‘I’m dying, but I don’t give up!’

During the analysis of the rubble in the Brest Fortress after the Great Patriotic War an inscription was found on the wall of one of the casemates, left by the weakening hand of an unknown soldier of the Red Army: ‘I am dying, but I do not give up! Farewell to Motherland! 20/VII-41’. On the day of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, we pay tribute to the memory of the heroes–defenders.

The main monument Courage is the compositional centre of the ensemble, which is a breast image of a warrior amid a fluttering banner. An eternal flame burns in a bowl in the form of a star in an in-depth square of red and black granite. Pavel Bogush

Brest Fortress — these two words are enough for our imagination to pass images of the heroic battles of the most dramatic days of the Great Patriotic War. This is the exact definition of valour and stamina, self-sacrifice and devotion to soldier’s duty. It is the only hero fortress in the world. Now, probably forever.

History of the citadel

The history of the fortress dates back to the 19th century. Then in the Russian Empire the idea arose of erecting protective structures for defence at the confluence of the Bug River and Mukhavets River. Construction work began in the 1830s. And already on April 26th, 1842, the fortress — a masterpiece of military engineering construction — was put into operation. Fortifications with a total area of about 4 square kilometres were located on the coast. The citadel, as a dominant structure, was located on the main island. It was surrounded by three no less important fortifications — Volyn, Kobrin and Terespol. The defensive length of the barracks was more than two kilometres, the thickness of the walls was 1.85 metres. In total, the fortress had four gates, 21 bridges, over 6 kilometres of defensive ramparts 10 metres high. Work on its improvement was carried out intermittently, but was never completed by the World War I.
In August 1915, the Brest Fortress was occupied by German troops. On March 3rd, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed in the White Palace on its territory.
And on June 22nd, 1941, the German army attacked the fortress again, hoping to capture it in a few hours.

Heroic defence

In June 1941, seven rifle battalions, one reconnaissance and two artillery battalions were stationed in the Brest Fortress. There were also about 300 families of commanders.
The storming of the fortress was entrusted to the 45th Wehrmacht Infantry Division (about 17 thousand people) in co-operation with parts of neighbouring formations. According to the plan, the fortress should have been captured by 12:00 o’clock on the first day of the war.
On June 22nd at 4:15 artillery fire was opened on the fortress. In the first half hour alone, more than 5,000 shells of various calibres were fired. Under heavy fire, the command staff of the Red Army withdrew units to the areas of concentration. But by nine o’clock in the morning the fortress was completely surrounded. About four thousand people were blocked in it. And then this garrison took the fight. Hundreds of fighters and commanders were killed, warehouses, water supply were destroyed, communications were interrupted. The enemy had almost a tenfold superiority in forces. Its goal was, using the surprise of the attack, first of all to capture the Citadel, then other fortifications and force the Soviet garrison to surrender.
Being surrounded, experiencing an acute shortage of ammunition, medicines, food and water, the soldiers of the Brest garrison and their families showed exceptional stamina and courage.

Post card. Brest Fortress. June 23rd, 1941

The defence of the Brest Fortress lasted about a month:
– the first period — from June 22nd to June 30th, when fierce, bloody battles took place on all the fortifications of the fortress. From June 29th to June 30th, a general assault on the fortress took place.
– the second period — from July 1st to July 20th — the last pockets of resistance, when lone soldiers continued resistance, the last of which — Major Pyotr Gavrilov — was captured on the 32nd day of the war — July 23rd, 1941.

Major Pyotr Gavrilov

According to the German doctor who examined him, the major was in an extreme state of exhaustion: ‘...the captured major was in full command uniform, but all his clothes turned into tatters, his face was covered with powder soot and dust and overgrown with a beard. He was injured, unconscious and looked emaciated to the extreme. It was, in the full sense of the word, a skeleton covered with leather... The prisoner could not even make a swallowing movement: he did not have the strength to do so... But this man, in whose body life was barely glimmering, only an hour ago in one of the casemates of the fortress single-handedly took the fight, threw grenades, fired a pistol and killed and wounded several Nazis’. (from S.S. Smirnov’s Brest Fortress)
None of the banners of the military units that fought in the fortress went to the enemy. One of the banners hidden by the defenders of the fortress was found after the war, in the 1950s.

Legendary inscription: ‘I am dying, but I do not give up! Farewell to Motherland! 20/VII-41’

It’s impossible to forget

Now the Brest Fortress is known throughout the world as a monument to the courage of the Soviet soldier who took the fight on the first metres of the border of his homeland. And although this battle was unequal, it was the first step towards victory in May 1945. The defenders of the fortress —  warriors of more than 30 nationalities — fulfilled their duty to the Motherland to the end, accomplished one of the greatest feats in the history of the Great Patriotic War. About 200 defence participants were awarded orders and medals. On May 8th, 1965, the fortress was awarded the honorary title ‘Hero Fortress’ with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
On September 25th, 1971, the Brest Hero Fortress Memorial Complex was created on the territory of the fortress to perpetuate the feat of the defenders. Battle sites, ruins, surviving fortress buildings, sculptural compositions and museum expositions are united here in a single ensemble: the Museum of the Defence of the Brest Fortress (1956), Museum of War — Territory of Peace (2014), Chronicle of the Brest Fortress (2019), East Fort Defence (2020). In the Museum 5 Fort branch — the Fort No. 5 of the Brest Fortress exposition (2021).
The memorial complex is one of the most recognisable and visited tourist sites of the Republic of Belarus. Sculptors involved — A. Kibalnikov, A. Bembel, V. Bobyl, architects — V. Korol, V. Volchek, V. Zankovich, Yu. Kazakov, O. Stakhovich, G. Sysoev. The architectural and sculptural ensemble of the memorial includes the main monument, the bayonet-obelisk, the sculptural composition Thirst, the Ceremonials Square, 3 rows of memorial plates with the burial places of the dead, the ruins and surviving structures of the fortress and the museum.

The sculptural composition Thirst depicts a Soviet soldier who, leaning on a machine gun, is trying with all his might to reach the river and scoop up water with a helmet. One of the dramatic pages of the defence of the Brest Fortress is an acute shortage of water. seo.belstu.by

Being built as a military facility, having survived the fires of two world wars, today the Brest Fortress remains a place of memory and peace.

By Svetlana Sergeeva