Tomsk rifle division on the Nevsky patch. Memorial complex Nevsky Piglet in the Leningrad region

V. Arkadiev. Kirovsk. City of Len. areas. 1974

Literature:

A. F. Belogolovtsev Lenizdat. 1970

Compiled by K. K. Grishchinsky. Lenizdat, 1977

Viktor Averin. Moscow. 1971

"NEVSKY PIELT" - a memorial complex as part of the "Green Belt of Glory", on the 51st km of the Leningrad-Petrokrepost highway, on the left bank of the river. Neva, below Mt. Includes: obelisk on a mass grave Soviet soldiers who fell in 1941-43 during the defense of the Nevsky bridgehead in the Moscow Dubrovka area (1952, architect A. I. Lapirov, sculptor G. P. Yakimova); a T-34 tank and an artillery piece mounted on pedestals and the “Frontier Stone” monument marking the southern border of the bridgehead (1971, bronze, granite, architects M. L. Khidekel, O. S. Romanov, sculptor E. Kh. Nasibulin); a memorial complex on the site of the village of Arbuzov destroyed by the Nazis (1985, architects M. L. Khidekel, O. S. Romanov). The remains of trenches and traces of funnels have been preserved in the area of ​​the memorial.

Saint Petersburg. Petrograd. Leningrad: Encyclopedic reference book. 1992

NEVSKY BRIDGE HAND(Nevsky "piglet"), a bridgehead on the left bank of the Neva (in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bMoscow Dubrovka), which the troops held for almost the entire time.

During the Sinyavino operation of 1941 on the night of September 20, formations of the Leningrad Front crossed the Neva in the area of ​​​​Neva Dubrovka (the right bank of the Neva; now an urban-type settlement) and captured a bridgehead 4 km along the front and up to 800 m in depth.

The first to cross the river were units of the 115th Rifle Division (Major General V.F. Konkov) and the 4th Marine Brigade (Major General B.N. Nenashev). As a result of repeated attacks, the enemy managed to reduce the bridgehead to 2 km along the front. The fierce struggle for this bridgehead continued uninterrupted for almost 7.5 months. The defenders of the N. p. repulsed 12–16 enemy attacks a day, and up to 50,000 shells, mines, and air bombs fell on them per day. On April 29, 1942, after several days of fierce fighting, the Nazi troops liquidated the bridgehead. However, on September 26, the troops of the Neva Operational Group again captured the N. p. During the breakthrough in January 1943, the 45th Guards Rifle Division (Major General A. A. Krasnov) advanced from the bridgehead. For about 400 days, Soviet soldiers held the N. p. The Guards of the Leningrad Front were born here - the 70th Rifle Division was the first in the front and was transformed into the 45th Guards. One of the companies (captain N.A. Britikov) of the 329th regiment of this division entered the history of the defense of Leningrad as an order-bearing one - all 114 people of its personnel were awarded orders and medals. In memory of heroic defense In the post-war years, the Museum of Military and Labor Glory was created in Dubrovka, and the Nevsky Piglet memorial was erected on the site of the bridgehead.

My photos

Monument "Frontier stone". Photo - May, 2012 The monument is a cast-iron and granite cubes cut into each other and raised by 7 meters. The text on the monument: “You, the living, know that we did not want to leave this land and did not leave. We stood to death by the dark Neva. We died so that you may live."
Opening of the monument - September 12, 1971
Cm. Nevsky "piglet" - photos

from the book - Sights of the Leningrad region. Lenizdat. 1977. Pg. 262, 268-270

The Great Patriotic War

On the outskirts of Leningrad

In the autumn of 1941, the command of the Leningrad Front took a number of measures to break through the enemy encirclement. In the second half of September, several landings were made on the Neva and the coast Lake Ladoga.

For the transfer of our troops to the Neva Dubrovka on the right bank of the river, several hundred boats were delivered from Leningrad. Primary funds were concentrated in a ravine near the village. On the night of September 20, 1941, the battalion of the 115th Infantry Division of General V.F. Konkov began crossing to the left bank near Moscow Dubrovka. The battalion was commanded by Senior Lieutenant V.P. Dubik.

Soviet soldiers captured a small foothold on the left bank - about two kilometers long and several hundred meters deep. It was very important: the road to Sinyavino and Mga went from here.

Following the soldiers of the 125th Infantry Division, the Neva was crossed by the sailors of the 4th Marine Brigade, Major General B.N. Nenasheva.

This is how the legendary Nevsky Piglet arose.

fiery frontiers

By the end of September 1941, the front line near Leningrad had stabilized. To the west of Leningrad, immediately behind the Ligovo station, it rested on the southern coast Gulf of Finland and from here it went south through Ligovo, to the village of Staro-Panovo, passed one kilometer south of the village of Pulkovo, crossing the Kiev highway, stretched along the left bank of the Kuzminka River. To the north of the city of Pushkin and the village of Yam-Izhora was its southernmost section. From here the front line rose to the north, to the mouth of the Tosna River. Then she walked along the right bank of the Neva - to the Neva Dubrovka and opposite this village went to the left bank of the Neva, where from the end of September 1941 to April 1942, and then from the autumn of 1942 until January 1943 there was a small bridgehead of our troops - Nevsky "piglet". Finally, from the "piglet" to Ladoga, the Soviet troops and enemy troops were again separated by the Neva.

The Soviet units that fought on the Nevsky "patch", the 54th army, making its way to the Neva from the direction of the Volkhov, threatened to encircle the fascist group that had come out to Ladoga. The wars of the 115th Rifle Division and the 4th Marine Brigade fought fierce battles for the expansion of the Nevsky bridgehead. Because of these battles, the fascist command was forced to delay the transfer of a motorized and two tank divisions to Moscow.

The defenders of the Nevsky "piglet" had to rush into attacks and counterattacks several times a day, a continuous flurry of enemy mines and shells fell upon them.

Especially fierce battles flared up here after the Nazis captured on November 8, 1941, approached Volkhovstroy and there was a threat of their exit to the rear of the 54th Army. From here, from the Nevsky bridgehead, the Soviet soldiers sought to break through to join the 54th Army.

Soldiers and commanders of the 86th, 20th, 168th, 10th and 177th rifle divisions fought courageously. In November 1941, three shock regiments were created from volunteers on the Nevsky "patch". On November 9, the first of these regiments attacked heavily fortified enemy positions. On November 11, the second regiment attacked, and on November 13, the third. But, despite the fearlessness and heroism of the soldiers of the shock regiments, it was not possible to break through the enemy defenses.

After most of the troops were evacuated from the "piglet" in the winter of 1942, one 330th rifle regiment of the 86th division remained there.

At the end of April 1942. when the ice went along the Neva and the transfer of reinforcements, ammunition and food to the "patch" became impossible, the fascist troops moved here significantly superior forces. supported by artillery.

357 fighters of the 330th regiment for five days in an unequal battle courageously defended the Nevsky "piglet". The last radio message from them was received on April 29: they reported that they would fight to the end.

At the cost of heavy losses, the Nazis managed to occupy this patch Soviet land. The defenders of the Nevsky Piglet died like heroes.

In the fall of 1942, Soviet troops resumed hostilities in the area of ​​Nevskaya Dubrovka. On September 26, 1942, after artillery preparation and a bombing attack by several companies, the 86th and 70th divisions melted down to the left bank and held the captured positions in heavy fighting. In the evening, the crossing of new units began. Fierce bloody battles on the Nevsky "patch" resumed, but no attempts by the Nazis to restore the situation reached their goal. Piglet was held by Soviet troops until the January offensive of the Soviet Army in 1943.

In 1952, an obelisk was erected on the mass grave of Soviet war heroes who defended the Nevsky Piglet. And in September 1971, a monument to its legendary defenders was erected on the southern border of the former Nevsky bridgehead. It was called the "Boundary Stone" ...

The legendary Nevsky Piglet. Opening of the monument "Frontier Stone" on the southern border of the bridgehead.

from the book -V. Arkadiev. Kirovsk. Cities of the Leningrad region. 1974

"Land of Fearlessness"

Having been defeated in frontal attacks on Leningrad, the Nazi troops decided to surround the city. More and more new divisions were thrown by the Nazis on Leningrad. On September 8, after fierce fighting, they captured Shlisselburg, cutting off all land communications linking Leningrad with the country.

Having gained a foothold on the left bank, the Nazis repeatedly tried to cross the Neva in order to further move north and join the Finnish troops. They have already made such attempts in the sections of Porogi - Sheremetyevka, at the mouth of the Mga, in the area of ​​the village of Maryino - workers' settlement No. 1, but every time they met with a rebuff.

In mid-September, a directive from the headquarters of the Leningrad Front was received: the 115th Infantry Division, reinforced by the 4th Marine Brigade, would prepare to cross the Neva and advance towards Mga to join units of the Volkhov Front.

Nevsky bridgehead in November 1941

The crossing was planned to be carried out in the area of ​​​​Arbuzovo - Moskovsky Dubrovka - 8th GRES. The choice of location was not accidental. Here is a relatively narrow part of the Neva - 500 meters; it is on this section that the shortest distance - 16 kilometers - to the Soviet units of the Volkhov Front.

The reconnaissance of the left bank was carefully carried out, the location of enemy firing points was revealed, and means of crossing were prepared. In a few days, about 200 fishing boats were prepared, 100 boats were delivered from Leningrad. They were hidden in ravines and hollows, in the valley of the Chernaya River. In the depths of the forest, pontoons prepared rafts and pontoons from durable logs for crossing guns. In early September, units of the 115th Infantry Division arrived in Nevskaya Dubrovka and took refuge in the coastal forest. To ensure the secrecy and surprise of the operation, the command decided to cross the Neva without prior artillery preparation.

1942

Finally, everything is ready for the crossing. The paratroopers are tasked with recapturing a section of the coast on the left bank, gaining a foothold on it, and holding it at all costs until new reinforcements arrive.

The purpose of this operation was not only to prevent enemy attempts to cross the Neva, but also to divert enemy troops from the impending assault on Leningrad. In addition, it was planned to launch an offensive from this bridgehead to join forces advancing towards Leningrad from the direction of Volkhov.

The section of the left bank was defended by an airborne and several infantry divisions of the enemy. The Nazis thoroughly fortified the high bank: they installed machine guns in trenches along the Neva, placed mortar batteries in the forest, and artillery behind the edge of the forest. The Nazis turned the 8th GRES with its one and a half meter walls into a reinforced concrete fortress.

On the night of September 18-19, the crossing began. The signalmen and sappers of the 638th regiment of the 115th rifle division, the 576th regiment and the battalion of the 4th Marine Brigade under the general command of Colonel A.E. Kalashnikov were the first to cross the Neva.

Acting covertly and swiftly, the troops landed on the left bank. They fought and occupied the first lines of trenches; entered into hand-to-hand combat, expanded the captured bridgehead. Soon other units of the 115th Infantry Division came to the aid of the paratroopers. They were already crossing under heavy artillery and mortar fire.

On October 6, the main forces crossed the Neva - two regiments of the 115th Infantry Division and firmly entrenched themselves on the Nevsky "patch".

At this time, the 54th Army of General I. I. Fedyuninsky launched offensive battles from the Volkhov side, trying to connect with the paratroopers of the Nevsky bridgehead.

The Nazis saw this as a threat to the encirclement of their troops, breaking through to Lake Ladoga near Shlisselburg. Therefore, they sought to return the "piglet". The Nazis threw more and more units against the paratroopers, brought tanks into battle. aircraft, brought down hundreds of mines and shells on a section of the left bank. But the infantrymen and sailors courageously repulsed the attacks of the enemy.

The village of Arbuzovo, located three kilometers south of the 8th GRES, changed hands several times. Our fighters nevertheless managed to capture this strong defense center, from where the Germans fired on a vast bridgehead up to two kilometers wide and 500-600 meters deep. Parts of the 86th and 265th rifle divisions of the NKVD crossed here.

On October 20, the troops of the Leningrad Front began fighting to break the blockade of Leningrad. The military council of the front set the task of encircling and destroying the grouping of enemy forces in the area south of Lake Ladoga.

Under enemy fire, the hero of the Nevsky Piglet went on the offensive in order to unite with the troops of the 54th Army, but they failed to achieve success.

In mid-October, the Nazis launched an offensive in the Tikhvin region, trying to break through to the Svir River to connect with the Finnish units and thereby finally close the blockade ring around Leningrad, deprive it of communication with the country through Lake Ladoga. Several divisions operating on the Neva were transferred to the Tikhvin direction. The scale of military operations in the area of ​​the Nevsky Piglet has been reduced.

On November 3, the command of the Leningrad Front, in order to divert the Nazi troops from Tikhvin, launched a new offensive from the Nevsky bridgehead and the Volkhov direction.

The 20th division of the NKVD held out on the Nevsky "patch" for about a month. In continuous battles, the division was drained of blood, 300 people remained in it.
On November 2-3, a new replenishment arrived at the "piglet" - the 168th division under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A. L. Bondarev. The fighters of this division already had experience in fighting on the Karelian Isthmus, as well as in the area of ​​Pavlovsk and Yam-Izhora.
The headquarters of the 168th division conducted a deep reconnaissance. Artillery was concentrated on the right bank of the Neva, it was well camouflaged and fired at previously reconnoitered targets. An underwater cable was thrown across the Neva, a conditional signaling was installed. After a short preparation, the Bondarevites went on the offensive.
The soldiers on the Nevsky "patch" overcame incredible difficulties. The fighters did not have the opportunity to warm up, rarely received hot food. They could not dig deep into the ground - the sandy soil crumbled. It happened that everything that was done during the night - trenches, communications, the next day was destroyed by mortar fire and air strikes.
Sand got into the eyes, ears, the barrels of rifles were clogged with sand, and they failed. Rescued grenades, light mortars. And yet, the fighters and commanders steadfastly held on to the "patch", showing courage and perseverance.
The fascists made great efforts to destroy the bridgehead - they threw tanks, dozens of dive bombers into battle, and fired fiercely from cannons and mortars. But not once did the enemy manage to break through the defenses of the defenders of the Piglet.

The most difficult sections were the communists. In the forefront of the advancing fighters of the 260th regiment was the secretary of the party bureau, senior political instructor A. A. Sergeev. An advanced foundry worker, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, he was one of the founders of the Stakhanov movement. During the attack Sergeyev died a heroic death.

His place was taken by political instructor Dmitriev, who, together with the regiment commander, senior political instructor Guskov, led the fighters on the offensive. When in one of the battalions of the regiment the commander, commissar and chief of staff were killed at once, they were replaced by Dmitriev.

On November 9, 1941, the 1st shock communist regiment under the command of Colonel Vasiliev crossed the Neva. An hour after the landing, the regiment went on the offensive. On the night of November 10-11, the 2nd regiment crossed to the left bank, and the 3rd regiment a day later. The Leningrad communists showed exceptional heroism in battles. Later, all three communist shock regiments merged into the 168th division.

All the units that fought on the Nevsky "patch" diverted significant enemy forces, which at that time rushed to Moscow and developed an offensive in the Tikhvin region.

The historic victories of the Soviet troops near Moscow and Tikhvin frustrated these plans of the enemy. The Nazis could no longer fight in the winter of 1941/42 to join the Finnish troops. The road of life passing through the ice of Ladoga was saved. And this is a considerable merit of the heroes of the Nevsky "piglet".

A piece of land two kilometers from the 8th GRES played the role of an armor shield for Leningrad.

In April 1942, the Soviet command began a gradual withdrawal of troops across the Neva. Every night our troops silently crossed back, unnoticed by the enemy. Only a part of the 330th regiment of the 86th rifle division remained on the "patch" - 357 fighters.

The last fierce battles on the "patch" were fought from 25 to 27 April. In three days, the defenders of the Nevsky bridgehead destroyed more than 1,500 enemy soldiers and officers.

On April 28, 1942, the last shots were fired. The combat life of the Nevsky Piglet stopped, where since September 1941 six enemy divisions had been crushed.

Literature

NEVSKY "PITTLE" Alexei Fedorovich Belogolovtsev Lenizdat. 1970 143 pages. Circulation 25,000 copies. Price 21 kop. Land of fearlessness - Nevsky "piglet", Here fell the bravest of the brave... Descendant, know the price of your freedom And learn courage from the brave! Mikhail Dudin An asphalt highway stretches like a wide ribbon along the left bank of the Neva from Leningrad to Petrokrepost. It passes through Ivanovskoye, Ust-Tosno and Moscow Dubrovka, through the city of Kirovsk, the village of Maryino and Petrokrepost (former Shlisselburg). Quiet streets, gardens, front gardens... Great Patriotic War there were bloody battles. 40 kilometers from Leningrad, in the area of ​​Moscow Dubrovka, the highway crosses a small field. Here stands a granite obelisk. On its plinth there is a cast-iron plate with the inscription: Here soldiers of Leningrad front and sailors Red Banner Baltic Fleet led fierce fighting with the German fascist invaders for the left bank bridgehead (Nevsky "piglet") 1941—1943 From here, a little more than a kilometer to the reinforced concrete building of the 8th hydroelectric power station. It stands higher along the Neva on a steep bank. The ruins of this station from September 1941 to January 1943 were silent witnesses of the fierce battles against the Nazi invaders that took place here. Left bank of the Neva There is not a person in Leningrad who survived the blockade, who would not have heard about a piece of land, called at one time the Nevsky "piglet". This "patch" was recaptured in September 1941 on the left bank of the Neva, occupied by fascist troops, in the area of ​​​​Moscow Dubrovka ...

Nevsky Piglet Memoirs of participants in the battles near Neva Dubrovka in 1941-1943 Compiled by Konstantin Konstantinovich Grishinsky Lenizdat, 1977 Circulation 50,000 copies, price 89 kopecks. A small piece of land recaptured from the enemy on the left bank of the Neva, opposite the Neva Dubrovka, was a true bastion of the battle for Leningrad, played an important role in breaking the blockade and defeating the Nazi group south of Lake Ladoga. The defenders of Nevsky Piglet showed an example of the greatest stamina and legendary courage. The book, compiled from the memoirs of the participants in the battles - the soldiers of the Neva Operational Group and the 8th Army of the Leningrad Front, is of interest not only to veterans, but also to young readers interested in the history of the Great Patriotic War. Courage tested by iron September 1941. Heavy fighting unfolded near Leningrad. The fascist German command, despite the huge losses of its troops, the heroic resistance of the soldiers of the Leningrad Front, took all measures to capture the city on the Neva. The front line was getting closer and closer to Leningrad. After the Nazi troops bypassed the Krasnogvardeisky fortified area, fighting began already at the turn of Gorelovo - Finnish Koyrovo - the village of Volodarsky. These were anxious days. It was at this critical moment that the Headquarters sent a group of generals to the besieged city, headed by the Deputy Supreme Commander General of the Army G.K. Zhukov, who on September 13 took command of the front. Even before the arrival of G.K. Zhukov in Leningrad, a grouping of Nazi troops advancing from Novgorod and Chudov cut both railways connecting Leningrad with Moscow. The enemy went to the Neva in the area from the Ivanovsky rapids to Shlisselburg. The new commander, together with the Military Council of the front, took decisive measures to prevent the danger of the enemy breaking through to Leningrad. The 42nd army, reinforced by the 5th division of the people's militia, the 10th rifle division and the 701st rifle regiment of the 142nd rifle division, received the strictest order - to prevent the invasion of Nazi troops into the city through the Pulkovo heights and Gorelovo (command The 42nd Army was entrusted to the author of these lines). At the beginning of the second decade of September, the battle at the Pulkovo Heights reached a great intensity. On September 17, the Military Council of the Leningrad Front sent a combat order to the Military Councils of the 42nd and 55th armies - to stop the enemy at all costs! His main thought: not a step back! Do not rent a single inch of land on the nearest approaches to the city of Lenin. At the beginning of the third decade of September, a turning point occurred in the course of hostilities. The enemy went on the defensive, began building long-term fortifications, and began to burrow into the ground. The 41st German tank corps was withdrawn from Leningrad. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided to use the favorable moment to try to unblock Leningrad with strikes from the east - by the forces of the newly formed 54th Army and from the west - by the forces of the Neva Operational Group of the Leningrad Front. The 115th Rifle Division, already advanced here, and units of the 4th Separate Marine Brigade, which were on the way, were supposed to force the Neva in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bNeva Dubrovka. As you know, the Shlisselburg-Sinyavino ledge, which was formed as a result of the breakthrough of the Nazi troops to Ladoga, in the place where our counter actions were planned, was rather narrow - only 12-13 kilometers. Having crossed the Neva on the night of September 19-20, units of the 115th division under the command of Major General V.F. Konkov captured a bridgehead on the left bank and launched a series of decisive attacks ...

Links

• seven days of January. Breaking the blockade of Leningrad on January 12-18, 1943. Lenizdat, 1987

• - Encyclopedia

During the Great Patriotic War, on the left bank of the Neva River, between the village of Pavlovo and the city of Kirovsk, on a tiny plot of land, later called the Nevsky Piglet, there were bloody battles between the Soviet troops and the Nazi invaders. Indeed, the size of this key foothold is small - 800 m from the coastline and 2 km along the river. According to historians, in one day 52 thousand shells and bombs were dropped on this piece of land.

From the east, the Nevsky Piglet memorial is limited by a 76-mm gun mounted on a pedestal. From the south - the so-called Boundary Stone, which is granite and cast-iron cubes of different heights intersecting with each other (project by O.S. Romanov, E.Kh. Nasibulin, M.L. Khidekel). One of the construction cubes has a high relief depicting warriors. At the place where the troops landed on September 20, 1941, there is now a granite stele. Before the start of the war, the village of Arbuzovo was on the site of the Nevsky Piglet.

This place is a memory of one of the most tragic pages in the history of the Great Patriotic War. On this small foothold, there were bloody battles between Soviet and German troops, who for 400 days tried to break the blockade of Leningrad on this tiny sector of the front. On the night of September 19-20, 1941, the fighters of the Leningrad Front crossed the Neva and were able to consolidate their positions near the Neva Dubrovka. All attempts to move forward were unsuccessful. The battles on the Nevsky Piglet went on until April 29, 1942. Our troops were forced to surrender their positions and were able to recapture the bridgehead on September 26. The fighting didn't stop for a moment.

According to historical and archival documents, the losses of the Red Army in this sector of the front amounted to several hundred tens of thousands. In 1960, in one of the publications of Pravda, the figure was 200 thousand. At the beginning of the new millennium, the Committee of Leningrad Veterans corrected the data, and the figure was 50,000. German losses are estimated at 35-40 thousand. Until now, every year the remains of the soldiers of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht are found here.

There is an opinion that on the Nevsky Piglet, on each of its square meters, from 6 to 100 of our soldiers died. These data have been published more than once in the media, historians refer to them. The historian V. Beshanov in his book "Leningrad Defense" says that 17 people laid their heads on each meter of the "Nevsky Piglet". Only 250 thousand soldiers and officers of the Soviet Army. In the documentary film “Leningrad Front”, veteran I. Krasnopeev says that for every meter there were 10 dead soldiers, and our losses amounted to 100 thousand. But it is incorrect to speak or try to make any calculations based on the size of the bridgehead or the number of participants in the battles, given that the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe combat bridgehead has changed.

Nowadays, the Nevsky Piglet memorial is one of many places on the heroic Leningrad land, where mourning ceremonies and solemn events dedicated to the Great Patriotic War are held annually.

The Nevsky Piglet memorial is part of the Green Belt of Glory.

Once again about the losses on the Nevsky Piglet

Since 1975, in our reference and military history literature, the figure of 200 thousand Soviet soldiers who died on the Nevsky Piglet has been established. The figure is clearly ordered, from the Pravda newspaper for the next anniversary of the Victory. Apparently, someone wanted to show in this way the advantage of our grief over the German one.

Unfortunately, it will probably never be possible to accurately determine the number of deaths there. But it is necessary to realistically assess the situation, separating the losses in the battles for mastering the bridgehead and on the patch itself. The largest losses were suffered by our troops on the right bank of the Neva in the places of crossings and when forcing the river. All the forces of the attacking side were concentrated here. At this point, the soldier was not yet ready for battle and remained completely defenseless, unable to hide from enemy air raids and artillery fire. Namely, from him was the greatest damage. By the end of September 1941, the Germans brought an artillery-instrumental reconnaissance division to the Neva, which, with an accuracy of up to a meter, calculated data on all sections of the crossings of Soviet troops. After that, three artillery groups were created: "North", "Center" and "South", located on the Nevsky Front from Shlisselburg to Otradnoye. Large-caliber artillery, including specially delivered French 150-mm howitzers and 210-mm mortars, were hidden on the Kelkolovsky heights. Guns of the 227th Infantry Division provided fire support from the Sinyavino area. Heavy losses among our troops were caused by enemy aircraft from the German 1st Air Fleet, since the Soviet side, especially in the initial period, did not have enough air defense equipment.

Estimated, one can still focus on the figure of 50 thousand Soviet soldiers who died on the Nevsky bridgehead itself, given that there were not only periods of the highest tension of the fighting, but also separate pauses when the sniper war was mainly fought. We should not forget that for half a year - from the end of April to mid-September 1942 - the territory of the patch was in the hands of the Germans. It must also be remembered that due to its tiny size (about two kilometers along the front and up to 800 meters in depth), it was practically impossible to station a large number of troops there. However, even this number, reduced by four times in comparison with the officially recognized data, makes one think about the greatness of the self-sacrifice of people who actually went to certain death. Until now, search parties have found hundreds of the remains of the dead, lying there in several rows.

German losses killed in the battles for the Nevsky bridgehead are estimated at about 10 thousand soldiers. All of these data are subject to revision. But it would be good to consider them as starting ones, since in any case they are more real than those that still appear in official sources.

The battles for the Nevsky bridgehead go down in history along with its participants. And along with them, the memory of those events is gradually erased. This is a natural, albeit sad, process. Therefore, today the question becomes more and more urgent: how to prolong this memory, this feeling of belonging to the heroic tragedy of Nevsky Piglet? How not to rush to the next extreme, talking about the senseless victims of the war, forgetting that the defenders of the bridgehead brought victory closer?

It is gratifying that the events on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory caused an additional influx of military-historical research, emotional memories, discussions, praises, as well as critical remarks. But at the same time, I would like to see an ethical sense of proportion in describing the battles for the bridgehead on the Neva. This is necessary in the name of the dead soldiers and for the sake of the living veterans of the Nevsky Piglet and the battle for Leningrad.

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From the book Leningrad Utopia. Avant-garde in the architecture of the Northern capital author Pervushina Elena Vladimirovna

Residential building on Staro-Nevsky Prospekt Modern address - Nevsky Prospekt, 146. An interesting house is located in the quarter formed by Staro-Nevsky Prospekt, Bakunin Avenue and Poltavskaya Street (Nevsky Prospect, 146), built in 1932-1933 according to the project of the architect I. A. Vaksa s

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Chapter 16

From the book Declassified pages of the history of World War II author Kumanev Georgy Alexandrovich

2. About the irretrievable human military losses of the Red Army and the enemy Some biased publicists, writers, unscrupulous historians, without any reliance on truthful documents, provide fantastic data on the total human losses of the Red Army:

From the book The Feat of the Marine Corps. "Stand to death!" author Abramov Evgeny Petrovich

On the Nevsky patch, you, the living, know that We did not want to leave this land and did not leave. We stood to death by the dark Neva, We died so that you live. R. Rozhdestvensky Immediately after the formation of the 18th Army of the German Army Group "North" (Commander Field Marshal

From the book Public Readings on Russian History author Solovyov Sergey Mikhailovich

READING IV About the second Tatar invasion; about Alexander Nevsky; about the strengthening of Moscow, about the Grand Duke John Danilovich Kalita and about St. Peter the Metropolitan of the Tatars returned from the Dnieper to the steppe, and again the rumor about them disappeared. Only 12 years later, in 1237, they appeared again on

In September 1942, the troops of the Neva Operational Group of the Leningrad Front again captured the bridgehead on the left bank of the Neva. The Nevsky Piglet, held by the Red Army from the autumn of 1941 to the spring of 1942, was revived. True, in conditions when the operation to break the blockade failed, it was already pointless to attack from it. But the Soviet command was not going to leave the bridgehead either. And for the Germans, he became a source of constant anxiety, which was impossible to put up with.

Nevsky Piglet

The newly formed bridgehead, for the capture of which the Red Army paid a very high price with their own blood, was held for a long time by relatively small Soviet units. At first it was a consolidated company of the 70th Infantry Division of the Hero Soviet Union Major General A. A. Krasnov (soon the division received the rank of Guards and became the 45th Guards). Later, the guardsmen were replaced by a company from the 46th Infantry Division of E.V. Kozik. This unit, formerly known as the 1st NKVD Rifle Division, was a veteran of the battles on the right bank of the Neva. Initially, its backbone consisted of fighters of the border troops.

Scheme from the history of the 83rd Jaeger Regiment of the 28th Jaeger Division. The situation on the bridgehead at the time of the withdrawal of the main part of the troops of the Neva Operational Group from the left bank

At first, the enemy considered the new bridgehead practically liquidated. It turned out that on October 8, the Soviet command failed to secretly withdraw troops from the bridgehead, and the Germans quickly occupied most of the coast. On "their" bank, they found only a small group of Red Army soldiers, which was supposed to be finally dealt with on October 10, when units of the 170th Infantry Division occupied the left bank of the Neva. It was not possible to do this, the fighting continued on the 11th. On this day, according to German reports, a grenade battle took place with Red Army soldiers who had settled in a steep bank. The next day, the Germans did not continue their attempts to dislodge the Soviet fighters from the left bank. It was at this time that the consolidated company of the 70th division received a change: soldiers of the 340th rifle regiment of the 46th rifle division came to the left bank of the Neva.

The regiment was commanded by I. N. Fadeev. It was one of his companies that was to defend the patch left in the hands of Soviet soldiers and act against the German 170th Infantry Division.

Commander of the 340th Infantry Regiment I. N. Fadeev

In the meantime, some organizational changes were taking place: the Neva Operational Group became the 67th Army. The Germans, for their part, also made a small regrouping, and now the banks of the Neva were in the zone of responsibility of the XXX Army Corps. However, not for long: after some time, the headquarters of another "Crimean" corps became responsible for the defense of the left bank of the river. It was the LIV Corps, also formerly part of the 11th Army.

It was then, in November 1942, that the Germans made an attempt to destroy the remaining bridgehead. They were not at all satisfied with this "purulent abscess" on the banks of the Neva. By the way, the expression "abscess" as a designation for the Soviet bridgehead is periodically found even in German documents.

Report card of the headquarters of the German XXX Army Corps. Soviet foothold marked in red

On November 6, the commander of the 18th Army, Georg von Lindemann, made a trip to the headquarters of the LIV Corps. Shortly before this, a company of the 340th Infantry Regiment had somewhat expanded the area it occupied on the left bank. Lindemann demanded that the Soviet foothold on the left bank of the Neva be liquidated. The operation was to be carried out by the 170th Infantry Division. The commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division was entrusted to advise her leadership on the issue of conducting battles on the banks of the Neva.

Interestingly, at the army-corps level, this operation was called “Doennerschlag” (“Roll of Thunder”), and at the divisional level, the operation was called “Wespenest” (“Waspen's Nest”). After its implementation, the Soviet foothold on the Neva was to cease to exist.

Commander of the 46th Infantry Division E. V. Kozik

It cannot be said that this episode of the defense of the bridgehead on the Neva was completely forgotten in Soviet time- he, in particular, is reflected in the memoirs of the commander of the 46th Infantry Division E.V. Kozik. However, he made several inaccuracies in his presentation. One of them was that Kozik mixed up the events of several days of November 1942. The second inaccuracy concerns who actually attacked the bridgehead. Kozik claims that they were SS men from the "Policeman" division. However, such a mistake is a very common occurrence in Soviet post-war historical literature. Of course, in fact, there were no SS men here.

Who exactly attacked the bridgehead and what eventually came of it?

Side forces

Apparently, the decision to liquidate the Soviet bridgehead was finally made on November 9, 1942. This was instructed to do, as already mentioned above, the units of the 170th Infantry Division, Major General Erwin Sander. The division suffered heavy losses and had the status of "fully fit for defense". The division had 8 infantry battalions consisting of three grenadier regiments.

Commander of the 170th Infantry Division Erwin Sander

On November 12, an order was given to the division, according to which the start of Operation Wasp's Nest was scheduled for the evening of November 19. The following forces were involved in the implementation of the plan. The main blow was to be delivered by two grenadier regiments: the 391st and 399th. Both regiments had three battalions each. The stronger of them was the 391st grenadier, numbering up to 800 combat personnel as of November 16. The 399th regiment was weaker, one of its battalions did not even reach 200 people in combat strength. It was assumed that the assault groups of the units of these regiments shouting "Hurra!" attack at dusk.

The artillery of the 170th division was to be reinforced with two additional divisions of 15 cm howitzers and a battery of rocket-propelled mortars. The 301st tank battalion with radio-controlled vehicles was also supposed to support units of the 170th division. Even during the preparation of the operation, they tried to use them to undermine the Soviet fortifications on the bridgehead, but due to technical malfunctions, this attempt, undertaken on November 16, failed. The explosion killed two and wounded four more soldiers of the German tank battalion. Most likely, this happened due to a short circuit in the wire.

Sd.Kfz. 301 from the squad 301st tank battalion

It should be honestly mentioned the fact that the situation for the Soviet fighters on the bridgehead was sharply complicated due to the presence of defectors. The last of them passed to the Germans on November 16. These people told quite a lot, and the protocols of their interrogations were preserved in the documents of the 170th Infantry Division.

As for exact data on the strength of the reinforced company of the 340th Rifle Regiment, they are, unfortunately, not available. At the same time, it is known that the 340th Rifle Regiment itself was reinforced by one machine gun and artillery battalion. For artillery support of the infantry, he was given one artillery and one howitzer regiment, a mortar regiment and an artillery battalion of the 11th rifle brigade.

Found a scythe on a stone

As planned, the German operation began on 19 November. From the report of the 170th division to the corps, the course of the battle is not entirely clear. But the surviving regimental reports make it clear that the Soviet company put up quite a strong resistance to the Germans. However, the forces turned out to be too unequal: the Germans pressed the defenders of the bridgehead, and their connection with the left bank was interrupted for some time.

On the morning of November 20, Sander's division reported to the corps that the operation was developing according to plan. By 5 o'clock in the morning, a significant part of the coast was cleared of the Red Army, most of them were destroyed. Individual fighters tried to swim across the Neva. In the middle of the day, the division reported to the headquarters of the corps that it had captured almost the entire bridgehead, and the Russians were holding only a section of the steep coast. According to the report, part of the dugouts was blown up, but some Russian soldiers still resisted on the territory of the bridgehead.

Until the end of the day, the battle continued on the bridgehead. The Germans reported that they were trying to clear the rest of it, but due to heavy Soviet fire from the right bank, the process was delayed. According to Soviet data, during the day even small reinforcements were transferred to the left bank (according to German documents, only one boat with 10 people was able to get from the right bank of the Neva to the left).

And the very next morning, November 21, the Germans were in for an unpleasant surprise. Per night soviet detachment received substantial reinforcements. As it turned out, the remnants of the company managed to keep a narrow section of the coast, only about 100 meters separated them from the water's edge, and the width of this patch was up to 500 meters. The Soviet artillery fired barrage fairly accurately and took good aim at the bridgehead itself.

Scheme of the proposed movement of part of the assault groups during an attack on the bridgehead. Red shows a line of barbed wire on the front edge of the bridgehead

Thanks to the reinforcement of the detachment on the left bank, its commander was even able to launch counterattacks. German documents mention that the northern flank of the 399th was attacked. The size of the group of counterattacks was estimated at 50 people, and the battle was fought with them at the closest distance. The German report again mentions a grenade battle, during which the counterattack was repulsed. It only remained to admit that the "cleansing" of the bridgehead was not successful.

By the evening of November 21, Soviet artillery fire forced the German units on the northern flank of the 399th Grenadier Regiment to retreat. This happened after the machine guns failed, and the number of two companies located there was reduced to a few dozen people. All their commanders were put out of action. Following the retreating Germans, Soviet soldiers rushed, and the remnants of two companies retreated to their original positions, from which the German operation began.

The Germans noted that the Soviet artillery fired very intensely. In the three morning hours of November 21 alone, she fired at least 4,000–5,000 shots. Indeed, the commander of the 46th Infantry Division, Kozik, later recalled that the bridgehead was supported by up to 150 artillery pieces. If the German assessment is correct, then in this battle the Soviet artillery was able to compete with the German not only in terms of ammunition consumption, but also in terms of fire efficiency. In two days, November 20 and 21, the Germans lost 51 people killed, 274 wounded and 27 more missing. In this case, the enemy took 39 prisoners.

remote controlled car Sd.Kfz. 301

In order to clarify the situation on the ground and get first-hand information, the commander of the 18th Army arrived at the headquarters of the 170th Infantry Division on November 22. Sander bluntly told Lindemann that both regiments of the division retreated to their original positions due to heavy enemy fire. However, he immediately declared that the operation could be repeated at any time. True, in the end, the German command refused to continue the offensive against the small Soviet bridgehead. The operation failed.

By the way, it quite strongly resembled the operation of the 1st Infantry Division, carried out in April 1942. However, then, in April, the Germans quickly enough, albeit with heavy losses, nevertheless liquidated the Soviet bridgehead. At the same time, it was then occupied not by one reinforced company, but by most of the 330th rifle regiment of the 86th rifle division. The Soviet side has drawn conclusions since then. The surviving soldiers of the garrison on the left bank of the Neva, who occupied a section of about 1000 meters along the front and 350 meters in depth, were promptly replaced.

Operation "Wasp's Nest" also showed that the German troops near Leningrad were gradually losing in quality of personnel. Their actions were increasingly affected by the heavy losses suffered earlier.

As for the remotely controlled vehicles of the 301st tank battalion, the effect of their actions was insignificant. The battalion lost some of the vehicles as a result of the fact that they simply got stuck while moving towards the target.

An excerpt from the combat log of the 340th Infantry Regiment. The situation on the banks of the Neva on January 1, 1943

A small Soviet foothold on the left bank of the Neva continued to exist until January 1943. Unfortunately, it was not possible to use it as a springboard for throwing towards the troops of the Volkhov Front during Operation Iskra. After the failure in an attempt to eliminate the bridgehead, the German command paid close attention to the defense of the Neva bank in this area. However, it was thanks to this that the bridgehead played its role, creating a false impression on the enemy about the main attack of the troops of the Leningrad Front being prepared here.

Worthy of mention is the direct organizer of the defense of the Soviet bridgehead. The commander of the battalion of the 340th Infantry Regiment, Grigory Egorovich Fefelov, judging by the data of the “Feat of the People” base, was awarded during the Great patriotic war twice. And the second time - the Order of the Red Banner, in accordance with the order on the troops of the Leningrad Front of January 30, 1943. And he received this award just for organizing the defense of the left-bank bridgehead.

Sources and literature:

• Documents of the 170th Infantry Division, LIV Army Corps and 18th Army from the NARA collection.
• Kozik E.V. The enemy did not pass // Nevsky Piglet. Memoirs of participants in the battles near Neva Dubrovka in 1941-1943. L., 1977. S. 290–300.

Nevsky Piglet - the conventional name of the bridgehead on the left (eastern) bank of the Neva opposite the Neva Dubrovka, captured and held by the Soviet troops of the Leningrad Front from 09/19/1941 to 04/29/1942 and from 09/26/1942 to 02/17/1943 during the defense of Leningrad.

From this bridgehead, Soviet troops repeatedly tried to launch an offensive on Mga and Sinyavino towards the troops that attacked from the east and thereby break the blockade of Leningrad. All attempts to expand the bridgehead and develop the offensive ended in failure.

The obvious military-tactical futility of holding the Nevsky Piglet and huge losses in manpower did not force the Soviet military leadership to abandon such a bloody defense, since this bridgehead had a symbolic meaning for the command as the fact of the presence of Soviet troops on the eastern coast occupied by German troops. Traditionally, little was considered with the losses of their soldiers in the Red Army, and such a mind-boggling figure - 250,000 dead Soviet troops on an area of ​​\u200b\u200babout 2 square kilometers in 11 and a half months, apparently did not impress the front command and the Headquarters of the supreme command.

The bridgehead Nevsky "piglet" was located on the left bank of the Neva in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe village of Dubrovka, approximately 12 kilometers downstream from Lake Ladoga. In this place, the Neva forms a bend and has a width of only 270-350 m and rather gentle banks. Directly opposite the Nevsky "piglet" was a difficult terrain with numerous quarries, covered with shrubs and forests.

The features of the terrain in the bridgehead area most directly influenced the course of hostilities. On the one hand, the presence of the railway line Petrokrepost - Nevskaya Dubrovka on the right bank of the Neva and the relatively small width of the river in the Dubrovka region allowed the Soviet command to quickly deliver reinforcements to this area and transport them to the left bank. On the other hand, due to the bend of the Neva, the enemy could fire from strong points on the territory of the Nevsky "patch" and the crossings across the Neva from all sides. Every day, up to 50,000 shells, mines and air bombs fell on the defenders of the Piglet. Losses of rifle units reached 95% of the original number. Moreover, most of the total losses were irretrievable losses, since the evacuation of the wounded to the right bank was difficult. The crossing from one bank to the other until mid-November was carried out mainly at night, and after the formation of a strong ice cover on the Neva, at dusk or even during the day, since at night there was a very high risk of falling into a polynya and drowning.

In addition, exceptionally severe weather conditions (in November-December frosts reached -25 °), the lack of equipped dugouts and dugouts, and problems with providing soldiers in the bridgehead with food contributed to an increase in the number of various diseases, which increased the already large losses.

The dead, with very rare exceptions, were buried right on the bridgehead in funnels and trenches. Some were buried twice and thrice - explosions of shells and mines raised the remains from the graves, and then the corpses were again covered with earth.

Yu. R. Poresh, veteran of the 115th Infantry Division, participant in the battles on the Nevsky Piglet in November 1941: “By the time of the landing of our company, all the trenches, communication passages were clogged with frozen corpses. They lay on the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe patch, where they were overtaken by a bullet or shrapnel. It’s hard to remember this, but it was like that: the shelter in which my two comrades and I happened to be accommodated was instead covered with stiffened corpses, the walls were partially lined with corpses, loopholes for firing were equipped between the corpses laid along the trenches instead of parapets. The entire square of the patch was a cemetery of unburied soldiers and officers. Not a single tree or bush, not a single brick on brick - everything was blown away by fire ... All this against the backdrop of the constant roar of our and German cannonade, the specific smell of mine powder, the disgusting sound of German attack aircraft, the groans of the wounded, the obscenity of the living, covering the Germans, the war and this dead piglet, and sometimes our artillerymen, who were hitting their positions.

At the end of April 1942, an ice drift began on the Neva, which significantly hampered the communication of the Piglet garrison with the main forces of the Neva Operational Group on the right bank. The German command decided to take advantage of this and eliminate the bridgehead. In total, on the left bank of the Neva, in the Shlisselburg-Ivanovskoye section, the Germans had forces in 9-10 battalions numbering about 5200 people.

At that time, the 330th regiment of about 1000 people held the defense on the "patch". The regiment took up defense on a front of 4 kilometers - from the ravine north of Arbuzov to the outskirts of the 1st Gorodok. The depth of the bridgehead was 500-800 meters on the right flank and in the center, and on the left flank - only 50-70 meters.

On the evening of April 24, after artillery preparation, German troops launched a surprise attack on the left flank of the Soviet defense in the bridgehead. Parts of the 43rd and 1st regiments of the 1st German infantry division, after a fierce battle, went to the Neva and cut off the 2nd battalion from the main forces of the 330th regiment. In the morning, new attacks followed, as a result of which the enemy managed to push the 3rd battalion 100-150 meters. All attempts by the bridgehead garrison to restore the situation on their own were unsuccessful.

On April 25-26, reinforcements of 250 people were sent to the bridgehead. On the afternoon of April 27, the Germans, striking from the north and south in converging directions, went on the offensive. Despite the desperate resistance of the defenders, after two hours of fierce fighting, most of the bridgehead was in the hands of the Germans. At the end of April 27, the last radiogram was transmitted from the bridgehead - communication with the 330th regiment was interrupted. The chief of staff of the regiment, Major A. M. Sokolov, was sent to the right bank with a report, who, being wounded three times, nevertheless managed to swim to the opposite bank and tell about the critical situation of the defenders of the bridgehead. Further resistance was of a focal nature. Attempts by units of the 284th regiment to force the Neva and counterattack the enemy were not successful.

In early September, it was decided by the forces of the Neva Operational Group to cross the Neva in the Annenskoye - 1st Gorodok section, and then advance towards Sinyavino. On September 10, all attempts to cross the Neva failed, and on September 11, several more groups managed to cross the river, but could not gain a foothold and were driven out from the left bank by enemy counterattacks. 12-th of September The headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered to stop the operation, “since the Leningrad Front was unable to intelligently organize the crossing of the Neva and, by its actions, stupidly ruined a large number of commanders and fighters” .

On September 26, Soviet troops began a new crossing of the Neva and managed to gain a foothold on the left bank in several places, but the German troops managed to eliminate two bridgeheads. Only the "piglet" in the Moscow Dubrovka area remained under the control of the Soviet units.

On October 5, 1942, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered the withdrawal of the main forces of the Neva Operational Group to the right bank of the Neva due to the operational inexpediency of further holding a bridgehead on the eastern bank.

On January 12, 1943, Operation Iskra began. The 67th Army was to cross the Neva on a wider (13 kilometers) sector of the front than in previous operations - from Shlisselburg to the Nevsky Piglet and advance east to join the 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front.

On the first day of the offensive, the 131st Regiment of the 45th Guards Division, which struck directly from the bridgehead, managed to advance only 500-600 meters. All attempts by the enemy to counterattack were repulsed, but the Soviet units again failed to move forward.

On February 13, units of the Soviet army went on the offensive with large forces. Directly from the bridgehead, the 138th Rifle Brigade, which replaced the 46th Division, delivered a blow. Pursuing the retreating enemy, by the morning of February 17, the main forces of the 67th Army reached the Nevsky Piglet and joined up with the 138th Brigade. Success was achieved thanks to effective artillery support.

The number of dead and wounded Soviet soldiers in the battles for the Nevsky Piglet differs significantly in different sources, but, according to absolutely all estimates, the losses in the battles for the bridgehead were huge.

In the 1960s, the Pravda newspaper for the first time published a figure of 200,000 soldiers who died on the Nevsky "patch", which for a long time established itself in the domestic military history literature. V last years there are other estimates. According to the calculations of the historian G. A. Shigin, the Soviet troops in the battles for the bridgehead (only in 1941) lost 64,000-68,000 people killed and wounded, and V. V. Beshanov gives the figures - 140,000 wounded and 250,000 killed.

The dimensions of the Nevsky "piglet" were constantly changing: from 4 to 1 kilometer wide and from 800 to 350 meters deep, sometimes literally in a day.

The losses of German troops in the battles in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe Nevsky Piglet are not known for certain. According to rough estimates, they amounted to 10,000 to 40,000 soldiers and officers killed.

As of 2005, there were 16 fraternal military graves with the remains of 17,607 soldiers and commanders of the Red Army on the territory of the memorial; the names of only 1114 of them have been established.