The Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief decided to form the 124th Separate Red Banner Rifle Brigade in late 1941, the first assemblies were held as early as January 1942 in Bashkiria. The brigade’s official birthday is January 5, 1942, when the first order was signed. In May 1942, the recruits were transferred to Ryazan, where the military unit was brought up to strength.
Until then, soldiers underwent training in Bashkiria with a minimum of equipment - there were not enough weapons and uniforms, and dummies were often used in exercises. Military discipline training was carried out under difficult weather conditions, in strong winds, the air temperature often dropped to minus 40 degrees. In addition, the recruits were often involved in public and household work, for which leaders of local collective farms received a reprimand from Voroshilov himself. The only advantage was that at least 700 horses were in the brigade’s disposal.
The headquarters of the 124th brigade was deployed in a place called Aksakovo right at the railway station while the military personnel were stationed in neighboring villages. After the transfer to Ryazan, the brigade became part of the 1st Reserve Army and the certificate of acceptance and messing was dated May 24, 1942. The first major battle, in which the 124th brigade participated, was the Battle of Stalingrad. The brigade had held two villages and a local tractor factory for more than seven months.
Eyewitnesses recalled that the wounded soldiers wrote on homes with their own blood: ‘We are from Belebey’ and ‘We will not surrender Stalingrad.’ During the first two autumn months of 1942, the brigade shot down 3 aircraft, destroyed 28 tanks, another 21 tanks were knocked out, and losses of the German troops amounted to about 6 thousand people. For the defense of Stalingrad, this military unit was awarded a special award – the Order of the Red Banner and became known as the Red Banner Brigade.
Soldiers and officers of the 124th brigade participated in battles of Smolensk and Vitebsk. Colonel Sergey Fedorovich Gorokhov headed the brigade’s headquarters since its formation. On August 29, 1942, he led soldiers into the first battle on the outskirts of Stalingrad. Newspapers of that time wrote that not a single German soldier could boast of having seen Gorokhov’s soldiers fleeing from the battlefield, they left the battlefield only dead.
The 124th Separate Red Banner Rifle Brigade was disbanded in January 1944.
Until then, soldiers underwent training in Bashkiria with a minimum of equipment - there were not enough weapons and uniforms, and dummies were often used in exercises. Military discipline training was carried out under difficult weather conditions, in strong winds, the air temperature often dropped to minus 40 degrees. In addition, the recruits were often involved in public and household work, for which leaders of local collective farms received a reprimand from Voroshilov himself. The only advantage was that at least 700 horses were in the brigade’s disposal.
The headquarters of the 124th brigade was deployed in a place called Aksakovo right at the railway station while the military personnel were stationed in neighboring villages. After the transfer to Ryazan, the brigade became part of the 1st Reserve Army and the certificate of acceptance and messing was dated May 24, 1942. The first major battle, in which the 124th brigade participated, was the Battle of Stalingrad. The brigade had held two villages and a local tractor factory for more than seven months.
Eyewitnesses recalled that the wounded soldiers wrote on homes with their own blood: ‘We are from Belebey’ and ‘We will not surrender Stalingrad.’ During the first two autumn months of 1942, the brigade shot down 3 aircraft, destroyed 28 tanks, another 21 tanks were knocked out, and losses of the German troops amounted to about 6 thousand people. For the defense of Stalingrad, this military unit was awarded a special award – the Order of the Red Banner and became known as the Red Banner Brigade.
Soldiers and officers of the 124th brigade participated in battles of Smolensk and Vitebsk. Colonel Sergey Fedorovich Gorokhov headed the brigade’s headquarters since its formation. On August 29, 1942, he led soldiers into the first battle on the outskirts of Stalingrad. Newspapers of that time wrote that not a single German soldier could boast of having seen Gorokhov’s soldiers fleeing from the battlefield, they left the battlefield only dead.
The 124th Separate Red Banner Rifle Brigade was disbanded in January 1944.
