Titles of films about tank destroyer dogs. Anti-tank dog (movable mines)

Not many of us know about the four-legged heroes who saved hundreds of thousands human lives. However, they also fought for Victory. They blew up enemy tanks, went on reconnaissance missions, found spies, served as signalmen, orderlies, and looked for landmines and mines.

The Soviet people overcame the Great Patriotic War, this terrible and difficult period for our homeland, with their characteristic courage, bravery and bravery. But besides people, our four-legged friends also showed extreme courage and devotion.
Throughout the war, dogs performed the most various jobs. During the Great Patriotic War, dogs mastered several specialties.
Between 1939 and 1945, 168 separate military units were created that used dogs. On various fronts there were 69 separate platoons of sledge detachments, 29 separate companies of mine detectors, 13 separate special detachments, 36 separate battalions of sledge detachments, 19 separate battalions of mine detectors and 2 separate special regiments. In addition, 7 training battalions of cadets from the Central School periodically participated in hostilities. service dog breeding.

Wounded soldiers were transported directly from the battlefield on sleds or ambulance dogs. In winter - on light sleds, in summer - on so-called drags or simply on a stretcher placed on wheels. Moreover, they were taken out from places where no other transport could approach. About 15 thousand sled dog teams that took part in the war and marched with our army from the Volga to Berlin, fighting on all fronts - from the Black Sea to the North Sea - took 700 thousand wounded soldiers and officers from the battlefield. While orderlies and other medical workers for carrying 80 people from the battlefield were awarded the highest military award - the title of Hero Soviet Union, the four-legged rescuers were content with praise and a bowl of stew.
During the war, dog sleds carried not only the wounded from the battlefield; under enemy fire, ammunition and food were delivered to the front line, and even light guns were transported. They could go on any off-road. During the Second World War, dogs delivered 5,862 tons of ammunition to the front lines.
A sleigh, harnessed by four dogs, suddenly rushed off the road into a field, straight into a huge crater. The leading right front dog seemed to have gone mad - it did not obey either the reins or the shouts of the sled. All of them fell to the ground within a few seconds. And only then did the whistle of German mines rushing right over Vasily Smirnov’s head become audible. “It happened in Moldova, I remember that, but I don’t remember the name of that dog, even though she saved my life, at the cost of her own life. A mine fragment hit her right in the forehead, and she died without suffering. At that time, we had already taken about 35 wounded Red Army soldiers from the battlefield with her,” says a veteran of the Great Patriotic War Vasily Egorovich Smirnov.
During his years of service in the army, Smirnov took 50 seriously wounded soldiers from the front line. “The cart was wooden, long, so that a wounded person could fit in it, and I had somewhere to sit. I usually sat in the back. Four specially trained dogs were harnessed to the ambulance cart. We took them straight from the front line, immediately after the end of the battle, we took out only the seriously wounded, the rest - on their own, as they say.”
Sled dogs of the Red Army at the front were fed “People’s Commissar’s special rations”; in between battles they even cooked soup from potatoes, millet and meat. “Where did you get the meat from? Yes, from the roadsides, do you know how many horse corpses were lying around? Let’s come, look, sniff, if “nothing”, cut off a piece from the side, and for food for the dogs, they always ate with appetite - carrying me and the wounded man together - I’ll tell you, it’s hellish work.”

In the late autumn of 1941, during the battle of Moscow, an event occurred that was not noted in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, but earned the right to be included in military chronicles. A group of fascist tanks trying to attack the Soviet line turned back when they saw... dogs rushing at them! However, the Nazis’ fear was completely justified - the dogs blew up enemy tanks.
The report of the commander of the 30th Army, Lieutenant General Dmitry Lelyushenko, said: “... In the presence of massive enemy use of tanks, dogs are an integral part of anti-tank defense. The enemy is afraid of fighter dogs and specifically hunts for them.”
The operational report of the Sovinformburo dated July 2, 1942 stated: “On one of the fronts, 50 German tanks tried to break through to the location of our troops. Nine brave four-legged “armor-piercers” from the fighter squad of Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Shantsev knocked out 7 enemy tanks.”

Tank destroyer dogs were introduced into service in 1935. specially trained dog with an explosive charge attached to it. The dog climbed under the tank, the target sensor (a wooden pin about 20 cm long) was triggered and the charge exploded directly under the bottom of the tank. The dog was not fed for several days and was taught that food could be found under the tank. Next, the dog was attached to a mock-up of an explosive device and trained to crawl under the tanks with it. Finally, they taught us not to be afraid of moving and shooting tanks. In combat conditions, the dog was kept half-starved; at the right moment, a real explosive device (about 12 kg of TNT) was attached to it; immediately before use, the safety catch was removed and the dog was released towards the enemy tank. The mine exploded under the relatively thin bottom of the tank. The dog died.
There are 299 tank destroyer dogs - 300 units of enemy armored vehicles. Only one dog could survive, and then only serendipity. “The dog ran to the tank, there was a terrible battle, a shrapnel cut off the pack with explosives, and wounded the dog itself, it lay there for a while, and then finally ran back to its leader, but completed the task - the tank was blown up. But this - the only case when the tank destroyer survived,” says Vladimir Leonidovich Shvabsky, a veteran of the Central School of Military Dog Breeding.
Hundeminen, as the Germans called them, were trained using Soviet tanks, sometimes they made mistakes on the battlefield, got scared by unfamiliar German tanks, ran back and, as a result, blew up Soviet vehicles. “When a dog was allowed under a tank, a sniper was always watching it, in case it ran back, but we didn’t have such cases, the Germans did, because they used their shepherd dogs in the same way,” says the director of the military museum dog breeding and pigeon breeding Vasily Khmelnitsky.

The feat of Soviet tank destroyer dogs in our country was immortalized near Volgograd.
In the battle on Kursk Bulge 12 German tanks were destroyed with the help of dogs. Dogs posed a problem for the Germans, since the tank machine gun was located quite high and had difficulty hitting a dog moving quickly near the surface of the ground. The German command ordered every soldier to shoot any dog ​​that appeared in sight. Over time, Wehrmacht soldiers began to use flamethrowers mounted on tanks against dogs, this turned out to be enough effective measure resistance, but some dogs still could not be stopped.

One way or another, by 1942 the use of anti-tank dogs was greatly hampered. After some time, anti-tank dogs ceased to be used.

Sabotage dogs blew up trains and bridges. These dogs had a detachable combat pack attached to their backs. War dogs-saboteurs participate (behind the front line) in strategic operation“Rail War” and its continuation “Concert” - actions to disable railway tracks and rolling stock behind enemy lines. According to the plan, the dog gets to the railway track, pulls the lever to release the saddle, and the load is ready for sabotage.
During the Great Patriotic War, the first saboteur dog in the Red Army, Dina, also distinguished itself. In the fall of 1943, she managed to blow up a German military train. Jumping onto the rails in front of the approaching train, she dropped the pack with the charge, pulled out the igniter pin with her teeth, and then, before the explosion occurred, rolled down the embankment and ran into the forest. Dina was already close to the miners when an explosion occurred, blowing up the train. The brief summary stated: “On August 19, 1943, on the Polotsk – Drissa stretch, a train with enemy personnel was blown up. 10 cars were destroyed, a large section was disabled railway, a fire spread throughout the entire area from the explosion of fuel tanks. There are no losses on our side."
Dina is a dog, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, the first saboteur dog in the Red Army. At the Central School of Military Dog Breeding, Dina completed a tank destroyer training course. Then, in the battalion of mine-detecting dogs, Dina acquired a second specialty - miner, and then mastered a third profession - saboteur.
To successfully complete the task, the sabotage groups were accompanied by counselors with dogs. These dogs were very well trained. They could lead the group through minefields, lay a “corridor” in them, indicate in advance where the enemy has an ambush or a sniper’s “nest”. With their help, they took a “tongue” (a person with important information).
Dogs - saboteurs observed the law of silence, they never gave a voice, as this could unmask the group. If there was such a four-legged fighter in the group, then success was 80%. The saboteur dogs were strictly selected for a number of qualities, the most important of which was the precise execution of commands.

Dogs intelligence service accompanied scouts behind enemy lines to successfully pass through his forward positions, detect hidden firing points, ambushes, secrets, assist in capturing the “tongue”, worked quickly, clearly and silently.
Dog Jack and his guide, Corporal Kisagulov, were scouts. Together they accounted for more than two dozen captured "tongues", including an officer captured inside the heavily guarded fortress of Glogau. The corporal was able to penetrate the fortress and leave it with the prisoner past numerous ambushes and security posts only thanks to the dog’s scent.

This specialty was in great demand. Communication in war is one of the components of success in any operation.
From a report from the headquarters of the Kalinin Front:
“Six communication dogs replaced 10 messengers, and the delivery of reports was accelerated by 3-4 times. Losses of dogs, even with high density enemy artillery and mortar fire are very insignificant (one dog per month).”
Signal dogs perform their service clearly and confidently. There have been many cases where, when it was completely impossible to use other means of communication, dogs delivered all reports and orders in a timely manner. Even a seriously wounded dog delivered a report. Sergeant E.S. Akimov’s department, consisting of four counselors with dogs, delivered more than 200 combat documents.
In a difficult combat situation, through forests and swamps, sometimes impassable for humans, messenger dogs delivered more than 200 thousand documents to companies, battalions and regiments, and laid 8 thousand kilometers of telephone wire.

There is a story about the Airedale terrier Jack, who saved an entire battalion from certain death. For three and a half kilometers under intense fire, he carried an important report in his collar. He ran to headquarters wounded, with a broken jaw and a broken paw. Having delivered the package, he fell dead.
Mink dog in the most difficult conditions and for short term delivered 2,398 combat reports, and the dog named Rex - 1,649. In 1944, the dog Jack delivered 2,982 combat reports. And the “fighter” of the Leningrad Front, the dog Dick, delivered 12,000 reports.
Communications leader Nikolai Bolginov spoke about a unique incident: “It happened near Nikopol in February 1944. Together with my dog ​​Rex, I was with the rifle battalion. We reached the bank of the Dnieper and crossed safely. At the same time, a cable connection was stretched across the river from the regiment commander to the battalion commander, but after about ten minutes the connection was interrupted. And the Nazis launched a counterattack. Rex had to deliver a report. But I was afraid - he had never had to cross such wide rivers and in such cold weather before. Rex boldly rushed into ice water and swam to our shore. Strong current and the wind carried the dog far away. But the combat report was delivered. That day, Rex crossed the Dnieper three times (!) under hurricane artillery and machine gun fire, delivering important documents.”
By the way, during the lull between battles, special packs were put on the messenger dogs and they delivered letters and newspapers to the front line. It happened that dogs were trusted to deliver orders and medals to units where it was impossible to get through due to continuous shelling.

They saved many human lives. They were given the most important task - demining territories after the enemy left, during front-line operations, and the advance of our troops. The dogs' keen sense of smell made it possible to find mines not only in metal casings, but also in wooden ones, which a mine detector was unable to detect. Miners with dogs worked several times faster. Miners with mine detection dogs discovered about 20 thousand mines and land mines in December 1941 alone.
Group of Sergeant G.V. Malanicheva, operating at night near the enemy, with the help of dogs, discovered and secured in two and a half hours of hard work, 250 minutes.
From reports of the Northwestern Front:
“The use of mine-detecting dogs has great importance in the work of engineering units. The presence of dogs reduces explosions of personnel during mine clearance. Dogs clear minefields completely without missing mines, which is impossible to do when working with a mine detector and probe. The dogs search for mines of all systems: domestic mines and enemy mines, metal, wood, cardboard, filled with various types of explosives.”
From the directive of the Chief of Engineering Troops Soviet army on all fronts:
“When examining routes, the speed increased to 40-50 km per day compared to the previous 15 km. “On none of the routes checked by mine-detecting dogs was there a case of undermining of manpower or equipment.” In total, during the war years, over 6 thousand dogs were trained for mine detection work, which neutralized over 4 million mines. These are 33 cities, 18 thousand settlements.

Dzhulbars served in the 14th assault engineer brigade and managed to detect more than 7 thousand mines and 150 shells, participated in the demining of palaces over the Danube, Prague castles and Vienna cathedrals. From September 1944 to August 1945, taking part in mine clearance in Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria, a working dog named Julbars discovered 7468 mines and more than 150 shells.
Another one is associated with Julbars interesting fact. Among the numerous pupils of the Central School of Military Dog Breeding who earned the honorable right to take part in the Victory Parade, held on Red Square on June 24, 1945, was Dzhulbars. On this day, the dog had not yet recovered from his injury and could not participate in the TsOKZSHVS (Central Order of the Red Star School of Military Dogs). Its chief, Major General Grigory Medvedev, reported this to the commander of the parade, Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, who informed Joseph Stalin. The Commander-in-Chief ordered: “Let this dog be carried in their arms across Red Square on my overcoat...” Following the “box” of TsOKZSHVS at the Victory Parade was chief dog handler International Federation of Service Dog Breeding, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Mazover, carrying Dzhulbars on a Stalinist overcoat.

The Leningrad collie Dick is famous. In his personal file it is written: “Called up for service from Leningrad and trained in mine detection. During the war years, he discovered more than 12 thousand mines, took part in demining Stalingrad, Lisichansk, Prague and other cities.
Dick accomplished his main feat in Pavlovsk.” It was like that. An hour before the explosion, Dick discovered a two and a half ton landmine with a clock mechanism in the foundation of the palace. After Great Victory the legendary dog, despite multiple wounds, was a repeated winner of dog shows. The veteran dog lived to a ripe old age and was buried with military honors, as befits a hero.
On July 9, 1944, the 16th engineer brigade was engaged in demining the Svyatogorsk Monastery. Sergeant Anatoly Khudyshev “worked” with his faithful assistant, a cocker spaniel named Dzherik. “First we walked around the yard, then through the cells - we found and neutralized several booby traps. Then they left the monastery gates and approached Pushkin’s grave. My Dzherik, that was the name of my dog, trained to smell the dirt in the mines, ran forward and sat down by the grave. “Ay-ya-ya,” I chide him. What a shame! He sat down right on the grave of the great poet,” the war veteran later recalled.
The sergeant's sapper's probe found iron. “I take off the mine, put it aside, and under it there is a second one, for reinforcement, the same one. It would have exploded, it would have exploded. And the grave would have been destroyed and the “fans of the poet” would have come to an end,” says front-line soldier Khudyshev.

From the memoirs of Sergei Solovyov, a participant in the Great Patriotic War from Tyumen: “Because of the heavy fire, we, orderlies, could not get to our seriously wounded fellow soldiers. The wounded needed urgent health care, many of them were bleeding. There were only a few minutes left between life and death...
Dogs came to the rescue. They crawled up to the wounded man and offered him his side with a medical bag. They waited patiently for him to bandage the wound. Only then did they go to someone else. They could unmistakably distinguish a living person from a dead person, because many of the wounded were unconscious.
The four-legged orderly licked the face of such a fighter until he regained consciousness. In the Arctic, winters are harsh, and more than once dogs saved the wounded from severe frosts - they warmed them with their breath. You may not believe me, but dogs cried over the dead..."

Watch dogs

Guard dogs worked in combat guards, in ambushes to detect the enemy at night and in inclement weather. These clever four-legged creatures only by pulling the leash and turning their torso indicated the direction of the impending danger.
The guard shepherd dog Agai, while on combat guard duty, 12 times discovered Nazi soldiers who were trying to secretly approach the positions of our troops.

Among the retreating formations of the Red Army was separate battalion Kolomna border detachment, which had 250 service dogs. During protracted battles, Major Lopatin was asked to disband the tailed fighters - shepherd dogs. There was nothing to feed them. The commander violated the order and left the four-legged fighters in the detachment. The spectacle was terrible: 150 (various data - from 115 to 150 border dogs, including those from the Lvov border service dog breeding school) trained, half-starved shepherd dogs, against the fascists pouring machine-gun fire on them. Shepherd dogs dug into the throats of the Nazis even in death throes. The enemy, literally bitten and hacked to pieces with bayonets, retreated, but tanks came to help. The bitten German infantrymen, with lacerations, with screams of horror, jumped onto the armor of the tanks and shot the poor dogs. In this battle, all 500 border guards died, not one of them surrendered. And the surviving dogs, according to eyewitnesses - residents of the village of Legedzino, remained faithful to their handlers to the end. Each of those who survived in that meat grinder lay down next to their owner and did not let anyone near him. German animals shot every shepherd, and those of them who were not shot by the Germans refused food and died of hunger in the field... Even the village dogs got it - the Germans shot large dogs villagers, even those who were on a leash. Only one shepherd was able to crawl to the hut and fell at the door.
Devotee four-legged friend sheltered, went out, and by the collar on her the villagers knew that they were border dogs not only the Kolomiysk Border Commandant's Office, but also the special school of service dog breeding of Captain M.E. Kozlova. After that battle, when the Germans collected their dead, according to the recollections of the village residents (unfortunately there are few left in this world) it was allowed to bury the Soviet border guards. Everyone who was found was gathered in the center of the field and buried, along with their faithful four-legged assistants, and the secret of the burial was hidden for many years... The memory of the heroism of the border guards and their assistants among the village residents was so great that, despite the presence of the German occupation administration and detachment policemen, half a village of boys proudly wore the green caps of the dead. And the local residents who were burying the border guards, hiding from the Nazis, tore out photographs of the dead from the Red Army books and officer’s ID cards in order to later send them for identification (keeping such documents was a mortal danger, so it was not possible to establish the names of the heroes).
On May 9, 2003, the only monument in the world to a man with a gun and his true friend- to the dog. There is no such monument anywhere else. “Stop and bow. Here, in July 1941, soldiers of the separate Kolomyia border commandant’s office launched their final attack on the enemy. 500 border guards and 150 of them service dogs died the death of the brave in that battle. They remained forever faithful to their oath and their native land.” Today the faces of only two dead border guards are known.

How many words have been said?
Maybe someone's muse is tired
Talk about war
And disturb soldiers' dreams...
It just seems to me
Little has been written to the point of insult
About fighting dogs
Those who protected us during the war!

Nicknames have faded into memory.
I can’t even remember the face now.
We, who came later,
We don't know anything at all.
Only a gray-haired veteran
He still remembers the dog sled
Brought to the medical battalion
From the battlefield once it!

Bundles of mines and grenades
The dogs carried them under the tanks.
Defending the country
And the soldier from the impending disaster.
After the fight the fighters
Dog remains were buried.
Just not there now
No hill, no cross, no star!

The battalion is surrounded
No food, no shells, no communications.
Pandemonium around
There are a whirlwind of fragments and bullets.
With the dog's report
We made our way and the holiday was approaching.
Granting freedom to everyone,
And for yourself, often, only death.

And a dog's honor
Not soiled by vile betrayal!
The pathetic coward of the dogs
Not a single one tagged himself!
They fought
Without an oath, but still with an obligation
Together with the Red Army
Destroy fascist Berlin.

And when on a May day
Saints come to their graves.
And keeping the sacred
We stand in silence for a minute.
Then let this tribute
And fire and flowers of the field
Will be a bright memory
It will be a modest reward for them too!

Tank destroyer dogs brought real terror to the Nazis. A dog hung with explosives, trained not to be afraid of the clang of armored vehicles, was a terrible weapon: swift and inevitable. In the spring of 1942, in the battles near Moscow, the mere appearance of dogs on the battlefield sent several dozen fascist tanks to flight.

At first it was a living weapon. The mine explosion also killed the dog. But by the middle of the war, mines were designed that could be unhooked under the bottom of the vehicle. This gave the dog a chance to escape. Sabotage dogs also undermined enemy trains. They dropped a mine on the rails in front of the locomotive and ran away under the embankment to their conductor.

Kamikaze dog units existed in the Red Army until October 1943. It is believed that they destroyed about three hundred German tanks. But many more four-legged fighters were killed in battles. Many of them did not even have time to throw themselves under the tracks and died on the way to the goal. They were shot from machine guns and machine guns, they were blown up... even their own (a dog with a mine on its back that did not complete the task was dangerous).

In the late autumn of 1941, during the battle of Moscow, an event occurred that was not noted in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, but earned the right to be included in military chronicles. A group of fascist tanks trying to attack the Soviet line turned back when they saw... dogs rushing at them! However, the Nazis’ fear was completely justified - the dogs blew up enemy tanks.

The report of the commander of the 30th Army, Lieutenant General Dmitry Lelyushenko, said: “... In the presence of massive enemy use of tanks, dogs are an integral part of anti-tank defense. The enemy is afraid of fighter dogs and specifically hunts for them.”

The operational report of the Sovinformburo dated July 2, 1942 stated: “On one of the fronts, 50 German tanks tried to break through to the location of our troops. Nine brave four-legged “armor-piercers” from the fighter squad of Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Shantsev knocked out 7 enemy tanks.”

Memoir of a veteran (V. Malyutin)

Recently, having read in the newspaper,

Of the 70 thousand dogs mobilized into the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War, 48 thousand. Some of them got their share of anti-tank dogs.

There were 13 tank destroyer battalions, which accounted for about 300 units of enemy armored vehicles destroyed, including 63 tanks at Stalingrad. Last used These units took place during the Battle of Kursk. But dogs continued to be trained under this program until 1996.

Demolition Dogs: A Mongrel's Tale

I'm a mongrel. No purebred ancestors. An ordinary yard dog. He ran in the yard with the owner's children and guarded the house at night. Only once did ordinary life end. People gathered in a crowd at the loudspeaker and from there they said the word that everyone now often repeats: “war.” The next day, the owner collected the bag with which he went fishing and left.

And a month later the postwoman came, but I didn’t even want to bark at her: she seemed somehow guilty. She entered the house and from there the mistress’s cry was heard, quiet, bitter, and her heart sank. And soon people began to say another word: “Germans.” The hostess put the bundle of things in the wheelbarrow, sat the youngest on the bundle, the cat in his arms, and the elder held on to the hem.

“Come on, Sharik,” he says, “we need to leave.” I don’t understand: what about the house? Who will guard? And she calls again. And off we went. It took two days. Around us there are people like us - with bundles, children, cows, cats... And towards us, in a thin chain, men in identical clothes and with weapons, dusty, tired and somehow hopeless. On the morning of the third day they suddenly shouted: “Germans! Air!”, then the roar of engines from above, shots often, often, and a roar.

Suddenly something threw me up, hit me, and I forgot. When I came to my senses, there was a big hole where we were walking. Our car is broken, things are scattered, and the owners are nowhere to be found. And the smell is so sour - my throat is sore. I later found out that it smells like that. About a year. Mainly at stations. There are soldiers there, they are kind. They themselves are not full, but they will wipe out the can of stew with bread and give it to me.

And that jar is for four people, although I can only eat it once. Sometimes they took me on the train. I'm even confused where I am now. At some station a soldier picked me up; he still smelled like dogs. He put a collar on me, put me in a truck and brought me to the unit. The elder looked and said that I was big and fit. There were a lot of dogs there, all mongrels like me.

Soon people arrived. Very young, still boys, but already soldiers. The senior man looked at the formation and with such melancholy, as if it was burning him from the inside, said: “Congratulations, comrades of the Red Army, on your arrival in the sapper meat grinder, as the infantry calls us. The thoroughbreds have already been killed, let's kill the mongrels. Here are your suicide bombers, in enclosures.”

To me new owner got it. He's such a redhead, his face is covered in freckles. The boy was a boy, but he understood dogs. And they began to prepare us. The only preparation is to not feed him for two days, and then put a bowl of food under the tank. If you want to eat, you will climb. It was scary as hell, but they climbed. Then they began to attach something to my back, like a horse saddle. Heavy... The owner said: 12 kilograms. And again the bowl under the tank. Then under the tank with the engine running.

Then they started shooting during feeding and throwing something, which exploded. We got used to it, we climb under the tank and burst it. We even climb under a moving tank. I became attached to the new owner and followed him with my tail. And he talked to the commander, and they began to train a few of us who were more savvy, more often and longer than others. We were taught to crawl, to run from hole to hole while we ran to the tank.

I do not know why. The owner asked, so it’s necessary. He was so happy when I learned to hide! And I am happy to please him. And he taught me to pretend to be dead, and not to run straight to the tank. Then we, who were taught more, were given other packs. They said it was an old model; it turns out they were invented before the war. There you had to pull this thing with your teeth, right next to the tank, and the pack would fall off your back.

And you immediately need to run away, quickly, quickly, into a hole somewhere or lie down further away. I wasn’t trying for food anymore, I liked that the owner was smiling. And the commander smiled at least sometimes and said: “Maybe at least someone will survive.” Then all of us, with the owners, were on the train. Next by car. Then they went somewhere where explosions were heard. The owner and I were the last to go.

The commander stopped as if inspecting the column, let everyone through, turned to the church that could be seen from behind the hill, and crossed himself. I hear him say quietly but passionately: “Lord, what are they for, sinless creatures? Well, do this for the last time, I can’t look them in the eyes anymore!” We spent the night in the trenches.

The owner and I curled up under his overcoat, pressed ourselves, and he whispered in my ear: “Do you know how I don’t want to send you away? But it’s necessary, brother, it’s necessary... Just do everything right, I ask you. Don’t expose yourself, they will shoot, they are afraid of you. Don’t forget to hide, don’t run head-on. Once you’ve done everything, hide in the crater until it calms down.”

The engines are roaring, the tanks are coming. It's time. The pack is already on me. My redhead suddenly hugs me, kisses me on the nose and hurriedly mutters: “Just stay safe, brother! Please! I’ll cover it as best I can.” He takes the safety pin out of the fuse on his pack, sobs, wipes away a tear with his sleeve and falls to the carbine. And I’m already running across the field, as he taught - in dashes, hiding, indirectly... I’ll be back, brother. If you're lucky…

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In the fierce battles of the summer of 1941, the Red Army lost more than 70% of its anti-tank artillery. In the absence of layered defense, the dominance of German aviation in the skies and miscalculations in tactics, Soviet artillerymen could not effectively restrain the advance of enemy armored vehicles. Due to the fact that in the fall German tanks were already rushing towards Moscow, and there was an acute shortage of guns at the front, the command decided to use any means on the battlefield, including anti-tank dogs

Training of “tailed specialists”

The decision to use dogs as tank destroyers in the USSR was made before the war, in 1935. It is believed that the idea combat use The concept of dogs was first described by the famous Soviet dog handler Vsevolod Yazykov. Research into the actions of animals when armored vehicles are damaged was carried out at the Saratov Armored School and the Research Armored Test Site in Kubinka. The main problem that the military and scientists faced was that the dogs were simply afraid of moving tanks. To overcome fear of tanks, dog handlers did not feed the dog for several days, and then placed food under the tank so that hunger would be stronger than the instinct of self-preservation. After the animal ceased to be afraid of the “steel monsters,” a mock-up of an explosive device was attached to its back and taught to climb under the tank. After this, the task became more complicated - the dog had to get food from under the tank, whose motor was turned on.

Tank destroyer dog training

Mostly mongrels were taken into the extermination squads, and the training course for the “tailed fighter” lasted six months, but after the start of the war it was shortened to three months. The criteria for selecting dogs was simple - the animal had to be strong enough to carry two anti-tank mines. For tank destroyer dogs, a special explosive device was developed - a canvas pack, on the sides of which two TNT blocks weighing 6 kg were placed. In addition, a wooden contact detonator was attached to the animal’s back.

Dog with anti-tank mines

The essence of using such an explosive mechanism was as follows: the dog had to run under the tank in such a way that the detonator came into contact with its bottom (when the detonator was deflected back, the mine exploded). Since the bottom of the tank was the least protected (its armor protection was only 15-30 mm), the vehicle was disabled.

Baptism of fire

In July 1941, combat testing of the new weapon began. The dogs were released on the battlefield hungry - the counselor directed the animal directly towards the tank or at a slight angle to the direction of its movement. The tests were unsuccessful - out of twenty dogs released towards enemy armored vehicles, not one completed the task. Some of the animals were destroyed by German infantry and tanks, while the rest simply fled. Despite the first failure, work in this direction did not stop, and during the war years, thirteen tank destroyer squads were formed in the USSR, each of which consisted of 120–126 dogs.

Tank Destroyer Dog Unit

In August 1941, near Chernigov, the dogs were able to destroy six enemy tanks, and in the fall they successfully operated in battles near Moscow. According to the report of the commander of the 30th Army, Lieutenant General Lelyushenko, “During the defeat of the Germans near Moscow, enemy tanks launched into the attack were put to flight by the dogs of the destruction squad. The enemy is afraid of anti-tank dogs and specifically hunts for them.”.

Tank destroyer dogs in battle
Artist – Ivan Khivrenko

Triumph in the battles for Stalingrad

The most striking episode of the use of “anti-tank” dogs was the battles in the Stalingrad direction. Fierce fighting took place in the defense zone of the 62nd Army, which included special detachments of “four-legged fighters” - the 28th under the command of Major Anatoly Kunin and the 138th under the command of Senior Lieutenant Vasily Shantsev. On June 10, 1942, near the Gavrilovka farm, 50 German tanks broke through the defense of Lieutenant Stolyarov’s rifle platoon, and the 138th detachment became the only obstacle in the enemy’s path. The soldiers allowed German tanks to come close, after which they brought their dogs into the battle. The first tank was destroyed by the pet of senior sergeant Evgeniy Buylin, and then the dogs of counselors Kolesnikov, Romanov, Shamsiev and others successfully completed their work. In total, in the fierce battles of June 1942, the 138th detachment destroyed 14 German tanks. Senior Lieutenant Shantsev was awarded the Order of the Red Banner - according to his award sheet, “06/10/1942, in the area of ​​​​the Khudoyarovo and Gavrilovka farms, fighters of the detachment under the leadership of the detachment commander, Senior Lieutenant Shantsev, knocked out 11 enemy tanks. 06/23/1942, along the Novo-Nikolaevka-Kupyansk road, fighters of a detachment led by Lieutenant Shantsev knocked out 3 enemy tanks.”. In these clashes, nine members of the squad died along with their charges, but the enemy’s offensive was stopped. “Anti-tank” dogs were also active later, during urban battles in Stalingrad - in street clashes they had the opportunity to hide behind rubble and walls of houses, unexpectedly appearing in front of the enemy. On September 15, 1942, the dogs of the 28th detachment managed to destroy 6 tanks. A fighter from this detachment, Nikolai Maslov, recalled:

“We used dogs to blow up tanks one after another, and the Germans turned back. When our unit was given the task of holding the approaches to the tractor plant, we were urgently transferred to our positions at night. The Germans tried to take the plant with a night attack, but they met strong resistance from our units, and the dogs were particularly active. In this battle, when an enemy tank was coming at me, I threw a Molotov cocktail, but did not reach the target. The crew, seeing me, fired from a tank and wounded me with a shell fragment: it was torn off on my left arm. thumb. The dog was also injured. But I managed to give her a command, and she blew up the tank.".

The detachment in which Maslov fought was able to destroy 42 German tanks during the battles for Stalingrad, and together with the results of Shantsev’s detachment, this figure amounted to 63 vehicles. The losses of the extermination squads were also very high, amounting to three quarters of their original strength (about 200 dogs died).

On other sectors of the front

On July 22, 1942, when repelling an enemy attack near the village of Sultan-Saly (not far from Rostov-on-Don), the dogs of the 30th Irkutsk division showed aerobatics. 64 dogs rushed towards the German tanks and, despite the fact that the Germans opened heavy machine-gun fire, the animals managed to destroy 24 vehicles (all 64 four-legged soldiers died). A day earlier, 56 fighter dogs were able to stop the attack of 40 tanks near the village of Chaltyr, destroying over ten of them.

For German tank crews, destroying “anti-tank” dogs was not an easy task, since tank machine guns were located very high and could not always hit a low-lying target, which, moreover, was moving quickly. Trying to somehow solve the problem, the Germans came up with a protective apron made of a metal mesh with spikes, which was attached to the front of the tank, preventing anyone from approaching it. However, this solution turned out to be ineffective - while the car was moving, the mesh clung to the ground, raised heaps of garbage, or even broke off. In addition, Soviet dog handlers began to teach dogs to approach a target from behind. Realizing the danger that “anti-tank” animals posed to armored vehicles, the German command ordered each soldier to open fire on any dog ​​that appeared in sight. However, in 1943, the need for tank destroyer dogs almost disappeared, since the Red Army already had a huge number of anti-tank guns and armored vehicles in service. But still, the dogs managed to take part in the Battle of Kursk - so, on July 5, 1943, in the defense zone of the 52nd and 67th Guards Rifle Divisions, dogs from Lieutenant Lisitsyn’s unit destroyed 12 German tanks. On another section of the front, 20 enemy tanks rushed to storm the heights defended by Soviet infantrymen, but the soldiers of the special detachment under the command of Junior Lieutenant Mukhin, who kept their pets in the trenches, waited until no more than a hundred meters were left before the tanks, and released seven dogs on them (all the animals died, destroying four tanks).

Unnamed Kamikaze Heroes

During the Great Patriotic War, tank destroyer dogs did not receive mass application, since the “anti-tank” animal was a disposable weapon, the preparation of which required time and great effort. In addition, even a well-trained dog could be killed before approaching the enemy or run away, frightened by the roar of explosions. German tank crews used flamethrowers, machine guns and their personal weapons to destroy the dogs. In Paul Karel's book “Hitler Goes East” there is a fragment of the memoirs of a German tank driver, where he describes his “acquaintance” with tank destroyer dogs:

“The first dog dived right under the lead tank. A flash, a muffled roar, fountains of dirt, clouds of dust, a bright flame. Non-commissioned officer Vogel was the first to understand what was happening. "Dog! - he shouted. - Dog!" The shooter pulled out a P-08 Parabellum and shot the second dog. Missed. Shot again. And again by. There was automatic fire from tank No. 914. The animal, as if tripping, flew over its head. When people approached the shepherd, she was still breathing. A pistol bullet put an end to the dog’s suffering.”

According to some reports, during the war, Soviet fighter dogs destroyed about 300 German tanks, although this figure has not been documented. At the same time, the book “Fighting Tanks” (authors G. Biryukov and G. Melnikov) provides more modest figures - 187 armored vehicles destroyed. “Anti-tank” dogs remained nameless heroes of the war, but were still honored with immortality. In 2010, in Volgograd, on Chekistov Square, the world’s only monument to tank destroyer dogs was erected - a life-size bronze dog.

Monument to tank destroyer dogs in Volgograd

While planning my trip to Volgograd in the summer of 2011, I came across a note about the recent opening of a monument to a tank destroyer dog in the hero city.

Yes, our furry friends were actively used on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. They searched for mines and used them in routine investigative and security activities. Messenger dogs delivered reports and extended communication lines. I was surprised to learn that sled dogs were the most actively used: during the war years, 36 battalions of sled dogs were formed. They transported the wounded from the battlefield, delivered ammunition and food. And there were these - anti-tank ones. With 4 kilograms of explosives in a pack bag, a trained dog climbed under the bottom of an enemy tank and blew itself up there.

Of course, I visited the monument, stroked the bronze shepherd dog on the withers and took a photo as a souvenir.

Below the cut is some information about demolition dogs and photographs from the Internet.

The dogs were trained simply and effectively - hungry animals were fed under the bottom of a tank with the engine running. Thus teaching that food can always be found under the tank. The pack bag with explosives had a trigger in the form of a vertical twenty-centimeter pin sticking out on the back. In combat conditions, a half-starved dog was let off the leash, pointed at enemy equipment. She ran up to the tank and climbed under the bottom. The trigger pin, resting against the body of the armored vehicle, bent and an explosion was heard...

A dog with an explosive on its back attacks a tank. Modern reconstruction

Modern researchers question the combat effectiveness of such weapons, citing objective considerations: dogs were easily destroyed by rifle and machine-gun fire on the approach to the equipment, because they did not hide, but ran in the open. Despite the simplicity of the method, the animal had to be prepared for about three months, after all, he still needed to be trained in service commands, to develop the habit of explosions and shots, so that he would not be afraid on the battlefield. The result was not guaranteed, dogs, just like people, have different abilities and different temperaments, and in combat conditions, “live mines” often got scared or lost their target and tried to return with an already activated explosive device back to the trench to their leader, which was subjected to mortal danger fighters, and they had to be shot.

There is also a sharply negative attitude towards such use of “our little brothers” on the part of ordinary soldiers, despite the fact that the dogs, by their death, could well have saved the life of more than one Red Army soldier.

A squad of tank destroyer dogs moves into position

Adding to doubt is the lack of mention of tank losses as a result of dog attacks in German documents. Evidence of attacks on tanks by “mined dogs” (minenhund) is found in combat documents, but, according to reports, all “live mines” were shot from afar.

Killed "mined dog"

The theme of “minenhund” is also present in the memoirs and, as you can see, in soldiers’ albums there are photos of dogs with explosives on their backs. German soldiers were afraid of unusual Russian weapons and preferred to shoot all the dogs in the front line.

But about successful application fighting dogs, confirmed by the enemy, is so far known only from the book “Hitler Goes East” by the famous Karel Paul, which describes one episode:

“But two days later, General Nehring’s 18th Panzer Division was less fortunate. Tanks suppressed Soviet positions in the field and anti-tank fortifications on the eastern outskirts of Karachev. Motorized infantry units burst into the city. The 9th Company of the 18th Tank Regiment made its way to the northern outskirts and entered a cornfield. The attackers silenced several more anti-tank guns. The enemy didn't fire anymore.

A counselor and his fighter dog killed in battle

The tank commanders waited in the towers. The company commander's order just sounded:
- Everyone come to me, stand on the right. Stay. Turn off the engines.
The opening hatches slammed. At that moment, the tankers saw two shepherd dogs running across the field with “saddles” on their backs.
-What is that on their backs? - the radio operator said in surprise.
– I think bags with reports. Or these are ambulance dogs, the shooter suggested.
The first dog dived directly under the lead tank. A flash, a muffled roar, fountains of dirt, clouds of dust, a bright flame. Non-commissioned officer Vogel was the first to understand what was happening.
- Dog! - he shouted. - Dog!
The shooter pulled out a P-08 Parabellum and shot the second dog. Missed. Shot again. And again by. Tank No. 914 fired a burst of machine gun fire. The animal, as if tripping, flew over its head. When people approached the shepherd, she was still breathing. A pistol bullet put an end to the dog’s suffering.”

A counselor with an anti-tank dog in enemy captivity

On the other hand, Soviet literature speaks of almost three hundred tanks destroyed by dogs throughout the war, including mention of 63 tanks blown up in Battle of Stalingrad. There are orders on the need and effectiveness of tank destroyer dogs, positive reviews from high-ranking commanders and eyewitness memories of tank attacks repulsed by “friends”.

Squad of fighter dogs in winter camouflage

Using the website Feat of the People, I tried to find information about rewarding dog leaders. Having looked at the data on the 23rd and 28th separate detachments of tank destroyer dogs operating in the defense of Stalingrad, despite sufficient quantity awards for fighters, judging by the descriptions of exploits who fought as ordinary infantry, I found only one case related to the destruction of tanks - a Red Army soldier, a dog leader from the 23rd department. squad of dogs exterminated. tanks, Samsonov Arkady Andreevich awarded the order“Patriotic War II degree” with the wording:

“On January 27, 1943, in the area of ​​Gurmak station, during counterattacks by enemy tanks, he skillfully and accurately launched a fighter dog, as a result of which the enemy’s medium tank was blown up.”

A counselor with a mine dog in position. The fighter is armed with anti-tank grenades and, along with his pet, is ready to repel a tank attack.

Be that as it may, mine dogs fought a lot during the most difficult periods of the war, and units of tank destroyer dogs were abolished in the Red Army only in October 1943.