Panfilovtsy

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Memorial on the place of the final battle of 28 panfilovtsy

Panfilovtsy (from Russian: панфиловцы, singular: панфиловец - panfilovetz, named after Soviet Major General Ivan Panfilov) were soldiers of the Soviet 316th Rifle Division (renamed to 8th Guards Division on November 18, 1941 and thus they were also bynamed guardsmen-panfilovtsy - гвардейцы-панфиловцы) under the command of Panfilov.

Sometimes Panfilovtsy can also refer to twenty five border guards who fought in Afghanistan on November 22, 1985.

[edit] Official version

According to the official Soviet military historiography, 28 Panfilovtsy lead by politruk Vasiliy Klochkov withstood a four-hour battle on November 14, 1941 at Dubosekovo station near Volokolamsk, during which eighteen German tanks were destroyed. According to Soviet tradition, almost all died, but they did not let the enemy pass. On July 21, 1942 all panfilovtsy were awarded the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union.

[edit] Myth

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was revealed that "28 Panfilovtsy" was one of many Soviet propagaganda myths for bolstering up the morale of soldiers. Eventually it turned out that at Dubosekovo 100 Soviet soldiers fought and eventually were killed, captured, or retreated. The number of destroyed tanks is unknown, but definitely not 18, since such a large single-day/same-location loss would have been recorded at these first months of German advance.^[1]

In reality the "28 Panfilovtsy" were likely the 2nd Battalion, 1075th Regiment, 316th Rifle Division (later renamed the 8th Guard Rifle Division). In the battalion were three companies (4th, 5th and 6th) each consisting of 120 to 140 men, and the entire battalion had at its disposal only four anti-tank guns.

The first attack on the battalion, by 10 - 12 German tanks, was repelled and on that, the first day of battle, the entire regiment destroyed 5 or 6 German tanks. The second attack, by approximately 50 German tanks, routed the entire battalion and reduced the strength of the 4th company (which probably stood model for the myth of the "28 Panfilovtsy") to 25 men. During two days of combat the combat losses of the entire Soviet 1075 Regiment were 400 killed, 100 wounded and 600 missing in action. At the same time the regiment destroyed 15 German tanks (which later became 18 in the myth). The losses incurred caused the commander and commissar of the 1075th Regiment to be removed from command.^[2]