OMSBON - Independent Special Purpose Motorized Brigade |
On the night of 30 July 1943, the residents of the town Osipovichi were awakened by an explosion of extraordinary force, followed soon after by a second detonation. Liquid fuel storage tanks were burning and exploding at the railroad station. The flames were spreading to neighboring trains carrying Tiger tanks and aircraft bombs. A gigantic fire storm hurled the barrels of fuel and bombs skyward. The fire spread over to the station building. Soon, only blackened walls remained. In panic, the fascists mistook the conflagration for an air attack, and reported to Berlin that the Russians were bombing the station intensely. Only later did the Germans determine that the station and trains with tanks, petroleum products, and aircraft bombs had been destroyed as a result of sabotage. The Nazi command especially felt this significant blow at that time, during the days of the terrible battles for the Kursk bulge. The operation had one unforeseen result: on the night of the explosions, the security force of a concentration camp located near Osipovichi ran away in fright during the bombing, while its prisoners- the Russians, Byelorussians, Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, and Bulgarians- found themselves set free, and linked up with the partisans. This is only one of the countless examples of the skillful activities of the fighting men of the Independent Special Purpose Motorized Rifle Brigade [otdel'naya motostrel'kovaya brigada osobogo naznacheniya- OMSBON] of the NKVD, a special formation of the Soviet Armed Forces, which made its own contribution to the victory over fascist Germany. The existing literature about OMSBON and its men, as a rule, is devoted either to the combat actions of a certain detachment or special group, or to one of the heroes of the brigade. To date, there has not been a sufficiently complete investigation of its story as a whole. This outline is an attempt briefly to generalize the brigade's history.
On 29 June 1941, the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Sovnarkom of the USSR issued a directive to party and soviet organs concerning the development of the countrywide struggle against the fascist invaders. The directive contained a program for the organization and conduct of partisan and underground activities in temporarily occupied territories. But the formation of a special group of NKVD detachments designated primarily for reconnaissance and diversionary activities in fascist rear areas had already begun in Moscow on 27 June 1941. In September 1941, two brigades were created from the personnel of the group. These brigades were later reformed into two regiments, and subsequently were brought together in OMSBON. The brigade operated throughout the entire war under this designation (with the exception of the period from the fall of 1943 to the beginning of 1944, when it was called the Independent Special Purpose Detachment [Otdel'nyy otryad osobogo naznacheniya]). The brigade had the following missions:assistance in the development of the mass partisan movement; aid to the
The formation of the brigade was begun at the end of June 1941, at the Dynamo stadium in Moscow. Brigade commander P. M. Bogdanov exercised immediate supervision of this matter. The special designation of the brigade implied increased demands on personnel. The commanders had to have experience in military and Chekist work, including the partisan struggle and the underground. People absolutely devoted to the Motherland, steadfast, courageous, resolute, capable of independent action in complex situations, physically hardened and tough, were included in the brigade. Workers of the NKVD central apparatus and instructors and students of the NKVD Central School and Higher Border Troops School became the core of the brigade. In
More than 800 athletes, selected by the central councils of the volunteer sports societies «Dynamo», «Spartak», «Lokomotiv», and others joined the brigade. Among them were merited masters and masters of sports, trainers, USSR champions, European champions, and world champions: track and field brothers S. I. and G. I. Znamenskiy, skater A. K. Kapchinskiy, boxers N. F. Korolev and S. S. Shcherbakov, wrestler G. D. Pyl'nov, skier L. V. Kulakova, rower A. M. Dolgushin, members of the «Minsk Dynamo» soccer team, 150 students and instructors of the Central State Institute of Physical Culture, as well as students of Moscow Historical-Archival, Leather Processing, Mining, Machine Tool, and Medical Institutes, and the Institute of History, Philosophy, and Literature (MIFLI). Political maturity distinguished the soldiers of the «company of philosophers», as the subunit where the men of the philosophy institute served was named in jest. They were a reliable support to commanders and political workers at the front and during the accomplishment of special tasks. More than 300 women, who became agents, radio operators, and nurses entered into OMSBON, as did several hundred volunteers from the ranks of
The brigade was reinforced with personnel throughout the course of the war. Its total strength exceeded 10,500. From October 1941, its commander was Colonel M. F. Orlov; its first commissar was Major A. A. Maksimov, later A. S. Maysuradze, who was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; the chief of the political department was Lt. Col. L. A. Studnikov. OMSBON consisted of a headquarters, two motorized rifle regiments, medical and parachute service, schools (junior leadership, radio operator, and demolitions instructor), and an aviation section. Independent detachments were formed from its personnel for operations at the front (up to
The program of combat training included instruction in firing from various types of weapons, combat tactics, topography, orientation skills, demolitions skills,
The insertion of OMSBON special detachments into the enemy rear was accomplished by pilots of the 101st Long Range Aviation Regiment, commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union V. S. Grizodubova [female]. They executed landings at partisan airfields, transferred wounded soldiers, women and children, German documents captured by agents and underground agents, and captured German officers to Moscow. It was normal for the pilots of this regiment and the OMSBON aviation detachment to make a flight across the front line of 1,000 kilometers or more. The radio school and the communications company trained male and female radio operators for the maintenance of radio communications with the Center and front headquarters, and performance of independent tasks. Thus, a former student of the history department of MIFLI, radio operator G. N. Yefimova, performed missions over the course of a year in
Political preparation occupied a large place in the training of OMSBON personnel.the brigade newspaper Victory for Us was published. Its first issue appeared on 7 November 1941. The editor was A. G. Trugmanov, a journalist who worked on the newspapers Izvestiya and Komsomolskaya Pravda, and on
In late August 1941, OMSBON began the insertion of special detachments and special groups into the enemy rear. The detachment Combat of V. L. Neklindov was one of the first to cross the front line. A raid into the enemy's rear of D. N. Medvedev's detachment Mitya, lasting many months, began almost simultaneously. The foundations of the future Bryansk partisan territory were partially laid by its combat activities and political work (commissar G. N. Kulakov). The detachment conducted dozens of successful combat operations, and in January 1942, having grown tenfold, returned to Moscow. On 12 February of the same year, Pravda wrote: «The partisan detachment commanded by D. Medvedev has returned from the deep rear area. This detachment traversed the territory occupied by the enemy for four months, and during this time accomplished more than a few glorious deeds.» The participants of this raid subsequently made up the core of D. N. Medvedev's new detachment- «Pobediteli» [Victors] led by commissar S. T. Stekhov, which operated in the Ukraine for two years. Afterwards, the commander told about the affairs of both detachments in his books «Sil'nyye dukhom» and «Eto bylo pod Rovno». The legendary agent N. I. Kuznetsov fulfilled the tasks of the Motherland as a member of Pobediteli in
In October 1941, when Moscow was declared to be in a state of siege, OMSBON temporarily became part of the garrison of the capital, and participated in combat activities in the Moscow environs. On the night of 16 October 1941, both OMSBON regiments, which had been deployed in the Mytishchin and Pushkin districts, were put on alert and redeployed to Moscow. The brigade headquarters received to order «Prepare to defend the area of Sverdlov, Red, Mayakovskiy, and Pushkin Squares…, upholding revolutionary order in the surrounding streets.» The brigade's soldiers prepared to defend the sector: Dzerzhinskiy Square to «Moscow-3» rail station of the Yaroslav Railroad; and Pushkin Square to the Krasnaya Presnya rail station of the Western Railroad. OMSBON conducted patrols, participated in the construction of defensive lines, in the preparation of important facilities for demolition, and carried out reconnaissance and diversionary activities in the territory of Moscow, Kalinin, Tula, and Ryazan areas.
On October 1941, the Military Council of the Moscow Defense Zone adopted a decision concerning the construction of a continuous barrier zone in the outlying areas of Moscow. OMSBON played a specific role in this. Major M. N. Shperov's composite detachment of 1,100 men (11 detachments) was attached to the Western Front, and participated in the creation of minefields on the Mozhaysk,
During the November fascist offensive on Moscow, the Shperov detachment blew up the Leningrad Highway from Zavidov to Yamuga, the bridge across the Moscow Sea, and then from Yamuga to Solnechnogorsk. «This was a total surprise for the advancing enemy. The fascists slowed down their movement and turned off the road.» Redeployed to the area of the
On 21 January, the Laznyuk detachment received the mission to drive the enemy out of the village Khludnevo (Kaluga area). The detachment soldiers dislodged the fascists from a dominating hill, but were not supported by army units in a timely manner. At night, the superior enemy forces, supported by tanks, attacked the hill. The ski troops occupied an
The
In the summer and fall of 1942, the brigade operated on the Transcaucasus Front. «In connection with the unfolding situation in the northern Caucasus,» wrote Major General V. V. Gridnev, «in August 1942, army formations had to have specialists, most of all mountain climbers, capable of operating in mountainous terrain and of training the soldiers in this… Brigade commander Colonel M. Orlov was sent to this 'hot' sector with a group of our soldiers.» OMSBON special detachments proved their worth in Ordzhonikidze, Groznyy, and Makhachkalin fortified regions, and in the passes of the Main Caucasus range. Brigade mountaineers supervised the training of men for operations in mountainous conditions. In early 1943, nearly 1,000 brigade men and officers were sent to the 70th Army around Kursk. Later, OMSBON accomplished the task of clearing mines and demolitions from cities liberated by the Red Army, among them Kiev, Khar'kov, and Gomel'.
However, as early as January 1942, the brigade redirected its primary attention to the formation and insertion of special detachments, special groups, and individual agents into the enemy rear. Several of them operated there for over two and
Captain M. S. Prudnikov's detachment, Elusive, became the core of a partisan brigade in Vitebsk area, and in the region of Nalibok Forest (from autumn 1943 the commander of the brigade, which numbered 1,200 men, was A. G. Morozov). A. I. Voropayev's detachment, Saturn, operated in Smolensk area; and A. M. Rabtsevich's detachment, Brave Men, operated in Minsk area. The detachments and special groups of K. P. Orlovskiy, G. M. Khvostov, N. A. Prokopyuk, P. G. Shemyakin, and others were located in enemy rear areas from 1942. A. N. Shikhov and V. A. Karasev went into the enemy rear several times with detachments. Karasev went into the enemy rear several times with detachments. The detachment of A. K. Flegontov, who in
Special detachments and special groups operated in the fascist rear in close cooperation with the party underground and partisans. Thus, from July 1942, Gradov [S. A. Vaupshasov], the commander of a partisan formation, was a member of the military council for the Minsk Partisan Zone. Together with the Minsk Underground City Party Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia, the council supervised and coordinated the activities of 23 detachments (3,500 partisans). The supervision of more than 400 underground operatives, agents, and couriers in Minsk, Slutsk, Osipovichi, and other Byelorussian cities was implemented as well from the Gresskiy Forests in the Minsk vicinity. The nucleus of the formation was the party organization of 100 Communists. Here were printed newspapers, proclamations, and leaflets, and active political work was conducted among the populace. A courier system supported communications between the movement headquarters and the underground and also the receiving of information. The structure of other partisan formations, which were created on a base of OMSBON detachments, was similar. In
OMSBON detachments made use of broad support among the local population. News of the appearance of «Muscovites» spread quickly throughout the neighboring forests and villages. «The audacity, courage, utter reliability, and discipline of the soldiers and commanders of the Chekist subunits impressed the local inhabitants.» In early December 1942, near the village Krevniki in the Polotsk region, Ye. A. Teleguyev's demolitions group encountered a fascist ambush near the railroad track. An exchange of fire occurred, and the OMSBON soldiers had to withdraw. They attempted to establish a base in another area, but ran into a patrol. A local resident came to their aid. He led them to a poorly guarded section of rail line near a large station, and then reported to them the results of sabotage. Sixteen flatcars with motor vehicles were destroyed in the explosion. A demolitions group under the command of a Spanish emigre, Lieutenant F. Eskribano (special detachment of Senior Lieutenant D. I. Kuznetsov) found itself in a similar situation in May 1944. Three times the demolitions group attempted to approach the track, and each time they ran into fascists. Then a local resident led them to the main building at the Talka station
As a rule, local youths who had learned about the appearance of the detachment «Muscovites» tried to establish contact with them or join them. As the mission allowed it, the detachment quickly grew into a partisan formation. Thus, the detachment of Senior Lieutenant I. M. Kuzin, which went into the enemy rear in January 1942 and operated in the Borisov district of Minsk area for 8 months, grew from 36 men to a formation of 900. Its command established liaison with the Orsha underground, and K. S. Zaslonov's group supplied it with weapons and ammunition and helped it to establish contact with Moscow. The distribution of OMSBON forces was planned first of all to insure the successful execution of their operations. For example, Captain G. M. Khvostov's detachment, Innovator, was based in the terrain feature of
From the spring of 1942, the brigade's operations began to be conducted in a more systematic manner, taking in significant territory.Strikes against enemy communications grew in scope. Thus, from 28 March to 10 May 1942, 7 OMSBON detachments totaling 259 men operating on the railroads Dorogobuzh to Smolensk, Smolensk to Vitebsk, and Smolensk to Orsha, planted 70 mines, destroyed the road bed in 18 places, blew up 3 bridges, derailed 11 trains, and interrupted rail movement for 20 days. Highly praising these actions, the commander of Western Front, G. K. Zhukov, gave the brigade headquarters new missions: strikes against a number of rail lines, an assessment of the enemy strength approaching the Western Front along them, and reconnaissance of enemy forces between Minsk, Bobruysk, Vitebsk, and Gomel'. The detachments of S. A. Vaupshasov, A. M. Rabtsevich, P. G. Shemyakin, A. P. Shestakov, A. N. Shikov, S. A. Kaminskiy, and N. D. Matveyev accomplished these tasks.
OMSBON participated in the most significant partisan operations of
The experience of the «rails war» was utilized in the summer of 1944. At night on
The OMSBON men shared all the hardships and deprivations of forest existence along with the partisans: hunger, cold, encirclement, bombardment, and sickness. Many of them became ill with typhus, suffered from swamp eczema, and were frostbitten right up to gangrene of the extremities. There were not even rudimentarily suitable conditions for their treatment, no anesthetics or sterilized instruments and supplies. In spite of this,I. Yu. Davidov, the doctor of A. P. Shestakov's detachment, performed a number of complex operations. In particular, surgery of this type saved the life of Private A. I. Zevelov (now a professor and doctor of historical science). The commander of a detachment, K. P. Orlovskiy, displayed exceptional personal courage. During a battle, a mine blew up in his hands, and he lost one arm below the elbow and his other hand. An emergency amputation was necessary, but the only available instrument was a hatchet.Encouraging the doctor, Orlovskiy himself gave the command: «Chop!» Subsequently, this brave Chekist and Hero of the Soviet Union managed a collective farm in Byelorussia, and became a Hero of Socialist Labor.
Usually OMSBON men were entrusted with the most dangerous missions. They covered withdrawing units, defended crossings, and made up the core of breakthrough groups. Thus, describing a battle with a punitive expedition in the summer of 1943 in the Bobruysk forests, I. F. Zolotar emphasized the following: «The support of the Moscow submachine gunners from the Ozmitel' and Galushkin detachments was especially valuable in this battle.» A year later, in June 1944, they both were leading battles against punitive expeditions during the fascist blockade of the partisan zone. Lieutenant B. L. Galushkin was a participant in the defense of Leningrad and Moscow, and twice went on special assignment into the enemy rear in
In
The combat path of the partisan formation named in honor of Alexandr Nevskiy, the core of which was V. A. Karasev's detachment, which fought in Ukraine, Byelorussia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, covered 12,000 kilometers. It was sent to Poland at the request of the leadership of the Polish Workers' Party and operated there in contact with the detachments of the People's Army and the underground.Junior Lieutenant M. M. Petrov died a hero in the summer of 1944 in Janovsky Forest (Lublin province). The fascists continuously attacked and bombed the partisan positions, and then set the forest ablaze. Having repelled the sixteenth enemy attack, Petrov's men rose up in a bayonet attack and broke the ring of encirclement. But the commander was cut down by a burst of submachine gun fire. In August 1944, V. A. Krasev's formation was sent into Czechoslovakia to aid the Slovak uprising. It also operated with I. Fabra's Hungarian partisans in early 1945.
The
Brigade operators had a significant role in the struggle against bourgeoisie nationalists in Ukraine and the Baltic regions. We will highlight only one fact. While carrying out a special mission, the detachment named in honor of Bogdan Khmel'nitskiy (commanded by V. V. Lebed') simultaneously conducted a struggle with the Banderovs in the area of the cities Rovno and Poles'ye. A female agent of the detachment penetrated the Banderov headquarters under the guise of a representative of a nationalistically inclined youth, and over an extended period of time reported information about the proposed actions of the armed bands.
In the summer of 1945, the OMSBON command summed up the results of the brigade's combat activities from
More than 1,000 brigade soldiers and officers perished while carrying out these missions. The Motherland holds their memory sacred. The streets of many of our cities are called by the names of D. N. Medvedev, N. I. Kuznetsov, L. Kh. Papernik, B. L. Galushkin, and other Chekists. Memorials have been erected in Moscow to OMSBON athletes D. N. Medvedev and L. V. Kulakov, in L'vov to N. I. Kuznetsov, on Malov field (Borisov region) to F. F. Ozmitel' and B. L. Galushkin, and in the village Khludnevo (Kaluga area) to
The exploits of Chekists are highly regarded by the Motherland. The rank Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to S. A. Vaupshasov, B. L. Galushkin, V. A. Karasev, N. I. Kuznetsov, P. G. Lopatin, D. N. Medvedev, Ye. I. Mirkovskiy, F. F. Ozmitel', K. P. Orlovskiy, L. Kh. Papernik, N. A. Prokopyuk, M. I. Petrov, M. S. Prudnikov, A. M. Rabtsevich, and A. N. Shikov. Orders and medals were awarded to 5,172 soldiers of the brigade, 3,934 of whom were Communists of Komsomol members. Many were given awards by Bulgaria, GDR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The newspaper Victory for Us wrote on 27 June 1945, «Our organization is of the same age as the Great Patriotic War. It was created in June 1941, and traveled the great path from Moscow to Berlin. The missions which our soldiers, sergeants, and officers fulfilled were difficult and unusual. Operating in the deep rear of the enemy, mining the approaches to the capital, conducting reconnaissance work at the fronts, forming partisan detachments, they always displayed courage and heroism, and exemplified models of military expertise, endurance, boldness… The sons of the Party of Lenin were out in front at the most difficult moments of the battle. They led the young patriots in the attack and in the defeat of the enemy.»
OMSBON veterans are at work today. Among them are workers, collective farmers, scientists, managers of enterprises and government departments, journalists, and writers. Several devoted themselves to Chekist work. Many have been awarded orders and medals for labor heroism, and former demolitions expert of the detachment named in honor of Aleksandr Nevskiy, D. I. Chervyakov, who was associated with the Minsk machine works, was awarded the honor Hero of Socialist Labor. Even in peacetime, OMSBON men continue the glorious traditions of their brigade.
Source: F. L. Kurlat, L. A. Studnikov, «Voprosy istorii», #10 1982;
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