ONLINE LECTURES “MEMORY OF THE FIERY DAYS”
On March 18 and 21, 2022, the Senior Lecturer of the Department of General Scientific Disciplines Nikitina T.I. together with the Museum of Military Glory held online lectures “Memory of the Fiery Days” for the 1st-year students of all the training programs. The lectures were dedicated to the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Rybnitsa from the German and Romanian fascist invaders.
Materials from the funds of the Museum of Military Glory were presented at the lecture. They included memories of the liberators of our city, photographs, documents, personal belongings, awards. For instance, the memoirs by Nikolai I. Klimov, Hero of the Soviet Union, Commander of the 122nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 41st Guards Rifle Division, who was corresponding with the museum; the memoirs by Alexei T. Dovbnya, the chief of staff of the rifle battalion of the 41st Guards Division, who took part in the Rybnitsa liberation, the memoirs by tankman Ivan A. Yablonsky and other memoirs, that helped students imagine those terrible events.
On March 30, 78 years ago, Rybnitsa was liberated from the German and Romanian fascist invaders, as a result of the Uman-Botoshany Offensive operation. It was carried out by the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front from March 5 to April 17, 1944, under the command of Marshal of the USSR Ivan S. Konev.
The Uman-Botoshany operation is one of the most successful offensive operations of the Soviet troops. It was carried out under very difficult climatic conditions of spring thaw, when armored vehicles and infantry got bogged down in muddy dirt roads, complete off-road and spring flooding of the rivers (the Gorny Tikich, the Southern Bug, the Dniester), which were serious natural barriers. Nevertheless, armored vehicles with landing troops managed to approach the crossings before the enemy would come there. On March 23, Soviet tanks approached Kamenka, where they together with partisans prevented the Germans from burning grain warehouses. The next day, the armored vehicles of the corps liberated the villages: Stroentsy, Belochi, Bolshoy Molokish, Saratsey, Yerzhovo and approached Rybnitsa. The enemy sought to hold the city at any cost, where the main crossing of the German troops to the right bank of the Dniester was located. A lot of enemy infantry and equipment were accumulated there. Therefore, the Germans hastily committed a large number of forces into battle.
Meanwhile, on the morning of March 30, soldiers of the Tsvetkov`s division, supported by Kirichenko`s tanks, entered Rybnitsa and attacked the railway station. In this battle, some T-34 crews showed exceptional fighting skills. At this moment, the Rybnitsa patriots come forward from the resistance movement. They demined 13 wagons with equipment and mines, 8 gasoline cisterns, 17 wagons with valuables stolen by the enemy at the Rybnitsa railway station and prevented German requisitions. However, the Germans still managed to explode the bridge over the Dniester.
The offensive inertia was so powerful that on the same day Soviet troops liberated the villages of Gidirim, Zozulyany and Popenki on the spot, pushing the remnants of the defending German forces to the south.
In the battles for Rybnitsa, those who had distinguished themselves and were honored with government awards, that is, the Order of the Red Star, were:
- Doroshenko Aleksey A., Staff Sergeant, driver of the T-34 tank of the 278th Tank Battalion of the 31st Tank Brigade, who showed himself to be a brave and courageous warrior;
- Kirov Ivan I., Sergeant, Turret Commander of the T-34 tank. Sergeant Kirov, acting as part of the crew, eliminated up to 60 enemy soldiers and officers, knocked out one small tank and one Self-Propelled Gun of the Ferdinand type.
The Medal for Bravery was awarded to:
- Nebylitsin Andrey N., Sergeant, radiotelephone operator of the T-34 tank of the 278th Tank Battalion of the 31st Tank Brigade, who eliminated up to 30 enemy soldiers and officers and 2 Self-Propelled Guns;
- Spichenkov Ivan F., Sergeant, radiotelephone operator of the T-34 tank, who eliminated up to 45 soldiers and officers, knocked out a Self-Propelled Gun of the Ferdinand type.
Every year, on March 30, our city celebrates the Day of the Liberation from the German and Romanian fascist invaders and keeps the memory of the soldiers-liberators.
Dume Friday 08 April 2022 - 08:14:23
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