CITY: Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, village Kendelen DATE OF BIRTH: 01/03/1917 DATE OF DEATH: - HISTORY: Type of troops: Armored and mechanized troops. Magomet Khazhibekirovich Atmurzaev celebrated two victories over the enemies of his country. Mohammed was with those who defeated the White Finns in 1940, with those who fought as far as the Elbe and embraced the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. He will forever remember that distant, exciting meeting with the soldiers of the American army: “We were happy as children. And this is understandable: after all, they and we walked bloody roads to the meeting, leaving behind thousands of miles of fiery roads, overcoming many rivers and seas. river, one hundred and thirty kilometers west of Berlin, we celebrated the victory over fascism. Two fellow countrymen, two tankmen: Magomet Atmurzaev and Magomet Zalikhanov. Their friendship began long before the start of joint military service. Zalikhanov was born and raised on the banks of the stormy Baksan, in the village of Verkhny Baksan, at the foot of the two-headed Mingitau. The homeland of Atmurzaev is the largest Balkarian village of Köndelen. On September 1, 1938, both friends were drafted into the army. Zalikhanov then worked as secretary of the Elbrus district committee of the Komsomol, Atmurzayev - assistant to the first secretary of the regional party committee. one military unit. The request was granted. And when they graduated from the one-year regimental school in Ryazan, they again wished if they served together and ended up in one tank crew. However, this was not without some "buts". The fact is that both of them studied to be a tank commander, and the law of one-man command operates in the army. Which of them should be the commander? Here national customs worked, according to which preference is given to the eldest. True to the traditions of his native people, Atmurzaev asked the authorities: - Let Zalikhanov be the commander of our tank. He is two years older than me. He should be the commander in our crew ... In the cold winter of 1940, tankers Zalikhanov and Atmurzaev honorably carried out the orders of the command. The heroism of the tank commander Magomet Zalikhanov and the driver-mechanic Magomet Atmurzaev was described in the third issue of the Bolshevik magazine for 1940: “Recently, friends took part in the battle. The enemy blew up the bridge and fired from the nearest firing point. The unit commander ordered to destroy it. The tank of Atmurzaev and Zalikhanov went to the task and coped with it brilliantly.The friends destroyed the enemy's firing point, and our infantry got the opportunity to move forward .... The White Finns pulled up a wire fence, dug holes everywhere, set up anti-tank obstacles. However, the tank, controlled by Atmurzaev, as always , obediently walked forward ... ". Magomet Zalikhanov received the Order of the Red Banner for those battles with the Finns. Atmurzaev recalled: - "There were heavy battles on the Karelian Isthmus. Under our onslaught the enemy retreated. We drove on thick ice. Satisfied with the swiftness of the enemy pursuit, I forgot about the need to move carefully on the ice, that in some places there were dangerous places that threatened And something that we feared most happened. The ice could not withstand the load, and the tank sank into the icy water. I don't remember anything else. I only remember that I woke up in a hospital bed and heard the doctors quietly talking to each other: " Will live ... "Then friends told me the details of what had happened. They pulled the tank out of the water. Only the commander gave signs of life, but we - the three crew members - were already mourning. Suddenly I stirred. The soldier who noticed this shouted joyfully:" Alive! .. " I was urgently taken to the hospital, where I lay for four and a half months.The next war found Magomet Atmurzaev in the Ryazan region.On that fateful day, June 22, he was in military camps. the first battle with the Nazis took place near the city of Seno. At night, the tank platoon, where Mohammed was fighting, received an order: "At any cost to detain the enemy until the main forces approach" .... The pre-dawn silence was broken by the rumble of engines. Four tanks appeared, followed by several motorcycles. It was enemy intelligence. The platoon commander warned the tankers: "Shoot only after letting the Fritzes get close!" Unaware of the Soviet tanks camouflaged in cover, the Nazis approached our positions. The moment has come. Direct fire was opened at the enemy. Magomet Atmurzaev distinguished himself in this battle. He knocked out the lead tank with a well-aimed shot. Behind him, the second car froze in place, engulfed in flames .... The battle continued. The enemy brought up fresh forces, but the Balkarian was fiercely hitting the moving fascist tanks. The third car of the enemy was already burning, knocked out by our fellow countryman. However, a few minutes later, the Nazis still managed to set fire to Atmurzaev's tank. The commander himself was wounded in the head, and the driver was killed. The doctors diagnosed him with severe concussion. For many months they fought for the life of Atmurzaev. And they won. But the consequences of the concussion did not disappear, headaches often pursued the former tanker.In this battle, Atmurzaev showed an example of courage, high combat endurance. The command of the unit reported about the feat of the dashing horseman from Köndelen in a letter to his parents. The letter was signed by the commander of the 36th tank regiment, Major Krupsky, and the regiment commissar, battalion commissar Verkovich "In the battles with the bloody fascist bandits who treacherously attacked our Motherland, your son Atmurzaev Mahomet showed exceptional courage, valor, and courage. He fights fearlessly and with great skill. with the enemy, well-aimed fire destroyed three German tanks. Being on the front line, under fire, inspired his soldiers by personal example. Your son was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for his courage and valor. We are sure that in future battles he will also fearlessly go to the enemy For you, for freedom, happiness, for the great Soviet people, against the black fascist scum. Our unit is proud of such soldiers as your son. His feats of arms are an example of genuine patriotism and loyalty to his duty. Honor and glory to the heroes of the Patriotic War! " Atmurzaev, after the hospital, is again on the front line, fighting as part of the 16th tank brigade operating in the Leningrad direction. Here he became the commander of the powerful KV (Klim Voroshilov) tank. In one of the heavy battles, Atmurzaev was again seriously wounded and was recovering for six months. After recovering, he was sent to the Volkhov front. But here he was told: - "You have not yet completely recovered to fight on a tank. But we will appoint you as the commander of the armored platform of the forty-eighth armored train." In war, they do not choose their position. Here the fighters hold the test of strength, tempered in severe battles. Becoming the commander of the armored platform, he participated in night raids on Bolshaya and Malaya Vishera, sorties on other defensive fortifications of the enemy. Days, months, years of hard frontline life passed. And along with them, the combat score of Atmurzaev increased, his military skill grew. No wonder Mohammed was entrusted with a tank platoon, which he commanded from May 1942 to April 1944. And Atmurzaev served at that time in the 29th separate tank brigade, and it was here that two important events took place that will forever be remembered by the brave tanker. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star. But no sooner had his friends congratulated him on receiving the second military order, as he was again seriously wounded. Fortunately, Mohammed this time survived, recovered and returned to duty. On the heels of pursuing the Nazis, liberating the cities and villages, first of his native country, then Poland, he participated in the storming of the "impregnable" fortress - Konigsberg. Under a hurricane of fire, he crossed the Oder, took the German cities of Neubranderburg, Treptow, Rostock, Wittenberg and many others. Magomet Khajibekirovich completed his combat path on the Elbe. After a while, every year, when on May 9 a veteran of two wars wore a festive costume, the orders of the Red Banner, Red Star, Patriotic War I degree, many medals glittered on his chest. The "Veteran of Labor" medal shone next to the military awards. After the front, Magomet Atmurzaev worked for many years in the accounting department of one of the collective farms of the Dzhambul region of Kazakhstan. Upon returning to his historical homeland, he became a censor in the Office for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press under the Council of Ministers of Kabardino-Balkaria. Here Magomet Khazhibekirovich worked for many years until he left for a well-deserved rest. The head of the family once said: "I am happy with the happiness of my children and grandchildren! It was worth living and fighting for it ...". Mohammed and Saykhat Atmurzaevs raised three children, gave them a higher education. “We don't get together so often, with the whole family: each of the adults is always busy with his own business,” complains the great-grandmother Saykhat. - I am glad that from meeting to meeting we are becoming more and more. Now I have four grandchildren, three granddaughters and a great-grandson. How grandfather Mohammed loved them, who left us ... The veteran of two wars died in 1999. Magomet Atmurzaev left us both his devotion to his native land, and his readiness to defend it with arms in hand, if necessary, and his tender affection for fellow countrymen, children and grandchildren. He made us richer for a lifetime, a life given to people.