Monument
in honor of the 85th Guards
Mortar Regiment
The monument in honor of the 85th Guards Mortar Regiment occupies the central place in Courage Square of the Izmailovsky PKiO. Detachments of the People’s militia left the territory of the park to the front line, exercises of underground partisans were held here, and in 1942 the volunteer Moscow Komsomol 85th Guards mortar regiment «Katyusha» was formed. Katyusha mortars played an important role in the Great Patriotic War: they became one of the world’s first modern multiple launch rocket systems and were designed to destroy enemy manpower and equipment in a large area with massive volleys. Due to the high efficiency of use and ease of production, Katyusha was widely used at the front, the systems had a significant impact on the course of hostilities. On September 15, 1942, the 85th Guards Mortar Regiment fired its first rocket salvo at the Fascist invaders using Katyusha mortars. The soldiers of the regiment participated in the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, in the liberation of the Bryansk region, the Belgorod region, and the Baltic States. From the Baltic States, after the defeat of the enemy’s Kurland grouping, the regiment was sent to the Far East, where it participated in the destruction of the Kwantun army. The monument to the 85th Guards Mortar Regiment is a launcher in the form of three seven-meter rails aimed at the sky, to which four models of rockets are attached. Rail guides and projectile models are painted in silver. On the front side of the pedestal there is an inscription in slotted letters: «Here in July 1942, the Moscow Komsomol 85th Guards Mortar Regiment Katyush was formed from Komsomol volunteers».
Address: Moscow, Izmailovsky Park
