The Museum of military equipment in Loyev

The town of Loyev has gone down in the military history of our country as a place of forced crossing of the Dnieper River by Soviet troops in 1943. The victory in the battle of the Dnieper was the beginning of the liberation of Belarus from Nazi occupation. A memorial complex and the Battle of the Dnieper Museum in Loyev, open in 1985 on Victory Day, are dedicated to this event. 

In memory of the battle of the Dnieper

As a tourist attraction, the complex is a destination of “The Golden ring of Gomel region”. It is located in the Central square of the town and includes:

  • The Museum “The battle of the Dnieper”. The total exhibition area is 170 square meters. Its fund includes about 4 thousand exhibits. Over 150 thousand visitors  during its existence;

  • The exhibition of military equipment which took part in forced crossing of the Dnieper;

  • The Victory Stela, which is a small copy of the famous memorial on Victory Square in Minsk;

  • The Alley of Heroes, on the plates of which are written the names of 365 soldiers, who were awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union for the battle.

In 2015, while preparing for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory, the memorial complex in Loyev was reconstructed and renovated.

Thus, the height of the Stela was increased by seven meters (now it is 22 meters), it was lined with granite and bronze reliefs were mounted instead of concrete ones. In the same year the Alley of Heroes was opened and the Museum of military equipment under the open sky was supplemented with 12 weapons and military vehicles which were given by the Ministry of defense.

What was the importance of the Battle of the Dnieper?

Historians proclaim that the Battle of the Dnieper in Loyev in the autumn of 1943 became the first point on the way of successful implementation of the offensive operation “Bagration” under the command of Marshal Rokossovsky.

The Germans tried to deter the Soviet offensive with the help of the so-called “Eastern rampart” – an impregnable line of the defense in depth, representing trenches, ditches, minefields, wire entanglement, etc.

The forced crossing of the Dnieper in this direction was started on October 15 by the troops of the 65tharmy under the command of General Batov. A small springboard on the bank, occupied by the Germans, was captured on this day.  In two weeks this small piece of a liberated land grew by 20 km deep into and 35 km along the front. The 61st and 16thair armies also took part in the battle.  

In the battle of the Dnieper died 10 235 Soviet soldiers. 365 soldiers were awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union for the liberation of Loyev district.

Interesting facts

According to historians, Rokossovsky deceived the German command, having brought the 65tharmy almost unnoticeably close to Loyev.   

In the autumn of 1943 the 65th army of Batov numbered 50 thousand people.

The total ammunition load of the Soviet army in Loew amounted to 4.2 thousand tons – such amount metal was shot a day from mortars, small arms, and “Katyusha”, etc. at the forefront of the Nazis.

What interesting will you see in the Museum?

On the open area you can see and even touch samples of military equipment – guns, howitzers, tanks, self-propelled guns, "Katyusha", that, undoubtedly, is very interesting for children.

The exposition of the Museum “The Battle of the Dnieper” opens with a collection of materials about General Rokossovsky and the Central front command. Among the exhibits there are letters, photos and documents.  Here you can also see personal belongings of General Batov.

Separate sections of the Museum are devoted to partisans of Loyev land as well as to the raid through Loyev district of the Ukrainian partisan brigades of Kovpak and Saburov, which took place in 1942.

Besides that, in the Museum display cases you will see a collection of weapons (antitank guns, machineguns, mortars), elements of soldiers ' uniforms and equipment – shirts, awards, flasks, pots and many others.