Ushachi received a pennant for courage and resilience during the Great Patriotic War

August 25, Ushaсhy / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. The urban settlement of Ushaсhy was awarded the pennant "For Courage and Resilience during the Great Patriotic War" and a certificate of honor for the pennant, BELTA correspondent reports. In the Vitebsk region, five cities and settlements have received such recognition. Biyagoml, Vitebsk, Orsha, Polotsk, and Ushaсhy have inscribed bright pages in the unforgettable chronicle of struggle and the Great Victory. It is gratifying that this honorable award was received in the Year of the Native Land, said Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies Alexander Atyasov at the award ceremony, which took place at the "Breakthrough" memorial complex, the site of a legendary partisan operation. "The award for courage and resilience is a recognition of the patriotism and selfless devotion to the Motherland, primarily of the residents of these cities and settlements, their selfless military and peaceful labor. It also marks the contribution to the liberation of people of various nationalities who fought against fascism on our land," emphasized the chairman of the regional council. The Great Patriotic War was the greatest ordeal for the entire Soviet people. The Ushaсhy district also suffered greatly. On July 3, 1941, the settlement of Ushaсhy was occupied by the Nazi invaders. In the first year of the war alone, the Hitlerites killed 1,200 people. Under these conditions, resistance to the invaders grew. By the end of the summer of 1941, underground groups began their activities in 10 settlements of the Ushaсhy district, which marked the beginning of the partisan movement in the region. From April 1942, Dubov's partisan detachment began operating, then the "Death to Fascism" partisan detachment was created, and soon the detachments grew into the Dubov and Chapayev brigades. In late September 1942, partisans defeated the enemy garrison in Ushaсhy, clearing their own and partially neighboring districts of the Hitlerites. In September 1943, the Ushaсhy (later Polotsk-Lepel) partisan zone was created, which included 16 brigades uniting 17,000 partisans. The urban settlement had a partisan telephone communication hub with 450 km of communication lines to partisan brigades and detachments in partisan zones, a power station, a sawmill, and turpentine and tar plants that produced armament lubricants and incendiary mixtures. From December 1943 to April 1944, the Belarusian partisan movement headquarters was stationed in Ushaсhy. In the winter of 1943-1944, a partisan airfield operated on the ice of Lake Vechelye. In the spring of 1944, more than 60,000 fascists were concentrated near the borders of the partisan zone, planning to destroy the partisans and clear the rear of the 3rd Tank Army. On April 11, the most significant punitive expedition of the entire war began. For 25 days, the partisans fought fierce battles, but on May 4, the punitive forces blocked the partisan forces in a small area of the Matyrinsky forest. On the night of May 5, the partisans broke through the enemy blockade and evacuated more than twenty thousand civilians from the encirclement. The punitive forces lost over 20,000 soldiers and officers. More than 2,000 partisans died in the battles. On June 29, 1944, troops of the 1st Baltic Front liberated the district from the fascists during the Polotsk operation. Thousands of Ushaсhy residents fought in the Red Army and partisan detachments. They made a significant contribution to the defeat of the Nazi invaders and the achievement of Victory. Among them were Hero of the Soviet Union, partisan brigade commander Fyodor Fomich Dubrovsky, and front-line soldier, full cavalier of the Order of Glory Anis Andreevich Klopov. -0-