Kirov residents were told about a secret elite unit from Zuyevka

      Another lecture was held in Kirov as part of the project "It was the beginning day of the war," during which search engines told how a classified elite unit was being trained in the Kirov region.

      At the end of 1941, by order of Joseph Stalin, the first maneuverable airborne brigade was formed in Zuyevka, mainly consisting of young Kirov residents, residents of the Perm Region and the Komi Republic. High demands were placed on the physical fitness of the fighters of this brigade, preference was given to skiers and biathletes. "The fighters of this unit were made into real professionals. If the training of ordinary volunteer fighters was only two weeks, then the fighters of this unit were trained for three months," said Matvey Buldin, a fighter of the Krechet search group, a student of the Kirovo-Chepetsky Lyceum.

      The soldiers of the elite unit were taught parachuting and sapper-demolition, orientation in the forest and survival in the field without making a fire, the ability to walk in azimuth and use captured German weapons. The paratroopers also regularly performed multi-kilometer ski marches in full uniform.

      In February 1942, the brigade was transferred to the command of the Northwestern Front, where for the first time a large group of German troops trapped in the Demyansk pocket was encircled. Attempts to destroy the "cauldron" with frontal attacks did not lead to success, and then it was decided to sabotage the logistics and communications of the encircled German troops.

      At the lecture, they said that the idea of parachuting a brigade into the rear of the encircled fascists was initially considered. But it was abandoned: at that time, the USSR did not have air superiority, in addition, there was an acute shortage of transport aircraft, and it would take more than one night to drop a large number of fighters, and this could reveal the plan of the operation. As a result, it was decided to send trained saboteurs behind the front line on skis.

      On the night of March 7-8, 1942, 2,675 paratroopers crossed the front line. Within a few weeks, the fighters managed to inflict serious losses on the manpower and equipment of the German troops, disrupt communications and logistical support for the encircled fascists. Only 629 paratroopers managed to return on the night of April 7-8, and 773 more people were evacuated by air. 1,130 paratroopers are considered dead and missing.

      You can watch a recording of a lecture on how soldiers of a classified elite paratrooper unit performed tasks behind enemy lines here (12+).