What tank did Kolobanov fight on? The feat of Zinovy Kolobanov's crew
Kolobanov Zinoviy Grigorievich - Soviet tanker, participant and hero of the Great Patriotic War. In August 1941, during the Kingisepp-Luga operation, he, together with the crew of his KV-1 tank, knocked out 22 enemy tanks during one battle taking place in the area of the Voyskovitsy-Krasnogvardeysk transport hub. This is despite the fact that the entire company of Zinovy Grigorievich, which included 5 KV-1 tanks, hit 43 German tanks in the same battle. The heroism and professionalism of the tanker went down in the history of the Great Patriotic War as a real feat. Today we will get acquainted with the biography of an outstanding warrior and find out how he acted that day.
Childhood and education
Kolobanov Zinoviy Grigorievich was born in the village of Arefino, which was located in the Murom district of the Vladimir province, on December 25, 1910. Today it is the Vachsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region. When the boy was 10 years old, the Civil War was gaining momentum, which took his father. In subsequent years, Zinovy’s mother had to raise and raise three children alone. After graduating from eight years of high school, the future tanker entered the Gorky Industrial College. In 1933, when Kolobanov was a third year student, he was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army. In 1936, he graduated from the armored school in the city of Orel and received the rank of lieutenant.
After graduating from college with honors, Zinoviy Kolobanov received the right to choose his place of further service. He chose Leningrad because he felt “absentee love” for it. At first, Zinovy served as a tank commander in the Leningrad Military District. In 1937-1938, he took advanced training courses for command staff, after which he received the position of platoon commander of the 6th Tank Brigade. Then the tanker rose to become the commander of a tank company.
A few days before the start of the war with Finland, Kolobanov was assigned command of a tank company of the first tank light brigade, based on the Karelian Isthmus. Zinovy went through the war with the Finns from beginning to end. Three times he found himself in a tank that caught fire, but always quickly returned to duty. In 1940 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. When hostilities with Finland ended, in March 1940 Zinovy was transferred to the Kiev Military District. In the same year, Kolobanov was promoted to the rank of senior lieutenant.
The Great Patriotic War
Meanwhile in the rear
On August 20, 1941, at about two o'clock in the afternoon in the city of Krasnogvardeysk, they heard a strong cannonade of the battle with the Germans that unfolded near the Voyskovitsa state farm. Concerned city leaders contacted the military headquarters of the fortified area in the hope of obtaining information about the situation. From the data received it followed that, in the opinion of the military leadership, German tanks had broken through to the city and were fighting on its outskirts. By an unfortunate coincidence, the day before, during the evacuation of the city telephone center, the telephone cables of the switchboard were damaged, which left the city without communication.
Based on the data received, the head of the district NKVD decided that party and Soviet workers should be immediately evacuated from the city, and the main production facilities should be undermined. Almost all police and fire personnel were withdrawn. The explosions led to fires. In addition, during the hasty departure from the city, weapons and ammunition were abandoned. After the situation was clarified, the police returned to the burning city that same day. An investigation and trial soon took place. The head of the NKVD department was sentenced to death. And the rest of the leaders of local Soviet and party bodies - to long-term imprisonment.
By the evening of August 20, German tank divisions were ordered to suspend the offensive on Leningrad, capture the Ilkino and Suyda railway stations, and take new positions to encircle the Luga group of USSR troops.
The further fate of the hero
At the beginning of September 1941, a tank company led by Zinoviy Kolobanov defended the approaches to Krasnogvardeysk in the area of the village of Bolshaya Zagvozdka. There she managed to neutralize 3 mortar batteries, 4 anti-tank guns and 250 soldiers. On September 13, the city of Krasnogvardeysk was abandoned by units of the Red Army. Kolobanov's company was tasked with covering the retreat of the last column to the city of Pushkin.
On September 15, Zinoviy Kolobanov received several serious wounds. It happened in the cemetery of the town of Pushkin, where the senior lieutenant was refueling his tank with fuel and ammunition. A fascist shell exploded next to Zinovy Kolobanov’s KV-1. Shrapnel wounded the tanker in the head and spine. In addition, he suffered a concussion of the brain and spinal cord. At first, the military man was treated at the Leningrad Traumatology Institute. He was then evacuated to Sverdlovsk and treated there until March 15, 1945 in various hospitals. During the restoration on May 31, 1942, the tanker was promoted to the rank of captain.
Despite the difficult rehabilitation after wounds and concussion, Zinoviy Kolobanov, whose biography more than once illustrated the strength of his character, returned to military service. By that time the war had already ended. The tankman was in service until 1958, when he retired to the reserve. At that time he was already a lieutenant colonel. In subsequent years, Kolobanov worked and lived in Minsk. On August 8, 1994, he died in the Belarusian capital and was buried there.
Memory
Today, at the site where the legendary battle of Zinovy Kolobanov took place, a monument has been erected at the entrance to the city of Gatchina. The IS-2 heavy tank is located on the monument. At the time of the erection of the monument, unfortunately, it was difficult to find the KV-1E model tank on which Kolobanov’s very feat was accomplished, so we had to be content with a similar model. On a high pedestal hangs a sign with words about the feat of the tankers and a complete list of the crew.
Conclusion
Today we got acquainted with the biography and achievements of such an outstanding person as Zinoviy Kolobanov. The battle near Voyskovitsy is a symbol of human courage and determination, so it will forever remain in the memory of people interested in history.
In the award sheet of 1941, in the column “Brief, specific statement of personal combat feat or merit,” it is said: “The crew (of Zinovy Kolobanov’s tank - TASS note) destroyed 22 enemy tanks, 3 motorcycles, and Comrade Kolobanov’s company destroyed 43 enemy tank." The battle of the 3rd company of heavy tanks under the command of Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov with the enemy lasted only half an hour. The unit was armed with five new KV-1E tanks, which had just entered the army from the Kirov plant. The task was to delay the advance of German vehicles towards Leningrad in the area near the village of Voiskovitsy, in the area of Krasnogvardeisk (Gatchina).
For that battle, the tanker was nominated by the command for the star of Hero of the USSR, but they only gave him the Order of the Red Banner. There are still discussions around this decision.
Battle at Voyskowitz
On the eve of the battle, tanks took places in ambushes on the approaches to Gatchina. “A German column and motorcycles appeared. Behind them was a car, followed by tanks. There were 22 of them. Kolobanov himself and someone else from the crew counted them, they clearly saw 22 tanks. Fire was opened on the lead tank when it reached the intersection “The fire was immediately transferred to the trailing tanks,” researcher Denis Bazuev, who spent many years studying the circumstances of the battle, told TASS. He bases his story about the battle on Kolobanov’s own interview with Leningrad journalist Igor Lisochkin.
“There is no doubt that exactly that many tanks were destroyed. Another thing is that we, military people, evaluate and look at who stood against whom. Kolobanov’s tank was heavy and shielded - in addition to its armor, additional sheets were welded onto it. Light tanks were built into it. hit, and the shells bounced off like peas. Only when the Germans brought up anti-tank guns did they manage to jam the turret. If he had stood against the Tigers, he would hardly have been able to knock out so many. But the main thing is that this is a historical fact. was,” says Gennady Fomenko, Chairman of the Council of Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation and Full Knights of the Order of Glory of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.
When the ammunition ran out, Kolobanov turned to the battalion commander for permission to leave the position to refuel the tank. During the retreat, the tank crews took out several wounded soldiers. Another 21 German tanks knocked out other vehicles of the company.
Disputes about the feat
Various reasons are given as to why Kolobanov never received the title of Hero. During the Winter (Finnish) War of 1939–1940, Kolobanov took part in breaking through the Mannerheim Line and was burned in a tank three times. Some researchers believe that the tanker’s personal file was spoiled by the fraternization of his fighters with the Finns after the conclusion of peace. “The time was extremely inconvenient. Stalin reproached the leadership of the Leningrad Front for ineptly managing the latest equipment - KV tanks and Katyushas. To award it would be an absolute dissonance,” says one of the leading researchers of the siege of Leningrad, Doctor of Historical Sciences Nikita Lomagin.
Kolobanov’s feat is confirmed by the award list and the memories of the participants in those events. But historians have not yet found confirmation of these Wehrmacht losses in German archives.
“The fact check was carried out by both the division commander and the regiment commander. That is, they were responsible for the reliability of the information provided, and most importantly, the fact that they managed to complete the assigned combat mission is the best proof that such a battle took place and the enemy was stopped,” - Nikita Lomagin is sure.
He believes that working with German archives would help clarify the size of the Wehrmacht's losses and establish the significance of the battle for the Leningrad Front at that time.
“But even if five tanks are knocked out, even if the rest are disabled... Well, what is a Hero of the Soviet Union? This is a model, this is how one should behave. We are not just talking about personal courage, we are talking about the cohesion of the crew, the commander , about combat training, about heroic behavior. There were five tanks against a huge number of well-trained German troops,” he says.
"The main thing is not the order, but the memory"
Another campaign in support of awarding the title of Hero to Zinoviy Kolobanov was initiated by the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO). More than 100 thousand St. Petersburg residents signed the appeal to the President of the Russian Federation. “But there is a state policy in the Ministry of Defense, which does not involve awarding twice for the same feat. Kolobanov was awarded for his unique feat, absolutely fantastic,” said Vladimir Medinsky, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation and head of the Russian Military Historical Society.
Gennady Fomenko agrees with this. “There have been precedents for awarding awards for the same thing twice. But, probably, this is wrong. You cannot pretend to be smarter than those who at one time made the decision to award them. Although I, as a general, as a Hero of Russia, would also like Kolobanov was a Hero of the Soviet Union... I believe that the presidential administration and the Ministry of Defense took a legal position on him (Kolobanov) and it cannot be overestimated by people who did not take part in that history, which is already more than 70 years old,” - he thinks.
Deputy head of the Military Historical Center of the Northwestern Federal District Sergei Machinsky believes that the younger generation has the right to reconsider decisions that seem unfair to them.
“They, as the heirs of those people, have the right to evaluate their actions and their exploits. Today’s youth are not burdened by the legal conventions of that period, are not burdened by the political situation that existed at that time, of that system. They, as people, have the right to evaluate precisely human actions - how worthy this or that person is of this or that award,” he is sure.
Professional historian Nikita Lomagin also supports the revision, but calls for it to be justified in order to eliminate subsequent disputes about the fairness of such a decision. “I think this: it is possible and necessary to reward a person even after 75 years. We can use this example to say that we must conduct additional research, we must request German documents again, we can send an official request,” he believes.
Zinovy Kolobanov’s grandson Andrei said that he is calm about the idea of giving this award to his grandfather and partly shares the position that they are not awarded twice for the same feat. “There is a certain sense in the logic of the officials. The award was presented. There is no point in evaluating it today,” he said. “But if someone wants to achieve this, I am not against it.”
In 1983, a memorial was erected in the area of the battle near Gatchina, at the opening of which Kolobanov was present along with members of his crew. Streets in St. Petersburg and Voiskovitsy are named after the senior lieutenant. In the village of Novy Uchkhoz, located on the site of a tank battle in 1941, a bust of Kolobanov was unveiled in 2008. In Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Region, the “Battle for Leningrad” museum named after Zinovy Kolobanov is preparing to open. It was created by the hands of volunteers; teenagers are involved in restoring the equipment.
No matter how the campaign for awarding Kolobanov the title of Hero develops, its initiators believe that they have already done much more to perpetuate his memory. “The most important thing is not an order, not a degree, the most important thing is people’s memory. I believe that<…>this campaign led to the appearance of documentaries on television, many articles, entire research on the Internet, and the work of search teams - this campaign is the best reward, the best manifestation of respect for his memory. And how many people have been awarded but forgotten? This is much worse,” says Vladimir Medinsky.
Maxim Nichiporenko
On August 20, 1941, a historic tank battle took place, which is called “the most successful battle” in the entire history of tank confrontations. The battle was led by Zinovy Kolobanov, an ace tankman of the Red Army.
Zinovy Kolobanov was born at the end of December 1910, in the village of Arefino, Vladimir province. Kolobanov’s father died during the Civil War, and Zinovy worked constantly from an early age. He graduated from 8 grades of school, entered a technical school, and in the 3rd year he was drafted into the army. Kolobanov was assigned to the infantry troops, but the army needed tankers, and he was sent to study at the armored school named after. Frunze. In 1936, he graduated with honors, and with the rank of senior lieutenant he went to the Leningrad Military District.
Zinoviy Kolobanov underwent a “baptism of fire” during the Soviet-Finnish war. He met her as a tank company commander. In a short period of time, Kolobanov almost died three times in a burning tank, but each time he returned to duty. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
After the start of the Great Patriotic War, Kolobanov had to quickly master the heavy Soviet KV-1 tank in order not only to fight on it, but also to train recruits.
Offensive on Gatchina
At the beginning of August 1941, Army Group North launched an attack on Leningrad. The Red Army was retreating. In the area of Gatchina (at that time Krasnogvardeysk), the Germans were held back by the 1st Tank Division. The situation was difficult - the Wehrmacht had tank superiority, and any day now the Nazis could break through the city’s defenses and capture the city. Why was Krasnogvardeysk so important for the Germans? At that time it was a major transport hub in front of Leningrad.
On August 19, 1941, Zinovy Kolobanov received an order from the division commander to block three roads coming from Luga, Volosovo and Kingisepp. The division commander's order was short: fight to the death. Kolobanov's company was on heavy KV-1 tanks. The KV-1 stood up well to the Panzerwaffe, the tank units of the Wehrmacht. But the KV-1 had a significant drawback: lack of maneuverability. In addition, at the beginning of the war, there were few KV-1s and T-34s in the Red Army, so they were taken care of and, if possible, tried to avoid battles in open areas.
The most successful tank battle of 1941
Lieutenant Kolobanov's crew consisted of senior sergeant Andrei Usov, senior driver-mechanic Nikolai Nikiforov, junior driver-mechanic Nikolai Rodnikov and gunner-radio operator Pavel Kiselkov. The crew of the tank was the same as Lieutenant Kolobanov: people with experience and good training.
After Kolobanov received the division commander’s order, he set his team a combat mission: to stop the German tanks. Each tank was loaded with armor-piercing shells, two sets. Arriving at the site near the Voyskovitsy state farm, Zinoviy Kolobanov set up “combat points”: the tanks of Lieutenant Evdokimenko and Degtyar near the Luga Highway, the tanks of Junior Lieutenant Sergeev and Lastochkin near Kingisepp. Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov and his team stood in the center of the defense, on the coastal road. The KV-1 was placed 300 meters from the intersection.
22 tanks in 30 minutes
At 12 o'clock on August 20, the Germans tried to capture the Luga Highway, but Evdokimenko and Degtyar knocked out 5 tanks and 3 armored personnel carriers, after which the Germans turned back. At about 2 p.m., German reconnaissance motorcyclists appeared, but Kolobanov’s team on the KV-1 did not give themselves away. After some time, German light tanks appeared. Kolobanov commanded “fire!” and the battle began.
First, the gun commander Usov knocked out the 3 lead tanks, then poured fire on the tanks closing the column. The passage of the German column was choked, the tanks were burning at the beginning of the column and at the end. Now there was no way to escape the shelling. At this time, the KV-1 revealed itself, the Germans returned fire, but the heavy armor of the tank was impenetrable. At one point, the KV-1 turret failed, but senior mechanic Nikiforov began to maneuver the vehicle so that Usov would have the opportunity to continue to beat the Germans.
30 minutes of battle - all the tanks of the German column were destroyed.
Even the “aces” of the Panzerwaffe could not imagine such a result. Later, the achievement of Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov was included in the Guinness Book of Records.
On August 20, 1941, five tanks of Kolobanov’s company destroyed a total of 43 German tanks. In addition to the tanks, an artillery battery and two infantry companies were knocked out.
Unappreciated Hero
In 1941, Kolobanov’s crew was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. After a while, the high command replaced the title of Hero with the Order of the Red Banner (Zinovy Kolobanov was awarded), Andrei Usov was awarded the Order of Lenin, driver-mechanic Nikiforov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. They simply “did not believe” in the feat of Kolobanov’s crew, although the documents were provided.
In September 1941, Zinoviy Kolobanov was seriously wounded and returned to the Red Army after the end of the war, in the summer of 1945. He served in the army until 1958, after which he joined the colonel reserve and settled in Minsk.
Monument near Voyskovitsy
In the early 1980s, they decided to erect a monument at the site of the famous battle. Kolobanov wrote a letter to the USSR Ministry of Defense with a request to allocate a tank to perpetuate the heroic feat. Dmitry Ustinov, the Minister of Defense, gave a positive answer, and a tank was allocated for the monument - but not the KV-1, but the IS-2.
On August 19, 1941, Zinoviy Grigorievich received an order to cover 3 roads leading to the city of Krasnogvardeisk (Gatchina). After analyzing the area, Kolobanov sent 2 tanks into an ambush on the Luga road, two on the Kingesepp road, and he himself remained to guard the coastal direction. Kolobanov took a position opposite the T-shaped intersection. A special trench was dug for the tank, which was perfectly camouflaged. As a result, German reconnaissance on motorcycles did not notice the camouflaged tank. A reserve position was also prepared. The place for the ambush was chosen very well. On both sides of the road there were swampy fields, which made it difficult for German vehicles to maneuver. The commander placed the one who arrived for support in a nearby forest so that she would not come under tank fire.
The next day, 22 German Pz.Kpfw III tanks appeared on the horizon. Kolobanov brought the tanks as close as possible and gave the order to open fire on the lead tanks under the cross.
Accurate shots from the gun commander, Andrei Mikhailovich Usov, knocked out 2 lead tanks. Confusion arose in the enemy ranks. The tanks began to bump into each other. And after the 2 trailing tanks were knocked out, the German column found itself in a trap. First, the Germans, not seeing their enemy, opened indiscriminate fire on the haystacks, mistaking them for camouflaged tanks. But having determined the source of the fire, they began to intensively fire at Kolobanov’s tank. Although the advancing Nazis had a numerical superiority, their 37-caliber armor-piercing shells bounced off the reinforced armor of the KV-1, while greatly stunning the Soviets. The tank withstood about 156 hits. The Germans tried to turn off the road into a field, but began to get stuck in a swampy area. The tank crew methodically destroyed all the German tanks, but then the enemy rolled out anti-tank guns into position.
A shell from one of them knocked down the tank's periscope. Then the gunner-radio operator of the tank, Pavel Ivanovich Kiselkov, climbed onto the tank and, under heavy fire, replaced the device. After another hit from an anti-tank gun, the tank's turret became jammed. But the senior mechanic driver, Nikolai Ivanovich Nikiforov, with skillful maneuvers of the tank, ensured accurate aiming of the gun at the remaining German equipment. As a result, the entire enemy column was completely destroyed.
After this battle, the entire crew was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but, for unknown reasons, the fighters received more modest awards: Kolobanov Z.G., Nikiforov N.I. were awarded orders, Usov A.M. was awarded the Order of Lenin and Kiselkov P.I. received a medal for bravery.
Kolobanov Zinoviy Georgievich died on August 8, 1994, without receiving the Hero star for his outstanding feat. In St. Petersburg, an action was launched to collect signatures under a petition to the president to assign Kolobanov Z.G. title of Hero (posthumously). 102,000 signatures have already been collected. As many people as possible must say their firm “for”, and then historical injustice will be corrected. The hero will receive his reward, albeit posthumously. But then we will be able to say with confidence: “No one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten.”
During the Great Patriotic War, many Soviet people demonstrated the highest courage and bravery, fighting against the Nazi invaders. For exploits performed during the Great Patriotic War, 11 thousand 657 people (3051 of them posthumously) were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. However, “forgotten” heroes also appeared. People whose frontline path, it seemed, could only lead them to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, did not receive a high award. No, the people did not forget about their exploits, but for some reason those in power decided that they should not be awarded the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union (and then Heroes of Russia). Senior Lieutenant Alexei Berest, who took a direct part in hoisting the Red Banner on the Berlin Reichstag, never became a Hero of the Soviet Union. Another real hero who was undeservedly passed over for an award is Zinovy Kolobanov.
The poet Alexander Gitovich will then write about him:
Enemies are coming in droves
Iron idols,
But he takes the fight
Zinoviy Kolobanov.
On August 8, 1941, Army Group North launched an attack on the city of Leningrad. The units and formations of the Red Army that defended Soviet territory from the aggressor, despite the dedication of the personnel, retreated. In the area of Krasnogvardeysk, as Gatchina was then called, the defense was held by soldiers of the 1st Tank Division under the command of Major General Viktor Ilyich Baranov. They had to hold back the onslaught of a stubbornly advancing and superior enemy. On August 19, 1941, Major General Viktor Baranov ordered the blocking of three roads leading to Krasnogvardeysk from Luga, Volosov and Kingisepp. This task was entrusted to the 3rd Tank Company of the 1st Tank Regiment of the 1st Tank Division, commanded by Senior Lieutenant Zinoviy Kolobanov. The 3rd tank company, commanded by Kolobanov, was armed with KV-1 heavy tanks, which could quite realistically withstand Wehrmacht tanks. But armament is armament, and the personality of the company commander, whose feat was forever included in the Great Patriotic War, deserves special mention. By the time the Great Patriotic War began, he was already an experienced officer who had gone through the Soviet-Finnish war.
Zinovy Grigorievich Kolobanov was born on December 25, 1910 in the Vladimir province in the village of Arefino, Murom district (now the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod region). Zinovy's father Gregory died during the Civil War. The mother raised three children alone, later moving to the village of Bolshoye Zagarino. The beginning of Zinovy Kolobanov’s life was quite ordinary for a rural boy of that time. He graduated from eight classes of high school and went to study at the Gorky Industrial College. At that time, Stalin’s industrialization was in full swing and the country needed qualified workers and engineers, so such professions were always prestigious and in demand.
On February 16, 1933, 22-year-old Kolobanov, a third-year college student, was drafted into the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. As a literate guy, he was sent to the regimental school of the 49th Infantry Regiment of the 70th Infantry Division, and then to the Oryol Armored School named after M.V. Frunze. So Zinoviy Kolobanov became a career military man. In May 1936, he graduated from military school with the rank of lieutenant, with honors, and began serving as a tank commander in the 3rd separate tank battalion of the 2nd tank brigade of the Leningrad Military District. In 1938, Kolobanov graduated from the Command Improvement Course and then served as an assistant ammunition commander in the 210th Infantry Regiment of the 70th Infantry Division. Then, from July 31, 1938 to November 16, 1938, Zinoviy Kolobanov served as a platoon commander of the 6th separate tank brigade, and was then appointed commander of a tank company in the same brigade. On November 25, 1939, Kolobanov was transferred as commander of a tank company to the 1st Light Tank Brigade, which was deployed on the Karelian Isthmus. The Soviet-Finnish war was approaching and the formations of the Leningrad Military District were to play a very important role in it.
The commander of the tank company, Zinovy Kolobanov, did not just participate in the war. He walked from the border with Finland to Vyborg, burned three times in a tank, being on the verge of death. After the end of the war, on March 17, 1940, Lieutenant Kolobanov was appointed assistant commander of the 52nd tank reserve company for the combat unit of the 1st light tank brigade, and then transferred to the Kiev Military District. At first he served as deputy commander of a tank company of the 90th tank regiment, then was appointed commander of a tank company of the 36th separate training tank battalion of the 14th light tank brigade. On September 6, 1940, he was awarded the military rank of senior lieutenant. For some time, Kolobanov held the position of senior adjutant (chief of staff) of the battalion of the 97th tank regiment, and then in the same regiment he was appointed commander of a tank company of a heavy tank battalion. However, this company never received tanks for service.
When the Great Patriotic War began, Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov was transferred as commander of a company of KV-1 heavy tanks to the 1st Tank Division. Zinoviy Kolobanov himself recalled that he was drafted into the division from the reserves and, taking into account the experience of the Soviet-Finnish war, was immediately appointed company commander. On August 14, 1941, Zinoviy Kolobanov took part in the battle near the village of Ivanovsky on the Luga River. Its crew destroyed a tank and an enemy artillery piece. However, the most important battle in the life of Zinovy Grigorievich was still ahead.
The crew of the KV-1 tank, in addition to the tank commander (and company commander) senior lieutenant Zinovy Grigoryevich Kolobanov, included the tank gun commander, senior sergeant Andrei Mikhailovich Usov, senior mechanic-driver foreman Nikolai Ivanovich Nikiforov, junior mechanic-driver Red Army soldier Nikolai Feoktistovich Rodnikov and gunner- radio operator senior sergeant Pavel Ivanovich Kiselkov. On August 19, 1941, Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov was personally summoned by the division commander, Major General Baranov, who gave the order to block the roads to Krasnogvardeysk. After this, a company of five KV-1 tanks under the command of Kolobanov moved to the designated positions.
Two tanks from Kolobanov's company were sent by the commander to the road from Luga, two tanks - to the Kingisepp direction. The company command tank took up a position on the coastal road, which made it possible to control two directions of possible movements of enemy tanks at once.
In the Luga direction on August 20, the tank crews of Lieutenant M.I. Evdokimenko and junior lieutenant I.A. The Degtyars engaged the vanguard German tank column and destroyed five tanks and three armored personnel carriers. Kolobanov let the Nazis on motorcycles pass along the road towards the Voyskovitsa state farm, since his task was to block the movement of the enemy tank column. Finally, German light tanks of the 6th Panzer Division appeared (although there are other versions - that the tanks belonged to either the 1st or 8th Panzer Divisions). After waiting, Kolobanov gave the order to open fire. The first shots hit the three lead tanks of the German column, which stood up, blocking the way for the rest of the tanks. The Soviet tank then struck the tail and then the center of the German column. Accurate hits became possible thanks to the actions of Senior Sergeant Andrei Usov (in the photo he is wearing lieutenant's uniform, as he later rose to this rank) - an experienced artilleryman who fought in the Soviet-Polish and Soviet-Finnish wars and previously served as an assistant platoon commander in the artillery regiment, and then trained as a heavy tank gun commander.
After Usov’s shots, panic began in the enemy column. Considering that the road passed through a swampy field, tanks that pulled over to the side of the road ended up in a swamp, where they got stuck. Ammunition in the tanks that caught fire exploded. Within thirty minutes of battle, Kolobanov's tank was able to knock out all 22 enemy tanks, expending 98 armor-piercing shells. The Soviet tank itself was hit by 114 German shells, but its armor really seemed strong. In total, the company under the command of Kolobanov knocked out 43 enemy tanks - 22 tanks were credited to the crew of Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov, 8 tanks were credited to the crew of Junior Lieutenant Sergeev, 5 tanks were knocked out by the crew of Lieutenant Evdokimenko, 4 tanks - the crew of Junior Lieutenant Degtyar and 4 more tanks - crew of junior lieutenant Lastochkin. After the battle, the company's tankers destroyed an enemy artillery battery, one passenger car, and about two infantry companies. The history of Soviet and even world tank forces has never seen such a battle.
It would seem that the incredible victory of the tank crews over the Nazis in the battle on August 20, 1941 practically guaranteed Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Indeed, already in September 1941, Colonel Dmitry Pogodin, who commanded the 1st Tank Regiment of the 1st Tank Division, nominated all members of the tank crew of Senior Lieutenant Zinovy Kolobanov to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Dmitry Pogodin, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Belarusian SSR and a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, was himself the first tanker to receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on December 31, 1936 - for valor and courage shown in battles in Spain. As a real combat commander, he perfectly understood the value of Kolobanov’s feat. The submission was also signed by the division commander, Major General Viktor Baranov, who by this time was also a Hero of the Soviet Union, having received a high award for fighting Finnish troops during the Soviet-Finnish War. But neither senior Kolobanov nor other members of his combat crew managed to become a Hero of the Soviet Union. At the headquarters of the Leningrad Front, the idea of awarding Kolobanov and his fighters the high ranks of Heroes of the Soviet Union was “cut down.” The crew and company commander, senior lieutenant Kolobanov, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the gun commander, senior sergeant Usov, was awarded the Order of Lenin, the senior mechanic-driver, foreman Nikiforov, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the gunner-radio operator, senior sergeant Kiselkov, and the junior mechanic-driver, Red Army soldier Rodnikov, received the Order of the Red Star. .
Like other Soviet soldiers who accomplished real feats, but for some reason did not pass the “filter” of staff officers and political officers, Zinoviy Kolobanov continued to fight. He defended the approaches to Krasnogvardeysk, but on September 15, 1941, he was seriously wounded during the defense of the city of Pushkin, receiving shrapnel damage to the head and spine and a contusion of the brain and spinal cord. He spent almost the entire war in hospitals in Sverdlovsk - the wounds were too severe. Despite this, on May 31, 1942, Kolobanov was awarded the rank of captain, and in March 1945, after being discharged, he immediately asked to join the army. On July 10, 1945, after the end of the war, Kolobanov was appointed deputy commander of the 69th tank battalion of the 14th mechanized regiment of the 12th mechanized division of the 5th Guards Tank Army in the Baranovichi Military District.
After the war, Kolobanov served in the Soviet Army for another thirteen years. In 1951-1955. he served in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany in the positions of: commander of a tank battalion of self-propelled artillery mounts of the 70th heavy tank self-propelled regiment of the 9th tank division of the 1st Guards Mechanized Army - from 1951 to 1954, then commander of the 55th Guards Tank battalion of the 55th Tank Regiment of the 7th Guards Tank Division of the 3rd Mechanized Army - from 1954 to 1955. In 1952, Kolobanov received the military rank of lieutenant colonel. However, another sad event happened, which immediately cast a shadow on the heroic battalion commander. A soldier from his battalion deserted and fled into the British occupation zone. This was enough to cause a serious blow to the career of the heroic front-line soldier. Lieutenant Colonel Kolobanov was transferred to the Belarusian Military District as deputy commander of the tank-self-propelled battalion of the 10th mechanized regiment of the 12th mechanized division, and then as deputy commander of the tank battalion of the 148th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 50th Guards Motorized Rifle Division of the 28th Army. In 1958, Zinoviy Grigorievich Kolobanov was transferred to the reserve. He worked for a long time at the Minsk Automobile Plant as a quality control foreman and quality control inspector, lived a long life and died in 1994 at the age of 84.
It turns out that the amazing feat of Kolobanov’s crew was never fully appreciated. Even years later, the authorities did not agree to award, albeit belatedly, the legendary tanker the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The authorities of post-Soviet Russia also refused to do this. When the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO) collected more than 100 thousand signatures in support of awarding Kolobanov the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, there was still a refusal. And this is not even surprising. For example, the same story happened with Alexei Berest. However, in the eyes of the people, Zinoviy Kolobanov, and his fellow tank crew members, and Alexey Berest, and other front-line soldiers who accomplished many feats, still remain true Heroes with a capital “H,” regardless of the opinions of officials.