On the feat of twenty-eight Panfilov's men, who in 1941 stopped fascist tanks near Moscow at the Dubosekovo junction, more than one generation has grown up. Among the heroes is Vasily Klochkov, company commissar, 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 a literary fiction, which increases interest in the personality of each participant in that historical episode.
Defense of Moscow
Beginning on September 30, 1941, the offensive operation of the Nazi troops on Moscow, known as the "Typhoon", brought them serious success. Under Vyazma, parts of three fronts were defeated, which allowed the enemy to reach the very approaches to the capital. On October 15, 1941, the State Defense Committee of the USSR announced the evacuation of the city, which caused real panic among part of the population. But the Germans also needed a breather after suffering losses, so by November 2 the situation wasVolokolamsk direction has somewhat stabilized. The defense here 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 instructor of the 4th company, stationed near the village of Nelidovo on the Volokolamsk highway. The 316th division, formed in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, did not take part in hostilities before the defense of Moscow. But the division commander, who considers it paramount to save the lives of the fighters, 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 distinguished himself twice, presented in both cases to the Order of the Red Banner of Battle. On November 16, the 2nd Panzer Division of the German troops attacked the positions of the Panfilovites in order to create a positional advantage on the eve of the expected offensive on November 18.
Feat at the Dubosekovo junction
The morning of the 16th in the Volokolamsk direction began with an air bombardment undertaken by the enemy. The soldiers of the 4th company of the second battalion, holding the defense at the Dubosekovo junction, counted 35 aircraft. Following from the village of Krasikovo in the direction of Moscow, submachine gunners came out, whose attack was completely repulsed by seven in the morning. But then the tanks went into action. The surviving fighter I. R. Vasilyev recalled how political instructor Klochkov made his way into the trench. Having learned about the number of tanks, he said: "Well, it's okay, one per brother."
His mainweapons have always been a calling word and a personal example. On the day of the holiday, November 7, he spoke at a regimental rally, preventing panic and encouraging the soldiers. In his life, Vasily Klochkov visited Moscow only once, but considered it a matter of honor to defend it. The first tank attack was successfully repulsed. Destroyed German vehicles smoked on the battlefield, and five vehicles retreated to Zhukovka. But after a while, a new batch started.
It was then that the political instructor said 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 personal example. And a few days later, the "Red Star" described the feat of twenty-eight heroes of the 4th company, who fell at the Dubosekovo junction, but did not let the Nazis through to Moscow. 15 tanks (according to another version - 18) were left burning on the battlefield, symbolizing the strength of the spirit of the Soviet soldier.
Memories of political instructor
The feat of the heroes will be included in the memoirs of Marshal Zhukov, and all 28 participants in the battle on 1942-21-07 will be presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Only later it turns out that six of them survived: four were seriously wounded, and two were taken prisoner in a serious condition. After a while, I. E. Dobrobabin, who could not stand the hardships and entered the service of the enemy, would also be captured. It was after his betrayal was revealed that the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office would conduct its own investigation, as a result of which in 1948 the events near Moscow would be called literary fiction, and the authorship of the famous phrase would be attributed to the 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 uttered the legendary words. A favorite of the company, he was known as a cheerful and positive person: he loved to sing, play the guitar, and composed poetry. He was an excellent working correspondent, his biographers found 30 articles written in various newspapers. Despite the age of thirty, he showed paternal care for the personnel, being able to find an approach to each soldier. He was proud of his unit, which became the best in the unit. He was also a fearless man who hated cowardice and sloppiness in the army. There is a known case when he personally shot a junior commander who did not comply with an order.
Hero biography
Vasily Klochkov went all his life to the commissariat. Born on 1911-08-03 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 to Altai for a better share, where their father, Georgy Petrovich, died on the way to Samara. To feed a large family, the mother went into the service of the kulak, and Vasily and his brother labored for whomever they had. But the boy turned out to be smart, gravitated towards knowledge, went through the school of peasant youth. In the Altai village of Lokot, he became a Komsomol leader. Returning to his small homeland at the age of 20, the young man graduated from a construction technical school 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 Elya, he moved to Alma-Ata, where his wife's parents lived. Energetic, active, he soon becamedirector of city industry trade, but the beginning of his career was cut short by the war. Day 1941-22-06 together with his wife, they spent in the mountains. Seeing the crowd at the loudspeaker in the evening, Klochkov, without hesitation, went to the draft board and returned with a summons in his hands. I couldn't imagine any other way. On the photo with his little daughter, who was only three and a half years old, he left an inscription, the text of which is now known throughout the country.
Memory
Vasily Klochkov, whose biography ended 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 the defenders of the Dubosekovo junction, no one will be able to belittle the feat of the defenders of Moscow.
Local residents of the village of Nelidovo honor the memory of heroes. After the battle, they found the body of the legendary political instructor and reburied it on their territory. A memorial was built on the site of the crossing in 1975. Six figures of soldiers 15 meters high stand on a hill, reminding those passing along the road of the events of 1941.
The name of Klochkov is immortalized in the names of streets and the ship. A monument was erected to him in his homeland, and he himself was forever enlisted in the military unit.
