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club "poisk"

There are mountains of scientific researches, documental and historical literature, and fictions written about The Great Patriotic War within last fifty years. But in-spite of this, the history of The War still contains a lot of "white spots".  We learn about it not only from the eye witnesses, but during our work in archives, too.

Within the period of autumn 1943 - summer 1944 German High Command gave a very serious meaning to the defense of the Vitebsk area considering it as the very important railway and road cross and "the shield of the Baltic region", as it was called by Germans. All approaches to the city of Vitebsk from the Northern, North-Western and Eastern directions were covered with two or three defense lines. Nazis had created the defense system called "Bear wall". There were trenches, emplacements, machine gun sockets, etc., screened with barbed wire, obstructions, and mine fields. Every spot in front of the "Bear Wall" was covered with the artillery, mortar and machine gun fire. The old city was defended by the enemy units which were well armed and equipped, and had a good enough war experience. The Soviet Army experienced great losses during that battle… Unfortunately, for many of those killed there the place of the last combat became their grave.

During nine months the front line stabilized nearby three Belorussian villages Rozhnovo, Miaklovo and Bukshtyny in the Vitebsk area. Five infantry divisions fought there for the river Luchessa crossings. Only one of a big number of communal graves there (in the Orlovo village) contains the remains of twelve thousands men.

Let read attentively those few written lines in the official Battle Diaries of some units and divisions which fought near Vitebsk. These documents were brought by the Public Association "Poshuk" research group from the Central Russian Military Archive. Texts are written whenever it was possible between combats on any available pieces of paper: the back side of topographic maps, old posters and so on. You can see a terrible truth of The War there.

Here are few of those texts:

"February, 5, 1944. 144th Infantry Division attacked the enemy in Pavliuchenki direction. 192 men killed, 559 wounded.

February, 9, 1944. The division moved forward 100-150 meters only. An average number of riflemen in infantry companies are 10 to 12 men. The division lost in action 445 men killed and 1559 men wounded during last ten days.

February, 29, 1944. The Infantry Unit kept the small piece of land on the Western bank of the Luchessa River. This piece was honorably named as "bridgehead". After three days of continues fighting the Unit lost 306 men killed and wounded. There were only 73 riflemen and 70 machine gun operators still alive, but this small group continued to fight for the piece of Motherland, liberated from the enemy".

Extraction from the 274th Infantry Division Battle Diary:

"February, 10, 1944. 965th and 961th   Infantry Units attacked the enemy in the area of the High 143.0 on the Eastern bank of the Luchessa River and moved to the ravine on the South of Zhuki (50 to 100 meters from the river bank), but were stopped with the enemy's artillery barrage. The 274th Infantry Division lost 75% of its men. Everyone sent to the Western bank of the river is killed or wounded".

The Luchessa River… Its banks were named "bloody" during The War. Here, on this line the sanguinary battle for Vitebsk took place from December 1943 till June 1944. The Soviet Army total losses during the fighting at the Luchessa River were more then forty thousands men…

It is also possible to learn more about the battle at the Luchessa River from similar battle diaries of other units, which forced the river in 1944. For instance, the 1st Assault Pioneer Smolensk Brigade's Battle Diary describes the fighting for the construction and recovery of the temporary bridge over the river 12 km away from the Vitebsk-Orsha road. It was constructed, destroyed, recovered, and again destroyed not less then three times during the period of February, 5 to February, 12, 1944. All attempts to use this bridge as point of transfer for men, equipment and military vehicles over the river were unsuccessful. Number of T-70 light tanks and a lot of other military equipment sunk there. During those days 1st Assault Pioneer Brigade lost 25 men killed and 152 men wounded.

In August, 1990 members of the "Iskatel" Club from the Vitebsk Professional Technical School ¹96 discovered one of those tanks on the bottom of the Luchessa River. They made a lot of efforts trying to wash out the sand and silt, because of strong river current. But they were not able to take the tank out of the water themselves. Fortunately for them, there were military personnel from the Polotsk Division nearby. Those men assisted to the locals in creating the summer field camp for searchers near the Losvido Lake. They responded to the request for help.

One sunny day two military tracks came to the Luchessa River bank. Divers fastened tows and ropes on the tank turret and started to move it out of the water. But the bank in that place was quite abrupt, so soon the question appeared - how to move the turret further from the river and to lift it up to the bank? The decision was found when people saw two big oak-trees on both banks. Tows were thrown over both trees, and fastened to tracks.  The load was very heavy. Trees inclined…Tows literally cut the soil… And finally the 45 mm gun barrel appeared above the river bank. A little more - and the turret was there… Local boys who were staying around shouted "Hurrah!!!"

The recovered turret was well preserved. Even the painted number was still readable. Later on the turret was transported to the city of Vitebsk and installed as a monument in front of the High School ¹ 43.

But the tank hull was still on the river bottom. A lot more reliquiae are also somewhere there. In June, 2006 the management of the Military-Patriotic Club "Poisk" decided to check all possible locations of the War time crossings on the Luchessa River. Our specialists tided through the big part of the river and marked the map with the magnetometer's signals. After that it was decided to perform some diving work in the Vitebsk area.

Having the authorization from the Vitebsk District Municipality dated on the July, 21, 2006 the "Poisk" Club members washed out the river silt on the place of former river crossing at the point where the Vorles River incorporates into the Luchessa River. We found and uplifted fragments of the T-70 light tank hull, and a lot of small items including some old munitions. All recovered high explosive materials were transported to the special ground and destroyed there by the pioneers from the Vitebsk Mobile Brigade.

Nowadays we continue our work on the Luchessa River.