As the staff of the Museum of Heroic Defense and Liberation of Sevastopol discovered, on the eve of the assault on the city, political and partisan work was actively developing in the units of the Red Army. The soldiers were told about the history and traditions of the Sevastopol sailors.
Alim Keshokov, special correspondent of the 51st army newspaper “Son of the Fatherland”, wrote in the article “Flag”: “A piece of calico, fluttering on a roughly planed shaft, is soaked in the blood of a warrior, pierced by an enemy bullet. The fumes of gunpowder smoke have settled on him. He has become a sacred relic of the battalion, the embodiment of military honor and glory, the personification of those whose immortal feat opened the way to victory. .
As a result, soldiers and officers were overcome with a real thrill of hunting: who would be the first to raise the victorious banner? Assault parties began to form into divisions and regiments with the task of ascending Historic Boulevard and planting a red flag on the Panorama building.
The abundance of assault banners proved unexpectedly useful during the attack on Sapun Mountain. Amid the gunpowder smoke, Soviet gunners and tank crews were guided by red flags. If kumach develops over a concrete bunker, then that means it’s ours there and you can’t hit it.
After many hours of battle, the victory flag was raised on Sapun Mountain on the evening of May 7 by an assault group of soldiers of the 844th Infantry Regiment: the company’s party organizer Evgeny Smelovich, the father and son Karp and Ivan Yatsunenko. The brave souls who climbed almost to the top were attacked with mortars: the officer and Karp Alekseevich died, but Ivan had enough strength to plant the banner. A mine exploded nearby and the brave soldier lost consciousness. The fellow soldiers decided that the standard bearer was dead. They took out of his pocket a badge with his name and address. This is how Ivan Yatsunenko ended up on the death list. His name was engraved on an obelisk erected on the top of the mountain after the liberation of the city.
However, the brave soldier survived and later fought on the streets of Sevastopol and liberated Europe, and after the war he returned to Crimea. Ten years later, the Prostornoe village club screened a documentary about the assault on Sapun Mountain, at the end of which the standard bearer was said to have died. Then the “dead” Ivan Karpovich stood up from his seat and said: “This is not true, I am alive!” By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR he was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The hero died in 1983. Yatsunenko’s feat is captured in the famous diorama of the Sapun Mountain Museum. It is curious that the historical park was built elsewhere and the monument to the raising of the banner ended up in the forest. However, the residents of Sevastopol have not forgotten it and volunteers take care of the monument.
Having captured the dominant heights, the soldiers and sailors of the Red Army began to storm the city. For this day, red and naval flags were prepared in each unit.
Irina Agisheva, a researcher at the Sevastopol Museum of Heroic Defense and Liberation, managed to find unique evidence of the exploits of Soviet soldiers and sailors in the archives.
It turns out: on May 9, 1944, 24 assault banners were installed in different parts of Sevastopol, some of them were made in the same place in the middle of the battle.
“When the battle of the advance detachment of the 848th Infantry Regiment of the 267th Infantry Division in the station area was coming to an end, Major Krylov took off his shirt, stained it with the blood of a dead horse and put it on. to an iron bar in a destroyed building,” says Yurievna, Irina’s researcher.
These are just a few examples of bravery.
The commander of the sapper company, Lieutenant Dmitry Zagorulko, personally raised the flag at the house near the modern school building number 6. An hour later, the brave officer died and was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union . The same high rank was awarded to the battalion commander of the 276th Infantry Regiment, Captain Alexei Toropkin, who in a battle on the slope of Istorichesky Boulevard personally destroyed ten enemy soldiers and officers and then raised the assault flag over the entrance to the Panorama. building.
An extraordinary report sent to the headquarters of the 1st Guards Rifle Corps said: “I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the battles for the station and the South Bay were first initiated by my advance detachment, launched into this zone in vehicles… As a result, the enemy was driven towards the Sevastopol Panorama zone. Red flags were raised on the buildings above. The commander of the detachment, Major Toroptsev, the gun commander, Sergeant Kuznetsov, the scouts Panchenko, Kireev, Akildzhanov, Kurvenko and the orderly. Lena Egorova especially distinguished herself in battle.” Let us note that Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov became a Hero of the Soviet Union for his courage and bravery and was awarded three Orders of Glory.
There is a special episode in the history of the combat trajectory of the 953rd Infantry Regiment. It is dedicated to the feat of Lieutenant Mikhail Golovnya’s foot reconnaissance platoon, who in battle raised the flag on the tallest building in South Bay, the roof of the hydrometeorological station, repelling a counterattack by about 40 German soldiers. After the battle, Lieutenant Mikhail Golovnya, Sergeant Nikolai Gunko, soldiers Ivan Kirichenko and Azhu Kanomatov were awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and Red Army soldier Ilya Polikakhin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
