Defamed the hero? General Berezin hell Major General Berezin how he died

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Alexander Dmitrievich Berezin(1895, Vladimir - July 5, 1942, village of Demyakhi, Smolensk region) - Soviet military leader, major general.

Initial biography

Alexander Dmitrievich Berezin was born in 1895 in Vladimir into a working-class family.

I passed my high school exams as an external student.

Military service

World War I and Civil War

The Great Patriotic War

In December, the division distinguished itself by participating in the Kalinin offensive operation, during which it crossed the Volga and, having organized a bridgehead, along with other formations, liberated the city of Kalinin. For the successful participation of the division, it was awarded the title of Guards.

The former commander of the 31st Army, Vasily Dalmatov, wrote in his book “The Frontier of the Great Battle”:

“I can’t help but remember the 119th Krasnoyarsk Rifle Division, which wrote more than one bright page in the chronicle of the heroic struggle of the Red Army against superior enemy forces in 1941. Siberians showed an example of selfless devotion to the Motherland, examples of courage and bravery. The division was commanded by General A.D. Berezin. The Siberian division was one of the first to be awarded the title of 17th Guards in March.”

In January 1942, Alexander Berezin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

On June 6, 1942 he was transferred to the headquarters of the 41st Army.

He died on July 5, 1942 and was buried in a military grave near the village of Demyakhi, Belsky District, now Tver Region. Identified from surviving documents and the Order of the Red Banner.

Ratings and opinions

In the front-line memoirs of Shumilin A.I. “” there is an alternative description of Berezin’s actions during the Second World War. They more than once mention the role of Berezin and his methods of command and control. Shumilin A.I. was a company commander in the Berezin division. Shumilin has repeatedly pointed out that Berezin bears personal responsibility for the fact that “ eight thousand soldiers were captured by the Germans near Bely. He was afraid that he would be shot. And therefore, he covered himself with a soldier’s overcoat and went towards the city and no one saw him again.”

Memory

In 1985, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Victory, in Vladimir the former Svyazi passage was renamed into A.D. Berezin Street.

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An excerpt characterizing Berezin, Alexander Dmitrievich

The Countess looked at her daughter, saw her face ashamed of her mother, saw her excitement, understood why her husband was now not looking back at her, and looked around her with a confused look.
- Oh, do as you want! Am I disturbing anyone? – she said, not yet suddenly giving up.
- Mama, my dear, forgive me!
But the countess pushed her daughter away and approached the count.
“Mon cher, you do the right thing... I don’t know that,” she said, lowering her eyes guiltily.
“Eggs... eggs teach a hen...” the count said through happy tears and hugged his wife, who was glad to hide her ashamed face on his chest.
- Daddy, mummy! Can I make arrangements? Is it possible?.. – Natasha asked. “We’ll still take everything we need…” Natasha said.
The Count nodded his head affirmatively at her, and Natasha, with the same quick run as she used to run into the burners, ran across the hall to the hallway and up the stairs to the courtyard.
People gathered around Natasha and until then could not believe the strange order that she conveyed, until the count himself, in the name of his wife, confirmed the order that all carts should be given to the wounded, and chests should be taken to storerooms. Having understood the order, people happily and busily set about the new task. Now not only did it not seem strange to the servants, but, on the contrary, it seemed that it could not be otherwise, just as a quarter of an hour before it not only did not seem strange to anyone that they were leaving the wounded and taking things, but it seemed that it couldn't be otherwise.
All the household, as if paying for the fact that they had not taken up this task earlier, busily began the new task of housing the wounded. The wounded crawled out of their rooms and surrounded the carts with joyful, pale faces. Rumors also spread in the neighboring houses that there were carts, and the wounded from other houses began to come to the Rostovs’ yard. Many of the wounded asked not to take off their things and only put them on top. But once the business of dumping things had begun, it could not stop. It didn't matter whether to leave everything or half. In the yard lay untidy chests with dishes, bronze, paintings, mirrors, which they had so carefully packed last night, and they kept looking for and finding an opportunity to put this and that and give away more and more carts.
“You can still take four,” said the manager, “I’m giving away my cart, otherwise where will they go?”
“Give me my dressing room,” said the countess. - Dunyasha will get into the carriage with me.
They also gave away a wardrobe wagon and sent it two houses away to pick up the wounded. All the household and servants were cheerfully animated. Natasha was in an enthusiastically happy revival, which she had not experienced for a long time.
-Where should I tie him? - people said, adjusting the chest to the narrow back of the carriage, - we must leave at least one cart.
- What is he with? – Natasha asked.
- With the count's books.
- Leave it. Vasilich will clean it up. It is not necessary.
The chaise was full of people; doubted about where Pyotr Ilyich would sit.
- He's on the goat. Are you a jerk, Petya? – Natasha shouted.
Sonya kept busy too; but the goal of her efforts was the opposite of Natasha’s goal. She put away those things that should have remained; I wrote them down, at the countess’s request, and tried to take with me as many as possible.

In the second hour, the four Rostov carriages, loaded and stowed, stood at the entrance. The carts with the wounded rolled out of the yard one after another.
The carriage in which Prince Andrei was carried, passing by the porch, attracted the attention of Sonya, who, together with the girl, was arranging seats for the countess in her huge tall carriage, which stood at the entrance.
– Whose stroller is this? – Sonya asked, leaning out of the carriage window.
“Didn’t you know, young lady?” - answered the maid. - The prince is wounded: he spent the night with us and is also coming with us.
- Who is this? What's the last name?
– Our very former groom, Prince Bolkonsky! – sighing, answered the maid. “They say he’s dying.”
Sonya jumped out of the carriage and ran to the Countess. The countess, already dressed for the trip, in a shawl and hat, tired, walked around the living room, waiting for her family in order to sit with the doors closed and pray before leaving. Natasha was not in the room.
“Maman,” said Sonya, “Prince Andrei is here, wounded, near death.” He's coming with us.
The Countess opened her eyes in fear and, grabbing Sonya’s hand, looked around.
- Natasha? - she said.
For both Sonya and the Countess, this news had only one meaning at first. They knew their Natasha, and the horror of what would happen to her at this news drowned out for them all sympathy for the person they both loved.
– Natasha doesn’t know yet; but he’s coming with us,” said Sonya.
- Are you talking about death?
Sonya nodded her head.
The Countess hugged Sonya and began to cry.
"God works in mysterious ways!" - she thought, feeling that in everything that was done now, an omnipotent hand, previously hidden from people’s view, began to appear.
- Well, mom, everything is ready. What are you talking about?.. – Natasha asked with a lively face, running into the room.
“Nothing,” said the Countess. - It's ready, let's go. – And the countess bent down to her reticule to hide her upset face. Sonya hugged Natasha and kissed her.
Natasha looked at her questioningly.
- What you? What happened?
- There is nothing…
- Very bad for me?.. What is it? – asked the sensitive Natasha.
Sonya sighed and did not answer. The Count, Petya, m me Schoss, Mavra Kuzminishna, Vasilich entered the living room, and, having closed the doors, they all sat down and sat silently, without looking at each other, for several seconds.

Affiliation Russian empire Russian empire
RSFSR RSFSR
USSR USSR

Alexander Vasilievich Berezin(December 22 - November 1) - Soviet military leader, major general (1958)

Biography

Born in the city of Yelets. Russian.

Before serving in the army, Berezin worked as an electrician at a power plant in the city of Yelets from March 1927 to April 1931, then was secretary of the Komsomol organization of the Yelets Lime Plant, and from August 1931 - head. mass economic department of the Yelets district committee of the Komsomol, since November - instructor and chairman of the district committee of the Komsomol in the Yelets Kuspromsoyuz.

Military service

On June 1, 1932, following a special recruitment of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, he entered the Leningrad School of Communications as a cadet. Lensovet. Upon graduation in November 1934, he was assigned to the 20th Mountain Rifle Division of the ZakVO in the city of Leninakan, where he served as commander of the headquarters company of a separate communications battalion.

Since October 1936 - commander of a communications company and chief of communications of the 60th Mountain Rifle Regiment.

In May 1939, he passed the test and was enrolled as a student at the Military Academy of the Red Army named after. M. V. Frunze. In September 1940, he was transferred to the special faculty of the academy, on the basis of which the Higher Special School of the General Staff of the Red Army was then formed, and Berezin was enrolled in it as a 2nd year student of the 1st faculty.

The Great Patriotic War

With the outbreak of war, Captain Berezin in August 1941, from the 3rd year, was sent to the headquarters of the 54th Army, newly formed in the Moscow District, to the position of senior assistant to the chief of the operations department. After the formation was completed, the army departed to the northwestern direction and took up defense along the right bank of the Volkhov River. On September 26, it became part of the Leningrad Front and fought in the Kolpino area, participating in the operation to break the blockade of Leningrad. In the second half of October - December, its troops took part in the Tikhvin defensive and offensive operations.

In December 1941, Captain Berezin was appointed chief of staff of the 80th Infantry Division. As part of the 54th Army, he participated with it in the Lyuban offensive operation. Its units fought against the enemy’s Voybokal group, which was trying to cut the railway. in the Shum, Voybokalo area, then advanced in the direction of Pogostye. From April 26 to September 26, 1942, the division as part of the army was on the defensive at the Makaryevskaya Pustyn - Smerdynya line. From September 29, it was subordinated to the 8th Army of the Volkhov Front and participated in the Sinyavinsky defensive operation, fighting on the Gaitolovo - Tortolovo line. From January 23, 1943, its units as part of the 2nd Shock Army took part in the operation to break the blockade of Leningrad, but in the very first battles they suffered significant losses and were unable to complete the task. After stubborn battles in Sinyavinsk in March - April 1943, the division was in the reserve of the Volkhov Front, then became part of the 54th Army and defended the line in the area of ​​​​Larionov Ostrov, Posadnikov Ostrov, Nov. Kirishi. From October 5 to October 25, she fought offensive battles to break through the German defenses in the Didvino area, then defended the Makaryevskaya Pustyn - Yegoryevka line.

On November 7, 1943, Lieutenant Colonel Berezin was appointed chief of staff of the 111th Rifle Corps and participated with him in the Leningrad-Novgorod offensive operation.

On June 19, 1944, Colonel Berezin was allowed to command the 288th Infantry Division. From July 7 to July 11, it was redeployed to the Khverschi area (northeast of the Pushkin Mountains), where, together with the 122nd Tank Brigade from the line of the Velikaya River, it was introduced into the breakthrough, forming a mobile group of the 54th Army of the 3rd Baltic Front. Swiftly pursuing the retreating enemy, its units captured the city of Krasnogorodskoye on July 18, crossed the Lzha River and launched an offensive on Gulbene. On July 24, near the city of Balvy in Latvia, Colonel Berezin was wounded and was in the hospital until September 19, then again commanded the 288th Infantry Division. After 2 days, its units from the Valga region began pursuing the enemy in the general direction of Daksty - Valmiera, crossed the Seda River on the move and captured the city of Daksty, destroying up to two enemy regiments. On September 24, they burst into the city of Valmiera at night and took it by storm, after which they pursued the enemy in the direction of Riga. On October 8, the 288th Infantry Division became part of the 42nd Army and was transferred to the area southeast of Dobele, and from there launched an attack on Saldus. By November 1, it reached the line of lakes Svetes - Aatses and went on the defensive. In March - April 1945, the division as part of the 22nd Army of the 2nd Baltic Front, and from April 1 - Leningrad Front, fought in the Saldus direction, until the surrender of the enemy Courland group.

Post-war career

After the war in October 1945, the division was disbanded, and Colonel Berezin was placed at the disposal of the GUK NKO.

From February 1946 to May 1948 he studied at the Higher Military Academy named after. K.E. Voroshilov, then served in the operational directorate of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces as a senior officer operator of the southwestern direction, from February 1950 - deputy. head of the internal districts department. Since May 1953, he served as deputy. Head of the Directorate of Staffing and Troop Service of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Soviet Army. From March 1955 he served in the General Staff of the Ground Forces as deputy head of the Troop Recruitment and Service Directorate, and from September 1960 - head of the Mobilization Directorate. Since April 1964

Alexander Dmitrievich Berezin(1895, Vladimir - July 5, 1942, village of Demyakhi, Smolensk region) - Soviet military leader, major general.

Initial biography

Alexander Dmitrievich Berezin was born in 1895 in Vladimir into a working-class family.

I passed my high school exams as an external student.

Military service

World War I and Civil War

In 1915, after graduating from ensign school, Berezin was sent to the front, where he rose to the rank of staff captain. After being seriously wounded, he was demobilized.

Took part in the Civil War. In 1919, he worked as an assistant commander of a separate battalion of the Cheka.

Interwar time

On August 19, 1939, Alexander Dmitrievich Berezin was appointed to the post of commander of the 119th Infantry Division being formed in Krasnoyarsk.

The Great Patriotic War

On June 29 he was sent to the front with the division. After unloading and marching, the division took up defensive positions in the Olenin area, where it took part in the construction of the Rzhevsky section of the Rzhev-Vyazemsky fortified area. While in one place, she was part of the 24th, 30th, 31st armies. The first battle, according to the combat log, was fought by the 634th Infantry Regiment of the division on October 8, south of Olenino, in the Dudkino, Aksenino area.

In December, the division distinguished itself by participating in the Kalinin offensive operation, during which it crossed the Volga and, having organized a bridgehead, along with other formations, liberated the city of Kalinin. For the successful participation of the division, it was awarded the title of Guards.

The former commander of the 31st Army, Vasily Dalmatov, wrote in his book “The Frontier of the Great Battle”:

“I can’t help but remember the 119th Krasnoyarsk Rifle Division, which wrote more than one bright page in the chronicle of the heroic struggle of the Red Army against superior enemy forces in 1941. Siberians showed an example of selfless devotion to the Motherland, examples of courage and bravery. The division was commanded by General A.D. Berezin. The Siberian division was one of the first to be awarded the title of 17th Guards in March.”

In January 1942, Alexander Berezin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

He died on July 5, 1942 and was buried in a military grave near the village of Demyakhi, Belsky District, now Tver Region. Identified by surviving documents and the Order of the Red Banner.

Ratings and opinions

In the front-line memoirs of Shumilin A.I. “Vanka Company” there is an alternative description of Berezin’s actions during the Second World War. They more than once mention the role of Berezin and his methods of command and control. Shumilin A.I. was a company commander in the Berezin division. Shumilin repeatedly pointed out that Berezin was personally responsible for the fact that “eight thousand soldiers were captured by the Germans near Bely. He was afraid that he would be shot. And therefore, he covered himself with a soldier’s overcoat and went towards the city and no one saw him again.”

Memory

In the city of Bely, a small part of which was liberated by the 119th Infantry Division on January 29, 1942, Skladskaya Street was renamed Berezina Street in honor of the commander, but since Berezin’s burial place was not known at that time, a memorial plaque was installed for him at its beginning.

On September 21, 1966, in Krasnoyarsk, 2nd Polyarnaya Street was renamed Major General A.D. Berezin Street.

In 1985, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Victory, in Vladimir the former Svyazi passage was renamed into A.D. Berezin Street.

The name of the division commander of the 119th SD A.D. Berezin is carved on the slab of the memorial complex “To the Siberian Warriors”.

Memorial complex "Siberian Warriors", Lenino-Snegirevsky Military History Museum.

A presentation of a new book by historian and local historian Vyacheslav Filippov “Through Three Wars” took place in Krasnoyarsk. It is dedicated to the formation and combat path of the 17th Guards Rifle Division - the most famous military formation created in the Krasnoyarsk Territory back in 1939. It was headed by brigade commander Alexander Berezin. The author of the book spoke about the difficult fate of the AiF-Krasnoyarsk division.

“Late” for repression

Military engineer, historian and local historian V. Filippov. Photo: From personal archive / Vyacheslav Filippov

Vyacheslav Filippov: Among the military formations that went to the front from the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, one received the largest number of well-deserved honorary titles. Judge for yourself: its full name sounds like the 17th Guards Rifle Dukhovshchinsko-Khingan Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division, second degree. In addition, many individual regiments of this division had their own honorary names for successful military operations. Believe me, there was no other such titled unit in the region.

AiF-Krasnoyarsk correspondent Mikhail Markovich: Vyacheslav Viktorovich, when did the division appear on the list of Red Army units?

Initially it was the 119th Infantry Division.

Vyacheslav FILIPOV was born in 1962 in Krasnoyarsk. Graduated from the Irkutsk Higher Military Aviation Engineering School. For ten years he served in engineering positions in the Northern Fleet Air Force. From 1995 to 2000 he worked as deputy military commissar at the military registration and enlistment office of the Kirov district of Krasnoyarsk. Since 2013, employee of the Museum of the Military Engineering Institute of Siberian Federal University. Currently an employee of the Center for Environmental Industrial Policy. Author of 17 monographs and a large number of articles.

It received the order to form on August 19, 1939 in Krasnoyarsk. In September the part was ready. The first commander of the division was brigade commander Alexander Dmitrievich Berezin, and Dmitry Ivanovich Shershin was appointed military commissar. The division's control was stationed in Krasnoyarsk, and units were scattered between Kansk, Achinsk and Uyar (then Klyukvennaya station). After its formation, the division became part of the 52nd Rifle Corps of the Siberian Military District. Her peaceful life was short-lived: on January 1, 1940, she received an order to go to the Finnish front. However, she failed to fully fight in this military conflict. Only the 349th Light Artillery Regiment took part in actual combat operations. His participation in artillery preparation evoked gratitude from the command. This ended the war for the division, and it was returned to the region.

The conflict on the Finnish border was not the most successful for the USSR; many military personnel fell under another wave of repression. What was the fate of the command staff of the 119th division?

Our division was lucky. She was “late” to the repressions. After all, the main shaft rolled two years before its formation. (The next wave covered mostly those Red commanders and soldiers who were captured during the Finnish War - Auto.). Therefore, the 119th Division calmly returned to its place of deployment and began combat training - fortunately, in this regard, the past war became very indicative. Perhaps that is why she entered the Great Patriotic War, as they say, fully armed. The division was prepared to fight not according to plans, but according to what the command saw in a real war.

Weapon test

- Apparently, the Siberians met the second war in echelon?

Alexander Berezin at the division banner. Photo: Victory Memorial Museum

Almost. The division received the order to move to the front on June 29. At the beginning of July, she unloaded near Rzhev and then fought as part of the Kalinin Front. The division was very lucky with its first commander, General Berezin. A unique person, a participant in the First World War, the Civil War. In 1915, he graduated from the school of warrant officers and rose to the rank of staff captain. Heavily wounded, he was demobilized, but in 1918 he went to serve in the Red Army. In 1923 he graduated from the Higher Rifle School, and in 1928 - staff courses.

It was thanks to the initiative, strong character and talent of commander Berezin that the division was not completely defeated. In 1941, many units of the Red Army died precisely because of the lack of an experienced commander ready to make decisions and take responsibility. Berezin was not like that. And he led the troops out of encirclement, although he himself died on July 5, 1942 in the village of Demyakhi, Belsky district, Tver region. The general's remains were identified in the general grave by the order number.

You know, I talked with many veterans, and Shumilin’s review is the only negative one. I don’t know what the reason is, maybe personal hostility. But I stick to my point of view. Like many units of the Red Army, the division was tested by encirclement. And she endured it with dignity, despite great losses. The main thing is that the military unit retained its honor, retained its banner. After appropriate replenishment, she returned to the front again (looking ahead, I will say that the Siberians were replenished in this way four times!). She took part in the defense of Moscow. And she fought so well that she was among the first 20 units to receive the rank of guards. And then defeats gave way to victories.

On September 16-17, 1943, the division took part in the general offensive and capture of the city of Dukhovshchina. On this day, a salute was given in honor of the Siberian regiments in Moscow, and the division was given the honorary name Dukhovshchinskaya. Moving west, our soldiers passed through Belarus, the Baltic states and advanced to East Prussia. As a result, the 17th Guards Division ended its combat journey near Königsberg. It was she who cleared the Zemland Peninsula from the SS men and reached the Baltic Sea on April 17. The Great Patriotic War ended for her.

- And how long did the high command allow the Siberian unit to rest?

Less than a month. Already on May 13, the guards received a new order: across the country - to the Far East, to fulfill their allied duty. The train traveled for a whole month and could not pass Krasnoyarsk. The stop in the city lasted only two hours. A third war awaited the 17th Division. Mongolia - a forced march through the Greater Khingan ridge (800 km) and a direct road to Port Arthur, which Russian troops abandoned back in 1905. There she received another honorary title - Khingan. So anyone who wants to imagine what the last battle our grandfathers faced can watch the Soviet film “Through the Gobi and Khingan.” And China became the base for the 17th Guards Division for 10 years. She never left the Far East. After many transformations, the banner of the 17th Guards has now been transferred to the 70th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade.

The continuity of generations

- How difficult was it to work on a new book?

We are very lucky that a huge fund of documents is preserved in the Central Archive of the Armed Forces in Podolsk. The documents of the division, individual regiments and units have survived. It was even possible to find a file of the divisional large-circulation newspaper “Red Army Man” for 1943, 1944 and 1945. Very interesting thing! We tried to include as many materials as possible in the illustrative series of the book. Lots of real battle maps. Lots of original documents. Forms and documents, personal files with photographs of almost the entire officer corps have been preserved. The situation with the documents of privates is slightly worse. And the second point is that the veteran organizations of the division in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk helped a lot. In our city, the division museum was initially located in a boarding school
No. 5, and is currently transferred to school No. 152. The search teams, which to this day work on the battlefields of the Siberian divisions, also help. So the continuity of generations in our business is respected.

As a person who writes about the past, how do you feel about the controversy surrounding “pure history without ideology”? Is science possible without interpretation?

I am not a teacher, but a military man, and I can say: the main thing is that the truth remains the truth.

In Krasnoyarsk, a park in the Sovetsky district is named after the 17th Guards Division, and in Pokrovka one of the streets bears the name of the first commander of the unit, General Berezin.