Today, everyone has the opportunity to look at how the Victory Banner looked over the Reichstag. Photos that were taken after the hoisting are distributed in a fairly large number. However, few in the modern world know how this command was carried out and under whose leadership. Therefore, it is necessary to shed more light on this issue, the disputes over which continued for quite a long period of time. And so far there is no unequivocal opinion as to who exactly hoisted the symbol of Victory.
Historical background on the attacks on the German capital
Three times our troops managed to gain a foothold in Berlin. This happened for the first time during the Seven Years' War. At that time, the troops that attacked the capital of Prussia were commanded by Major General Totleben. The second time Berlin was taken during the war with Napoleon, namely in 1813. And in 1945 the capital of Germany was taken for the third time by the Red Army.
When was it necessary to start the assault?
There were many doubts. Back in February, according to Marshal Chuikov, there was an opportunity to gain a foothold in the German capital. Besidesmany thousands of human lives could have been saved. However, Marshal Zhukov decided otherwise and canceled the attack. In this he was guided by the fact that the soldiers were tired. Yes, and the rear did not have time to catch up by this time. The Americans, together with the British, decided to abandon the storming of Berlin altogether, believing that the losses would be too great.
During the Berlin operation, about 352 thousand people were killed and wounded. The Polish armies were missing about 2892 soldiers.
Attack in two directions and inconsistency of commanders
Naturally, it was immediately clear that Berlin had almost no chance. But the commanders of the Soviet troops decided to start the assault. It was decided to attack from two sides at once. Marshal Zhukov, who commanded the 1st Belorussian Front, attacked from the northeast. Marshal Konev, who led the 1st Ukrainian Front, launched an attack from the southwest.
The plan to encircle the city was rejected. The two marshals tried to get ahead of each other in everything. The essence of the original plan was that Konev attacked one half of the German capital, and Zhukov the other.
April 16, the attack of the Belorussian Front began. During it, about 80 thousand soldiers died at the Seelow Gate. The crossing of the Spree River by the 1st Ukrainian Front began on April 18. Marshal Konev gave the command to attack Berlin on April 20. Zhukov gave exactly the same command on April 21, emphasizing that this must be done at any cost. At the same time, the success of the operation had to be reported immediately to Comrade Stalin himself.
Due to the inconsistency of the actions of the two armies, a lot of soldiers died. It should be noted that such a "competition" was completed in favor of Marshal Zhukov.
Thanks in advance
It was decided in advance to make a battle banner. But, after a little thought, they were made in the amount of nine pieces according to the number of divisions attacking the Reichstag. One of these banners was later transferred under the command of Major General Shatilov to the 150th division, which fought in close proximity to the Reichstag. It was this Banner of Victory that later flew over the structure of the German Bundestag.
With the onset of April 30, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, Shatilov received an order from Zhukov. He was absolutely secret. In it, the marshal declared gratitude to the troops who hoisted the Banner of Victory. This was done in advance. But before the Reichstag, there was still about 300 meters to break through. And the battle had to be fought literally for every meter.
Raise the Banner at all costs
The attack failed on the first attempt. But it should be noted that Marshal Zhukov in his order singled out the exact date. According to the official paper, it was necessary to do this on April 30 at 14.25.
Of course, the order could not be violated. Therefore, Shatilov gave the command to hoist the Banner of Victory over the Reichstag at any cost, while taking any measures. And if the flag itself cannot be hoisted, then at least raise a small flag over the entrance to the building. Perhaps Shatilov feared that Negoda, the commander of the 171st division, would overtake him. Thus, for Berlin, the competition took place between marshals, and for the Reichstag - betweendivision commanders.
Trying to obey the order, the volunteers, taking makeshift red flags, rushed to the main German building. It should be noted that in conventional combat operations, first of all, it is necessary to seize the main point, and only then hoist the Banner of Victory. But in this war, everything happened quite the opposite.
The 674th regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Plekhodanov received the corresponding task of hoisting the flag. When performing this operation, Lieutenant Koshkarbaev distinguished himself. In order to cope with the task, soldiers of the reconnaissance company, led by Senior Lieutenant Sorokin, were placed under his command.
The appearance of the first symbols of Victory on the German building
And now, after 7 hours, the red Banner of Victory (namely, its miniature copy) was fixed on the wall of the Reichstag. Needless to say, with what difficulty the last meters of the Royal Square were overcome by the soldiers! The movement was accompanied by a constant barrage of fire. However, they succeeded in their task. By the way, one of the soldiers, Bulatov, fixed the flag on the wall. At the same time, he stood on the shoulders of Lieutenant Koshkarbaev himself.
Thus, the fighters Koshkarbaev and Bulatov were the first to reach the main German building. It happened on April 30 at 18.30.
The skeptical attitude of the command to the superiority of Koshkarbaev and Bulatov
Attacked the Reichstag and the battalion under the command of Neustroev, which was part of the 756th regiment of the same 150th division. The assault failed three times. And only from the fourthattempts by the fighters were able to reach the building. Three fighters made their way to the doors - Major Sokolovsky and two privates. But there Koshkarbaev and Bulatov were already waiting for them.
There is such information, the essence of which is that a miniature flag of Victory was fixed on a column by Private Peter Shcherbina. He picked it up from the hands of Pyotr Pyatnitsky, who was killed on the steps, who was the liaison officer of the battalion commander Neustroev. However, it is unknown if he became the first.
Naturally, the command did not want to believe in the superiority of Koshkarbaev and Bulatov. At 19.00, all the other soldiers of the 150th division made their way to the Reichstag building. The front door was broken into. After a furious shootout, the building came under the control of the Soviet troops.
The battles for the Reichstag lasted a very long time
Fighting inside the building itself lasted for two days. The main SS troops were knocked out even before May 1. However, some individual soldiers who had settled in the cellars resisted until May 2. For all these days, while the fighting was going on, about two and a half thousand enemy soldiers were killed and wounded. The same amount was taken prisoner. Rifle units were able to provide tremendous assistance in the assault. However, in addition to the battles in the building itself, the war continued around it. Soviet troops smashed the Berlin groups, which prevented the capture of the capital.
Victory symbol appears
The hoisting of the Victory Banner over the Reichstag began after the attack on the building itself. First of all, Colonel Zinchenko, who led the 756th regiment, congratulated the soldiers on their successfulperformed operation. It was he who issued the order for the delivery of the Banner from the headquarters. In addition, there is information that it was he who gave the command to choose two heroes who would raise the Victory flag. Egorov and Kantaria became them.
At about 21.30 they were able to get to the roof of the Reichstag. After that, they first of all fixed the banner on the pediment, located above the main entrance. Then, having received the appropriate command, under constant fire and at the risk of breaking loose, Yegorov and Kantaria climbed to the very top of the dome and hoisted the symbol of Victory on it. And it happened already at one in the morning, respectively, on May 1. This version is official.
So who was first?
But, according to the historian Sychev, this version is incorrect. Examining archival materials and conducting personal meetings with the soldiers who stormed the main German building, he established that there was another makeshift symbol of the Victory, which belonged to the Sorokin group. Thus, in his opinion, the Banner of Victory over the Reichstag was hoisted by Bulatov and Provator, who serve in the 674th reconnaissance regiment. And it happened at seven o'clock in the evening. This fact was fully confirmed by archival documents of the 674th regiment.
It should be noted that there are some contradictions in the documents of the 756th regiment, which refers to the storming of the Reichstag and the banner that Yegorov and Kantaria hoisted. For example, the date of hoisting is not the same everywhere. It should be noted that the scouts commanded by Sorokin, immediately after the capture of the Reichstag, received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The feat of the group in sufficient detailfeatured in the awards. However, they never received the Stars of the Hero. And all because of the fact that with Egorov Kantaria was supposed to become a hero. No one else was needed to hoist the banner.
Thus, it turns out that the first banner was fixed over the pediment of the building by Provatorov and Bulatov. The operation to hoist the Banner on the dome of the Reichstag was led by Alexei Berest. Egorov, Kantaria, respectively, carried out his orders. The flag that was attached to the wall by Koshkarbaev and Bulatov was taken down by the soldiers. Pieces from it were divided between them as a keepsake.
A large number of Victory symbols over the Reichstag
There is also an opinion that the first Banner was hoisted by Private Kazantsev. It must be understood that for the entire time of the assault over the Reichstag, about 40 various panels were placed, among which were both large banners and miniature flags. They could be seen almost everywhere. Windows, doors, roof, walls and columns - everything was in red symbols of Victory.
Confusion in this case arose for several reasons at once. On the first hand, the battles for the Reichstag lasted more than a day. The German artillery succeeded, in addition to everything else, to destroy the banners several times due to successfully sent projectiles. On the other hand, several groups at once received an order to hoist the flag over the building. And all the soldiers acted, not knowing that, besides them, others were following this order. In order not to look for the only group that was the first to cope with the goal, the commanddecided to hoist one Banner, which will summarize all the other battle canvases.
It should be noted that Kazantsev went through the entire war. Naturally, he ended up in the hospital more than once. But, quickly recovering, he again returned to the line of attack. However, the irony of fate was such that the very next day after the Banner was hoisted, Kazantsev was seriously injured and died on May 13.
It was not possible to carry the Banner across Red Square
Unfortunately, at the parade, which went down in history, no one saw the symbol of Victory. The Znamenny group was removed after the dress rehearsal. Preparations for the parade took place over a month. However, the heroes themselves were able to fly to him at a time when only two days remained before him. The parade was held under the command of Rokossovsky. He was received by Marshal Zhukov.
Neustroev, who was holding the Banner, Yegorov and Kantaria were supposed to start the parade. At that moment, when the march sounded, Neustroev was very hard. Because of the injury, he practically became disabled. Therefore, at one point he just lost his footing and minced. It was precisely because of this moment that Zhukov decided that there should not be flag bearers at the parade.
The huge role of absolutely all participants in the war
In total, about 100 people received the award for taking the Reichstag, as well as for hoisting the symbol of Victory. We can say that the symbol of Victory was hoisted by each individual soldier. And the young border guards who were killed at the very beginning of the war in the Brest Fortress, and the blockadeLeningraders, and even evacuated workers. Everyone who survived, and everyone who could not see the Victory Parade - absolutely everyone took part not only in the Victory itself, but also in hoisting its symbol on the building of the German Bundestag.
Today, the self-made Banner of Victory, the photo of which can be viewed by everyone, is permanently stored at the Museum of the Armed Forces. And every year on Victory Day it is carried through Red Square.
