The city of Smorgon is the center of the district of the same name in the Grodno region of Belarus. It is located on the river called Oksna, which is the left tributary of the river called Viliya, as well as its tributary, the river called Gervyatka.
It is located 110 kilometers from Minsk and 260 kilometers from Grondo. About 37,000 people live on its territory. This number includes not only Belarusians, but also Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, and many other nationalities.
History of Smorgon
The very first mention of a place called Smorgon was in the documents of the Vileika diocese. At that moment, the territory of the city was owned by the princes of Zenovich. In 1533 the first Calvinist cathedral was founded in the city, and in 1590 the first school, hospital and paper mill were built. Which one, find out here.
In the 17th century, the territory became the property of Radzilov, who created a bear training school here, which was called the Smorgon Academy. In 1795 the city became part of the Russian Empire.
Through territory modern city retreated Napoleonic troops in 1812. City status was granted by Nicholas II in 1904. During the 1st World War, the city was completely destroyed, only in the period 1960-1980 in Smorgon was built a large number of largest industrial enterprises.
What is the best way to get to Smorgon?
Transportation of goods and passengers is fully carried out by the branch of the Car Park at number 17. From the bus station located in Smorgon, 7 international routes depart (to Minsk, Komarovo, Baranovichi, Svir, Grodno, Molodechno), as well as 33 suburban ones. Also, a route from Postavy to Grodno passes through the city. In addition, 12 routes operate in Smorgon public transport: 3 express routes, as well as 9 regular services.
Prices in Smorgon
It cannot be said that the city of Smorgon has too many shops or shopping centers. Trade in this city is basically on the same level as in the whole of Belarus. In addition, it cannot be said that prices here are noticeably different from other cities. In principle, we can safely say that in none of the Belarusian cities there are very different prices from each other. Throughout the country, prices are kept at the same, certain level.
The same can be said about the prices of rooms in numerous hotels and hotels. That is why you can safely choose any hotel or inn you like, only based on their location in the city center.
What interesting places can be seen in Smorgon
The Church named after St. Michael the Archangel is located on the territory of the modern city of Smorgon. This church was built during the Renaissance. The thickness of the walls of the church varies from 1.8 to 3 meters. It was built back in 1552. And in 1866 the church became a church, and it was turned back into a church in 1921. In 1947, the church was closed, and then it was turned first into a shop, then into showroom and then to the museum. Only in 1990 the church was again returned to the property of believers.
Under the church there is a dungeon, which since ancient times has been considered the tomb of the Zenovich family. Since the tomb has not yet been explored, there are legends that there are a large number of passages in the dungeon up to Kreva and Vilnius. In 2003, the church underwent cosmetic repairs, thanks to which it acquired an attractive appearance. Despite the fact that the city has a long history, very few historical sights have been preserved here.
Nature and climate
The main part of the territory in the region is located on the Narachan-Vileika lowland. And her southern part located on the Oshmyany Upland. The highest place in the region is a town called Milidavska, the height here is about 320 meters. On the territory of the city there are a large number of minerals: peat, sand for construction, sand and gravel material, loam, and clay.
In the month of January average temperature is about 6.2 degrees below zero and in the month of July it is about 18 degrees above zero. About 6 hundred millimeters of precipitation falls during the year of the city. In addition, not only the river called Viliya flows through the territory of the entire region, but also a large number of its tributaries.
About 38 percent of all areas of the city are covered by forests. In the area of the city, a biological reserve called Dubatovskoye has also been created, as well as the biological lakes of Golubye of local significance.
Smorgon Photos
Take a photo with a bear, eat ice cream and be silent at the war memorial. We tell you why Smorgon was called the "dead city" and why you should come there at least once.
1. Visit the Renaissance monument, a rarity for Belarus
Monuments of the Renaissance in Belarus can be counted on the fingers. And the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Smorgon is the most famous among them.
After the Reformation came to the Belarusian lands in the 16th century, new churches were practically not built: most often, older Catholic churches were remade for Protestant fees. But the Church of St. Michael in Smorgon is an exception. It was originally built precisely as a Calvin collection (Calvinism was the most common reformation trend in the GDL). The donor of the temple, Krishtof Zenovich, a prominent statesman of his time, was also a Calvinist.
But the temple did not serve the Protestants for long. The Catholic Church in the middle of the 17th century finally regained its lost positions and the assembly in Smorgon became a church. The temple is still Catholic today - it belongs to the monastic Order of the Salesians. And only the discreet decor of the interiors reminds of its Protestant past.
2. Learn the military history of the "dead city"
During the First World War, the city desperately defended itself from the German army. For the fierce battles that took place here in 1915, Smorgon is often compared with Stalingrad. It was hellish here: among the soldiers of those years there was even a saying - "Whoever has not been near Smorgon, he has not seen the war." After 810 days of defense, the city was deserted. Newspapers of the time dubbed it the "dead city".
Here, on the Eastern Front of the First World War, future writers Mikhail Zoshchenko and Valentin Kataev fought. And in Zalesye, near Smorgon, the youngest daughter of Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Tolstaya, nursed the wounded.
The history of the "dead city" is immortalized in memorial complex in memory of the heroes and victims of the First World War, opened here in 2014.
3. Take a photo with a bear at the "bear academy"
“Bear Academy” is compactly located in the city park Yes, yes, you heard right. There was such an educational institution in Smorgon in the XVII - XIX centuries. “Bearish” in this case is not an allegory; bears “studied” at the academy. The most real ones. Bears in Smorgon were trained for various fun. Four-legged students could do the most difficult tricks - bow, dance, march, look in the mirror.
The academy in Smorgon reached a special flourishing in the 18th century, under Karol Stanislav Radziwill Pan Kokhanku. The same one that went sledding in Nesvizh in the summer. On roads made of salt. He was still a merry fellow and a joker. Pupils of the Smorgon "academy" were known far beyond the GDL. Trained Smorgon bears could be found at fairs in Prussia, Schleswig, Bavaria and Alsace.
True, the methods of training and education in the institution would not be approved by Greenpeace. But Academician Pavlov, perhaps, would have appreciated. On the site of the current district hospital, deep pits with brushwood were dug, on which cages with a copper bottom stood. When brushwood was set on fire in the pits, the bottom became heated, and the bears began to dance from the heat. The trainers at this time were banging on the tambourine. After a few months of "training" the bears were released from the cages. After such training, the animals always began to shift from paw to paw, barely hearing the sound of a tambourine.
An excellent photo is obtained if you try to climb right into the paws of a cast-iron bear. It takes some getting used to, but it's worth it. On the picture: Alfred Mikus
Today, of course, bears are not trained in Smorgon: the educational institution finally ceased to exist in 1870. But the academy was sung in stone relatively recently - in 2013.
4. Try Smorgon ice cream
The bear academy in Smorgon no longer exists, but the bear's glory remains. In addition to the sculpture in the park, there is an installation with a bear in the local museum of local lore, the bear flaunts on the coat of arms of the city and ... on the package with local ice cream.
Photo: Evgenia Chaikina But if Smorgon ice cream were packed even in a gray nondescript container, it would certainly have enjoyed no less popularity. It's so delicious and natural. The good old Soviet GOST guarantees the absence of chemical additives and an attack of nostalgia for those who were born before the 1990s.
Ice cream can be bought at almost any grocery store in Smorgon and in several other nearby towns. This divine delicacy cannot be found in Minsk and other regions. So eat up in the prok. Or take a pack or two with you in a cooler bag.
Today, Smorgon is famous for its ice cream, and in the 17th-19th centuries, bagels were the culinary "trick" of the city. By the way, initially these delicacies were intended for bears with a sweet tooth. And they were not rings, but sticks. And only after a while the recipe was adapted for people. Bagels "rounded off" and poppy seeds, honey and Cahors were added to the dough. In the sources you can find different names for the Smorgon delicacy: abvaranki, smargonki, and (our favorite name) - abarzhanki.
5. Take a walk in the rock garden
The stone faces in Smorgon are not about the hospitality of the Smorgon people, no. It's about stone slab with bas-reliefs in the form of women's faces.
This and other interesting sculptures appeared in central park cities not so long ago, during the plein air of young sculptors. Artists worked outdoors for a month to cope with such a complex natural material as stone. The result is impressive. And although some statues are abstract and conditional, the result of creative impulses unusually organically fits into the urban environment.
The central park offers a great view of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior Here, in the central park, there is a monument to Frantisek Bogushevich - a poet, one of the founders of the new Belarusian literature. If you have time, visit the Bogushevich Manor in Kushlyany - here the poet spent the last years of his life. It has been restored and perfectly conveys the atmosphere. late XIX century. And in the Smorgon district is the village of Krevo, with the ruins of an ancient castle. It was here that in 1385 Vitovt and Jagiello signed the Union of Kreva. The very one that served as the beginning of the unification of the Belarusian lands with Poland.
You can get acquainted with Smorgon, as well as look into the Oginsky estate in Zalesye and see 5 unique churches of the Grodno region within excursion route"Ostrovets round the world" by contacting one of the travel companies in Belarus.
The editors of the site thank the National Tourism Agency for the opportunity to get acquainted with the monuments of Smorgon.
Smorgon - beautiful city, spread out on the banks of the Oksna and Gervyatka rivers, 110 kilometers from Minsk, not far from the Lithuanian border. Excursions to Smorgon are included in many tours for those who choose to rest in Belarus.
It is quite difficult to say exactly where the name of the city came from. Historians offer a version of the merger of the two words "morgue" (a unit of area measurement in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) and "drive" (arable land) into the expression "drive from the morgue" - that is, a land allotment the size of a mortuary, which the peasants received from the prince-owners earth. According to another version, people lived in these places who drove tar - smar, called them - "smarogons", which gave the name to the settlement.
The city was first mentioned in the 15th century as a place of Zenovichi, who founded their residence here. Later, the estate and land became the property of the Radziwill princes, to whom Smorgon owes much of the bright pages of its history.
The famous "Smorgon Bear Academy" was founded in the city. She gained wide popularity under Karol Radziwill "Pan Kohanka", at that time 10 bears were trained at the academy. For this reason, wandering gypsies with a bear were often called "Smorgon teacher with a student." It is no coincidence that the emblem of the city depicts a black bear standing on its hind legs with the Radziwill coat of arms "Pipes" in its paws.
Due to its convenient location, Smorgon was often used by the conquerors as a headquarters or headquarters. The Moscow Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and the Swedish king Karl 12, and Napoleon, and Kutuzov.
During the liberation uprising of 1830-1831, Smorgon became one of the centers of the struggle. Rebel regiments were formed here under the leadership of the owner of Smorgon, Count Pshezdetsky. However, for participation in the uprising, the land was taken away from the count and transferred to the state.
During the First World War, the city was destroyed, and its restoration lasted for years.
The visiting card of the city is the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Smorgon. Built in the 16th century as a Calvinist collection by the owner of the city, Christoph Zenovich, the temple was given to the Catholics after a while, in 1866 to the Orthodox, then again to the Catholics. V Soviet time the temple had a shop and a museum. In 1990 the church was given to believers. Legends say that under the temple there is a tomb of the Zenovich family and a system underground passages leading to Vilna and Kreva.
Surprisingly, but Smorgon is the birthplace of bagels. It is believed that initially bagels were intended for trained bears, but over time they spread throughout Belarus and beyond.
In addition to the traditional monument to Lenin, you can see the monument to F. Bogushevich, the famous Belarusian writer. The monument was erected on the Day of Writing. A very unusual monument of 1928 on the day of the 10th anniversary of Poland's independence in Smorgon could survive to this day. It will also be interesting to look at the monument erected for the 500th anniversary of the city, on which there is an image of the coat of arms.
A visit to Smorgon will be remembered for a long time by a tourist who prefers excursions around Belarus - many stories and legends, sights and old monuments will not leave anyone indifferent.
The city that saw Napoleon is ready to show tourists a lot of beauties: unique Catholic churches, castles and even the only place in the country where the coffee crops are harvested.
This one is completely small town saw the most dramatic moments in the life of Napoleon. It was here that the French emperor handed over command of the retreating troops to an ally and left for Paris. Smorgon was founded two centuries before those days as a private settlement, which was alternately owned by several large families, among which were the Radziwills. They even organized a bear academy here once, which is reflected on the coat of arms of the city.
The origin of the toponym is discordant. According to the most common version, "Smorgon" is a derivative of the Baltic "smurgo" - "sloven, hack". In 1842, the city passed into state ownership and was almost completely destroyed in the First World War. The line of the Russian-German front passed through it. Smorgon held the defense for more than 800 days, but paid too much for it big price. By the time the battle ended, 154 people had survived in the city. In those days, a remarkable event happened here. It was near Smorgon that the female death battalion of Maria Bochkareva took the fight for the only time.
Now a little more than 37 thousand people live in the city. The main attractions, as history has decreed, are located not within the city, but in its immediate vicinity.
The most beautiful church in Belarus
"Little Switzerland" and "Belarusian Notre Dame" - such nicknames were given by the people to the Church of the Holy Trinity in the agricultural town of Gervyaty, which is not far from Smorgon. A number of polls showed that this church is considered the most beautiful in the country. And official data show that it is also one of the three highest. The bell tower ends at a mark of 61 meters from the surface of the earth.
This church is not as old as its counterpart in Smorgon - St. Michael the Archangel. Construction was completed in 1903, and a distinctive feature is the neo-Gothic style. Actually, until that time there was a small wooden temple, and it stood almost without incident from the middle of the 16th century.
Around the church there is a large landscape park with rare plants and figures of the apostles. There are several richly carved wooden crosses in front of the building itself. The interior decoration corresponds to the external claims.
Witness of eras
This place has seen many events of different centuries, key historical figures stayed here. In the Kreva castle, they developed the Krevo union, which united Poland with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was besieged, but the Tatars could not take it, but the Muscovites captured it. The fugitive Russian prince Andrei Kurbsky lived here for a long time.
In the XVIII century, the gradual destruction of the castle began. Natural processes helped the First World War. Krevo was also on the front line. After the Germans captured the village near Smorgon, they placed shelters and observation posts in the castle, which, in turn, were subjected to massive shelling.
From a unique building made of stone and red brick, only ruins have survived to this day. They are an architectural monument and are under the protection of both the state and several volunteer organizations.
The birth of the polonaise
In another agro-town - Zalesye - there is a manor, of which there are many in Belarus. But this one is notable for the name of the owner. Once upon a time, Zalesye was privately owned. The great-nephew of the head of the family once became the sole owner of the estate, but did not attach any special importance to this.
However, years later, he took part in the failed Kosciuszko uprising, was captured, but fell under an amnesty and decided to take refuge in the territory Russian Empire. It was then that the land in Zalesye came in handy. old manor he ordered to demolish and built a new one, with a stone palace. This revolutionary was called Mikhail Oginsky, and he lived in the family estate for more than 8 years, and then he lived periodically for another 13.
Historians believe that the famous polonaise was written and performed for the first time within these walls. The composer could almost have been inspired to create it by a huge park with a picturesque relief near the river floodplain, cozy chapels, gazebos and a pretty water mill.
The manor was restored already in this decade. Soon there will be a museum and cultural center.
Coffee plantations in Belarus
The winter garden at the local polytechnical lyceum is a place that is not so popular with tourists. It remained after the Smorgon boarding school for orphans. In the late 90s, for psychological relief, they organized a greenhouse. A decade and a half later, it turned into a huge garden on an area of a thousand hectares! There are even more outlandish plants here - 2.5 thousand!
The most amazing thing is that this place is not only for beauty, but also for the harvest. Lyceum employees boast that they collect coffee in buckets, bananas in kilograms, pomegranates in dozens. Lemon trees bear fruit almost all year round. At local residents there is a tradition to come here on the wedding day.
Official tours in the winter garden are not that frequent, but the guests here are treated quite friendly.
What else to see
The Church of St. Michael the Archangel is the oldest church in the city. He managed to be a monastery not only for Catholics, but also Orthodox, and even Calvinists. Repeatedly received serious damage, but each time diligently restored. Built, according to various sources, between 1503 and 1612.
In the city itself there is a unique rock garden and a monument to the “Bear Academy”, and several other remarkable places are scattered around the area: the former pagan temple in Krevo (Yuryeva Gora), the monument to the soldiers of the First World War in Danyushevo and the Trinity Church in the village of Voistom.
Veniamin Lykov
REVIEW 1. List the common features of military-political alliances. 2. Name their differences. Military-political alliances on the eve of World War I Entente 1907 England, France, Russia, and 30 other countries Triple Alliance 1882 Germany, Austria-Hungary Italy.
The 100th anniversary of the beginning of one of the bloodiest and largest armed conflicts in the history of mankind, the First World War, is coming. It is already known that the main events dedicated to this event will be held in Smorgon. And it is no coincidence. It was this corner of the Grodno land that was one of the epicenters of the past, it was here that the Great War (as it was called in the interwar period) left one of those traces that will never be erased from the people's memory. However, despite numerous losses, Smorgon survived, did not submit to the enemy ... LET'S LEARN ABOUT THE EXPLOITATIONS OF PEOPLE IN SMORGON. THIS IS WHAT OUR TODAY'S LESSON IS DEDICATED TO.
SMORGON: BACKGROUND In World War I, the front line literally passed through Smorgon. Local chronicler of history Vladimir Nikolaevich Liguta says: “Smorgon was the only city on the front from the Baltic to the Black Seas, which the Russian army defended for so long and stubbornly for 810 days in the First World War ...” Yakov Matveevich Liguta (right)
The city of Smorgon is located in the north-west of Belarus within the Narochano-Vileika plain, two kilometers southwest river Viliya. From September 1915 to February 1918, the line of the Russian-German front passed through Smorgon. As a result of positional battles, the 16,000th city turned into ruins. After 810 days of defense, it practically ceased to exist. Newspapers of the time called it the "dead city". The first gas-balloon attack of the Russian army was carried out in the Smorgon region on September 56, 1916. In memory of the battles near Smorgon, the composer Herman Blume wrote the Smorgon March.
Formed in Russia in 1917, the Women's Death Battalions took part in the hostilities only once in July 1917 near the village of Krevo, near Smorgon, the "First Women's Military Death Team of Maria Bochkareva" steadfastly repelled the attacks of the Germans who went on the counteroffensive. The following took part in the battles near Smorgon: the future Marshal of the Soviet Union and the Minister of Defense of the USSR, the machine gunner of the 256th Elisavetgrad Regiment Rodion Malinovsky, the future Marshal of the Soviet Union Boris Shaposhnikov and Alexandra Tolstaya (daughter of Leo Tolstoy), as well as the staff captain of the 16th Mingrelian Grenadier Regiment Mikhail Zoshchenko (world famous satirist). Tens of thousands of soldiers and officers gave their lives defending their Motherland, hundreds of unknown and 847 known heroes of Smorgon became St. George's Cavaliers in those battles. Several documentaries by domestic and foreign directors were shot about that terrible time.
THE MOST TRAGIC PAGES OF THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR GAS ATTACKS. The first gas attack on the territory of Belarus was undertaken by them on the night of June 20, 1916 near the city of Smorgon in the sector of the front occupied by the 253rd Perekop and 254th Nikolaevsky infantry regiments of the 64th Infantry Division of the 26th Army Corps.
READ EYEWITNESS REPORTS OF THE GAS ATTACKS AND THINK: HOW DANGEROUS IS THIS MEANS OF WAR? From the memoirs of Leo Tolstoy's daughter Alexandra (she was in charge of the front-line hospital in Zalesye): “We reached a deep low dugout along the narrow passages of communication. It could only be entered by bending over. The general was sitting at a table covered with papers. He confidentially informed me that our army was preparing to attack before dawn. He asked me about the medical staff, the number of ambulances, the hospital. We waited tensely. At two o'clock in the morning we noticed that, as they burst, the German shells emitted yellow smoke. It spread out across the hollow, and the smell of chlorine came from it. Masks! Put on your masks! Half an hour passed. The gas-filled shells continued to explode in a thick yellowish mist. Something smelled like cherries, brothers! Potassium cyanide! Again this terrible animal fear! Jaws trembled, teeth chattered ... "
Local historian Vladimir Liguta, the events of July 1916: “... - On July 2, at 3:15 am, German artillery opened heavy fire on the trenches of the first and second lines, along the lines of communication, on the artillery positions of the 64th brigade and throughout the rear, including chemical weapons. A few minutes later, the Germans released the first cloud of bluish gases. Gases escaped from the cylinders with a strong hiss. As soon as the cloud was seen, the signalmen played a prearranged signal on their horns, the fighters rushed to their places, put on their masks and prepared for battle. Immediately after the first, a second wave of gases, denser, 6-8 meters high, was already approaching the advanced trenches. Behind the gas cloud was a smoke screen, and behind it appeared four chains of German infantry... In 1.5 hours of the attack, the gas penetrated to a depth of 19 km and inflicted heavy damage on the troops of the 26th Corps. 40 officers and 2076 soldiers were poisoned. The carts carried away the blackened bodies of the dead, the ambulances were overflowing with poisoned ones. The fallen were buried in mass graves in the villages of Belaya and Zalesye ... Almost to Molodechno, the forest and fields stretched in lifeless yellowed stripes beyond Smorgon ... "
READ AN EXTRACT OF THE INTERVIEW WITH THE HISTORIAN LOCAL HISTORY VLADIMIR LIGUTA AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS Smorgon during the First World War is sometimes compared to Stalingrad during the Great Patriotic War. What unites these cities and should they be placed side by side? Smorgon is similar to Stalingrad in terms of the degree of destruction and fury of the autumn battles of 1915. But as for the duration of the confrontation, here Smorgon is better correlated with the besieged Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. On Smorgon land, the Russian army stubbornly resisted the enemy for 810 days! Here is what I read in the memoirs of German officers who were captured: “How is it? The Russians surrendered Brest, Grodno, Vilnius, and they are fighting to the death near this small town ... ”It is known that under the impression of the battles near Smorgon Krevo in the summer of 1917, already in our time, the Smorgon March was written in the German Bundeswehr, which sounds there and until now. It turns out that really "who was not near Smorgon, he did not see the war"? This saying is a tragic soldier's folklore. That's what they said about others. terrifying places that war. However, there is certainly a reason for these words. The battles for Smorgon were very terrible. Our military received an order: “Stand to the death! Not one step back! Russia is behind us." Only in one day on September 25, 1915, 5.5 thousand Germans and 3.5 thousand Russian soldiers of the guard regiments died. In defiance of all orders, a truce was arranged to collect the dead and wounded from the battlefield near the Viliya River. Smorgon will later be called the "dead city": it will be completely destroyed and burned. After the war, out of 16 thousand inhabitants, only 130 people will return here ... And who are the heroes of Smorgon? I adhere to the point of view that the heroes are those who fought the enemy in Smorgon. And the Germans were the enemy. The Russian imperial army, true to its oath and military duty, stood to the death on Belarusian soil, holding the front until 1917, thinking about the Victory. The names of 838 soldiers, non-commissioned officers, officers and generals of the Russian army, St. George Knights, who were awarded for heroic deeds in battles near Lake Vishnevo, Smorgon and Krevo in years, are already known.
WOMEN'S DEATH BATTALIONS On June 19, 1917, the Provisional Government formed the first women's death battalion. Not a single army in the world knew such a female military formation. The initiator of their creation was a soldier Maria Bochkareva. On June 21, 1917, on the square near St. Isaac's Cathedral, a solemn ceremony was held to present a new military unit with a banner with the inscription "The first women's military command of the death of Maria Bochkareva." On June 29, the Military Council approved the regulation "On the formation of military units from female volunteers." The main goal was considered to have a patriotic impact on male soldiers through the direct participation of women in hostilities. As M. Bochkareva herself wrote, “the soldiers in this great war are tired and they need help ... morally.” Strict discipline was established in the women's battalions: rising at five in the morning, classes until ten in the evening, and simple soldier food. Women were shaved bald. Black epaulettes with a red stripe and an emblem in the form of a skull and two crossed bones symbolized "unwillingness to live if Russia perishes"
WOMEN'S DEATH BATTALIONS On June 27, 1917, the "death battalion" consisting of two hundred people arrived in the army. And he was sent to the rear of the 1st Siberian Army Corps of the 10th Army of the Western Front. The women's battalion, commanded by M. Bochkareva, was located in the area of the city of Molodechno, near Smorgon. In offensive battles near Smorgon, the battalion suffered serious losses in killed and wounded. M. Bochkareva herself was seriously shell-shocked. Perhaps, given the sad fate of this battalion, in August 1917, a special commission for the reduction of staff in the army expressed its negative attitude towards women's formations to the chief of staff of the supreme commander.
The reports said that "Bochkareva's detachment behaved heroically in battle", it became clear that women's military units could not become an effective fighting force. After the battle, 200 female soldiers remained in the ranks. Losses were 30 killed and 70 wounded. M. Bochkareva was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, and later to lieutenant. In January 1918, the women's battalions were formally disbanded, but many of their members continued to serve in parts of the White Guard armies. Maria Bochkareva herself took an active part in the White movement. On behalf of General Kornilov, she traveled to the United States to ask for help in the fight against the Bolsheviks. Upon returning to Russia on November 10, 1919, M. Bochkareva met with Admiral Kolchak. And on his behalf, she formed a women's sanitary detachment of 200 people. In November 1919, after the capture of Omsk by the Red Army, she was arrested and shot.
FORGOTTEN WAR... FORGOTTEN HEROES... Hundreds of thousands of documents of this terrible First World War gather dust in the archives. More than 35 states were involved in this war, the war was going on in Europe and Asia. On the oceans and seas, ships were sunk, including civilian ones, on which there were no military. The terrible war took with it many millions of human lives. Smorgon stood to death, as there was an order “Not a step back! Stand to death! Russia is behind us!” Such an order was received by 582 officers, 24 thousand guardsmen and 1100 cavalrymen. Add to this 90 machine gun crews, 145 artillery pieces and 5 airplanes. These forces were sent to stop the advance of the German war machine. And the Russian army coped with its task. The enemy did not pass. Smorgon defended itself for 810 days. It was the "Stalingrad" of the First World War!
1. Ludendorff, E. My military memories of the war of 1914–1918: in 2 volumes / E. Ludendorff. - T. 1. - M., Soviet military encyclopedia: in 8 volumes [ch. ed. A.A. Grechko]. - T. 2. -M., Military Publishing, Ludendorff, E. My memories of the war of 1914-1918. / E. Ludendorff. – M.; Minsk, Russian State Military Historical Archive (RGVIA). – Fund – Op. 1. - D RGVIA. – Fund – Op. 1. - D RGVIA. – Fund – Op. 1. - D RGVIA. – Fund – Op. 1. – D Liguta, V.N. At Smorgon, under the sign of St. George / V.N. Liguta. - Minsk: Publishing House of V. Khursik, De-Lazari, A.N. Chemical weapon on the fronts of the World War 1914-1918. / A.N. De Lazari. - M., Kersnovsky, A. History of the Russian army: 1881-1916. / A. Kersnovsky. - Smolensk, Rusich, 2004.
