World War II · Film · 2010
Brest Fortress
Brestskaya krepost
A boy bugler in a Red Army regiment wakes on 22 June 1941 to bombs falling on the border fortress of Brest, and becomes a runner between the cut-off pockets that refuse to surrender.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 2 places.
Stop 1: Brest Fortress citadel
On a peaceful Saturday evening Sasha plays in the regimental band as officers worry about German troops massing across the river.
Stop 2: Kholm Gate
Key location
Under shellfire, Commissar Fomin gathers the survivors around the gate while Sasha crawls between pockets carrying messages.
What really happened
The fortress on the Bug River was one of the first targets of Operation Barbarossa. At 04:15 on 22 June 1941 German artillery opened fire, and the 45th Infantry Division expected to take it within hours; instead scattered groups of soldiers, border guards and NKVD troops held out for days, and the last organised resistance at the Eastern Fort ended only on 29 June.
The film follows real commanders such as Commissar Yefim Fomin, shot on capture, Lieutenant Andrei Kizhevatov and Major Pyotr Gavrilov, who was captured wounded on 23 July. The narrator is inspired by Pyotr Klypa, a 14-year-old regimental pupil who survived the siege. Soviet legend later made the fortress a symbol of heroic defence.
Where to watch
Checking streaming services…
Full details
- Original title
- Brestskaya krepost
- Directed by
- Alexander Kott
- Countries
- Belarus, Russia
- Languages
- Russian, German
- Released
- 2010
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Eastern Front
- Themes
- Combat
- True story
