Vasiliev, Alexander Antonovich

Born in 1888, in the family of a railwayman. In 1912 he graduated from the Borisoglebsk Technical School and worked as a technician in the construction of the Rostov-Likhaya railway. Then he built the line Cool - Gudermes.

During the First World War he participated in the construction of the Likhaya-Rodakovo line in the Donbass, Chudovo-Volkhov and Budogoshch-Sonkovo-Rybinsk. After the war, he worked on the construction of a railway line near Odessa. Since 1921 he worked as an engineer in the Office of the Railway in Kiev, in absentia he graduated from the Construction Institute. In 1928, he moved from the banks of the Dnieper to the Volga in Saratov , participated in the construction of the Saratov -Likhaya-Millerovo line, and in 1931-1932, the Tula -Sukhinichi line.

When the Great Patriotic War began, Vasiliev was already 52 years old and had extensive experience in the field of bridge construction. On the second day of the war, he proposed to transfer to the wheels of builders and equipment for the restoration of bridges. The name "bridge train" appeared. He was ordered to restore the bridge in 12 days, but Vasilyev 80 percent of the metal work was done using electric welding, and the bridge was restored in 6 days. To raise collapsed spans from the river, he began to use hydraulic jacks, although they had not heard of their use in bridge construction before. The flight span accelerated by 8 times. And in order to carry out rigging work faster, he created an original scheme of a cable crane.

Subsequently, Vasiliev headed the bridge train number 29 of the Stalingrad Railway, which worked on the restoration of bridges within the South-Western Front, and then at Stalingrad. In September 1942 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of 1 degree for the restoration of more than a dozen large bridges.

In December 1942, when the outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad was clear, it became clear that the liberated troops of the Don Front would have to be urgently transferred either to Donbass or to the north. The State Defense Committee adopted a resolution on the urgent restoration of the bridge across the Don at the village of Spoon. Bridge-29, headed by A. A. Vasiliev, arrived at construction site No. 500 along with other railway units.

The Lozhkinsky or Chirsky bridge across the Don River near the town of Kalach on the Lyapichev - Rychkovo stretch, more than a hundred kilometers from Stalingrad. The opponents, retreating, destroyed the bridge completely: 11 spans, with a total length of 725 meters. All the spans of this extra-class bridge, except for two coastal ones, lay destroyed in the river. Almost all the supports were undermined in their upper part. 52 days were allotted for the revival of the strategically important bridge. The Stavka was constantly interested in the work on the revival of the Lozhkinsky bridge, personally controlled by the People's Commissar.

At the restoration of the bridge, engineers Vasiliev, Chezhin and Tsvetkov designed a jib crane specifically for restoration work, taking into account the possibility of manufacturing it using a bridge train. The crane was made in 20 days by a bridge train. Its use accelerated the revival of the bridge. By February 19, restoration of spans from 6 to 10 was completed. Spans 2 were being assembled on spans 2 and 3.

On March 6, 1943, during a test by a break-in locomotive of the restored bridge, there was another raid by enemy aircraft. A large bomb hit and destroyed the ninth pillar. Two 55-meter spans crashed into the water. 102 people died from the bombing, including the most talented engineer A. A. Vasiliev and the head of the construction department of construction A. M. Cherkesov.

Despite the great destruction and casualties, the bridge over the Don was rebuilt as soon as possible. It was the first major building rebuilt during the Great Patriotic War .

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 5, 1943 "for special merits in providing transportation for the front and the national economy and outstanding achievements in restoring the railway industry in difficult wartime conditions," Vasiliev Alexander Antonovich was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor with the award of the Order of Lenin and the medal " Hammer and sickle".

He was buried at the site of his death, on the banks of the modern Tsimlyansk reservoir, next to the mass Red Army grave. The obelisk says: “Heroes of Socialist Labor A. A. Vasiliev and AM Cherkesov are buried here.”

He was awarded the Order of Lenin , World War 1 degree.

Vasiliev, Alexander Antonovich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ". Date of treatment August 22, 2014.

• Heroes of steel highways. Prince 2.M. 2003
• Heroes of labor of the war years 19411945. M. 2001
• Battle of Stalingrad. July 1942 - February 1943: Encyclopedia / Ed. M.M. Zagorulko . - 5th ed., Rev. and add. - Volgograd: Publisher, 2012. - S. 94-95. - 800 p.