61st Tank Brigade

The tank brigade was formed in Leningrad in the summer of 1942 on the basis of the decree of the Military Council of the Leningrad Front No. 001052 of July 7.

The brigade, which was armed with 65 light tanks T-60 and 46 armored vehicles BA-10 , became known as "light tank". The front command calculated that the use of light and maneuverable tanks would be most effective for directly supporting infantry and suppressing enemy firing points when attacking in a wooded and swampy area ^[1] .

The command staff and headquarters of the brigade for the most part was staffed by Leningrad officers, as well as commanders who already had experience in fighting on the Leningrad Front. Lieutenant Colonel A.V. Shevlyagin was appointed commander of the brigade, and soon due to illness Lieutenant Colonel V.V. Khrustitsky was replaced.

Unlike the commanders, a significant part of the tankers were recruits from different regions of the USSR who arrived in the brigade from the "mainland". At the same time, there were many Leningrad workers and engineers, thanks to whom it was possible to create an effective service for the repair and operation of military equipment ^[2] .

Tanks for staffing the brigade were transported to Leningrad via Lake Ladoga , and for disguise they were transported on barges with coal. Most of the armored vehicles that entered the arsenal of the brigade arrived after repair at Leningrad enterprises ^[3] .

At the end of July, the brigade was already almost fully equipped (with the exception of vehicles), and from July 27 began systematic combat training. Since most of the brigade did not have combat experience, the front command did not dare to drop the formation immediately into battle. First, the brigade was in the front reserve in the Ozerkov region, and then from August to December in the Kolpino region. A long training period allowed to bring the level of combat training of the personnel of the brigade to a sufficiently high level. At the end of December 1942, the brigade was included in the 67th Army to participate in Operation Spark.

During the preparation of the operation, the command of the Leningrad Front was considering the possibility of crossing the Neva with tanks on ice. An experiment was conducted at the Ovtsino Colony - two T-60 tanks crossed the river without problems, and the weight of the T-34 tank could not stand even the ice reinforced by sappers. On this basis, it was finally decided to give the rifle divisions of the first echelon a battalion of light tanks and only after seizing the bridgehead on the left bank to build crossings for heavy and medium tanks ^[4] .

To directly support the infantry, brigade units were assigned to two divisions of the first echelon of the 67th army - the 548th tank battalion and the armored car battalion were to support the 86th rifle division , and the 549th tank and motorized rifle battalions - 136th ^[3] .

On January 12, the troops of the Leningrad Front went on the offensive. On the first day, the 136th Infantry Division, which successfully crossed the Neva in the Maryino area, achieved the greatest success. The 549th tank battalion of the brigade (commander - Major A. C. Parshin) also managed to reach the left bank without significant losses. Having discarded parts of the 401th regiment of the 170th enemy infantry division , by the end of the day the advancing formations captured a bridgehead 6 kilometers wide and 3 kilometers deep.

In the battle formations of rifle companies, T-60 tanks came from the brigade of Colonel V.V. Khrustitsky. Nimble, swift, they easily made their way everywhere, and behind them, covered by their armor, the soldiers acted more boldly, came close to the enemy firing points, set fire to and detonated them ^[5] .

- From the memoirs of the deputy commander of the 136th Infantry Division S. M. Putilov.

Less successfully developed events in the offensive zone of the 86th Infantry Division in the area of Shlisselburg . Here, ice on the river was broken by artillery fire, and the enemy firing points were not suppressed. Regiments of the 86th division and tanks of the 548th battalion (commander S. Arzamasov) were met by heavy fire of the enemy. In this situation, the commander of the battalion of armored vehicles, Captain L. I. Legeza, refused to cross the Neva River, despite the insistent demands of the command of the rifle division. Arriving at the brigade commander V.V. Khrustitsky supported this decision. Having contacted the army command, the brigade commander proposed not to force the Neva in this area, but to take advantage of the success of the 136th Infantry Division. This offer has been accepted. Parts of the 86th Infantry Division and the tank battalion of the brigade retreated to the starting lines , and then crossed to the left bank of the Neva in the Maryino area. The next day, units of the 86th division and a battalion of armored vehicles launched an offensive on Shlisselburg, and the 548th battalion began to operate in the strip of the 136th division ^[6] .

On January 13, the fighting took on a particularly fierce character - only the 136th Infantry Division, with the support of the tanks of the 61st Brigade, continued to advance and managed to advance 7 kilometers in two days east of the Neva.

By the evening of January 15, units of the 136th Division and 61st Tank Brigade approached Workers' Village No. 5, to which parts of the Volkhov Front were torn from the east. The troops of the two fronts butchered only 1 kilometer, but the enemy concentrated considerable forces in this area (parts of the 61st and 96th infantry divisions), trying to prevent the complete encirclement of their units, which continued to fight in the areas of Shlisselburg and Lipok.

On January 16, in the area of ​​Work Settlement No. 5, the advanced T-60 tank with tail number “164” suddenly collided with unknown type of enemy tanks in the morning twilight. These were the two newest Tiger tanks from the 502nd heavy tank battalion . Unable to hit the enemy with a 20-mm cannon , the T-60 commander D. Osatyuk decided to lure the Tigers under the fire of his anti-tank artillery. Thanks to the skill of the driver I. Makarenkov and the maneuverability of the T-60, this was possible to accomplish - two heavy enemy tanks were destroyed ^{[7] [8]} . The battle witness was the brigade commander V.V. Khrustitsky, who for this feat presented the tank crew to the rank of Heroes of the Soviet Union .

Simultaneously with the battles for Workers' Village No. 5 of the 86th Infantry Division, the battalion of armored vehicles of the 61st Tank Brigade, as well as the 34th Ski Brigade (from the second echelon of the army) fought from the south to Shlisselburg. On January 15, the 330th Regiment of the 86th Rifle Division took control of Transfiguration Hill, a key height in the vicinity of Shlisselburg, through a bold maneuver. The German garrison in the city, which consisted of part of the forces of the 328th regiment of the 227th Infantry Division (about 600 people), was in a critical situation, but continued to desperate resistance. On the morning of February 16, a direct assault on the city began.

The Nazis settled in stone buildings, in churches, in the dilapidated buildings of a print factory, separated from the city by a canal. From the windows of the houses machine guns shot through all the streets leading to the center, and guns were fired from the basements ^[9] .

- From the memoirs of the commander of the 34th ski brigade J. F. Potekhin

In the current situation, the actions of the battalion of armored vehicles, which destroyed their fortifications and suppressed firing points with the fire of their 45 mm cannons, were especially significant. So, on January 16, a platoon of armored vehicles under the command of Lieutenant Laptev, along with infantry broke through to the outskirts of the city, but aimed fire from the German bunker and anti-tank guns stopped the further attack. Since they could not suppress them with artillery fire, the BA-10 of Lieutenant Laptev broke through to the enemy bunker and blocked his embrasure with his body. This allowed the foot soldiers to advance rapidly. The soldiers destroyed the enemy bunker and, bypassing from the rear, threw grenades at the enemy’s artillery battery - the path for a further offensive was open. In this battle, the BA-10 Lieutenant Laptev was shot down, and the entire crew died ^[10] .

At 09:30 a.m. on January 18, after a stubborn battle of a part of the 123rd Infantry Brigade of the 67th Army, which was supported by the tank company of D.I. Osatyuk in this battle, they took the Worker Village No. 1 and thereby merged with the 372nd Infantry Division 2- th shock army . A little later, at 11:30 a.m., a decisive attack by units of the 136th Infantry Division and the main forces of the 61st Panzer Brigade was stormed by Worker Village No. 5. From the east, parts of the 18th Infantry Division of the Volkhov Front made their way there. The blockade of Leningrad was broken.

On the same day, the battles for Shlisselburg ended. The German garrison of the city was completely surrounded by that time - with a night attack, parts of the 34th ski brigade reached the Staroladozhsky canal and cut the road towards Worker Village No. 5. Parts of the 330th regiment of the 86th Infantry Division and the battalion of armored vehicles of the 61st Tank Brigade were already fighting in the city center, freeing block after block. One of the last defense nodes was the building of a print factory. Having barricaded the approaches with trolleys, barrels, scrap metal, the Germans continued to exert fierce resistance here ^[9] .

On the morning of January 18, V. V. Khrustitsky instructed the tankmen to hoist the red banner over Shlisselburg ^[2] . Lieutenants M.D. Uksusov and V.A. Mandrykin broke through on the armored car to the cathedral and, despite the heavy fire of the enemy, jumped out of the armored car.

Comrade Uksusov being in battle on January 17-18, 1943 showed courage and courage ... Upon mastering the city center, Comrade Uksusov broke through the bell tower of the church and tore the fascist flag and hung the Red flag on the very top of the bell tower ^[11] .

- From the award sheet to the presentation for the award of the Order of the Red Star, Lieutenant M. D. Uksusov

The red flag over the city served as a signal for the last decisive assault ^{[~ 1]} - by 4:00 p.m. Shlisselburg was completely released.

In battles for the city, the battalion of armored vehicles of the 61st Tank Brigade proved to be the best. Despite the fact that by January 18 only 19 out of 28 Ba-10s remained in service, most of the armored vehicles were only damaged and were soon returned to service. Irreversibly, the battalion lost only 2 vehicles ^[12] .

A few days after the breakthrough of the blockade, rifle divisions of the first echelon were withdrawn to the front reserve for rest and replenishment. The remaining parts of the 67th and 2nd shock armies, including the 61st Panzer Brigade, turned south and continued the offensive. On January 21, the brigade fought in the area of ​​the Worker Village No. 6, which was soon taken, but the troops of the 67th Army failed to break into the enemy’s defenses and make a breakthrough to Mustolovo. In February, already in the rank of the guards brigade supported the advance of the 102nd Infantry Brigade on the 2nd Gorodok and the 8th State District Power Station. By the end of February, the 67th Army, having liquidated a powerful defense unit in the 1st and 2nd Gorodoks, advanced its main forces to Arbuzovo, after which it switched to defense.

In Operation Iskra, which became a baptism of fire for the unit, the 61st Tank Brigade played a very important role, showing high combat qualities. More than 250 brigade soldiers were awarded orders and medals, and D. Osatyuk and I. Makarenkov became Heroes of the Soviet Union ^[2] . The combat distinction of the brigade was highly appreciated by the command - by order of February 7, 1943, the unit was transformed into the 30th Guards Tank Brigade.

• Office of the brigade (state No. 010/345)
• Company management (state number 010/350)
• 548th Tank Battalion (state number 010/398)
• 549th Tank Battalion (state number 010/398)
• separate armored car battalion (draft addition to the state)
• motorized rifle and machine gun battalion (state No. 010/347)
• health platoon (state number 010/352)
• special department of the NKVD (but to a special staff)
• field postal station (state No. 014 / 69v)

Brigade commanders : from 07/05/1942 to 09/15/1942 - lieutenant colonel A.V. Shevlyagin , from September 16, 1942 - colonel (from January 20, 1943) V.V. Khrustitsky .

Chief of staff of the brigade : Major S. A. Sokolov .

Deputy brigade commander for political affairs : lieutenant colonel (from 24.01.1943) F.K. Rumyantsev .

• 06/27/1942 - 64 tanks and 39 armored vehicles: 63 T-60 and 1 T-26 , 16 BA-20 , 23 BA-10 .
• 01/11/1943 - 61 tanks, 28 armored vehicles: 61 T-60, 28 BA-10.

Comments

Sources

• 61st Tank Brigade on the Tank Front website
• V.V. Khrustitsky on the site "Heroes of the country"
• DI. Osatyuk on the site "Heroes of the country"
• THEM. Makarenkov on the site "Heroes of the country"