More than one generation has grown up on the feat of twenty-eight Panfilov’s men who stopped the fascist tanks near Moscow at Dubosekovo’s junction in 1941. Among the heroes is the company commissioner Vasily Klochkov, who went down in history thanks to the legendary words: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat. Behind is Moscow. ” Some consider the events of November 16 to be literary fiction, which increases interest in the personality of each participant in that historical episode.
Moscow defense
The offensive operation of the Nazi forces on Moscow, which began on September 30, 1941, known as the Typhoon, brought them serious success. Near Vyazma, parts of three fronts were defeated, which allowed the enemy to reach the very approaches to the capital. 10/15/1941 GKO USSR announced the evacuation of the city, which caused a real panic in part of the population. But the Germans also needed a respite after the losses incurred, so by November 2 the situation in the Volokolamsk direction had somewhat stabilized. The defense was held by four divisions of the 16th Army (Western Front), including the 316th under the command of I.V. Panfilov.
Vasily Klochkov, whose photo is presented in the article, was a political officer of the 4th company, located near the village of Nelidovo on the Volokolamsk highway. The 316th division formed in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan before the Moscow defense did not participate in hostilities. But the divisional commander, who considers the preservation of the life of fighters to be paramount, conducted exercises, including with an imitation of a tank attack, using a tractor. To create confidence in the possibility of victory over the enemy, already in October he organized raids behind enemy lines, in which Vasily Klochkov twice distinguished himself, represented in both cases to the Order of the Battle Red Banner. On November 16, the 2nd Panzer Division of the German forces attacked the Panfilov’s positions with the aim of creating a positional advantage on the eve of the expected attack on November 18.
Feat at the Dubosekovo junction
The morning of the 16th in the Volokolamsk direction began with aerial bombing undertaken by the enemy. Fighters of the 4th company of the second battalion, which held the defense at the Dubosekovo junction, counted 35 aircraft. Following the village of Krasikovo in the direction of Moscow came the machine gunners, whose attack was completely repulsed by seven in the morning. But then the tanks went into action. The surviving fighter I.R. Vasiliev recalled how political instructor Klochkov got into his trench. Learning about the number of tanks, he said: "Well, that's okay, one per brother."
His main weapon has always been a draft word and a personal example. On the day of the holiday, November 7, he spoke at a rally of the regiment, preventing panic and encouraging soldiers. In his life, Vasily Klochkov only once visited Moscow, but considered it a matter of honor to defend it. The first tank attack was successfully repelled. Damaged German equipment was smoking on the battlefield, and five vehicles retreated to Zhukovka. But after a while a new party went.
It was then that the political instructor uttered his legendary words, throwing himself from a trench with a bunch of grenades under the armor of an enemy tank, captivating the fighters with his own example. And a few days later in the "Red Star" was described the feat of twenty-eight heroes of the 4th company, who fell at the junction Dubosekovo, but did not miss the Nazis to Moscow. 15 tanks (according to another version - 18) remained on fire on the battlefield, symbolizing the strength of spirit of the Soviet soldier.
Memories of Political Instrument
The feat of heroes will be included in the memoirs of Marshal Zhukov, and all 28 participants in the battle on July 21, 1942 will be presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Only later it turns out that six of them survived: four were seriously injured, and two in serious condition were captured. After a while, I.E.Dobrobabin, who could not stand the hardships and entered the service of the enemy, will be captured. It is after revealing his betrayal that the Chief Military Prosecutor’s Office will conduct its own investigation, as a result of which in 1948 the events near Moscow will be called literary fiction, and the authorship of the famous phrase will be attributed to journalist and writer A. Krivitsky.
But eyewitnesses of the events and, most importantly, letters from the front convince that it was Vasily Klochkov, whose feat is undeniable, who spoke legendary words. The company’s favorite, he was known as a cheerful and positive person: he loved to sing, play the guitar, composed poems. He was an excellent rabcor, his biographers found 30 articles written in various newspapers. Despite the age of thirty, he showed paternal care for personnel, being able to find an approach to each soldier. He was proud of his unit, which became the best in the unit. And he was a fearless man who hated cowardice and sloppiness in the army. A case is known when he personally shot the junior commander who did not comply with the order.
Hero Biography
Vasily Klochkov went to his commissar all his life. Born 08.03.1911 in a poor peasant family living in the Saratov province, he knew all the hardships of the hungry 20s in the Volga region. The family went for the best share in Altai, where on the road in Samara, his father, Georgy Petrovich, died. To feed a large family, the mother went to the fist in the service, and Vasily and his brother hired someone. But the boy turned out to be smart, gravitated to knowledge, went through a school of peasant youth. In the Altai village of Lokot, he became a Komsomol leader. Returning to his homeland at age 20, the young man graduated from the construction college and entered the correspondence institute of the People's Commissariat of Trade.
In 1939, Klochkov joined the party, and a year later, together with his wife Nina Georgievna and daughter Elea, he moved to Alma-Ata, where his wife's parents lived. Energetic, active, he soon became the director of the City Industry and Trade, but the war began to break off his career. Day 22.06.1941 with his wife they spent in the mountains. Seeing in the evening the crowd at the reproducer, Klochkov, without hesitation, went to the draft board and returned with a summons in his hands. I didn’t imagine any other way. In the photo with his little daughter, who was only three and a half years old, he left an inscription, the text of which is known throughout the country today.
Memory
Vasily Klochkov, whose biography was cut short so early, is an example of selfless service to people and his country. Historians can argue as much as they like about the number of fascist tanks and defenders of Dubosekovo’s junction;
Local residents of the village Nelidovo honor the memory of heroes. After the battle, they tracked down the body of the legendary political officer and reburied it on their territory. And at the place of departure in 1975, a memorial was built. On a hill are six figures of soldiers 15 meters high, reminding people on the road about the events of 1941.
The name Klochkova is immortalized in the names of the streets and the ship. A monument was erected to him at home, and he himself was forever enlisted in the military unit.