As philosophically said one gentleman, the war is a large — scale manhunt. However, during the great Patriotic war and the present, normal, so to speak, hunting fishing in the midst of fighting, was the place. Sometimes the circumstances and results of this hunting life depended people.
The most tragic, difficult stage of the military campaign — winter of 1941-1942. it would Seem that about this period is told already much enough. However, until now there remain unobtrusive page, episodes… About one of these facts happened to hear one day from an elderly local historian from Tver: fierce battles that raged at that time in the far outskirts of the capital, not only to people in those places made it impossible to live a normal life, but also animals. The roar of artillery, the explosions of bombs, the sound of gunfire frightened the four-legged forest inhabitants, drove them away from familiar places. Special article — toed. It turns out that winter in large areas to the North-West of Moscow appeared an unusually large number of bears-rods. Animals have tried out of habit to lie down for the winter in dens, but for many of them peace was broken by a roar of encroaching hostilities.
About his meeting with rod told me at the time, the legendary pilot Alexei Maresyev. His stricken fighter crashed in a dense forest, while Alex was thrown from the cab. From the death of a pilot saved only snow, smarzewski kick, but the legs still were damaged. When maresiev came to, he saw that standing next, sniffing the air, bear. “I was lying supine, one arm was under his back,” recalled the hero. — Tried to open the zipper on the fur rompers, to get out from under the belt a revolver, but did not succeed…”
Fortunately the pilot, the bear hesitated, apparently not understanding that a dead or a living person in front of him. But when maresiev twitched, then the beast struck with his paw, but the claws only tore a thick fur coat, and the next shot the Bruins do not have time: Alex contrived and drew his revolver. “The whole clip in him was released. The beast growled, stood up and fell backwards”
Not woken up in time bears in search of food, went out to the villages, tracked down even hidden in the thicket of the guerrilla camp. Such “visits” to anything good does not. The author of these lines happened to hear about one not heretofore known episode of the “bear war”.
— In the autumn of 1941, when Nazi troops were advancing on Moscow, my grandfather Nikolai Stepanovich was in the group “forest Avengers”, who fought against the invaders in their rear, — says Vadim yuriatin. Memories I know him only according to his mother, grandfather nick died, when I went to school, so many of the details cannot be restored.
A small guerrilla unit operated on the border of Moscow and Smolensk regions, it consisted of inhabitants of the devastated and occupied by the Nazis villages, as well as of the soldiers and commanders of the red army, were cut off from their units. The village where lived the family of his grandfather, Thomas, the Germans severely devastated, the mother took on some work… Nicholas left virtually an orphan, was then only 14 years, however, the partisans he was useful in the role of liaison and scout.
My grandfather told me how once, in their squad complained the bear. At night he went to the sentry guarding the approaches to the camp. Apparently, partisan this meeting were taken by surprise, and the beast had to attack first. Predator lacerated body was found in the morning, when the post came a change. The soldiers of the detachment decided with the bear — “an accomplice of the Nazis” — to get even. In addition, there was another very material reason to declare him dead: meat Bruin could become a good replenishment of guerrilla meager diet.
Of course, hunt down and shoot a rod in the woods for infantry lieutenants, soldiers and simple peasants, which consisted of the squad, it’s not the most simple. Fortunately, in this partisan group was a local Forester. He led a “hunting company”. Had to act doubly careful: I had not only a bear to track down, but also before the Nazis of their presence not designate. In the end, this “special operation” was completed successfully. The partisans-hunters, led by the Forester was able to kill the rod and deliver the carcass to the camp. Cooked bear meat the entire squad then reinforced over several weeks.
(By the way, in the memoirs of some guerrilla leaders found mention of the fact that not having pre-prepared bases in the forest and sufficient food supply, they had to specifically organise the hunting of large game — elk and wild boar, — sending for this special group of partisans called”miners” in the forest, near the partisan camp.)
Not always bears-rods “fought” on the side of the invaders. In the memoirs of participants of war, your correspondent unearthed a few interesting cases, when restless predators by their actions to cause significant damage to the Nazis. In the reports of German rear units contains, for example, such information: in the village Rogachi (maybe actually Mats. — Ed.) at night, the bear managed to sneak into the barn and pulled up there were two horses, thereby leaving the German signalers, spent the night in this village, “no transport”. Another time the victim of a connecting rod became a soldier, sent late in the evening the officer on the far end of the village polurazobrannom for schnapps and snack (apparently, there were “economy” of profitmaster). Surely it was the aroma of sausage-bacon drew attention caught at the threshold of the beast. Further events developed for human sad. Judging by the reports, the Nazis had yet to fire the rifle, but it did not save him from attack. Scene by the noise of the soldiers found his friend dead, with a broken head. Alas, this death did not stop. The occupants initially decided that a soldier dealt someone from the local residents. The German command then had been told for such a state of emergency to punish harshly revealing. So with the dawn of the Germans expelled from their homes to the few remaining peasants in the village — the elderly, women, children, randomly selected from five people and shot. Only some time later, an elderly man, appointed prefect, carefully examining the scene, noticed the snow on the side of it not trampled a few bear tracks and reported it to the German officer. Thus, the true picture of what happened became clear, but innocent people shot was not to return.
And a couple of military scenes in which there were zameshannye “brothers our smaller”.
On the lateral grader a few kilometers from the front line “jeep” with a few Soviet officers came on suddenly jumped from the roadside bushes elk. The speed of a vehicle on a bumpy road was not very big, but still a jeep in a collision with shochatim was dented, and all that were in this “army” has received bruises and wounds. (In a memo on this occasion, the chief of staff of the regiment proposes to indicate in their records that received critical injuries “in combat”, it was an opportunity for officers to receive additional remuneration.)
Here is another case of “brutal” accidents. Although a participant in it was not wild, as a pet, but the consequences were much more serious.
“Order on the wreck of train No. 362 on the stretch Pushkino — Sofrino.
7 Aug 1941 at 22 h 48 min on the stretch Pushkino — Sofrino crashed due to the collision of train No. 362 on the bull, which fell under the first along the train truck head car and called the gathering it off the rails. Upon further movement, passing 15 meters along the tracks, the head car of an electric train went beyond the envelope and collided with a car travelling on the adjacent track of the military trains No. 917. The collision injured three people, killed one, the trains No. 917, and
No. 362 damage to five cars.
The bull, owned by the society Gorelaya Roshcha” Zelenograd the settlement Council of Pushkin district of the Moscow region, was given for the protection and care of gr. Bobkova A. A., which did not provide him proper supervision.
Order:
1) the Case on the gr. Bobkov for the abandonment of a bull without supervision that led to the collapse of the electric train № 362 and military trains No. 917, to convey to the investigating authorities for bringing her to justice.
2) the Head of the service path:
a) lead a decisive struggle with finding stray cattle in the right of way of the railroad; on this issue to send a special letter to local Councils of deputies of workers; b) to demand, not only from track inspectors, and from all workers route of exposure heightened vigilance and avoidance of grazing near railroad unattended.
The head of the Yaroslavl railway Ovsyannikov.”
