Dnieper river crossing at Solovyovo

Solovyovo crossing near the village Soloviovo of Kardymov district in Smolensk region twice became a place of heavy fighting. The Old Smolensk road crosses the river at the village of Soloviovo (bird nightingale in Russian). In 1812, there was a major battle of Russian troops against the French at the village of Lyubino, ending huge losses on both sides. The crossing entered the history of the XX century during the great Patriotic war.

In 1941 there was one of the bloodiest tragedies of the war: in July 1941, German troops landed near Yartsevo, at this time, the maintenance of troops of the Western front shells and food were conducted between Dorogobuzh and Solovyov along the Old Smolensk road. About Solovyovo were brutal battles. German forces had air superiority, the crossing was bombed day and night, the soldiers of the detachment of Colonel Lizyukov with heavy losses, but held the area Solovyov and the crossing. Part of the Western front and the armies in the Smolensk group was continuously transported to the West bank of the Dnieper vehicles with ammunition, fuel and food.

Ferry went on day and night. On the left (East) bank were transported wounded and sick. Thousands of cars, trucks with guns, tens of thousands of soldiers and commanders, under continuous enemy fire. The local population drove the herds of cattle evacuated city and regional companies. The density of people and vehicles at the crossing was so high that the bombs always achieve goal of people died by the hundreds, by the thousands. In addition, from the North and from the South ferry attacked the German ground troops. When the Germans came in a tank battle, they hit rocket launchers "Katyusha", which caused consternation among the Germans.

More than two months the troop of Lizyukov held a crossing. The final liberation came only in late September 1943, as a result of the Soviet offensive in the Smolensk area, in the shortest possible time, the engineering division has established a permanent crossing.

Now there is no crossing across the Dnieper river - a bridge has been built. The tragic events of the summer of 1941 are reminded by the memorial complex with a monument "Katyusha", the common grave of Soviet soldiers and Church of the icon of the Mother of God "Seeking of the lost".

According to various sources on Solovyovo crossing died from 50 000 to 100 000 Soviet soldiers and officers.