WW2 Russian Protective Corps Photo archives

WW2 Photos and photographers of the Russian Protective Corps

Many officers of the former Russian Imperial Army living in exile had experience in amateur photography since the First World War. Portable, compact and inexpensive cameras became a mass phenomenon before the Second World War and were accessible to many. By the time the Russian Protective Corps was formed in 1941, some officers had amateur cameras with small photographic plates or narrow film, allowing them to print photographs at home using contact printing.
According to the memoirs of S. Zabelin*, each regiment of the Russian Corps had several amateur photographers who took photographs for themselves and friends. A study of surviving photographs shows that there were more than a dozen types of camera formats. The best and most affordable were German cameras with excellent photographic lenses from Carl Zeiss. The German command, both on the Eastern Front and in the Balkans, did not prohibit taking photographs for personal purposes, even of strategically important objects. The availability of time off duty and a good salary allowed the officers of the Russian Security Corps to collect collections of photographs of both people and protected objects – railway bridges, mines, transporters, bunkers and barracks. Military parades, holidays, prayer services and training sessions were especially photographed. The command of the Russian Corps had a favorable attitude towards this hobby of its subordinates, as it was in the traditions of the Russian Army. The well-organized evacuation of families from Belgrade and the retreat of the Corps to Slovenia and further to Austria made it possible to preserve all personal belongings and photo albums. Problems began after the disarmament of the Russian Corps and anticipation of further fate in 1945-1947. The nearby 15th Cavalry Corps of von Panwitz and Cossack Stan were forcibly handed over to the Soviet NKVD, where many were killed along the way or died in camps in Siberia. Units of the 1st and 2nd ROA divisions located in Bavaria were also handed over to Stalin. The Soviets also demanded the extradition of the Russian Corps, despite the fact that it consisted mainly of old emigrants. According to the secret agreements in Yalta, the Allies were obliged to hand over not only citizens of the USSR in 1939, but also old emigrants who were captured in German uniforms. Photographs of Russian Corps soldiers in German uniforms became incriminating documents. During the threat of surrender to the Soviets, many members of the Russian Corps destroyed their war photographs in German uniform. For this reason, photographs of the Russian Corps are as rare as those of the soldiers of the Russian Liberation Army of General Vlasov. The changed political situation, the speech of British Prime Minister Churchill in Fulton on March 5, 1946, and the outbreak of the Cold War removed the threat of extradition to the Soviets and allowed former ranks of the Russian Corps to emigrate to Latin America and the United States. The initial and secondary screening of the ranks of the Russian Corps to identify war crimes no longer affected the destruction of the surviving photographs, since twice the international commission recognized that the ranks of the Russian Protective Corps did not commit war crimes and are clean before the law. Beginning in April 1945, Britain and the United States considered plans to use German and Soviet prisoners of war in a possible war against Stalin. Former ranks of the Russian Corps formed the Union of St. Alexander Nevsky as a veteran mutual aid organization. Starting from the DP Kellerberg camp in 1945 and until the end of the 90s, a special magazine “Our News” was published, the official newsletter of the ranks of the former Russian Corps. The long-time editor of this magazine, Nikolai Protopopov, collected a large collection of surviving photographs from the Second World War. Two more collections of photographs were collected by the Chairman of the Union of Officials of the Russian Corps, Lieutenant Wladimir Granitow, and the head of the Museum, Peter Gattenberger. Unfortunately, there was no correct attitude towards collecting and storing photographs. Another head of the museum, Svyatoslav Zabelin, did not pay due attention either. According to his confession, many times and for many years he wanted to come to visit one photographer who kept both negatives and photographs, but constantly postponed the trip. And at one point he learned that the photographer had already died, and all his personal belongings and negatives were destroyed in accordance with US laws. In the 90s, while the last veterans of the Russian Corps were still alive, Mikhail Blinov, editor of the magazine of the Society of Russian Veterans of the Great War in the city of San Francisco, was also searching for and collecting surviving photographs. When receiving photographs, important information was also recorded – the place and time of photography, what event was shown and the names of the soldiers. This is how a photo collection was formed, which is posted below along with the original signatures and comments of Mikhail Blinov. The main blocks of photographs are: the official photo archive of the Russian Corps with a stamp, the collection of cadet Vadik Vasiliev from the 3rd regiment, Peter Gattenberger, Andrei Sergeevsky, Jan Eilert and other veterans of the Russian Protective Corps. A collection of photographs of the Cossack Stan and the Russian Liberation Army will be published separately.
We place topographic maps, documents, IDs, uniforms and insignia, the structure of the Russian Protective Corps and a description of the battles during the Second World War in our special Guide.

• WW2 Russian Protective Corps Guide books, battlefield maps and description

Official photo archive of the Russian Protective Corps

The placement of photographs into sections is made for ease of study and will change over time as more information becomes available. Many photographs are published for the first time.

B61 A nice photo, but small in the size, showing the variety of uniforms during the first two years. WW1 Russian field tunics with the pockets, shoulder straps, caps, trousers, sapogi and boots.

B81 Pay attention to the awards and badges of the military school of the Russian Imperial Army. The badge of Gallipoli or Lemnos is also visible.

Ibr river valley and mountains: Rahove, Kosovska Mitrovica, Zvecan, Rudnica, Raska.
Bunkers and guard posts along the highland teleferik line. Photo gallery from the album of Vadik Vasiliev and his father. Official signatures on the photographs, as well as supplemented notes by Michel B. from Vasiliev’s words in pencil on the back of the photo and audio files of the story. Later, in 1944, the Ibr River valley became the bloody battlefields with the Red Army and Tito’s partisans.

B42 “Transition from Rahove to Kosovo Mitrovica” (official text, comments by cadet Vasiliev under the photo), 1942. Pay attention to the mini-bunker, the guard post under the tower.

B44 “Rahove, air line”, “8th artillery hundred 3rd regiment”. A village in the valley and mountains are visible in the distance; perhaps the post was used as an observation post and fire adjustment.

Jošanička Banja the famous resort, Rashka area

N B36 Steam locomotive and carriages near the railway station, 1942 or 1943.
Photo B37, the ranks of the 8th artillery hundred of the 3rd regiment of the Russian Security Corps are swimming on the beach on the Ibr River. The chapel was converted from a mill; prayer services took place there.
B34 The commander of the 8th artillery hundred of the 3rd regiment, Colonel Murzin and his son in a hybrid German and Russian uniform.

Bor mine area.

Drina River valley and surrounding mountains

Stolice kod Krupnja. the important mine in a valley among the mountains

Ljubovija city area (Drina River valley)

Historical area and the famous WWI battlefileds between the Serbian and Austro-Hungarian armies. On the map of Serbia it is located south of Stolice and Zvornik, in the valley of the Drina River.

German Bunkers of World War II in Yugoslavia

In this section we post available information and our own photo archives about barracks, headquarters, bunkers, railway stations and bridges and other buildings and fortifications during the Second World War in Yugoslavia, where ranks of the Russian Security Corps were located.

An extract on the location of bunkers, military units guarding them and the nearest regimental and battalion headquarters.

Bor mine, bunkers N6, 8, N14 and?
As of January 1944, there were 14 bunkers located to protect the town and mine along the heights that surrounded them. Mentioned in memories N8 and N14 (guarded the side entrance to the mine)

Bunker N 6 valley near the Bor mine.
One of the strongest and most durable bunkers, made of the concrete (or cement?) with iron windows and a metal turret (anti-airplane). Guard looked and shot through the entire valley, the railroad and the bridge. A series of photographs believed to have been taken in 1943 by Peter Gattenberger and placed in his personal photo album.

L03-6. Peter Gattenberger, owner of the photo album ( “L”), after WW2, a member of the Society of Russian Veterans of the First World War in San Francisco (USA) and long-term head of the museum.

Bunkers 128-148 and No. 178-179 in the area Ušča – Banje – Banska station – Kraljevo – Raška railway.
Ushcha district on August 18, 1944:
III battalion of the 3rd regiment (General Petrovsky, headquarters Ushcha) until August 18, 1944.
II battalion 2nd regiment after August 18, 1944, headquarters in Ushcha:
5th company (II battalion 2nd regiment) – headquarters in Bogutovačka Banje and bunkers 128-137,
6th company – headquarters in Ushcha and bunkers 137-148,
7th company – Banska station and bunkers 178-179 of the Kraljevo-Raska railway.

On the night of September 7-8, 1944, the Red partisans crossed the Ibar River and attacked the bunkers of the 6th company (II battalion, 2nd regiment) with the result of the fighting:
Bunker No. 138 successfully repelled the attack,
No. 139 – captured by partisans.
Bunker No. 140 also successfully repelled the attack.
Bunkers Nos. 141 and 142 were burned with incendiary bombs and their garrisons withdrew to No. 143.

Changes in structure 15 September 1944: Colonel Baltsar’s 5th Training Company arrived at the II Battalion and was renamed the 5th Company of the 2nd Regiment, and the old 5th Company merged with the 6th Company. The headquarters of the 5th company became in Ushcha, and the 6th – in Bogutovačka Banya.

Bunker No. 171 – Drain
On August 3-4, 1944, near this bunker, the 7th company of the 5th regiment (on the march) fought with the Reds. The 7th company repulsed all attacks on August 3-5. On August 24 they attacked again.

Bunker N 174 Valley of the Ibra River and Ushcha region.
Battles on the Ibra River from August 3 to 5, 1944. The bunker was garrisoned by 7 companies of the 3rd regiment: Corporal Maslakovets Nikolai, Corporal Zhuravsky Arkady, Chief Rifleman Ilya Boltenkov and Rifleman Georgiy Cherevchin under the command of Lieutenant Shevchenko. For three days, the garrison heroically repelled attacks by the Reds of up to 500 people using heavy weapons. After the Reds offered to surrender, Lieutenant Shevchenko refused. The Reds used bombing fire to destroy bunker N 174, and the defenders were killed.

Bunkers No. 176-184 at the Leposavichi area
On August 3, 1944, bunkers No. 176-184 in the Leposavichi sector were surrounded by significant Red forces. At the same time, the partisans attack bunkers in the area of ​​the village of Rudnitsa (on August 4, communication with the bunkers to the south was lost). Some of the bunkers are surrounded and under fire from the Reds.

Garrisons of D. Milanovac, Boletin and Dobra (north-eastern Serbia).
In the second half of the summer of 1944, due to the strengthening of communist detachments and the transfer from Montenegro and Bosnia, the garrisons of D. Milanovets, Boletin and Dobra strengthened their positions – they built bunkers, wire fences, minefields, etc.
Garrison D Milanovets, including the headquarters of the 1st battalion (2nd regiment), the 3rd and 9th companies and a platoon of heavy weapons fought until October 8, 1944. On October 9, the commander of this battalion, Major Sevrin, was killed and the commander of the 1st battalion took command of the detachment of the 1st battalion. 1st company Hauptmann Kalinin. The detachment left D. Milanovac and moved to Smederevo-Grotska with the goal of escaping the Soviet encirclement. On October 17, 1944, the detachment fought near the village of Beleg, and on the 18th it was finally destroyed near Avala, and Ltn. Gamburtsev was killed, and the rest of the command staff was taken prisoner.

Memoirs of veterans from the archives of the Russian Corps.
How did the Germans arm us? With the transfer of the 1st battalion to the 2nd regiment, the Zbroevka machine guns were replaced by the Shosh machine gun. It was not necessary to meet a more unsuccessful machine gun – it was heavy, uncomfortable, had strong recoil, poor shooting accuracy and was very capricious – “I want – I shoot, I want – no.” After our troubles, this machine gun was replaced by an Italian one, of good quality. When the 4th regiment began to form, Italian carbines of very poor quality were received for service with this regiment. They were short, with a screwed bayonet, light and simple in design, but their combat was only 500 paces. In addition, the accuracy of the battle was such that in order to hit the target, it was necessary to aim two or three meters below it. In the middle of 1944 they received longer Italian rifles, but also of poor quality, and therefore they were soon replaced by the Mauser. Only one pistol per company was received for launching rockets, and there were not a single machine gun. Already at the end of 1944, they managed to take away the Soviet machine gun “Degtyarev” and one German one from the partisans. Light bombers were very good – they are easy to carry and with accurate combat. (by Nevzorov A.)

Military training. The entire internal way of life and training were conducted according to the old regulations of the Russian Imperial Army. However, due to a change in the tactics of warfare, they soon switched to the charters of the Red Army, and in 1943 the German charters came into force. In order to give the youth who joined the Corps a military education and upbringing, they were reduced to a cadet battalion, and later separate cadet platoons and companies were created (see essay “Military Training Unit”). Later in the Corps, courses were held for commanders: battalion commanders, company commanders, as well as military school courses, which gave five graduates of lieutenants. In addition, at various times various special courses functioned in the Corps, such as: a school for riding and draft riding, air defense and chemical defense, gunsmiths and captains, radio telegraph, sanitary, cook, etc., and in the regiments – training teams for the training of non-commissioned officers. Corps Commander, Gen. Shteyfon possessed remarkable organizational skills. He showed them even 20 years before, in the post of chief of staff of Gen. Kutepova, in Gallipoli (Turkey). What kind of undertakings were not then launched by him – to maintain the spirit and body and to expand the mental horizons of the white warriors who had just lost their homeland. Now, at the head of the Corps, he returned to the old, well-known business.
The main attention was paid to young people who had not seen their homeland, who had grown up abroad.
In order to take on the youth “as it should”, they immediately, upon arrival at Banitsa, were assigned to a separate, cadet battalion. Personally, I did not have a chance to take part either in the formation of a battalion or in the development of programs for a military training unit. The autumn of 1941 found me seriously ill, in a hospital in Pancevo. I arrived at Banitsa only in winter, when the battalion was already at the front. In addition (although I had the experience of the head of the “shock” Kornilov military school in Gallipoli and Bulgaria), the times were not the same.
The commander of the Corps turned out to be just my close personal friend. He knew too well my ardor and my sharp, unrestrained tongue to take the risk of my direct contact with the Germans in command positions. Only my work in the shadows, purely at home, the matter of teaching and educating young people, remained my feasible contribution.
The first step was the appointment in the spring of 1942 as a teacher in Loznitsa, at the disposal of the regiment. Ivanovsky – inspector of the military training unit of the cadet battalion. Soon, however, I had to take his place, for him to get another position.
By this time, lecturing to the junkers was temporarily suspended due to the dispersion of the battalion company. They were waiting for the “promised” reunification of the entire battalion. But this “hope” never materialized. Dispersal of all parts of the Corps, which guarded important military and industrial facilities from partisans (and not quite reliable some Chetnik detachments), this dispersion, on the contrary, grew … began to be practiced and platoon …
What was to be done? “If the mountain does not go to Mohammed, then Mohammed goes to the mountain!”
The training staff turned into the “Flying Dutchman” – they began to travel to the places of “scattering”. Along the way, the course programs were reduced to a minimum and became “marked”.In the future, even such an unusual “adaptation” turned out to be insufficient.
Corps grew. The dispersion of parts also grew – it spread throughout the country. New youth parties also found themselves in the new formations. It was also desirable to cover them with training. In the end, it was necessary to switch almost entirely to “local funds”, i.e. on the selection of teachers from the composition of the units themselves.
The “roaming” stopped, with the exception of only one “head of the military training unit” and his most valuable assistant, Captain Rumyantsev.
The ensuing transfer of the Corps to the Wehrmacht further complicated the situation.
In the new states of the Corps, there was no provision for the training part. I had to “camouflage” several of the most necessary positions, taking them out of order. The “injured”, destitute commanders did not slow down with complaints and complaints …
It was even more difficult with the occupations themselves – cutting out unforeseen hours, under the watchful eye of the connected Germans.
There is no need to conceal a sin! The “realism” acquired abroad had an effect. It took a lot of fraying of nerves and manifestations of selfless sacrifice from teachers in the field to bring the matter at least to formal – external results – the release of new second lieutenants.
To what extent were the true goals of training and education outlined by the Corps commander achieved? Let those of the youth who happen to read this brief account judge and answer (by M. Georgievich)

Russian Protective Corps PAK platoons formation

(Regimental platoons of PAK anti-tank guns)
One of the stages in the gradual improvement of the Corps’ weapons was the acquisition of anti-tank guns. In early July 1942, the regiments received an order to be allocated a platoon, according to the specified states, and sent to Corps headquarters for training. Due to the fact that this new type of weapon developed after the First World War, there were no specialists in this field among the Corps command staff; therefore the training had to be carried out by German instructors. Since all the tactics of the P.T.O. (anti-tank defense) is based on speed, which requires energy and significant physical exertion from the personnel, all rank and file and command personnel were to be staffed only by youth, as an exception to the usually applied principle of selecting the appropriate candidate in order of seniority of ranks.
As a squad commander in the 1st cadet company of the 1st regiment, on the day I received the order, I went to Belgrade to attend the graduation ceremony of General Golovin’s Higher Military Scientific Courses, which I was graduating from. Therefore, it was a complete surprise for me when General Shteifon, who was present at the event, congratulating me on completing the course, said that he was glad to have the opportunity to appoint me to the officer vacancy as commander of the PAK platoon of the 1st regiment.
The next day, having appeared in Loznitsa at the regimental headquarters, I was summoned to General Zborovsky.
“Your platoon has already been assembled and should leave for Belgrade tomorrow,” the regiment commander greeted me. – In order not to tear away many young people from the cadet companies while they have not yet completed the training program, your platoon is staffed by young people from the disbanded scooter team of the regimental headquarters. These are good young people, but they have been severely disbanded here at headquarters. You will have to teach them discipline. In this you can count on my full support,” the general smiled, “you will only receive cadets for a start.” Elderly Cossacks, experienced in handling horses, are assigned to you as riders.
The following were appointed to non-commissioned officer positions as squad commanders: second lieutenant Vl. Veter (my deputy) from the Guards hundred, the 2nd cadet company of sword belts – cadet Gontarev and the 1st cadet company of sword belts – cadet Schaefer Georgy. In the list of the platoon, I was happy to see B. Schaefer, O. Rodzianko, Pinotsi and several other familiar names of the cadets of the 1st company and the 2nd company of cadet Balabin.
I didn’t know the young people from the scooter team, but most of them made a good impression, especially the big ones like Reshchikov, Savich and the Alenov brothers.
By July 10, the platoons assigned from the 4 regiments arrived at Banitsa. The platoon of the 2nd regiment was commanded by Captain Somov, the 3rd by Second Lieutenant Lepekhin and the 4th by Lieutenant Colonel Osipov. The young age requirement for rank and file was fulfilled by all regiments; as for the command staff, it was entirely only the 1st and 3rd regiments. Older than the others was the commander of the 4th regiment, where there were few young people at all. On the very first day we met our teacher – a young but already experienced officer, Oberleutnant Von der Busch. The black tankman’s uniform with pink piping “Panzereger” (tank destroyers) and the Iron Cross of the 1st degree immediately inspired respect for him. Strict and demanding, but always correct and friendly, he soon won everyone’s love. A gentleman from head to toe and a convinced military man, he belonged to the noble type of career German officer, uncorrupted by either party demagoguery or Prussian arrogance. Several German sergeants and non-commissioned officers were seconded to help him.
The training program was developed with German punctuality and utmost efficiency in the use of time, and we were immediately put to work. Our guns stood on the concrete platform in front of the large workshop. These were 37 mm Skoda semi-automatic anti-tank guns with sliding frames. Miniature, they seemed like toys, but the long barrels indicated good ballistic qualities. Each gun had two one-horse gigs, which served as a limber and a charging box. One gun was served by one squad: a squad commander, 5 gun crew numbers and 2 riders (one per gig). In the combat position, the gun was moved by the strength of the numbers of the gun crew.
Designed to fight tanks, the gun fired only direct fire (sighting range 1500 m, actual fire 700 m) and therefore could only operate from an open position. The steel shield protected the servants only from rifle and machine-gun fire. Therefore, our main tactical principles had to be camouflage, skillful use of terrain and speed. The speed of entering a position, the speed of hitting a target and the speed of moving to cover to reach a new position. When repelling a surprise attack by tanks, everything depended on the speed of transferring the gun from the traveling position to the combat position and the speed and accuracy of fire. Oberleutnant Von der Busch began to teach us all this.
Every day, after a lecture on tactics in the form of a concrete example, we went out into the area and solved a similar problem, at the same time practically becoming familiar with the methods and skills of overcoming various local obstacles. Soaked up and tired, we returned to the barracks for lunch and after a short rest we again went out for training at the guns, aiming exercises, or again a task on the ground.
The entire composition of our platoons worked with passion and effort; Every day we became more and more comfortable with our guns and became imbued with love for our new type of weapon.
The first shooting gave a brilliant result. According to the conditions of the exercise, it was required to make three hits on the target out of five projectiles. In my platoon, the entire command staff, all the gunners and more than half of the rest of the personnel had all five hits, and there was not a single one who did not fulfill the quota. Approximately the same results were observed in other platoons.
The German non-commissioned officers examined the targets in surprise, the lieutenant smiled contentedly, and our youth beamed with joy and, polishing the guns to a shine after shooting, almost kissed them. We began to trust our guns and our strength. From our lecturer we knew that the 37 caliber was no longer sufficient against new modern tanks and that on the Eastern Front the Germans had already switched to guns of larger calibers, but for the conditions of that time in the Balkans it was still quite suitable.
Time flew by unnoticed in the intense and interesting work. Tactical shooting was also successful. The end of the course was marked by a one-way maneuver, which was supposed to show how successfully we had mastered the course.
Having deployed at the starting line for the offensive, one and a half kilometers from the “enemy-occupied” height (at which the Corps commander and headquarters were located), our anti-tank platoons had to secretly take positions 400 m from the enemy by the specified date to support the attack. The maneuver was executed well. Observers standing on the heights saw individual guns appearing here and there and quickly disappearing again; when the all clear signal sounded and the camouflage was dropped, all four platoons emerged from positions that covered the height on three sides in a wide arc at a distance of 300-400 m.
After a brief analysis of the maneuver, the Corps commander expressed gratitude to our teacher and the personnel of our platoons. A cabinet photographer captured this moment. Lined up in a common front across a wide meadow, 12 gun teams made an impressive impression.
As a reward, we all received a week’s leave, after which we gathered again at Banitsa to receive the guns, horses and all standard equipment and property. In addition to 3 gun teams and 3 charging boxes, the platoon had a light machine gun link for self-defense and a utility cart with a supply of fodder, which included a blacksmith and a gunsmith. In view of the decision taken by that time to disband the 4th Regiment, their platoon was left at Corps headquarters; the rest went to their regiments. At the Topchider railway station, my platoon was loaded onto the train. The guns and gigs were secured on open platforms; The combat crew was located right next to the cannons, and the riders with horses were in a closed carriage behind. Oberleutnant Von der Busch and his non-commissioned officers came to see us off. The last handshakes and the train started moving.
In the evening we arrived at the Ruma junction station, where we were detained because… The partisans cut off the route between Ruma and the next station. We spent the whole night in combat readiness, but there was no attack, just like the next morning, when our train moved forward with precautions. To the deep regret of the youth, who were eager to test the effect of our high explosive grenades in practice, the partisans disappeared.
Late in the evening we were in Loznitsa. At the station we were met by the regimental adjutant, Colonel Krasnov.
“You will introduce yourself to the regiment commander tomorrow morning,” he told me, “and now lead the platoon to the commandant’s office building, where you have been assigned a room.”
Having appeared to the commandant, Colonel Gulyga, we immediately felt that we had returned home; everything was carefully prepared for our arrival. In the platoon quarters there were already beds with mattresses stuffed with fresh straw, a hot dinner was waiting for us all, and even the orderlies at our guns were assigned to the commandant’s team for that night.
In the morning, having reported to the regiment commander about my arrival, I reported that the platoon needed one and a half to two months of intensive training in order to fully assimilate everything that we were taught at the course.
‘ – Go ahead, friend, – General Zborovsky approved, – and contact me if you need anything.
First of all, we set about setting up the new location. In the back yard of the commandant’s office there was a large canopy, under which guns and gigs could be conveniently placed, but in the middle of the yard there was a large puddle. Armed with picks and shovels, we built a brick-covered drainage channel, leveled and filled the yard with sand, and made a plank floor under the guns and gigs. By evening the courtyard took on the appearance of a real barracks courtyard. Having started my studies the next day, I soon encountered three big difficulties. Our one-horse gigs were good on flat terrain; In order to pull a gig with a gun along steep mountain roads and paths, exceptionally strong horses were required. The horse of the first gun, Eagle, was such, but the others were struggling.
“Yes, you don’t need horses, but lions,” agreed the regiment commander, who observed our training, and on his orders, the horses of the 2nd and 3rd guns were replaced from other units of the regiment with the same “beasts.” In addition, I received several bags of oats from the regimental reserves for additional nutrition for these horses. The horses began to gain weight, but the people began to lose weight. Due to intense physical work in the fresh air, the youth had a voracious appetite, and our diet was rather meager. The regiment commander allowed the platoon to have its own kitchen and be content separately. My youth became cheerful; I received the moral right to demand more effort from them during classes. But there was no need to demand; As for classes and service, they pulled themselves together and pulled each other up. I had to impose penalties only for disciplinary offenses outside of service. And “at first, in the evenings, someone would often “dry his pants” while standing with a rifle. The main burden of educational work lay on the squad commanders, and in them I had faithful assistants who worked not out of fear, but out of conscience. Soon after returning to belt regiment cadet Gontarev submitted a report on transfer to the PAK platoon at the Corps headquarters, for joint service with his father (General Gontarev was the chief of staff of the Corps at that time).At my request, cadet cadet Pustovalov (1st cadet company) – an excellent combat officer who knew how to hold his subordinates firmly in the hands without unnecessary severity.
The third problem was the question of how to train in shooting without wasting shells, because… The kit given to us was allowed to be used only in a combat situation. The learned artilleryman, Colonel Mionchinsky, worked in the regimental weapons workshop. According to his instructions, three devices were made, with the help of which a rifle barrel with a chamber was inserted into the bore of the gun, exactly along its axis. Due to the fact that the trajectory of the rifle during the first 100 m coincided with the trajectory of the gun, this made it possible to fire up to this distance, aiming with the gun and firing with a rifle cartridge.
The end of August, September and October were spent in intensive training. In the vicinity of Loznitsa there is not a single peak, not a single mountain path, where our guns would not pass, performing one or another tactical task. At the shooting range set up near our location, shots were heard almost every day. The youth worked with enthusiasm, competing with each other in clarity and speed. “Our weapon must be first!” – was the motto of each department. This gave excellent results: transferring the gun from the traveling position to the combat position took only 13-15 seconds instead of 18-20, which was the norm; by the 25-30th second the gun had time to fire five shots at different targets.
In October we passed a practical exam, taking part in an expedition together with the Guards Hundred, under the leadership of the regiment commander, against the partisans who, according to intelligence information, were accumulating in the mountains northeast of Moikovichi. There was no enemy there, so we were not able to shoot again, but the four-hour night march along unfamiliar mountain paths was a serious test of the platoon’s maneuverability. Both people and horses withstood it. The two-month training was not in vain. The platoon was ready to carry out combat missions. (By W. Granitow)

Cavalry School of Horseback and Sled Riding

On August 27, 1943, Prince Kudashev and I left Maidan Peka for Belgrade, where we were called to take a course at the German School of Horsemanship and Harness Riding (Reith und Far-Schule). 20 Russian officers gathered here, in German officer and non-commissioned officer ranks – cavalrymen, Cossacks and artillerymen. The school was organized to create a cadre of officer-instructors for mounted and mounted transport units and uniformly train them according to the latest method based on scientific research. The course lasted about a month. Study groups, 20 people each, replaced one another. Moreover, each group was of a certain nationality. The school was attended by German, Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Russian officers, but there were never mixed groups. The fact that not all of us wore officer’s shoulder straps, they explained to us that the Corps does not have the ability to send only officers, so a group of officers and non-commissioned officers – candidates for officer positions – is sent to the school, which completely satisfied the School authorities.
The permanent staff of the school, headed by a major general, the head of the school, was about 100 people, including the instructor, administrative and veterinary parts, as well as service personnel – grooms, cleaners, saddlers, blacksmiths, cooks and servants in the dining room.
The senior instructor, the young 27-year-old Major Halle, turned out to be a very knowledgeable teacher, a demanding and at the same time very nice and well-mannered officer. His assistants, three sergeants, were worthy of their boss.
Our entire group consisted of lovers of horses and everything connected with this noble animal. Each of us found many of our old friends and acquaintances here. We joyfully met here with Colonel M. Levandovsky, cornet Donchuk and many old friends.
The school was located in the barracks of the Yugoslav Guards Artillery, newly renovated. With pleasure we plunged into the atmosphere of a cavalry barracks, with the smell of the stables and horse sweat, the clatter of horseshoes on the cobblestones of the yard and the soft tramp of a trot in the arena, with the appetizing smell and soft creaking of light yellow leather of new saddles and harnesses, with a ringing neigh and the feeling of soft lips your pet, taking a piece of sugar or bread and salt from your palm with a light slap.
Usually there were practical lessons in the arena or in the field before lunch, and theoretical lessons after lunch. Sometimes there were changes, for example, in the morning in the field, riding carts, and in the afternoon horse riding in the arena. We enjoyed horseback riding, listening and gradually getting used to the German commands. Of course, there were some comic incidents. As a translator, they sent us a cavalry soldier from the German colonists from the Corps. He was not a very developed soldier, apparently, he served more in the infantry than in the cavalry, and was in no way suitable as a translator for the School. We endured his incredible translations of commands for two or three days, but when to change from a walk to a trot, he translated “trot… walk – march” and stubbornly, despite indicating incorrectness, continued in the same spirit. We were indignant and insisted on being replaced by one of us, cornet S. Moshin, and things went quite smoothly.

At first we treated the horse-drawn business like a cavalryman, with a condescending attitude, jokingly calling it a “sport cabman.” But then we fell in love with it just as much as horse riding. In addition to the little-known theory of harnessing, the design of harnesses and methods of controlling horses, which are truly based on long-term and thorough scientific research, we also learned a lot of new things in practical driving of German military-type carts. This ride took place on very rough terrain, with additional artificial obstacles installed on it. The carts were harnessed to a pair of horses, and to some were added one or two carriages with drivers, like an artillery harness. We sat down, alternately replacing each other, now on the goats, to control the reins, now on the rides, now on the hand brakes. Upon arrival at the training site, we began such a difficult ride that we were later surprised at how we ourselves, the horses, and the carts got out of it unharmed. It was necessary to show daring, agility, self-control, and intelligence. We flew up a steep hill in a quarry, paused at the top for a second and descended from it at a walk, braking the wheels tightly. Then we drove along a trench dug in a rectangular zigzag, with both right wheels and then both left wheels diving into the trench. After that, we crossed a steep and deep ditch, almost at the quarry, barely having time to tighten and immediately release the brakes. Finally, they descended along a high and steep slope to its middle, holding back the horses so that they sat on their rumps. Then we had to jump down onto a specially dug narrow terrace, about 3/4 meters high. Here it was no longer possible to restrain the horses, and we rushed down into the ravine, where the road was blocked by a ditch filled with water and earth thrown up on the opposite bank. The jump over it was, of course, especially difficult for a harness with drags, but after it we sighed with relief – this was the last test.
We ourselves were amazed at how we did not fly out of the cart during this tightrope walk. True, one of us almost fell under the wheels, flying from the seat of the sawhorse onto the drawbar while jumping onto the terrace, but everything ended, thank God, safely. It goes without saying that after our first trips we began to treat the “cab sport” with great respect and interest. By the end of the course, we overcame all obstacles without using the brakes.
Horse riding was nothing new for all of us and we practiced it as a favorite sport. The Cossack landing at first hurt the eyes of our “pretty” Major Halle, but his professional eye appreciated that they were experienced cavalrymen of a different school than himself, and he did not find fault with them excessively. In the evenings, after classes, we were all free and could go out into the city, which many took advantage of, often not even spending the night in the barracks, but going there straight to classes. We were reluctant to leave the hospitable walls of the school at the end of the course, having received “diplomas” as teachers of horseback riding and harness riding, but everything in the world – both good and bad – comes to an end…
On October 2 I am alone, because… Kudashev, due to illness, remained in Belgrade and went back to his Muster Company. Workdays began again, with guard duty and reconnaissance in the mountains.
Our cadets completed their course and were promoted to second lieutenants. It was a shame for them that such a moment, which is not forgotten by officers all their lives and is usually, in normal circumstances, celebrated very solemnly, took place in Maidan-Pek, the entire garrison of which consisted of our company and a heavy platoon. (by V. Cherepov)