Description of the attraction
Myasnoy Bor is a village located in the Novgorod region. Only the name already suggests that this place is a tragic page in the history of our state during the Great Patriotic War. It was this settlement that, in the difficult wartime of 1942, had to shoulder the terrible burden of a bloody battle, which destroyed a huge number of soldiers of the Volkhov Front, whose number was in the hundreds of thousands, during the Luban operation. Among the dead are not only Russian troops, but also German soldiers, soldiers of the Spanish Blue Division and many others.
At the beginning of 1942, the soldiers of the Volkhov Front began their offensive. The second shock army operated more successfully, which by January 17 was able to successfully break through the defenses located in the Myasny Bor area. While the offensive continued, every meter of land was given by the number of huge losses, because the forces were completely unequal. The German leadership decided to transfer two more divisions to Lyuban, which stopped the onslaught of the second Shock Army. The breakthrough width decreased by almost 4 km. On the way to the Luban-Chudovo railway, the German enemies were able to stretch out six more fresh divisions. Active attacks of Soviet troops were repelled by hurricane fire of the enemy, which was not able to suppress the Russian artillery. With the onset of the spring thaw, the supply of the army was sharply disrupted, and the withdrawal of troops was strictly prohibited by order - all that remained was to defend. German troops desperately sought to close the throat of the breakthrough, and by March 19 they managed to completely block the path at Myasny Bor, pulling in all fresh forces. At the same time, the delivery of ammunition and food to the troops of the Second Shock Division was completely stopped. In the area of its breakthrough, the enemy conducted uninterrupted mortar and artillery fire.
The breakthrough to the road cost enormous sacrifices - the entire narrow strip of swamps and ravaged forest to the western part of Myasny Bor was referred to as the "Valley of Death" from March 1942. The Supreme High Command sent to the rescue of the surrounded soldiers the Knight of the Order of Lenin, General Vlasov, who distinguished himself in numerous battles near the capital. But by the time the general arrived, the forest had completely turned into a bloody mess. In this situation, Vlasov understood only that he needed to immediately get out of the bag, which could not be untied in any way. However, Stalin categorically forbade the retreat. Making more and more attempts to leave the place of bloody hell, our troops were able to break through a small corridor of 700 meters into the village of Myasnoy Bor.
Six brigades and eight divisions fell into a hopeless situation of complete encirclement, the headquarters unit was completely destroyed, and the military direction was disrupted. The military vehicles stopped due to the fact that the fuel was completely out. The breakthrough failed, and the removal of the wounded was stopped. General Vlasov also fled, who changed into a woman's dress and, leaving the army, surrendered to German captivity. On May 20, hordes of swamp mosquitoes attacked the bloodied and exhausted soldiers. The headquarters gave the order to destroy the equipment. The last breakthrough was made in the village of Myasnoy Bor, and the seriously wounded soldiers were left behind. In the month of July, the bloody battle was over - more than 11 thousand corpses were left to rot in the swamps and forests.
Even today, the village of Myasnoy Bor is considered an overwhelming and unusual place. Being in those places, it seems as if the forest is alive. Those people who have visited this forest claim that even birds do not build their nests in these places.
The greatest tragedy of Myasny Bor is the tragedy of the Soviet people. Today, modern descendants must pay tribute to all the fallen soldiers. In Myasnoy Bor there is a military cemetery, where more than 20 thousand soldiers are buried. Local residents who witnessed the bloody events recalled that so many people died in the forest that there was not enough space to bury all the corpses. According to general assumptions, there are remains of about 500 thousand people in local forests and swamps. But do not forget that many tens of thousands are still waiting for the last honors to be given to them.
