Safir, Mikhail Pavlovich

Born in 1895 in St. Petersburg in the Orthodox ^[1] family of court adviser Pavel Nikolayevich Safir and peasant woman of the Novgorod province Marfa Kuzminichna Koroleva. He participated in the First World War with the rank of lieutenant commanding a company, then a battalion . He was awarded six orders with swords and a bow. Wounded, twice shell-shocked, came under gas attack.

In the Red Army from September 1 ^{[2] of} 1918, he took part in hostilities from 1919 to 1929 ^[3] . He graduated from the Military Academy. Frunze . The teacher of the fire cycle at the courses " Shot " (1929-1933) and the department "Shooting from the tank" VAMM RKKA ( 1933 - 1939 ).

In 1934 he laid the foundation for the theory (and practice) of shooting from a tank, invented the "Safir line", which Soviet tankers used until 1951 ^[4] .

Since 1939 - Deputy Inspector General of the armored forces of the Red Army . From July 18, 1941 ^[2] to March 1943, he was commander of the armored forces of the 33rd Army .

Eliminating the Narofomin Breakthrough

In early December 1941, he led the 33rd Army tank group (Lieutenant General M.G. Efremov ) to eliminate the Naro-Fomin breakthrough. In late November - early December 1941, the 33rd Army occupied the defense in direct contact with the enemy in a 32 km strip along the Nara River. The army lacked manpower and means. The 5th Army of the Artillery Lieutenant General L. A. Govorov defended north (a band of 50 km), and to the south - the 43rd Army of Major General KD Golubev (a band of 32 km) ^[5] .

On December 1, 1941, the command of Army Group Center (Field Marshal von Bock ) made another attempt to frontally break through to Moscow in the Aprelevka area (25 km south-west of Moscow ). The command of the 4th Field Army was assigned the task of the 20th Army Corps - to dismember and destroy the troops of the 5th and 33rd armies with strikes from the areas of Zvenigorod and Naro-Fominsk in the direction of Kubinka and Golitsyno , and further, operating along the Kiev and Minsk highway, go to Moscow ^[5] .

On the morning of December 1, after strong artillery and air training, the Germans launched an offensive. In the zone of the 5th Army in the area of Zvenigorod, the 78th and 252nd Infantry Divisions advanced only 1.5-4 km and went on the defensive. But northwest of Naro-Fominsk, the German 292nd and 258th infantry divisions, using more than five times superior force, broke through the defenses of the 222nd Infantry Division of the 33rd Army in the Tashirovo area, the village of Novaya and, introducing up to 70 tanks with motorized infantry, by 14:00 left on the highway Naro-Fominsk - Kubinka . By 12:30 on December 2, the main enemy forces — the 478th infantry regiment with 15 tanks — had passed Yushkovo and occupied Petrovskoe and Burtsevo ^[5] .

To defeat the Germans who had broken through, M.G. Efremov created a tank group ( 5th tank brigade , 136th and 140th separate tank battalions) with the 18th infantry brigade attached under the command of Colonel M.P. Safir. The commander of the Western Front, Army General G.K. Zhukov gave the order to M. G. Efremov: ^[5]

Commander-33 Efremov.

I order the group ... consisting of 18 RB , two ski battalions, one tank battalion and an additional 15 tanks, one anti-tank regiment, reinforcing it with PC artillery, strike the enemy in the direction of Yushkovo . To have the further task to rapidly advance in the direction of Golovenka and restore the situation. Strike in the morning 3.12.

The leadership of the group is vested in you personally.

- Zhukov. ^[6]

M. G. Efremov did just that. The operational group of the 33rd Army, led by Lieutenant General M. G. Efremov (his command post was located in the area of ​​the Alabino platform) ^[7] , developed operational measures to destroy the enemy that had broken through. This group included the head of the army’s armored forces, Colonel M. P. Safir and the deputy chief of staff of the army, Colonel S. I. Kinosyan . The direct leadership of the battle on December 2, M. G. Efremov entrusted to Colonel M. P. Safir, setting him the task of "completely restoring the original position." According to the memoirs of M. P. Safir, about 120 tanks, an infantry brigade, an NKVD regiment and two ski battalions took part in the operation ^[8] .

During December 2, the 136th separate tank battalion and units of the 76th Rifle Regiment of the NKVD with varying success drove the Germans out of Petrovsky. On December 3, with the support of the 18th Infantry Brigade, tankers, having successfully used a tank counterattack with infantry landing, completed the rout of the 478th Infantry Regiment, which suffered heavy losses, was forced to retreat. “The blow of our units on December 3 in the Yushkovo area was so strong and unexpected for the Germans that they already on December 4 in the morning, refusing to exit on the Mozhayskoye highway ... hastily retreated to their original position ...” ^[9] After successful operations on December 3-4 the commander of the 33rd army M. G. Efremov decided to develop success: ^[5]

Battle Order 09 / OP
MapY00004.12.41

To complete the complete rout of the enemy’s remains I ORDER:

18 [th] RBU with a swift blow to encircle and destroy the remnants of the enemy ... take possession of the border of Myakishevo ... (lawsuit) Tashirovo , hold him firmly.

Colonel Safir’s group ... - to encircle and destroy the enemy’s remnants in r [ayo] is not the Pioneer Camp .., take control of Tashirovo and firmly hold the crossing over the river. Nara .

Commander 1 Guards. MSD [Colonel A. I. Lizyukov ], together with a group of Colonel Safir, destroy the enemy who penetrated the left bank of the river. Nara and fully restore its former position. To the commander of the 222rd [SD] [Colonel F. A. Bobrov ] by the end of December 5, 1941, occupy r [ayo] n Inevka ... By 5 pm 5.12. to bring the division into full combat readiness. KP Golovenki .

- Commander of the 33rd Army Lt. Gen. Efremov. ^[7]

Thus, the tank group of the 33rd Army, having defeated the German offensive group on December 3-5, restored the situation on the Nara River. Lt. Gen. Yu. A. Ryabov (Colonel MP P. Safir’s assistant in the 3rd Army since August 1942) later evaluated this situation as follows: ^[5] “If we had a similar story, I can’t imagine who would give an order to move back 25 km? I am sure that according to our “methodology” none of such a trap would have left alive - they would have put everyone in, but they did not give an order to retreat. ”

After the Narofomin battles, Colonel M.P. Safir was awarded the Order of the Red Banner :

... In battles with the Nazis from December 2 to 6, 1941, in the area of ​​operations of a height of 210.8, the villages of Petrovskoye and Yushkovo, Comrade Safir personally led the operations of the 5th Tank Brigade, 136 and 140 detachments. tank battalions. The result of skillful management of operations, the enemy was defeated and began to hastily retreat. Parts of the tank group with attached infantry units completely restored their former position.

Commander of the 33rd Army Lieutenant General Efremov
Member of the Military Council of the 33rd Army Brigadier Commissar Shlyakhtin
12/27/41

- from the award sheet ^{[10] [11]}

Further Service

On November 10, 1942, M. S. Khozin introduced his deputy M. P. Safir to the rank of “Major General of the Tank Troops”: “... He provided excellent leadership for the tank armies of the army in all operations ... In August 1942, tank armies led by Comrade Safir perfectly completed the task of breaking through a strongly fortified enemy line ... Brave ... ” ^[4] .

In 1943 - 1944 - deputy, and from 1944 to 1947 - head of the Directorate of combat training of tank troops .

Post-war years

In the future, until 1954 - Deputy Inspector General of the Armored Forces of the Main Inspection of the Soviet Army . He was the organizer and judge of the All-Union competitions and competitions for the championship of the armed forces race. Awarded the title of “Judges of the All-Union Motorsport Category”.

Since 1954, retired. He devoted the subsequent years to the work of a mechanic , cabinetmaker and photographer . He died on April 11, 1981, was buried in the Novodevichy cemetery .

• Order of the Red Banner (12.31.1941)
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (12/15/1943 ^[12] )
• 4 other orders
• 6 orders of the Russian Empire
• medals, including the medal "20 years of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army"

Son - Vladimir Mikhailovich Safir ^[13] .

• Safir V. M. Defense of Moscow. Narofominsky breakthrough December 1-5, 1941 (what was and what was not in reality) // The First World War and the Great Patriotic War. The harsh truth of war . - M .: Commanders of the Fatherland, 2005 .-- 352 p. - 600 copies. - ISBN 5-88933-026-5 .
• Safir V. Notes // The First World War and the Great Patriotic War. The harsh truth of war . - M .: Commanders of the Fatherland, 2005 .-- 352 p. - 600 copies. - ISBN 5-88933-026-5 .

• Safir Mikhail Pavlovich (1895-1981) Internet project "Sports Necropolis".
• Valery Stepanov. Unknown divisional 17. Chekhovskiy Vestnik Issue No. 35, May 9, 2009.
• The history of the battles of the 33rd Army under the command of Lieutenant General Efremov M. G. The search squad "PATRIOT".