Tsirlin A. D., Biryukov P.

NOVIKOV Fedor Vasilievich (20.11.1893 – 4.6.1970) Soviet military engineer

Awards: medals: “20 years of the Red Army”, “For the defense of Moscow”, “For the defense of the Caucasus”, “For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”.

Russian.
Native of the village of Derkiny (Pochinkovsky district, Smolensk region).
1907 – graduated from the 2nd grade secondary school.
...
He served in the tsarist army for more than 2 years. Private 6zap.sapb.
In the ranks of the Red Army from April 1, 1918, he voluntarily joined the Ust-Izhora engineering detachment. Red Army soldier. Telephone operator-supervisor. Member of the RCP(b) since 1918
Participant Civil War .
He fought against the White Poles on the Western Front (1919-20) and the Bulak-Balakhovich gangs (1920-21).
1.1920 – secretary of the military commissar 17engb 16A of the Western Front.
Awarded the Order Red Banner RSFSR (1920).
6.1922-9.1925 – military commissar 17engb 17SD, military commissar 3SK Moscow Military District, military commissar 5ponb Voronezh Military District, military commissar 4sapb 4SK.

1930 – graduated from the VTA named after. F.E. Dzerzhinsky. Military engineer.

10.1930 – divisional engineer of the 80th division of the Ural Military District. 2.1932 – assistant inspector at the Inspectorate of the Red Army Engineering Troops. 9.1933 – assistant to the head of the department of the UNI of the Red Army. Graduated (1936) from separate military engineering management courses under the Red Army. Military engineer 1st rank (11/26/1936). 12/1937 – chief of engineers of military unit 1459 of the Kyiv Military District. 5.1938 – district engineer of the reception apparatus of the Engineering Directorate of the Red Army. Head of the 1st Department of the UPU. Brigade commander (11/29/1939). Major General of the Engineering Troops 8.1940 – Head of the Engineering Troops Department of the Kharkov Military District. Participant Great Patriotic War . Head of the 2nd Directorate of the UPU, which built fortifications in the Kalinin area. In the Active Army since 8.1941 8.1941 – Assistant Inspector General of the Inspectorate of Engineering Troops of the Spacecraft. 1.1942 – Head of the Engineering Troops Department 51A in Crimea. The army commander was removed from office. 9.1942 – NIV of the North Caucasus Military District. …

In 1943 - Assistant (Deputy) Inspector General of the Spacecraft Engineering Troops.
Headed the NIV KA commission (8.1943) for verification Leningrad KVIU named after. A.A. Zhdanova .
He did a lot of work to check the readiness of reserve, reserve and active units, on the spot trying to eliminate deficiencies and increase combat readiness. He repeatedly organized the demining of territories liberated from the enemy. Deputy NSh IV KA, Major General of Engineering Troops G.N. Yakovlev presented (15.4.1944) and awarded the order Patriotic War 1 Art. (Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces dated May 17, 1944).
Specialist in the field of pontoon railway bridges.
For providing assistance to the 3rd Ukrainian Front in the creation of railway bridges (1943-44) NIV Front Colonel General L.Z. Kotlyar presented (17.5.1944) and awarded the order Red Banner (Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces dated September 19, 1944).

For his years of service in the spacecraft he was awarded the Order Red Banner
Awarded the medal “For victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” (Act of delivery dated August 15, 1945, IV KA).
2.4.1946 – transferred to the reserve due to illness.
...
Wife Olga Ilyinichna. Children: Vladimir (1922 – ?); Ludwig (1924 – ?).
Died (4/6/1970) in Moscow.

Information sources

1. Edited by V.V. Zhigailo. School of Military Engineers. – M.: Voenizdat, 1980.
2. Award documents.

3. Belozerov V.A. A brief outline of the history of military representations of engineering troops (2nd ed.) - M.: Senate-Press, 2013.

Bryukhovetsky R.I.

Russian.
Native of Rostov-on-Don.

There is a spelling of the surname - POZDNEEV.
Career officer of the engineering troops.
...
Participant First World War .
In 1915 - served in 5sapb. Staff Captain.
For distinguished service in cases against the enemy, he was awarded the Order of St. Anna 4 tbsp. with the inscription “For bravery” (VP 11.6.1915).

Remained in Soviet Russia. He joined the ranks of the Red Army.

...
Head of the Faculty of VIA named after. V.V. Kuibysheva. Brigade commander (26.4.1940).
Major General of the Engineering Troops(Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 945 of June 4, 1940).
The Academy participated in preparing the defense of Moscow.
Together with VIA im. V.V. Kuibyshev was evacuated (10-11.1941) to the capital of Soviet Kyrgyzstan - the city of Frunze (until 12.5.1926 - Pishpek), classes began in a new place on 14.11.1941.
Head of the Department of VIA named after. V.V. Kuibysheva.
Lived at: Frunze, st. Dzerzhinsky, 50.
I became seriously ill. Sent to evacuation hospital No. 1081.
Diagnosis upon admission (August 13, 1943): influenza inflammation of the right lung, sciatica, left-sided inflammation of the sciatic nerve, meningitis.
He died (August 16, 1943) in an evacuation hospital, and was buried in a separate grave at the Fraternal Cemetery in the Pervomaisky district of Frunze (since 1991 - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan).

Information sources

Bryukhovetsky R.I., Poblaguev V.A.

SUDBIN Pavel Ivanovich (24.9.1895 – 31.3.1990) Russian and Soviet military engineer Ensign Lieutenant General of the Space Forces Engineering Troops

Russian. Orthodox.
Born in the village of Zubovo, Galich district, Kostroma province. From peasants.
Graduated from the Kostroma Lower Chemical-Technical School named after. F.V. Chekhov.
Entered service (19.5.1915). Appointed (10/17/1915) as a sapper in 5zap.sapb.
12/23/1915 – graduated from the sapper class course. Corporal (7.9.1916).
10.10.1916 – sent to study at the Moscow School of Infantry Warrant Officer Training. Junior non-commissioned officer (12/5/1916).
11.2.1917 – graduated from the School in the 1st category. Issued as a warrant officer in the army infantry in the 88th zap.pt.
...
In the ranks of the Red Army from September 17, 1918.
Participant Civil War .
17.9.1918 – head of the sapper team of the Galician Soviet regiment.
10.1918 – company commander of the Voronezh reserve regiment.
6.1919 – commander of the 40th rifle division.
10.1920 – temporary divisional engineer, divisional engineer of the 2nd Donskoy SD.
4.1922 – commander of the sapr, temporary divisional engineer of the 37th division of the North Caucasus Military District.
9.1924 – divisional engineer of the 33rd division.
8.1925 – BTA student. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1927
3.1930 – adjunct at the VTA.
4.1932 – head of the VIA Red Army department.
10.1934 – student of KUNS VVA Red Army named after. Mozhaisky.
5.1935 – Head of the Air Force Department of the Command Faculty of the VIA named after. V.V. Kuibysheva.
11.1936 – Head of the Engineering and Command Faculty of the VIA named after. V.V. Kuibysheva.
2.1937 – senior instructor of VIA named after. V.V. Kuibysheva.
1.1938 – Head of the Engineering Directorate of the Navy. Brigade commander (27.7.1938).
Awarded the anniversary medal “20 Years of the Red Army” (22.2.1938).
Major General of the Engineering Troops(Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 945 of June 4, 1940).
Participant Great Patriotic War .
Awarded the Order Red Star(1942).
Lieutenant General of the Engineering Troops (22.1.1944).
Awarded the medal “For the Defense of Moscow” (act of presentation dated 10/11/1944, Military Administration of the Navy).
For length of service in the spacecraft and the Navy, Deputy People's Commissar of the USSR Navy, Admiral G.I. Levchenko presented (September 29, 1944) to the Order of Lenin, awarded the order Red Banner (Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces dated November 3, 1944).

During the war years, he skillfully led the Engineering Directorate and directed construction to improve the defense of the naval base. He widely introduced experience in the use of floating piers and equipment of berths for relocated ships. He was in all active fleets and supervised the most important work. Deputy People's Commissar of the USSR Navy, Admiral G.I. Levchenko presented and awarded the order Red Banner (Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces dated November 5, 1944). For length of service in the spacecraft and the Navy, Deputy People's Commissar of the USSR Navy, Admiral G.I. Levchenko re-introduced (8.1.1945) and awarded the Order Lenin For exemplary performance of command tasks he was awarded the Order Nakhimov 1 tbsp.(Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces dated June 28, 1945). Awarded the medal “For victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” (Act of delivery dated 28.2.1946 NKVMF). 2.1949 – head of the engineering section of the Technical Research Committee. 7.1951 – Inspector General of the Engineering and Construction Service of the Navy. 4.1952 – Deputy Minister of the Navy. 9.1952 – Head of the State Administration of the Navy. 5.1953 – Head of the Engineering Directorate of the Navy.

Since 8.1954 – retired.
...

On the occasion of the Victory anniversary he was awarded the Order Patriotic War 1 Art. (6.4.1985).
Wife Maria Ivanovna (? – April 20, 1971). Son Pavel (27.6.1930 – 12.11.1999).
He died (March 31, 1990) in Moscow, and was buried at Vvedenskoye Cemetery.

Information sources

Bryukhovetsky R.I.

Awards: orders: royal: St. Stanislav 3 tbsp. (16.3.1907), St. Anna 2 tbsp. (19.3.1915), St. Vladimir 4 tbsp. (6.12.1916); Soviet: Lenin (1945), Red Banner (1944), Red Banner of Labor (1943); medals: “20 years of the Red Army” (1938), “For the defense of Leningrad”, others.

Russian.
From the nobles.
…
Entered (1899) service in Engineering school in St. Petersburg. Junker harness.
– Graduated from Nikolaevsky Correctional Institution. Released as a second lieutenant (Art. 9.8.1900) in 21sapb.

Lieutenant 21sapb(as of 1907). For excellent and diligent service and labor incurred during hostilities, he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav 3 tbsp. (16.3.1907).
On January 1, 1909 – served in 2 East Siberian SAPB . Staff Captain.

1911 – graduated from Nikolaev IA. Military engineer. Captain.
On January 1, 1913 – senior work producer. Commandant Fr. Nargen. Lieutenant colonel.
8/24/1917 – assistant to the fortress builder on the Primorsky Front. Colonel(1917).
In the ranks of the RKKF since 2.1918. Non-partisan.
2.1918 – member-rapporteur of the liquidation meeting of the Interdepartmental Meeting on the Affairs of the Maritime Commissariat.
9.1919 – senior foreman and head of the GMTU unit.
11.1921 – Head of the Technical Department of the Construction Work Inspectorate at the State Technical University.
6.1922 – teacher and chief leader of the International Military School.
12.1922 – adjunct, teacher at VIA RKKA.
9.1925 – teacher, senior leader of the Military Aviation Administration of the Red Army.
7.1932 – senior lecturer, head of the department of military aviation of the Red Army (from 9.1935 – named after V.V. Kuibyshev). Brigengineer (17.2.1936).

Doctor of Technical Sciences.
Awarded the anniversary medal “20 Years of the Red Army” (22.2.1938).

The Committee for Higher School Affairs awarded the academic title professors (1938). Divine Engineer (1939). Major General of the Engineering Troops(Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 945 of June 4, 1940). 11.1940 – head of the department of coastal fortification of the VITU of the Navy. Since 9.1941 - at the disposal of the NK Navy. Since 10.1941 - at the disposal of the head of the Navy Engineering Directorate. From 5.1942 – head of the department of coastal fortification of the VITU of the Navy. Awarded the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" (1942). He trained over 400 military engineers working in the Navy system and created a scientific school of coastal fortification. Author of a number of scientific works and textbooks. Actively participated in the consideration of a number of projects for the largest naval bases and coastal defense of the Soviet Union as a member of the Technical Council of the Naval Institute of the Navy. Consulted on the construction of defensive structures in the Baltic states. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the department headed the great work of the School to create defensive lines near Leningrad. Head of the VITU of the Navy, Major General of the Engineering Troops F.Ya. Bugrov presented (8.2.1943) and awarded the order Red Banner of Labor (Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces dated July 24, 1943).

Lieutenant General of the Navy Engineering Troops (25.9.1944).
Conducted active research and literary work, took part in solving practical problems. For length of service in the spacecraft and the Navy (as of 11.1944 - 26 years 8 months) as the head of the VITU of the Navy, Major General of the Engineering Troops F.Ya. Bugrov presented (11.9.1944) to the Order of Lenin, awarded the order Red Banner (Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces dated November 3, 1944).
He took a constant part in solving practical problems of engineering preparation of the maritime borders of the USSR. For length of service in the spacecraft and the Navy (as of 11.1944 - 26 years 8 months) as the head of the VITU of the Navy, Major General of the Engineering Troops F.Ya. Bugrov presented (12/22/1944) and awarded the order Lenin(Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces dated February 21, 1945).
Awarded the medal “For victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” (Act of delivery dated August 9, 1945, VITU Navy).
...
In 1950 – head of the department of coastal fortification at VITKU.

.

G Alitsky Ivan Pavlovich - Deputy Commander of the Troops - Chief of the Engineering Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Colonel General of the Engineering Troops.

Born on February 9, 1897 in the village of Zimnitsa, Kuibyshevsky district, Kaluga region, into a working-class family. Russian.

In 1918 he was drafted into the Red Army. He took part in the Civil War: assistant platoon commander of the Oboyansky reserve regiment, acting as commander of an engineer company, platoon commander, commander of the engineering park. In 1919 he graduated from the 2nd Ekaterinoslav engineering courses, in 1926 - the Leningrad courses for improving the command staff of engineering troops, in 1931 - courses at the Military Technical Academy of the Red Army named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky.

From 1921 he commanded a section of a sanitary company on the Western Front, then commander of a sanitary company. From November 1922 - assistant commander of the medical battalion of the 5th Rifle Corps. From April 1924 - divisional engineer of the 5-1st Rifle Division, from April 1925 - assistant corps engineer of the 16th Rifle Corps. From 1929 he was again a divisional engineer.

Since December 1932 - head of the Scientific Testing Engineering and Technical Test Site of the Military Engineering Directorate of the Red Army. Since March 1935 - assistant to the head of the engineering troops department of the Moscow Military District for combat training. Since April 1938 - head of the engineering troops department of the Moscow Military District.

By Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated June 4, 1940 No. 945, Galitsky I.P. awarded the military rank of "Major General of Engineering Troops".

From July 1940 - Deputy Head of the Main Military Engineering Directorate of the Red Army (in March - early July 1941, he served as Head of the Main Military Engineering Directorate). Member of the CPSU(b)/CPSU since 1940.

Participant in the liberation campaign in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus in 1939. In the battles of the Great Patriotic War since 1941.

During the Great Patriotic War I.P. Galitsky held the positions of deputy chief of the Main Military Engineering Directorate (until November 1941) and chief of staff of the engineering troops of the Red Army (November 1941 - April 1942), at the same time - head of the operational engineering group on the Western Front (November - December 1941 ), in the Primorsky Army of the Southern Front (December 1941 - January 1942) and on the Crimean Front (January - April 1942); deputy commander - chief of engineering troops of the Western (April 1942 - February 1944) and 1st Ukrainian (from February 1944 to the end of the war) fronts.

In January 1942, an operational group of engineering barriers led by the chief of staff of the engineering troops of the Red Army, Major General Galitsky I.P., created by Headquarters when the enemy was on the outskirts of Moscow, provided Sevastopol with great assistance in engineering defense equipment.

As soon as our units, having defended the capital, went on the offensive, the task force under the leadership of Major General Galitsky I.P. was sent to Sevastopol. The train was loaded with 20 thousand anti-tank and 25 thousand anti-personnel mines, 200 tons of explosives. In Novorossiysk, all this was transported to the cruiser and early in the morning of January 1, 1942, it arrived in Sevastopol as a New Year's gift.

The work was carried out every night, often under enemy fire, by army sappers. The team leaders were very busy; at night - with sappers on the front line, during the day - there on reconnaissance or while working on the map. At the same time I.P. Galitsky, A.F. Khrenov and their assistants were preparing a plan for engineering and barrier measures of the second and third stages.

It provided for the creation of dense minefields in all tank-hazardous directions and covering the entire front edge with anti-personnel obstacles, except for areas that nature itself protected with steep rock slopes. It was also planned to place explosive barriers in front of key positions in the depths of the defense - on the Inkerman Heights, near Sapun Mountain.

This expanded plan, however, was no longer supported by existing mines and other engineering means and depended on their further supply from the mainland or an increase in local production.

By Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated February 14, 1943 No. 176, Major General of the Engineering Troops Galitsky I.P. awarded the military rank of "Lieutenant General of the Engineering Troops".

Much earlier than everything planned could be implemented, a group led by Lieutenant General I.P. Galitsky left Sevastopol - the front headquarters achieved her transfer to the Kerch Peninsula to strengthen the Ak-Monai positions.

In mid-February 1944, literally the day before departure, I.P. Galitsky received a letter from his father. In which he reported that before the retreat, the Nazis shot his elderly mother, Alexandra Petrovna, and older sister Maria Pavlovna. They were shot for their connections with the partisans and for belonging to the family of a Red Army general.

Chief of the Engineering Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Lieutenant General of the Engineering Troops I.P. Galitsky skillfully led the engineering troops in the Berlin and Prague operations. He showed himself to be a true master of his craft. He worked with inspiration and truly innovative courage.

At the Sandomierz bridgehead under the leadership of I.P. Galitsky, one and a half thousand kilometers of trenches and communication passages were opened; 1,160 command and observation posts were built; 11 thousand artillery and mortar positions, 10 thousand dugouts and various types of shelters for troops were prepared; More than 2 thousand kilometers of highways were re-laid and put in order, with the expectation that by the start of the offensive each division and each tank brigade would have two roads. This allowed us to avoid traffic jams.

In addition, the engineering troops built 13 bridges across the Vistula and organized three large-capacity ferries. It is worth adding to this that for the camouflage maneuver we envisaged, the engineering troops produced 400 tank models, 500 vehicle models and 1000 gun models.

By Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of April 20, 1945 No. 813, Lieutenant General of the Engineering Troops Galitsky I.P. awarded the military rank of Colonel General of the Engineering Troops.

U by the Kazakh Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on May 29, 1945, for the skillful leadership of the engineering troops and the personal courage and heroism shown, Lieutenant General of the Engineering Troops Ivan Pavlovich Galitsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 6570) .

After the war I.P. Galitsky held a number of responsible positions in the troops. In 1951-57, he was the head of the Military Engineering Academy named after V.V. Kuibysheva. Candidate of Military Sciences, Associate Professor.

In the second half of the 50s, when Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov was the Minister of Defense of the USSR, the military prosecutor's office investigated a typical case. In 1938, the chief of the engineering troops of the Moscow Military District, brigade engineer S. Aslanov, was arrested, tried and executed. His wife was sent into exile, where she went crazy and died, his children were sent to an orphanage...

When checking this criminal case in 1957, it turned out that the only basis for reprisals was the denunciation of Major I.P. Galitsky, who took the place of the executed Aslanov.

When the military prosecutor's office began reviewing this criminal case, Galitsky was a prosperous colonel general of the engineering troops. He in every possible way denied his involvement in the heinous crime, but was convicted by a handwritten denunciation preserved in the archives.

The prosecutor's office informed the Minister of Defense G.K. Zhukov about this shameful fact in the biography of General Galitsky. By order of G.K. Zhukov Galitsky was removed from the post of head of the Military Engineering Academy named after V.V. Kuibysheva. According to the proposal of the USSR Ministry of Defense, by resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 784-366 of July 4, 1957, Galitsky was deprived of the military rank of “Colonel General”. And the party organization expelled him from the party ranks.

Harsh but fair retribution!

When did G.K. Zhukov was removed from his post by the USSR defense ministers, then Galitsky rushed to the highest party authorities with complaints about the “retribution.” The Chief Military Prosecutor A. Gorny and the prosecutor Lieutenant General of Justice B.A. Viktorov, who led the group for reviewing cases of the Main Military Prosecutor's Office, were dissatisfied with the CPSU Central Committee: “Why did you slip this fact to Zhukov? Don’t you know what kind of character Zhukov has – to cut from the shoulder?”

Galitsky I.P. He practically escaped with a slight fright, and very soon another decree was issued regarding him (without publication), in which the previous one was changed - not to deprive him, but to demote him in rank to lieutenant general and transfer him to the reserve. And in the party, ultimately, I.P. Galitsky also stayed. “It shouldn’t have been surprising. The concept of “advantageous” and “disadvantageous” truth has already been adopted..."

Since 1957, Lieutenant General of the Engineering Troops Galitsky I.P. - in reserve. Lived in the hero city of Moscow. Died on March 8, 1987. He was buried in Moscow at the Kuntsevo cemetery (section 9-2).

Karpov V.V. Commander. M., 1985. Command and command staff of the Red Army in 1940-1941. M., St. Petersburg, 2005.

From June 21 to 28, a joint gathering of engineering units of the armed forces of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan was held on the basis of the 2nd engineering regiment of the armed forces of Belarus, which is stationed in Minsk.

Initiative
No, it’s not for nothing that the engineering troops are called pioneers, that is, the first. Always go in the vanguard at some distance from the rest, pave the way for yourself and those following, take the first step where no one dared to step before you - this is the mission of the engineering troops units. And it is not surprising that it was the sappers of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus who conceived and brought to life the idea of ​​holding a joint gathering of engineering units.
Six years ago, at a meeting with colleagues from Ukraine and Belarus, the head of the engineering troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Nikolai Serdtsev, proposed radically changing the format of such meetings. His idea was to reinforce the business communication of the three Slavic leaders with the opportunity to communicate with soldiers, sergeants, and young officers of the three armies who did not serve in the Soviet Army and therefore have almost no idea about each other. Moreover, to provide the personnel of units of fraternal countries with the opportunity not only to talk about life over a cup of evening tea, but also during a full-fledged gathering to exchange practical experience, show their skills in sapper work and see what heights of professional excellence their colleagues have reached. The idea of ​​Colonel General Serdtsev was approved by the leaders of the armed forces of Ukraine and Belarus.
First, Russia hosted the guests - the first gathering of engineering units took place in Nakhabino, near Moscow. The following year the training camp was held in the Belarusian city of Grodno, and the year before last in the Ukrainian city of Brovary. In 2006, a fourth participant appeared at the gathering, which was held in the ancient Russian city of Murom, a unit from Kazakhstan (a report from last year’s gathering was published in Krasnaya Zvezda on August 10, 2006). This year, Belarus was the hospitable host of the gathering - representatives from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were hosted by the 2nd Engineer Regiment, stationed on the outskirts of Minsk.
Dear guests
Traditionally, the event was competitive. Since the leadership of the engineering troops of the participating countries agreed on this in advance, naturally, some of the best specialists came to Minsk as part of the teams.
For example, privates and sergeants of the Ukrainian team serve in the 91st engineering regiment in Akhtyrka, Sumy region. In Soviet times, an engineering brigade was stationed in its place, whose personnel had the opportunity to solve many serious problems not only during major exercises and tests of new equipment, but also in the combat situation of Afghanistan, during the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, during a peacekeeping mission in Angola ... At the current level of training of personnel of the 91st Engineering Regiment, the glorious traditions of the predecessor brigade seem to have a strong impact: according to the results of the 2006 academic year, the regiment took first place among the engineering units of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Of course, the leadership is also explained by the fact that the regiment is 90% staffed by contract soldiers.
The team from Russia consisted almost entirely of military personnel serving in two engineering units stationed in Nakhabino: a separate engineer brigade under the command of Guard Colonel Valery Kiper and a training center for training junior specialists of the engineering troops, where the head of the Guard was Colonel Mikhail Cherny. The team was headed by a senior officer of the department of the Chief of Engineering Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel Vitaly Kushnir.
Naturally, there were no inexperienced youth in the Kazakh team. It was headed by the senior officer of the engineering troops of Kazakhstan, Lieutenant Colonel Rakhmet Artekov. And all the other officers and sergeants - there were no privates - serve in the engineering brigade, which is stationed in Kopchegay.
Each team had 14 people, including three officers. The privates and sergeants of the Belarusian team were conscripts; only contract soldiers arrived among the guests.
The main thing is participation
In sports, everyone needs victory above all. At the gathering of engineering units of the armed forces of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the exchange of experience was much more important.
In sports of great achievements, rivals, as a rule, know each other very well. Participants in the gathering from four countries at the level of soldiers, sergeants and military officers knew nothing about each other before it began. Therefore, one of the objectives of the event for each team was to get to know colleagues from other countries - both in the course of performing professional tasks, and during leisure time on sports grounds, during amateur performances, and on excursions around the Belarusian capital. After all, only by getting to know each other closely can you further strengthen the military brotherhood of the engineering troops of the Armed Forces of friendly states with your personal participation.
During the special training competition, everyone had to fulfill four standards.
In the installation of an anti-tank minefield, the crew of the GMZ-3 tracked minelayer had no equal to the sappers from Belarus. The Ukrainians came second, our team showed the third result, and the Kazakh team showed fourth.
The reconnaissance of the minefield in front of the enemy's front line of defense was most successfully carried out by a squad of our sappers. In fulfilling this standard, second place was taken by the Kazakhs, third and fourth by Belarusians and Ukrainians, respectively.
Sappers from Kazakhstan were more successful than others in crossing an anti-tank minefield using the UR-77 mine clearance system. The Ukrainian team was only slightly behind them, the Russians were third, the hosts took fourth place.
The latest standard was the preparation of a pit for a shelter using PZM-2. Driver-mechanic PZM-2 from the training center stationed in Nakhabino, Guard Private Vladimir Mokhnashchekov ensured the victory for the team from Russia. The team from Kazakhstan took second place, the team from Belarus took third, and the team from Ukraine took fourth.
If Ukrainian sergeants failed to become leaders in special training, then the officers, on the contrary, were lucky. Ukrainian officers took first place in the field training competition. A little, but still the Russians lost to them, and as a result found themselves in second position.
Like last time, the gathering was full of purely sports competitions. The teams competed in several sports: volleyball, football, kettlebell lifting and tug-of-war.
Belarusians excelled in volleyball, Ukrainians in football. There were no equals to the kettlebell lifters from Russia, and in the individual competition all three prizes were taken by the Russians. Guard Major Dmitry Titov (pictured below) won first place, Guard Sergeants Roman Chernega and Alexander Rogachev – second and third, respectively. With the help of a rope, the Ukrainian team pulled everyone over to its side; it was the best in amateur performances.
“All participants demonstrated high professionalism, and we can say with confidence that, by and large, there were no losers in the competition, that friendship really won,” noted Lieutenant General Stepan Matus, who led the Russian delegation at the gathering. – These summer days, thanks to the excellent organization of the event by the Belarusian side, its cordiality and hospitality on the outskirts of Minsk, the armies of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan came even closer together. In the engineering, or sapper, so to speak, direction...
Next year, a gathering of engineering units is planned to be held in Ukraine. It is possible that the number of participating countries will increase.
Photos provided by the Office of the Chief of Engineering Troops of the Russian Armed Forces.

Chapter two.
Growing up (1921-1941)

Having repelled the attack of the imperialists on our country, ending the civil war, the Soviet people moved on to peaceful construction.

At the same time, it was necessary to transfer the army to a peaceful position and reorganize it. The party was guided by the instructions of V.I. Lenin that, having reduced the army, preserve such a core of it, which would allow, in case of need, to deploy the necessary armed forces (53).

The question of the nature of the construction of the Red Army and Red Fleet was discussed at the X, XI and XIII Party Congresses, which made decisions aimed at further strengthening the Armed Forces. These issues were also discussed more than once at the Plenums of the Party Central Committee.

The first event in the construction of the Soviet Armed Forces after the end of the civil war was the demobilization of the Red Army and its transition to a peaceful situation, which was carried out in 1921-1924. Simultaneously with demobilization, the army was reorganized. The order for demobilization was given on December 11, 1920, and by October 1, 1924, the Red Army, which had 5.5 million people at the beginning of demobilization, was brought to a peacetime staff with a strength of 562 thousand people (54).

After the end of the civil war, a significant part of the personnel in the engineering troops was also demobilized and the engineering units were transferred to a peaceful position. On October 1, 1924, the number of engineering troops and military engineering service bodies (excluding military construction units and military sappers) amounted to 10,014 people (55), or about 2 percent of the total number of the Red Army.

Military field construction with the transition of the army to a peaceful position remained in the system of the military department, but was switched mainly to the restoration of the national economy.

The reorganization of the engineering troops began from below, from brigade and divisional units. By January 1, 1921, the engineering battalions of the rifle divisions were disbanded; instead of them, separate engineering companies were created - sapper and road-bridge companies, and in a division there were, as a rule, two of them, not counting the separate brigade sapper companies.

By order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic No. 424/61 of February 18, 1921, the Military Engineering Department was reorganized. This order provided;

“Concentrate the management of all issues of military engineering under the jurisdiction of the Main Military Engineering Directorate, subordinating it on operational and combat issues directly to the Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Republic, and on the issue of supply - to the chief supply officer” (56).

In connection with this, the Inspectorate of Engineers was disbanded.

By April 1, in the Main Military Engineering Directorate and by April 15 in the field, the reorganization in accordance with the order of the RVSR was completed.

In military districts, military engineering issues were in charge of the chief of engineers, to whom a special department was subordinated. This department consisted of departments: fortification and construction, which was in charge of the engineering preparation of the district for defense (this department did not exist in the internal districts); combatant, in charge of combat training of engineering and technical troops; apartment, engineering and technical supplies. The chief of engineers reported to the commander of the district troops and worked closely with the Office of the district supply chief on engineering supply issues.

The staff of the Main Military Engineering Directorate of the Red Army (GVIU) was put into effect on August 1, 1921 by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic No. 1529 of July 16, 1921. Somewhat earlier, on June 2, 1921, Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic E. Sklyansky approved the regulations on the GVIU, according to which it consisted of fourteen departments, a financial part and an engineering committee. In addition, senior inspectors and the secretariat were at the direct disposal of the head of the department.

The regulations determined that all issues of military engineering and military-technical affairs of the RSFSR are subject to the jurisdiction of the Main Military Engineering Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, namely issues of defense of the Republic in engineering, operational combat, inspection, organizational and technical, scientific, educational , economic and procurement units of the military department in all branches of military engineering and military-technical affairs, special education of troops, supplying the army with military engineering and technical equipment and providing it with all types of housing allowances.

The Main Military Engineering Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was led by the head of the department, who is also the head of the engineering and technical forces of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

I. E. Korostashevsky was appointed head and military commissar of the Main Military Engineering Directorate of the Red Army (GVIUKA) on March 26, 1923, assistants to the head of GVIUKA were N. F. Popov and G. G. Nevsky, and A. was appointed chairman of the engineering committee of GVIUKA. K. Ovchinnikov and his deputy - A. P. Shoshin (57).

One of the central tasks of the Main Military Engineering Directorate and the military engineering departments of the fronts and districts in connection with the transition of the army to a peaceful situation was the training of engineering and technical troops and the creation of the necessary personnel for this purpose. For better organization of combat training, it was considered advisable to have engineering battalions in the districts, which at the time of mobilization could deploy into the appropriate number of separate companies.

During 1921, the staffs were again developed and a firm numerical composition of all engineering and technical military units and subunits was established.

The number of engineering units of the Red Army as of September 1, 1923, indicating the number of personnel in them, is given in Table 2.

table 2

Thus, as of September 1, 1923, in relation to the total strength of the Red Army established for peacetime, the regular strength of the engineering troops, taking into account regimental sappers, was about 5 percent, and excluding military sappers - 2.2 percent.

The task of training command personnel for engineering units and institutions with the transition of the army to a peaceful situation continued to remain one of the main ones in strengthening and further improving the engineering troops of the Red Army.

Training of command personnel was carried out in the system of higher and secondary military educational institutions, as well as in various specialized schools and short-term courses. The main military educational institution intended for training command staff of engineering troops with higher education was the Military Engineering Academy, which trained 107 military engineers from 1921 to 1924 (59). To train platoon commanders, the Main Directorate of Military Educational Institutions had four engineering schools (Petrograd, Moscow, Kiev and Kazan) with a training period of four years, including one preparatory year. Each school had a staff of 400 cadets and a corresponding number of permanent command and teaching staff. In addition, there was one electrical engineering school (Petrograd) with a duration of study of five years, including one preparatory year.

Under the jurisdiction of the Main Military Engineering Directorate there was a secondary school for secondary command personnel in the electrical training battalion (Petrograd) with a training period of nine months. In the district secondary schools there were engineering classes, in which one person from each engineering and technical company studied for six months. In addition, there was an engineering department at the Petrograd International School for 30 cadets, as well as a Higher Camouflage School.

The supply of the Red Army with various types of engineering equipment was very uneven. Thus, on January 1, 1921, the army's supply of entrenching tools and positional equipment (barbed wire, excavation bags, etc.) reached 100 percent, and for searchlights, mine-ship and demolition equipment - up to 60 percent of the total requirement.

As for workshop tools, saws and accessories for electromechanical equipment, as well as metals, the army felt an extreme need for them. There was also an acute issue with the supply of vehicles to the troops.

For the reception, storage and delivery of engineering property, as of January 1, 1921, there were 33 main, district and base warehouses, including 12 explosives warehouses. Of the 21 warehouses for engineering equipment, 7 were main, 9 district and 5 basic (60).

Already in the first years after the Civil War, in addition to measures to concentrate, repair and store existing engineering property, measures were taken to create new models of engineering equipment and improve existing ones.

These tasks were assigned to the engineering committee, which carried out its activities in cooperation with the Military Engineering Academy in accordance with the regulations approved on June 2, 1921. The military engineering training ground, established in 1920, served as the base for conducting experimental work and testing new models of engineering equipment. and subsequently expanded into the Research Engineering Institute.

Despite the insufficient scientific, experimental and production base of the test site, already at that time some new samples of military engineering equipment began to be manufactured there, and various kinds of inventive and rationalization proposals were being finalized. For example, new standard transport means were manufactured, in particular A-2 inflatable rubber boats.

During this period, great importance was also attached to the organization of combat and political training of engineering troops. These issues received significant attention in the decisions of the All-Russian Conference of the Chiefs of Engineering and Technical Forces of the Red Army, held on November 2-8, 1921.

Political work in engineering units, as well as throughout the Red Army, was carried out in accordance with the decisions of the XI All-Russian Conference of the RCP (b) (December 19-22, 1921) and the XI Congress of the RCP (b) (March 27 - April 2, 1922). ). These decisions required that political work be organized in such a way that after two years of service the Red Army soldier would leave the barracks not only well prepared militarily, but also with political knowledge equal to that of the cadets of the provincial party school.

The organization of combat and political training experienced serious difficulties during these years. Until 1924, the Red Army and its engineering troops had to carry out combat and political training in conditions of protracted reorganization of the army, high turnover of personnel, overload of units and formations with a number of tasks not directly related to combat and political training, as well as a lack of material supplies army, lack of junior command (instructor) staff, lack of new regulations and instructions.

Further strengthening of the engineering troops (1924-1928)

An important stage in the construction and further strengthening of the engineering troops of the Red Army, as well as all Soviet Armed Forces, was the military reform of 1924-1925, carried out by decision and under the leadership of the Communist Party.

To summarize the experience of building engineering troops after the Civil War and organizing combat training, as well as to determine ways to improve this work in accordance with the decisions of the Communist Party and the Soviet government, an All-Union meeting of the chiefs of engineers of the Red Army was held from January 15 to January 21, 1924. At the meeting, issues of organizing engineering troops and their territorial and police development were discussed.

The decisions adopted by the meeting specified the tasks of engineering units and subunits, drawing attention to the need to thoroughly introduce engineering knowledge into the troops, increase the number of sappers in the rifle regiment, and the need to establish order in the organization of combat training in territorial engineering units and subunits.

In rifle regiments it was proposed to create special sapper teams with a strength equal to a platoon of a sapper company. These teams were supposed to provide engineering training for the riflemen, supervise the sapper work carried out by the riflemen, and also independently carry out special engineering work. Special training for sappers of a regimental sapper team must be universal.

Taking into account the modern importance of ferrying facilities, the meeting confirmed the need for the existence of pontoon units and decided to ask the State Military Inspectorate to pay special attention to the speedy development of a perfect type of pontoon equipment and providing existing pontoon battalions with the necessary ferrying equipment and horse transport.

In the decision on the issue of territorial police construction of engineering troops, detailed recommendations were given on the organization of pre-conscription training, as well as the organization of territorial units. The need was noted to staff territorial engineering units and units from residents of industrial areas and cities; It was recognized that the terms of training in territorial units (with a total duration of eight months over five years) for the engineering troops were insufficient, and therefore it was recommended, while maintaining the same service life, to increase the duration of training camps to twelve and a half months.

At the same time, it was recommended to provide the territorial units with the necessary teaching aids and materials; staff them with command personnel who have graduated from normal military engineering schools and have practical experience of at least one year; ensure the training of the missing junior command personnel for territorial engineering units in personnel units or by organizing special schools outside the territorial divisions.

Thus, the meeting outlined the main activities for carrying out military reform in the engineering troops. The decisions made determined the basis for the construction and content of combat training of the engineering troops in subsequent years. Based on them, corresponding programs were developed.

Practically during the period of military reform and in the first years after it, the following measures were carried out in the engineering troops.

Simultaneously with the reorganization of the central apparatus of the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs, the leadership of the technical troops of the Red Army was also reorganized. The Main Military Engineering Directorate, which was in charge of the engineering troops, as well as the supply of engineering equipment to the troops, was reorganized. It was freed from combat functions, was supposed to be in charge only of supplying troops with engineering equipment and was subordinate to the chief of supply of the Red Army. Control of the engineering troops was transferred to headquarters. Management of combat training of engineering troops was concentrated in the military engineering inspection under the Main Directorate of the Red Army.

The independent military engineering departments in the districts that existed before the reorganization were freed from combat functions and included as departments in the Office of the District Supply Chief. The military engineering training of the district troops was to be supervised by an inspector of engineers, subordinate directly to the commander of the district troops (this position soon became known as the chief of engineers).

In connection with the introduction in 1924-1925. In the new organizational structure of the Red Army (formation of rifle corps, liquidation of rifle brigades, etc.), much attention was paid to improving the organization and general condition of the engineering and technical troops. In accordance with the new states, the corps of engineering troops included a sapper battalion (two sapper companies and an engineer park), the division - a separate sapper company (61) and an engineer park, and the rifle regiment - a camouflage engineer platoon. In the cavalry, engineering troops consisted of cavalry sapper squadrons in divisions and sapper demolition platoons in regiments. The corps engineer battalions almost all remained personnel, but the positions of corps engineer and battalion commander were combined. The division engineer was also the company commander. This situation existed for one year, after which these positions were again separated. All special and technical troops were also personnel.

As part of the engineering troops, the militia-territorial ones were mainly sapper companies of territorial divisions and sapper-camouflage platoons of rifle regiments of these divisions. The sapper company of the territorial rifle division had a personnel of slightly more than twenty people. The permanent composition of the sapper-camouflage platoon included three people.

The number of engineering troops and institutions on October 1, 1925 was 11,415 people, or 2.1 percent of the total number of the Red Army (62). Organizational measures taken in the engineering troops in 1924-1925. were caused and justified by the prevailing situation at that time, but later it became clear that the available number of engineering troops in the Red Army was not enough.

Along with the implementation of organizational measures, there was a further improvement in the system of training command personnel for engineering units and subunits. The need for this was determined by the fact that the level of military education of the command staff was not high enough. Thus, in 1925, in the engineering troops, only 30 percent of the command staff had a normal military education, and 17 percent had no military education at all. The situation with junior command personnel during 1924-1925. remained unfavorable. As of June 1, 1924, the shortage in the engineering and technical troops was 32.3 percent.

To train junior command personnel, regimental schools were created at the end of 1924 - beginning of 1925. Junior command staff and relevant specialists from units that did not have regular schools were trained in special classes that were formed during the training period at the relevant units and formations.

The training and improvement of middle and senior command personnel was carried out in three types of military educational institutions: in normal military schools, which trained new cadres of middle command personnel; at advanced training courses and at higher schools that deepened the knowledge of commanders; in military academies that trained commanding officers of the senior and highest categories.

The experience of building and establishing a military school (including engineering) was summarized in the “Regulations on military schools of the Red Army”, which was put into effect by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR dated November 30, 1925. This provision, in particular, determined that for the preparation of command military engineering schools are being created within the engineering troops. The military engineering school was a combat unit within a three-company battalion, and educationally it was divided into four classes: preparatory, junior, middle and senior. There were two such schools at that time.

To retrain the middle command staff of the engineering troops, advanced training courses for command staff were created at the Leningrad Engineering School back in 1924.

The systematic training of reserve command personnel began in 1924 with the organization of teams of one-year students at the corps engineer battalions. In addition to the battalion staff, these teams included young people of military age who had completed secondary education, as well as young engineers who received a deferment until they graduated from a higher educational institution. Those who completed training in the team were required to pass exams for the position of platoon commander, after which they were transferred to the reserve. Those who did not pass the exams remained to serve on a general basis.

By the time of the reform, by March 1924, the Red Army had a Military Engineering Academy to train military engineers. In addition, civilian universities were brought in to train some groups of military specialists for the Red Army. So in 1924, a geodetic department was created at the Land Survey Institute. In 1925, a military communications department was created at the Leningrad Institute of Railways, and a military electrical engineering department was created at the Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute. In this regard, the faculties of geodesy, military communications and electrical engineering that existed at the Military Engineering Academy were closed, and the Military Engineering Academy itself at the beginning of 1925 was merged with the artillery and reorganized into the Military Technical Academy, which received the name F in 1926 E. Dzerzhinsky. During the period from 1925 to 1928, the academy trained 113 military engineers.

The work carried out to strengthen the organizational structure of the Red Army made it possible to organize normal combat and political training in its units and formations. M. V. Frunze on November 17, 1924, in a report at a meeting of leading political workers, said:

“The general improvement in the living and working conditions of the army has opened up the possibility of putting its education and training on solid ground. In essence, only now can we really take up our studies. In previous years, with their turnover of personnel, difficult material conditions of existence, lack of a solid procedure for serving, etc., we were actually deprived of any opportunity to build an army as a real fighting force” (63).

Combat and political training was also organized in the engineering troops. In September 1924, the Red Army inspectorate sent out a combat training plan to the troops for the first year of training, which was approved by the plenum of the USSR Revolutionary Military Council in December 1924. Based on this plan, winter training was organized in the engineering units of the Red Army in 1924-1925. In terms of combat training of engineering troops and engineering training of all types of troops, the recommendations of the All-Union Conference of Chiefs of Engineers of the Red Army were mainly taken into account.

In 1925, a normal training plan was put into effect in all personnel and territorial units and formations of the Red Army, including the engineering troops. The training period for personnel units was set at two years. Each year was divided into winter and summer periods of study. In the first year of training, the Red Army soldier was supposed to become a trained specialist fighter with technical knowledge of the material part of the platoon's arsenal. By the end of the second year of training, he should have acquired such knowledge that would allow him to go into the reserve as a squad commander.

Red Army soldiers who studied at the school for junior commanders (regimental or corresponding) received complete training as a squad commander during the first year, and in the second year they were prepared to perform the functions of an assistant reserve platoon commander.

Simultaneously with the combat training plan, a normal political training plan was developed and put into effect. The two-year program of political training and education developed by the PUR was aimed at preparing a conscious, combat-ready defender of Soviet power, clearly understanding that its strengthening is possible on the basis of a strong alliance of the working class and the peasantry under the leadership of the Communist Party. Approved by the department of agitation and propaganda of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), this program was put into effect in the 1925/26 academic year.

The need to organize combat training of engineering units sometimes required in some districts to temporarily gather sappers in one place for the period of summer practical training. This was achieved by assigning sapper units in general camps to an engineering group, headed by the deputy camp assembly for engineering troops. This was the case, for example, in 1923 and subsequent years in the Chuguev camp (southeast of Kharkov), where the engineering group consisted of the 7th and 8th corps battalions and the 23rd divisional engineer company. Sometimes it was necessary to organize special engineering camps. Such were, for example, the pontoon camp of the Kyiv garrison on Trukhanov Island in 1923-1941; in the same years - a camp of engineering units of the Kharkov Military District on the Northern Donets River near the city of Zmiev (14th corps, 29th divisional engineer battalions, engineer companies of the 25th and 73rd rifle divisions).

Having a purely educational value, the camps operated no more than three to four months a year. By the time of general training, regular exercises and maneuvers, the camps ceased to exist, and the engineering units joined their formations.

The development and implementation of new military regulations, manuals, manuals, instructions and other guidance materials were important for improving the training and education of army personnel.

In addition to the fact that the issues of engineering support for combat and the combat use of engineering troops were reflected in the combat manuals of the Red Army, issued in these years, a number of manuals and instructions on military engineering were issued, which made it possible to organize special training in the troops more purposefully and with high quality.

So, for example, in the period 1924-1928. instructions were published on the military engineering of the Red Army, military camouflage, engineering and technical affairs of the command staff of all branches of the army, special education of the engineering troops of the Red Army (Bridges and crossings, part 1; Demolition work; Underground mine engineering), military engineering for infantry, etc.

Military magazines that were published played a major role in generalizing the experience of combat and political training of units and formations of the Red Army and its further improvement. They also raised and, to one degree or another, resolved issues of Soviet military engineering, combat training and combat use of engineering troops. Such magazines in the period under review were “Army and Revolution”, “Military Thought and Revolution”, “Military Bulletin”, “War and Revolution”, “Technique and Supply of the Red Army”, etc.

During these years, military-scientific work was carried out on a large scale both throughout the Red Army and in its engineering troops. The following works published at this time deserve attention: N. Shelavin - “Divisional and Corps Engineers”, 1924; A. V. Prigorovsky - “Engineering and technical means of combat and tactical use of engineering troops,” 1924; G. Serchevsky - “Basic principles of the tactical use of sappers and the system of divisional management of them,” 1924; K. Schildbach - “Tactics of Engineering Troops”, 1927; G. Potapov - “Combat use and use of engineering troops”, 1928; M. Spiering, D. Ushakov, K. Schildbach - “Application of military engineering in the combat service of troops,” 1927; K. A. Rose - “River crossing based on the experience of the civil war of 1918-1920,” 1928; a number of works by D. M. Karbyshev, G. G. Nevsky and others.

In general, by the end of 1928, engineering units and subunits had already accumulated practical experience in organizing and conducting combat and political training. During this period, the sending of engineering units to various types of construction work was widely used to consolidate theoretical knowledge and develop practical skills in organizing work and its production (for example, the construction of the Orsha - Lepel railway, road and bridge work in a forested and swampy area in the upper reaches of the Berezina River west of Lepel and in the border zone of the Belarusian SSR, construction of the Oster - Chernigov road, etc.). In particular, for the construction of the Chernigov-Ovruch railway in 1927, a railway corps was formed, which included sapper corps battalions (2, 6, 7, 8, 14 and 17), united in training terms into a brigade, headed by the deputy commander of the 17th Rifle Corps for engineering troops, corps engineer A. S. Tsigurov. Corps engineer battalions in the summer of 1927 and 1928. they went to camps on the railway route and, in parallel with the implementation of the special and combat training plan, carried out work on the construction of the railway, including the construction of bridges on pile supports. During the same period, the command staff of the engineering troops and engineering units participated in ongoing exercises, field trips, reconnaissance and war games.

In the organization of combat training and its management, a large role was played by inspectors of engineers at the Main Directorate of the Red Army and inspectors of district engineers, who provided assistance to the troops, generalized and disseminated best practices, revealed shortcomings, identified the causes and, through the chiefs of engineers, sought to eliminate them.

A large group of engineering units and units, as well as soldiers of the engineering troops, were awarded orders, personalized weapons and valuable gifts for their participation in the fight against the Basmachism, for success in combat training and restoration of the national economy. Thus, by a resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the USSR dated July 13, 1927, for distinction in the battle against the Basmachi on September 12, 1925 in the area of ​​the Yakshi-Keldy fortress, the commander of a separate sapper half-squadron of the 8th Turkestan Cavalry Brigade B. I. Wetzel, assistant platoon commander of the same squadron N. M. Grigorenko, squad commander I. R. Wegner, Red Army soldiers Y. A. Stukalov, P. I. Prikhodko, I. D. Slashchini "N, T. S. Matveenko, G. M. Zharinov, K.K. Savoteev, D.N. Kofakov(64).

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Red Army, those who particularly distinguished themselves on the battle fronts and in peacetime work, by order of the USSR Revolutionary Military Council on personnel No. 102 of February 23, were awarded the Order of the Red Banner throughout the Red Army - 1066 people, including G. K. Dmitriev - former divisional engineer of the 10th Infantry Division, G. K. Usupov - former head of the sapper team of the 6th Khabarovsk Infantry Regiment and I. I. Khodunov - former head of the demolition team of the 81st Infantry Regiment of the 91st Infantry Division. The same order awarded 1,745 people with personal weapons and valuable gifts, among them 48 people from the engineering troops, including 17 people with personal weapons, valuable gifts and certificates of honor - 31 people (65).

In the same years, separate engineer battalions of the 8th, 10th, 13th and 17th Rifle Corps, the 21st separate engineer battalion and the 1st company of the 9th separate engineer battalion (66) were awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

During this period, such a form of education for Red Army soldiers was also practiced, such as the election of the most honored people of the army and the country at meetings of unit personnel as honorary Red Army soldiers. The decision on election was announced by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. In engineering units and subunits, ten people were approved as honorary Red Army soldiers, including the commander of the 17th Rifle Corps, J. F. Fabritsius, the commander of the Turkestan Front, K. A. Avksentyevsky, a worker at the cement plant of the Kiev Okrug Municipal Economy, S. V. Lysenko, and the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR. Georgia F.I. Makharadze et al.

During the period of technical re-equipment of the Red Army

The period of the pre-war five-year plans for the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union was a period of their technical re-equipment and further increase in combat power. At the same time, the technical equipment and re-equipment of the engineering troops took place.

In 1928, the “Engineering Weapons System” of the Red Army was developed and approved in 1930 by the People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, which provided the entire range of technical means necessary to carry out military engineering combat missions. The system determined the basic tactical and technical data of engineering assets and established the procedure for their development and introduction into supply. On the basis of this document, which was revised several times with the introduction of some changes, the engineering troops were equipped with new equipment until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

In accordance with the adopted system, during the years of the first five-year plans, along with the technical re-equipment of the entire army, there was an intensive development of military engineering equipment, which was equipped with the engineering troops.

The further development - both quantitatively and qualitatively - of crossing and bridge facilities was particularly intensive. The ferry-bridge fleet on inflatable boats A-2, which was adopted in 1926, was replaced in 1927 by a fleet on A-3 boats, which was modernized in subsequent years and by 1936 had a carrying capacity of 12-14 tons, and its transportation the material part was already carried out on cars.

In 1934, the heavy N2P fleet (with open metal pontoons) and the light NLP fleet (with folding pontoons made of bakelized plywood) began to enter service, replacing the Tomilovsky pontoon park that had been transferred from the old Russian army, which lasted 70 years (67).

It should be noted that at the beginning of the Second World War, the N2P fleet turned out to be the only one of the pontoon-bridge parks of all the armies that fought that was quite suitable for assembling and erecting bridges with a carrying capacity of up to 60 tons. The carrying capacity of the NLP fleet was 16 tons.

To transport ferry from regular water crossings in the pre-war years, the BMK-70 towing motor boat, the NKL-27 semi-glider and the SZ-10 and SZ-20 ship outboard units were created.

In 1939, a special pontoon park SP-19 was put into service, intended for the construction of bridges and ferry crossings on wide rivers with high flow speeds.

Simultaneously with heavy, medium and light ferry fleets, a number of light ferry vehicles also entered service in the same years: assault difficult-to-flood equipment (TZI), a small inflatable boat, a swimming suit. Later, an inflatable boat carried on packs and a folding boat made of plywood were designed for mountain units. Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, collapsible metal bridges RMM-2 and RMM-4 were developed, and the latter was put into service during the war and was the basis for the creation of collapsible metal bridges in our army.

Much attention was paid to the development of means of mechanization and electrification of military engineering work. Already in 1934-1935. Many new equipment were introduced into service, which dramatically increased the capabilities of the engineering troops.

So, for example, for logging work, the engineering troops received movable sawmill frames, sawmills, gas-powered saws, a set of accessories for tractor skidding of logs, and a set of suspended monorail tracks. The presence of these means made it possible to mechanize basically the entire process of logging work.

To mechanize bridge work, a metal collapsible pile driver with a steam-air hammer was adopted in 1935. Subsequently, Soviet designers created more advanced and productive piling tools - diesel pile hammers and others. The mobile compressor station, which entered service by 1936, could be successfully used not only for the mechanization of bridge work, but also in other work requiring the use of pneumatic tools.

Before the appearance of tractors in the engineering troops, road vehicles developed in accordance with the possibilities of using horse-drawn traction. Among the first road equipment were various types of uprooters, plows, drag shovels and even horse-drawn ditch diggers. By 1934-1935, as tractor-drawn road vehicles were being created, various machine samples were selected for engineering units after special tests. In 1937-1938 Based on the experience of using road vehicles, the troops adopted the most advanced machines used with the S-60 and S-65 tractors, namely: the modernized heavy GTM grader and the BG-M bulldozer, SP and ST-5 scrapers, KV-2 double-blade ditch diggers and KV-3, a heavy collapsible ripper, as well as a powerful special LNG grader and a wheeled motor grader with a picker.

The first mobile power station, mounted on a 1.5-ton vehicle in 1930 and put into service by 1934, was a charging and lighting station with a capacity of 3 kW (AES-1). In 1935, an automobile power plant with a capacity of 15 kW (NPP-3) was included in the report card of the engineering troops. The new power plant had a set of electrified tools and lighting fixtures. During these same years, the first samples of high-voltage mobile power stations, intended for electrifying wire fences, entered service.

Much work has been done in the field of creating and improving mine-explosive equipment and weapons. Thus, in 1934, blasting machines PM-1, PM-2, a large number of various electrical measuring instruments, special fuses and contactors entered service. The first anti-tank mine TM-35 appeared, later - AKS, TM-39, TMD-40, PMZ-40. The last of these samples were developed based on combat experience in the use of anti-tank mines in 1939-1940. Based on the same experience, anti-personnel mines MPK-40, PMK-6, etc. were created. Work was also carried out to study the effect of a shaped charge, especially on armor. New means of controlling landmines at a distance, via radio, were developed.

Wire obstacles (WOBs) were developed as other means of barriers. Much attention was paid to the construction of water barriers.

Work was carried out in the field of development of barriers. However, by 1935, only sets of means for reconnaissance and overcoming electrified barriers entered service. The first mine detectors appeared only in the period 1939-1940. To overcome anti-tank ditches with tanks, ST-26 sapper tanks were designed on the basis of the T-26 tank, equipped with a metal bridge that was moved onto the obstacle by the tank driver directly from the vehicle.

During the period of technical re-equipment of the army, there was significant work. was also carried out to create standard means of camouflaging troops and military equipment, as well as to develop methods for using these means. Various mask suits, mask nets, materials, and paints were put into service.

For the field water supply of troops, means of reconnaissance, extraction and purification of water in the field, as well as its transportation and storage, were designed and put into service.

The successes of industrialization of the USSR made it possible to ensure the production of various and complex engineering equipment at the factories of our country and not to be dependent on imports.

Studying the issue of the growth of mechanization equipment that entered the engineering armament during the years of the first five-year plan, D. M. Karbyshev noted that the capacity of the machine park that entered service with the engineering troops of the Red Army was: in 1932 - 5 thousand, in 1933 . - 25 thousand, in 1934 - 95 thousand l. With.; the growth of mechanization and motorization means per soldier was: in pontoon battalions in 1932 - 0.6, in 1933 - 3.0, in 1934 - 6.0; in engineering battalions in 1932 - 0.3, in 1933 - 1.6, in 1934 - 2.1; in sapper battalions in 1932 - 0.3, in 1933 - 1.02, in 1934 - 1.75 liters. p.(68) .

It should be noted that some engineering vehicles, in terms of their tactical and technical characteristics, no longer fully meet the increased requirements, and the pace of development and introduction of new models lagged behind in comparison with other types of modern weapons, which was noted by the People's Commissar of Defense at the review of engineering equipment in December 1940.

For the development, operation and combat use of new equipment, specially trained personnel were needed. For this purpose, technical companies were formed in corps engineer and pontoon battalions, and technical platoons were formed in divisional engineer battalions. The Military Engineering Academy named after V.V. Kuibyshev (recreated in 1932) began to train specialists in engineering weapons.

Despite the general difficulties of growth in the country, the Communist Party and the Soviet government paid great attention in the pre-war years to equipping the engineering troops with new equipment. This can be seen from the fact that during the period from 1935 to 1941 the number of engineering vehicles and ferry fleets increased in the following amounts:

Parkov N2P.. ... 3.5 times

Sawmill frames and machines... ...3 times

Power plants of all types.. ... 4 times

Collapsible metal pile drivers.. ... 4 times

Compressor stations.. ........... 5 times

During this period, there was a quantitative and qualitative growth of the engineering troops of the Red Army, as well as a number of organizational changes in them. In particular, two-company combat engineer battalions were formed in the rifle divisions.

The engineering troops of the Red Army were headed during these years (from May 1930 to May 1937) by an active participant in the civil war, one of the most talented military leaders, N. N. Petin.

Both during the period of economic recovery of the country and in 1929-1939. engineering units and divisions, as well as scientists from the Military Engineering Academy, provided great assistance in the further development of the national economy. They built roads, bridges, crossings and other objects. Soldiers from engineering units also provided great assistance in the fight against natural disasters. Characteristic in this regard is the feat of the sapper company of the 9th sapper battalion of the North Caucasus Military District, whose commander at that time was V. A. Kopylov (now retired major general of the engineering troops). In the spring of 1931, sappers from this company took part in extinguishing a fire that engulfed oil fields in the Maykop region. These works were supervised by the corps engineer of the 9th Rifle Corps K. S. Kalugin (later major general of the engineering troops, died in 1945). Skillfully using explosives, sappers extinguished the fire. For this feat, the most distinguished sappers were awarded the Order of Lenin. They were among the first servicemen of our army to receive the highest government award. Among those awarded were corps engineer K. S. Kalugin, company commander V. A. Kopylov, squad commander V. M. Emelyanov and Red Army demolition soldiers Artemov, Burgaster, Kiprov and Evsikov (69).

Engineering troops in the combat operations of the Red Army in 1929-1940.

After the end of the civil war, the Red Army did not conduct large-scale military operations for a long period. Numerous border conflicts and incidents organized by the imperialists, the struggle against large Basmachi gangs, and even the defeat of the Chinese militarists during the conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway, due to the nature of the actions and their limited scope, could not serve as the basis for broad conclusions and generalizations in the field of military art. However, even in these hostilities, the personnel of the engineering units, as well as the entire Red Army, showed courage, heroism and a high consciousness of patriotic duty, defending Soviet power - the power of workers and peasants.

For distinction in military operations to eliminate the conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1929, S. M. Shumilov, a Red Army soldier of the engineer squadron of the 5th separate Kuban Cavalry Brigade, and N. P. Cherepanov were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Red Army soldier (trained) of a separate sapper squadron of the 9th separate Far Eastern Cavalry Brigade, I. P. Bedrov - commander of this squadron, M. Vagin and S. Astafiev - sappers of the 13th separate sapper battalion, I. A. Levin - platoon commander, L Syrov is a foreman, M. Bubnov and A. Shaidurov are commanders of sections of this battalion, etc. - sixteen people in total (70).

Volunteers - sappers and military engineers - advisers selflessly and courageously fulfilled their international duty in Spain during the years of struggle against the Francoist rebels and fascist interventionists. Construction and maintenance of crossings, fortification equipment of borders, construction of barriers and destruction zones during retreat and behind enemy lines, transfer of knowledge and experience to sappers of the Republican Army - this is not a complete list of tasks that our volunteers solved in Spain. Many of them were awarded orders and medals. The Order of the Red Banner was awarded on November 11, 1937 to V.P. Shurygin (now retired Major General of the Engineering Troops), who at that time was an adviser on engineering issues at the headquarters of the Northern and then the Central Fronts.

Larger military events in these years, the experience of which had a certain significance in the development of the theory and practice of combat use of engineering troops of the Red Army, were military operations at Lake Khasan (July 29 - August 11, 1938), on the Khalkhin Gol River (May - August 1939) and the Soviet-Finnish conflict (1939-1940). Let us briefly consider the participation of engineering troops in these hostilities.

At the end of July 1938, Japanese militarists in the area of ​​Lake Khasan (130 km from Vladivostok) invaded Soviet territory and captured the tactically advantageous Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya hills.

The task of defeating the invading Japanese forces was assigned to the 40th and 32nd Rifle Divisions and the 2nd Mechanized Brigade of the 39th Rifle Corps.

The main tasks of the engineering troops were the preparation and maintenance of roads and column tracks for troops both during the period of their concentration in the combat area and during the battle; securing in engineering terms the hills recaptured from the enemy in order to provide the Soviet troops who occupied the hills with the opportunity to prevent a repetition of the enemy’s provocative attacks in this area.

The 39th Rifle Corps (corps engineer Major A.I. Goldovich) initially had only regular engineering forces and means, but they were not enough. The roads along which the corps troops followed to the deployment area and along which all types of supplies were supplied became completely impassable by August 5, and even tanks got stuck on them.

On August 5, the command of the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army (OKDVA) ordered the allocation of 5 construction battalions, 2 sapper battalions (26th and 43rd) and 20 tractors to provide troops with routes.

Despite the difficult conditions in which the fighting took place, the personnel of the units and formations of the Soviet troops who participated in the battles and supported them showed high moral qualities and selfless devotion to the socialist Motherland. By August 11, the task of defeating the Japanese troops who had invaded Soviet soil was completed and the border was restored again.

For military merits shown in the battles near Lake Khasan, many Red Army soldiers and commanders of engineering troops were awarded orders and medals. Among them, captain A. A. Paderin, senior lieutenant M. L. Rabinovich, captain E. G. Dyldin, captain V. D. Kirpichnikov were awarded the Order of the Red Banner; Order of the Red Star - Captain N. A. Rossal; medal "For Courage" - Major A. I. Goldovich; Medal "For Military Merit" - Captain I. S. Telesh and others.

The fighting on the Khalkhin Gol River was more widespread than at Lake Khasan. They began in May 1939 with the invasion of large forces of Japanese troops into the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic. From May to August 1939, the Soviet-Mongolian troops fought mainly defensive battles and prepared for the offensive operation, which was planned in August. The task of defeating the Japanese troops was entrusted to the Soviet-Mongolian formations and units united in the 1st Army Group.

The engineering forces and means of the army group included three divisional separate engineer battalions (36th, 82nd and 24th), two separate companies of tank brigades (11th and 32nd), a separate engineer company (70th), one pontoon battalion ( 17th) and one company of the 15th pontoon battalion, two hydraulic companies (11th and 14th). Of the transport facilities, 2 1/3 of the N2P fleet and 2 1/2 of the A-3 fleet of boats were concentrated.

The main tasks of the engineering troops in the preparation and conduct of the operation were to ensure the secrecy of the preparation of the operation, to conduct engineering reconnaissance of the Khalkhin Gol River in the zone of the upcoming offensive, to arrange and maintain crossings across the Khalkhin Gol River, to provide the attacking troops with water, to ensure the advance of the advancing troops during the operation.

During the period of preparation for the offensive, engineering units and subunits provided camouflage for the concentration of troops and military equipment, and also skillfully led the simulation of preparations for a long-term defense.

Sapper and pontoon units and units, while conducting reconnaissance and reconnaissance of the Khalkhin Gol River, discovered several fords and identified bridge crossing points. A total of 12 pontoon bridges were built, including 3 bridges built back in June. Over 20 linear lines were equipped to the crossing areas. km of access roads, and a curfew service is organized at the crossings.

The engineering units did a great job of equipping structures for command and observation posts of formation commanders and for the command of the army group. To provide the troops with water, 49 shaft and 8 shallow-tube wells were equipped.

Soviet-Mongolian troops launched an offensive on August 20 and completed the encirclement of the Japanese group on August 23. The encircled group of Japanese troops was dismembered and liquidated by August 31.

During the operation, the engineering troops ensured the advancement of our infantry, cavalry, tanks and artillery, their fight on the internal and external fronts of the encirclement, and also maintained supply and evacuation routes and crossings across the Khalkhin Gol River.

The combat experience gained showed the increased importance of engineering troops and engineering support in modern offensive operations; the great role of operational camouflage and the ability to achieve operational surprise in difficult desert conditions; the need to timely provide the attacking troops with an appropriate number of standard transport means, especially in treeless areas.

The Soviet-Mongolian troops participating in the operation on the Khalkhin Gol River showed high moral and combat qualities, initiative in solving assigned combat missions, while demonstrating massive heroism and courage, for which hundreds of soldiers and officers were awarded orders and medals, and 70 the participants in the battles were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Among the soldiers of the engineering troops awarded orders and medals were D. D. Abashin, A. F. Zhuchkov, N. F. Kotikov, N. I. Nesterov, P. I. Patushko. N. G. Ufimtsev, G. N. Yakovlev, K. V. Yakovlev and others. The 70th separate sapper company was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

On November 17, 1939, in connection with the 20th anniversary of the creation of the 1st Cavalry Army, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded a large group of formations and units the Order of the Red Banner, including a separate sapper company of the Order of Lenin tank brigade named after M.P. Yakovlev, separate sapper companies of the 6th and 32nd tank brigades (71).

Engineering units and units took part in the campaigns of the Red Army to liberate the western regions of Belarus, Ukraine, as well as Bessarabia and Bukovina.

The Soviet troops did not conduct large-scale and prolonged military operations at that time, but the issues of engineering support for the movement of troops (in their readiness to fight) had to be resolved.

During the liberation campaigns, most of the engineering units ensured the crossing of troops across rivers (reinforced existing bridges, equipped fords, built new bridges), repaired roads, cleared airfield sites, set up overpasses for unloading trains, etc. The engineering troops fulfilled the tasks assigned to them .

In November 1939, the Finnish military, fueled by the reactionary forces of the imperialist states, organized a series of military provocations on the Soviet-Finnish border. On November 30, Soviet troops were forced to begin military operations against the Finnish army.

They took place from November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940. The main events took place on the Karelian Isthmus, on a front of 100-110 km, where the main forces of the parties were concentrated and the most important operations took place.

What are the characteristic features of the theater of military operations and the state of the enemy’s defense that determined the main tasks of the engineering troops?

Firstly, the fighting took place in an area 12 percent of which was covered with lakes and rivers, 70 percent with impenetrable forests. Numerous rapids, waterfalls, rocky ridges and ice-free swamps created serious obstacles for the advancing troops and facilitated defense.

Secondly, the fighting took place in winter, with severe frosts reaching 40°, and in the presence of deep snow. Heavy snow, frequent fogs, the polar night on the northern sector of the front and very short days in the Karelian Isthmus area created additional difficulties for the advancing troops and facilitated the actions of the defenders.

Thirdly, on the Karelian Isthmus, where the main military events unfolded, a powerful long-term defense system was built, known as the Mannerheim Line, with a total depth of 100-120 km. Its construction took place under the guidance of the best military specialists in Western Europe. The advancing Soviet troops had to break through this line, which was considered insurmountable by Western European experts.

On the Karelian Isthmus, the fighting was carried out by the 7th Army, consisting of nine rifle divisions and three tank brigades, and on the eastern borders of Finland on a front of about 1500 km - the 8th, 9th and 14th armies. At the end of December, another army, the 13th, advanced to the Karelian Isthmus, and on January 7, 1940, the North-Western Front was created to lead these armies. In February 1940, the 15th Army was deployed on the eastern borders of Finland. Colonel K. S. Nazarov (now a retired colonel general of the engineering troops) was appointed head of the front engineering troops.

By the beginning of hostilities, the 7th Army had from the engineering troops: one engineer battalion of a fortified area, the 125th engineer battalion, the 5th, 6th and 7th pontoon battalions. The head of the army engineering troops was Colonel A.F. Khrenov (now a retired colonel general of the engineering troops).

A broad generalization of the experience of combat use of engineering troops and engineering support for combat operations during the Soviet-Finnish conflict is an area of ​​special research. Here we note only some of the results of their use.

Combat operations have shown the increasingly increasing role of engineering troops in modern combat and operations, not only in the field of providing infantry, artillery and tanks, but also in their direct action on the battlefield, especially when breaking through heavily fortified enemy defenses.

During the war, extensive experience was gained in breaking through powerful modern defenses in the extremely difficult conditions of the theater of operations in winter; organizing and conducting in a new way engineering reconnaissance related to the need to penetrate the enemy’s defense system to great depths (using aerial photography for this purpose); detecting mines and other explosive obstacles and equipping scouts with the necessary means in this regard; organizing clearing and making passages in enemy minefields and mined forest rubble, as well as consolidating captured lines; more precise establishment of road service.

The pre-war engineering equipment of the Red Army was also subjected to significant testing. Experience has shown that not all of our engineering equipment turned out to be suitable in those conditions, in particular, road and earth-moving machines did not meet the necessary requirements, the unsuitability of winter camouflage robes was also revealed, and they were replaced by others during the operation.

Gaps were also discovered in the combat training of the engineering troops, the lack of military equipment for some engineering units at the beginning of the war, and poor knowledge of the theater of military operations.

Despite the extremely difficult natural conditions in which the struggle was waged, and individual shortcomings in the combat training of troops and their technical equipment, the Red Army troops broke through the enemy’s long-term fortified zone, accomplishing a feat unprecedented in history.

For the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command and the valor and courage displayed in this case, over 9 thousand combatants were awarded by decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. More than 400 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In addition, about 70 units and formations were awarded orders of the USSR (72).

Of the engineering troops, the Order of the Red Banner was awarded to the 57th and 227th separate sapper battalions and the 6th separate pontoon-bridge battalion.

The high title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to sappers Lieutenant N. I. Rumyantsev and Junior Lieutenant F. Ya. Kucherov; junior commanders B. L. Kuznetsov, P. S. Fedorchuk and A. R. Krutogolov; privates A.I. Byakov and N.N. Nikitin; pontooners junior lieutenant P.V. Usov, private V.K. Artyukh, as well as colonel A.F. Khrenov. A large group of engineering troops was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Among them are N. P. Artamonov, B. V. Bychevsky, I. F. Danilov, M. F. Ioffe, G. A. Kutsulin, I. P. Kusakin, I. I. Markov, I. E. Nagorny, V. O. Nool, M. A. Ponomarev, V. I. Skrynnikov, F. A. Stanchin, V. D. Starostin, G. P. Tomashevsky, S. F. Chmutov, N. A. Shitov, I. B. Shoikhet et al.

Further organizational strengthening and technical equipment of engineering troops

The experience of military operations at Lake Khasan, on the Khalkhin Gol River and the Karelian Isthmus, the liberation campaigns of the Red Army in Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, and the outbreak of the Second World War required serious measures to be taken in the Soviet Armed Forces to bring them into line with modern requirements.

In 1939-1941. a number of measures were taken for organizational improvement, further technical equipment of the Red Army and Navy, restructuring of management bodies, as well as personnel training. A corresponding series of events was carried out in the engineering troops.

As already noted, in the pre-war years, the Red Army and its engineering troops received a certain amount of engineering equipment from industry and, on January 1, 1941, had up to 265 ferry parks of all types (N2P, NLP, MDPA-3), including 45 heavy ones ( N2P), more than 1060 mobile power plants, over 680 sawmill frames and machines and many other means. However, in terms of technical equipment, the engineering troops lagged somewhat behind the level of requirements put forward by the general development of military affairs. New engineering equipment has just begun to enter the troops.

The management of engineering activities in the Red Army on the eve of the Great Patriotic War was carried out by the State Military Institution, which was in charge of military engineering training of all branches of the military, organized combat and special training of engineering troops, supervised defensive construction and the supply of engineering equipment to the Red Army. The heads of the GVIUKA were: from May 1937 to October 1939 - division commander I. P. Mikhailin, from October 1939 to July 1940 - Colonel I. A. Petrov, from July 1940 to March 12, 1941 - brigade commander A. F. Khrenov, and from March 20, 1941 - Major General of the Engineering Troops L. Z. Kotlyar.

Under the Main Inspectorate of the Red Army there was a military engineering inspection headed by the Inspector General of the Engineering Troops. Its task was to check the combat training of engineering troops and the engineering training of other branches of the military. Since July 1940, the Inspector General of the Engineering Troops was Major General of the Engineering Troops M.P. Vorobyov.

In the People's Commissariat of Defense, the leadership of the Main Military Engineering Directorate and the Directorate for the Construction of Fortified Areas was carried out at that time by the Deputy People's Commissar, Marshal B. M. Shaposhnikov.

In military districts and armies, the management of engineering activities in the troops and defensive construction was carried out by engineering departments and departments, headed by the corresponding commanders. In corps, divisions and regiments, this work was performed by corps and division engineers and chiefs of regimental engineering services.

The engineering units of the army and district subordination were reorganized in the first half of 1941. In order to improve combat training and create a base for the deployment of engineering units in case of war, individual district engineering battalions were consolidated into engineering regiments of about 1 thousand people each. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, instead of 22 separate engineer battalions and 21 separate pontoon battalions, 18 engineer (73) and 16 pontoon (74) regiments were formed.

In addition to these units, they are part of the engineering troops of the RGK. there were separate camouflage-engineering and pontoon-bridge battalions, a separate hydraulic engineering company and a separate hydraulic engineering station. By this time, in the combined arms armies, in addition to military engineering units and subunits, there were a total of eighteen separate engineering, motorized engineering and sapper battalions.

According to the approved states of formations and units of the Red Army, it was envisaged to have from the engineering troops: in the rifle corps - a separate corps sapper battalion, in a rifle division - a separate sapper battalion of a rifle division, in a rifle regiment - a sapper company. The cavalry corps had a sapper squadron, a cavalry division had a sapper squadron and a ferry park, and a cavalry regiment had a sapper platoon. The mechanized corps included a separate motorized engineering battalion. The tank division included a motorized pontoon-bridge battalion, armed with the N2P fleet. The motorized division included a light engineering battalion. Tank brigades and regiments had separate sapper companies, and motorized brigades and mechanized regiments had an sapper platoon. In the high-power artillery regiment, the howitzer artillery regiment of the RVGK and the corps heavy artillery regiment, the headquarters batteries each had one sapper platoon. The engineering troops of the Red Army belonged to the special troops and were obliged to provide engineering support for the combat operations of combined arms, tank and other units and formations. In the temporary field regulations of the Red Army of 1936, Article 7 states:

“The use of all the maneuverability of the modern Armed Forces is possible only subject to the proactive and precise work of special forces, and first of all engineering, communications and transport (railway and road).”

This charter defines the importance of engineering support for offensive combat and its tasks. The basic principles of engineering support for defensive combat were also developed. In 1939, the Engineering Manual for the Red Army infantry was put into effect. The manual provided basic guidelines for conducting military engineering work on the ground, taking into account the use of new engineering equipment (75).

In 1939, in connection with the transfer of our western border, the construction of new fortified areas began. In addition to military construction units, all the engineering and sapper battalions of the border districts and forty battalions from the internal districts were involved in this work. The separation of engineering units from their formations and formations had a very negative impact on the combat and special training of personnel, the cohesion and preparedness of the engineering troops for action in a combat situation. In passing, it should be noted that we failed to complete the construction of the SD by the beginning of the war.

The training of engineering officers before the war was carried out in five military engineering schools (Moscow, Leningrad, Borisov, Chernigov and Michurinsk, the latter was created in 1941), the V.V. Kuibyshev Military Engineering Academy and three courses for improving command composition. The training of reserve officers was carried out at some civilian higher educational institutions and at periodic gatherings of reserve officers.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 7, 1940, the ranks of general and admiral were established for the senior command staff of the army and navy. On June 4, 1940, the Council of People's Commissars, by its resolution, awarded the rank of general to a large group of officers, including 23 officers of the engineering troops (76).

On November 2, 1940, the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR established new military ranks for privates and junior commanding officers.

An important factor in the further strengthening of the engineering troops was the activities of political agencies and party organizations, strengthening their role and influence on the life of units and units. As in all Armed Forces, in the engineering units, special importance was attached to the organizational strengthening of party and Komsomol organizations, the growth in the number of communists and Komsomol members primarily due to soldiers of leading professions, as well as the expansion and strengthening of the party and Komsomol core of command and control personnel.

The theoretical position about the role and place of engineering troops in the system of the Armed Forces as a whole and the direction of their development before the Great Patriotic War corresponded to the general development of methods of armed struggle. The meetings of engineering chiefs held in December 1940 were especially important in developing a unity of views on the engineering support of the operation.

In the pre-war years, a number of teaching aids and textbooks on engineering support for combat operations of troops and the combat use of engineering units and subunits were developed and published at the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army and at the Military Engineering Academy named after V.V. Kuibyshev. These include the training manual “Engineering support for combat operations of a rifle division” by E. V. Aleksandrov, 1937, and his work “The work of a corps engineer battalion in combat conditions.” 1938. textbook “Engineering support for combat operations of rifle formations (sd and sk)” by D. M. Karbyshev, published in 1939 (part 1) and in 1940 (part 2), and a number of others. At the same time, D. M. Karbyshev was the author of a large number of scientific works on a number of issues in military engineering.

Measures taken under the leadership of the Communist Party both throughout the Red Army and in its engineering troops to transfer them to a peaceful position in 1921-1923, military reform of 1924-1925, as well as the technical re-equipment of units and formations based on the industrialization of the country and the successful implementation of the plans of the pre-war five-year plans made it possible to organizationally strengthen the engineering troops, restructure command and control bodies, train command personnel, organize and consistently improve the combat and political training of troops, ensure the supply of an ever-increasing amount of new military equipment, including vehicles and engineering weapons, mastering this technique, etc.

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army had a scientific generalization of the theory and practice of engineering support for combat and operations and, in particular, the combat use of engineering troops. The main provisions of Soviet military theory on these issues corresponded to the general development of forms and methods of armed struggle.

But in general, all this made it possible to train the engineering troops to a sufficient extent, and they turned out to be capable of solving complex problems in difficult conditions in providing engineering support for the combat operations of the Soviet troops during the Great Patriotic War.

Conducting combat operations, both local and large-scale in modern conditions, necessarily presupposes their full engineering support and support. It is from this perspective that engineering units and subdivisions of the Southern Military District are now preparing to carry out their assigned tasks. The head of the engineering troops of the Southern Military District, Major General Konstantin SMESHKO, told readers of the Orientir magazine about the progress of combat training, the development of new equipment and weapons.

Comrade Major General, what forms of training personnel in the art of war are the priority in subordinate units and subunits, and what methods of work are preferable?

Now we have to solve a number of problems, the most important of which is maintaining high combat readiness of formations and units. Combat training is organized within the framework of the combat training system of troops of the Southern Military District and includes the consistent acquisition by soldiers and sergeants of theoretical knowledge and practical skills in their specialty, their consolidation during regular field trips, camp training and exercises of various levels. All personnel of the district’s engineering brigade, engineer battalions of motorized rifle brigades and other special units take part in such events. For example, at the mountain training complex “Tsabal” there was a field trip by the engineering unit of the Russian military base stationed in the Republic of Abkhazia.

In mountainous and wooded areas, military personnel learned to manage minefields, detonate explosive

objects using fire and electrical methods, conduct engineering reconnaissance of the area, erect fortifications, and also performed driving exercises for special and automotive equipment.

Particular attention during the field exercises was paid to the development of the modern water production and purification station SKO10 “Hygiene” and the newest non-contact mine detector “Korshun”. The capabilities of the latter make it possible to detect explosive devices at a distance of up to 30 m, both in soil and snow, and in various structures and behind obstacles.

Further, more than 200 military personnel of engineering units of combined arms formations stationed on the territory of the Chechen Republic, with the involvement of about 50 units of combat and special equipment, carried out training for their intended purposes as part of field trips at the Alpiysky, Gvardeysky and Kalinovsky training complexes.

During the training, the military personnel worked out the standards for engineering support for the actions of motorized rifle, tank and artillery units.

At the end of the field trips, they completed the task of making passages in mine-explosive barriers using a special charge from a mine clearance installation.

Field exercises were conducted at specially equipped training sites and engineering fields of training complexes of formations.

But a kind of apogee of combat training over the past period was the participation of military personnel in the strategic command staff exercise “Caucasus 2012”, during which they had to perform a wide range of tasks. Let me remind you that on the eve of the active phase of the exercise, a special logistics exercise was conducted. Types of crossings over large water barriers were shown here. In particular, a pontoon bridge 452 meters long was built across the Don River. Ferry and landing crossings, as well as tank crossings under water, were also organized.

In preparation for the exercise, we also solved problems related to fortification of lines, positions and areas, and demining of areas and objects. We were engaged in the preparation and maintenance of movement and maneuver routes, concealment and imitation of important areas and objects using engineering weapons, local means and materials, and field power supply to troops. And already in the course of practical actions, an important place was given to engineering reconnaissance of the enemy, terrain and objects. Moreover, such reconnaissance was carried out both by ground and air means. In addition, we were ordered to deal with the construction and maintenance of engineering barriers, making and maintaining passages in engineering barriers and destruction.

At the same time, I can note that the command rated our actions as “good” and “excellent.” This became not only a source of pride for the personnel, but also an incentive to maintain professional training at a high level and improve it. A number of military personnel were awarded medals from the Ministry of Defense.

Konstantin Evgenievich, the specificity of the service of your subordinates is such that they, like perhaps no one else, must “keep their powder dry”, be ready at any moment and in any situation to carry out a real combat mission. Is it possible, and to what extent, to cope with this?

This is in the sense that even in peacetime, military personnel of engineering and combat engineering units have to directly deal with the actual demining of the area and the neutralization of certain ammunition. Thus, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and the Government of the Russian Federation have given us the task of clearing mines from the territories of the Chechen Republic and the Republic of Ingushetia.

There is a very large amount of work here; in total, 15,000 hectares need to be cleared. A demining battalion of about 500 people is engaged in this. As a rule, all land cleared of explosive objects is then used as farmland. And in Ingushetia, in addition, it is planned to create a tourist cluster. Indeed, these places are very beautiful and attractive for domestic and foreign tourists. Take, for example, the Dzheirakh Gorge, the area of ​​the medieval castle village of Vovnushki. So our work is directly related to strengthening peaceful life in the North Caucasus region, we are helping to make it prosperous and safe.

The work is being carried out in the Shelkovsky, Grozny, UrusMartanovsky, Shalinsky and Kurchaloysky districts of the Chechen Republic, as well as in the Sunzhensky and Dzheirakhsky districts of the Republic of Ingushetia.

When clearing mines, sappers use BMRM armored mine clearing vehicles based on the T-72 tank with a tracked mine trawl, IMR3 engineering clearing vehicles, as well as “Korshun” mine detectors, which arrived in the Southern Military District in 2012, and “Dublon” sapper protective suits. In addition, mine detection service specialists with specially trained dogs take part in the search for explosive objects.

In total, in 2013, sappers from the engineering troops of the Southern Military District will clear more than 600 hectares of agricultural land from explosive objects, as well as a number of important objects of the economic complex of the republics.

Last year, the engineering troops of the military district inspected about 1,350 hectares, neutralized about 3.5 thousand various ammunition and explosive objects.

Planned annual indicators were fulfilled by 150%. Mine clearance activities are planned until 2015. By this time, about 15,000 thousand hectares of farmland will be completely cleared of explosive objects by the engineering units of the Southern Military District.

I must say that performing such tasks requires great professionalism and high responsibility from the personnel. Here, sappers act, one might say, in a real combat situation, and the well-known proverb about a sapper who has no right to make a mistake is relevant here as nowhere else. Here's a recent example. Our military personnel discovered minefields in the demining area, laid by unknown units; no documentation on them could be found in the archives. The ammunition was of a mixed type, both anti-tank and anti-personnel, and was also set to be non-removable. And only the highest level of training of personnel and properly and efficiently organized work made it possible to ensure mine clearance without losses or incidents. This is a great merit of the head of the operational group of the Southern Military District, Colonel Alexander Nesterenko, and the commander of the mine clearance battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Matorin.

It is easy to assume that the professional training of military personnel in a demining battalion requires the presence of special qualities, knowledge and experience. How and where are people trained for such difficult work? Where do you get your shots, so to speak?

First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that they serve in the demining battalion exclusively under contract. That is, these are already mature, experienced fighters who understand well what a responsible step they have taken. Each of them compulsorily completed a training course at the training centers of the Russian Ministry of Defense in the Volgograd and Moscow regions. They have permission to work with explosive objects. In addition, there is a well-established system for additional training of such military personnel. This allows us to exclude cases of death or injury to personnel, which we have managed to avoid today.

It can be added that a similar scenario for training personnel is also implemented when performing tasks to clear our military training grounds from explosive objects, as well as neutralize ammunition from the Great Patriotic War.

I’ll add a few words about what is commonly called the echo of the past war. As you know, one of the greatest battles of the Great Patriotic War took place near Stalingrad, and this is the territory of the current Southern Military District. And we still very often have to cleanse the earth of the ominous messengers of those terrible years. In 2013, more than 1.5 thousand explosive objects and various ammunition from the Great Patriotic War, weighing more than 2 tons, were removed, transported to the disposal site and neutralized by engineering units of the Southern Military District. During this time, mine clearance teams fulfilled more than 170 requests from departments of the regional military commissariat with travel to the detection site in 6 cities and 33 districts of the Volgograd region.

A little more about the training of junior specialists for our units and divisions. Most of them are trained at the interservice Training Center of the Southern Military District, located in the Volgograd region. Not long ago, more than 1,000 junior specialists of the engineering troops graduated, who were trained in more than 20 military specialties that are in demand by us.

Upon completion of the 3.5-month course and successful passing of the final exams, military personnel are sent for further service to military units and formations of the Southern, Central and Western military districts.

The center provides training for excavator operators, crane operators, mechanic drivers of bulldozers, tractors, bridge layers, drivers of tracked floating conveyors and engineering reconnaissance vehicles.

Military divers are also trained here, who learn to carry out engineering, special, rescue evacuation and engineering reconnaissance diving operations with diving to a depth of up to 60 meters.

They must be able to find explosive devices at depth and remove them to the surface, work with metal, and clear river beds. During the training period, divers spend up to 60 training hours underwater.

As for officers, the absolute majority of them now come to us after graduating from the branch of the Military Academy of the Russian Chemical Defense Troops and Engineering Troops (Tyumen). For us, this is now the main source of personnel.

Do all of them get the opportunity to serve in their chosen specialty at a military university, are there any who are disappointed? Are there prospects for improvement in the profession?

Fortunately, this problem is not relevant for us now. Of the young officers who arrived to us last year, all received corresponding official appointments. Moreover, we had a small shortage of officers, which we filled with officers from the 2013 graduates.

There are several factors influencing this situation. What is important, of course, is that the country’s leadership showed real concern for the level of social security and security of military personnel. Under conditions of good service, people now receive quite decent monetary remuneration and enjoy a number of benefits and benefits established by current legislation. Further, our housing issue has been almost completely resolved. All eligible military personnel are provided with service housing. Now there are literally a few people waiting their turn to receive apartments, and that’s because they are waiting for them in their chosen region.

And that is not all. Over the past 23 years, about 20 officers who were previously dismissed for organizational reasons have returned to us. Many people are still turning to recruiting centers with a request to re-conclude a contract with the Ministry of Defense; there has even been some competition, and we now have a choice.

I think it’s also important that serving in our district is prestigious and interesting from a professional point of view, and there are incentives. It is our units and divisions that receive samples of the latest equipment and weapons: the new “Dublon” armored suits, the latest developed “Sable” suits, and so on. The newly deployed engineering brigade of the Southern Military District also received the most modern models of equipment. Even 2 Western European bulldozers from Liebherr were purchased for us under a defense order. They have already entered service and took part in the camp training, having proven themselves excellent in performing real tasks.

We are testing the latest domestic equipment and weapons, we are identifying possible shortcomings and prospects for modernization. Indeed, sometimes we have difficult conditions for combat use: high altitudes, high humidity, significant temperature changes. Then this equipment is supplied to other units and divisions of the Russian Armed Forces in an improved form.

I can add that we pay serious attention to improving the qualifications of specialists and their professional growth. I had the opportunity to serve in various regions and military districts of our country. And I can confidently say that nowhere is the study and promotion of advanced experience taken as thoroughly and systematically as is done in the engineering unit and engineer units of the Southern Military District. Maybe because until recently this was the most “belligerent” district, the achievements of colleagues are highly valued here. After all, experience is often sprinkled with blood. During each training period, we develop, approve with the commander of the troops and send to the units methodological recommendations and training manuals on military specialties. We are now paying special attention to methods and techniques for neutralizing improvised explosive devices; alas, this is still relevant today.

This year we were given a new task to discover and bury the remains of Soviet soldiers who died in the Elbrus region during the battle for the Caucasus. This is an unusual task for us, but very responsible and honorable. We have trained the personnel involved in this operation with the necessary skills. In the difficult conditions of the high mountains, the task assigned to us was completed.

So our military personnel, as always, are at the forefront both in mastering new equipment and in real combat work. And this instills pride in one’s profession and a desire to do the assigned work as best as possible.

Interviewed

Yuri Seleznev