Dragoon David Abramovich Bryansk. Two opinions about David Abramovich Dragunsky, military commander, colonel general, twice hero of the Soviet Union, participant in the Great Patriotic War, about his chairmanship in the Askeo David Dragoonsky family

He was born on February 15, 1910 in the village of Svyatsk, now Novozybkovsky district, Bryansk region, in the family of an artisan. Jew. Member of the CPSU since 1931. He graduated from junior high school in 1928. In the Soviet Army since 1933. He graduated from the Saratov armored school in 1936, the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze in 1941. Participated in the battles near Lake Khasan in 1938, commander of a tank company. On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since July 1941. From November 1943 until the end of the war - commander of the 55th Guards Tank Brigade (7th Guards Tank Corps, 3rd Guards Tank Army, 1st Ukrainian Front). The brigade, acting in the forward detachment of the corps, reached the Vistula River on 07/30/1944 and crossed it. In the battles for the expansion of the Sandomierz bridgehead in August 1944, she repulsed the attacks of large enemy infantry and tanks. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded on September 23, 1944. The brigade under the command of Colonel Dragunsky distinguished himself when crossing the Teltow Canal and in the battles in Berlin. On May 31, 1945, he was awarded the second Gold Star medal. In 1949 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff, commanded a division, an association, 1st deputy commander of the ZakVO troops. Since 1969, the head of the Shot courses. Colonel General (1970). Since 1985 in the General Inspection Group of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Member of the Central Audit Commission of the CPSU since 1971. He was awarded 2 Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, 4 Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov 2nd class, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class, Friendship of Peoples, 2 Orders of the Red Star, the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces" 3rd class, medals, foreign orders. The bronze bust was installed at home.

When David Dragunsky, a barefoot boy, ran through the streets of the village of Svyatsk, he, the son of a poor tailor, had one dream - to learn military affairs. This desire intensified when he began to study at the Kalinin Novozybkov School. At that time, David already knew a lot about the noble countryman, the legendary sailor Pavel Dybenko. He was also impressed by the teachers' stories about Nikolai Shchors, a hero of the Civil War, in whose Bogunsky regiment many Novozybkovites fought.

Being five years younger than David Dragunsky, I personally did not meet him at school. But when I became a student, I heard more than once laudatory words about David, who loved studying, respected teachers, and was ready to help the weak. So, already from school I got a certain idea about this guy from Svyatsk. I saw him for the first time on February 9, 1939, when I received an assignment from the editorial office of the Udarnik newspaper to write a report about the tank hero, senior lieutenant Dragunsky, who arrived in Novozybkov for several days.

I remember it was a cloudy day. It snowed. But hundreds of townspeople went to the Novozybkov station to meet a man whose unit in the battles near Lake Khasan covered itself with unfading glory. Dragunsky himself and his tank crew were awarded government awards. Coming out to the station square, the tank hero was enthusiastically received by fellow countrymen. Among them were workers and employees of the Profintern sewing artel, where David Abramovich's brother worked, who came to the station in an organized column.

Stocky, with bright eyes and a kind smile, Dragunsky immediately fell in love with people. A minute, and he was already walking surrounded by fellow countrymen, talking animatedly with them, answering questions. On that day, he first spoke at the Wave of Revolution match factory club, where representatives of the city's public organizations came to meet him. And two days later Dragunsky was a guest in a military unit. “Here I took an oath, the new text of which was first introduced by the Soviet government,” the tank hero would later write to me, recalling several unforgettable days spent in his native city two years before the start of the war. On the chest of David Abramovich on that visit shone the military Order of the Red Banner, which was still a rarity in the pre-war years. Naturally, he was asked to tell why such a high award. He answered succinctly: "For Hassan." No further explanation was needed. The heroism of the Soviet troops in the battles near Lake Khasan was known to everyone.

For the first time after the war, D. A. Dragunsky stopped in Novozybkovo for a very short time on June 28, 1945. He was returning from Moscow from the famous Victory Parade, in which he participated at the head of the tank crews of the 1st Ukrainian Front. The train from the capital followed to Germany through Bryansk - Novozybkov - Gomel. It was then that he stopped at the Novozybkov Dragunsky station, where he met with several surviving close relatives.

Some time later, Dragunsky came to visit his cousin, who lived in Novozybkovo, the chairman of the board of the Profintern artel, Yakov Dragunsky. In the apartment of the latter, the former partisan Shendrik, several senior officials, whose names I do not remember, gathered. I was also present as a representative of the press.

Yes, a lot has been passed and a lot has been experienced, - said, with a sigh, David Abramovich, then already a guard colonel.

This was the reason to ask Dragunsky to at least briefly talk about his military path. Saying goodbye, D. A. Dragunsky asked to write about him less and "without water and without embellishment." And I tried to fulfill this by publishing the article "The Hero's Way" in the Udarnik newspaper. An excerpt from it is given below.

“It was in November 1943 after the liberation of Kiev, in which Dragunsky tankers participated. Then the brigade was given the task to move forward to the town of Povoloch, an important communications center, to capture it and prevent the approach of enemy reinforcements near the front line. The order was carried out, and by morning On November 8, the tankers were already in Povolochi. Meanwhile, our units, under pressure from the numerically superior enemy forces, were forced to temporarily retreat. And the brigade, without supplies of fuel, ammunition, food, found itself deep behind enemy lines. It was pouring rain. Low clouds floated over the town. There was no hopes for air reinforcements. And then radio communications were interrupted. On the side of the fascists, reserves arrived from the English Channel. At times the situation became really desperate. However, the commander did not lose courage. Suddenly, when the situation became especially difficult, his order to attack followed. The fascists did not expect this.The bold operation of the tankers stunned them not so much by surprise as by audacity. In this battle, the beleaguered garrison, seizing the initiative, captured 39 German armored personnel carriers, two tanks, a mortar battery, etc. Now it was possible to escape from the enemy ring. However, there was no command order. Tankers, diverting a significant part of the enemy troops, provided great assistance to our main forces. Only on November 14, a Soviet plane finally appeared over Povoloch, which dropped a pennant with the order of Marshal Rybalko - to break through the encirclement and join the main forces of the Red Army. Fulfilling the order, David Abramovich Dragunsky acted according to the wise advice of Suvorov: "Fight not by numbers, but by skill." He used enemy armored personnel carriers for reconnaissance, and they passed unhindered behind enemy lines, and then, by means of a swift strike, he managed to divert the main enemy forces and get out of the encirclement in the place that the reconnaissance reported. Soon the tankers of the Dragunsky united with the main units. Thus ended another heroic page in the life of the Dragunsky tank brigade, which went down in history under the name of the "Polvoloch operation". They wrote a song about her:

"Let's remember the nights
Let's remember the days...".

My journalistic notebook keeps many more records about the military affairs of D. A. Dragunsky. Using them, I will continue the story of our famous fellow countryman, who fought courageously against the Nazis for 4 years, looked death in the eye more than once, but always inspired the soldiers of the four-time decorated 55th Guards Tank Brigade by personal example.

The war was already underway, when in July 1941 Dragunsky immediately found himself in the army. By this time, he, who was born in 1910, was behind eight years of active service in the Red Army, a regimental school, the Saratov armored school, command of a tank platoon on the Far Eastern approaches to the borders of our homeland since 1937. There, commanding a company, he showed himself to be a talented military leader, actively participated in the defeat of the Japanese troops that invaded the territory of the USSR. Then, as a capable commander, Dragunsky was sent to study at the Frunze Academy, where he was from May 1939 until July 17, 1941. Having taken command of a tank battalion, Dragunsky got acquainted with the personnel on the go, checked the materiel. He was collected, outwardly cold-blooded. Addressing the commanders of companies and platoons, he said with confidence: "I am pleased that our steel vehicles will be driven by people with steel hearts." The tankers of the Dragoon Battalion fought courageously, now and then rushing to the counteroffensive, destroying enemy vehicles. During one of these counterattacks, a Dragunsky tank caught fire near Dukhovshchina. In an instant, being enveloped in flames, he could become a grave for brave warriors. That's when the composure, self-control, courage of the tank commander had a special effect. Skillfully maneuvering the machine, he shot down the flames and led his tank into the next fifth attack on the confused Nazis. In that battle, the commissar of the tank battalion Tkachev died a heroic death. Above his grave, like an oath, the words of the battalion commander Dragunsky sounded: "Heave your head, lads! We will still advance!" Spoken firmly in those days when the Nazis were still advancing in all directions, these words inspired the fighters, instilling confidence that the enemy would certainly be defeated.

The tankers were inspired by the personal example of the commander. He has always been where the most dangerous is. In one of the fights, D.A. Dragunsky was wounded by a shell fragment in the leg. He was taken to the hospital. But as soon as he felt that he could move, he began to stubbornly insist on an early return to the active army. But his requests for doctors did not work. Then, with the help of a faithful comrade, a tanker escaped from the hospital. Got my part. But a bomb exploded near Kharkov, wounded him with a large fragment and had to lie in the hospital again for two months.

How glad Dragunsky was when he was finally able to join the ranks of the Soviet Army again, to take command of the 55th Guards Tank Brigade, the famous 3rd Guards Tank Army of Marshal Rybalko. But then David Abramovich faced a new test. Being in the center of a fierce battle, leading his brigade, he suddenly felt a wild pain. It seemed that the body was being cut with hundreds of knives. Everything turned in his eyes. Twilight became a dark night. The commander woke up only three weeks later. The desperate struggle against death was now waged not on a wide field, but on a narrow hospital bed. Doctors did everything to save the life of the hero. Four deep wounds were sewn up to him, two ribs were removed. And a miracle happened - David Dragunsky not only survived, but managed to rejoin the ranks, lead his beloved soldiers to storm Berlin. The Dragoon tank brigade was among the first to break into the capital of Nazi Germany. Here, staggering from fatigue, covered with front-line fumes, Guards-Colonel of the tank troops Dragunsky, referring to his surviving comrades, recalled: “So what happened was what I told you about in forty-first. Admire how Nazi tanks are burning in Berlin! ".

Soviet troops finished off the fascist beast in its lair, when the order came from the High Command to immediately move to the aid of the population of the rebellious Prague. And our tankers, having broken the resistance of the Nazis at Dresden, having defeated them in the foothills of the Sudetenland, moved like unstoppable lava towards Prague. In Podbabye - a suburb of Prague - the path of Soviet tankers was blocked ... by a crowd of people who came out to meet the liberators with bouquets of flowers. When the enthusiasm subsided somewhat, an old man stepped out of the crowd. A Czechoslovak order shone on his chest. I just returned from there, - he said, pointing towards Prague. - It's hard for our people there. The Germans burn houses, shoot the inhabitants. Listening to the old man, the tankers clenched their fists in anger. Their hearts beat faster, filled with fierce hatred for the Nazis. Dragunsky also had big scores for them. He already knew that in his native Svyatsk, the Nazis shot more than a hundred of his relatives, including his father, the mother of many children. The old man continued:

We thought the Americans would help. They are in Pilsen, 8 kilometers from here. But they don't care about our grief. You came, relatives, tired after the fierce battles for Berlin. Thank you very much, dear sons, for this!

The old Czech unhooked his order and presented it to the Dragunsky.

Wear it in good health. And may it always remind you of the indestructible friendship of our peoples.

After this meeting, the Dragunsky tankers fought even more desperately with the Nazis who had settled in Prague. In time they came to the aid of the Czech brothers. Here, in Prague, the path of the Guards Tank Brigade, led by Dragunsky, ended. During her command of the Dragoons, she was awarded orders four times. There were 13 Heroes of the Soviet Union in its ranks. D.A. himself Dragunsky was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for courage and courage shown in battles with the Nazis.

Bronze bust of D.A. Dragunsky was installed in his homeland, in the village of Svyatsk, Novozybkovsky district.

YES. Dragunsky led the All-Union Shot courses for many years.

By the Decree of the Novozybkovsky City and District Councils of August 29, 1975, D.A. Dragunsky was awarded the title "Honorary citizen of the city of Novozybkov and the Novozybkovsky district of the Bryansk region."

"Novozybkov and Novozybkovites",
A. Volny (A.G. Epshtein), 1992.

Born in 1910. Jew. Member of the CPSU since 1931. In the Soviet Army since 1933. In 1936 he graduated from the Saratov armored school, and in 1941 - from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. Participated in the battles near Lake Khasan (1938). During World War II, he commanded a tank battalion, was chief of staff of a mechanized brigade, and from November 1943 - commander of the 55th Guards Tank Brigade. Participated in battles near Moscow, Kursk, Kiev, during the crossing of the Dnieper, in Poland, Germany and Czechoslovakia. After the Great Patriotic War, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR and continued to serve in responsible command positions. Since 1961 - head of the Higher Officer Courses "Shot". Colonel-General of Tank Troops. During the Lvov-Sandomierz operation in July-August 1944, the 55th Guards Tank Brigade under the command of Colonel D.A. Dragunsky, acting as an advance detachment of the 7th Guards Tank Corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, crossed the Vistula on the move and captured a bridgehead on its western bank. Subsequently, in cooperation with the 56th Guards. tbr. captured a number of settlements west of the Vistula. At the same time, the soldiers of the brigade destroyed a railway echelon with infantry, several depots with ammunition and military equipment, and destroyed a lot of manpower. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 23, 1944, Colonel D. A. Dragunsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his skillful leadership of the actions of units and subunits of the brigade. The second medal "Gold Star" was awarded by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 31, 1945 for the skillful management of the actions of the 55th Guards. tbr. when forcing the Teltow Canal and storming the quarters of Berlin. The brigade in these battles destroyed about 800 Nazis and captured up to 2700, knocked out 9 cannons, 12 tanks and assault guns, 7 armored vehicles, captured 37 vehicles, 6 warehouses, 4 locomotives and 190 wagons.

"Military History Journal"
No. 7, 1976

Already after a year of service he commanded a tank company; one of the first in the Far East drove his T-26 tank (absolutely not designed by the designers for the role of an amphibian) under water through the stormy Seifun River and after 15 minutes brought it to the opposite bank. To do this, Dragunsky pre-equipped the tank with two pipes, and coated the leaky areas with red lead and grease. For this initiative, Dragunsky received his first award - a nominal watch from the division commander. As a commander of a tank company, he took part in the battles near Lake Khasan in 1938. There, D. A. Dragunsky was awarded his first award - the Order of the Red Banner of War. At the beginning of 1939 he became a student of the Military Academy. Frunze. The beginning of the war found him in the Osovets fortress on the western border, where, as part of the 2nd Belorussian Dragunsky Division, among other students of the Academy, he underwent a camp gathering and trained. For a short time, the students returned to Moscow, where soon Senior Lieutenant Dragunsky was assigned to the Western Front as commander of a tank battalion. Near Smolensk and on the outskirts of Moscow, on the Kursk Bulge, the tankers of the battalion commanded by D. A. Dragunsky inflicted crushing blows on the enemy. In the autumn of 1943, when Dragunsky, who distinguished himself in fierce battles, became the commander of the 55th tank brigade, this brigade took part in the liberation of ]]Kyiv[[and the Right-Bank Ukraine. When, at the critical moment of a tank battle in the Malin area near Zhytomyr, on December 9, 1943, the Dragunsky tank pulled ahead (which was generally typical for a brave tankman), the Dragunsky brigade commander was seriously wounded. While in the hospital, he learned: in his homeland, the Nazis shot his father, mother, two sisters, and two brothers died in battles at the front. After a hospital and a short stay at the insistence of doctors in the Zheleznovodsk sanatorium for convalescents, D. A. Dragunsky "with the blessing" of the famous tank army commander P. S. Rybalko, who knew him well from previous battles, returned to his native brigade. During fierce fighting at the end of July 1944, his brigade reached the Vistula River. The means of crossing were delayed on the way, and the brigade commander (for the umpteenth time!) showed resourcefulness, ordering to collect rafts from logs and planks, on which they managed to transport the tanks. Thanks to this, the Sandomierz bridgehead on the opposite bank of the Vistula was captured. In the future, long stubborn battles took place on this bridgehead with varying success, but in the end Dragunsky himself led the decisive counterattack. For the heroism and military skill shown during the crossing of the Vistula River, and for holding the Sandomierz bridgehead, the commander of the 55th tank brigade Dragunsky was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. The severe wounds he received at the front more and more often reminded of himself, and by order of the commander P.S. Rybalko, in spite of the resistance of Dragunsky, in March 1945, David Abramovich was sent for treatment. But he “arrived in time” for the decisive battle for Berlin, forcing the doctors to speed up the course of treatment. And by mid-April 1945, he was again in his 55th brigade. Its tankers, taking an example of courage and skill from their commander, distinguished themselves in forcing the Teltow Canal, in the battles for Berlin and for the liberation of Prague. On April 27, 1945, on the western outskirts of Berlin, Colonel Dragunsky's 55th Guards Tank Brigade joined forces with units of the 2nd Guards Tank Army. This led to the dissection of the enemy garrison into two isolated parts and the fall of the capital of the Third Reich. For the skillful leadership of the actions of the brigade during the storming of Berlin and the courage and bravery shown at the same time, as well as for the rapid throw of the brigade to Prague, the Guards Colonel Dragunsky became twice a Hero of the Soviet Union. As a particularly distinguished participant in the Great Patriotic War, D. A. Dragunsky took part in the historic Victory Parade on June 24, 1945. In 1949 Dragunsky graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff and was awarded the military rank of major general.

Since 1970 he has been a colonel-general of tank troops.

In 1957-1960. commanded a division, an army.

In 1965-1969, he was the first deputy commander of the Transcaucasian Military District.

In 1969-1985. - Head of the Higher Officer Courses "Shot".

In 1985-1987 D. A. Dragunsky in the group of General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR.

Since 1987 - retired.

David Dragunsky was a member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee

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Political biography

In his declining years, the famous warrior went into politics. For the last 10 years of his life, he was the permanent chairman of the Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public (AKSO). After the collapse of the USSR, he decided to remain in his post. Dragunsky said many times that he sincerely considers Zionism a dangerous misanthropic ideology with fascist practices; that Zionism greatly damaged the Jews of the USSR, ruined their social and cultural life, greatly damaged the Jews in their advancement.

The last blow was dealt to him by the mayor of Moscow, Luzhkov, who handed over Dragunsky's office to one of the Zionist organizations. On October 12, 1992, when it became known that the decision of the mayor of Moscow came into force, the heart of General Dragunsky could not stand it. He passed away peacefully and with dignity. He left undefeated and convinced of his innocence.

Awards

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union ((1944, for crossing the Vistula River; 1945, for distinction in the Berlin operation), Colonel General of the tank troops D. A. Dragunsky, during his service in the armed forces of the USSR, was awarded the Order of Lenin, four orders of the Red Banner, the Order Suvorov II degree, two orders of the Red Star, orders and medals of various states.

He wrote the book "Years in Armor", translated into many languages ​​​​of the world.

David Abramovich Dragunsky - colonel general, twice Hero of the Soviet Union.

David Abramovich Dragunsky was born on February 15, 1910 in the village. Svyatsk, Novozybkovsky district, in the family of an artisan. In the Soviet Army since 1933. He graduated from the Saratov armored school and in 1941 the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze. As a commander of a tank company, he took part in the battles near Lake Khasan in 1938. On the front of the Great Patriotic War from July 1941.

From November 1943 until the end of the war, the 55th Guards Tank Brigade under the command of D.A. Dragunsky successfully carried out the orders of the command. In the battles for the expansion of the Sandomierz bridgehead in August 1944, the brigade repulsed the attacks of large enemy forces.

Later, a brigade under the command of Colonel D.A. Dragunsky distinguished herself when crossing the Teltow Canal and in the battles for Berlin.

In the postwar years, Colonel General D.A. Dragunsky graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff, commanded formations, was the first deputy commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, head of the "Shot" courses, since 1985 - in the group of general inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He was elected a member of the Central Audit Commission of the CPSU.

Died D.A. Dragunsky in 1992

In the homeland of the Hero in the village. Sviatsk installed his bronze bust.

YES. Dragunsky is an honorary citizen of the city of Novozybkov.

Literature

• Bezymensky A. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union D.A. Dragunsky/A. Bezymensky. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1947. - 61 p.
• Dragunsky D.A.// Heroes of the Soviet Union: a brief biographical dictionary. - M., 1985. - T. 1. - S. 444.
• Dragunsky David Abramovich// Heroes of the Soviet Union - our countrymen. - Bryansk: Bryan. worker, 1949. - S. 3 - 6.
• Kolosov Yu. Novozybkov/Yu Kolosov. - Tula: Approx. book. publishing house, 1970. - S. 6, 130, 132-134.
• Konev I. Notes of the Front Commander. 1943 - 1944 / I. Konev. - M.: Nauka, 1972. - S. 280 - 281.
• Krivulin V. On the edge of blows / V. Krivulin, Y. Pivovar//Heroes of fiery years. - M., 1980. - Book. 8. - S. 49 - 60.
• Rusanov R. Names dear to the heart / R. Rusanov, Ya. Sokolov. - Tula: Approx. book. publishing house, 1983. - S. 91 - 108.
• Smirnov V. Kombrig/V. Smirnov//People of the immortal feat: essays on twice Heroes of the Soviet Union. - 4th ed. - M., 1975. - Book. 1. - S. 358 - 367.
• Volny A. Was always on the offensive // ​​Bryansk worker. - 1992. - 21 Nov.
• Dragunsky D.A. Oh, my native land//Political interlocutor (Bryan.). - 1990. - No. 7. - S. 2 - 6.
• Semyanovskiy F. They went to Berlin from the forty-first / / Red Star. - 1992. - July 3.
• Sokolov Ya. Life in armor / I. Sokolov // Bryan. worker. - 1990. - 15 Feb.

I wonder who David Dragunsky would have become if he had been born in a different time or place. In the reality we know David Abramovich Dragunsky - Soviet military and political figure, Colonel General, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War - the commander of the guards tank brigade.

David Dragunsky was born in 1910 into a poor Jewish family of tailors. After graduating from school in Novozybkov, Bryansk region, on a Komsomol ticket, he goes to a construction site in Moscow, then to the Kalinin region. In 1936, he graduated with honors from the Saratov Armored School and was sent to serve in the Far East.

Already after a year of service he commanded a tank company; one of the first in the Far East drove his T-26 tank (absolutely not intended for the role of an amphibian) under water through the stormy Seifun River and after 15 minutes brought it to the opposite bank. To do this, Dragunsky pre-equipped the tank with two pipes, and coated the leaky areas with red lead and grease. For this initiative, Dragunsky received his first award - a nominal watch from the division commander.

As a commander of a tank company, he took part in the battles near Lake Khasan in 1938. There, D. A. Dragunsky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of War.

YES. Dragunsky (sitting third from left) with his school teachers and childhood friends. February 10, 1939 in the village of Svyatsk, Novozybkovsky district, Bryansk region

In early 1939, Dragunsky became a student of the Military Academy. Frunze. The beginning of the war found him in the Osovets fortress on the western border, where, as part of the 2nd Belorussian Dragunsky Division, among other students of the Academy, he underwent a camp gathering and trained. For a short time, the students returned to Moscow, where soon Senior Lieutenant Dragunsky was assigned to the Western Front as commander of a tank battalion.

Near Smolensk and on the outskirts of Moscow, the tankers of the battalion commanded by D. A. Dragunsky inflicted crushing blows on the enemy.

On the recommendation of the command, Dragunsky, with the rank of major, was sent to the Academy of the General Staff, where he studied until April 1942. After graduation, he was sent as the head of intelligence of the 3rd mechanized corps, and since 1943 - the commander of the 55th guards brigade of the tank corps, Colonel General Rybalko, took part in the Kiev offensive operation in November 1943. When, at the critical moment of a tank battle in the Malin area near Zhytomyr on December 9, 1943, the Dragunsky tank pulled ahead (which was generally typical for a brave tanker), the Dragunsky brigade commander was seriously wounded.

While in the hospital, he learned: in his homeland, the Nazis destroyed all his relatives - 74 people, including his father, mother, two sisters, and two brothers died in battles at the front. After the hospital, D. A. Dragunsky "with the blessing" of the famous tank army commander P. S. Rybalko, who knew him well from previous battles, returned to the brigade. During fierce fighting at the end of July 1944, his brigade reached the Vistula. The means of crossing were delayed on the way, and the brigade commander (for the umpteenth time!) showed resourcefulness, ordering to collect rafts from logs and planks, on which they managed to transport the tanks. Thanks to this, the Sandomierz bridgehead on the opposite bank of the Vistula was captured. In the future, long stubborn battles took place on this bridgehead with varying success, but, in the end, Dragunsky himself led the decisive counterattack.

For the heroism shown during the crossing of the Vistula, and for holding the Sandomierz bridgehead, the commander of the 55th tank brigade Dragunsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The severe wounds he received at the front more and more often reminded of himself, and by order of the commander P. S. Rybalko, in spite of the resistance of the Dragunsky, in March 1945, David Abramovich was sent for treatment.

But he “arrived in time” for the decisive battle for Berlin, forcing the doctors to speed up the course of treatment. And by mid-April 1945, he was again in the 55th brigade. Its tankers became famous during the crossing of the Teltow Canal, in the battles for Berlin and for the liberation of Prague. On April 27, 1945, on the western outskirts of Berlin, Colonel Dragunsky's 55th Guards Tank Brigade joined forces with units of the 2nd Guards Tank Army.

This led to the splitting of the enemy garrison into two isolated parts and the fall of Berlin. For the skillful leadership of the actions of the brigade during the storming of Berlin and the courage and bravery shown at the same time, as well as for the rapid throw of the brigade to Prague, the Guards Colonel Dragunsky became twice a Hero of the Soviet Union.

As a particularly distinguished participant in the Second World War, D. A. Dragunsky took part in the historic Victory Parade on June 24, 1945.

In 1949 Dragunsky graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff and was awarded the military rank of major general.

In 1957-1960. commanded a division, an army.

In 1965-1969, he was the first deputy commander of the Transcaucasian Military District.

Since 1970 he has been a colonel-general of tank troops.

In 1985-1987. D. A. Dragunsky in the group of General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR.

Since 1987 - retired.

David Dragunsky was a member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee. The EAK newspaper "Einikait" ("Unity") placed in December 1945 an article about a meeting of members of the JAC, Jewish front-line soldiers, heroes of the Soviet Union, where the name of Dragunsky is indicated.

Dragunsky was interested in social work from his youth. At the age of 19, he was already a deputy of the Krasnopresnensky district of Moscow. At the end of the war, he took part in the work of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee of the JAC. Back in 1945, David Dragunsky set the task for the EAK to perpetuate the memory of his dead relatives and countrymen in the Bryansk region, as well as to erect monuments and memorials in other cities of the USSR. His signature is under most of the appeals of the JAC, although he was not a member of the presidium.

In the 50s, Dragunsky often represented the USSR abroad. In the future, his signatures appeared more than once under biased articles of an anti-Israeli orientation. D. Dragunsky propagated a negative attitude towards the movement of Soviet Jews for aliyah.

“For the absolute majority of Soviet Jews, there is no doubt that their homeland is the great and mighty Soviet Union, a multinational socialist state, the first in world history to proclaim the friendship of peoples as the cornerstone of its foreign and domestic policy”, the general wrote in 1984.

From the moment the AKSO was created (April 21, 1983) until the last day of his life, he was the permanent chairman of the Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public (AKSO).

Dragunsky managed to defend AKSO despite the fact that the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU twice considered the issue of its closure.

After the collapse of the USSR, he decided to remain in his post. Dragunsky said many times that he sincerely considers Zionism a dangerous misanthropic ideology with fascist practices; that Zionism greatly damaged the Jews of the USSR, ruined their social and cultural life, greatly damaged the Jews in their advancement.

“Zionism concentrates extreme nationalism, chauvinism, racial intolerance, encouragement of territorial conquests and annexations… Zionism as a form of racism”. This is c itata from the appeal of the initiative group of famous Soviet Jews (among them D. A. Dragunsky, academician M. I. Kabachnik, professor S. L. Zivs, professor G. O. Zimanas, writer Yu. A. Kolesnikov, etc.), published in Pravda on April 1, 1983.

In 1984, the APN published a brochure by D. Dragunsky "What the letters say about." The author's task was to demonstrate the universal support that the Jews of the former USSR provide to the Anti-Zionist Committee...

David Dragunsky became once a Hero of the Soviet Union. Awarded: 2 Orders of Lenin, 4 Orders of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov 2nd Class, 2 Orders of the Red Star, Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class, Order of Friendship of Peoples 3rd Class, Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3 th degree, medals.

- Is it true that you were invited to Israel and wanted to be made a minister of this country?

He passed away in 1992, but remained embodied in a monument in the city of Solnechnogorsk. The author of the sculpture R. Fashayan made an inscription on the pedestal: “The monument was built at the expense of the people by grateful Solnechnogorsk residents”.

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel-General David Dragunsky, like all the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army who brought our Victory closer, no matter what nationality they were, they are all in the Immortal Regiment of a thousand-year Russian history.

Dragunsky David Abramovich - commander of the 55th Guards Vasilkovskaya Tank Brigade of the 3rd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Guards Colonel.

Born on February 2 (15), 1910 in the village of Svyatsk, now Novozybkovsky district, Bryansk region, in a large family of a handicraft tailor. Jew.

After graduating from the school named after M.I. Kalinin in the city of Novozybkov (now secondary school No. 1), he was sent to a construction site in Moscow on a Komsomol voucher, where he worked as a digger, a laborer, an assistant locksmith, and a plumber of the Mosstroy trust. At the age of 19 he was elected a deputy of the Krasnopresnensky District Council. In 1931, he was sent to the village of Akhmatovo, Kalinin Region, to participate in collectivization; Member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU since 1931.

In February 1933, he was drafted into the Red Army by the Novozybkovsky district military registration and enlistment office of the Western Region, a cadet of the Saratov armored school. After graduating in 1936, he was sent to the Far East as the commander of a tank platoon of the 32nd separate tank battalion of the 32nd rifle division of the Separate Red Banner Far Eastern Army. Since September 1937 - the commander of a tank company in the same battalion. During the period of service, Dragunsky was the first of the tankers from the Far East to lead the T-26 tank under water across the Seifun River and a quarter of an hour later brought it to the other side. In order for the combat vehicle, which was not adapted for forcing water barriers, to pass this test, Dragunsky slightly re-equipped the tank, adding two pipes and smearing the leaky areas with grease and minium. The initiative shown by the young officer was marked with a nominal watch from the division commander.

The commander of a tank company, D.A. Dragunsky, took part in the battles near Lake Khasan in 1938, for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. At the beginning of 1939, he became a student of the Military Academy of the Red Army named after M.V. Frunze.

Senior Lieutenant Dragunsky met the Great Patriotic War in the Osovets fortress on the western border of the USSR, where, as part of the 2nd Belarusian division, he, among the students of the academy, underwent an internship. Upon his return to Moscow, on July 21, 1941, he was appointed to the Western Front as commander of a tank battalion of the 242nd Infantry Division on the Western Front.

The Dragoonsky battalion bravely fought against the Nazi invaders near Smolensk, inflicting crushing blows on the enemy. In September 1941, Dragunsky was appointed head of the operational department of the headquarters of the 242nd Infantry Division, which included the battalion, then, after the division left the encirclement, he was appointed head of intelligence of the group of General Khoruzhenko.

In November 1941, D.A. Dragunsky was enrolled as a student of the Higher Military Academy named after K.E. Voroshilov, and in April 1942 he completed an accelerated course. Then he was at the disposal of Marshal of the Soviet Union S.M. Budyonny, from June 1942 - senior assistant to the head of the operational department of the North Caucasus direction, from July 1942 - head of the intelligence department of the headquarters of the armored department of the Black Sea Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front.

In October 1942, D.A. Dragunsky was appointed head of intelligence of the 3rd mechanized corps of the Kalilin Front. Since November 1942 - Chief of Staff of the 1st mechanized brigade of the same corps. Participated in the Battle of Kursk. August 11, 1943 was wounded.

On October 21, 1943, Lieutenant Colonel D.A. Dragunsky was appointed commander of the 55th Guards Tank Brigade of the 7th Guards Tank Corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front, which distinguished itself in the liberation of the city of Vasilkov, the capital of Ukraine, the city of Kiev (November 6, 1943 years) and Right-bank Ukraine. For distinction during the liberation of Kyiv, he was presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but was not awarded.

By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR I.V. Stalin, the 55th Guards Tank Brigade was given the honorary name "Vasilkovskaya".

December 9, 1943 D.A. Dragunsky was seriously wounded. On this day, during a fierce battle near the town of Malin, Zhytomyr region, the brigade commander's tank pulled ahead and was hit. He was under treatment for more than six months, having learned during this period the terrible news that in his native Bryansk region his father, mother and two sisters with their children were shot by fascist monsters, and his two brothers died at the front.

On July 25, 1944, Guards Colonel D.A. Dragunsky, not without the participation of the commander of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, Colonel-General P.S. Rybalko, returned to his native brigade. And two days later, on July 27, 1944, the tankers of the Dragunsky participated in the liberation of the cities of Gorodok and Lvov.

During the Lvov-Sandomierz operation of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front in the last days of July 1944, the 55th Guards Tank Brigade went to the Vistula River. Since the crossing means, together with the logistics, fell behind, the brigade commander Dragoon orders to collect rafts from logs and boards on which tanks and their crews are transported. So the resourcefulness, ingenuity and courage of the Guards Colonel D.A. Dragunsky and his fighters contributed to the capture of a bridgehead on the opposite bank of the Vistula. Later on this bridgehead, which gained worldwide fame as Sandomierz, fierce battles took place with varying success, but as a result, the Soviet soldiers withstood and went forward.

By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 23, 1944, for the heroism and military skill shown during the crossing of the Vistula River, and for the retention of the Sandomierz bridgehead, to the guard colonel Dragunsky David Abramovich He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

The severe wounds received by D.A. Dragunsky, which often reminded of themselves, forced the commander of the 3rd Guards Tank Army P.S. Rybalko in March 1945 to send the Hero for treatment. But, having begged the doctors to speed up the course of treatment, by mid-April 1945 he was again in his native brigade.

The tank guards of the 55th brigade, taking the example of courage and heroism from their commander, distinguished themselves when crossing the Teltow Canal, in the battles for Berlin and for the liberation of Prague. During the Berlin operation, the brigade destroyed 9 tanks, 3 assault guns, 7 armored vehicles, 9 guns, 37 vehicles and 705 enemy soldiers. 2700 prisoners, 6 warehouses, 190 wagons, 4 steam locomotives were captured.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 31, 1945, for the skillful leadership of the brigade during the storming of Berlin and the courage and courage shown at the same time, as well as for the rapid throw of the brigade to Prague, the colonel of the guard was awarded the second Gold Star medal.

On June 24, 1945, D.A. Dragunsky was a participant in the historic Victory Parade in Moscow on Red Square as part of the combined battalion of the 1st Ukrainian Front.

After the war he continued to serve in the Soviet Army. In 1949 he graduated from the Higher Military Academy named after K.E. Voroshilov. In 1950-1957 he commanded the 5th Guards Tank and 75th Guards Mechanized Divisions in Transbaikalia, was the first deputy commander of the army, commanded the 7th Guards Army. In 1965-1969 - First Deputy Commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. In 1969-1985, he was the head of the Higher Officer Courses "Shot" named after B.M. Shaposhnikov.

Since October 1985 - military consultant of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Since November 1987 - retired.

In 1971-1986 he was a member of the Central Audit Commission of the CPSU. Since 1983 (from the date of foundation) - Chairman of the Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet public.

Lived in the hero city of Moscow. Died October 12, 1992. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

Military ranks:
lieutenant (1936)
senior lieutenant (4.11.1938),
captain (July 1941)
major (1942)
lieutenant colonel (6.10.1942),
colonel (04/25/1944),
major general of tank troops (3.08.1953),
lieutenant general of tank troops (05/09/1961),
Colonel General of Tank Troops (11/6/1970),
colonel general (04/26/1984).

He was awarded 2 Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, 4 Orders of the Red Banner (October 1938, 07/19/1943, 11/09/1943, ...), Orders of Suvorov 2nd degree (04/06/1945), Orders of the Patriotic War 1st degree (03/11/1943 .1985), Friendship of Peoples, two Orders of the Red Star (08/22/1943, ...), Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree, medals "For Military Merit" (1944), "For the Defense of the Caucasus "(1944), "For the capture of Berlin" (1945), "For the liberation of Prague" (1945), foreign awards, including orders "For Merit to the Fatherland" in gold (German Democratic Republic), Grand Commander's Cross and Officer's Cross orders "Revival of Poland", "September 9, 1944" 1st degree with swords (Bulgaria), "Military Cross 1939-1945" (Czechoslovakia), "For Military Merit" (Mongolia), 5 medals of the Mongolian People's Republic, medal "Chinese -Soviet Friendship" (PRC).

Honorary citizen of the city of Novozybkov (1975).

In the homeland of the Hero, in the village of Svyatsk, a bronze bust was erected, which in 1995 was transferred to the square of military glory of the city of Novozybkov. A street in the city of Solnechnogorsk is named after D.A. Dragunsky.

Compositions:
Roads of exploits. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1968;