelon of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps heading to the front. On the platforms there are T-34-76 tanks and SU-122 self-propelled guns

On May 1, 1943, the soldiers of the corps took the oath, vowed to return home only with Victory, and soon received orders to go to the front. The Ural Corps became part of the 4th Tank Army and on July 27 received a baptism of fire on the Kursk Bulge, north of the city of Orel. In battles, Soviet tank crews showed incredible stamina and unparalleled courage. The unit was awarded the honorary title of Guards Corps. By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR No. 306 of October 26, 1943, it was transformed into the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. All units of the corps were given the name Guards. On November 18, 1943, units and formations of the corps were solemnly awarded the Guards Banners.

The corps' combat route from Orel to Prague was over 5,500 kilometers. The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps participated in the Oryol, Bryansk, Proskurov-Chernivtsi, Lviv-Sandomierz, Sandomierz-Silesian, Lower Silesian, Upper Silesian, Berlin and Prague offensive operations. In 1944, the corps was awarded the honorary title “Lvov”. The corps distinguished itself during the crossing of the Neisse and Spree rivers, the destruction of the enemy's Kotbus group and in the battles for Potsdam and Berlin, and on May 9, 1945, it was the first to enter Prague. The corps was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, Suvorov II degree, Kutuzov II degree. In total, there are 54 orders on the battle banners of the units that were part of the 10th Guards Ural-Lvov, Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Volunteer Tank Corps.

A group of Soviet T-34 medium tanks from the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps follows along a street in Lvov

12 corps guards proved themselves to be outstanding masters of tank combat, destroying 20 or more enemy combat vehicles. Lieutenant M. Kuchenkov's Guard has 32 armored units, Captain N. Dyachenko's Guard has 31, Sergeant N. Novitsky's Guard has 29, Junior Lieutenant M. Razumovsky's Guard has 25, Lieutenant D. Maneshin's Guard has 24, Guard Captain V. Markov and Guard Senior Sergeant V. Kupriyanov - 23 each, Guard Sergeant S. Shopov and Guard Lieutenant N. Bulitsky - 21 each, Guard Sergeant M. Pimenov, Guard Lieutenant V. Mocheny and Guard Sergeant V. Tkachenko - 20 armored units each.

During the Prague operation, the crew of the T-34 tank No. 24 of the 63rd Guards Chelyabinsk Tank Brigade under the command of Guard Lieutenant Ivan Goncharenko became famous. At the beginning of May 1945, during the campaign against Prague, I. G. Goncharenko’s tank was included in the lead marching column and was among the first three reconnaissance tanks of the guard of junior lieutenant L. E. Burakov. After three days of forced march, on the night of May 9, 1945, the advanced units of the corps approached Prague from the northwest. According to the recollections of the former commander of the 63rd Guards Tank Brigade M. G. Fomichev, the local population greeted the Soviet tank crews with jubilation, with national and red flags and banners “At Zhie Ruda Armada! Long live the Red Army!

On the night of May 9, a reconnaissance platoon of three tanks, Burakov, Goncharenko and Kotov, with scouts and sappers on armor, was the first to enter Prague and found out that Czech rebels were fighting with the Germans in the city center. An assault group was formed in Prague - the tank of the company commander Latnik was added to the reconnaissance platoon. The assault group under the command of Latnik was given the task of capturing the Manesov Bridge and ensuring the exit of the main forces of the tank brigade to the city center. On the approaches to Prague Castle, the enemy put up strong resistance: at the Charles and Manesov bridges over the Vltava River, the Nazis set up a barrier of several assault guns under the cover of a large number of faustians. Ivan Goncharenko’s tank was the first to reach the Vltava River. During the ensuing battle, Goncharenko’s crew destroyed two enemy self-propelled guns and began to break through the Manesov Bridge, but the Germans managed to knock out the T-34. From the award sheet: “While holding the crossing, Comrade Goncharenko destroyed 2 self-propelled guns with the fire of his tank. The tank was hit by a shell and caught fire. T. Goncharenko was seriously wounded. Being seriously wounded, the brave officer, bleeding, continued to fight. Comrade Goncharenko was killed by a second hit in the tank. At this time, the main forces arrived and began a rapid pursuit of the enemy.” Goncharenko was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. Crew members I. G. Goncharenko - A. I. Filippov, I. G. Shklovsky, N. S. Kovrigin and P. G. Batyrev - were seriously wounded in battle on May 9, 1945, but survived. The remaining tanks of the assault group, having broken the resistance of the German troops, captured the Manesov Bridge, preventing the enemy from blowing up the bridge. And then we walked along it to the center of Prague. On the afternoon of May 9, the capital of Czechoslovakia was liberated from German troops.

Guard lieutenant, tanker Ivan Grigorievich Goncharenko

In honor of the tank, as the first to come to the aid of the rebel Prague, a monument with an IS-2 tank was erected in the capital of Czechoslovakia. The monument to Soviet tank crews in Prague on Stefanik Square stood until the “Velvet Revolution” in 1991, when it was repainted pink, then dismantled from its pedestal and is now used as a “symbol of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops.” Thus, in the Czech Republic, as throughout Europe, the memory of the Soviet soldier-liberator was basically destroyed, and the black myth of the “Soviet occupation” was transformed by the enemies of Russian civilization.

Soviet IS-2 tank, in service from 1948 to 1991. in Prague as a monument to the T-34 tank I. G. Goncharenko

In total, on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, Ural tank crews destroyed and captured 1,220 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, 1,100 guns of various calibers, 2,100 armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers, and destroyed 94,620 enemy soldiers and officers. In total, during the war, 42,368 orders and medals were awarded to the soldiers of the corps, 27 soldiers and sergeants became full holders of the Order of Glory, and 38 guardsmen of the corps were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the corps was transformed into the 10th Guards Tank Division. The division is part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG, ZGV). It is part of the 3rd Combined Arms Red Banner Army. After the withdrawal of troops from Germany in 1994, the division was redeployed to the Voronezh region, namely the city of Boguchar (Moscow Military District). In 2001, the division took part in hostilities in the North Caucasus. In 2009, the division was disbanded and the 262nd Guards base for storing weapons and equipment (tank) was formed on its base. In 2015, on the basis of the storage base, the 1st separate tank brigade was formed, with the transfer of the honorary title of the 10th Guards Tank Division to it. This is the glorious path of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

Soldiers of the 63rd Guards Chelyabinsk Tank Brigade on Wenceslas Square in Prague

Presentation of the Order from the workers of the Southern Urals to representatives of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps

On February 26, 1943, the commander of the Ural Military District, Major General Alexander Vasilyevich Katkov, issued a directive on the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps named after Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin.

"...The fascists whisper to each other in fear,
Hiding in the darkness of the dugouts:
Tankers appeared from the Urals -
Black Knife Division.

Squads of selfless fighters,
Nothing can kill their courage.
Oh, they don’t like fascist bastards
Our Ural steel black knife..."

At the beginning of 1943, when the fate of the German group of troops at Stalingrad was decided, and a fundamental turning point was outlined in the course of the war, the Ural Worker newspaper published a note - “Tank Corps Beyond Plan.” It proposed to proactively produce tanks and self-propelled guns “above plan” to equip a tank corps, as well as to train drivers of combat vehicles from among volunteer workers. There were 12 times more volunteers than required. Of the 110 thousand people who applied, 9,660 people were selected. At the same time, the process of selecting volunteers throughout the Urals was raising funds for the creation of the corps, as a result of which over 70 million rubles were collected. For comparison, the production of one T-34-76 tank of the 1943 model cost approximately 135 thousand rubles.

In the Southern Urals, the following were formed: in Chelyabinsk - the 244th tank brigade, the 266th repair base, an engineering mortar company and a vehicle company of the 30th motorized rifle brigade. In Zlatoust - 2nd battalion of the 30th motorized rifle brigade. In Kus there is a motor transport company of the 30th motorized rifle brigade. In Kyshtym there is a 36th fuel and lubricants supply company, an anti-tank rifle company and a technical support company of the 30th motorized rifle brigade. The place where the 743rd engineer battalion was formed was the city of Troitsk, and the 64th separate armored battalion was formed in Miass.

On the territory of the Sverdlovsk region the following were formed: in Sverdlovsk - corps headquarters, 197 tank brigade, 88 separate reconnaissance motorcycle battalion, 565 medical platoon. In Nizhny Tagil - 1621 self-propelled artillery regiment, 248 rocket mortar division. In Alapaevsk - 390th communications battalion. The 30th motorized rifle brigade was formed in Degtyarsk.

On the territory of the Molotov region (now the Perm Territory) the following were formed: 243 tank brigade, 299 mortar regiment, 3 battalion of the 30 motorized rifle brigade, 267 repair base.

A distinctive feature of the equipment of the corps personnel was an army knife of the 1940 model - "NR-40", produced by the Zlatoust Tool Factory. They were made for every member of the corps, from private to general. It was because of them that the Nazis received the nickname “black knife division” (schwarzmesser panzer-division - German).

Going to the front, the soldiers and corps commanders received not only weapons, but also an order from the Urals:

“Our dear sons and brothers, fathers and husbands! Since ancient times it has been customary among us: when seeing off their sons to military affairs, the Urals gave them their national order. Seeing off and blessing you to the battle with the fierce enemy of our Soviet Motherland, we also want to admonish you with our order Accept it as a battle banner and carry it with honor through the fire of harsh battles, as the will of the people of your native Urals. At the decisive moment of the Great Patriotic War, you go out to the mortal battle for the honor, freedom and happiness of the Motherland. Every day the battles with the hated Germans flare up more and more. -fascist invaders. And our native Earth will hear and see many more battles.

We punish you:

Take full advantage of the high maneuverability of your amazing machines. Become the masters of tank strikes. Master combat tactics, a brilliant example of which is the battle at the walls of Stalingrad, which brought a historic victory to the Red Army. Love your cars, take care of them so that they always serve you flawlessly in battle. Show examples of high military discipline, perseverance, and organization. Forward to the West! Look there, strive there, everything will be fine behind you. Don’t let worry about your family, factory, mine, or collective farm take over your heart.

We give you our word as strong as the granite of our mountains that we who remain here will be worthy of your military deeds at the front. The glory of our region, the glory of our deeds will shine even brighter. You will have enough shells and bullets and all sorts of weapons. We will send everything, we will deliver everything to our dear Soviet soldiers. At the forefront, in the smoke of battle, feel the entire Urals next to you - the huge military arsenal of the Motherland, the forge of formidable weapons.

Soldiers and commanders of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps!

We equipped a volunteer tank corps with our own funds. With our own hands we lovingly and carefully forged weapons for you. We worked on it day and night. In this weapon are our cherished and ardent thoughts about the bright hour of our complete Victory; in it is our will, as firm as the Ural Stone: to crush and exterminate the fascist beast. Carry this will of ours with you into hot battles.

Remember our order. It contains our parental love and a stern order, marital parting words and our oath.

Don’t forget: you and your cars are a part of us, this is our blood, our ancient Ural good glory, our fiery anger towards the enemy. Boldly lead a steel avalanche of tanks. Feats and glory await you. We are confident: the fierce enemy will be crushed to dust. And then the native land will bloom more than ever, the native land will be painted over, and all Soviet people will live happily.

The unit went through a glorious battle path from Orel to Berlin and Prague, liberated hundreds of cities and thousands of settlements from the Nazi occupiers, rescuing tens of thousands of people from under the yoke of the Nazis. For the liberation of Lvov, the corps received the name "Lvovsky".

During the battles, the Ural tank crews inflicted enormous damage on the enemy, capturing and destroying: 1,110 tanks and self-propelled guns, 1,100 guns of various calibers, 589 mortars, 2,125 machine guns, 2,100 armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers, 649 aircraft, 20,684 rifles and machine guns, 68 anti-aircraft guns, 7,711 Faust cartridges and anti-tank rifles, 583 tractor-trailers, 15,211 motor vehicles, 1,747 motorcycles, 24 radio stations, 293 warehouses with ammunition, food, fuel and equipment, 3 armored trains, 166 steam locomotives, 33 trains with military equipment. In total, 94,620 enemy soldiers and officers were destroyed by the corps' soldiers, and 44,752 Nazis were captured.

For excellent military operations, heroism, courage and bravery of the Ural volunteers, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief expressed gratitude to the corps and its units 27 times. The corps was awarded the orders of the Red Banner, Suvorov II degree and Kutuzov II degree. Guards tankmen were awarded 42,368 orders and medals, 27 soldiers and sergeants became full holders of the Order of Glory, 38 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On February 26, 2015 at 18-00 in Chelyabinsk, flowers will be laid at the monument to the "Volunteer Tankmen", located on the very spot from where our great ancestors went to fight the enemy. Come to pay tribute to the memory of those who did not spare their lives so that we could live.

Creative work - abstract, completed in honor of the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps(UTDK), in within the framework of the regional creative competition “Combat Corps”. The research received a positive assessment from the competition experts and made it to the finals of the competition. The open defense will take place on March 26 in Yekaterinburg.

Practical result - booklet "Black Knives Division"

Download:

Preview:

Municipal educational institution

"Secondary school No. 2"

For the regional creative competition

essays and abstracts “Combat Corps”

Ural Volunteer Tank Corps -

gift to the front

(abstract)

Supervisor: Chernyaeva Lidiya Dmitrievna

Kachkanarsky urban district, 2013.

INTRODUCTION 3

1. The Ural region is the largest industrial evacuation point 5

1.1. Industrial enterprises 5

1.2. State of the raw material base 8

1.3. Unity of front and rear 10

2. Ural Volunteer Tank Corps - a gift to the front 14

2.1.Formation of the body 14

2.2.Combat history 18

2.3.After the war 21

CONCLUSION 23

References 25

Internet resources 25

Applications

INTRODUCTION

Ural! Testament of centuries and together -

A harbinger of times to come

And into our souls, like a song,

He comes in with a mighty bass voice -

Ural! The supporting edge of the state,

Her breadwinner and blacksmith,

The same age as our ancient glory

And the glory of the present creator!

Alexander Tvardovsky, in the poem “Beyond the Distance,” with his poetic will ratified the key role of the Ural region in the life of Russia: “The Ural is the supporting region of the state.” This expression became the brand of the Sverdlovsk region – the country’s rear shield during the Great Patriotic War, and was officially placed on the region’s coat of arms.

Undoubtedly the phrase “The Urals is the stronghold of the state” is the most concise and accurate description of our region. Behind the words “supporting edge” are not only tanks and missiles, but also citizens of their country who have rich intellectual and creative potential. In order for this characteristic, indisputable and understandable to the older generation of contemporaries, not to lose its obviousness and significance in the perception of my generation, it is necessary to realize that the future of the Urals is created by us and the revival depends on us.

The Urals sent their best sons and daughters to this formation.

In 2013, the Sverdlovsk region celebrates the 70th anniversary of the national feat of forming the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps (UTDK) during the Great Patriotic War.

In this regard, Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region E.V. Kuyvashev signed decree No. 157 - UG dated July 27, 2012 and announced a significant date - March 11, “Day of National Feat for the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps,” which will be celebrated annually by the Sverdlovsk region .

Despite this, the chairman of the UTDK Veterans Council, V.K. Khorkov, notes: “Unfortunately, today young people know little about this period of national history. But our grandfathers and great-grandfathers purchased everything at their own expense to create the body - from buttons to T-34 tanks. During the Great Patriotic War, UDTK soldiers were awarded more than 40 thousand orders and medals, 27 soldiers and sergeants became full holders of the Order of Glory, 38 guardsmen of the corps were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union." .

In connection with this contradiction, the purpose of this study is to study the history of the creation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. In accordance with it, the following tasks are set:

Study historical sources on the research topic;

Determine the conditions that contributed to the creation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps;

Show the significance of the feat of the Urals during the Great Patriotic War.

1. The Ural region is the largest industrial evacuation point

In the first chapter we will look at what changes have occurred inindustry of the Urals during the Great Patriotic War. How these changes affected the development of the Ural region. What conditions contributed to the creation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps

1.1. Industrial enterprises

A severe disaster at the front in the summer - autumn of 1941 forced us to reconsider the role of the Urals in the military economic system of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). On June 27, 1941, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a joint resolution "On the procedure for the removal and placement of human contingents and valuable property" .

In the shortest possible time, the Ural region was turned into the most powerful center of defense production. The Stalinist state was the owner of all the material and labor resources of the Soviet Union, so it was able to quickly concentrate the necessary productive forces here. Of the 1,523 factories evacuated to the East from the European part of the USSR in July - November 1941, more than 600 arrived in the Urals. In 1942, another 130 enterprises were evacuated here. The population of the region grew by 1.4 million people.

For example, the number of residents of the largest cities of the Middle Urals, Sverdlovsk and Nizhny Tagil during the war years increased respectively from 423 thousand people to 620 thousand; from 160.0 to 239.0 thousand.

The largest tank production in the USSR and in the world was established in the Urals, concentrated in Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Tagil and Sverdlovsk.

The Kirov plant, which arrived in Chelyabinsk from Leningrad, absorbed ChTZ and the evacuated Kharkov diesel engine plant, and received equipment and personnel from a number of other enterprises. Nicknamed "Tankograd", the giant plant produced 2,553 heavy KB tanks in 1942 - 100% of their all-Union production and almost twice as many as the entire USSR produced in 1941. In the first quarter of 1943, Chelyabinsk residents mastered the production of the KV-85, with the same armor, but with a more powerful gun and a higher speed of movement. From the fourth quarter of the same year, Tankograd began producing heavy tanks of the IS series (Joseph Stalin) with a 122 mm cannon. For 1942-1945 The plant produced 3/4 of the all-Union production of heavy tanks - 8340 units. From August 1942 to March 1944, the Kirov team also produced 5,677 T-34 medium tanks.

But the main manufacturer of the best medium tanks of the Second World War was the Ural Tank Plant (UTZ) in Nizhny Tagil. It was formed as a result of the merger of Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) with evacuated factories: Kharkov Tractor Plant, partially Mariupol Armor Plant and Moscow Machine Tool Plant. On December 20, 1941, UTZ sent the first batch of T-34s of 25 vehicles to the front. And in 1942-1945. he produced almost 29 thousand medium tanks. Since 1943, T-34 tanks received more powerful armor and weapons while maintaining the same speed characteristics.

The third giant of armored tank production was Uralmash (UZTM), which was replenished with equipment and personnel from factories evacuated from Leningrad, Bryansk, and Kyiv. From September 1942 to the end of 1943, he produced 731 T-34 and T-34-85 tanks. Only three Ural factories for 1942-1945. produced more than 35 thousand medium tanks - 60% of their all-Union production.

From September 1941 to August 1942, a plant operated in Sverdlovsk, producing light tanks T-60 and T-70. It produced almost 2 thousand of them, then became a branch of UZTM, supplying parts and components for the T-34 and self-propelled guns.

The Urals are the birthplace of Soviet self-propelled artillery. The first 26 self-propelled artillery units (SAU) were manufactured in 1942.

During the evacuation of the Tula and Podolsk arms factories, Izhmash was the only manufacturer of small arms in the USSR. By the end of 1941, it increased the monthly production of rifles and carbines by 4 times compared to 1940. It mastered the production of anti-tank rifles, aircraft guns, and machine guns of the latest designs. Production increased annually due to improved technology and improved labor organization. In 1943, the plant completely switched to conveyor assembly. At the same time, labor productivity increased 4 times compared to 1940, and production costs decreased by 1.5-2 times. During the war, Izhmash produced 12.4 million small arms out of 19.8 million produced in the country (more than 60%) and, in addition, 7 thousand aircraft guns.

In 1942-1945. The Urals produced over half of all ammunition.

The production of the Ural aviation industry increased 11 times. Its main enterprises were the Ufa and Molotov engine plants. Their engines were installed on the fighters of Lavochkin and Yakovlev, and the bombers of Petlyakov and Tupolev. The Ural Tank Plant supplied armored hulls for the Il-2 attack aircraft.

In general, the Ural economic region in 1942-1945. gave up to 40% of the country's total military industrial output. The military industry was primarily supplied with machinery, equipment, electricity, fuel, fuel, metal, and those working at its enterprises were supplied with food and industrial goods. The labor used here was mainly that of young and middle-aged male workers who had high qualifications and were exempt from conscription into the army. Low-skilled labor, including women and teenagers, was widely used only in the manufacture of barrel mortars, ammunition and in auxiliary work.

1.2. State of the raw material base

The interests of the comprehensive development of military production required the expansion of the country's raw materials and fuel and energy base, and primarily in the eastern regions, where the main arsenal of the Soviet Union was being created at an accelerated pace.

In this regard, the most difficult tasks faced the metallurgists of the east. They had to not only significantly increase the production of metal, but also significantly change the technology of its production, and in the shortest possible time master the production of new grades of cast iron, steel, and armored rolled products. Other sectors of the Ural industry were much worse provided with material and labor resources. After the enemy captured Ukraine, the Urals became the main supplier of ferrous metallurgy products in the country. It was necessary to expand the extraction of ore and other raw materials, the production of cast iron, steel, rolled products, pipes, and to master the production of new grades of metal without a preparatory period.

Much more iron ore was needed than before. The region's mines were replenished with equipment and personnel from evacuees and thousands of mobilized workers. However, there was a shortage of qualified personnel. Some workers and specialists were drafted into the army. Most of the new workers were unskilled. As a result, many production mechanisms were not used, the share of manual labor and the accident rate increased. The supply and repair of equipment have deteriorated sharply. Under these conditions, all iron mines concentrated their best efforts on mining, reducing stripping and mining operations to the limit. The latter almost led to disaster. During the first war winter, ore production fell sharply. Lacking sufficient reserves of raw materials, ferrous metallurgy plants switched their blast furnaces to quiet operation.

The crisis forced the USSR government to improve supplies to mining enterprises. But the decisive role in easing difficulties, without exaggeration, belongs to the patriotic initiatives of skilled workers, engineers and technicians, who made it possible to mobilize hidden internal reserves. In the mines, a movement of experienced workers developed to fulfill two, three or more production standards in one shift, innovate, save scarce materials, and use their substitutes. Skilled workers trained new recruits on the job. Since February 1942, the raw materials crisis in the ferrous metallurgy began to weaken. Since the spring of 1943, the mines have worked relatively rhythmically, reducing labor costs per unit of production and costs.

In 1942-1944. The Urals provided 9/10 of the iron ore raw materials mined in the USSR. During the war, he increased its supply by 1/3. At the same time, the quality of raw materials has increased significantly. In 1942, 2/3 of it was raw ore, and in subsequent years the share of enriched ore and sinter exceeded 3/4. As a result, more metal was smelted from each ton of raw material than before.

Without manganese, neither cast iron nor steel can be produced. In 1940 The Urals provided only 2.5% of the all-Union production of manganese ore. In 1941 the enemy captured Ukraine, which provided over 1/3 of manganese. It was a long way to bring it to the Urals from Georgia, and from the autumn of 1942 to the spring of 1943. impossible: German troops, having reached the Caucasus ridge and Stalingrad, cut transport routes and then destroyed them during their retreat. But in just a year, a new Polunochny mine was built in the taiga in the north of the Sverdlovsk region, and production at the previously operating ones increased. In 1942, almost 5 times more manganese ore was mined in the Urals than in 1941. If this could not be done, then in the winter months of 1942-1943. The ferrous metallurgy of the region was facing inevitable collapse. In 1943, the Polunochny mine exceeded its design capacity and the threat of stopping the blast furnaces of Nizhny Tagil, Serov, Kushva, Zlatoust and Alapaevsk was completely removed.

Until 1944, the Urals were the main and only region of the USSR where chrome ore was mined - a raw material for the metallurgy of high-quality steels.

For the production of steels, especially alloyed ones, ferroalloys are needed. The Chelyabinsk Ferroalloy Plant has doubled its output. The production of ferroalloys was mastered by plants of a full metallurgical cycle: Kushvinsky, Novotagil, Serov and Magnitogorsk plants. They were produced here in large blast furnaces, which was previously considered technically impossible.

On July 23, 1941, metallurgists from Magnitogorsk were the first in the world to melt armor steel in an open-hearth furnace. Soon the Novotagil plant mastered this technology. Magnitogorsk residents have started rolling out armor plates on a regular blooming machine. And after the launch of the Mariupol and Leningrad armored mills in Magnitogorsk and Nizhny Tagil, the Urals began to produce as much of it per month as the entire country produced before the war in six months. The Urals have also mastered the production of projectile, machine gun, helmet, stainless steel, ball bearing, high-speed and other high-quality steels.

Production of high-quality rolled products in the Urals in 1941-1944. tripled. Its share increased from 1/3 to 2/3 on average and up to 100% at the Zlatoust and Serov plants. At the same time, the production of roofing, dynamic, transformer iron, rails, and tin decreased.

By the end of 1941, there were 4 operating pipe factories left in the USSR, 3 of them in the Urals. The evacuated equipment expanded their capacity. Another plant was built - in Chelyabinsk. Pipes were supplied to the military industry, machine builders, oil workers, and construction workers. Pipe factories also produced shell casings, grenades, fuses, clock mechanisms, and springs for submachine guns.

During the war, the production of cast iron in the Urals increased by 88%, steel by 65%, rolled steel by 55%, and steel pipes by 6.4 times. .

1.3. Unity of front and rear

The departure of hundreds of thousands of skilled workers into the army caused a huge shortage of workers at enterprises. Industrial and technical training was intended to correct the situation. During the war years, 459.3 thousand people, or a sixth of the all-Union output of labor reserves, were trained by the schools and schools of the Federal Educational Institution of the Urals.

Competition was an effective means of increasing production levels. Throughout the war, labor collectives of the Urals took first or class (prize) places in the All-Union competition. Only workers of the Perm region received prizes 981 times, including first places 387 times. At the end of the war, about 100 Red Banners were left to the Urals for eternal storage.

Severe trials during the war fell on the countryside and agriculture. The amount of labor has sharply decreased, and the mechanization of agricultural work has decreased. Teenagers and old people came to production, women took the place of men. And yet, during the war years, the Urals produced over 700 million poods (12 million tons) of grain.

Care and attention to the defenders of the Motherland raised their morale. More than 1,200 envoys of the Urals during the war years became Heroes of the Soviet Union (9 people - twice), over 200 became full holders of the Order of Glory.

The unity of the front and rear, the patriotism of the people was also manifested in the nationwide movement to help the front. During the war years, the workers of the Urals contributed more than 7.2 billion rubles to the defense fund, and over 1.3 billion rubles to the Red Army fund for the creation of weapons (massive development of the fund since the end of 1942). According to incomplete data, the residents of the Urals collected more than 4.2 million tons of scrap metal, signed up for military loans (there were 4 of them) in the amount of over 6.8 billion rubles, and purchased money and clothing lottery tickets in the amount of more than 1.8 billion rubles .

Republican, regional, city and district commissions were created locally to organize the collection of warm clothes, and assistance commissions were created in institutions, enterprises, rural councils and collective farms; points were created to receive parcels of gifts and warm clothes from organizations and individual citizens. For areas that achieved the best results in collecting warm clothes, passing Red Banners were established. The commissions carried out propaganda and explanatory work among the population. An important place in the work of the commissions was occupied by the organization of meetings of workers. Commissions were created everywhere; Thus, in the Orenburg region there were 3,161 commissions, of which 2,097 were at collective farms, 82 at state farms, and 982 at enterprises, institutions and large residential buildings.

According to incomplete data, during the war years the workers of the Urals sent about 1,300 wagons of gifts to the front and collected more than 2.4 million different warm clothes.

Thus, we see that during the time of difficult trials in the Urals, the industrial potential increased to the maximum due to the placement of a large number of evacuated enterprises.

The mobilization of workers to the front initially significantly outpaced their replenishment, which created an acute shortage of production personnel. The evacuation greatly eased the expansion of this problem. Of all able-bodied people who arrived in the Sverdlovsk region, more than 50% actively participated in work at industrial enterprises. In this regard, most factories underwent not only technical, but also personnel reconstruction. On average, the share of evacuated workers in the industrial production of the Middle Urals by the end of 1942 was 31%. At some sites it reached 50-75%, which actually led to the formation of a new workforce.

The Urals, who at that time produced the bulk of tanks and self-propelled guns, were rightfully proud of the victory on the Volga, where the armored forces showed an irresistible striking force. It became clear to everyone: the success of the upcoming battles and the final victory over the enemy largely depend on the number of our magnificent combat vehicles, combined into large tank formations. And, continuing to work for the front with the greatest enthusiasm, the workers of the stronghold of the state decided to give the front-line soldiers another unique gift - a volunteer tank corps, providing it with everything necessary for battle through unpaid labor outside normal hours.

The mighty and holy unity of the Soviet Army and our heroic people was especially clearly manifested in the very birth of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps, in its glorious military deeds.

2. Ural Volunteer Tank Corps - a gift to the front

In the second chapter describes the history of formation and combat pathUral Volunteer Tank Corps.

2.1.Formation of the body

The idea of creating a large tank formation of volunteers arose in the factory teams of the Ural tank builders and was taken up by the entire working class of the Urals in the days when our country was under the impression of the victoriously completed Battle of Stalingrad.

The year 1943 became a special page in the history of the Urals. The workers of the “supporting edge of the state” formed a unique gift to the front - the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. The state did not spend a single penny on its formation. Everything that was needed for the corps (from buttons to T-34 tanks) was made by the workers beyond the plan or purchased with their savings. People sacrificed their last for the benefit of this endeavor; tens of thousands of volunteers were instantly found who wanted to serve in this formation. And during the war years this is at the limit of human strength and capabilities. This was truly massive labor heroism in the Urals.

We have already seen that during the Great Patriotic War the Urals were the main supplier of tanks and other armored vehicles to the front. Women and children, working 16-18 hours, constantly forged weapons of victory. And even in such conditions, the workers of the Ural factories took upon themselves the obligation to assemble and equip an entire tank corps on their own, with personal money and outside of working hours.

On the initiative of tank builders, the newspaper "Ural Worker" on January 16, 1943 published the material "Tank Corps - Above Plan": tank builders of the Urals pledged to exceed production plans for the production of military products, work for free and, above plan, regularly deduct part of their earnings to equip the corps with combat vehicles , weapons, uniforms.

The patriotic initiative of Sverdlovsk residents was picked up by the Chelyabinsk and Molotov regions. On February 26, 1943, the Commander of the Ural Military District, Major General F.G. Katkov, issued a directive stating that on the territory of the Ural Military District, by decision of the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Molotov regional committees of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, approved by the People's Commissar of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union by Comrade Stalin, a special Ural Volunteer Tank Corps with a strength of 9,661 people is formed. The commanders of units and formations were instructed to begin training personnel as they arrived, without waiting for regular staffing.

As a result, on February 24, 1943, the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps was ready for war. The tanks were ready, the service was ready, but most importantly, 9,660 men were ready who wanted to defend their homeland.

In Sverdlovsk in March 1943, the 197th Tank Brigade was formed, which became part of the corps and took part in all its combat operations. When forming the brigade, the strictest selection was made. Thus, out of more than 2 thousand Uralmash residents who voluntarily wished to become tank crews, only 200 people became brigade fighters. The carefully selected composition of the brigade determined the high level of its military training.

A large tank formation was formed in a surprisingly short time. By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of March 11, 1943, it was given the name - 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. Major General of Tank Forces G.S. Rodin, who returned to duty after being seriously wounded, was appointed corps commander, Colonel B.F. Eremeev was appointed chief of staff, Colonel S.M. Kuranov was appointed head of the political department, who was soon replaced by Colonel V.M. Shalunov.

In a solemn atmosphere, volunteers received weapons and military equipment, continuing to fully prepare for the upcoming tests. On the holiday of May 1, 1943, the soldiers of the corps took the oath of allegiance to the Fatherland, and soon an order was received to go to the front.

The people of the Urals solemnly saw off their best sons and daughters, presented their patron’s banners and their orders. Here are just some lines from the order of the working people of the Urals to the volunteer tank crews: “Our dear sons and brothers, fathers and husbands! We equipped a volunteer tank corps with our own funds. With our own hands we lovingly and carefully forged weapons for you. We worked on it day and night. In this weapon are our cherished and ardent thoughts about the bright hour of our Victory; in it is our will, as firm as the Ural stone: to crush and exterminate the fascist beast. Carry this will with you into hot battles. Remember our order. It contains our parental love and a stern order, marital parting words and our oath. Don’t forget: you and your cars are a part of us, this is our blood, our good old Ural glory, our fiery anger towards the enemy. Feats and glory await you.

We are waiting for you with victory! And then the Urals will hug you tightly and lovingly and glorify their heroic sons throughout the centuries. Our land, free and proud, will compose songs about the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.” In front of the Battle Banners of their units, in front of their fellow countrymen, the volunteer soldiers took an oath: to fulfill the order and return to their native Urals only with Victory.

Trains with personnel and military equipment arrived in the Moscow region on June 10, 1943. Here the corps was supplemented by the 359th anti-aircraft artillery regiment, other units and subunits, and itself became part of the 4th Tank Army.

On April 24, 1943, the corps command turned to the District Military Council with a request to petition the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to produce battle flags for the corps units and formations. On May 1, 1943, in all units and formations of the corps, volunteers solemnly took the military oath and were presented with military weapons. On May 9, 1943, at the Sverdlovsk Opera House, the working Urals advised the volunteers of the corps units and formations formed in Sverdlovsk to fight the enemy, and presented the corps with its ORDER: “Do not disgrace the centuries-old military traditions of the Urals, defeat the enemy, take revenge on him for the desecration of his native land, return to our native Urals only with victory.” The corps was presented with the CHEF'S banner. The corps commander, Lieutenant General G.S. Rodin, bowed his knee. The volunteers vowed to fulfill the NAND of the Urals people.

On June 2, 1943, units and formations of the corps with personnel, tanks, vehicles and ammunition were loaded into trains and redeployed to the Moscow region. In the act of transferring the 30th UDTK to the Kosterevsky tank camp, it was noted that the corps personnel were satisfactorily prepared. The middle ranks of the command staff were staffed by tank schools and KUKS. Junior commanders and rank and file are Ural volunteers. Of the 8,206 corps personnel, only 536 people had military experience. Women also served in units and formations of the corps: 123 privates and junior commanders, 249 signalmen and radio operators.

The material part of the combat vehicles and artillery weapons received by the corps was completely new.

During the Great Patriotic War, 9,356 Finnish knives were produced specifically for the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. These short blades with black handles, which were in service with our tank crews, inspired fear and respect in the enemies. Black knife is the popular name for an army knife of the 1941 model, produced by the Zlatoust Tool Factory during the Great Patriotic War. In shape, the “black knife” was a Finnish-style knife with a straight single-edged blade, a wooden handle with a small flat iron guard and a wooden sheath. The handle and scabbard were covered with black varnish, and the iron fittings of the scabbard and guard were blued - hence the name. The knives were valued for their great strength and sharpness of the blade and were intended to equip scouts and paratroopers. In some intelligence units, "black knives" were awarded to recruits only after taking several "tongues" or other combat tests. During the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps in 1943, each soldier and commander received a “black knife” as a gift from the Zlatoust gunsmiths. This feature in the equipment of the Ural tank crews was immediately noticed by German intelligence, which gave the corps its name - “Schwarzmesser Panzern-Division” (Schwarzmesser Panzern Division) - the “Black Knife” tank division. The amateur jazz orchestra of the corps often performed for the soldiers the “Song about the “black knives,” the music for which was written by Ivan Ovchinin, who later died in the battles for the liberation of Hungary. The “black knife” is also mentioned in the “March of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.” Small batches by the plant An officer’s version of the “black knife” was also produced, intended mainly for awards and gifts and distinguished by chrome-plated details of the handle and sheath. Decorated knives along with checkers were presented during the Great Patriotic War to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin and Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. .Zhukov.

2.2.Combat history

The UDTK's combat route was over 5,500 km, of which 2,000 km included combat, from Orel to Prague. The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps participated in the Oryol, Bryansk, Proskurov-Chernovtsy, Lviv-Sandomierz, Sandomierz-Silesian, Lower Silesian, Upper Silesian, Berlin and Prague offensive operations. The soldiers of the 4th Tank Army received their baptism of fire north of Orel in the summer of 1943, in battle on the Kursk Bulge. The army arrived on the Bryansk Front on the eve of the fighting that began on July 5, 1943, and during the counter-offensive of Soviet troops it was brought into battle in the Oryol direction .

The first fireworks show in Moscow on August 5, 1943. - to the valiant troops who liberated Orel and Belgorod - was also in honor of the Ural volunteers. The Urals fought desperately, with unparalleled courage, incredible resilience, and it was not without reason that already three months after the start of the fighting, on November 18, 1943. The tank corps became a guards corps.

The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps had the task: advancing from the Seredichi area to the south, cut off the enemy’s Volkhov-Khotynets communications, reach the area of the village of Zlyn, and then straddle the Orel-Bryansk railway and highway and cut off the retreat routes of the Oryol group of Nazis to the west. And the Urals completed their task.

The actions of the Ural Tank Corps, together with other front formations, created a threat of encirclement of the enemy’s Oryol group and forced it to retreat.

Many more victories remain for our tankers. They ended the war on May 9, 1945 in Prague. At 4 o'clock the main forces of the corps entered the city, and soon other formations of the 4th Tank Army. From the northwest and north, formations of the 3rd Guards Tank Army entered Prague in the morning, and formations of the 13th and 3rd Guards Armies in the afternoon. The first to rush into Prague was the crew of the T-34 tank of the Chelyabinsk tank brigade under the command of Lieutenant I. G. Goncharenko from the platoon of Lieutenant L. E. Burakov.

During the two years of participation in the Great Patriotic War, the tank corps liberated hundreds of cities and thousands of settlements. The Ural tank crews inflicted terrible damage on the enemy: 1,110 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, and a huge amount of other enemy military equipment were captured and destroyed, 94,620 enemy soldiers and officers were destroyed. Quite a few tank guardsmen showed themselves to be real masters of tank combat, for example, M. Kuchenkov had 32 fascist tanks, N. Novitsky - 29, N. Dyachenko - 31, M. Razumovsky - 25

For skillful military operations, heroism, courage and bravery of the Ural volunteers, Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin expressed gratitude to the corps and units 27 times.

The corps was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov, II degree, and the Order of Kutuzov, II degree. During the Great Patriotic War, 42,368 orders and medals were awarded to the soldiers of the corps, 27 soldiers and sergeants became full holders of the Order of Glory, 38 guardsmen of the corps were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and Colonel M.G. Fomichev was awarded this high title twice.

2.3.After the war

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the 10th UDTK, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief No. 0013 of June 10, 1945 and on the basis of the Directive of the General Staff of the Red Army No. ORG/1/143 of June 15, 1945, was renamed the 10th Guards Tank Ural-Lvov Volunteer Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division .

Since 1945, units of the division began planned combat training as part of the GSVG. From June 17 to 23, 1953 and from August 12 to 13, 1961, units of the division carried out combat missions to support the activities of the Government of the GDR. Throughout its entire time on German soil, the division was considered one of the best tank formations of the GSVG.

For high results in combat training, the division was named after Marshal of the Soviet Union R.Ya. Malinovsky by order of the USSR Ministry of Defense No. 100 dated June 16, 1967. The division was also awarded:

1967 - Commemorative Banner of the CPSU Central Committee, the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces and the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

1970 - Lenin Jubilee Certificate of Honor.

For great merits in the armed defense of the Motherland, success in mastering new equipment of the 10th Guards TD, by Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces dated February 21, 1978, she was awarded the Order of the October Revolution.

In 1994, according to the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation, the 10th Guards TD was the last to leave the territory of Germany, redeployed to the city of Boguchar, Voronezh Region, and became part of the Moscow Military District. This movement, unprecedented on a peacetime scale, was carried out in combined marches between November 1993 and July 1994. Currently, units of the division are located in three garrisons - Bogucharsky (division headquarters and the main part of the units), Voronezh - (248th motorized rifle regiment), Kursk - 6th motorized rifle regiment (became part of the division after the disbandment of the 63rd Guards TP and 63rd Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade) . During its short period of being part of the Moscow Military District, the division showed itself to be a combat-ready formation ready to complete any assigned task.

Every year, division units are visited by veterans of 10 UDTKs who now live in the cities of Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Perm, Rostov. Fulfilling their orders and wishes, the personnel of the tank guards honorably continue the glorious military traditions established during the harsh years of the Second World War. Under the leadership of experienced commanders, a significant part of whom went through the crucible of battles in Afghanistan, Chechnya and other “hot spots”, the soldiers of the 10th Guards. tank division persistently master the “science of winning”, having at their disposal the necessary training and material base, military personnel in a short time become highly qualified military specialists, true professionals in their field and worthily continue the heroic chronicle of the Ural-Lvov Guards.

CONCLUSION

During the Great Patriotic War, the Urals truly became the main backbone of defense and the arsenal of Victory. Of the 1,523 industrial enterprises evacuated during the war, 703 were located in the Urals. About 2 million sons and daughters of the Urals went to the front.

The Urals provided about half of the artillery pieces and mortars, more than 2/3 of the tanks (60% medium and 100% heavy). The workers of the Urals produced more tanks and self-propelled guns than all of Germany together with the occupied countries. The Urals provided over half of all ammunition produced in the country. Every second shell fired at the enemy was made of Ural steel. There was no type of weapon that the Urals did not send to front-line soldiers; About 100 types of military equipment and weapons were produced here. In terms of the pace and size of industrial production during the war years, the Urals took first place among other regions of the USSR. In 1943, the Urals produced the same amount of industrial products as the Volga region, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia combined. The Urals provided up to 40% of all production of the country's military industry.

The combat feat of the tank corps volunteers is forever included ininto the annals of not only the history of the Great Patriotic War, but also the entire world history. The memory of the heroism of the Urals people is carefully preserved in the minds of subsequent generations. Scientific articles and monographs have been written about the corps, collections of memoirs of participants in the events have been published, and television and radio broadcasts have been prepared and conducted. Continuing painstaking research into the combat path of volunteers is revealing more and more new facts from the front-line biographies of soldiers.

On the station square in the Zheleznodorozhny district of Yekaterinburg there is a Monument to the soldiers of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. The monument was opened on February 23, 1962. The sculptors of the monument are V. M. Druzin and P. A. Sazhin, the architect is G. I. Belyankin. A two-figure composition of a sculpture of an old worker and a young tanker, symbolizing the unity of the front and rear. The height of the monument is 13 meters. For a characteristic detail - a hand held forward in a work mitten - the monument was popularly nicknamed “Mitten”. This monument is a symbol of one of the most important events in the chronicle of Victory - the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

The conducted research made it possible to get acquainted with the history of the formation of the legendary Ural Volunteer Tank Corps and to determine the conditions that contributed to this event. Namely, with the changes that have occurred at the enterprises of the Ural region, with the destinies of people who have made a worthy contribution to their activities and to the development of our region. During the research it became clear that the UralsThey deliberately went through material deprivation in order to help the front, sometimes giving away the last, most necessary things. Such assistance strengthened the morale of soldiers and commanders, increased combat effectiveness and the desire to quickly defeat the enemy.

All these facts evoke a feeling of pride in our native land, because in every family there are warriors, defenders of the Fatherland, home front workers who played a decisive role in the history of the Urals and Russia.

Thanks to modern information technologies, we, residents of small towns, have the opportunity to look into those distant, terrible years, look at photographs, copies of documents, get acquainted with publications, and video materials.

As a result, we realized how little we know about the history of our native places, sometimes we don’t think about the fact that veterans - witnesses are leaving usthe national feat of forming the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps;

- there was a desire to find out more details about the people who accomplished the feat.

Bibliography:

Sinitsyn A.M. Nationwide assistance to the front. M., 1975; Ural to the front./ Edited by A.V. Mitrofanova. M., 1985.

Creating a Corpus

During the Great Patriotic War, the Urals were the main supplier of tanks and other armored vehicles to the front. Women and children, working 16-18 hours, constantly forged weapons of victory. And even in such conditions, the workers of the Ural factories took upon themselves the obligation to assemble and equip an entire tank corps on their own, with personal money and outside of working hours. People sacrificed their last for the benefit of this endeavor; tens of thousands of volunteers were instantly found who wanted to serve in this formation.

Combat history

The soldiers of the 4th Tank Army received their baptism of fire north of Orel in the summer of 1943, in the battle of the Kursk Bulge. The army arrived on the Bryansk Front on the eve of the fighting that began on July 5, 1943, and during the counter-offensive of Soviet troops it was brought into battle in the Oryol direction.
The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps had the task: advancing from the Seredichi area to the south, cut off the enemy’s Volkhov-Khotynets communications, reach the area of the village of Zlyn, and then straddle the Orel-Bryansk railway and highway and cut off the retreat routes of the Oryol group of Nazis to the west. And the Urals completed their task.

The actions of the Ural Tank Corps, together with other front formations, created a threat of encirclement of the enemy’s Oryol group and forced it to retreat. The first salute of the Motherland on August 5, 1943 - to the valiant troops who liberated Orel and Belgorod - was also in honor of the Ural volunteers.

Many more victories remain for our tankers. They ended the war on May 9, 1945 in Prague. At 4 o'clock the main forces of the corps entered the city, and soon other formations of the 4th Tank Army. From the northwest and north, formations of the 3rd Guards Tank Army entered Prague in the morning, and formations of the 13th and 3rd Guards Armies in the afternoon. The first to rush into Prague were the crew of the T-34 tank of the Chelyabinsk tank brigade under the command of Lieutenant I. G. Goncharenko from the platoon of Lieutenant L. E. Burakov.

After the war

Throughout the Great Patriotic War, 38 soldiers received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.