World War II · Film · 2020
The Last Frontier
Podolskiye kursanty
In October 1941, with the front broken and German tanks heading for Moscow, cadets from the Podolsk military schools are sent to hold a half-built defensive line.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 2 places.
Stop 1: Podolsk military schools
Days from graduation, the cadets and their rivalries are interrupted by the order to march to the front.
Stop 2: Ilyinskoye defence line
Key location
In unfinished bunkers along the highway, the cadets face tanks, bombers and infantry assaults day after day.
What really happened
After the German Operation Typhoon encircled several Soviet armies at Vyazma in early October 1941, the road to Moscow through Maloyaroslavets lay almost open. About 3,500 cadets of the Podolsk artillery and infantry schools were rushed to the Ilyinskoye sector of the Mozhaisk defence line on 5 October.
Together with a few reinforcements, they held the Warsaw highway against German forces for about two weeks, buying time for reserves to reach Moscow. Around 2,500 of them were killed. The film dramatises the defence with fictional characters around a real episode commemorated by the Ilyinsky Frontiers memorial.
Where to watch
Checking streaming services…
Full details
- Original title
- Podolskiye kursanty
- Directed by
- Vadim Shmelyov
- Countries
- Russia
- Languages
- Russian, German
- Released
- 2020
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Eastern Front
- Themes
- Combat
- True story
