04/12/2025
Forcing the Dnieper (October-December 1943) was a major military operation of the Great Patriotic War, during which Soviet troops crossed the river and captured the bridgeheads on the right bank, which became the basis for the liberation of Kiev and Right-Bank Ukraine. The operation took place in difficult conditions under heavy enemy fire, but eventually led to the failure of the German plan to stabilize the front and created conditions for a further offensive to the West.
The active stage of forcing the river is shown. On the high bank, we see fortified positions of the Germans: a German fortified observation post, Pak-40 anti-tank gun, anti-aircraft gun. The Germans are firing on the crossing Soviet troops.
Soviet soldiers are crossed by some on rafts, some on boats, some by swimming. We see the T-34 tank already going ashore, in addition: a Su-100 self-propelled vehicle, a Komsomolets tractor with a ZIS-3 gun. One of the rafts with a Soviet 122-mm howitzer is hit. The Soviet marines participate in the crossing.
On September 26, 1943, during the forcing of the Dnieper near the village of Borodaevka, Red Army soldier Mikhail Efanov replaced the wounded commander of the detachment. Under his leadership, the pontooners completed the assembly of the ferry and crossed to the crossing. On the first flights in extremely difficult conditions under continuous enemy fire, Efanov’s detachment transferred a battalion and six anti-tank guns to the right bank. The work of the ferry crossing lasted for several days. On September 28, 1943, 500 fighters with weapons were delivered by Efanov to the right bank of the Dnieper. On October 1, when the engine in the middle of the leading boat stalled during a voyage with a tank on board, Efanov, assessing the situation, gave the command «To the oars». The fighters, fighting the current of the river, delivered the tank and infantry to the designated landing site. For this feat, Mikhail Efanov was presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.