Pavlov House
The Pavlov House ( Russian дом Павлова , Dom Pawlowa) is a house in Stalingrad (now Volgograd ) that was fought over during the Battle of Stalingrad . It was named after Sergeant Yakov Fedotowitsch Pavlov , who commanded the platoon of soldiers who first captured the building and defended it for two months against the attackers of the German 6th Army . The name Pavlov House came about during the fighting when a paramedic returning from the house replied "From Pavlov House" when asked where he was from. The name quickly caught on within the 13th Guards Rifle Division and was retained after the war .
Pavlov House is now a monument.
The building
It is a four-storey house at Pensenskoy Street 61 (today ul. Sowjetskaya 39) in the center of Stalingrad, which is at right angles to the bank of the Volga and overlooks the 9th January Square from its back gable. Before the war, the residential block was inhabited by the city elite and high-ranking officers due to its privileged location.
Fight for the Pavlov house
The last defensive positions in downtown Stalingrad were occupied by the 13th Guards Rifle Division (GSD) and ran from Pensenskoystrasse on January 9th (today's Lenin Square) to the Krutoi Gully. The free-standing building at the east end of the square was also known as "House of Soviets No. 4" or "House of Specialists".
The house was attacked and captured by the Wehrmacht for the first time in September 1942. The free-standing building, badly damaged by grenades, was then captured by a raiding party under Sergeant Yakov Pavlov on September 23, 1942 by fighting the German occupiers with hand grenades and driving them out of their positions. The Germans fled across the open space, with many killed by snipers. The platoon of the 13th GSD commanded by Pavlov, who had to replace his wounded predecessor, was wiped out with the exception of four soldiers: Pavlov, Glustschenko, Alexandrow and Chernogolow. Colonel Jelin, commander of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment, had the Sabolotnow House on Soletschnaya Street and the Pavlov House on Pensenskoystrasse expanded into a fortress. The undamaged Sabolotnow house was defended by Lieutenant Sabolotnow of the same name, who fell the following day.
When the first reporter was supposed to convey the news of the capture of the Pavlov house to the regiment, he was surprised by a German counterattack. The news could only be successfully transmitted on September 29, 1942, after which reinforcements arrived and the house was now defended by 25 soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Afanassiev with grenade launchers , machine guns and anti-tank weapons. It was surrounded with a minefield and barbed wire . Grenade launchers and machine guns were posted at specific windows and the basement and first floor walls were broken through to improve communication and supplies that came through trenches from the Grudinin Mill, the regimental command post. Food and ammunition were still in short supply, and the house was under German fire day and night. The few pauses in the fight were bridged with gramophone music. Several German attacks a day remained in the fire of the defenders. German battle tanks failed to find the weak points of the Pavlov house in the ongoing siege. The guardsmen successfully blocked the road and access to the Volga, 250 m away.
In mid-October 1942 there was a concentrated offensive against the Pavlov House in order to bring the battle to an end as part of the attacks in the northern industrial complexes. From January 9th, tanks attacked the building directly, but were driven away with anti-tank rifles, while the attacking infantry were held down with machine gun fire. Pavlov's guardsmen were able to gather again on the ground floor and had withstood all attacks for three weeks.
Because of the constant fire and the free field of fire of the snipers , it was almost impossible to bury the fallen, the bodies rotting around the hard-fought building. German tanks could not adequately fight the anti-tank rifle gunners in the windows because of their limited angle of inclination. The trapped soldiers were supplied from several tunnels and trenches. Sometimes combat patrols moved through the tunnels into the open area of the square and fought German tanks at close range.
The Pavlov House served as orientation for reports from the 62nd Army such as "Tanks sighted 200 m west of Dom Pavlov". Sergeant Pavlov received the code name "Lighthouse" from Tschuikow and played a central role in the last bridgeheads in Stalingrad-Mitte.
One of the most famous Soviet snipers, Anatoly Chekhov, often fought German targets from the roof of the Pavlov House and was able to retreat unnoticed through the trench to the Grudinin Mill.
The Red Army soldiers and civilians remaining in the basement were finally relieved after fierce fighting by the Soviet advance on November 25th. To this day it has not been clarified why the Pavlov House was not destroyed by air or artillery strikes, but rather the infantry tried to take the house in repeated frontal assaults based on the Ludendorff principle.
Defenders of the Pavlov House
The information on the number of defenders fluctuates, presumably there were 24 to 100 in the different phases of the battle. In the basement there were also 10 civilians, some of whom were seriously wounded by fires, who had survived the German artillery and bombing attacks. The slightly injured supported the guardsmen in their defense tasks.
The Pavlov House was defended by the following soldiers of different nationalities:
| Surname | rank | Weapon type | ancestry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jakow Fedotowitsch Pavlov | Oberfeldwebel (Starschi Sergeant) and commander | Submachine gun | Russian |
| Vasily S. Glushchenko | Unterfeldwebel (Mladschi Sergeant) | light MG | Ukrainian |
| AP Alexandrov | Guard riflemen | light MG | Russian |
| N. Yes. Chernogolov | soldier | light MG | Russian |
| Ivan F. Afanassjew | lieutenant | heavy MG | Russian |
| TO Chernyshenko | Sub-lieutenant (Mladschi Leitenant) | mortar | Russian |
| AA Sobgaida | Sergeant Major | Anti-tank rifle (Kdr. Anti-tank guns) | Ukrainian |
| Ilya W. Voronov | Oberfeldwebel (Starschi Sergeant) | Heavy MG (Deputy Kdr. MG Zug) | Russian |
| Yefremov | soldier | heavy machine gun (gunner) | Russian |
| Idel Jakowlewitsch Chait | Sergeant | Submachine gun | Jewish |
| PI Dovchenko | soldier | heavy machine gun (Schützen II) | Ukrainian |
| TI gridin | Sergeant | Grenade launcher (Kdr. Grenade launcher) | Russian |
| AI Ivastchenko | soldier | heavy MG | Ukrainian |
| WM Kisselew | soldier | Submachine gun | Russian |
| NG Mosiashvili | soldier | Submachine gun | Georgian |
| FS Romasanow | soldier | Anti-tank rifle | Tatar |
| WK Sarajev | soldier | Submachine gun | Russian |
| IT Swirin | soldier | light MG | Russian |
| M. Bondarenko | soldier | light MG | Russian |
| P. Demchenko | soldier | heavy machine gun (shooter I) | Ukrainian |
| T. Mursayev | soldier | Anti-tank rifle | Kazakh |
| M. Turdiev | soldier | Anti-tank rifle | tajik |
| Kamandai | soldier | Anti-tank rifle | Uzbek |
| K. Turgunov | soldier | light machine gun and anti-tank rifle | Uzbek |
| Shkuratov | soldier | Anti-tank rifle | Russian |
| Sukba | soldier | Submachine gun | Abkhazian |
| Stepanoshvili | soldier | Submachine gun | Georgian |
| Gary Badmajewitsch Cholokhov | Soldier (sniper) | Repeating rifle | Kalmuck |
Sergeant Pavlov
Jakow Fedotowitsch Pawlow, Russian Яков Федотович Павлов , (* 1917; † 1981) was drafted into the Red Army in 1938 and fought under Alexander Rodimzew in the 13th Guards Rifle Division . Sergeant Pavlov survived the battle, became a lieutenant, CPSU and Komsomol member in 1944 and marched with the 8th Guards Army to Berlin. In 1945 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his services in the Battle of Stalingrad and the conquest of Berlin .
Symbolic meaning
The Pavlov House became a symbol of the tough resistance of the Soviet defenders in the Battle of Stalingrad and World War II. While the Wehrmacht had previously overrun many cities and countries with their Blitzkrieg tactics , they did not succeed in taking a single ruined house within two months . The Pavlov house is said to have been listed on Paul's personal map as a fortress that had to be taken at any cost. Defense was portrayed in propaganda as a military masterpiece against a far superior superior force and was greatly heroized.
After the war
The house was rebuilt after the war and is now used again as a residential building. On its outside facing the Volga, a monument was erected from stones from the old building. The Pavlov House was one of the first Stalingrad buildings to be rebuilt by a female construction team as part of the Cherkassovsky movement. The architect WJ Masljajew and the sculptor WG Fetissow noted on an inscription on the memorial wall: "In this house, the exploits of the soldiers and those of the working people have merged."
After the release of documents from the Soviet state archives, the view of the events in the Pavlov House changed. It is documented that the tactically important building was captured by a small reconnaissance unit under Sergeant Pavlov, later reinforced by a machine gun platoon and anti-tank riflemen, and that it represented an important defense node in the Soviet defense line. There were 24 soldiers of nine different nationalities under the command of Lieutenant Afanassiev who carried out these deeds. In the opinion of the Volgograd poet and publicist Yuri Mikhailovich Beledin, the Pavlov House should rightly be called "House of Soldier Glory", since Pavlov was injured during the fighting and the defense was actively headed by Afanasiev. All defenders were immortalized on the facade of the building:
«Этот дом в конце сентября 1942 года был занят сержантом Павловым Я. Ф. и его боевыми товарищами Александровым В. Е., Глущенко В. С., Черноголовым Н. Я. В течение сентября-ноября 1942 года дом героически защищали воины 3-го батальона 42-го гвардейского стрелкового полка 13 й гвардейской ордена Ленина стрелковой дивизии: Александров А. П., Афанасьев И. Ф., Бондаренко М. С., Воронов И. В., Глущенко В. С., Гридин Т. И., Довженко П. И., Иващенко А. И., Киселев В. М., Мосиашвили Н. Г., Мурзаев Т., Павлов Я. Ф., Рамазанов Ф.З., Сараев В. К., Свирин И. Т., Собгайда А. А., Тургунов К., Турдыев М., Хайт И. Я., Черноголов Н. Я., Чернышенко А. Н., Шаповалов А. Е., Якименко Г. И. »
“Etot dom w konze sentjabrja 1942 goda byl sanjat serschantom Pavlovym Yes. F. i ewo bojewymi towarishchami Alexandrowym W. Je., Gluschtschenko WS, Tschernogolowym N. Yes. V tetschenije sentjabrja-nojabrja 1942 goda dom geroitscheski sashchishchali woiny 3-wo bataljona 42-wo gwardeiskowo strelkowowo polka 13-j gwardeiskoi ordena Lenina strelkowoi diwisii: Vs , Iwaschtschenko AI, Kisselew WM, Mossiaschwili NG, Mursajew T., Pavlov Yes. F., Ramasanow FS, Sarajew WK, Swirin IT, Sobgaida AA, Turgunow K., Turdyjew M., Chait I. Yes., Chernogolow N. Yes., Chernyshenko AN, Schapovalov A. Je., Jakimenko GI "
“This house was defended by Sergeant Pavlov and his comrades from the end of September 1942. From September to November 1942 the house was heroically defended by fighters of the 3rd Battalion of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, bearer of the Order of Lenin: Alexandrov, Afanassjew, Bondarenko, Glushchenko, Gridin, Dovchenko, Ivashchenko, Kisselev, Mossiashvili , Mursajew, Pavlov, Swirin, Sabgaida, Torgunow, Turdiev, Chait, Chernogolow, Chernyshchenko and Shapovalov. "
Ivan Afanassjew served in the Soviet Army until 1951 and lived in Stalingrad, later Volgograd, from 1958. In his book "House of Soldier Fame", Afanassiev reports on the events from his point of view, for example that the house was already free from the enemy when Pavlov took it. He had to change many passages several times as a result of the censorship.
Computer games
The Pavlov house appears in the computer games Call of Duty , Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad and Battlefield 1942 (modification Forgotten Hope) . The player can defend or conquer the house.
literature
- Erwin Bekier: When the Volga burned . 1st edition. The children's book publisher, Berlin 1977, DNB 780329058 .
- Brian Moynahan: Forgotten Soldiers. Ordinary men whose extraordinary deeds changed history . Quercus Publishing, London 2008, ISBN 978-1-84724-387-4 (English).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Erwin Bekier: When the Volga burned . 1st edition. Der Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1977, DNB 780329058 , p. 25 .
- ↑ Дом Павлова. volfoto.ru, accessed September 28, 2013 (Russian).
- ↑ Not to be confused with the house of the specialists in the technicians' quarter / city center in the immediate vicinity of the central ferry terminal, which was captured and permanently secured by German storm troops.
- ↑ a b c Will Fowler: Battle for Stalingrad. The capture of the city - October 1942 . Vienna 2006, p. 89 .
- ^ William E. Craig: The Battle of Stalingrad . Heyne, Munich 1991, p. 112-113 (factual report).
- ↑ a b Erwin Bekier: When the Volga burned . 1st edition. Der Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1977, DNB 780329058 , p. 25 .
- ↑ users.telenet.be ( Memento from July 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Diana Alexandrovna Kikeevna: Хохолов Гаря Бадмаевич. stalingrad-battle.ru, accessed on June 23, 2020 (Russian, essay in the competition “Tell the world about your hero”, 9th grade student at the Sarpinsky Kirov High School (Kazakhstan)).
- ↑ users.telenet.be ( Memento from April 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Герой Советского Союза Павлов Яков Федотович. In: Герои страны. www.warheroes.ru, accessed May 8, 2020 (Russian).
- ↑ Виталий Коровин: "Дом Павлова" - где правда, а где ложь? (No longer available online.) Volgograd.ru, May 8, 2007, archived from the original on October 2, 2013 ; Retrieved September 28, 2013 (Russian, The Pavlov House - what is truth, what is a lie?). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 48 ° 42 ′ 57.8 " N , 44 ° 31 ′ 52.8" E