Mortar men in the battles for Stalingrad - Yaroslav Ognev. Nikolai Rakhvalov - mortarman from Stalingrad

We continue to conduct a roll call of front-line soldiers. Today our story is about Dmitry Sysoevich Ershov, a mortar man and participant in the Battle of Stalingrad.

I heard about him from a resident of Yekaterinburg, Altsiola Alekseevna Bezgodova. She called the editor after the publication of material about the sniper Nadezhda Minova and said:

- I know this woman very well. Together with Nadya we worked for many years at the hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Another participant in the battles with the Germans lives in Yekaterinburg - Dmitry Sysoevich Ershov. Talk to him, you won't regret it.

Didn't get to the front right away

“I was drafted into the army in 1940 after completing ten years,” says the veteran. – In the summer of 1941 we were sent to camps north of Kuibyshev. One Sunday we got up, as usual, before dawn and went to the shooting range. We are working, hitting targets... We see a horseman galloping: “Order - urgently return to camp!” The commander lined us up and ordered us to “run.” We arrived at the place, and the tents where we lived were already assembled, fires were burning everywhere - they were burning straw from mattresses... They took us into the club and announced that the war had begun. "Who's ready for the front?" - they ask. There were 900 people in the hall, everyone raised their hands as one.

But the volunteers did not get to the front right away. Judging by the veteran’s story, there was terrible confusion in June 1941. First, the Red Army soldiers were taken to Ufa, and from there to Moscow. In the capital, an order was received to proceed to Leningradskoye border school. However, the soldiers did not reach the city on the Neva; beyond Velikiye Luki, the train was turned in the opposite direction. Again Moscow, then Ufa and again Moscow.

“The Leningrad Border School was already evacuated to the capital at the beginning of July,” recalls Dmitry Sysoevich. “While we were learning the basics of military wisdom, the Germans were advancing, and in the fall the cadets were evacuated to Alma-Ata. I ended up in a mortar company. Classes were conducted in firefighting, guard duty, and tactics. And of course, shooting, shooting, shooting... With the rank of junior lieutenant, I ended up in the 241st Infantry Regiment of the 95th Infantry Division. It was already 1942.

On Mamayev Kurgan

The division was urgently transferred to Stalingrad. Late in the evening we arrived at our destination, went to the banks of the Volga, and boarded a barge.

“It was night, but it was light as if it were day,” says the soldier. “The Germans threw flare bombs, shells exploded in front, behind, on the sides of the barge, but we safely reached the shore - no one was hit. We climbed Mamayev Kurgan and in the morning saw the city: it lay in front of us, clearly in full view, already thoroughly destroyed.

The mortar men held out, according to the former platoon commander, for two weeks. Then the ammunition ran out, the mortars were surrendered, and the soldiers took up defensive positions on the edge of the Banny Ravine. The fighting was fierce, the division suffered heavy losses. At the end of our conversation, Dmitry Sysoevich Ershov will say: “If you are on Mamayev Kurgan, then on the monument to the fallen, on the right, you will see the name Kotov. He served in my platoon, before the war he was a border guard on Far East. In Stalingrad, many of our people were killed, the first platoon was knocked out almost completely.”

According to the recollections of veterans, during the battles in Stalingrad, about 60 thousand people passed through the 95th Rifle Division, and when it was taken away for reorganization, only about 600 people were loaded onto the train...

In November the Germans went on the offensive. Dmitry Ershov was wounded in right hand and sent to the hospital. He lay there for a month and a half, and when he returned with other soldiers to the front line, he ran into the Nazis, who staged a sortie behind our lines. Ershov threw a grenade at the enemy, and he himself fell, but unsuccessfully - he received a double fracture of his arm. And he ended up in the hospital again.

Forward to the West

After treatment, Dmitry Sysoevich ended up in the 260th regiment of the 98th Infantry Division, which was later renamed the 86th Guards Red Banner Nikolaev. He was appointed commander of a mortar battery platoon.

“We were armed with 120-mm mortars,” says the veteran, “they were attached to the carts. But we carried 50 and 82 mm guns on ourselves, and we also laughed among ourselves that we worked as loaders.

And again fierce battles for the liberation of their native land. While crossing the river, Ershov was again wounded. He received treatment in Odessa.

“When I recovered a little,” says Dmitry Sysoevich, “I began to make forays into the city with my comrades. The head of the hospital, in order to limit our “hikes,” ordered that hospital gowns be taken away. But we found a way out: we threw cloth blankets over ourselves and tied ourselves with a belt. Once I was walking in this outfit, I saw a familiar captain standing by the car. I went to him, and he immediately recognized me. Then he laughed and called to our division, which by that time was stationed on the Dnieper. I heard a lot of things when I asked after the hospital to be sent to my native 260th regiment, but I got my way. He was assigned to the same position, to the same mortar battery.

He fought in Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Hungary. In the battles for Budapest, when they were pursuing the retreating enemy, he was blown up by mines with several soldiers, and again ended up in a hospital in the town of Dorok.

“They almost amputated my leg,” recalls the old soldier, “but I was conscious and categorically forbade them to do it.” The surgeon cursed, but saved my leg. While he was being treated, the war ended. I learned from a friend that my regiment would be returning through Dorok. I had to make a fuss to get me discharged early.

Meeting with the marshal

Dmitry Ershov returned to his native rifle regiment and proceeded first to the city of Ananyev, Odessa region, then to Floresti in Moldova, where he served until 1950. In Moldova, our hero came face to face with the legendary Marshal Georgy Zhukov.

“As I see it now: Major Kucherenko and I are rounding the corner of the dining room and running into Georgy Konstantinovich,” says Dmitry Sysoevich. “We saluted him, and when he walked forward, we positioned ourselves between him and the escort group. Before entering the building, the marshal turned to the officers and again found himself face to face with us. We saluted him again. This was in 1947.

In 1950, Dmitry Ershov was sent to serve in Soviet group troops in Poland. There he stayed for nine whole years. His command valued him not only for his business qualities, but also for... his absolute sobriety.

“Even in Stalingrad, all the soldiers of our platoon refused the front-line hundred grams,” says Dmitry Sysoevich. “They were all young, not accustomed to drinking.” And this became a tradition: throughout the war we had prohibition. True, I didn’t drink even after the war - I had no interest in it.

Since Dmitry Sysoevich had a chance to visit Romania, Moldova and Poland, I asked how the population treated Soviet soldiers in those years?

“Only the Romanians showed hostility, and even then with restraint,” says the veteran. “We asked a resident in one village where he could get water, and he replied that he didn’t know. In Moldova, Hungary, Poland, I have never encountered any unfriendly attitude. On the contrary, everyone tried to help and treat us with something. One day, on the outskirts of the village, the car broke down, the kids came running, and snatched up all the stars and badges as souvenirs. It’s scary to see what’s happening in Poland now, how monuments are being destroyed there. This is not human...

I asked the front-line soldier about military life. The food for the fighters, he said, was always good. Only on the first day in Stalingrad the kitchen did not have time to cross the Volga, so the mortar men had to dine alone sauerkraut, which the locals brought. But the next day the food was restored. In general, he does not remember having to go hungry.

And the commanders were paid money for their positions. Dmitry Ershov, when he was released Smolensk region, where his parents remained under occupation, he began sending money transfers to the elderly. In Odessa and Hungary, while I was being treated in the hospital, I withdrew money from the bank to buy something and go to the movies.

But I never went on vacation during the war, I never had the chance. Only in 1947 did he briefly escape to his native village. There he learned that his father was almost shot by mistake instead of his namesake, who served as headman under the Germans. Thank God it worked out.

Way home

Dmitry Ershov was demobilized in 1960. He went from Poland to Sverdlovsk to visit his beloved girl, whom he met through fellow soldier Valentin Vlasov. The marriage with Evgenia Ilyinichna turned out to be strong and happy. The Ershov couple had two sons. Now both have families and children. Dmitry Sysoevich no longer only has grandchildren, but also great-grandchildren. They take care of their father and grandfather. But he lives alone and tries to do everything around the house himself.

“A person shouldn’t let loose and be lazy,” explains the front-line soldier. – I have always personally done physical training with my subordinates: they run cross-country, and I am with them. This strengthens both health and authority.

Dmitry Sysoevich met me in an excellent suit. But I asked him to take off his civilian jacket for a while and put on a tunic. It was not in vain that I asked. Take a look at the photo - how many worthy awards the artillery-mortarman has! Four Orders of the Red Star, two - Patriotic War, medals, including “For Military Merit”. And then there are stripes for wounds, because victories in the Battle of Stalingrad and other battles were paid for in blood.

The commander of the rifle platoon of the 260th Guards Rifle Regiment from March 14, 1944 to April 22, 1945 was the famous sculptor, our fellow countryman Ernst Neizvestny.

"Never died
Glory to the Tula blacksmiths, -
Self-made samovars
Made for fighters.

In this cunning samovar
Special combat crane:
The enemy will be scalded a mile away
Fire boiling water!

Soviet mortar men. Khalkhin Gol. Pictured is BM-36

Oh, the boiling water is hot inside you,
Self-made samovar, my friend!
They glow with unprecedented heat
Self-made samovars,
That's how samovars are!

Tula tea is not sweet at all
For uninvited guests -
Both in bite and on top
Burns to the bones.

A 120-mm PM-38 mortar is aimed at the enemy position. 11.1941

Tea served with poultice
And hot candy
Samovars of the Tula brand
They smell of heat and lead.

We meet all the bandits
Out of habit, fighting
Degtyarevsky strong tea
And fire water.

Mortarmen of the 247th Infantry Division fire. Rzhev district. 10.1941 Pictured is PM-38

Gets right to the point
Like lightning running:
The enemy will drink boiling water -
Immediately he lies dead!

If the enemy of war wants -
Let's face it, the enemy is gone:
It will fuss, it will bubble
Self-made samovar.

Mortarman, awarded the medal "For Courage"

From such a samovar
There will be a lid for the whites,
For such samovars -
Honor and glory to the people of Tula!

Mortar position. 82-mm battalion mortar mod. 1941 (BM-41).

An abandoned 120-mm regimental mortar, model 1938.

Calculation 107 mm GVPM mortar. Battle for Moscow

At the sight of an 82-mm battalion mortar mod. 1941 (BM-41). 1942

Soldiers of the 32nd Army fire from an 82-mm battalion mortar mod. 1941 (BM-41). Karelia. 1941

Detachment. Winter 1941-1942 In the photo, presumably, RM-38

82-mm battalion mortar mod. 1941 (BM-41). Mozhaisk direction, 1941

In the forest. Pictured is RM-41

In the Ordzhonikidze area. 10-11.1942 Pictured is BM-37

Detachment. Defense of Sevastopol. Pictured is BM-37

Red Army soldiers fire from 120-mm PM-38 mortars

The mortar men change position. Stalingrad district. 1942 The photo shows an 82-mm battalion mortar model 1941. (BM-41)

Mortar men fire at German positions in the Stalingrad region. The photo shows an 82-mm battalion mortar mod. 1941 (BM-41)

The crew of a 120-mm PM-38 mortar fires. Battle of Stalingrad. 01/22/1943

“MORTORATERS IN THE BATTLES FOR STALINGRAD” October 10, 1942 (From the special correspondent of “Red Star”) For several days in a row the battle took place among the ruins. The streets have long lost their former appearance. It’s not that you can drive through them, but you couldn’t even walk along them. The pavement, pitted by bombs and shells, burnt and charred telegraph poles and trees, piles of bricks - all this impeded movement. At the same time, the ruins of the buildings turned out to be suitable for firing positions and the hidden accumulation of manpower of the parties. The enemy concentrated his forces on one of the streets. He held the intersections of streets on the right and left in his hands and guarded his flanks with machine gun fire. A block away, on another street, our troops were located. There was a rare gun battle. Neither our units nor the enemy launched any attacks. The commander of the mortar platoon, junior lieutenant Kruglov, received an order to knock the Germans out from behind their shelters, force them to go out onto unprotected sections of the streets and thereby make the work of the machine gunners and machine gunners easier. Kruglov placed his three mortars in firing positions behind the destroyed buildings. Together with the commander of the first crew, Sergeant Koreev and the liaison Red Army soldier Velikorodny, he began to make his way towards the enemy to find an observation post. This point turned out to be the roof of the barn. It was supported by only one wall and two or three pillars. One edge of it lay on the ground. The junior lieutenant climbed up it and began to give commands, which were transmitted to the firing positions by Sergeant Koreev and soldier Velikorodny. One mortar opened fire. The Nazis neglected his rare shooting. They remained in their places - among the rubble of buildings. The platoon commander ordered fire from three mortars simultaneously. The effect was different. The mines lay next to each other and began to hit enemy soldiers. The Germans began to jump out from behind cover. Then machine guns and machine guns were used. Our riflemen, machine gunners, machine gunners and mortar men killed up to a hundred Nazis here and took possession of the street. This incident of group mortar fire is not typical of street fighting. In the field, the mortarmen are massaging fire, often covering a group of targets at the same time. In the city they mainly use single mortars and targeted fire. Even, increased shooting across the area in locality does not give desired result. There are too many different shelters here that protect not only from fragments, but also from direct hits. Mortarmen in street battles most often shoot at a specific target that is difficult to reach with other types of weapons. Massive fire over an area, as a rule, is carried out only during enemy attacks in open areas, as well as against enemy concentrations. Crew commander Lance Sergeant Bodine positioned his mortar near the sawmill. There was a gap nearby that served as cover during enemy air attacks and artillery raids. This mortar was of great help to our infantry. The mortar men were required to support the counterattack. Junior Sergeant Bodin knew that the Germans were most firmly entrenched in a small wooden house. It was this house that he decided to break up. The target was 300-400 meters away, but it was completely invisible from the firing position. Bodin could not move forward, since he did not have a telephone connection to transmit commands to the crew. The crew commander decided to find an observation post in the immediate vicinity of the firing position. A few tens of meters ahead were broken stone houses. The wall of one of them survived up to the fourth floor. Bodin climbed to the third floor and positioned himself near the window on iron beams. The visibility from here was excellent. Bodine gave the commands from here. The crew smashed the wooden house in which the Germans were located, and thus disrupted their fire system. Our infantry took advantage of this, attacking and capturing a group of buildings. Positioning observation posts higher and better camouflaging them is what is especially important for mortar men in street battles. Anyone who is afraid to climb onto the roof or attic, or perch somewhere on a beam, on a dilapidated wall of a stone building, will not see the enemy and will not be able to effectively correct the shooting. Example the right choice The observation post was shown by the commander of the heavy mortar division, Captain Sarkisyan. At the most intense and critical moment of the battle, he boldly climbed onto the roof of one house, stood behind a chimney and adjusted the fire from there. This house was clearly visible from the enemy, so well that he did not expect the presence of an observation post here. Sargsyan took a risk, but this risk was justified by the situation. For correct use mortars, it is necessary to establish a supply of mines to the crews various actions. I had to observe cases when our mortars fired at ordinary wooden houses fragmentation mines with instantaneous fuses. The explosion occurred as soon as the mine touched the roof. The fragments sprinkled the house, but almost did not penetrate inside. In the end it was spent a large number of ammunition in order to first destroy the roof and ceiling and only then get to the enemy’s manpower. If these mortarmen had five to ten incendiary or high-explosive fragmentation mines, the result would have been different. After the first hit by an incendiary shell, the enemy would not have stayed in the house. Then he could be hit with a fragmentation mine with an instant fuse. A high-explosive fragmentation mine with a delayed fuse ensures an explosion not on the roof and attic, but in the very center of the building. The defeats in this case are very effective. Fighting on the streets, where every house is used as a defensive fortification, requires, first of all, a high-explosive fragmentation mine and an incendiary one. We cannot, of course, neglect ordinary fragmentation weapons. It may also be needed at any moment, especially when the enemy is attacking or the battle is taking place in a square, wasteland or sparsely developed outskirts. L. Vysokoostrovsky “Red Star”

Mortar - artillery piece, characterized by the absence of recoil devices and a carriage - they are replaced by a base plate, through which the recoil impulse is transmitted to the ground or to a self-propelled chassis (the latter for self-propelled mortars).
Before the war, there was an excessive passion for mortars in the USSR. The military leadership believed that light, inexpensive, easy to manufacture and maintain mortars could replace other types of artillery weapons.

At the end of 1939, the simplest type of mortar was created - a 37-mm minimum caliber shovel mortar.

In the stowed position, the mortar weighing about 1.5 kg was a shovel, the handle of which was the barrel. The shovel mortar could be used to dig trenches. When firing a mortar, the shovel served as a base plate. The shovel was made of armored steel.

It is a hybrid of a small infantry shovel and a small-caliber mortar. It was developed in 1938 by M. G. Dyakonov. Adopted by the Red Army in 1939. The mortar consisted of a barrel, a shovel (it was also a base plate) and a bipod with a plug.
It was withdrawn from service due to the insufficient range of effective fire and the low power of the mine.
TTX
Caliber - 37 mm
Weight - about 1.5 kg
Barrel length - 400mm

Minimum firing range - 60m
Maximum firing range - 250m
Horizontal aiming angle: 24?
Vertical aiming angle: 15?-90?
Initial mine speed - 65-70 m/s
Mine weight, kg - 0.5 kg
Calculation - 1 person

37 mm mortar mine

The mortar did not have any sighting devices; it was fired by eye. A 37-mm fragmentation mine weighing about 500 grams was developed for firing. Mines were carried in bandoliers.

In the winter of 1940, when using a 37-mm shovel mortar in battles in Finland, its extremely low effectiveness was suddenly discovered. The flight range of the mine at the optimal elevation angle was small and did not exceed 250 meters, and fragmentation effect was weak, especially in winter time, when almost all the fragments got stuck in the snow. Due to the lack sighting devices The shooting accuracy was extremely low; only “harassing” shelling of the enemy was possible. All this became the reasons for the negative attitude towards the 37-mm mortar in infantry units.

At the end of 1941, due to unsatisfactory combat effectiveness, the 37-mm mortar was discontinued. However, he could be found on the front lines until 1943. According to the recollections of front-line soldiers, it was used relatively successfully in conditions of a stable front line after sighting of landmarks.

50-mm company mortar RM-38 model 1938.

The development of a 50-mm company mortar began in 1936. The mortar was adopted by the Red Army in 1938. Before the start of World War II, 24.2 thousand units were produced.
Shooting was carried out only at two elevation angles: 45 degrees. or 75 degrees. Range adjustment was made by a gas valve located in the breech of the barrel and releasing some of the gases to the outside, thereby reducing the pressure in the barrel.

TTX
Caliber - 50mm
Weight - about 12.1kg
Barrel length - 553mm



Horizontal aiming angle: 6 degrees.
Vertical aiming angle: 45 and 75 degrees.

Mine weight, kg - 0.85 kg

50-mm company mortar RM-40 model 1940.

Modification of the 1938 model mortar. The length of the remote crane was reduced and the design of the remote crane was simplified, as a result the length of the mortar body was reduced while maintaining the length of the barrel bore. The deep stamping mortar plate had a visor against gases escaping through a remote valve, which prevented burns to the crew.

TTX
Caliber - 50mm
Weight - about 13kg
Rate of fire - 32 rounds/min
Minimum firing range - 100m
Maximum firing range - 800m
Horizontal aiming angle: 6?
Vertical aiming angle: 45? and 75?
Mine initial speed: - 96m/s
Mine weight, kg - 0.85 kg

50-mm mortar RM-41 Shamarin model 1941.

50-mm company mortar mod. 1941 was created at SKB under the leadership of designer V.N. Shamarin. The Shamarin mortar is assembled according to the so-called “blind scheme” (i.e., when all parts of the mortar are mounted on a base plate) and is equipped with a remote valve with gases vented upward.

TTX
Caliber - 50mm
Weight - 10kg
Rate of fire - 30 rounds/min
Maximum firing range - 800m
Horizontal aiming angle: 16?
Vertical aiming angle: 50? and 75?
Mine initial speed: - 97m/s
Mine weight, kg - 0.85 kg
Explosive weight - 90 grams

82-mm battalion mortar mod. 1936

TTX:
Weight, kg: 56
Barrel length, mm: 1220
Caliber, mm: 82
Recoil device: base plate
Elevation angle: +45..+85
Rotation angle: -3..+3 -30..+30
Rate of fire, rounds/min: up to 30
Initial projectile speed, m/s 211 m/s
Sighting range, m: 85…3040
Maximum range, m: 3040

The battalion mortar was produced in several modifications, since during mass production (1935-1943) numerous changes were made to the design of 82-mm mortars aimed at improving manufacturability and operational and combat qualities:

82-mm battalion mortar model 1936 (BM-36) - with a rectangular base plate, weight 67.7 kg;

82-mm battalion mortar of the 1937 model (GAU index 52-M-832Sh; BM-37) - with a round base plate, weight 56 ​​kg, manufacturing complexity - 182 machine hours.
The cost of one 82-mm mortar mod. 1937 with packs and trays for mines and a set of spare parts in packing boxes in 1939 was 6,750 rubles;

82-mm simplified mortar of the 1941 model (GAU index 52-M-832M; BM-41) - differed from the model. 1937 with the presence of a detachable wheel drive, a base plate of an arched design (similar to a 120-mm mortar), as well as a bipedal design. The wheels were put on the axle shafts of the biped's legs and removed when firing. Weight 52 kg, manufacturing labor intensity - 86 machine hours, but due to deterioration tactical and technical characteristics(during operation, a deterioration in stability and, as a result, a deterioration in the accuracy of fire was revealed in comparison with mortars model 1937 of pre-war production) work on finalizing the design was continued;

82-mm battalion mortar model 1943 (GAU index 52-M-832С; BM-43) - further modification of the mod. 1941 During the modernization, the design of the biped, wheels and sight mount was changed;

120-mm regimental mortar of the 1938 model.

The 120-mm regimental mortar was developed at SKB-4 at Plant No. 7 Arsenal named after. Frunze under the leadership of B.I. Shavyrin in 1938. It was a smooth-bore rigid system (without recoil devices), designed according to the “imaginary triangle” scheme. Officially, the 120-mm regimental mortar was adopted by the Red Army in February 1939, and its serial production began on September 1, after testing during the Soviet-Japanese armed conflict near the Khalkhin Gol River.
The main design elements of the regimental mortar were: a barrel, a two-legged carriage, a base plate and sighting devices.

120-mm regimental mortars were produced during the Great Patriotic War at the following factories: No. 4 named after. Voroshilov (Krasnoyarsk), No. 7 "Arsenal" named after. Frunze (Leningrad), No. 221 “Barricades” (Stalingrad), “Engine of the Revolution” (Gorky) and a number of others.

In 1940 - 1945, the Red Army received 50,751 120-mm regimental mortars of all modifications.
Years of production – 1940 – 1945
Total produced - 50,751 units.
Caliber – 120 mm
Weight in combat position - 275 kg
Barrel length – 1860 mm
Calculation - 6 people
Travel speed – up to 35 km/h
Rate of fire – up to 15 rds/min
Longest firing range - 5900 m
Direct shot range – 450 m
Firing angles:
horizontal 6°
vertical +45° +80°

Invention of the mortar.

The inventor of the mortar is the Russian officer and engineer L.N. Gobyato, but there are a number of alternative points of view.

For example, a well-known specialist in the history of Russian and Soviet artillery A. B. Shirokorad believes that the priority of the invention of the mortar belongs to the captain of the fortress artillery Romanov, who in 1884 created a high-explosive mine with electric-remote detonation for firing from 2-pound (245.1-mm) mortars ) caliber model 1838, adopted for service in December 1890.

Priority L.N. Gobyato was also questioned in Soviet times - and at the official level. Yes, Big Soviet Encyclopedia 2nd edition (its corresponding volume was published in 1954) claimed that the inventor of the mortar was another “Port Arthur” - midshipman (later - captain of the 1st rank) S. N. Vlasyev. In pre-revolutionary Russian and Soviet military-historical literature and journalism, other candidates for the role of the author of the concept and design of the mortar were also named. There are also statements about the inconsistency of Russian priority in the invention of mortars as such (since the products of the listed inventors, according to modern technical views, are not mortars).

However, it is worth noting that the German mortar of the Rhine Mechanical and Engineering Plant of Heinrich Erhardt, created in 1909 (it is this one - especially outside Russia - that is often considered as the first “real” mortar), a “quite classic” model of this weapon also cannot be considered. Thus, it would seem correct to consider the invention of the mortar not as a “one-time act of engineering genius,” but as a process in which over a long period of time (about 35 years - from the beginning of the work of Captain Romanov in 1882 until the appearance of the British mortar of the Captain Stokes system in 1915 year) many inventors and designers from various countries took part.

In organizational terms, mortars and mortar formations are divided into detached, platoon, company, battalion, regimental, brigade, divisional, corps, army, front-line (in peacetime, the latter are district) and reserve artillery of the main command. The lowest known tactical unit for mortars is a mortarman with a 37-60mm light mortar in an infantry/rifle squad or equivalent formation. special purpose, the highest - a separate mortar brigade of three regiments, which had four fire divisions in the regiments (in total, according to the temporary staff - since the fourth fire divisions of the regiments were non-standard - 144 units of 120-mm mortars

Soviet soldiers fire from a company 50-mm mortar on the Rogachev highway near Moscow.

Filming location: Moscow region. Time taken: December 1941

Crew of the Soviet 50-mm company mortar mod. 1940 during the fighting in Stalingrad.

Filming location: Stalingrad. Time taken: November 1942.

Crews of Soviet 82-mm mortars mod. 1937 advance to the forefront.

Time taken: May 1942

Red Army mortarmen carry an 82-mm battalion mortar of the 1941 model after the infantry.

Soviet mortarmen are preparing to fire an 82-mm battalion mortar of the 1937 model (BM-37).

Soviet soldiers fire from 82-mm battalion mortars of the 1941 model (BM-41) at enemy positions.

Mortar crew of an 82-mm mortar mod. 1941 Guard Sergeant Major A.S. Ivanov at the firing position.

Filming location: Nevel, Pskov region. Time taken: January 1944

Crew of the Soviet 82-mm battalion mortar mod. 1941 (BM-41) Sergeant S.L. Karas at a firing position in the Carpathians.

Filming location: Czechoslovakia. Time taken: February 1945.

Red Army soldiers aim a 120-mm regimental mortar of the 1938 model at enemy positions.

Soviet soldiers aim a 120mm mortar at an enemy position.

Time taken: November 1941

Mortar crews of commanders A. Durandin and B. Borisov fire from 120 mm mortars of the 1938 model (PM-38). Leningrad Front.

Time taken: 1941.

Red Army soldiers of the 311th Rifle Division fire from a 120-mm PM-38 mortar of the 1938 model at positions German troops in the city of Kirishi, Leningrad region.

The shoot place: Leningrad region. Time of shooting: September-October 1941.

A battery of Soviet 120-mm regimental mortars of the 1938 model (PM-38) fires at Finnish strong points in Vyborg.

Filming location: Vyborg, Leningrad region. Time taken: 06/20/1944

Soviet mortar men change positions near Stalingrad.

Time taken: 1942

A mortar crew of Guard Sergeant Major S. Lisin fires at the enemy in the Kirovograd region

Mortar crew of a simplified regimental 120-mm mortar mod. 1941 Guard Sergeant Major Stepan Mikhailovich Lisin (b. 1918) from the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 13th Guards Rifle Division fires at the enemy in the Znamenka area of ​​the Kirovograd region. Composition of the crew: Commander - S.M. Lisin, guard sergeant Pyotr Konstantinovich Belyaev (born 1918), guard junior sergeant Nikolai Borisovich Faleev (born 1924), guard junior sergeant Mullagalei Arslangalievich Nurgaliev (Nurgaleev) (1921-1944).

Filming location: Kirovograd region, Ukraine. Time taken: December 1943.

The crew of a 120-mm regimental mortar of the 1938 model, Sergeant Matveev, at a firing position.

Time taken: July-August 1943

The crew of a Soviet 120-mm regimental mortar from the mortar battery of battalion commander Bezdetko fires at the enemy.

Filming location: Stalingrad region. Time taken: 01/22/1943.

Soviet mortarmen carry an 82mm battalion mortar in Vienna. The soldier on the left carries a mortar barrel, and behind the back of the one on the right is a mortar plate.

A Soviet mortar unit drives in front of the parliament building in Vienna in an American-made Dodge WC-51 all-terrain vehicle towing two 120mm mortars. In the background is a Studebaker US6x4 U-7 truck

A Soviet mortar unit drives in front of the parliament building in Vienna in an American-made Dodge WC-51 all-terrain vehicle towing two 120mm mortars.

Filming location: Vienna, Austria. Time taken: 04/14/1945.

Crews of Soviet 160-mm mortars of the 1943 model (MT-13) fire on the street of the Berlin city district of Schöneberg (Berlin-Schöneberg).

Soviet mortarmen fire from a 120-mm regimental mortar of the 1938 model (PM-38) on Breslau Street.

Filming location: Breslau, Germany. Filming time: 1945

The crew of a Soviet 120-mm regimental mortar of the 1943 model fires at enemy positions near the Bülowstraße metro station in Berlin

Filming location: Berlin, Germany. Time taken: April 1945.

A Soviet mortar unit on the march in Berlin on Am Tierpark in the Friedrichsfelde district. 1st Belorussian Front.

When you come to our school Museum of Military Glory, look at old yellowed photographs, when you read meager lines from the letters of these soldiers, hold in your hands documents telling about their life at the front, you do not immediately realize that these are not some mythical heroes. These are your fellow countrymen.

They walked along the same streets as you, swam in the same lake as you, sat with a fishing rod at dawn, waiting for a bite, perhaps in the same place where you sat recently. Maybe this is because a strange idea is ingrained from childhood. A hero for a child is some kind of semi-deity, an extraordinary person who lived and accomplished his feat somewhere in far away which is called the past.

...In the first days of the war, 40 of our fellow villagers were called up to the front at once, 22 of these first front-line soldiers would lay down their lives on the battlefields in the first months of the war. During the entire war, 70 people died.

Our fellow countryman Nikolai Danilovich Rakhvalov was among the defenders of Stalingrad.
He was called up in May 1942 to the Stalingrad Front in the 90th Guards Mortar Regiment of the Order of A. Nevsky. After training, he was assigned to a fire platoon as commander of the BM-13 Katyusha gun. There were seven people in the crew. Everyone became close friends, were resourceful and courageous.

Nikolai Danilovich said that even in the most terrible battles he did not let go of... a box of matches. He had an order: in case of retreat, blow up the Katyusha! The mortar should not have fallen to the enemy! Nikolai Danilovich recalled: there was such a case in their regiment. Once, when the enemy had already captured the territory in the area of ​​the former Kachin school, the soldiers were given the task of destroying the enemy who had broken through. One of the divisions took up positions near Station Square. But at the moment of the salvo, the Nazis who had infiltrated the station territory set fire to three Katyushas. Several people were killed, and it was not possible to remove the crippled vehicles from the battlefield. But it was impossible to leave even broken Katyushas to the enemy. Under the cover of darkness, a group of daredevils made their way to the cars, connected them with a cable and took them away from under the noses of the Germans to the location of their regiment. In the morning they were already taken to the left bank.

The mortars caused significant damage to the enemy. The brave Nikolai Danilovich took part in many military operations. They called him lucky - bullets avoided him. However, he did not escape severe concussion.

For the courage, courage and bravery shown at Stalingrad, the hero was awarded the Order of Glory, III degree, medals “For Military Merit”, “For the Defense of Stalingrad”. When he was alive and his health allowed, he came to school and talked about his military journey. Members of the local history circle “Memory” wrote down his memories, and today they tell their younger comrades about their heroic fellow countryman.