Tag #125989 - Interview #92187 (Grigory Gendler)

The battalion fought defensive actions: Germans tried to cut their way through to Moscow from Volokolamsk. On their way there were infantry and tank units, including our brigade. Near to our position there stood on the defensive a division of General Panfilov (that was the time when 28 guardsmen of that division accomplished their well-known feat) [On November 11, 1941 28 General Panfilov’s guardsmen went into action near Volokolamsk defending Moscow. During 4 hours they knocked out 18 German tanks. Most of them were killed in that action, but they managed to stand the enemy off.] The mounted detachment of general Dovator was also near to our brigade.

I especially remembered our fight in October 1941. Germans tried to burst through and came across the battery of our antiaircraft battalion. We took part in repulsing of tank attacks. We used tracer shells which made great impression on Germans (terribly frightened them), especially at night. Germans suspected us to have invented some new variant of Katyusha. One of our batteries we even had to bring the anti-tank grenades into play, because Germans came too near.

Germans managed to push aside our units in Volokolamsk direction and approached Moscow. We stopped in Kriukovo settlement near Moscow (32 km from Moscow). There we stood several days. It was a lull in the fighting and I was sent to Moscow to Lenin's museum, because I was asked to bring the facts about feats of arms of tankmen.