MOSCOW, October 5 - RIA Novosti. Former teacher, Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Ozmitel during the Great Patriotic War, commanding a reconnaissance and sabotage group behind Nazi lines, helped thwart their seizure of the command of the famous 1st Guards Cavalry Corps of the Red Army, this is described in archival documents published by the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation on the occasion of Teacher's Day celebrated in Russia on Monday.
Fedor Fedorovich Ozmitel (1918-1944) in 1936-1938 worked as a primary school teacher on the Shevchenko collective farm in the Martuk region of the Kazakh SSR. In May 1938, Ozmitel was drafted into the border troops of the NKVD of the USSR and sent to serve on the border. In 1940-1941, before the start of the war, he studied at the Novo-Peterhof Military-Political School of Border and Internal Troops of the NKVD named after K.E. Voroshilov. From June 23, 1941, as part of cadet battalions, Ozmitel took part in the battles on the outskirts of Leningrad.
The Nazis' foiled plan
In August 1941, among the most trained and combat-experienced border guard commanders, Lieutenant Ozmitel was sent to Moscow to the Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade for Special Purposes (OMSBON) of the NKVD. OMSBON formed a personnel reserve of soldiers and officers who were sent behind the front line for reconnaissance and sabotage behind Nazi lines.
Ozmitel was appointed commander of the 5th company of the 2nd battalion of the 2nd motorized rifle regiment OMSBON. As part of this unit, he took part in the battle for Moscow. His company operated on the Dmitrovskoye and Rogachevskoye highways, in the area of Yakhroma and the Moscow-Volga canal. On November 7, 1941, Ozmitel, as part of the combined OMSBON battalion, participated in a military parade on Red Square in Moscow. After the parade, he was sent to the Klin area, where, in direct contact with the enemy, he carried out mining of roads and bridges.
“In February 1942, F.F. Ozmitel, at the head of the reconnaissance and sabotage group “Grozny”, was transferred behind the front line. The special group operated in the so-called “Smolensk Triangle”. The enemy concentrated large army headquarters, reserve units and airfields here. The fascist German troops were actively supplied along an extensive network of railways and highways,” the report notes. FSB.
The Soviet command needed objective information about what was happening. Despite the small number of the Grozny special forces detachment, its fighters managed to constantly receive important intelligence data.
In mid-May 1942, Ozmitel sent a radiogram to the Center: “On May 20, 1942, at 7:30 a.m., two trains passed through the Krasnoye station from Orsha. People are dressed in the uniform of the command and political staff of the Red Army. One is in the uniform of a general ... “Grozny.”
As the FSB emphasized, thanks to this message, the Nazis’ plan was thwarted, according to which a German reconnaissance and sabotage detachment of 315 people, under the guise of soldiers and commanders of the Red Army, allegedly leaving the encirclement, was supposed to penetrate the location of the Red Army cavalry-mechanized group operating in the rear of the 9th and 4th German armies in the area of Vyazma, Dorogobuzh, Spas-Demensk and capture the famous commander of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps of the Guard, Major General Pavel Belov, as well as his headquarters. By the decisive actions of the soldiers of the 4th Airborne Corps, this team was defeated.
Successful Operations
Ozmitel's detachment conducted successful military operations in the Rudnyansky district of the Smolensk region and the Dubrovinsky district of the Vitebsk region. At the Zaoleshye station, the partisans derailed the enemy train. In addition, Ozmitel provided assistance to the commanders of other partisan detachments operating in the area. In cooperation with them, several sabotage operations were carried out on the railway and operations to defeat enemy rear garrisons.
To ensure the security of their rear communications, the Germans allocated large forces. Despite this, rail traffic was regularly interrupted. In order to fight the partisans, the enemy command began to prepare a major punitive operation codenamed "Greif".
In August 1942, the 286th Wehrmacht Security Division under the command of Major General Richert, with the support of artillery and aviation, began blocking the area in which the partisans were operating.
“Large punitive forces were advancing in the direction of Lyubavitch, where the Grozny detachment was stationed. Thanks to the scouts, the partisans learned in advance about the planned action and were able to prepare for a meeting with the enemy. But having the opportunity to escape from the attack, Fyodor Ozmitel decided to enter the battle, draw back the enemy forces and help other detachments get out of the emerging encirclement,” the FSB noted.
For two days, the Grozny detachment repelled enemy attacks, leaving their positions only after the fighters ran out of ammunition. The Nazis' punitive operation against the partisans lasted two weeks, but the enemy was never successful.
“Moreover, Ozmitel’s detachment and two other partisan formations that came under his command continued to remain in their area and carry out acts of sabotage,” the FSB added.
As a result of successfully carried out operations, three bridges were blown up on the strategic Minsk-Moscow highway, the most important for the enemy, 20 enemy field workshops and warehouses were destroyed, 27 military railway trains with manpower and equipment were derailed, and more than 2 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were killed. In October 1942, the Grozny detachment returned to the mainland. For the successful completion of command assignments, Ozmitel was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree.
In May 1943, Ozmitel again headed behind enemy lines at the head of another NKVD special detachment called "Thunder", operating in the Minsk region. One of the detachment's tasks was to assist the Belarusian brigade of partisans Pyotr Lopatin ("Uncle Kolya") in crossing the front line of a valuable "language" - a well-informed German liaison officer from the aviation headquarters of Army Group Center, Kurt Werner. During the first interrogations, the officer gave valuable information.
“Senior Lieutenant Ozmitel’s group coped with this task,” the FSB noted.
From May 1943 to June 1944, Ozmitel's detachment collected intelligence data about the enemy, destroyed enemy communications, destroyed enemy personnel and equipment, and fought with punitive forces.
“Bridges on the Minsk-Moscow highway were blown up three times, and each time traffic on it was interrupted for several days. Having received information about the location of the underground telephone cable that connected the headquarters of the Nazi command with the front, Fyodor Ozmitel’s fighters cut it off 15 times in different places,” the FSB added.
Death of the commander
In June 1944, Ozmitel’s detachment with other partisan formations was blocked by large enemy forces in the Narovlyansky forests near Lake Palik (Borisov district of the Minsk region) and took the main blow of the punitive forces. On June 15, 1944, during the battle, Ozmitel was seriously wounded in both legs.
“The subordinates wanted to take their commander out from under the fire, but he ordered to leave him in place. Overcoming the pain, Ozmitel began to cover the retreat of his subordinates with fire. When the cartridges ran out and the Nazis approached him to take him prisoner, he blew himself up and the German soldiers surrounding him with a bunch of grenades,” the FSB said in a statement. Ozmitel was buried in a mass grave in the village of Makovye, Borisov district, Minsk region.
