Izhora Battalion

Categories / Army. Navy/Blokade
IZHORA BATTALION, a volunteer subunit formed in Kolpino in September 1941 as a separate battalion of Izhora workers, gathered on the basis of previously organized detachments, which mainly consisted of workers form the Izhorsky Factory. The Battalion was commanded by V. S. Kudryavtsev (from 9 September 1941) and G. V. Vodopyanov (from 29 October 1941). From early September 1941, the Izhora Battalion held the line 3 - 4 km south and southeast of Kolpino. By 8 September 1941, it numbered 1.300 soldiers. In 1941-44, the Izhora Battalion defended approaches to Leningrad on the Kolpino Front; it achieved high success in actions near Yam-Izhora (July - August 1942) and Krasny Bor (February - May 1943). In May 1942, the Battalion was included in the 14th Fortified District of the Leningrad Front, and renamed the 72nd Izhora Separate Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion. After the Siege was lifted in 1944, the Battalion took part in the liberation of towns and settlements in the Leningrad Region, including Pskov (awarded with the Order of the Red Banner), Tartu, Vilyandi, and Mustla. At the end of 1944, it guarded Aynazhi Port and the Valmiera Railway Station (Latvian SSR); from January 1945, it protected the Soviet-Finnish border. It was disbanded in 1946. A film of the same name was shot in 1972 (directed by G.S. Kazansky, Lenfilm Studio) in memory of the soldiers of the Izhora Battalion. Its name was given to one of the streets in Kolpino (Izhorskogo Bataliona Street), a monument was placed along Svoboda (Freedom) Boulevard in 1946 (by M.A. Shepilevsky), the "Izhorsky Taran" memorial was erected at the 29th kilometre of the Oktyabrskaya Railroad as a part of the Green Belt of Glory, and an exhibition was created at the Izhora Factories History Museum.

References: Чертков Б. А. Товарищи ижорцы. Л., 1972; Кутузов Е. В., Ефимова Г. А., Ирклей А. С. Ижорский завод. Л., 1974.

L. D. Burim. Kazansky Gennady Sergeevich
Kudryavtsev V.S.
Shepilevsky Modest Anatolievich
Vodopyanov G.V.
Чертков Б. А. Товарищи ижорцы. Л., 1972
Кутузов Е. В., Ефимова Г. А., Ирклей А. С. Ижорский завод. Л., 1974 Izhora Plants
Lifting of the Siege, 1944
The Green Belt of Glory