Grozny with Military Glory– 2

Timur Utsoyev, Grozny. Exclusively to VK

See the beginning http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/culture/29950.html

In July 1942 the battle for the Caucasus between Nazi Germany and the Red Army began. It ended on October 9, 1943. It was a battle for Grozny and Baku oil – the important resource able to change the course of the war. At a meeting in Grozny on August 26, 1942, young people swore to stop the enemy and clear the Caucasus of occupants. When the Nazi plans failed, Hitler's troops decided to destroy Grozny's industry and oil resources. From October 10, 1942, Grozny suffered mass bombings and the city was ablaze. Today the republican authorities suggest Grozny should be awarded the title of City of Military Glory in memory of its defenders. Representatives of the presidential administration of Russia came to Chechnya to examine the city. Here are historians and experts on the developments:

Professor Movsar Ibragimov, Candidate for PhD (history)

In July 1942 the South Caucasian Front was established. The command understood that Grozny was very important. Regiments and divisions were formed in Grozny. The 1127th division defended Grozny. People of Chechnya and Ingushetia understood importance of the city clearly. In July a meeting was organized in Ordzhonikidze where representatives of almost all nationalities of the North Caucasus gathered. Chechens and Ingush swore to protect their city till the end, and they did it. Almost all cities of the North Caucasus were surrendered. I don’t want to say anything bad about their defenders, but it is a historic fact. The Nazis were stopped neat Grozny, and the Red Army managed to do it. But without support of the population the army couldn’t do it. Working troops were formed which involved Ingush, Chechens, Armenians, Jews, and many others.

Magomed Muzayev, Head of the Archive Department of Chechnya

There were only two serious oil holds for the whole huge Soviet Union – Baku and Grozny. Neither Tatar nor Siberian and other oil centers existed at that time. If these two oil centers had been lost, the country and its industry would have collapsed. Army, aviation, and tanks were provided with fuel from Grozny and Baku. German experts who worked in the Caucasus ahead of the war knew the situation perfectly and believed Grozny oil was the best in the world. The Barbarossa Plan required occupation of Grozny and Baku through Makhachkala, after that Germans wanted to capture oil centers of Iran, Iraq, and the Middle East. The Nazi army lacked fuel for tanks and planes. That is why they held on Romania, but Romania didn’t give extra oil, and they dreamed about capturing Caucasian oil sources. After the Moscow Battle Stalin thought that Germans lost spirit, that they are collapsed and could be pursued in all fronts. The Commander-in-Chief ordered armies to attack from the sea to the sea and pursue Nazis. In fact it was a mistake. Historians don’t like to describe battles which follow the Moscow Battle. The Red Army suffered several devastating defeats. At this time stupidity of Stalin’s emissaries led to occupation of the Crimea and Sevastopol. The Soviet troops were defeated near Rostov and Taganrog. The army experienced great failures in other places as well, even though some commanders warned that the enemy was not weak and carefulness was needed. Germans decided to organize an attack in the south and capture oil sources. I don’t say that the southern cities which have the Military Glory didn’t contribute to the victory. But to be honest battles near Mozdok, Malgobek, Ordzhonikidze were battles near Grozny. Hitler said: “If I fail to capture Maikop and Grozny in summer, I will have to end this war.” The strike was honorable on Mozdok in August and on Malgobek in October. At the same time Grozny’s residents defended their city. They fought not only near Grozny, but near other cities as well.

Alexei Saiko, Head of the Education Department in the Naursky Region of Chechnya

In the first half of 1942 the Grozny oil-producing plant was awarded with the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. The same year in the context of Germans approaching Grozny a railway Chervlyonnaya Uzlovaya-Astrakhan was constructing in two months. If it had been be cut off, Hitler would be right that the war could be ended.

There is a historic fact that Chechnya is a place where expulsion of the Nazi army began. In the Soviet period I and my friends met veterans and they asked to fix some memorial sign in memory of these events. In three months of Chechen battles Germans lost more than 200 tanks. I think numerous evidences will lead to making Grozny the City with the Military Glory.