Dear readers,
This parade has taken place 73 years ago but still surrounded with numerous myths and legends. What happened in reality in Brest-Litovsk on September 22, 1939?
The secret protocol of the Molotov–Ribbentrop
Pact, signed on August 23, 1939 defined the boundary between the German and
Soviet "spheres of influence". However, during their invasion of Poland, some
German forces, especially Heinz Guderian's XIX. motorized Corps, have advanced
beyond this line in pursuit of their strategic goals. The XIX. Corps,
approached Brest
on September, 13 and defeated the Polish resistance in the ensuing battle by
September, 17, establishing their base of operations in the city. During the
following days, Guderian was informed, much to his chagrin, that the
demarcation line between German and Soviet-controlled regions was drawn along
the Bug River and that his forces were to
retreat behind this line by September, 22. On September, 17, after Vasily
Chuikov's 4th Army received the order to cross the Polish border, its 29th Tank
Brigade, led by Kombrig Semyon Krivoshein, entered the town of Baranovichi (pl.
Baranowicze). After taking the town and capturing a few thousand Polish
soldiers who were stationed there, his units kept on moving westward, reaching
the village of Pruzhany (pl. Prużana) on 19 September.On 20 September, advance units of the 29. Tank
Brigade, encountered Guderian's forces at the village
of Vidomlya (pl. Widomla), three days
after the Soviet invasion of Poland
and twenty days after the German invasion of Poland.
The Soviet Brigade had seen
little combat, because most of the fighting had already been over by this time.
According to Krivoshein, a recon unit returned with a group of 12 German
officers who identified themselves as part of Guderian's XIX Corps and
explained that they, too, were moving in the direction of Brest. They were invited to Krivoshein's
tent, who then proposed a toast to both commanders and invited the attending
German officers to Moscow after they achieved a quick victory over
"capitalist England" Through them Krivoshein also sent warm greetings
to the German general and made sure to approach the city from the opposite
direction than that taken by the Wehrmacht. Upon approaching the town in the
morning of September 22, Krivoshein realized that German troops were already
busy looting the town and that Guderian had already established his
headquarters there. Soon afterwards, Guderian's representatives arrived, and
greeted the "glorious Red Army" and its general. Following a short
exchange of formalities, Krivoshein offered to visit Guderian and personally
pay his respects to him. The offer was accepted and Krivoshein was taken to the
German headquarters to share breakfast with the German General.
During the meeting, Guderian proposed a joint
parade of Soviet and German troops through the town, including a lineup of
soldiers from both armies on the central square. Because the Soviet troops were
tired after a long march, Krivoshein declined, but promised to supply a
military band and a few battalions, and agreed to Guderian's request that he
and Guderian would stand and review the parade together. According to the
initial agreement, the procedure included German and Soviet troops marching
before their commanding officers followed by changing the flag, accompanied by
national anthems of Germany and the USSR. However, the Soviet commanding
officer, Kombrig Semyon Krivoshein, writes in his memoirs that he did not allow
Soviet troops to pass alongside the German forces, because he was afraid that
Soviet troops, weary after a long march to Brest, would look inferior in comparison with
the Germans, who stayed in the city for several days. Instead, he suggested that
the Soviet columns would enter the city separately and salute the leaving
Germans whenever they meet. The parade began at 16:00, and the "Victory
Arches" were erected which the Soviet troops decorated with swastikas and
red stars, and through which German troops marched. The Soviets fielded the 4th
Battalion of 29th Light Tank Brigade, which was the first unit of the Red Army
to roll into the city. The Soviet and German generals paid homage to each
other's armies and their respective victories over Polish forces.
See the
video of the parade by clicking at
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