Defense of the Brest Fortress. The first page of the war

Suddenly attacking the Soviet Union, the fascistthe command expected to reach Moscow in a few months. However, the German generals met with resistance, barely stepping over the border of the USSR. The Germans set aside several hours for the capture of the first outpost of the Soviet army, but the defenders of the Brest fortress held out for six days the power of the immense fascist army.

The siege of 1941 became d

For Brest Fortress historical, howevershe was attacked before that. The fortress was built by architect Opperman in 1833 as a military building. The war only reached it by 1915, when it was blown up during the retreat of the Nicholas troops. In 1918, after the signing of the Brest Peace Treaty, which took place in the Citadel of the fortress, it remained under German control for some time, and by the end of 1918 it was in the hands of the Poles, who owned it until 1939.

Real military actions overtook Brestfortress in the 1939th. The second day of World War II began for the garrison of the fortress with the bombing. German aircraft dropped ten bombs on the citadel, damaging the main building of the fortress - the Citadel, or the White Palace. Then there were several random military and reserve units in the fortress. The first defense of the Brest Fortress was organized by General Plisovsky, who from the scattered troops he had managed to assemble an efficient detachment of 2500 people and evacuate the officer families in time. Against the armored corps of General Heinz, Plisovsky was able to oppose only an old armored train, several similar tanks and a pair of batteries. Then the defense of the Brest Fortress lasted three full days

, from 14 to 17 September, while the enemy wasstronger defenders almost six times. On the night of September seventeenth, the wounded Plisovsky took the remnants of his unit south to Terespol. After that, on September 22, the Germans transferred Brest and the Brest Fortress to the Soviet Union.

Protection of the Brest Fortress of 1941 fell on the shouldersnine Soviet battalions, two artillery divisions and several separate divisions. In total, this amounted to about eleven thousand people, excluding three hundred officer families. The fortress was stormed by Major General Schliper's infantry division, which was reinforced with additional units. In general, about twenty thousand soldiers were subordinate to General Shliper.

Атака началась рано утром.Because of the surprise of the attack, the commanders did not have time to coordinate the actions of the garrison of the fortress, so the defenders were immediately divided into several detachments. The Germans immediately succeeded in capturing the Citadel, but they could not fortify themselves in it - the invaders were attacked by the Soviet units left behind, and the Citadel was partially liberated. On the second day of the defense, the Germans offered

surrender to which 1900 people agreed.The remaining defenders united under the command of Captain Zubachev. The enemy forces, however, were immeasurably superior, and the defense of the Brest Fortress was short-lived. On June 24, the fascists managed to capture 1,250 fighters, and another 450 people were captured on June 26. The last stronghold of defenders, the Eastern Fort, was crushed on June 29, when the Germans dropped a 1,800-kilogram bomb on it. This day is considered the end of the defense, but the Germans cleaned the Brest Fortress until June 30, and the last defenders were destroyed only by the end of August. Only a few managed to go to Belovezhskaya Pushcha to partisans.

The fortress was liberated in 1944, and in 1971it was mothballed and turned into a museum. At the same time a memorial was erected, thanks to which the defense of the Brest Fortress and the courage of its defenders will be remembered forever.