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The USSR flag hoisted on the western peak of Elbrus instead of the Nazi banner during the Battle of the Caucasus
On February 13, 1943 during the counter-offensive of Soviet troops in the Battle of the Caucasus, a group of Soviet climbers led by N. A. Gusak removed the Nazi banner and standards of the 1st Wehrmacht Mountain Division “Edelweiss” from the western peak of Elbrus, hoisting the USSR flag in their place. On February 17, a group of climbers led by A. M. Gusev planted the Soviet flag on the eastern peak.
The Nazi command sought to take possession of the Caucasus and its raw material base. During the rapid summer offensive of 1942, German Army Group A captured almost the entire North Caucasus, as well as the port of Novorossiysk. On August 21, the Edelweiss mountain division conquered both peaks of Elbrus and planted the flags of the Third Reich on them. German propaganda made extensive use of this achievement and turned the conquerors of the peaks into heroes, which it dubbed “Hitler’s Peak”.
The crushing defeat of the Wehrmacht in the Battle of Stalingrad on February 2, 1943 forced the German command, under threat of encirclement, to leave the Caucasus and evacuate to the Crimea. The leadership of the Transcaucasian Front instructed Soviet mountaineering soldiers to tear down Nazi symbols and place the USSR flag on the tops of liberated Elbrus. One can learn more about this historical event from the front-line notes of one of the participants in the ascent, Alexander Sidorenko: “February 13, 1943. I woke up at 1:15 am. The weather deteriorated with western wind, clouds and snow. We decided to go in a small group to the Western Peak (reconnaissance). At 2:30 a.m. Gusak, Beletsky, Beknu and Gabriel Khergiani, Smirnov and I came out. Orientation is difficult. We took it to the left. Gabrielle and I fall through cracks several times. Go ahead. The links in my left cat have come apart. It's hard to repair in this wind. Wind in your face! Ice flakes form on my cheeks and nose all the time. It's getting light... Scraps of Nazi flags were noticed on the Western peak. They tore it off. We installed ours. Next to the victorious banner of the Soviet Motherland, the commander of the assault group, Lieutenant Nikolai Gusak, left a memorial note: “02/13/1943 14:00. Today a group of mountaineering instructors from the Red Army climbed here, consisting of: the head of the group - Master of Sports of the USSR N. Gusak - Lieutenant. Participants: A. Sidorenko, Svan partisans G. Khergiani and B. Khergiani, political instructor E. Beletsky, military technician 2nd rank - instructor E. Smirnov. We got up from the “Shelter of Eleven” in 9 hours. Snowfall, fog, frost. The ascent is dedicated to the liberation of the Caucasus from the Nazis and the 25th anniversary of our glorious Red Army. The group, by order of the Zakfront command, removed the Nazi pennant and installed our Red Flag of the USSR. Death to the German occupiers! Long live our heroic Red Army! Long live our Elbrus and the free Caucasus again!”
On February 17, the Soviet flag was hoisted on the eastern peak of Elbrus by the second group of 14 military climbers led by A. M. Gusev. The commander of the troops of the Transcaucasian Front, Army General I. V. Tyulenev, awarded the participants in the historical ascent with orders and medals.
Лит.: Ветров И. Перевал Бечо. М., 1974; Гусев А. М. От Эльбруса до Антарктиды. М., 1985.
Based on the Presidential Library's materials:
Память о Великой Победе: [цифровая коллекция];
Альпинистская гостиница «Приют одиннадцати» на юго-восточном склоне Эльбруса: [фотография]. 1960;
Путь к вершине. Кабардино-Балкария: [фотография]. 1975.