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the events of the first few days of the great Patriotic traditionally presented to us in this Apocalypse, the absolute military tragedy. Hundreds of combat aircraft destroyed on the ground, thousands of tanks and guns, broken before I had time to take positions, tens of thousands of soldiers killed, and not having any time to aim at an enemy… But actually even then, in those most desperate hours of the sudden German onslaught, we had victory. And the first city of the Soviet troops took the Germans on 23 June.

Reading articles and books about the battle of Moscow, many of them face at the mention of victorious episode: as a result of the offensive operation the troops of the 24th army defeated leninskuy a group of German troops, with the result that September 6 was taken the district of El’nya is the first city recaptured by us from the Nazis during the great Patriotic war.

In fact, the first city, which managed to dislodge the troops of the Wehrmacht, became Przemysl, located at the border. He was released on 23 June 1941, in the attack of the guards and soldiers of the 99th infantry division.

Early on the morning of 22 June, the German batteries in the area launched a massive artillery preparation and several hours later the enemy advanced troops made active attempts to cross the border river San near Przemysl. By noon, they managed to capture the bridge, and after another hour our units to the enemy had to leave the city and move to the position of 10-12 kilometres East of the city. However, the evening of the same day the commander of the 99th division ordered one of his regiments together with a detachment of guards to dislodge the Nazis from Przemysl.

On further developments can be judged from the surviving document is the description of the fighting 92nd Przemysl border guard.

“…the Attack on Przemysl began on June 23, 1941 at 9: 00. After a fierce battle on the outskirts of the city first broke into the Peremyshl battalion of Lieutenant field-crop growers. Under the onslaught of the guards the enemy withdrew, leaving the streets to the 300 dead soldiers and officers. Przemysl was taken at 17.00 23 June 1941

…Until June 27, 1941, the battalion senior Lieutenant field-crop growers, supported by small units of the 99th infantry division and mobilized party activists, defended Przemysl, after a few dozen attacks. The stubborn defense allowed to evacuate Przemysl branch of the state Bank with all the values. June 27, 1941 at 6: 15 by order of the command battalion senior Lieutenant field crop left Przemysl and joined the squad…”

Yes, to repel the enemy, the city managed only three and a half days, but it was the first such victory of our troops. That is why Moscow felt the story of the counterattack Przemysl most important tool for liftinga lifting of the morale of the red army soldiers. About military success – although “local” – our troops even mentioned in the Sovinformburo: “Rapid counter-attack by Soviet troops recaptured Przemysl.”

on 22 June, and there was another event that does not fit into a “textbook” ideas about the beginning of the great Patriotic war. On this day the red Army for the first time since the outbreak of hostilities had crossed the state border of the USSR, – as loved to formulate then, is to beat the enemy on its territory.

near the border Rava-Russian fortified defense held 41st infantry division of major-General George Mikusheva together with units of the 91st border guard detachment. These parts not only successfully repelled the enemy’s attack, but one of the regiments the 102nd infantry, counterattacked. Battalions of the regiment were able to plot with a width of about 8 kilometers to push the Germans from our borders and even to move almost 3 km deep into enemy territory. They have captured the positions of the soldiers of the 102nd held until 26 June, and only retreated after heavy bombing by German aircraft.

Even more large-scale offensive actions were taken in the first days of the war in the South. Here on the morning of the 22nd Soviet border troops attacked the allied of Hitler and Romania. However, the warriors of the dictator Antonescu from the beginning there were some misunderstandings. Their attempts to seize bridgeheads on the Soviet Bank of the Danube almost immediately failed. And after that, the Soviet command took the initiative in their own hands. Early on the morning of 24 June the amphibious operation to capture the strategically important areas on Romanian territory: the fortifications at the Cape of satu Nou

Under cover of the fire of our batteries, and by several ships of the Danube flotilla of armored and monitors, on a hostile shore, landed three companies of the red army and border guards. The party quickly managed to seize a bridgehead, and then across the Danube to the Cape and flown for a whole infantry battalion. Romanian losses were considerable, the only prisoners captured about 70 people. And from our side were only 10 wounded.

After this we decided to take another, more ambitious airborne operation to capture the artillery positions near the city of kealia Veche. It started late in the evening of 25 June. In the end, on the enemy’s side landed three battalions. Our red army took Romania by surprise, and town together with the important fortified positions in the surrounding area were taken immediately. By the morning of June 26 amphibious units were able to advance deeper into Romanian territory more than 3 km. During the fighting, the army Antonescu lost about 1,000 men killed, wounded and prisoners, depriveLas 8 guns and 30 machine guns. In our parts was only 5 killed and 7 wounded of the red army. – Great ratio!

In the following days, organized several amphibious operations. As a result, managed to create a large beachhead on the Romanian shore length of about 70 kilometers. He was held for quite a long time. Romanian troops repeatedly attempted to liberate the city of Kiliya-Century such attacks were 18, but they all petered out. Only the successes of the German and Romanian troops in other parts of the southern front, forced the Soviet command in the end to give the order to retreat. Bridgehead our troops left the morning of the 19th July 1941. All soldiers and commanders on the Danube flotilla ships transported to Odessa.

it was during those tough June days of 1941 and other victories in the battles with insidious enemies of the attacker – very local, but nonetheless significant, symbolic.

When, where and by whom it was destroyed the first German tank? Shot down the first enemy plane? Exactly this is unlikely to be able to define: after all, many documents are lost, many eyewitnesses of those events was lost. However, with certain reservations, we can still talk about such a specific military victories. Here are just a few of the surviving evidence on the basis of which you can learn about some of the most early time the successes of our soldiers in the great Patriotic war.

the Pilots of the 33rd fighter wing, stationed at the airfield near the Belarusian town of Pruzhany, on the morning of 22 June, had to fight with Peresetsky the border by German planes hardly probable not the first. That recalls later hero of the Soviet Union, major General of aviation Ivan Pavlovich Laveykin, who served in the aviation unit since December 1940: “At dawn over the airfield flying a Nazi reconnaissance aircraft. We thought it was a regular violator of our borders is one of those which flew in the areas of our airports. To put the offender took off my commander, Fedor Illarionovich Mochalov, with two other pilots. Near Brest F. Mochalov with his companions caught up with enemy aircraft and shooter Nazi plane opened fire on our fighters, they decided to shoot him. It was 3 hours and 30 minutes. I am firmly convinced that this was the first Nazi plane downed since the war began…”

that day the Soviet “hawks” of the 33rd IAP repel several air attacks on our military airfields. In total, managed to destroy 5 enemy planes. And two of them have scored one pilot – Lieutenant Stepan Gudimov.

From memories of I. P. Laveikin: “…Over the airfield ensued unequal air battle. In this air battle, the pilot of the regiment, senior Lieutenant Stepan M. Gudimov, fire poolAmetov his fighter was hit by enemy bomber and began to attack another enemy aircraft, but apparently S. Gudimova ran out of ammunition and decided to RAM the enemy plane. After ramming the plane Gudimov also sustained damage. The pilot was forced to leave his car with a parachute, but unfortunately, the chip is the enemy bomber extinguished the canopy and Stepan was killed…”

However, air RAM Gudimov was not the first committed by Soviet pilots during the great Patriotic war. It is most likely that before the others the most dangerous combat this reception was applied by Lieutenant Ivan Ivanov. He served as a commander in the 46th fighter regiment, stationed in Rivne region. In an air battle near the village Zagorica near the town of Dubno it after running out of ammunition, decided to RAM his I-16 German Henkel. According to the documents, this battle scene happened at 4.25 am. Screw your “donkey” Smith cut off the tail of the German “bomber”. Henkel as a result of collapsed on the ground, but the fighter of Lieutenant also sustained damage. And although the pilot managed to still put him on the field at Zagorica, but later from the received wounds the hero died. For this feat, the pilot Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov – one of the first in the war years was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (the decree was released on 2 August 1941).

In one of the aviation reference refers to the record on June 22 – the largest number of personal victories on this day, our “Stalin’s falcons”. The most successful air fighter was a young pilot of the 123rd fighter aviation regiment Lieutenant Ivan Kalabushkin (in the future – hero of the Soviet Union). On my Chaika I-153, he managed to shoot down five Luftwaffe aircraft – two Junkers, Heinkel and Messerschmitt two. And in just this first day of the war the pilots of the 123rd regiment killed three dozen enemy planes, while losing nine of its.

on the Morning of 22 June, with the attack in the town of Sokal on the banks of the Western bug and other German losses were burnt tank. It is unlikely that he became the first Nazi tanks destroyed during the German attack on the Soviet Union. But the way it was done certainly before had not been applied. Nazi armored car knocked out a virtually unarmed man is a paramedic border detachment Vladimir Karpenchuk.

In the midst of battle in the yard Sokal border commandant, where in the basement of the building hid from the attacks of the wives and children of guards slowly began to crawl a German tank. Nearby was voenfeldsher Karpenchuk, but he carried no weapons to stop the attack of the enemy “ghosts”. And then this “servant of the part of the nurses” dare destroy��t steel edifice by fire: he soaked with gasoline a white robe, lit it and rushed to the engine compartment of the tank. Karpenchuk was eventually killed, but through the engine grills, to which he pressed the burning robe, the flames spread to the engine and the tank broke. The eyewitness of this event, the red army, Ivan Yakovlev later recalled: “I saw a lot in the war, but is observed only once: a man, like a living torch, boldly rushes into the Nazi tank, set fire to him and he is killed in the raging flames…”

With great certainty can be argued that we are aware of the circumstances of the first victory at sea during the great Patriotic war. It happened in the Arctic: in the late evening of June 22, artillery 221st coastal battery of the Northern fleet sank an enemy trawler.

when she recalled this was one of bataraza, Yevhen Makarenko:

“…on the Bay of Petsamo crawled… minesweeper. Great rangefinder kukolev Fishermen and give a distance of 52 cables, bearing, course, speed 10 knots. The commander Kosmachev and assistant Ponochevny calculated firing data. Very first, not training, and live firing! In 3 minutes, in 22 hours 17 minutes… the first volley!

. 14 continued this first battle. Six direct hits to minesweeper 200-250 tons proved fatal. Black smoke, explosions, fire… the flames of the ship thrown on the rocks and long burns and smoke… We were happy for first win, and our side had no casualties! In town battery business executives, wives of officers and enlisted and even children too are happy… They watched the whole fight, climb a small hill near the town…”

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Jennifer Alvarez is an investigative journalist and is a correspondent for European Union. She is based in Zurich in Switzerland and her field of work include covering human rights violations which take place in the various countries in and outside Europe. She also reports about the political situation in European Union. She has worked with some reputed companies in Europe and is currently contributing to USA News as a freelance journalist. As someone who has a Masters’ degree in Human Rights she also delivers lectures on Intercultural Management to students of Human Rights. She is also an authority on the Arab world politics and their diversity.