Brest Fortress
Brest Fortress (Belarusian: Брэсцкая крэпасць, Brestskaya krepasts' ; Russian: Брестская крепость, Brestskaya krepost' ; Polish: Twierdza brzeska), formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress, is a 19th-century Russian fortress in Brest, Belarus. It is one of the most important Soviet World War II war monuments commemorating the Soviet resistance against the German invasion on June 22, 1941 (Operation Barbarossa). Following the war, in 1965 the title Hero-Fortress was given to the Fortress to commemorate the defence of the frontier stronghold during the first weeks of the German-Soviet War. It was then part of the Byelorussian SSR. The title Hero-Fortress corresponds to the title Hero City, that was awarded to an eventual total of twelve Soviet cities. Brest Fortress is situated at an height of 135 meters.
Fortress layout
The Brest fortress has sustained its original outline of a star shaped fortification since its construction in the early 19th century. The Citadel, the core of the fortress, was on the central island formed by the Bug River and the two branches of the Mukhavets River. The island was skirted by a ring of a two-storied barrack with 4 semi-towers. The 1.8 km long barrack comprised 500 rooms to accommodate 12,000 soldiers within thick walls built from super strong red bricks. Originally there were 4 gates to enter the Citadel. Today only Kholm Gate and Terespol Gate can be seen, most part of the barrack lies in ruins.
Fortress of War
Fortress of War (Russian: Брестская крепость; translit. Brestskaia krepost; festival title: The Brest Fortress) is a 2010 Russian-Belarusian war film.
It recounts the events surrounding the June 1941 Defense of Brest Fortress against invading Wehrmacht forces in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. The movie is accompanied by in medias res narration from the perspective of (then) 15-year-old Sasha Akimov, and mainly centers on three resistance zones holding out against the protracted German siege, headed by regiment commander Pyotr Gavrilov, the political commissar Yefim Fomin, and the head of the 9th Frontier Outpost, Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov.
The plot follows the events as closely to historical fact as possible, and the Brest Fortress Museum supervised the plot thoroughly.
Plot
The film opens on Saturday, June 21, 1941. Sasha Akimov, a 15-year-old musician, and his older brother, Alexander, whose parents were killed in the Spanish Civil War, are serving with the Red Army at the Brest Fortress. Elsewhere, a commissar, Yefim Fomin, discovers he is unable to bring his family to Brest due to a shortage of train tickets. Another officer, Gavrilov, continues to express concern of the readiness of the fort's defenses should an attack come, despite warnings from his friend, Vanshtein, about his statements regarding an imminent war with Germany. That evening, the fortress loses power due to German commandoes.
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