The Military History Museum is located in a large building of the Museum and Exhibition Complex in the Tula Kremlin. The museum building is located near the Corner Tower of the Kremlin, opposite the Assumption Cathedral. The museum and exhibition complex inside has a huge hall where exhibitions, various fairs and other events are held. The exposition of the Military History Museum is permanent, and it is located in several separate halls.
The halls of the Tula Military History Museum are united by the theme "Land of Heroes". Tula has defended the approaches to Moscow from the south for centuries, so many events in the military history of Russia took place on Tula land.
The exposition begins with the Battle of Kulikovo Field, which took place in 1380. It is located 120 kilometers south of Tula, which was a stronghold for the gathering of Dmitry Donskoy`s troops. The Russians won an important victory and Kulikovo Field is now called one of the Three Battlefields of Russia.
In the following halls you can get acquainted with the history of the participation of the Tula militias in the Time of Turmoil and in the Patriotic War of 1812. At that time Tula ceased to be a "fortified line" on the way of nomadic tribes from the southern steppes, however, it took part in all military events of the country.
The largest exposition of the museum is dedicated to the Battle for Moscow. Part of this great battle took place in Tula from October 24 to December 5, 1941. The Germans were attacking Moscow from the north and from the south. Without taking Tula, they could not move on.
At the end of October, General Guderian`s 2nd Tank Group approached Tula. The main forces of the Russian troops were concentrated on the western and northern borders of the capital, so Tula was prepared for defense by the population of the city. The defense of Tula was entrusted to the 50th army, which was able to get out of the encirclement of troops near Bryansk with huge losses.
The first tank attacks were repulsed by the cadets of the Tula Artillery School and the volunteer corps of the city. Then the Soviet command managed to form a defense of the city and withstand dozens of attacks by German tank troops. The heroic defense of Tula thwarted the Germans` plans to quickly encircle and capture Moscow. It allowed to stabilize the front, and on December 5, 1941, to begin the offensive of Russian troops.
A separate hall of the Military History Museum is dedicated to the events of the Afghan War from 1979 to 1988, when Soviet troops were there. Here you can see the uniforms and weapons of the soldiers, as well as many photos and documents.
