Today “Lyudnikova Island” is a memorial complex dedicated to one of the most fierce battles in Stalingrad during the Great Patriotic War. Here the 138th Infantry Division held the defense for several cold months.
Barricade Defense
The famous “Lyudnikov Island” got its name in honor of Colonel Ivan Lyudnikov, who commanded the 138th Infantry Division during the Battle of Stalingrad. This military formation carried out the most important strategic mission. The soldiers were supposed to protect the Lower Barricades and the plant located in it.
The isolated conditions in which the defense of the settlement took place allowed researchers in the future to call this patch of land "island". The wording went to the people, and later it was officially fixed with the help of a state memorial. The main target of the Germans in this sector of the front was the Barricades artillery plant. When the Wehrmacht attacked Stalingrad, he aimed at three targets. In addition to the Barricades, the Red October factory and the tractor manufacturing plant were on this strategic list.
Strategic object
What was so important about the enterprise that Ivan Lyudnikov and his subordinates defended? The Barricades factory was founded by the English company Vickers in 1913 in Tsarist Russia. The industrial facility was modernized during the industrialization of the first Soviet five-year plans. Engineers began to produce large-caliber guns for the Red Army here. In addition, there were manufactured products for civilians. But of course, it was the military mission of the enterprise that became the decisive factor in choosing its Wehrmacht as the target of its attack.
On the eve of the war in the "Barricades" began to produce guns and howitzers of the BR series. In 1940 they were adopted by the army and successfully opposed German aggression on all fronts. Cutting off and destroying the plant meant depriving the Soviet Union of important artillery, without which warfare would become suicidal.
First attacks
On the eve of the Germans' appearance on the outskirts of Stalingrad, almost all workers (about 90%) were evacuated from the factory. They went to the Urals or Siberia in order to ensure the stable operation of industry in the rear. The part of the labor collective that remained in the Barricades, despite bombing and enemy attacks, continued to produce strategically important products. These 400 people worked in unbearable conditions. The factory ran out of food and clean water. There was no electricity, and the air was choking. In addition, these workers assisted the army in its battle against the advancing enemy.
The first blow of the Germans occurred on August 23, 1942. The Barricades plant was fired from the air. In October, the Soviet command sent the 138th Infantry Division to its walls. She successfully crossed to the right bank of the Volga and prepared for a long defense. In the fall, the “island” became the scene of fierce street fighting for every extra meter of land.
The importance of battle
The Germans sought to take possession of the Barricade factory not only because it supplied the Soviet army with weapons, but also because this sector of the front opened access to the Volga. It was here that the Wehrmacht advanced east as far as possible during the entire Great Patriotic War. The battle of Stalingrad was to decide everything.
If the Third Reich gained control of the Volga, it would cut the most important transport artery. Ships with weapons, people, food, and Caucasian oil cruised along it. The Soviet Union, left without irreplaceable resources, would certainly lose in this confrontation. It was Lyudnikova Island that became one of those decisive battle arenas that reversed the whole course of not only the Great Patriotic War, but also the Second World War.
Between the Volga and the Wehrmacht
On November 11, 1942, the Germans broke through to the Volga. So the 138th division was surrounded on three sides. Soviet soldiers on this section of the front defended a small patch of land 700 meters long and 400 meters wide. From the east of Lyudnikov and his people was covered with thin November ice Volga. Food supplies to the plant along the river were complicated by the fact that its waters were controlled by the Germans. Food arrived irregularly and the soldiers went hungry. Officers and privates received a daily ration in the form of fifteen grams of crackers, cereals and a handful of sugar. The battle of Stalingrad did not spare anyone.
Once a day, Ludnikov gave out thirty rounds of ammunition per hand. At some point, Soviet soldiers even had to fight with captured weapons. In one of the battles, the 138th division destroyed the Wehrmacht sapper squad. After that, the Red Army went to German Browning with ammunition for foreign weapons. The Nazis began to smash them with bullets.
Separate heroism was shown by the signalmen, who provided the connection of the 138th division with the headquarters. This detachment carried out its work, being in a ravine between firing positions. The point of contact was called "Roller". Sergeant Kuzminsky and three privates (Vetoshkin, Kharazin and Kolosovsky) did everything so that the headquarters could keep abreast of what was happening and give orders to Lyudnikov. Already in peacetime, these signalmen were erected a separate monument.
Counterattack
In December, the Volga was finally covered with hard ice. There was a danger of the complete encirclement of the 138th division. Then the 400th artillery battalion came to the rescue of Lyudnikov and his wards. It was located on Hare Island and did not allow Germans from the Volga to surround the defenders of the Barricades.
The first two weeks of December 1942 were the most difficult for Soviet soldiers on this sector of the front. Finally, on the 14th, an order came from the headquarters that the 138th division was to launch a counterattack in order to unite with the neighboring units of the Red Army. Then the defenders of the plant managed to break through 200 meters and stop the front at this position.
A few weeks later, on January 10, 1943, a general Soviet counterattack began in this part of Stalingrad. The 138th division has moved to another important strategic facility - the Red October factory. Thus ended the heroic defense of the Barricades. Participants in the battle were presented for awards. Ludnikov himself became a major general.
The battle of Stalingrad is famous for several particularly striking examples of the courage and adherence of Soviet soldiers. It was such a symbol that Lyudnikova Island became. Volgograd today remembers his heroes and honors their memory.