Tank ace Dmitry Lavrinenko. The most successful tankers of World War II: Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko and Kurt Knispel (22 photos)

L Avrinenko Dmitry Fedorovich - company commander of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade (16th Army, Western Front), guard senior lieutenant.
Born on October 14, 1914 in the village of Besstrashnaya, now Otradnensky district of the Krasnodar Territory, in a peasant family. Russian. In 1931 he graduated from the peasant youth school in the village of Voznesenskaya, then teacher courses in the city of Armavir. In 1931-1933 he worked as a teacher at a school in the Sladky farm, Armavir region, in 1933-1934 - as a statistician at the main office of the state farm, then as a cashier of the savings bank in the village of Novokubanskoye.
In 1934, he volunteered for the Red Army and was sent to the cavalry. A year later he entered the Ulyanovsk Armored School, from which he graduated in May 1938. Junior Lieutenant Lavrinenko took part in the campaign in Western Ukraine in 1939, and in June 1940 in the campaign in Bessarabia. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1941.
Lieutenant Lavrinenko met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War as a platoon commander of the 15th Tank Division, which was stationed in the city of Stanislav in Western Ukraine. He failed to distinguish himself in the first battles; his tank was damaged. During the retreat, the young officer showed character and flatly refused to destroy his faulty tank. Only after the remaining personnel of the division were sent for reorganization did Lavrinenko hand over his faulty vehicle for repair.
In September 1941, he arrived in the newly formed 4th (from November 11 - 1st Guards) tank brigade of Colonel Katukova and from October 4 already fought near the city of Mtsensk. On October 6, during a battle near the village of Pervy Voin, Lieutenant Lavrinenko’s tank group, consisting of four T-34 tanks, decisively attacked a column of German tanks. Constantly changing firing positions, appearing in different places, four thirty-fours gave the Germans the impression of the actions of a large tank group. In this battle, tank crews destroyed 15 enemy tanks, four of which were accounted for by Lavrinenko. By October 11, the brave tanker already had 7 tanks, an anti-tank gun and up to two platoons of German infantry.
Since the end of October, the tank brigade was already fighting on the outskirts of the capital, in the Volokolamsk direction. Here again senior lieutenant Lavrinenko distinguished himself. On November 7, near the village of Lystsevo, his group of three T-34 tanks and three BT-7 tanks entered into battle with 18 German tanks. In this battle, the Germans lost 7 tanks.
Soon the brave tanker fought a unique battle with an enemy tank group that broke through to our rear. Senior Lieutenant Lavrinenko secretly brought his T-34 towards a German tank column near the highway leading to Shishkino. He ambushed his tank in an open field, taking advantage of the fact that the tank was painted white and was almost invisible in the snowy field. One Lavrinenko tank, practically point-blank, shot at a column of 18 tanks from the flank, destroying 6 of them. Through his actions he allowed troops who were under threat of encirclement to leave. On November 19, near the village of Gusenevo, in a counter battle with seven shells, he destroyed seven tanks.
On December 5, 1941, Guard Senior Lieutenant Lavrinenko was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The award sheet noted “...carrying out combat missions of the command from October 4 to the present, he was continuously in battle. During the period of battles near Orel and in the Volokolamsk direction, Lavrinenko’s crew destroyed 37 heavy, medium and light enemy tanks...”
The brave tankman fought his last battle on December 18 on the outskirts of Volokolamsk, near the village of Goryuny. Having attacked the enemy who broke through our positions, he destroyed his 52nd German tank, 2 anti-tank guns and up to fifty German soldiers. On the same day, after the battle, senior lieutenant Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko was struck by a mine fragment.
Over two and a half months of fierce fighting, the tank hero took part in 28 battles and destroyed 52 Nazi tanks. He became the most successful tanker in the Red Army, but did not become a Hero. On December 22 he was awarded the Order of Lenin.
Already in peacetime, numerous nominations for the hero’s award at the highest levels (Marshal Katukov, Army General Lelyushenko) had an effect on the bureaucratic routine.
U By order of the President of the USSR on May 5, 1990, for the courage and heroism shown in battles with the Nazi invaders, Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The Hero's relatives were awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 11615).
He was buried at the battle site, near the highway, between the villages of Pokrovskoye and Goryuny. Later he was reburied in a mass grave in the village of Denkovo, Volokolamsk district, Moscow region.
School No. 28 in the village of Besstrashnaya, streets in his native village, Volokolamsk, Krasnodar are named after the Hero.

One combat episode
Katukov left Lavrinenko’s tank at the request of the command of the 50th Army to guard its headquarters. The army command promised the brigade commander not to detain him for long. But four days have passed since that day. Katukov and the head of the political department, senior battalion commissar I.G. Derevyankin rushed to call all over the place, but they could not find any trace of Lavrinenko. An emergency was brewing.
At noon on October 20, a thirty-four rolled up to the brigade headquarters, its tracks clanking, followed by a German staff bus. The tower hatch opened and from there, as if nothing had happened, Lavrinenko climbed out, followed by members of his crew - loader Private Fedotov and gunner-radio operator Sergeant Borzykh. The driver-mechanic, Senior Sergeant Bedny, was driving the staff bus.
The enraged head of the political department, Derevyankin, attacked Lavrinenko, demanding an explanation of the reasons for the delay of the lieutenant and his crew members who had been in the unknown location all this time. Instead of answering, Lavrinenko took a piece of paper from the breast pocket of his tunic and handed it to the head of the political department. The paper said the following:
“Colonel Comrade Katukov. The commander of the vehicle, Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko, was detained by me. He was given the task of stopping the enemy who had broken through and helping restore the situation at the front and in the area of the city of Serpukhov. He not only completed this task with honor, but also showed himself heroically. exemplary performance of the combat mission The Army Military Council expressed gratitude to all crew personnel and presented them with a government award.
Commandant of the city of Serpukhov, brigade commander Firsov."
This is what it turned out to be. The headquarters of the 50th Army released Lavrinenko’s tank literally after the departing tank brigade. But the road turned out to be clogged with vehicles and, no matter how much Lavrinenko hurried, he was unable to catch up with the brigade.
Arriving in Serpukhov, the crew decided to shave at the barbershop. As soon as Lavrinenko sat down in a chair, a out of breath Red Army soldier suddenly ran into the hall and told the lieutenant to urgently come to the city commandant, brigade commander Firsov.
Appearing to Firsov, Lavrinenko learned that a battalion-sized German column was marching along the highway from Maloyaroslavets to Serpukhov. The commandant did not have any forces at hand to defend the city. Units for the defense of Serpukhov were about to arrive, and before that all Firsov’s hope remained in a single Lavrinenko tank.
In the grove, near Vysokinichi, Lavrinenko’s T-34 was ambushed. The road in both directions was clearly visible. A few minutes later a German column appeared on the highway. Motorcycles rumbled ahead, then came a headquarters vehicle, three trucks with infantry and anti-tank guns. The Germans behaved extremely self-confidently and did not send reconnaissance ahead.
Having brought the column closer to 150 meters, Lavrinenko shot the column at point-blank range. Two guns were immediately destroyed, the German artillerymen tried to deploy the third, but Lavrinenko’s tank jumped onto the highway and crashed into trucks with infantry, and then crushed the gun. Soon an infantry unit approached and finished off the stunned and confused enemy.
Lavrinenko’s crew handed over 13 machine guns, 6 mortars, 10 motorcycles with sidecars and an anti-tank gun with full ammunition to the commandant of Serpukhov. Firsov allowed the staff vehicle to be taken to the brigade. It was the mechanic-driver Bedny, who had transferred from the thirty-four, who drove it under his own power. The bus contained important documents and maps, which Katukov immediately sent to Moscow.

Dmitry Lavrinenko

Tankman No. 1 in the Red Army is considered to be the company commander of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade of the Guard, Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko.

He was born on October 14, 1914 in the village of Besstrashnaya, now Otradnensky district, Krasnodar region, into a peasant family. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1941. In 1931 he graduated from the peasant youth school in the village of Voznesenskaya, then teacher courses in the city of Armavir. In 1932–1933 he worked as a teacher at a school in the Sladky farm, Armavir region, in 1933–1934 as a statistician at the main office of the state farm, then as a cashier of the savings bank in the village of Novokubinskoye. In 1934, he volunteered for the Red Army and was sent to the cavalry. A year later he entered the Ulyanovsk Armored School, from which he graduated in May 1938. Junior Lieutenant Lavrinenko took part in the campaign in Western Ukraine in 1939 and in June 1940 in the campaign in Bessarabia.

Lieutenant Lavrinenko met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War as a platoon commander of the 15th Tank Division, which was stationed in the city of Stanislav, in Western Ukraine. He failed to distinguish himself in the first battles, as his tank was damaged. During the retreat, the young officer showed character and flatly refused to destroy his faulty tank. Only after the remaining personnel of the division were sent for reorganization did Lavrinenko hand over his vehicle for repairs.

In September 1941, in the Stalingrad region, based on the personnel of the 15th and 20th tank divisions, the 4th tank brigade was formed, the commander of which was appointed Colonel M.E. Katukov. At the beginning of October, the brigade entered heavy fighting near Mtsensk with units of the 2nd German Panzer Group of Colonel General Heinz Guderian.

Soviet light armored car BA-20

On October 6, during a battle near the village of Pervy Voin, the brigade’s positions were attacked by superior forces of German tanks and motorized infantry. Enemy tanks suppressed anti-tank guns and began to iron the motorized rifle trenches. To the aid of the infantrymen M.E. Katukov sent a group of four T-34 tanks under the command of Senior Lieutenant Lavrinenko. "Thirty-fours" jumped out of the forest across the enemy tanks and opened hurricane fire. The Germans never expected the appearance of Soviet tanks. From the brigade's OP it was clearly visible how several enemy vehicles burst into flames, how the rest stopped and then, snarling with fire, retreated in confusion. Lavrinenko’s tanks disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared, but a few minutes later they appeared to the left, from behind a hillock. And again flames flashed from their cannons. As a result of several rapid attacks, 15 German vehicles remained on the battlefield, engulfed in orange flames. The soldiers of the motorized rifle battalion began to gather around their tanks. Having received the order to withdraw, Lavrinenko put the wounded on the armor and returned to the ambush site - to the edge of the forest. In this battle, Lavrinenko opened his combat account by knocking out four enemy tanks.

By October 11, the brave tanker already had seven tanks, an anti-tank gun and up to two platoons of German infantry. The driver-mechanic of his tank, Senior Sergeant Ponomarenko, described one of the combat episodes of those days: “Lavrinenko told us this: “You can’t come back alive, but you can help out the mortar company.” It's clear? Forward!"

We jump out onto a hillock, and there are German tanks scurrying around like dogs. I stopped.

Lavrinenko - blow! On a heavy tank. Then we see a German medium tank between our two burning BT light tanks - they destroyed that too. We see another tank - it runs away. Shot! Flame... There are three tanks. Their crews are scattering.

300 meters away I see another tank, I show it to Lavrinenko, and he is a real sniper. The second shell also smashed this one, the fourth in a row. And Kapotov is a great guy: he also got three German tanks. And Polyansky killed one. So the mortar company was saved. And you yourself – without a single loss!” It should be clarified that the tanker Kapotov and Polyansky mentioned in the story are tank commanders from the platoon commanded by Lavrinenko. The heavy tank in question is not a tanker’s invention at all - until 1943, according to the German classification, the Pz.IV tank was considered heavy.

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Army General D.D. Lelyushenko, in his book “Dawn of Victory,” talked about one of the techniques that Lavrinenko used in the battles near Mtsensk: “I remember how Lieutenant Dmitry Lavrinenko, having carefully camouflaged his tanks, installed logs in position that looked like the barrels of tank guns. And not without success: the Nazis opened fire on false targets. Having let the Nazis get to an advantageous distance, Lavrinenko rained down destructive fire on them from ambushes and destroyed 9 tanks, 2 guns and many Nazis.”

However, there is still no exact data on the number of German tanks destroyed by D. Lavrinenko’s crew in the battles for Mtsensk. In the book by Ya.L. Livshits’ “1st Guards Tank Brigade in the Battles for Moscow,” published in 1948, states that Lavrinenko had seven tanks. Army General D.D. Lelyushenko claims that only during the defense of the railway bridge over the Zusha River in the Mtsensk region, Lavrinenko’s crew destroyed six German tanks (by the way, the KB crew of senior political instructor Ivan Lakomov, who also participated in the defense of this bridge, knocked out four enemy tanks). Other sources report that the “thirty-fours” of Lieutenant Lavrinenko and Senior Sergeant Kapotov came to the aid of the tank of their battalion commander, Captain Vasily Gusev, who was covering the retreat of the 4th Tank Brigade across the bridge. During the battle, the crews of Lavrinenko and Kapotov managed to destroy only one tank each, after which the enemy stopped their attacks. There is also a statement that in the battles near Mtsensk, Dmitry Lavrinenko destroyed 19 German tanks. Finally, in the military-historical essay “Soviet Tank Forces 1941–1945” it is reported that in the battles of Orel and Mtsensk over the course of four days, Lavrinenko’s crew destroyed 16 enemy tanks. Here is a typical example of how at that time records were kept of destroyed enemy vehicles, even within the same brigade.

However, there are absolutely reliable facts. These include an episode related to the defense of Serpukhov. The fact is that on October 16, 1941, the 4th Tank Brigade received an order to redeploy to the area of the village of Kubinka, Moscow Region, and then to the area of Chismena station, which is 105 km from Moscow along the Volokolamsk Highway. It was then that it turned out that Lavrinenko’s tank was missing. Katukov left him at the request of the command of the 50th Army to protect its headquarters. The army command promised the brigade commander not to detain Lavrinenko for long. But four days have passed since that day. M.E. Katukov and the head of the political department, senior battalion commissar I.G. Derevyankin rushed to call everywhere, but they could not find any trace of Lavrinenko. An emergency was brewing.

German light armored car Sd.Kfz.221

At noon on October 20, a “thirty-four” rolled up to the brigade headquarters, its tracks clanking, followed by a German staff bus. The turret hatch opened, and Lavrinenko climbed out as if nothing had happened, followed by members of his crew - loader Private Fedotov and gunner-radio operator Sergeant Borzykh. The driver-mechanic, Senior Sergeant Bedny, was driving the staff bus.

The enraged head of the political department, Derevyankin, attacked Lavrinenko, demanding an explanation of the reasons for the delay of the lieutenant and his crew members who had been in the unknown location all this time. Instead of answering, Lavrinenko took a piece of paper from the breast pocket of his tunic and handed it to the head of the political department. The following was written on the paper: “To Colonel Comrade. Katukov. The commander of the vehicle, Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko, was detained by me. He was given the task of stopping the enemy who had broken through and helping restore the situation at the front and in the area of the city of Serpukhov. He not only completed this task with honor, but also showed himself heroically. For the exemplary performance of the combat mission, the Army Military Council expressed gratitude to all crew personnel and presented them with a government award. Commandant of the city of Serpukhov, brigade commander Firsov.”

This is what it turned out to be. The headquarters of the 50th Army released Lavrinenko’s tank literally after the departing tank brigade. But the road turned out to be clogged with vehicles and, no matter how much Lavrinenko hurried, he was unable to catch up with the brigade. Arriving in Serpukhov, the crew decided to shave at the barbershop. As soon as Lavrinenko sat down in a chair, a out of breath Red Army soldier suddenly ran into the hall and told the lieutenant to urgently come to the city commandant, brigade commander Firsov.

Appearing to Firsov, Lavrinenko learned that a battalion-sized German column was marching along the highway from Maloyaroslavets to Serpukhov. The commandant did not have any forces at hand to defend the city. Units for the defense of Serpukhov were about to arrive, and before that all Firsov’s hope remained in a single Lavrinenko tank.

Soviet medium armored vehicles BA-10

In the grove, near Vysokinichi, Lavrinenko’s T-34 was ambushed. The road in both directions was clearly visible. A few minutes later a German column appeared on the highway. Motorcycles rumbled ahead, then came a headquarters vehicle, three trucks with infantry and anti-tank guns. The Germans behaved extremely self-confidently and did not send reconnaissance ahead. Having brought the column within 150 meters, Lavrinenko shot it point blank. Two guns were immediately destroyed, the German artillerymen tried to deploy the third, but Lavrinenko’s tank jumped onto the highway and crashed into trucks with infantry, and then crushed the gun. Soon an infantry unit approached and finished off the stunned and confused enemy.

Lavrinenko’s crew handed over 13 machine guns, 6 mortars, 10 motorcycles with sidecars and an anti-tank gun with full ammunition to the commandant of Serpukhov. Firsov allowed the staff car to be taken to the brigade. It was the mechanic-driver Bedny, who had transferred from the “thirty-four”, who drove it under his own power. The bus contained important documents and maps, which Katukov immediately sent to Moscow.

From the end of October, the 4th Tank Brigade fought on the outskirts of the capital, in the Volokolamsk direction as part of the 16th Army. November 10, 1941 M.E. Katukov was awarded the rank of major general, and the next day the order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 337 was issued on the transformation of the 4th Tank Brigade into the 1st Guards Tank Brigade.

German heavy armored car Sd.Rfz.231(8-Rad)

In the November battles in the Volokolamsk direction, senior lieutenant Lavrinenko again distinguished himself. On November 17, 1941, near the village of Lystsevo, his tank group, consisting of three T-34 tanks and three BT-7 tanks, was allocated to support the 1073rd

rifle regiment of the 316th rifle division, Major General I.V. Panfilova.

Having agreed with the commander of the rifle regiment on cooperation, Senior Lieutenant Lavrinenko decided to build his group in two echelons. The first was BT-7 under the command of Zaika, Pyatachkov and Malikov. In the second echelon are the “thirty-fours” Lavrinenko, Tomilin and Frolov.

There was about half a kilometer left before Lystsev when Malikov noticed German tanks at the edge of the forest near the village. We counted - eighteen! The German soldiers, who had previously been crowding at the edge of the forest, ran to their cars: they noticed our tanks going on the attack.

A battle began between six Soviet tanks and eighteen German ones. It lasted, as it turned out later, exactly eight minutes. But what were these minutes worth! The Germans set fire to the cars of Zaika and Pyatachkov, and knocked out the T-34s of Tomilin and Frolov. However, our tankers also inflicted great damage on the enemy. Seven German vehicles were burning, engulfed in flames and soot. The rest avoided further combat and went deeper into the forest. The assertiveness and well-aimed fire of the Soviet tank crews caused confusion in the enemy ranks, which our two surviving tanks immediately took advantage of. Lavrinenko, followed by Malikov, burst into the village of Lystsevo at high speed. Following them, our infantrymen entered there. Only German machine gunners remained in the village. Hiding in stone buildings, they tried to resist, but tankers and riflemen quickly eliminated pockets of enemy defense.

Having occupied Lystsevo, the infantrymen, without wasting time, began to dig in on the outskirts of the village.

Lavrinenko reported by radio to the headquarters of General Panfilov that the tank group had completed the task assigned to it. But there was no time for that at headquarters. While Lavrinenko and his comrades were fighting for Lystsevo, the Germans, who had occupied the village of Shishkine, made a new breakthrough on the right flank of Panfilov’s division. Developing their success, they went to the rear of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment. Moreover, with a deep enveloping maneuver, the Nazis threatened to cover other parts of the division. From short negotiations with headquarters, Lavrinenko learned that an enemy tank column was already moving behind the division’s combat formations.

What to do? There was essentially nothing left of the tank group. There are only two tanks in service. In such conditions, the only way out of the situation is to use the favorite method of combat in the 1st Guards Tank Brigade - to stand in an ambush. Lavrinenko secretly led his T-34 through ravines and copses towards the Nazi tank column. In the crew with him, as always, were his comrades Bedny, Fedotov, Sharov.

The "thirty-four" stopped not far from the road. Lavrinenko opened the hatch and looked around. There are no convenient shelters. But I immediately realized that virgin snow could serve as a good shelter for a tank painted white. In the snow-whitened expanses of the field, the Germans would not immediately notice his tank, and he would attack the enemy with cannon and machine-gun fire before the Germans realized anything.

German medium armored personnel carrier Sd.Kfz.251

The German column soon crawled onto the road. Dmitry Fedorovich calculated that there were 18 tanks in the column. There were 18 near Lystsev, and now there are the same number. True, the balance of forces has changed, but again not in favor of Lavrinenko. Then there was one tank to three, and now the guards crew had to fight alone with 18 enemy vehicles. Without losing his composure, Lavrinenko opened fire on the sides of the leading German tanks, transferred fire to the rear ones, and then, without allowing the enemy to come to his senses, fired several cannon shots at the center of the column. Three medium and three light enemy vehicles were knocked out by the guards crew, and he himself, unnoticed, again through ravines and copses, escaped pursuit. Lavrinenko’s crew managed to stop the further advance of German tanks and help our units systematically withdraw to new positions, freeing them from encirclement.

On November 18, Lavrinenko arrived in his tank in the village of Gusenevo, where General Panfilov’s headquarters had by that time moved. There Lavrinenko met with Malikov. The BT-7 crew also operated with a full combat load the day before. All night he covered the retreat of artillery units to new positions.

On the morning of November 18, two dozen tanks and chains of motorized infantry began to surround the village of Gusenevo. The Germans fired at her with mortars, but the fire was not aimed, and they did not pay attention to it. Near the headquarters dugout, General I.V. was mortally wounded by a mine fragment. Panfilov.

At that moment, Dmitry Lavrinenko was just not far from Panfilov’s checkpoint. He saw how the staff commanders, baring their heads, carried the body of the general on their overcoat, heard how an elderly Red Army soldier from the headquarters guard jumped out from behind the hut and shouted, clutching his head: “They killed the general!”

And at that moment, eight German tanks appeared on the highway near the village.

- Into the tank! Fast! – Lavrinenko shouted to the driver-mechanic Bedny.

What happened next could only happen at the moment of the highest emotional intensity. The tankers were so shocked by the death of Panfilov that they probably acted at that moment not according to tactical calculations, but rather obeying the instinct of revenge. Like madmen they rushed towards the German cars. The enemy tankers were confused for a moment. It seemed to them that the Soviet tank was going to ram. But suddenly the car stopped a few tens of meters from the enemy column, rooted to the spot. Seven shots at point-blank range - seven fuming torches. Lavrinenko came to his senses when the gun trigger jammed and he could not fire a shot at the fleeing eighth car.

In the triplex you could see the Nazis jumping out of burning cars, rolling around in the snow, extinguishing the flames on their overalls, and running away to the forest. Opening the hatch with a jerk, Lavrinenko jumped out of the tank and chased the Nazis, firing a pistol as he went.

The crew of Dmitry Lavrinenko (far left) near their T-34 tank. Autumn 1941

The cry of radio operator Sharov “Tanks!” forced Lavrinenko to return. The hatch had barely time to slam shut when several shells exploded nearby. Shrapnel rattled loudly on the armor. Ten enemy vehicles were moving across the virgin snow from the forest. The driver grabbed the levers, but then an explosion was heard in the tank. There was a ragged hole in the side armor. When the smoke cleared, Lavrinenko saw blood flowing down Bedny’s temple. The driver was dead. Another fragment hit radio operator Sharov in the stomach. They pulled him out with difficulty through the top hatch. But Sharov died immediately. It was not possible to carry the poor man out: shells began to explode in the burning car. Lavrinenko was grieving the death of his fighting friends, with whom he had gone through so many trials at the Mtsensk borders, on the snow-covered Volokolamsk highway.

On December 5, 1941, Guard Senior Lieutenant Lavrinenko was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The award sheet noted: “...carrying out combat missions of the command from October 4 to the present, he was continuously in battle. During the battles near Orel and in the Volokolamsk direction, Lavrinenko’s crew destroyed 37 heavy, medium and light enemy tanks..."

On December 7, 1941, the offensive of Soviet troops began in the Istra direction. The tank brigades of the 16th Army (145th, 1st Guards, 146th and 17th), advancing in close cooperation with the infantry, broke through the enemy's defenses and, overcoming his stubborn resistance, moved forward. The most fierce battles in the first 24 hours took place behind the Kryukov resistance center, where the 5th Panzer and 35th Infantry Divisions of the Wehrmacht defended. All attempts by the enemy to retain Kryukovo at any cost were unsuccessful. Units of the 8th Guards Rifle Division named after. I.V. Panfilov and the 1st Guards Tank Brigade dealt a strong blow to the enemy at night, and soon this important road junction and large populated area was liberated.

By December 18, units of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade reached the approaches to Volokolamsk. Particularly fierce fighting broke out in the area of the villages of Sychevo, Pokrovskoye, Gryady, and Chismena.

On that day, the tank company of Senior Lieutenant D.F. Lavrinenko acted in the advanced detachment of the mobile group in the Gryada-Chismena area. The company was assigned a squad of sappers who cleared the tank routes from mines. Our tankers arrived at the village of Gryady at dawn, taking the Germans by surprise. They ran out of the huts wearing whatever clothes and came under fire from machine guns and cannons of Soviet combat vehicles. Success, as you know, always excites the blood, and Dmitry Lavrinenko decided, without waiting for the main forces of the task force to approach, to attack the Germans entrenched in the village of Pokrovskoye.

But then the unexpected happened. The Germans pulled up ten tanks with infantry troops and anti-tank guns to the highway. Advancing towards the village of Goryuny, the enemy tank group began to enter the rear of our advance detachment. However, Lavrinenko figured out in time what kind of trap the enemy was preparing for him, and immediately turned his tanks to meet him. Just at this moment the main forces of the brigade approached Goryuny. As a result, the Germans themselves fell into the pincers.

They caused complete destruction. And again Lavrinenko distinguished himself in battle. He destroyed a heavy enemy tank, two anti-tank guns and up to fifty German soldiers. Saving their skins, the German tank crews and infantrymen, those who survived the short battle, abandoned their vehicles, weapons and fled.

Having failed, the enemy brought down heavy fire from heavy mortars on Goryuny. Dmitry Lavrinenko was killed by a fragment of an enemy mine. And it happened like this. Colonel NA. Chernoyarov, commander of the 17th Tank Brigade, which was part of our mobile group, summoned Senior Lieutenant Lavrinenko to clarify the situation and coordinate further actions. Having reported the situation to Colonel Chernoyarov and received the order to move forward, Lavrinenko, not paying attention to the mine explosions, headed to his tank. But, just a few steps short of reaching it, he suddenly fell into the snow. The driver of his crew, Red Army soldier Solomyannikov, and the tank commander, Senior Sergeant Frolov, instantly jumped out of the car and rushed to the company commander, but there was nothing they could do to help him.

Over two and a half months of fierce fighting, the 27-year-old tank hero took part in 28 battles and destroyed 52 Nazi tanks. He became the most successful tanker in the Red Army, but he was never awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. On December 22, 1942 he was awarded the Order of Lenin.

T-34 tanks of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade on the march. 1941

Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko was buried at the site of the battle, near the highway, between the villages of Pokrovskoye and Goryuny. Later he was reburied in a mass grave in the village of Denkovo, Volokolamsk district, Moscow region.

In the post-war years, Marshal Katukov and Army General Lelyushenko applied for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but only 50 years later did they have an effect on bureaucratic routine.

By decree of the President of the USSR dated May 5, 1990, for the courage and heroism shown in battles with the Nazi invaders, Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. His relatives were awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 11,615). School No. 28 in the village of Besstrashnaya, streets in his native village, Volokolamsk and Krasnodar are named after the Hero.

To summarize the brief outline of the combat activities of D.F. Lavrinenko, I would like to draw the reader’s attention to the tactics he used. In general, it fell within the framework of the tactics used by the 4th Tank Brigade. It combined ambush actions with short surprise attacks by the strike group, with well-organized reconnaissance. All available descriptions of battles involving Lavrinenko indicate that before attacking the enemy, he carefully studied the terrain. This made it possible to correctly choose both the direction of attack and the type of subsequent maneuver. Taking advantage of the T-34's advantage over German tanks in cross-country ability in the autumn muddy conditions, Lavrinenko actively and confidently maneuvered on the battlefield, hiding behind the folds of the terrain. Having changed his position, he again attacked from a new direction, giving the enemy the impression that the Russians had several groups of tanks. At the same time, according to his colleagues, Lavrinenko conducted artillery fire from the tank masterfully. But even being a sharp shooter, he tried to get close to the enemy at a distance of 150–400 m at maximum speed and hit for sure. Summarizing all this, it can be argued that D.F. Lavrinenko was a good, cold-blooded tactician, which allowed him to achieve success.

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(died in December 1941)

In the future, an outstanding tanker and hero of the USSR Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko met the war as the commander of a tank platoon, part of the fifteenth tank division. His division first encountered the enemy in July 1941 in Ukraine. She was opposed by units of the 1st German Panzer Group under the command of Edward Von Kleist, who were advancing with great speed to the east. The 15th Panzer suffered heavy losses, retreated for a long time and was eventually destroyed. In those heavy defensive battles, Dmitry Lavrinenko managed to survive; his tank was damaged during the retreat and sent for repairs after reaching his own people. In August 1941, from the remnants of the former 15th Tank Division, as well as the 20th Tank Division, the fourth tank brigade was formed under the command of Colonel Katukov. Lavrinenko receives a new T-34 tank and again begins to command a tank platoon

In the fall of 1941, his tank brigade entered into battle with the Nazis near Mtsensk. This time, the Soviet tankers are opposed by Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group. Near the village of First Warrior, German tank units, supported by infantry, having a serious numerical superiority, attacked the defensive front of the 4th Tank Brigade. Soviet anti-tank guns were quickly suppressed by dense fire from superior enemy forces. In the defense zone, our infantry was left alone with German tanks and superior enemy manpower. Katukov reacts immediately and advances a platoon of thirty-fours under the command of Dmitry Lavrinenko. A sudden counter attack by Soviet tanks weakened the German pressure. Lavrinenko divided his forces and attacked the enemy several times from several directions, as a result of which the commander of the German tank division, Major General Langerman, got the impression that a fairly large force of Soviet tanks was operating against him. In addition, Langerman, for unknown reasons, neglected to cover his troops during the march and did not pay enough attention to reconnaissance, which is why attacks by tanks of the 4th and 11th Soviet tank brigades on the flanks of the German troops inflicted sensitive losses on the Nazis.

According to various sources, during the battles near Mtsensk, Dmitry Lavrinenko’s crew disabled up to 19 enemy tanks, of which at least 6 tanks were lost irretrievably by the Germans. It was the successful strikes of the Soviet tank brigades, in one of which Lavrinenko fought, that did not allow the Germans to immediately launch an attack on Tula. Near Mtsensk, according to Guderian, the Germans for the first time “in a sharp form” felt the technical superiority of Soviet tanks. The crew of Dmitry Lavrinenko also distinguished himself in the battle near Serpukhov, where he organized an ambush on the lead reconnaissance detachment of the Nazis, destroying three guns, a large number of enemy personnel with the support of his own infantry, capturing prisoners and part of the enemy’s ammunition. Among the trophies there was even one intact gun with full ammunition and a German staff bus.

In October 1941, Dmitry Lavrinenko, as part of his 4th Tank Brigade, defended the Volokolamsk direction and took part in a counterattack on the Skirmanovsky bridgehead, which was occupied by the 10th Tank Division of the Germans. In the village of Skirmanovo, Lavrinenko’s tank was disabled by fire from a German anti-tank gun. The entire crew survived, only the radio operator was wounded and was sent to the hospital. On November 17, 1941, a combined group of 6 tanks, of which Lavrinenko was appointed commander, provided fire support to the rifle regiment of Panfilov’s 316th division, which stormed the village of Lystsevo. Half a kilometer from the village, Lavrinenko’s advancing group of 6 tanks (3 “BT-7” and 3 “T-34”) collided with 19 German tanks. The Germans were not completely ready for battle - some crews did not have time to occupy the tanks. At the cost of the loss of two BT-7s and two thirty-fours, 7 German vehicles were destroyed, the rest began a rapid retreat.

The two tanks remaining in Lavrinenko’s group, with the support of infantry, occupied Lystsevo, knocking out the enemy’s manpower, which had rushed about without the cover of their tanks. Meanwhile, in the defense zone of the Soviet troops in this direction, a critical situation was developing - from the other flank, the Germans broke through the defensive positions and were moving to the rear of several Soviet divisions. Lavrinenko gives the order to the crew of the second surviving tank to go to headquarters, and he himself advances to the highway, with the goal of attacking the German column alone from an ambush. And the courage of the Soviet tanker was rewarded - a column of 8 German tanks that appeared on the highway was confused when the lead vehicle burst into flames when hit by a shell from a Soviet tank. The Nazis were confused, and Lavrinenko’s tank fired continuously, destroying 5 more vehicles and only after that secretly retreated from the ambush. The next day, near the village of Gusenevo, Lavrinenko, who had returned to the location of his units, again entered into battle, where the fire of his tank destroyed 7 Nazi vehicles, but a German tank shell hit the side of Lavrinenko’s “thirty-four” and it caught fire. Driver mechanic M.I. Bedny and radio operator Sharov were killed. However, commander Lavrinenko and loader Fedorov were able to survive.

The legendary tanker Dmitry Lavrinenko fought the last battle of his life during the counteroffensive of Soviet troops near Moscow in December 1941. On the approaches to Volokolamsk, his tank company, without waiting for the main forces of the army to approach, quickly attacked the village of Pokrovskoye and, having occupied it, without allowing the enemy to come to his senses, moved to the village of Goryuny, where German motorized units and tanks retreated in panic. All of them were later completely destroyed. This battle was the last for the amazingly talented tanker Dmitry Lavrinenko, and in it he knocked out his last 52nd tank. Death in war can come from an unexpected direction, and Lavrinenko was not destined to die in a tank battle. After the breakthrough and destruction of German equipment near Goryunovo, panicked fascists launched artillery and mortar fire at the position of Lavrinenko’s company. Lavrinenko, who got out of the tank, was moving with a report to the brigade commander and the explosion of a mortar shell with shrapnel ended his life famous Soviet tanker. In just two and a half months of fighting, Lavrinenko was able to destroy more than 50 enemy tanks, becoming the most effective tanker of the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War, and if he had managed to survive and go through the entire war to the end, the number of enemy tanks destroyed would undoubtedly have been much greater. He was buried between Pokrovsky and Goryuny and only in the late 60s his grave was found by a search party. Then he was solemnly reburied in a mass grave in the village of Denkovo, Moscow region.

The most effective tanker of the Soviet troops, Dmitry Lavrinenko, managed to fight for only 2.5 months in 1941, but during this time he managed to destroy 52 enemy tanks - a result that no one in the Red Army was able to surpass until the end of the war. We offer you a story about him.

Article "Terrible account of tanker Lavrinenko" from the Smolenskaya Gazeta. Author Vladimir Pinyugin.

Among the military formations that made a great contribution to the Great Victory and completed their glorious journey in the Smolensk region, the 1st Guards Red Banner Tank Army occupies an honorable place. The core of the army was the 4th, and then the 1st Guards Tank Brigade.

Its warriors became the personification of iron fortitude, dedication and heroism in battles with the Nazis, they were the first among Soviet tank crews to be awarded the Guards rank, in October 1941 they defeated Guderian’s tanks near Mtsensk, fought to the death on the Volokolamsk Highway, took part in heavy battles near Gzhatsk, Sychevka and Karmanovo, contributed to the liberation of the Smolensk region. Let's talk about one of them.
Tank ace No. 1 in the Red Army is rightfully considered senior lieutenant Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko, who fought as part of the 4th (1st Guards) Tank Brigade under the command of M.E. Katukova.
Lieutenant Lavrinenko met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War at the very border in Western Ukraine as a tank platoon commander. Despite the fact that his tank was damaged, he did not destroy it, as other crews did, but managed to tow it away and send it for repairs.
The high combat qualities and skill of the tanker were demonstrated in the period from October 6 to October 10, 1941 in the battles of Orel and Mtsensk, where the 4th Brigade of Colonel Katukov fought against the 4th Panzer Division of the 2nd Panzer Group of Colonel General Heinz Guderian - “the king of tanks.” attacks,” as the Nazis called it. In these battles, Dmitry Lavrinenko’s crew destroyed 16 German tanks. “South of Mtsensk,” Guderian later admitted, “the 4th Panzer Division was attacked by Russian tanks, and it had to go through a difficult moment. For the first time, the superiority of Russian T-34 tanks manifested itself in a sharp form. The division suffered heavy losses. The planned rapid attack on Tula had to be postponed.”
In October 1941, during a battle near the village of Pervy Voin, a platoon of tanks under the command of Lavrinenko saved a mortar company from destruction, whose position was almost invaded by German tanks. From the story of the tank driver, senior sergeant Ponomarenko: “Lavrinenko told us this: “You can’t come back alive, but you have to help out the mortar company.” It's clear? Forward! “We jump out onto a hillock, and there German tanks are snooping around like dogs. I stopped. Lavrinenko - blow! On a heavy tank. Then we see a German medium tank between our two burning BT light tanks - they destroyed that too. We see another tank - it is running away. Shot! Flame... There are three tanks. Their crews are scattering. 300 meters away I see another tank, I show it to Lavrinenko, and he is a real sniper. The second shell also smashed this fourth one. And Kapotov is a great guy: he also got three German tanks. And Polyansky killed one. So the mortar company was saved. And you yourself - without a single loss!
In a battle on October 9, 1941 near the village of Sheino, Lavrinenko alone managed to repel an attack by 10 German tanks. Using proven tactics of tank ambushes and constantly changing positions, Lavrinenko’s crew thwarted an enemy tank attack and at the same time burned a German tank.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Army General D.D. Lelyushenko, in his book “Dawn of Victory,” spoke about one of the techniques that was used in the battles near Mtsensk: “I remember how Lieutenant Dmitry Lavrinenko, having carefully camouflaged his tanks, installed logs in position that looked like the barrels of tank guns. And not without success: the Nazis opened fire on false targets. Having let the Nazis get to an advantageous distance, Lavrinenko rained down destructive fire on them from ambushes and destroyed 9 tanks, 2 guns and many Nazis.”
On October 19, 1941, a single Lavrinenko tank defended the city of Serpukhov from the invasion of invaders. His thirty-four destroyed an enemy motorized column that was advancing along the highway from Maloyaroslavets to Serpukhov. The Sovinformburo report dated October 29, 1941 stated: “The tank crew of Lieutenant Lavrinenko showed courage and bravery in battles with the Nazis. The other day, Comrade Lavrinenko’s tank unexpectedly fell on the Germans. Up to a battalion of enemy infantry, 10 motorcycles, a staff vehicle, and an anti-tank gun were destroyed by gun and machine gun fire.”
On November 17, 1941, near the village of Lystsevo, a tank group of already senior lieutenant Lavrinenko, consisting of three T-34 tanks and three BT-7 tanks, entered into battle with 18 German tanks. In this battle, she destroyed 7 enemy tanks, but at the same time she herself irretrievably lost two BT-7s and two T-34s that were shot down. The next day, Lavrinenko’s tank alone, being in ambush on the highway leading to the village of Shishkino, again entered into an unequal battle with a German tank column, again consisting of 18 vehicles. In this battle, Lavrinenko destroyed 6 German tanks. Front-line correspondent I. Kozlov managed to meet and talk with Lavrinenko at the very beginning of the counter-offensive of Soviet troops near Moscow. After the war, Kozlov wrote a short story about this meeting. Here is a short excerpt from it:
“We went to help,” said Lavrinenko. - What's the point in fighting the Germans head-on? We have six cars, they have five times more. We acted from ambushes. Even quite successfully.
I wanted to clarify what my interlocutor meant by the words “very successfully”, and asked how many fascist vehicles fell to his share in that battle.
- I knocked out six tanks.
- Six?
- Yes, six. It was the eighteenth of November.
I remembered that, on instructions from the editors, I was looking for him that day. Lavrinenko, smiling, remarked:
- It was impossible to find me then. Neither the eighteenth nor the nineteenth... On the nineteenth there was a new battle for the village of Gusenevo. In this village there was a command post of General Panfilov, and it was bypassed by German infantry, and the infantry was supported by twenty-four tanks. Eight cars were moving along the road we were guarding. I knocked out seven, the eighth managed to turn back.
Almost immediately another column appeared, consisting of 10 German tanks. This time Lavrinenko did not have time to fire: the blank pierced the side of his thirty-four, the driver and gunner-radio operator were killed.
By December 5, 1941, when Dmitry Lavrinenko was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, he already had 47 tanks destroyed in his combat account. However, Lavrinenko was awarded only the Order of Lenin. But they were late with the delivery.
Senior Lieutenant Lavrinenko destroyed his last 52nd heavy tank T IV Guards in battles on the outskirts of Volokolamsk on December 18, 1941. On the same day, the most effective tanker of the Red Army died from a stray mine fragment that hit him in the temple.
The brave guardsman tanker had the opportunity to participate in 28 tank battles and burn in a tank three times. In battle, he acted extremely actively and resourcefully. Even while on the defensive, Lavrinenko did not wait for the enemy, but looked for him, using the most effective methods of combat. Of course, in comparison with German tank aces, such as Wittmann and Karius, Lavrinenko’s number of victories is not so great. However, almost all of the most effective German tank crews went through the entire war from beginning to end, and Lavrinenko destroyed his 52 tanks in the most critical and tragic days of 1941, in just two and a half months of fierce fighting.
Lavrinenko fought on T-34-76 tanks of the 1941 model, in which, as well as on all modifications of the thirty-four equipped with a 76-mm cannon, the functions of commander and gunner were performed by one person - the tank commander himself. On the German "tigers" and "panthers", the commander commanded the combat vehicle, and a separate crew member - the gunner - fired from the gun. The commander helped the gunner, which made it possible to most successfully fight enemy tanks. And the observation devices, sight and all-round visibility on the T-34 of the first samples were significantly worse than those of the “tigers” and “panthers” that appeared later.
...The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded (posthumously) to Dmitry Lavrinenko only on May 5, 1990.

Sergey Kargapoltsev (warheroes.ru). One combat episode

Katukov left Lavrinenko’s tank at the request of the command of the 50th Army to guard its headquarters. The army command promised the brigade commander not to detain him for long. But four days have passed since that day. Katukov and the head of the political department, senior battalion commissar I.G. Derevyankin rushed to call all over the place, but they could not find any trace of Lavrinenko. An emergency was brewing.

At noon on October 20, a thirty-four rolled up to the brigade headquarters, its tracks clanking, followed by a German staff bus. The tower hatch opened and from there, as if nothing had happened, Lavrinenko climbed out, followed by members of his crew - loader Private Fedotov and gunner-radio operator Sergeant Borzykh. The driver-mechanic, Senior Sergeant Bedny, was driving the staff bus.

“Colonel Comrade Katukov. The commander of the vehicle, Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko, was detained by me. He was given the task of stopping the enemy who had broken through and helping restore the situation at the front and in the area of the city of Serpukhov. He not only completed this task with honor, but also showed himself heroically. exemplary performance of the combat mission The Army Military Council expressed gratitude to all crew personnel and presented them with a government award.
Commandant of the city of Serpukhov, brigade commander Firsov."

Arriving in Serpukhov, the crew decided to shave at the barbershop. As soon as Lavrinenko sat down in a chair, a out of breath Red Army soldier suddenly ran into the hall and told the lieutenant to urgently come to the city commandant, brigade commander Firsov.

Having brought the column closer to 150 meters, Lavrinenko shot the column at point-blank range. Two guns were immediately destroyed, the German artillerymen tried to deploy the third, but Lavrinenko’s tank jumped onto the highway and crashed into trucks with infantry, and then crushed the gun. Soon an infantry unit approached and finished off the stunned and confused enemy.

Lavrinenko’s crew handed over 13 machine guns, 6 mortars, 10 motorcycles with sidecars and an anti-tank gun with full ammunition to the commandant of Serpukhov. Firsov allowed the staff vehicle to be taken to the brigade. It was the mechanic-driver Bedny, who had transferred from the thirty-four, who drove it under his own power. The bus contained important documents and maps, which Katukov immediately sent to Moscow.

We are starting a story about tank aces, since, unfortunately, much less is known about them than, say, about air aces. Of course, this section begins with our tank aces, since a little more is known about them than about the tank aces of other countries. The editors of the magazine count on the help of readers, which will allow them to tell the most reliably about such masters of tank combat as Vitman, Grayling, Barkman and others (we kindly ask you not to offer data from publications in the “Eastern Front” series).

After the battles near Mtsensk with the German tank group of Colonel General Guderian, the 4th tank brigade of Colonel M.E. Katukov was transferred near Moscow to the Volokolamsk direction. On the evening of October 19, 1941, she arrived at Chismena station, which is located 105 km from Moscow. On the morning of October 20, it turned out that one of the brigade’s tanks had disappeared, namely the thirty-four of platoon commander Lieutenant Dmitry Lavrinenko

Commandant of the city of Serpukhov, brigade commander Firsov."

In the grove, near Vysokinichi, Lavrinenko’s T-34 was ambushed. The road in both directions was clearly visible.

A few minutes later a German column appeared on the highway. Motorcycles rumbled ahead, then came a headquarters vehicle, three trucks with infantry and anti-tank guns. The Germans behaved extremely self-confidently and did not send reconnaissance ahead.

Lavrinenko’s crew handed over 13 machine guns, 6 mortars, 10 motorcycles with sidecars and an anti-tank gun with full ammunition to the commandant of Serpukhov. Firsov allowed the staff vehicle to be taken to the brigade. It was the mechanic-driver Bedny, who had transferred from the thirty-four, who drove it under his own power. The bus contained important documents and maps, which Katukov immediately sent to Moscow.

Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko was born on September 10, 1914 in the village of Besstrashnaya in the Kuban. At the age of seven I went to school. In 1931, Dmitry graduated from the school for peasant youth in the village of Voznesenskaya, after which he was sent to a three-month pedagogical course. After graduation, he worked as a teacher in the elementary school of the Sladkoye farm. Then Lavrinenko was barely 17 years old.

In 1934, two years before conscription, Lavrinenko submitted an application about his desire to serve in the Red Army. Dmitry served in the cavalry for a year, and then was enrolled in a tank school in Ulyanovsk.

After graduating in May 1938, Lavrinenko received the rank of junior lieutenant. With this rank, he participated in the “liberation” campaign in Western Ukraine, and in June 1940 in the campaign in Bessarabia.

Lieutenant Dmitry Lavrinenko met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War at the very border as a platoon commander of the 15th Tank Division, which was stationed in the city of Stanislav, in Western Ukraine.

Lavrinenko failed to distinguish himself in the first battles with the Germans. However, during the retreat, Dmitry showed character and flatly refused to destroy his faulty tank, as other crews did, so as not to hamper the movement of the troops retreating to the east. Lavrinenko achieved his goal, and by some miracle his tank followed the retreating units of the 15th Tank Division. Only after the remaining personnel of the division were sent for reorganization did Lavrinenko hand over his faulty vehicle for repair.

Lavrinenko first distinguished himself in the battle of Mtsensk, when the 4th tank brigade of Colonel M.E. Katukova repelled the fierce attacks of the 2nd German Panzer Group of Colonel General Heinz Guderian.

On October 6, 1941, during a battle near the village of Pervy Voin, Lieutenant Lavrinenko’s tank group, consisting of four T-34 tanks, decisively attacked a column of German tanks that had drawn into the ravine to destroy the brigade’s motorized rifle battalion. The attack of Lavrinenko’s group turned out to be very timely, since Guderian’s tanks, having surrounded the infantry, began to shoot them with machine guns and crush them with their tracks. Avoiding approaching too close a distance, the T-34s opened fire on enemy tanks. Constantly changing firing positions, appearing in different places, four thirty-fours gave the Germans the impression of the actions of a large tank group. In this battle, the crew of Lieutenant Lavrinenko destroyed 4 German tanks, the crew of Senior Sergeant Antonov - 7 tanks and 2 anti-tank guns, the crew of Sergeant Kapotov - 1 tank, the crew of Junior Lieutenant Polyansky - 3 tanks and 4 motorcycles. Lavrinenko’s platoon had no losses. The battle was carried out quickly, the motorized rifle battalion was saved.

On October 9, in a battle near the village of Sheino, Lavrinenko alone managed to repel an attack by 10 German tanks. Using proven tactics of tank ambushes and constantly changing positions, Lavrinenko’s crew thwarted an enemy tank attack and in the process burned one German tank.

By October 11, Lavrinenko already had 7 tanks, 1 anti-tank gun and up to two platoons of destroyed German infantry.

Lavrinenko distinguished himself again in the battles in the Volokolamsk direction. By that time, by decree of the State Defense Committee, the 4th Tank Brigade was renamed the 1st Guards Brigade.

On November 17, 1941, near the village of Lystsevo, a tank group under the command of senior lieutenant Lavrinenko, consisting of three T-34 tanks and three BT-7 tanks, entered into battle with 18 German tanks. In this battle, the Germans managed to set fire to two BTs and damage two thirty-fours, but they themselves lost 7 tanks in this battle. Lavrinenko’s tank was not damaged in this battle, and soon the remnants of his tank group occupied the village of Lystsevo. Following Lavrinenko’s tanks, the village was occupied by a rifle regiment.

However, while Lavrinenko’s group was fighting for Lystsevo, the Germans, who occupied the village of Shishkine the next day, made a breakthrough on the right flank of Panfilov’s division and, building on their success, went to the rear of the very rifle regiment with which Lavrinenko interacted. Moreover, with such a deep maneuver, the Germans could encircle other units of Panfilov’s division. From short negotiations with the headquarters of General Panfilov, Lavrinenko learned that an enemy tank column was already moving in the rear of the division’s battle formations.

The only way out of this situation remained: to use the surefire method tested in battles - to beat the enemy from an ambush.

Lavrinenko secretly brought his T-34 towards a German tank column and, near the highway leading to Shishkin, placed his tank in an ambush. True, this time the position taken by Dmitry’s tank could hardly be called an ambush, since there was no convenient cover anywhere. The only thing that helped was that Lavrinenko’s tank, painted white, was almost invisible in the snowy field, and in the first minutes of the battle the Soviet tank crews found themselves in the most advantageous position.

Soon a German column, consisting of 18 tanks, crawled onto the road. The balance of forces was far from being in favor of Lavrinenko. But there was no time to think - the thirty-four opened fire. Lavrinenko hit the sides of the leading German tanks, transferred fire to the rear ones, and then, without allowing the enemy to come to his senses, fired several cannon shots at the center of the column. Lavrinenko’s crew destroyed six German tanks, and Lavrinenko himself, unnoticed, again hiding behind the folds of the terrain, eluded pursuit.

He escaped unharmed. So one Lavrinenko tank stopped the further advance of the column of German tanks.

On November 19, 1941, in the village of Gusenevo, Senior Lieutenant Lavrinenko witnessed the death of the commander of the 316th Infantry Division, General I.V. Panfilova. His tank was located just near Panfilov’s command post.

At that moment, 8 German tanks appeared on the highway near the village. Lavrinenko’s crew immediately took their places in the car and the thirty-four rushed towards the German tanks at maximum speed. Just before the column, she sharply turned to the side and froze in place. Shots were immediately heard. Lavrinenko hit point-blank, from close range. Loader Fedotov barely had time to fire the shells. The first shot destroyed the lead tank. The others stood up. This helped Lavrinenko shoot without missing a beat. He destroyed seven tanks with seven shells. On the eighth shot, the gun trigger jammed, and the last German tank managed to escape.

Before the tankers had time to cool down from this battle, 10 more German tanks appeared on the highway. This time Lavrinenko did not have time to fire: the blank pierced the side of his thirty-four. Driver Poor was killed. Gunner-radio operator Sharov was mortally wounded by shrapnel in the stomach. Lavrinenko and Fedotov hardly pulled him out through the tower hatch. But Sharov died immediately. It was not possible to carry the poor man out: shells began to explode in the burning car.

By December 5, 1941, when Lavrinenko was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, he had 47 German tanks destroyed. However, for some reason Lavrinenko was awarded only the Order of Lenin. True, by that time he was no longer alive.

Lavrinenko destroyed his last tank in battles on the outskirts of Volokolamsk on December 18, 1941. His advance detachment broke through to the Gryda-Chismena area and took the Germans by surprise. Without waiting for the main forces to approach, Lavrinenko decided to attack the village of Pokrovskoye.

But the enemy came to his senses, let Lavrinenko’s group go ahead and, having pulled up 10 tanks and anti-tank missiles, began to advance towards the village of Goryuny in order to cut off the advance detachment from the main forces of the brigade. Having discovered the movement of German tanks in his rear, Lavrinenko turned his company around and led it in an attack on Goryuny.

Just at this moment, the main forces of Katukov’s mobile group approached Goryuny. As a result, the Germans themselves fell into the pincers. They caused complete destruction. In this battle, Lavrinenko destroyed his 52nd German tank, 2 anti-tank guns and up to fifty German soldiers.

Having failed, the enemy brought down heavy fire from heavy mortars on Goryuny. At this time, Colonel N.A. Chernoyarov, commander of the 17th Tank Brigade, which was also part of Katukov’s mobile group, summoned Lavrinenko to his office to clarify and coordinate further actions. Having reported the situation to the colonel and received the order to move forward, Lavrinenko headed to his tank. But, before reaching him a few steps, he suddenly fell into the snow. A small fragment of a mine ended the life of the most productive tanker of the Red Army.

Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko was buried near the highway, between Pokrovsky and Goryuny. Now his grave is located between the village of Denkovo and the Dolgorukovo station.

Lavrinenko did not fight for long - less than six months passed from his first battle on the border to his death near Moscow. He took part in 28 fierce battles and always emerged victorious. Burned in the tank three times. In battle he acted extremely actively and resourcefully. Even while on the defensive, Lavrinenko did not wait for the enemy, but looked for him, using the most effective methods of combat. Result - 52 tanks destroyed.

Of course, the names of more successful tank aces are now known. Compared to such aces as Wittmann, Karius and others, the number of tanks destroyed by Lavrinenko is small.

Almost all German tank aces went through the entire war, from beginning to end. Therefore, their results are so significant that they cause delight and surprise among those who are interested in armored vehicles and the history of the Second World War.

However, Lavrinenko destroyed his tanks in the most critical and tragic days of 1941. We should not forget the fact that Lavrinenko destroyed his 52 tanks in just 2.5 months of fierce fighting! His result could have been significantly higher if a mine fragment had not killed the senior lieutenant.

It should be noted that Lavrinenko fought on T-34/76 tanks of the 1941 model, in which (as indeed on all modifications of T-34 tanks with a 76-mm cannon) the functions of commander and gunner were performed by one person - the tank commander himself. As is known, on both “tigers” and “panthers” the tank commander only commanded the combat vehicle, and a separate crew member - the gunner - fired from the gun. The commander helped the gunner, which made it possible to most successfully fight enemy tanks.

It is also known that the observation devices and all-round visibility of the T-34 of the 1941 model were significantly worse than those of the more modern Tigers and Panthers. And in the tower of the first thirty-four it was extremely crowded.

Concluding the story about Dmitry Lavrinenko, we should recall one more fact. Until 1990, the most successful Soviet tankman was never awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Ironically, this title was awarded to both true heroes and inveterate scoundrels, general secretaries and elderly marshals. Many people knew about Lavrinenko, but they were in no hurry to assign him the title.

Justice triumphed only on May 5, 1990, when the first and last president of the Soviet Union awarded senior lieutenant Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). It's better late than never.

Tank ace Dmitry Lavrinenko. The most successful tankers of World War II: Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko and Kurt Knispel (22 photos)

Sergey Kargapoltsev (warheroes.ru). One combat episode

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