The feat of Nikolai Sirotinin - a brief history of the hero. Was there a senior sergeant Sirotinin? The German chief told me: “Take this document and write to your relatives

Nikolai Vladimirovich Sirotinin during the Great Patriotic War, covering the retreat of his regiment, in one battle single-handedly destroyed 11 tanks, 7 armored vehicles, 57 enemy soldiers and officers. Nikolai Vladimirovich Sirotinin (March 7, 1921, Orel - July 17, 1941, Krichev, Belarusian SSR ) - artillery senior sergeant. During the Great Patriotic War, covering the retreat of his regiment, in one battle he single-handedly destroyed 11 tanks, 7 armored vehicles, 57 enemy soldiers and officers.At the age of 19, Kolya Sirotinin had the chance to challenge the saying “Alone in the field is not a warrior.” But he did not become a legend of the Great Patriotic War, like Alexander Matrosov or Nikolai Gastello. In the summer of 1941, the 4th Panzer Division, one of the divisions of the 2nd Panzer Group of Heinz Guderian, one of the most talented German tank generals, broke through to the Belarusian town of Krichev. Units of the 13th Soviet Army were retreating. Only gunner Kolya Sirotinin did not retreat - just a boy, short, quiet, puny. On that day it was necessary to cover the withdrawal of troops. “Two people with a cannon will remain here,” said the battery commander. Nikolai volunteered. The commander himself remained second. On the morning of July 17, a column of German tanks appeared on the highway.

Kolya took up a position on a hill right on the collective farm field. The gun was buried in the tall rye, but he could clearly see the highway and the bridge over the Dobrost River. When the lead tank reached the bridge, Kolya knocked it out with his first shot. The second shell set fire to an armored personnel carrier that brought up the rear of the column. We need to stop here. Because it is still not entirely clear why Kolya was left alone in the field. But there are versions. He, apparently, had precisely the task of creating a “traffic jam” on the bridge by knocking out the lead vehicle of the Nazis. The lieutenant was at the bridge and adjusted the fire, and then, apparently, called fire from our other artillery from German tanks into the jam. Because of the river. It is reliably known that the lieutenant was wounded and then he went towards our positions. There is an assumption that Kolya should have retreated to his own people after completing the task. But... he had 60 shells. And he stayed!

Two tanks tried to pull the lead tank off the bridge, but were also hit. The armored vehicle tried to cross the Dobrost River without using a bridge. But she got stuck in the swampy bank, where another shell found her. Kolya shot and shot, knocking out tank after tank... Guderian’s tanks ran into Kolya Sirotinin as if they were facing the Brest Fortress. 11 tanks and 6 armored personnel carriers were already on fire! For a long time the Germans were unable to determine the location of the well-camouflaged gun; they believed that a whole battery was fighting them. For almost two hours of this strange battle, the Germans could not understand where the Russian battery was dug in. And when we reached Kolya’s position, he only had three shells left. They offered to surrender. Kolya responded by firing at them from a carbine. This last battle was short-lived...

July 17, 1941. Sokolnichi, near Krichev. In the evening, an unknown Russian soldier was buried. He stood alone at the cannon, shot at a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone was surprised at his courage... Oberst said before his grave that if all the Fuhrer’s soldiers fought like this Russian, they would conquer the whole world. They fired three times in volleys from rifles. After all, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary?
— From the diary of Chief Lieutenant of the 4th Panzer Division Friedrich Hoenfeld

Even today the whole of Belarus remembers the feat of Nikolai Sirotinin. In this country, the feat of the Soviet people who saved the world from the fascist plague has not yet been forgotten. And how offensive it must be to his family that in his homeland, Oryol, few people know about this feat.

In 1940, upon reaching 18 years of age, Nikolay Sirotinin was drafted into the Red Army. He ended up serving in the 6th Infantry Division, where by the summer of 1941 he held the position of gunner. On the first day of the Great Patriotic War, he received his first wound during an air raid. Fortunately, it turned out to be easy, so the soldier remained in service.

At this time, the offensive of German troops across the territory of the USSR continued to develop. In particular, Guderian's 4th Panzer Division made its way to the city of Krichev, in Belarus. Units of our 13th Army were forced to retreat before the onslaught of a significantly superior enemy.

During the retreat, it was necessary to organize cover in one of the areas. To do this, it was necessary to create a “traffic jam” on the bridge over the Dobrost River. Two artillerymen were required - a gunner and a spotter. Nikolai Sirotinin volunteered.

Kolya set up his position not far from the bridge, right on the hill of the collective farm field. His gun was completely hidden in the tall rye, while he had a clear view of both the highway and the bridge.

Early in the morning of July 17, a column of German tanks approached the bridge. When the lead vehicle drove onto the bridge, the first shot of our cannon rang out. It turned out to be very effective - the German tank stopped and started smoking. The next shot set the trailing armored personnel carrier on fire. Our artillery located across the river, whose fire was directed by a spotter, began to fire at the stopped column. He was subsequently wounded and retreated towards our positions. Sirotinin could have done the same, since the task assigned to him had already been completed. But he had as many as 60 shells. And he decided to stay!

And at this time, in order to clear the way, two tanks began to pull the lead tank off the bridge. Sirotinin could not allow this. With several well-aimed shots, he set them on fire, thereby sealing the traffic jam on the bridge. One of the armored vehicles tried to ford the river, but got stuck firmly in the swampy ground. Here she was found by another shell from our artilleryman.

Sirotinin kept shooting and shooting, knocking out tank after tank from the Germans. The column rested against it, as if against the Brest Fortress. After some time, German losses already amounted to 11 tanks and 6 armored personnel carriers, more than half of which were accounted for by Sirotinin. For almost two hours of battle, the Germans could not figure out where such well-aimed fire was getting them from. When they figured this out and surrounded the hero’s position, he had only three shells left in stock. The offer to surrender was followed by fire from a carbine.

The last battle was short-lived. The body of Nikolai Sirotinin was buried there, on a hill...

It should be noted that even the enemy appreciated the heroism of our soldier. In the evening, the Germans gathered near the place where the Soviet cannon stood. They counted the shots and hits, not without admiration. Then local residents were forced to come there, and a German oberst (colonel) even spoke to them. He noted that this is how a soldier tasked with defending his homeland should fight.

Nikolai Sirotinin, a young sergeant from Orel, in one two-hour battle there were 11 tanks, 6 armored personnel carriers and armored cars, 57 German soldiers and officers. The best artilleryman of the Great Patriotic War. His feat was highly appreciated even by his enemies.

Childhood and the beginning of the war

There are few dry facts about Nikolai Sirotinin’s childhood. Born on March 7, 1921 in the city of Orel. Lived on Dobrolyubova Street, 32. Father - Vladimir Kuzmich Sirotinin, mother - Elena Korneevna. There are five children in the family, Nikolai is the second oldest. His father notes that as a child Nikolai met him at the semaphore - Vladimir Kuzmich worked as a driver. Mom noted his hard work, affectionate disposition and help in raising younger children. After graduating from school, Nikolai went to work at the Tokmash plant as a turner.

On October 5, 1940, Nikolai was drafted into the army. He was assigned to the 55th Infantry Regiment in the city of Polotsk, Belarusian SSR. Of the documents about Nikolai, only the conscript’s medical card and a letter home have been preserved. According to the medical card, Sirotinin was of small build - 164 cm and weighed only 53 kg. The letter dates back to 1940, most likely written immediately after his arrival at the 55th Infantry Regiment.

In June 1941, Nikolai became a senior sergeant. The approach of war was felt more and more clearly by both the people and the leaders, so in such conditions, an intelligent and hardworking young man quickly received the rank of sergeant, and then senior sergeant.

June–July 1941

At the beginning of July 1941, Hein Guderian's tanks broke through the weak defense line near Bykhov and began crossing the Dnieper. They easily continued to march east along the Sozh River, to Slavgorod, through Cherikov to the city of Krichev, to strike the Soviet troops near Smolensk. The Soviet army retreated before the enemy and took up defense near Sozh.

The left bank of the Sozh River is steep and with deep ravines. On the road from the city of Cherikov to Krichev there were several such ravines. A group of Soviet soldiers, on July 17, 1941, attacked a Wehrmacht tank division, fired at it and crossed the Sozh to inform the command about the German tank division approaching Krichev. Units of the 6th Infantry Division were located in Krichev, and after news of the tanks an order was received to cross the Sozh. But parts of the division could not do this quickly. The second order was short: to delay the tank division as long as possible. Under favorable circumstances, catch up with your unit. But senior sergeant Nikolai Sirotinin managed to carry out only the first part of the order.

No man is an island

Nikolai Sirotinin volunteered. Nikolai installed a 45 mm anti-tank gun on a low hillock, in a rye field near the Dobrost River. The cannon was completely hidden by the rye. The firing point of Sirotinin was located near the village of Sokolnichi, which is located four km from Krichev. The location was ideal for unnoticed shelling.

The road leading to Krichev was 200 meters away. The road was clearly visible from the hillock of Sirotinin, and there was a swampy area near the road, and this meant that the tanks would not be able to move either to the left or to the right if something happened. Sirotinin understood what he was doing, there was only one task - to hold out as long as possible in order to gain time for the division.

Sergeant Sirotinin was an experienced artilleryman. Nikolai chose the moment when he could strike the armored car going ahead of the column of tanks. When the armored car was not far from the bridge, Sirotinin fired and hit the armored vehicle. Then the sergeant hit a tank driving around an armored car to set both vehicles on fire. The next tank behind him got stuck in a barrel, driving around the armored car and the first knocked out tank.

The tanks began to turn towards the place of shelling, but the rye well hid Sirotinin’s point. The sergeant turned the gun to the left and began to aim at the tank bringing up the rear of the column - he knocked it out. He shot at a truck with infantry - and again at the target. The Germans tried to move out, but the tanks got stuck in the swampy area. Only on the seventh destroyed tank were the Germans able to understand where the shelling was coming from, but due to Sirotinin’s successful position, heavy fire did not kill him, but only wounded him in the left side and arm. One of the armored cars began to fire at the sergeant, then after three shells Sirotinin neutralized the enemy armored car.
There were fewer shells, and Sirotinin decided to shoot less often, but more accurately. One after another, he aimed at tanks and armored cars, hit, everything exploded, flew, there was black smoke in the air from the burning equipment. The angry Germans opened mortar fire on Sirotinin.

German losses were: 11 tanks, 6 armored personnel carriers and armored cars, 57 German soldiers and officers. The battle lasted 2 hours. There weren’t many shells left, about 15. Nikolai saw that the Germans were rolling out weapons into position and fired 4 times. Sirotinin destroyed the German cannon. The shell would only be enough for one time. He stood up to load the gun - and at that moment he was shot from behind by German motorcyclists. Nikolai Sirotinin died.

After battle

Sergeant Sirotinin completed his main task: the tank column was delayed, and the 6th Rifle Division was able to cross the Sozh River without losses.
The diary entries of Oberleutnant Friedrich Hoenfeld have been preserved:
“He stood alone at the gun, shot at a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone was surprised at his courage... Oberst (Colonel) said before the grave that if all the Fuhrer’s soldiers fought like this Russian, they would conquer the whole world. They fired three times in volleys from rifles. After all, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary?
Olga Verzhbitskaya, a resident of the village of Sokolnichi, recalls: “In the afternoon, the Germans gathered at the place where Sirotinin’s cannon stood. They forced us, local residents, to come there too. As someone who knows German, the chief German, about fifty years old with decorations, tall, bald, and gray-haired, ordered me to translate his speech to the local people. He said that the Russian fought very well, that if the Germans had fought like that, they would have taken Moscow long ago, that this is how a soldier should defend his homeland - the Fatherland...”
Residents of the village of Sokolniki and the Germans held a solemn funeral for Nikolai Sirotinin. The German soldiers gave the fallen sergeant a military salute with three shots.

Memory of Nikolai Sirotinin

First, Sergeant Sirotinin was buried at the battle site. Later he was reburied in a mass grave in the city of Krichev.
In Belarus they remember the feat of the Oryol artilleryman. In Krichev they named a street in his honor and erected a monument. After the war, the workers of the Soviet Army Archive did a great job to restore the chronicle of events. Sirotinin’s feat was recognized in 1960, but the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was not awarded due to a bureaucratic inconsistency - Sirotinin’s family did not have photographs of their son. In 1961, an obelisk with the name of Sirotinin was erected at the site of the feat, and real weapons were installed. On the 20th anniversary of the Victory, Sergeant Sirotinin was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.
In his hometown of Orel, they also did not forget about Sirotinin’s feat. A memorial plaque dedicated to Nikolai Sirotinin was installed at the Tekmash plant. In 2015, school No. 7 in the city of Orel was named after Sergeant Sirotinin.

The feat of Nikolai Sirotinin

In the city of Krichev, Mogilev region, on Sirotinina Street next to the military registration and enlistment office there is a mass grave. 43 people are buried in it. Among them is a soldier, after whom this street was later named.

In the summer of 1941, the 4th Panzer Division of Heinz Guderian, one of the most talented German tank generals, broke through to the Belarusian town of Krichev. Units of the 13th Soviet Army were retreating. Only gunner Kolya Sirotinin did not retreat - just a boy, short, quiet, puny. He had just turned 19 at the time.

“Two people with a cannon will remain here,” said the battery commander. Nikolai volunteered. The commander himself remained second. Kolya took up a position on a hill right on the collective farm field. The gun was buried in the tall rye, but he could clearly see the highway and the bridge over the Dobrost River.

When the lead tank reached the bridge, Kolya knocked it out with his first shot. The second shell set fire to an armored personnel carrier that was bringing up the rear of the column, creating a traffic jam.

It is still not entirely clear why Kolya was left alone in the field. But there are versions. He, apparently, had precisely the task of creating a “traffic jam” on the bridge by knocking out the lead vehicle of the Nazis. The lieutenant was at the bridge and adjusted the fire, and then, apparently, called fire from our other artillery from German tanks into the jam. Because of the river. It is reliably known that the lieutenant was wounded and then he went towards our positions (presumably this is junior lieutenant V.V. Evdokimov, born in 1913, buried in the same mass grave as Nikolai). There is an assumption that Kolya should have retreated to his own people after completing the task. But... he had 60 shells. And he stayed!

For almost two hours of this strange battle, the Germans could not understand where the Russian battery was dug in. And when they reached Kolya’s position, they were very surprised that there was only one gun standing. Nikolai had only three shells left. They offered to surrender. Kolya responded by firing at them from a carbine.

After the battle, Chief Lieutenant of the 4th Panzer Division Hensfald (who died later at Stalingrad) wrote in his diary: “July 17, 1941. Sokolnichi, near Krichev. In the evening, an unknown Russian soldier was buried. He stood alone at the cannon, shot at a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone was surprised at his courage... Oberst (Colonel) said before the grave that if all the Fuhrer’s soldiers fought like this Russian, they would conquer the whole world. They fired three times in volleys from rifles. After all, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary?

In the afternoon, the Germans gathered at the place where the cannon stood. They forced us, the local residents, to come there too,” recalls local teacher Olga Borisovna Vebrizhskaya. - As someone who knows German, the chief German with orders ordered me to translate.

He said that this is how a soldier should defend his homeland - the Fatherland. Then from the pocket of our dead soldier’s tunic they took out a medallion with a note about who and where. The main German told me: “Take it and write to your relatives. Let the mother know what a hero her son was and how he died.”

When reporters asked Nikolai’s sister why Kolya volunteered to cover the retreat of our army, Taisiya Vladimirovna replied: “My brother could not have done otherwise.”

The Nazis were missing 11 tanks and 7 armored vehicles, 57 soldiers and officers after the battle on the banks of the Dobrost River, where the Russian soldier Nikolai Sirotinin stood as a barrier. Now there is a monument in that place:

“Here at dawn on July 17, 1941, senior artillery sergeant Nikolai Vladimirovich Sirotinin, who gave his life for the freedom and independence of our Motherland, entered into single combat with a column of fascist tanks and in a two-hour battle repulsed all enemy attacks.” Nikolai Sirotinin was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, posthumously.
Eternal memory to the hero!

It was real hell. The tanks caught fire one after another. The infantry hiding behind the armor lay down. The commanders are at a loss and cannot understand the source of the heavy fire. It seems like the whole battery is beating. Aimed fire. There are 59 tanks, dozens of machine gunners and motorcyclists in the German column. And all this power is powerless in the face of Russian fire. Where did this battery come from? Intelligence reported that the way was open. The Nazis did not yet know that there was only one soldier standing in their way, and that there was only one warrior in the field, if he was Russian.

Nikolai Vladimirovich Sirotinin was born in 1921 in the city of Orel. Before the war he worked at the Tekmash plant in Orel. On June 22, 1941, he was wounded during an air raid. The wound was slight, and a few days later he was sent to the front - to the Krichev area, to the 55th Infantry Regiment of the 6th Infantry Division as a gunner.

On the bank of the Dobrost River, which flows near the village of Sokolnichi, the battery where Nikolai Sirotinin served stood for about two weeks. During this time, the fighters managed to get to know the village residents, and Nikolai Sirotinin was remembered by them as a quiet, polite boy. “Nikolai was very polite, he always helped elderly women get water from wells and do other hard work,” recalled village resident Olga Verzhbitskaya.

On July 17, 1941, his rifle regiment was retreating. Senior Sergeant Sirotinin volunteered to cover the retreat.

Sirotinin settled down on a hill in the thick rye near the collective farm stable that stood next to Anna Poklad’s house. From this position the highway, river, and bridge were clearly visible. When German tanks appeared at dawn, Nikolai blew up the lead vehicle and the one that trailed the column, creating a traffic jam. Thus, the task was completed, the tank column was delayed. Sirotinin could have gone to his own people, but he stayed - after all, he still had about 60 shells. According to one version, initially two people remained to cover the division's retreat - Sirotinin and the commander of his battery, who stood at the bridge and adjusted the fire. However, then he was wounded, and he went to his own, and Sirotinin was left to fight alone.

When the Nazis finally reached Nikolai Sirotinin’s position, he only had three shells left. They offered to surrender. Nikolai responded by firing at them from a carbine.

Chief Lieutenant of the 4th Panzer Division Henfeld wrote in his diary: “July 17, 1941. Sokolnichi, near Krichev. In the evening, an unknown Russian soldier was buried. He stood alone at the cannon, shot at a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone was surprised at his courage... Oberst (Colonel) said before the grave that if all the Fuhrer's soldiers fought like this Russian, they would conquer the whole world. They fired three times in volleys from rifles. After all, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary?

Olga Verzhbitskaya recalled:
“In the afternoon, the Germans gathered at the place where the cannon stood. They also forced us, the local residents, to come there. As someone who knows German, the chief German with orders ordered me to translate. He said that this is how a soldier should defend his homeland - the Vaterland ". Then from the pocket of our dead soldier's tunic they took out a medallion with a note about who and where. The main German told me: “Take it and write to your relatives. Let the mother know what a hero her son was and how he died." I was afraid to do it... Then a young German officer, standing in the grave and covering Sirotinin’s body with a Soviet raincoat, snatched a piece of paper and a medallion from me and said something rudely.”

For a long time after the funeral, the Nazis stood at the cannon and the grave in the middle of the collective farm field, not without admiration, counting the shots and hits.

This pencil portrait was made from memory only in the 1990s by one of Nikolai Sirotinin’s colleagues.

Sirotinin's family learned about his feat only in 1958 from a publication in Ogonyok.
In 1961, a monument was erected near the highway near the village: “Here at dawn on July 17, 1941, senior sergeant-artilleryman Nikolai Vladimirovich Sirotinin, who gave his life for the freedom and independence of our Motherland."

Monument at the mass grave where Nikolai Sirotinin is buried

After the war, Sirotinin was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. But they were never nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. To complete the paperwork, we needed a photo of Kolya. She wasn't there. Here is what Nikolai Sirotinin’s sister Taisiya Shestakova recalls about this:

- We had his only passport card. But during the evacuation in Mordovia, my mother gave it to me to enlarge it. And the master lost her! He brought completed orders to all our neighbors, but not to us. We were very sad.
Did you know that Kolya alone stopped a tank division? And why didn't he get a Hero?
We found out in 1961, when Krichev local historians found Kolya’s grave. We went to Belarus with the whole family. The Krichevites worked hard to nominate Kolya for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But in vain: to complete the paperwork, you definitely needed a photograph of him, at least some kind. But we don’t have it! They never gave Kolya the Hero. In Belarus his feat is known. And it’s a shame that few people know about him in his native Orel. They didn’t even name a small alley after him.

However, there was a more compelling reason for the refusal - the immediate command must apply for the title of hero, which was not done.

A street in Krichev, a school-kindergarten and a pioneer detachment in Sokolnichi are named after Nikolai Sirotinin.