Ural Tank Corps. "regional center for patriotic education"

On February 26, 1943, the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps began.

An article by G.I. was published in the “Calendar-Reference Book of the Perm Region” for 1963. Vlasov, assistant at Perm University

"Ural Volunteer Tank Corps
On the 20th anniversary of his birth

The year was 1943. The heroic efforts of the Soviet people at the front and in the rear changed the course of the Great Patriotic War and the entire Second World War. The strategic initiative was wrested from the hands of the Nazi invaders and never returned to them.
An integral part of the continuously growing military power of the Soviet Union was the creation of a volunteer tank corps in the Urals in the spring of 1943. The idea of its creation came from the workers themselves. It arose in the process of labor heroism aimed at the comprehensive increase in military production.
In January 1943, a massive patriotic movement of workers developed at the industrial enterprises of the Urals for the production of above-plan products to equip entire formations of the Soviet Army.
The teams of the Ural factories committed themselves in the first quarter of 1943 to produce products beyond the plan to equip a large combat unit - a tank corps. During this competition, a patriotic idea appeared: not only to provide above-plan production, but also to create a special Ural Volunteer Tank Corps with our own forces and resources.
In February, the Perm, Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regional party committees, on behalf of all the workers of the Urals, applied to the Central Committee of the Party for permission to create a tank corps from volunteers. The Urals promised to send the best people to it, raise funds for its formation, and supply it with everything necessary due to above-plan production.
The Central Committee of the Party and the State Defense Committee approved the proposal of the Urals, highly appreciating their wonderful patriotic movement. On February 26, 1943, there was a directive from the commander of the Ural Military District on the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. This day is considered the official beginning of the formation of the corps.
The days of intense, dedicated work began. Enterprises established contact with the corps command, from which they received combat missions. Only at the factories of the city of Perm 443 combat missions were awarded.
The exceptional patriotism of the Urals is evidenced by the fact that there were ten times more volunteers in the corps than required. For example, in just three days, the Kizelovsky city party committee alone received 1,263 applications from those wishing to join the volunteer corps.
Mass patriotism, initiative and labor heroism of the working people, selfless work of party organizations ensured the formation of the corps in a short time. On March 11, 1943, the corps and its emerging formations and units were assigned numbers and names. The corps received the name: Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. The tank brigades were named after the Ural regions: Perm, Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk. March 11 became the day of the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.
The workers of the Urals provided the corps with first-class equipment, the basis of which was the best in the world, during the entire period of the Second World War, the Soviet T-34 medium tanks. In addition, the corps included artillery, mortars, various types of small arms and in general was a formidable formation of the Soviet Army.
The Urals created a tank corps at their own expense, from above-plan production. Subsequently, they replenished it with both people and military equipment, and took care of the volunteers and their families. This was the source of the corps' strength in all battles, an inexhaustible source called people's love.
The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps received its baptism of fire in the Oryol direction of the famous Battle of Kursk - one of the greatest battles of the Second World War.
With many glorious military deeds, the Ural volunteer tank crews earned high praise from their Motherland. Only for exploits in battles in July-August 1943, 1,579 soldiers, sergeants and officers of the corps were awarded orders and medals of the Soviet Union, and in total in 1943, 1,964 military awards were given to corps personnel. The corps passed the combat test with honor and after the first battles received the honorary title of guards.
Ural guards tankmen took an active part in the liberation of Right Bank and Western Ukraine (the cities of Kamenets-Podolsk, Lvov, etc.), the peoples of Poland and Czechoslovakia from the Nazi invaders, and in the final defeat of Nazi Germany.
Conducting combat operations in important directions as part of strike groups, Ural tankers often went ahead of powerful tank wedges: in the Lvov-Sandomierz, Vistula-Oder, Berlin and other operations.
Like the entire Soviet Army, the Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps increased the pace of its offensive with each operation. He completed the fighting in the Great Patriotic War with a brilliant march from Berlin to Prague. Rushing to help the rebel residents of the capital of Czechoslovakia, formations and corps units fought up to 100 kilometers a day.
The Soviet government highly appreciated the military merits of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. In addition to conferring the guards rank on him, he received the name "Lvovsky" and was awarded three military orders: the Red Banner, Suvorov and Kutuzov 2nd degree. The formations and units of the corps bear the names of seven liberated and captured cities: Unecha, Ternopil, Lvov, Kielce, Petrokov (Petrkuv), Berlin, Prague. The corps as a whole, its brigades, regiments and individual battalions received over 50 military orders of the Soviet Union and dozens of commendations from the Supreme High Command. The Perm Guards Tank Brigade received the name "Keletskaya" and was awarded the Orders of the Red Banner, Suvorov, Kutuzov 2nd degree and Bogdan Khmelnitsky.
Privates, sergeants and officers of the corps received 42,956 orders and medals of the Soviet Union for heroism, courage and courage. (This figure does not include medals for the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, as well as Polish and Czechoslovak orders and medals awarded to Ural volunteers).
Many soldiers of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the heroism and courage shown in battles with the Nazi invaders. Among those awarded this title are six officers and soldiers of the Perm Tank Brigade: N.A. Bredikhin - tank driver, guard foreman; A.V. Erofeev - commander of a platoon of machine gunners, guard lieutenant; G.Z. Klishin - tank driver, guard foreman; N.A. Kozlov - commander of a tank platoon, guard junior lieutenant; I.A. Kondaurov - tank driver, guard senior sergeant; AND I. Nikonov - commander of an armored personnel carrier squad (reconnaissance officer), guard sergeant major.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, many volunteers returned to their homes and, like guards, work on the front of peaceful labor.
But not everyone managed to live to see Victory Day, in the name of which they fought. Soviet people and their friends abroad sacredly honor the memory of fallen heroes. Monuments to Ural tank crews stand in the Oryol region, in the cities of Kamenets-Podolsk and Lvov, Berlin and Prague."

On March 11, 1963, a monument to the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps was unveiled in Perm (sculptor P.F. Shardakov, architects A.P. Zagorodnikov and O.N. Shorina).
The tank drove onto the pedestal under its own power.

The historical event that served as the basis for the establishment of the holiday occurred in 1943. The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps was formed in 1943 and equipped with weapons and equipment manufactured by the workers of the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Molotov regions (now the Perm Territory) with unpaid labor in excess of the plan and through voluntary contributions. When formed (February), the formation was called the Special Ural Volunteer Tank Corps named after I.V. Stalin, from March 11 - the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. Thus, on March 11, 2013, the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps turned 70 years old. In connection with this, a holiday was established.
The Ural Tank Corps is known for the fact that 3,356 Finnish knives (“black knives”) were specially produced for it in Zlatoust. The tankers received HP-40 knives - “Army knife of the 1940 model.” The knives differed in appearance from the standard ones: their handles were made of black ebonite, and the metal on the sheath was blued. Similar knives were previously part of the equipment of paratroopers and reconnaissance officers; in some units they were awarded only for special merits. These short blades with black handles, which were in service with our tank crews, became legendary and inspired fear and respect in our enemies. “Schwarzmesser Panzer-Division”, which translates as “Tank Division of Black Knives” - this is what German intelligence called the Ural Corps on the Kursk Bulge in the summer of 1943.
The Ural tank crews took the nickname given to them by the Nazis with pride. In 1943, Ivan Ovchinin, who later died in the battles for the liberation of Hungary, wrote a song that became the unofficial anthem of the Black Knife Division. It also contained these lines:

Tankers appeared from the Urals -
Black Knife Division.
Squads of selfless fighters,
Nothing can kill their courage.
Oh, they don’t like fascist bastards

T-34-85 tank of the 29th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps on Prague Square

From the history of the corps

The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps is the only tank formation in the world created entirely with funds voluntarily collected by residents of three regions: Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Molotov. The state did not spend a single ruble on arming and equipping this corps. All combat vehicles were built by Ural workers overtime, after the end of the main working day.
The idea of making a gift to the front - creating a Ural tank corps - was born in 1942. It arose in the factory teams of the Ural tank builders and was picked up by the entire working class of the Urals in the days when our country was under the impression of the decisive and victorious Battle of Stalingrad. The Urals, who at that time produced the bulk of tanks and self-propelled guns, were rightfully proud of the victory on the Volga, where the armored forces showed the irresistible striking force of the Red Army. It became clear to everyone: the success of the upcoming battles and the final victory over Nazi Germany largely depend on the number of our magnificent combat vehicles, combined into large tank formations. The workers of the stronghold of the Soviet state decided to give the front-line soldiers another unique gift - a volunteer tank corps.
On January 16, 1943, the newspaper “Ural Worker” published the article “Tank Corps Beyond Plan.” It spoke of the obligation of the largest teams of tank builders in the Urals to produce in the first quarter, in excess of the plan, as many tanks and self-propelled guns as required per corps, while at the same time training vehicle drivers from their own volunteer workers. The slogan was born on the factory floors: “Let’s make above-plan tanks and self-propelled guns and take them into battle.” The party committees of three regions sent a letter to Stalin, in which they stated: “... Expressing the noble patriotic desire of the Urals people, we ask that we be allowed to form a special volunteer Ural Tank Corps... We undertake the obligation to select the best people of the Urals - communists - into the Ural Tank Corps, selflessly devoted to the Motherland , Komsomol members, non-party Bolsheviks. We undertake to fully equip the Volunteer Tank Corps of the Urals with the best military equipment: tanks, aircraft, guns, mortars, ammunition, produced in excess of the production program.” Joseph Stalin approved the idea, and work began to boil.
Everyone responded to the cry raised by Uralmash tank builders, who contributed part of their salaries to the construction of tanks. Schoolchildren collected scrap metal to send it to furnaces for melting down. Ural families, who themselves lacked funds, gave away their last savings. As a result, residents of the Sverdlovsk region alone managed to collect 58 million rubles. Not only were combat vehicles built with people's money, but also the necessary weapons, uniforms, and literally everything were purchased from the state. In January 1943, a recruitment of volunteers for the Ural Corps was announced. By March, over 110 thousand applications had been submitted - 12 times more than needed.
Volunteers represented the best part of the workforce, among them there were many skilled workers, specialists, production managers, communists and Komsomol members. It is clear that it was impossible to send all the volunteers to the front, since this would damage production and the entire country. Therefore, they made a tough selection. Party committees, factory committees, and special commissions often selected one of 15-20 worthy candidates with the condition that the staff recommend who would replace the one leaving for the front. Selected candidates were reviewed and approved at work meetings. Only 9,660 people were able to go to the front. In total, 536 of them had combat experience, the rest took up arms for the first time.
On the territory of the Sverdlovsk region the following were formed: corps headquarters, 197th tank brigade, 88th separate reconnaissance motorcycle battalion, 565th medical platoon, 1621st self-propelled artillery regiment, 248th rocket mortar division ("Katyusha" ), the 390th communications battalion, as well as units of the 30th motorized rifle brigade (brigade command, one motorized rifle battalion, reconnaissance company, control company, mortar platoon, medical platoon). On the territory of the Molotov (Perm) region the following were formed: the 243rd tank brigade, the 299th mortar regiment, the 3rd battalion of the 30th motorized rifle brigade, the 267th repair base. In the Chelyabinsk region the following were formed: the 244th tank brigade, the 266th repair base, the 743rd engineer battalion, the 64th separate armored battalion, the 36th fuel and lubricants delivery company, an engineering mortar company, a motor transport company and units of the 30th motorized rifle brigades (2nd motorized rifle battalion, anti-tank rifle company, motor transport company and brigade technical support company).
Thus, the 30th Tank Corps was formed in a surprisingly short time. By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of March 11, 1943, it was given the name - 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.
The first commander of the corps was Georgy Semenovich Rodin (1897-1976). Georgy Rodin had extensive combat experience: he began serving in the Russian Imperial Army in 1916, rose to the rank of senior non-commissioned officer, and then joined the ranks of the Red Army. He began his service as a platoon commander and fought with whites and bandits. After the Civil War, he served as a platoon commander, assistant company commander, deputy battalion commander, and battalion commander. Since 1930, he served as assistant commander and commander of the 234th Infantry Regiment, and since December 1933, as commander of a separate tank battalion and head of the armored service of the 25th Infantry Division. In 1934, he completed academic courses for technical improvement of the command staff of the Red Army, and in 1936, for the excellent combat training of the unit, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. He took part in the campaign in Western Belarus and fought with the Finns.
Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the 47th Tank Division (18th Mechanized Corps, Odessa Military District). The division under the command of Rodin covered the retreat of the 18th and 12th armies of the Southern Front; during the fighting in the area of the city of Gaysin, the division was surrounded, during the exit from which it inflicted significant damage on the enemy. During the fighting for Poltava, Rodin was seriously wounded. In March 1942, he was appointed commander of the 52nd Tank Brigade, and in June - to the post of commander of the 28th Tank Corps, which at the end of July took part in a frontal counterattack against the enemy who had broken through to the Don north of the city of Kalach-na- Don. In October, he was appointed head of the Automotive Armored Troops of the Southwestern Front, and in April 1943, he was appointed commander of the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

The commander of the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps, Lieutenant General of Tank Forces Georgy Semenovich Rodin (1897-1976), awards Guard Junior Sergeant Pavlin Ivanovich Kozhin (1905-1973) with the medal “For Military Merit”
Since the spring of 1944, the corps was commanded by Evtikhiy Emelyanovich Belov (1901-1966). He also had extensive combat experience. He began serving in the Red Army in 1920. He served as a squad commander, platoon commander, assistant company commander, rifle battalion commander, and tank battalion commander. In 1932 he graduated from armored tank advanced training courses for command personnel, and in 1934 he completed the M.V. Frunze Military Academy in absentia. Before the start of the war, he was the commander of the 14th Tank Regiment (17th Tank Division, 6th Mechanized Corps, Western Special Military District). After the start of the Great War, he took part in the border battle, participated in the counterattack in the Bialystok-Grodno direction, and then in defensive battles in the Grodno, Lida and Novogrudok regions. In September 1941, Evtikhiy Belov was appointed commander of the 23rd Tank Brigade (49th Army, Western Front). In July 1942, he was appointed to the post of deputy commander of tank forces of the 20th Army (Western Front), while there he took part in the Rzhev-Sychevsk offensive operation, and then in the defense of the army of the Rzhev-Vyazma defensive line. In January 1943, he was appointed deputy commander of the 3rd Tank Army. In May 1943, he was appointed to the post of deputy commander of the 57th Army, in July - to the post of deputy commander of the 4th Tank Army, and in March 1944 - to the post of commander of the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

Medium tanks T-34, manufactured above plan for the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. The stamped turret for the tank in the photo was produced at the Ordzhonikidze Ural Heavy Engineering Plant (UZTM) in Sverdlovsk

An echelon of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps heading to the front. On the platforms there are T-34-76 tanks and SU-122 self-propelled guns
On May 1, 1943, the soldiers of the corps took the oath, vowed to return home only with Victory, and soon received orders to go to the front. The Ural Corps became part of the 4th Tank Army and on July 27 received a baptism of fire on the Kursk Bulge, north of the city of Orel. In battles, Soviet tank crews showed incredible stamina and unparalleled courage. The unit was awarded the honorary title of Guards Corps. By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR No. 306 of October 26, 1943, it was transformed into the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. All units of the corps were given the name Guards. On November 18, 1943, units and formations of the corps were solemnly awarded the Guards Banners.
The corps' combat route from Orel to Prague was over 5,500 kilometers. The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps participated in the Oryol, Bryansk, Proskurov-Chernivtsi, Lviv-Sandomierz, Sandomierz-Silesian, Lower Silesian, Upper Silesian, Berlin and Prague offensive operations. In 1944, the corps was awarded the honorary title “Lvov”. The corps distinguished itself during the crossing of the Neisse and Spree rivers, the destruction of the enemy's Kotbu grouping and in the fighting for Potsdam and Berlin, and on May 9, 1945, it was the first to enter Prague. The corps was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, Suvorov II degree, Kutuzov II degree. In total, there are 54 orders on the battle banners of the units that were part of the 10th Guards Ural-Lvov, Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Volunteer Tank Corps.

A group of Soviet T-34 medium tanks from the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps follows along a street in Lvov
12 corps guards proved themselves to be outstanding masters of tank combat, destroying 20 or more enemy combat vehicles. The Guard of Lieutenant M. Kuchenkov has 32 armored units, the Guard of Captain N. Dyachenko has 31, the Guard of Sergeant Major N. Novitsky has 29, the Guard of Junior Lieutenant M. Razumovsky has 25, the Guard of Lieutenant D. Maneshin has 24, Guard Captain V. Markov and Guard Senior Sergeant V. Kupriyanov - 23 each, Guard Sergeant S. Shopov and Guard Lieutenant N. Bulitsky - 21 each, Guard Sergeant M. Pimenov, Guard Lieutenant V. Mocheny and Guard Sergeant V. Tkachenko - 20 armored units each.
During the Prague operation, the crew of the T-34 tank No. 24 of the 63rd Guards Chelyabinsk Tank Brigade under the command of Guard Lieutenant Ivan Goncharenko became famous. At the beginning of May 1945, during the campaign against Prague, I. G. Goncharenko’s tank was included in the lead marching column and was among the first three reconnaissance tanks of the guard of junior lieutenant L. E. Burakov. After three days of forced march, on the night of May 9, 1945, the advanced units of the corps approached Prague from the northwest. According to the recollections of the former commander of the 63rd Guards Tank Brigade M. G. Fomichev, the local population greeted the Soviet tank crews with jubilation, with national and red flags and banners “At Zhie Ruda Armada! Long live the Red Army!
On the night of May 9, a reconnaissance platoon of three tanks, Burakov, Goncharenko and Kotov, with scouts and sappers on armor, was the first to enter Prague and found out that Czech rebels were fighting with the Germans in the city center. An assault group was formed in Prague - the tank of the company commander Latnik was added to the reconnaissance platoon. The assault group under the command of Latnik was given the task of capturing the Manesov Bridge and ensuring the exit of the main forces of the tank brigade to the city center. On the approaches to Prague Castle, the enemy put up strong resistance: at the Charles and Manesov bridges over the Vltava River, the Nazis set up a barrier of several assault guns under the cover of a large number of faustians. Ivan Goncharenko’s tank was the first to reach the Vltava River. During the ensuing battle, Goncharenko’s crew destroyed two enemy self-propelled guns and began to break through the Manesov Bridge, but the Germans managed to knock out the T-34. From the award sheet: “While holding the crossing, Comrade Goncharenko destroyed 2 self-propelled guns with the fire of his tank. The tank was hit by a shell and caught fire. T. Goncharenko was seriously wounded. Being seriously wounded, the brave officer, bleeding, continued to fight. Comrade Goncharenko was killed by a second hit in the tank. At this time, the main forces arrived and began a rapid pursuit of the enemy.” Goncharenko was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. Crew members I. G. Goncharenko - A. I. Filippov, I. G. Shklovsky, N. S. Kovrigin and P. G. Batyrev - were seriously wounded in battle on May 9, 1945, but survived. The remaining tanks of the assault group, having broken the resistance of the German troops, captured the Manesov Bridge, preventing the enemy from blowing up the bridge. And then we walked along it to the center of Prague. On the afternoon of May 9, the capital of Czechoslovakia was liberated from German troops.

Guard lieutenant, tanker Ivan Grigorievich Goncharenko
In honor of the tank, as the first to come to the aid of the rebel Prague, a monument with an IS-2 tank was erected in the capital of Czechoslovakia. The monument to Soviet tank crews in Prague on Stefanik Square stood until the “Velvet Revolution” in 1991, when it was repainted pink, then dismantled from its pedestal and is now used as a “symbol of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops.” Thus, in the Czech Republic, as throughout Europe, the memory of the Soviet soldier-liberator was basically destroyed, and the black myth of the “Soviet occupation” was transformed by the enemies of Russian civilization.

Soviet IS-2 tank, in service from 1948 to 1991. in Prague as a monument to the T-34 tank I. G. Goncharenko
In total, on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, Ural tank crews destroyed and captured 1,220 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, 1,100 guns of various calibers, 2,100 armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers, and destroyed 94,620 enemy soldiers and officers. In total, during the war, 42,368 orders and medals were awarded to the soldiers of the corps, 27 soldiers and sergeants became full holders of the Order of Glory, and 38 guardsmen of the corps were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the corps was transformed into the 10th Guards Tank Division. The division is part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG, ZGV). It is part of the 3rd Combined Arms Red Banner Army. After the withdrawal of troops from Germany in 1994, the division was redeployed to the Voronezh region, namely the city of Boguchar (Moscow Military District). In 2001, the division took part in hostilities in the North Caucasus. In 2009, the division was disbanded and the 262nd Guards base for storing weapons and equipment (tank) was formed on its base. In 2015, on the basis of the storage base, the 1st separate tank brigade was formed, with the transfer of the honorary title of the 10th Guards Tank Division to it. This is the glorious path of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

Soldiers of the 63rd Guards Chelyabinsk Tank Brigade on Wenceslas Square in Prague
Application. Oath of soldiers, commanders and political workers of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. Source: Volunteers of the Urals. Sverdlovsk, 1980.
Urals, our dear ones!
You entrust us, your sons, with the protection of the Soviet Motherland, the freedom and independence of the Fatherland.
The military glory of the Urals has been forged over centuries. Our brave ancestors followed Peter in the Battle of Poltava. They crossed the inaccessible Alps with Suvorov. The banners of the Yekaterinburg and Perm regiments fluttered on the battlefields with Napoleon. Without sparing their blood and lives, our fathers defended the young Soviet power. The people of the Urals showed themselves to be staunch, loyal sons of the Fatherland in the days of the mortal battle with the German invaders. And now, at the decisive moment of the Great Patriotic War against the strongest and most insidious enemy, the gray Ural again blesses its sons - volunteers for feats of arms.
Comrades from the Urals!
You entrusted us with leading formidable fighting machines against the enemy. You created them without getting enough sleep at night, straining your sowing field and your strength. In the armor of our tanks, in our guns and machine guns is your thought and energy, your indomitable hatred of child killers, your all-conquering passion and confidence in victory. In factories, factories and collective farms, we, like a banner, carried the labor oath of the Urals people. Now, being in the ranks of the Red Army, we pronounce the words of the battle oath of allegiance to the Motherland.
We swear!
Be a model of military discipline. It is sacred to maintain order and organization. Master combat techniques to perfection.
We will not waver in the battles for our holy land. We will not spare blood and life itself for the sake of the freedom and happiness of our people, for the complete liberation of our native land from the invaders.
WE SWEAR!
To take revenge on the enemy for destroyed cities and villages, factories and collective farms, for torture and tears of old people and children, sisters and mothers.
We will not forget anything, we will not forgive anything to the fascist barbarians.
WE SWEAR!
In decisive battles with the hated enemy, to be in the first ranks of the defenders of the Motherland, we will not disgrace the centuries-old glory of the Urals. We will fulfill your order and return to our native Urals only with Victory.
Appendix 2. Order to the soldiers, commanders and political workers of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps from the working people of the Urals
Our dear sons and brothers, fathers and husbands!
Since ancient times, it has been our custom: when seeing off their sons to military duties, the Urals gave them their national mandate.
As we see off and bless you for the battle with the fierce enemy of our Soviet Motherland, we also want to admonish you with our instructions. Accept it as a battle banner and carry it with honor through the fire of harsh battles, as the will of the people of your native Urals.
At the decisive moment of the Great Patriotic War, you enter the mortal battle for the honor, freedom and happiness of the Motherland.
Every day the battles with the hated Nazi invaders are heating up more and more. And our native Earth will hear and see many more battles.
We punish you:
Take full advantage of the high maneuverability of your amazing machines. Become the masters of tank strikes.
Master combat tactics, a brilliant example of which is the battle at the walls of Stalingrad, which brought a historic victory to the Red Army.
Love your cars, take care of them so that they always serve you flawlessly in battle.
Show examples of high military discipline, perseverance, and organization.
Forward to the West! Look there, strive there, everything will be fine behind you. Don’t let worry about your family, factory, mine, or collective farm take over your heart.
We give you our word as strong as the granite of our mountains that we who remain here will be worthy of your military deeds at the front. The glory of our region, the glory of our deeds will shine even brighter. You will have enough shells and bullets and all sorts of weapons.
We will send everything, we will deliver everything to our dear Soviet soldiers. At the forefront, in the smoke of battle, feel the entire Urals next to you - the huge military arsenal of the Motherland, the forge of formidable weapons.
Soldiers and commanders of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps!
We equipped a volunteer tank corps with our own funds. With our own hands we lovingly and carefully forged weapons for you. We worked on it day and night. In this weapon are our cherished and ardent thoughts about the bright hour of our complete Victory; in it is our will, as firm as the Ural Stone: to crush and exterminate the fascist beast. Carry this will of ours with you into hot battles.
Remember our order. It contains our parental love and a stern order, marital parting words and our oath.
Don’t forget: you and your cars are a part of us, this is our blood, our ancient Ural good glory, our fiery anger towards the enemy. Boldly lead a steel avalanche of tanks. Feats and glory await you.
We are confident: the fierce enemy will be crushed to dust. And then the native land will bloom more than ever, the native land will be painted over, and all Soviet people will live happily.
We are waiting for you with victory! And then the Urals will hug you tightly and lovingly and glorify their heroic sons throughout the centuries. Our land, free and proud, will compose wonderful songs about the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.
Appendix 3. Frontline anthem of the “Black Knives”
The fascists whisper to each other in fear,
Hiding in the darkness of the dugouts:
Tankers appeared from the Urals -
Black Knife Division.
Squads of selfless fighters,
Nothing can kill their courage.
Oh, they don’t like fascist bastards
Our Ural steel black knife!
How the machine gunners will jump from the armor,
You can't take them with any fire.
Volunteers cannot be crushed by an avalanche,
After all, everyone has a black knife.
Huge masses of Ural tanks are rushing,
Making the enemy's power tremble,
Oh, they don’t like fascist bastards
Our Ural steel black knife!
We will write to the gray Ural:
"Be confident in your sons,
It was not for nothing that they gave us daggers,
So that the fascists would be afraid of them.”
We will write: “We fight as we should,
And the Ural gift is good!”
Oh, they don’t like fascist bastards.
Our Ural steel black knife!

Presentation of the Order from the workers of the South to representatives of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps

Samsonov Alexander

Ural Volunteer Tank Corps March 11th, 2015

On March 11, 1943, the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps was created under the command of General Rodin.
History of creation:

The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps (UDTK) is a unique tank formation that was created by overtime work of Ural workers with voluntary contributions from residents of three regions - Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Molotov (now Perm Territory).

The idea of creating a tank corps arose in the Urals during the days of the completion of the defeat of Nazi troops at Stalingrad. In the newspaper "Ural Worker" January 16, 1943. a note “Tank Corps Beyond Plan” was published, which talked about the initiative of tank building teams: to produce in the first quarter of 1943. in excess of the plan, as many tanks and self-propelled guns as necessary to equip the tank corps; at the same time train combat vehicle drivers from among their own volunteer workers.

A letter was sent to the Chairman of the State Defense Committee in which the Ural workers asked permission to form a special volunteer Ural Tank Corps named after Comrade Stalin. February 24, 1943 A telegram in response came from Moscow: “We approve and welcome your proposal to form a special volunteer Ural Tank Corps. I. Stalin." February 26, 1943 Commander of the Ural Military District, Major General A.V. Katkov issued a directive on the formation of UDTK. 110 thousand applications were submitted voluntarily, which was 12 times more than was required to complete the corps, and 9,660 people were selected.

The UDTK's combat route was over 5,500 km, of which 2,000 km included combat, from Orel to Prague. During the two years of participation in the Great Patriotic War, the tank corps liberated hundreds of cities and thousands of settlements. For skillful military operations, heroism, courage and bravery of the Ural volunteers, Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin expressed gratitude to the corps and units 27 times. The corps was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov, II degree, and the Order of Kutuzov, II degree. During the Great Patriotic War, 42,368 orders and medals were awarded to the soldiers of the corps, 27 soldiers and sergeants became full holders of the Order of Glory, 38 guardsmen of the corps were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and Colonel M.G. Fomichev was awarded this high title twice.

Since 1945 Units of the division began scheduled combat training as part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG), and carried out combat missions to support the activities of the Government of the GDR. Throughout its entire time on German soil, the division was considered one of the best tank formations of the GSVG.

How the Urals created a tank corps that beat the Nazis from Kursk to Prague

On March 11, Russia celebrates the Day of National Feat for the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps during the Great Patriotic War.

This memorable date, marking the feat of the Soviet people during the war, appeared on the calendar in 2012, when the governor of the Sverdlovsk region issued a corresponding decree, where the first paragraph reads: “Set a significant date for the Sverdlovsk region “Day of National Feat” for the formation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps in years of the Great Patriotic War" and celebrate it annually on March 11."

The Ural Tank Corps is known for the fact that 3,356 Finnish knives (“black knives”) were specially produced for it in Zlatoust. The tankers received HP-40 knives - “Army knife of the 1940 model.” The knives differed in appearance from the standard ones: their handles were made of black ebonite, and the metal on the sheath was blued. Similar knives were previously part of the equipment of paratroopers and reconnaissance officers; in some units they were awarded only for special merits. These short blades with black handles, which were in service with our tank crews, became legendary and inspired fear and respect in our enemies. “Schwarzmesser Panzer-Division”, which translates as “Tank Division of Black Knives” - this is what German intelligence called the Ural Corps on the Kursk Bulge in the summer of 1943.

The Ural tank crews took the nickname given to them by the Nazis with pride. In 1943, Ivan Ovchinin, who later died in the battles for the liberation of Hungary, wrote a song that became the unofficial anthem of the Black Knife Division. It also contained these lines:

The fascists whisper to each other in fear,
Hiding in the darkness of the dugouts:
Tankers appeared from the Urals -
Black Knife Division.
Squads of selfless fighters,
Nothing can kill their courage.
Oh, they don’t like fascist bastards
Our Ural steel black knife!

T-34-85 tank of the 29th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps on Prague Square

From the history of the corps

The idea of making a gift to the front - creating a Ural tank corps - was born in 1942. It arose in the factory teams of the Ural tank builders and was picked up by the entire working class of the Urals in the days when our country was under the impression of the decisive and victorious Battle of Stalingrad. The Urals, who at that time produced the bulk of tanks and self-propelled guns, were rightfully proud of the victory on the Volga, where the armored forces showed the irresistible striking force of the Red Army. It became clear to everyone: the success of the upcoming battles and the final victory over Nazi Germany largely depend on the number of our magnificent combat vehicles, combined into large tank formations. The workers of the stronghold of the Soviet state decided to give the front-line soldiers another unique gift - a volunteer tank corps.

On January 16, 1943, the newspaper “Ural Worker” published the article “Tank Corps Beyond Plan.” It spoke of the obligation of the largest teams of tank builders in the Urals to produce in the first quarter, in excess of the plan, as many tanks and self-propelled guns as required per corps, while at the same time training vehicle drivers from their own volunteer workers. The slogan was born on the factory floors: “Let’s make above-plan tanks and self-propelled guns and take them into battle.” The party committees of three regions addressed a letter to Stalin, in which they stated: “... Expressing the noble patriotic desire of the Urals, we ask that we be allowed to form a special volunteer Ural Tank Corps... We undertake the obligation to select the best who are selflessly devoted to the Motherland into the Ural Tank Corps people of the Urals - communists, Komsomol members, non-party Bolsheviks. We undertake to fully equip the Volunteer Tank Corps of the Urals with the best military equipment: tanks, aircraft, guns, mortars, ammunition, produced in excess of the production program.” Joseph Stalin approved the idea, and work began to boil.

Everyone responded to the cry raised by Uralmash tank builders, who contributed part of their salaries to the construction of tanks. Schoolchildren collected scrap metal to send it to furnaces for melting down. Ural families, who themselves lacked funds, gave away their last savings. As a result, residents of the Sverdlovsk region alone managed to collect 58 million rubles. Not only were combat vehicles built with people's money, but also the necessary weapons, uniforms, and literally everything were purchased from the state. In January 1943, a recruitment of volunteers for the Ural Corps was announced. By March, over 110 thousand applications had been submitted - 12 times more than needed.

Volunteers represented the best part of the workforce, among them there were many skilled workers, specialists, production managers, communists and Komsomol members. It is clear that it was impossible to send all the volunteers to the front, since this would damage production and the entire country. Therefore, they made a tough selection. Party committees, factory committees, and special commissions often selected one of 15-20 worthy candidates with the condition that the staff recommend who would replace the one leaving for the front. Selected candidates were reviewed and approved at work meetings. Only 9,660 people were able to go to the front. In total, 536 of them had combat experience, the rest took up arms for the first time.

On the territory of the Sverdlovsk region the following were formed: corps headquarters, 197th tank brigade, 88th separate reconnaissance motorcycle battalion, 565th medical platoon, 1621st self-propelled artillery regiment, 248th rocket mortar division ("Katyusha" ), the 390th communications battalion, as well as units of the 30th motorized rifle brigade (brigade command, one motorized rifle battalion, reconnaissance company, control company, mortar platoon, medical platoon). On the territory of the Molotov (Perm) region the following were formed: the 243rd tank brigade, the 299th mortar regiment, the 3rd battalion of the 30th motorized rifle brigade, the 267th repair base. In the Chelyabinsk region the following were formed: the 244th tank brigade, the 266th repair base, the 743rd engineer battalion, the 64th separate armored battalion, the 36th fuel and lubricants delivery company, an engineering mortar company, a motor transport company and units of the 30th motorized rifle brigades (2nd motorized rifle battalion, anti-tank rifle company, motor transport company and brigade technical support company).

Thus, the 30th Tank Corps was formed in a surprisingly short time. By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of March 11, 1943, it was given the name - 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

The first commander of the corps was Georgy Semenovich Rodin (1897-1976). Georgy Rodin had extensive combat experience: he began serving in the Russian Imperial Army in 1916, rose to the rank of senior non-commissioned officer, and then joined the ranks of the Red Army. He began his service as a platoon commander and fought with whites and bandits. After the Civil War, he served as a platoon commander, assistant company commander, deputy battalion commander, and battalion commander. Since 1930, he served as assistant commander and commander of the 234th Infantry Regiment, and since December 1933, as commander of a separate tank battalion and head of the armored service of the 25th Infantry Division. In 1934, he completed academic courses for technical improvement of the command staff of the Red Army, and in 1936, for the excellent combat training of the unit, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. He took part in the campaign in Western Belarus and fought with the Finns.

Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the 47th Tank Division (18th Mechanized Corps, Odessa Military District). The division under the command of Rodin covered the retreat of the 18th and 12th armies of the Southern Front; during the fighting in the area of the city of Gaysin, the division was surrounded, during the exit from which it inflicted significant damage on the enemy. During the fighting for Poltava, Rodin was seriously wounded. In March 1942, he was appointed commander of the 52nd Tank Brigade, and in June - to the post of commander of the 28th Tank Corps, which at the end of July took part in a frontal counterattack against the enemy who had broken through to the Don north of the city of Kalach-na- Don. In October, he was appointed head of the Automotive Armored Troops of the Southwestern Front, and in April 1943, he was appointed commander of the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

The commander of the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps, Lieutenant General of Tank Forces Georgy Semenovich Rodin (1897-1976), awards Guard Junior Sergeant Pavlin Ivanovich Kozhin (1905-1973) with the medal “For Military Merit”

Since the spring of 1944, the corps was commanded by Evtikhiy Emelyanovich Belov (1901-1966). He also had extensive combat experience. He began serving in the Red Army in 1920. He served as a squad commander, platoon commander, assistant company commander, rifle battalion commander, and tank battalion commander. In 1932 he graduated from armored tank advanced training courses for command personnel, and in 1934 he completed the M.V. Frunze Military Academy in absentia. Before the start of the war, he was the commander of the 14th Tank Regiment (17th Tank Division, 6th Mechanized Corps, Western Special Military District).

After the start of the Great War, he took part in the border battle, participated in the counterattack in the Bialystok-Grodno direction, and then in defensive battles in the Grodno, Lida and Novogrudok regions. In September 1941, Evtikhiy Belov was appointed commander of the 23rd Tank Brigade (49th Army, Western Front). In July 1942, he was appointed to the post of deputy commander of tank forces of the 20th Army (Western Front), while there he took part in the Rzhev-Sychevsk offensive operation, and then in the defense of the army of the Rzhev-Vyazma defensive line. In January 1943, he was appointed deputy commander of the 3rd Tank Army. In May 1943, he was appointed to the post of deputy commander of the 57th Army, in July - to the post of deputy commander of the 4th Tank Army, and in March 1944 - to the post of commander of the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

Medium tanks T-34, manufactured above plan for the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. The stamped turret for the tank in the photo was produced at the Ordzhonikidze Ural Heavy Engineering Plant (UZTM) in Sverdlovsk

An echelon of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps heading to the front. On the platforms there are T-34-76 tanks and SU-122 self-propelled guns

On May 1, 1943, the soldiers of the corps took the oath, vowed to return home only with Victory, and soon received orders to go to the front. The Ural Corps became part of the 4th Tank Army and on July 27 received a baptism of fire on the Kursk Bulge, north of the city of Orel. In battles, Soviet tank crews showed incredible stamina and unparalleled courage. The unit was awarded the honorary title of Guards Corps. By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR No. 306 of October 26, 1943, it was transformed into the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. All units of the corps were given the name Guards. On November 18, 1943, units and formations of the corps were solemnly awarded the Guards Banners.

The corps' combat route from Orel to Prague was over 5,500 kilometers. The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps participated in the Oryol, Bryansk, Proskurov-Chernivtsi, Lviv-Sandomierz, Sandomierz-Silesian, Lower Silesian, Upper Silesian, Berlin and Prague offensive operations. In 1944, the corps was awarded the honorary title “Lvov”. The corps distinguished itself during the crossing of the Neisse and Spree rivers, the destruction of the enemy's Kotbu grouping and in the fighting for Potsdam and Berlin, and on May 9, 1945, it was the first to enter Prague. The corps was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, Suvorov II degree, Kutuzov II degree. In total, there are 54 orders on the battle banners of the units that were part of the 10th Guards Ural-Lvov, Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Volunteer Tank Corps.

A group of Soviet T-34 medium tanks from the 10th Guards Ural Volunteer Tank Corps follows along a street in Lvov

12 corps guards proved themselves to be outstanding masters of tank combat, destroying 20 or more enemy combat vehicles. The Guard of Lieutenant M. Kuchenkov has 32 armored units, the Guard of Captain N. Dyachenko has 31, the Guard of Sergeant Major N. Novitsky has 29, the Guard of Junior Lieutenant M. Razumovsky has 25, the Guard of Lieutenant D. Maneshin has 24, Guard Captain V. Markov and Guard Senior Sergeant V. Kupriyanov - 23 each, Guard Sergeant S. Shopov and Guard Lieutenant N. Bulitsky - 21 each, Guard Sergeant M. Pimenov, Guard Lieutenant V. Mocheny and Guard Sergeant V. Tkachenko - 20 armored units each.

During the Prague operation, the crew of the T-34 tank No. 24 of the 63rd Guards Chelyabinsk Tank Brigade under the command of Guard Lieutenant Ivan Goncharenko became famous. At the beginning of May 1945, during the campaign against Prague, I. G. Goncharenko’s tank was included in the lead marching column and was among the first three reconnaissance tanks of the guard of junior lieutenant L. E. Burakov. After three days of forced march, on the night of May 9, 1945, the advanced units of the corps approached Prague from the northwest. According to the recollections of the former commander of the 63rd Guards Tank Brigade M. G. Fomichev, the local population greeted the Soviet tank crews with jubilation, with national and red flags and banners “At Zhie Ruda Armada! Long live the Red Army!

On the night of May 9, a reconnaissance platoon of three tanks, Burakov, Goncharenko and Kotov, with scouts and sappers on armor, was the first to enter Prague and found out that Czech rebels were fighting with the Germans in the city center. An assault group was formed in Prague - the tank of the company commander Latnik was added to the reconnaissance platoon. The assault group under the command of Latnik was given the task of capturing the Manesov Bridge and ensuring the exit of the main forces of the tank brigade to the city center. On the approaches to Prague Castle, the enemy put up strong resistance: at the Charles and Manesov bridges over the Vltava River, the Nazis set up a barrier of several assault guns under the cover of a large number of faustians. Ivan Goncharenko’s tank was the first to reach the Vltava River. During the ensuing battle, Goncharenko’s crew destroyed two enemy self-propelled guns and began to break through the Manesov Bridge, but the Germans managed to knock out the T-34. From the award sheet: “While holding the crossing, Comrade Goncharenko destroyed 2 self-propelled guns with the fire of his tank. The tank was hit by a shell and caught fire. T. Goncharenko was seriously wounded. Being seriously wounded, the brave officer, bleeding, continued to fight. Comrade Goncharenko was killed by a second hit in the tank. At this time, the main forces arrived and began a rapid pursuit of the enemy.” Goncharenko was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. Crew members I. G. Goncharenko - A. I. Filippov, I. G. Shklovsky, N. S. Kovrigin and P. G. Batyrev - were seriously wounded in battle on May 9, 1945, but survived. The remaining tanks of the assault group, having broken the resistance of the German troops, captured the Manesov Bridge, preventing the enemy from blowing up the bridge. And then we walked along it to the center of Prague. On the afternoon of May 9, the capital of Czechoslovakia was liberated from German troops.

Guard lieutenant, tanker Ivan Grigorievich Goncharenko

In honor of the tank, as the first to come to the aid of the rebel Prague, a monument with an IS-2 tank was erected in the capital of Czechoslovakia. The monument to Soviet tank crews in Prague on Stefanik Square stood until the “Velvet Revolution” in 1991, when it was repainted pink, then dismantled from its pedestal and is now used as a “symbol of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops.” Thus, in the Czech Republic, as throughout Europe, the memory of the Soviet soldier-liberator was basically destroyed, and the black myth of the “Soviet occupation” was transformed by the enemies of Russian civilization.

Soviet IS-2 tank, in service from 1948 to 1991. in Prague as a monument to the T-34 tank I. G. Goncharenko

In total, on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, Ural tank crews destroyed and captured 1,220 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, 1,100 guns of various calibers, 2,100 armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers, and destroyed 94,620 enemy soldiers and officers. In total, during the war, 42,368 orders and medals were awarded to the soldiers of the corps, 27 soldiers and sergeants became full holders of the Order of Glory, and 38 guardsmen of the corps were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the corps was transformed into the 10th Guards Tank Division. The division is part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG, ZGV). It is part of the 3rd Combined Arms Red Banner Army. After the withdrawal of troops from Germany in 1994, the division was redeployed to the Voronezh region, namely the city of Boguchar (Moscow Military District). In 2001, the division took part in hostilities in the North Caucasus. In 2009, the division was disbanded and the 262nd Guards base for storing weapons and equipment (tank) was formed on its base. In 2015, on the basis of the storage base, the 1st separate tank brigade was formed, with the transfer of the honorary title of the 10th Guards Tank Division to it. This is the glorious path of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps.

Soldiers of the 63rd Guards Chelyabinsk Tank Brigade on Wenceslas Square in Prague

Presentation of the Order from the workers of the Southern Urals to representatives of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps

Creating a Corpus

During the Great Patriotic War, the Urals were the main supplier of tanks and other armored vehicles to the front. Women and children, working 16-18 hours, constantly forged weapons of victory. And even in such conditions, the workers of the Ural factories took upon themselves the obligation to assemble and equip an entire tank corps on their own, with personal money and outside of working hours. People sacrificed their last for the benefit of this endeavor; tens of thousands of volunteers were instantly found who wanted to serve in this formation.

As a result, on February 24, 1943, the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps was ready for war. The tanks were ready, the service was ready, but most importantly, 9,660 men were ready who wanted to defend their homeland. On May 1, 1943, the new tank army took the oath.

Combat history

The soldiers of the 4th Tank Army received their baptism of fire north of Orel in the summer of 1943, in the battle of the Kursk Bulge. The army arrived on the Bryansk Front on the eve of the fighting that began on July 5, 1943, and during the counter-offensive of Soviet troops it was brought into battle in the Oryol direction.
The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps had the task: advancing from the Seredichi area to the south, cut off the enemy’s Volkhov-Khotynets communications, reach the area of the village of Zlyn, and then straddle the Orel-Bryansk railway and highway and cut off the retreat routes of the Oryol group of Nazis to the west. And the Urals completed their task.

The actions of the Ural Tank Corps, together with other front formations, created a threat of encirclement of the enemy’s Oryol group and forced it to retreat. The first salute of the Motherland on August 5, 1943 - to the valiant troops who liberated Orel and Belgorod - was also in honor of the Ural volunteers.

Many more victories remain for our tankers. They ended the war on May 9, 1945 in Prague. At 4 o'clock the main forces of the corps entered the city, and soon other formations of the 4th Tank Army. From the northwest and north, formations of the 3rd Guards Tank Army entered Prague in the morning, and formations of the 13th and 3rd Guards Armies in the afternoon. The first to rush into Prague were the crew of the T-34 tank of the Chelyabinsk tank brigade under the command of Lieutenant I. G. Goncharenko from the platoon of Lieutenant L. E. Burakov.

After the war

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the 10th UDTK, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief No. 0013 of June 10, 1945 and on the basis of the Directive of the General Staff of the Red Army No. ORG/1/143 of June 15, 1945, was renamed the 10th Guards Tank Ural-Lvov Volunteer Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division .

Since 1945, units of the division began planned combat training as part of the GSVG. From June 17 to 23, 1953 and from August 12 to 13, 1961, units of the division carried out combat missions to support the activities of the Government of the GDR. Throughout its entire time on German soil, the division was considered one of the best tank formations of the GSVG.

Throughout the Great Patriotic War, 38 soldiers received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.