DOT No. 554 is a long - term artillery firing point located on the northern front of the Kiev fortified area and included in its first line of defense. The fortification structure belongs to the class of artillery semi- caponier (AIC) and is one of three of this type located in KiUR (see also AIC No. 152 and AIC No. 578 ). The construction took part in the defense of Kiev in 1941.
Content
Design and Construction
During the construction of this bunker, 76 mm guns of the 1900 model were used on a caponier carriage , adopted by the Russian army in 1910. At the time of construction (1929-1931) there was no more modern caponier technology, so the choice was limited to the armament of the times of the First World War . The embrasures of the bunkers had rather large dimensions and did not protect against damage by the shock wave and fragments of close discontinuities, as well as from the enemy’s combat poison gases . This forced the garrison to use personal protective equipment. The fight against armored vehicles was not the main task of the agro-industrial complex, the main goal was infantry and cavalry of the enemy [1] .
DOT No. 554 was built on the elevated eastern bank of the Irpen River (about 30-40 meters above the floodplain level) near the village of Guta-Mezhigorskaya . The fortification structure could conduct flanking fire in a south-westerly direction along the floodplain of the river in front of the village of Guta-Mezhigorskaya, where it did not flood when the dam locks were closed. The wall thickness reached 150 cm, and the floor was 110 cm. During the construction, about 329 cubic meters of concrete were used. His armament consisted of two 76-mm guns, which were placed in two adjacent combat casemates located on a ledge. The garrison totaled 20 people. In addition, there were a radio station , telephones, a fire control device, an air filter unit and other military equipment. To facilitate the loading of ammunition in the agro-industrial complex, a ramp was built. The agro-industrial complex No. 554 included a special anti-chemical shelter and therefore belongs to the “B” type fortifications, has the resistance class “M1” , that is, it can withstand 1 hit of a 203-mm howitzer [1] .
Service
Half-caponier was organizationally part of the 22nd Kiur Defense District Battalion (BRO) responsible for the Guta-Mezhigorskaya section - the southern outskirts of Demidov , and with the outbreak of war was occupied by servicemen of the 161st separate machine-gun battalion. Until August 24–25, 1941, he was in the rear zone far from the front line. On August 26, units of the 44th enemy infantry division using one reinforced company began attacking the borders of KiUR near the village of Guta-Mezhigorsk with the simultaneous crossing of the Irpen River. By the joint efforts of the firing points and field filling ( 28th Mountain Division of the 37th Army ), the crossing enemy was pressed against the edge of the coast and cut off from communication with its (western) coast. In the evening, in the dark, the Germans rolled back, losing about one platoon killed and wounded [2] .
During the second assault on KiUR , which began on September 16, 1941, the bunker No. 554 had combat contact with the enemy since September 18, when the 296th and 71st German infantry divisions began active operations in this area. On the afternoon of September 18, troops of the 37th Army, by order of the command, begin to withdraw from Kiev . The garrison of DOT KiUR was one of the last to go to the left bank of the Dnieper [2] .
But on the Guta-Mezhigorskaya - Demidov section, the enemy energetically attacked. It is not clear whether the retreat order reached the defenders of the agro-industrial complex No. 554, or whether the Soviet command deliberately left the garrison at the combat post to cover the retreat of the main forces. By the evening of September 18, enemy assault groups blocked a number of bunkers in the Irpin, including the agro-industrial complex No. 554. Early in the morning of September 19, when the bulk of the 37th army was already on the left bank of the Dnieper River , the enemy attacked the agro-industrial complex No. 554 and the machine-gun bunker No. 556 , which was located 1 kilometer north and was completely destroyed. As a result, 6 Red Army soldiers were captured. During the clearing of the area in the period after September 19, 1941, German sappers did not undermine this building [2] .
Modernity
Bunker No. 554 has survived and is in good condition.
Gallery
Front view on the right. Figures of people give an idea about the sizes of embrasures .
A close view of the embrasure and entrance, the light from the entrance- ramp for loading ammunition is visible in the opening.
Internal view of the combat casemate , on the floor there is a serrated sector of horizontal guidance of the gun.
See also
- DOT No. 106 (KiUR)
- DOT No. 410 (KiUR)
- DOT No. 552/553 (KiUR)
- Defense of the Kiev fortified area (1941)
Links
- ↑ 1 2 A.V. Kainaran, A.L. Kreschanov, A.G. Kuzyak, M.V. Yushchenko Kiev fortified area 1928-1941. - PP Volyn Publishing House, 2011. - 356 p. (Series “Fortification History”) ISBN 978-966-690-136-4
- ↑ 1 2 3 A.V. Kainaran, D. C. Muravov, M.V. Yushchenko Kiev fortified area. 1941 year. Chronicle of defense. - PP Volyn Publishing House, 2017. - 456 p. (Series "History of Fortification") ISBN 978-966-690-210-1