Toporkov Yegor Kirilovich_x000D_ Rank: Junior Sergeant _x000D_ Type of troops: Artillery _x000D_ Unit: 96th Rifle Division (2nd formation) _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ Toporkov Yegor Kirillovich was born in 1922. He went to the front in February 1942 and participated in the war with Germany as part of the Don, Stalingrad and Ukrainian fronts. His first baptism of fire was in a battle near the Don river near the town of Serafimovich. The veteran remembers: _x000D_ "We were crossing the Don river by whatever means we could use. We, the gunners, have prepared rafts for transporting the guns. The Don was literally seething with exploding mines and shells. The fighters were floundering in the icy water, going to the bottom. The enemy fire was so strong that the crossing was choked. It was a terrible sight, people in their last seconds of life were making such inhuman screams that it was shivering on the skin. But gradually the enemy fire stopped, and I saw a small group of our fighters on the other side of the Bank. They took up a circular defense and repelled the attacks of the Hitlerites. We were given the command to take up firing positions and cover our fighters with artillery fire. So the foothold with a length of about one and a half kilometers on the other Bank of the Don was occupied. At night, the rest of the units had crossed over. The next day, the town of Serafimovich and several settlements were liberated. _x000D_ Yegor Kirillovich fought on the Kursk Bulge, took part in the destruction of various groups of fascists. He liberated Romania, Hungary, and Austria. He was twice seriously concussed, severely wounded, and had about eleven light wounds, twice surrounded. _x000D_ Sergeant Toporkov was awarded 14 commendations from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and many medals, including "For Bravery", "For the Defense of Stalingrad", "For the Capture of Budapest", "For the Capture of Vienna", "For the Victory over Germany".