Panfilov's Twenty-Eight Guardsmen

Not to be confused with the Panfilovtsy in general.

The Panfilov Division's Twenty-Eight Guardsmen (Russian: Двадцать восемь гвардейцев дивизии Панфилова), commonly referred to simply as Panfilov's Men (Russian: Панфиловцы, Panfilovtsy), were a group of soldiers from the Red Army's 316th Rifle Division who took part in the defense of Moscow during World War II. According to official Soviet history, they were all killed in action on 16 November 1941, after destroying 18 German tanks. The Twenty-Eight were collectively endowed with the title Hero of the Soviet Union. An investigation by Soviet authorities in 1948, since declassified, revealed that the description of the events was not accurate. Not all the twenty eight were killed — six of the soldiers were still alive. One of them was arrested in 1947 on charges of high treason and confessed to having “voluntarily” surrendered to German troops and later joined a German police force. The findings were kept secret, and the Twenty-Eight Guardsmen were considered national heroes until the collapse of the USSR.

On 30 September 1941, the Wehrmacht commenced its offensive on Moscow. By mid-November, German units were only 100 kilometers away from the USSR's capital.

The Red Army's 316th Rifle Division – a formation that consisted mostly of recruits from the Kazakh and Kirghiz Soviet Republics, commanded by General Ivan Panfilov – took up defensive positions in the vicinity of Volokolamsk as part of Konstantin Rokossovsky's 16th Army (Western Front). On the morning of 16 November, the positions of the Division's 1075th Regiment near the village of Dubosekovo were attacked by German forces from the 11th Panzer Division. In the ensuing battle, the Regiment was overwhelmed and retreated from the area. In a later testimony, the 1075th's commander, Colonel Ilya Kaprov, told that his unit was engaged by German tanks, and that the 4th Company of his 2nd Battalion, commanded by Captain Pavel Gundilovich, suffered over a hundred casualties in the fight against them, and yet managed to destroy some (tanks). Dubosekovo was occupied by the Germans until 20 December.

...
Wikipedia