Tank Rider: Into the Reich with the Red Army

THE BATTLES FOR KAMENETS–PODOLSK

At dawn on 25 March, 1944, we reached Kamenets-Podolsk. Our company on three tanks bypassed the city from the west and approached the outskirts from the south. It was still dark. The Germans did not expect Soviet troops from the south, but when we approached the bridge across the Smotrich river they opened fire on us, although not very intensively. Trucks and other vehicles were parked on the bridge. It was some sort of a barricade, which even had a tank without tracks in it. The river had steep banks, up to 10 metres high, which did not allow tanks to cross the river. My attempt to enter the city over the bridge was stopped by enemy fire. The machine-gun fire did not cause any harm, but the snipers were deadly. I decided not to risk and suffer useless casualties, but rather to wait for the main forces of our Brigade to arrive. We occupied a small house not far from the bridge, and sent a scout party to the bridge. The men came back and reported that the it was impossible to bypass the barricade on the bridge, while sniper fire gave them no chance to lift their heads from the ground. While we were waiting for the main forces of the Brigade to arrive, soldiers of the company started to inspect the trucks that the Germans had abandoned as we arrived. The large trucks were filled with German uniforms, equipment, food and even wines of different kinds and countries of origin. The food and wines came from all over Europe. My men gathered German weapons and ammo, some wrapping themselves in MG-34 machinegun ammo belts – just like the seamen in the times of the Russian Civil War. What could I say – they were mere boys. Many soldiers picked up new German jackboots, but the beautiful and shining German officer long boots did not fit me – they were too tight, although I tried many of them, and I really wanted to have them. We gathered food, wine, Cuban cigars in special boxes, cigarettes, chocolate, cookies, sweet breads, canned fish and meat. We had a nice meal with all that food and smoked cigars and cigarettes. The cigars were Cuban, just like the ones that Churchill had.

The main forces of the Brigade arrived at noon. Battalion commander Kozienko called me; tank regiment commander Stolyarov was also present. I reported the situation, and the tankers also reported that the bridge was impassable and guarded by the enemy, although not in strength. The commanders ordered me to go to the right of the bridge, to try to find a crossing or a ford across Smotrich river and advance to the centre of the city. They gave me the same three tanks and, of course, Kolosov’s machine-gun platoon as a supporting unit. I was ordered to maintain communication over tank radio. I gathered the squad leaders, gave them an order to advance, and we left the area at the bridge, moving along the course of the river. Three tanks drove up to us, the company mounted them and we drove off to look for a ford or a convenient place for tanks to drive through river. We found a place that was kind of convenient, and crossed to the other bank of the river. Tankers reported to Stolyarov that we had found a ford and entered the city’s outskirts on the opposite side. However, the top of the other bank was almost vertically faced with stone, one-and-a-half metres high. The tanks could not overcome the obstacle, no matter how hard they tried. This obstacle could be called an anti-tank wall, but in reality it was built to strengthen the riverbank in case of flooding. We had to dismantle this stone wall in order to make a convenient driveway for tanks. The tankers did not have so much as a crowbar, but we somehow managed to break down the stone wall; one tank negotiated the obstacle and drove off into the city with Kolosov’s machine-gun platoon on it. The other two tanks could not get over the wall, however. We tried for a long time, but we could not do anything. Then the tank that drove into the city came back.

Lieutenant Kolosov told me that he was wounded, and I saw the fresh bandage myself. His tank had come under fire from a German machine-gun on a church bell-tower, with was almost in the centre of the city. Besides that, his tank could not move any further, as the streets were filled with trucks parked next to each other. It was not only hard to drive – it was hard to walk, so tightly were the abandoned German trucks parked. Later we learned that these trucks with all their commodities and food belonged to rear units of a large German formation that had retreated to the west. However, our Brigade cut their retreat routes and they had to stop in the city. There were very many trucks, at least 1,000 to 1,500 of them, and there were all kinds of things in them! I repeat that I never saw a larger amount of war booty anywhere else. It is interesting that there were no drivers in those trucks.

They transmitted an order over the radio for the tanks to stay put at the river, while the infantry was to advance to the railway station. It was a repetition of the earlier spoken order by the battalion commander. I advanced through the city with my company. The streets were packed with trucks, mostly heavy ones: Mahn, Opel and other types. We did not encounter the Germans – they ran away as we appeared in the city. Suddenly we heard artillery fire and shells exploding in the city. That was fire from our Brigade artillery. The company went out to the city’s outskirts, to the higher bank of Smotrich river, and we saw an interesting picture. The entire Brigade, or rather, whatever remained of it after almost a month of fighting, assaulted the city. All types of weapons fired: tanks, artillery of the Brigade’s artillery battalion, mortars and machine-guns. It was a beautiful battle scene, but it would have been nicer if they had hit the enemy, and not the friendly troops, especially my company. We shouted, waved our hats and hands (we did not have recognition colour flares), and ran around, trying to draw the attention of the assaulting troops, but it was all in vain. They continued their assault in an extended line, reached the river, waded in waist-deep in water (while my company crossed it on tanks, and we were all dry) and came up on our high bank and rushed into the city.

The company joined the battalion, and before I could report completion of the mission and Lieutenant Kolosov’s wound, the battalion commander shocked me, saying: ‘And where have you been? I have not seen you in the attacking line, and you are dry, huh?’ At first I did not understand him. Then I felt offended. I had to remind Kozienko about the order that he gave to Kolosov and me three hours earlier. Tank crews had reported completion of the mission through radio. The battalion commander did not answer anything to that, but told the surrounding officers: ‘Bessonov is cunning, crossed the river and did not get his feet wet.’

Soon we reached the eastern outskirts of the city. I am not mistaken – it was the eastern outskirts, as our 4th Tank Army and other mobile units of the front marched from north to south, thus practically cutting off retreat routes for a large group of German troops east of Kamenets-Podolsk. The Brigade and some other units took to the defensive in order to contain the retreating German troops to prevent their breakthrough on good roads with access to west and south to Dniester and direct their retreat on earth roads, full of dirt.

As it turned out later, the front failed to complete the encirclement. Because of significant losses in personnel and hardware, the mobile units of the first Ukrainian front just did not have sufficient strength to do it. It could be seen on the example of our 1st motor rifle battalion and other units of the 49th Motor Rifle Brigade – in that period we suffered irreplaceable losses in personnel. The weather failed us as well.

By the morning of 26 March, 1944, the town of Kamenets-Podolsk was fully liberated from the enemy. We were so happy that we spontaneously organized dinner with German snacks and wines. We sent the guards out, and all gathered in an abandoned house and celebrated victory all night long. I did not really like parties at the front line – I had my meal, had a bit of wine and left to check the outposts, where I found that one machine-gun crewman was dead. It was snowing heavily and I could clearly see footprints of the Germans who fled from the town. I gathered several resting soldiers and we ran along the footprints, but did not catch them and so we came back. Having reinforced the outposts, I gave the order to open fire on any shadow that appeared in the blizzard. The soldiers honestly followed my order and fired at any silhouette. By the morning it was all quiet, and the German exodus from the city was over.

By the morning everyone, except for the guards, slept like a rock. Exhaustion had accumulated during the unceasing day and night battles, when we barely slept for several hours or did not have any sleep at all, falling asleep literally while we walked

In the morning we organized the defence of the outside of the town, in the field in front of a ravine. To the left of us there were some village buildings – the mortar company of the battalion settled there. Further out there was the 3rd company, that had ten to fifteen soldiers left under platoon leader Alexei Belyakov. The 2nd company also had no more than fifteen men, led by platoon leader Nikolai Chernyshov. Our company, which was temporarily under my command, had at least 30 soldiers, almost the same number as the two other companies combined.

Despite this, battalion commander Captain Kozienko, battalion’s chief of staff Captain Belan and deputy battalion commander for political affairs Captain Gerstein decided to merge our 1st company with the 2nd company. The battalion commander called on me and declared this decision to me, as well as the appointment of Chernyshov, platoon leader from the 2nd company, to the post of company commander. I thought that I would stay the commander of my company, as it had more soldiers left than in the 2nd and the 3rd companies combined. Besides this, I had in fact been the company’s commander in the course of all the previous days, receiving orders directly from the battalion commander. Having expressed my dissatisfaction, I asked them to keep me as the commander of our company, and not to merge it with the 2nd company, but merge the 2nd and the 3rd companies instead, appointing Chernyshov as the commander of the combined company. However, my arguments were ignored and the order remained the same. I had to obey the order – one cannot argue in the army, whether the order is wise or not, you have to follow it, especially at the front. What can you do, the commanders should know better, that is why they are commanders! That was the unsuccessful end of my first, but not my last, attempt to get promoted.

Our combined company dug in at the outskirts of Kamenets-Podolsk on a bad spot, in the open in front of a ravine, really more of a hollow. The opposite side of the hollow was higher, and our position could be clearly seen from there. At the same time, a bit behind us was a good natural defence – a mound. I proposed that we dig in there, but no one listened to me. Soldiers dug foxholes and put their weapons, which had no ammo, on breastworks; next to them they put German weapons with ammo and two or three German grenades. Each soldier had a bottle or two of wine to help them keep warm. There were no serious frosts, but living in the open under rain and snow at zero temperatures night and day is a really unpleasant thing. We shivered with the cold. Behind the mound we could at least light fires, but even in the foxholes soldiers found a way to keep themselves warm, covering the foxholes with German rain capes and blankets. I also had two blankets, and covered my foxhole with them during the night – it kept the trench amazingly warm. I would dig a foxhole myself or with my orderly. All soldiers and most junior officers had the small entrenching tool with them, including me. The soldiers had their entrenching tools in a case that they put on their belt, while I had a folding German tool that I carried in my hand. I carried it like this till the end of war.

We did not have gas masks – they only frustrated us in battle, especially the tank riders. I, like many of the soldiers, did not wear a helmet – they were heavy and slid down on to your face. Defending the city of Kamenets-Podolsk, we had to pick up German small arms: submachine-guns, rifles and machine-guns, as we had no ammo for our own weapons. Right up to the end of the operation some soldiers carried two types of weapons, their own and German weapons, before we received ammo for our weapons. The Germans tried to drop ammo and sometimes food to their encircled troops. Two containers with ammo fell in our hands, and company Sergeant Major Bratchenko took the parachute silk for industrial purposes. Silk could be traded for moonshine and lard in villages.Villagers made blouses and underwear from the parachute silk.

I would sleep little during the night, checking the guards, especially in the second half of the night – what if they fell asleep or missed the Germans, or did not pay attention to them? Anything could happen. Regular inspection of the positions became my obligatory habit, and my soldiers knew about my night checks and felt safer that their commanding officer was not asleep.

We stayed in defence for several days. Germans appeared on one of the days, but they did not attack the company, capturing several houses some 100 metres to the left of our defences. They opened fire, mostly from rifles, even on individual soldiers. Interesting indeed, that the Germans could approach secretly, and apparently were already there in the evening or in the night, but we only spotted them in the morning. This was exactly what I always feared – that we would fail to spot the enemy. However, most likely it was a small scout party that was searching the area trying to find retreat routes to the west and good roads that wheeled vehicles could use. We returned fire from all possible weapons, as we had plenty of ammo and we did not have to save it. Because of this need to save ammo we had not fired on the enemy freely for a long time. The Germans ceased fire, and so did we. At the same time we could hear heavy firing on the positions of the 3rd company (then it was the 2nd) and the battalion’s mortar company.

The platoon leader of the mortar company, Lieutenant Novozhilov, was killed in that fight. The Germans were about to capture the mortars, and then Novozhilov ordered his soldiers to withdraw to another position, while he himself stayed and covered their retreat with a machine-gun – mortar crews had one just in case. The Germans set the house, from which he fired, on fire, but he continued to fire from that house until he himself burnt to death. This is how Lieutenant Sergei Vasilievich Novozhilov died on 28 March, 1944, a brave and cheerful officer. He sacrificed his life to save the lives of soldiers from his company. The Germans did not advance any further after Sergey’s death, and, on the contrary, they abandoned a couple of huts next to the burnt-down house. We had to fold the left flank of the company towards the enemy, in order to keep them under our fire, and in that moment they almost got me – the bullet just scratched the skin on my side. Apparently, a German had fired an explosive bullet at me, and as a result for a long time I had a black stain on my right side.

On one of the days in late March 1944 a heavy snowfall set in, and it continued the whole night. I slept in my foxhole like a baby, covered by two German blankets. In the morning, when I woke up, it turned out that the foxhole was full of snow. There was so much snow that my soldiers literally had to dig me out. At the same time, Chernyshov was in the house, in the warmth – they had a stove there. He did not care to invite me to get warm, even though we were both platoon leaders. As soon as he was appointed company leader, his attitude toward me and to other officers of the platoon – Shakulo and Gavrilov – changed. I did not visit him in that hut, always stayed with the soldiers, had my meal with them, but I really wanted to have some hot soup or schi, or just some tea.

The Germans, under cover of the blizzard, abandoned their positions and disappeared. So, when we finally got out from the snow, the guys told me that there were no Germans opposing us. It was only then that we went into the huts to cook something hot. We were already tired of chocolate, cookies and canned food, as well as wine, too.

The enemy bypassed the town of Kamenets-Podolsk and moved to the west, abandoning cars and other vehicles on the roads in the blizzard. I have never seen so many burnt or abandoned vehicles. From the east, from Vinnitsa, the army units of the first Ukrainian front chased Germans towards us, but we did not have enough resources to stop the enemy at Kamenets-Podolsk and fully encircle him, as happened in Stalingrad. Disregarding their losses, abandoning vehicles that were stuck because of lack of fuel or mud, the Germans broke through to the west. The fighting was bloody and heavy. I remember that we used to find Soviet propaganda leaflets signed by Marshal G. K. Zhukov, calling for German soldiers to surrender, as they were surrounded and were to be destroyed if they did not lay down their weapons. It is indeed a pity that we could not repeat the Stalingrad scenario. At the same time, we threw the Germans far to the west.

As Lieutenant Petr Shakulo told me after his return, he was in a medical platoon in the small town of Orinin, near to Kamenets-Podolsk. The HQ of our 6th Guards Motorized Corps was also stationed there under General Akimov. Retreating westwards, the Germans tried to capture Orinin. Even wounded soldiers that could still hold weapons had to fight to repel the German attacks. The battle lasted for several hours and the outcome was uncertain until several JS-2 tanks arrived to assist the besieged troops. As a result, the German tanks were destroyed and the infantry scattered, some surrendered. This is how 100 wounded and the Corps HQ were rescued.

The battles for Kamenets-Podolsk were over. Some time in early April general army units arrived from the east.