Artillery

HISTORY: Vasily Fedorovich Perminov was born on February 2, 1923 in the village of Kurai, Shabalinsky District. Vasily Fedorovich was drafted into active military service on December 3, 1941, and soon took the oath at the 509th Separate Guards Mortar Division. Since June 9, 1942 V.F. Perminov had been in the formation of the 7th Mortar Brigade of M-30 installations. In July - August, the Brigade supported the troops with powerful fire during the Mginsky offensive operation. At the end of 1943, it was withdrawn to the reserve, in the spring of 1944 it was transferred to Karelia, where it took part in the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation and then in the Svir-Petrozavodsk operation. On June 21, 1944, when breaking through the enemy's defenses and crossing the Svir River in the Lodeynoye Pole area, the 7th the guards Mortar Brigade supported units of the 37th Rifle corps with fire. Together with the combined M-30 Brigade, two ammunition depots were blown up, the enemy battery was destroyed, multiple firing points and Engineering obstacles were blown up. _x000D_ All this made it possible for the 37th Rifle Corps to cross the Svir River with low losses and occupy the enemy's leading edge. The assistant chauffeur of the 2nd Battery of the Guards Corporal V.F. Perminov, worked on the delivery of ammunition during the breakthrough of the enemy's defense on the Svir River in the Lodeynoye Pole area. _x000D_ Witnessing a shortage of electricians-demolitionists, he rushed to the installations and began to release single mines himself, thereby ensuring their full flight. When reloading, Perminov organized a group of fighters to transfer the installation to the newly assigned positions and helped the battery prepare for fire. V.F. Perminov was awarded the medal "For Courage" for this combat. After the completion of the Svir-Petrozavodsk operation, the 7th Guards Rocket Mortar Brigade was transferred to the Arctic, where it supported the troops during the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation. For their participation in this operation, all the Brigade's fighters were awarded the medal "For the Defense of the Soviet Arctic." _x000D_ Then the Brigade was transferred to Poland, where it became part of the 4th Guards Mortar Division. From late 1944 to July 1946 V.F. Perminov served in the 172nd army Reserve Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment, where he studied to be a radiotelegraph operator. After the end of the war, Vasily continued his service until March 1947 as Senior Radiotelegraph Pperator of the 20th Mortar Regiment. After demobilization he worked at the station Svcha in Paramilitary Security Service (VOKHR). He passed away on January 1, 1992.

Rank: Sergeant. Branch of troops: Artillery. Sinev Mikhail Evstafievich was born in the Gorky Region, Bolshemurashkinsky District, village Guzhovo, 1925. He graduated from the Military School in 1940 (41). He was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the Medal For Courage. Quote from the award list: “In the combat of February 13, 1945 at Ariswald (Germany), under fierce enemy mortar and machine-gun fire, he was the first to lead his platoon to the offensive. Thanks to the skillful balance of forces and personal courage, he led his subordinates to storm the house. Two fire emplacements were destroyed. points and several soldiers and officers of the enemy. The mission was accomplished thanks to the personal courage and courage of Mikhail Sinev. ”_x000D_ At the end of February, he was surrounded. He was presumed dead. _x000D_ From a letter: “Mom, now I have become a Sergeant again. After that unpleasant incident that happened to me in February. My documents disappeared and ended up in another unit. But thanks to this, I stayed alive here.” Unfortunately, after losing his documents, he was unable to restore the rank of Junior Lieutenant. In April, when breaking through the enemy defenses on the Oder River, he successfully disabled military equipment with a group of sappers. Then he took part in the storming of Berlin. Several letters have survived from him, especially from May 10, 1945: _x000D_ “Hello, dear parents, mother and brothers. I am sending you my warm, fiery greetings and congratulations on the end of the war! Mom, I hasten to inform you about that I am alive and well. I know that you thought of me that I was not alive. I haven’t been writing for 5 months. But now I have a chance to send a letter. Mom, I’ll write you where I have been all this time. From Warsaw I walked to Berlin. And then I advanced 120 km west from Berlin and on the Elbe River we linked up with the Allied troops. Mom, I still can't believe that this nightmare is over. But there, in the rear, everyone is probably happy, that it was all over.” _x000D_ He wrote home very tender letters, they contain so much hope of returning home safe. The last letter came on August 9,1945 after the Victory. It had a photo of forever handsome and young son for his mother. He was killed in action in August 1945.

Title: Red Army Soldier. Branch of troops: Artillery. _x000D_ The Great Patriotic War left its record in our family. I want to tell you about my great-grandfather, on the line of my mother, Nikolai Yakovlevich Sukhorukov. He was born in 1913 in the village of Dmitrovka, Voronezh Region. His parents, Yakov Nikolaevich Sukhorukov and Ekaterina Dmitrievna, raised five children. In 1939, my great-grandfather married Antonina Dmitrievna Sukhorukova (Myazina). In 1940 my grandfather Viktor Nikolaevich Sukhorukov was born. This is what my grandfather told my mother, my mother told me. _x000D_ “When the war started, I was 1 year old. By that time, my grandfather and his parents moved to the village of Makeevka near Donbas. Great-grandfather often traveled to the city and brought various gifts to his grandfather. Life ran smoothly, no one then thought that one day the peace would come to an end. My grandfather told me that this war burst into our lives like a storm, destroying everything, crippling millions of destinies. Many of our fellow villagers were called to the front. And in the very first year, our father was drafted into the army. The only memory left about my great-grandfather is his portrait ”. Mom showed me a portrait the size of an album sheet with my great-grandfather on it. I knew the life story of my great-grandfather for a long time, but I saw his portrait for the first time. From the portrait, the eyes of a man looked at me, whose whole life was continuous grief. He started a family, built a house, was a caring husband and father. It seemed to him that life was getting better, but the outbreak of war destroyed his plans and life.. _x000D_ My great-grandfather volunteered for the front. In 1941 he took part in the Crimean operation as part of the 64th Artillery Regiment, and then in the 112th Artillery Regiment. His military unit was located in Labinsk, Krasnodar Territory. On November 10, 1941, he was found in entrapment. In the area of the city of Stary Crimea, Nikolai Yakovlevich and another soldier were sent to reconnaissance. His comrade was killed, and Sukhorukov was taken prisoner. There he experienced all the hardships and torments of the concentration camp. The captured soldiers, hungry, exhausted by overwork, died every day. For any soldier, war is hard work associated with the risk of losing his life every second. The only thing that helps him maintain a healthy psyche and endure hardships is a weapon in the hands and shoulder of a friend. _x000D_ But what happens to a soldier when the enemy captures him? To physical suffering and imprisonment are added severe psychological pressure from the enemy, a conflict between a sense of duty and an elementary human desire to survive. _x000D_ The beginning of captivity was in a concentration camp in the city of Dzhankoy in the Crimea, then Bobruisk in Belarus from November 11, 1941 to February 16, 1942. On February 16, 1942, he was taken to Germany to the city of Hamburg as a prisoner of war. _x000D_ He was released by American forces. On 05/10/1945 he was sent by a group train to Grodno. From 1945 to 1946 he served in the city of Grodno in the commandant's office. In 1946, my great-grandfather returned home to the Krasnodar Territory. In 1947, the family moved to the Ilyinskaya stanitsa of the Grozny Region in Checheno-Ingushetia. And on December 28, 1960, Sukhorukov N.Ya. died of a malignant stomach tumor. Ekaterina Lyashova

HISTORY: Title: Sergeant Branch of troops: Artillery Subdivision: 70th Infantry Upper Dnieper Order of Suvorov Division Born in Ukraine, from the peasants. In 1909. parents moved to Karaganda Region (Kazakhstan). He got married in 1920 on Lozyana Ekaterina Maksimovna. They had 10 children, only five survived to adulthood. He had served in active military service since 1925. to 1928 After service, he worked in different years as a procurer of agricultural products, a communications officer (feldegel) of the Karaganda Operational Sector of the OGPU under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, from 08/05/1939. He worked in the Karaganda Region, in the office of the State Bank as a collector. He was drafted into the Red Army on 06/20/1942. to the combat unit of the 60th Reserve Rifle Regiment as a private. Soon after his father, his eldest son Afanasy, born in 1924 volunteered for the front. In the family, eight letters from the front have been preserved from his father. In the first two letters dated 01.28.1943. and 02.24.1943. Parkhomenko P. L. writes that he was wounded and is in a hospital in Penza. After recovery, he was again sent to the front. The last letter sent on 09/13/1944 is of interest. One month before his death, in which it is written that he sent the family some little money, 1000 rubles, received for knocked out German tanks. He was sorry that the amount is small, since he receives only 23 rubles a month and gives awat 10 rubles for bonds. He also reports that he received from the government the Order of the Red Star. _x000D_ Red Army Soldier Parkhomenko Porfiry Lavrentievich was killed by a fragment of a German mine in the combat for the Lithuanian city of Klaipeda and was buried in a mass grave of 30 soldiers near the village of Misaiken. After the war, the remains of those buried in a mass grave were transferred to the military cemetery in Dovilay. Unfortunately, on the memorial plates of the cemetery in Deauvilai. The surname P.L. Parkhomenko is absent, which is explained by insufficient attention to this issue on the part of the Russian consulate who decided to reconstruct the memorial plates at the military cemetery in Deauville.

Rank: Corporal _x000D_ Branch of Troops: Artillery_x000D_ Sokolov Nikolay Ivanovich is a defender of the Brest Fortress ( 25.04.1917-25.06.1985). He was born in the village of Milyatino, Vshodsky District, Smolensk Region. In 1939, he lived in Bolkhov, Oryol Region. After the war, he lived in Yaroslavl. He was part of the 6th Oryol Rifle Division of the Red Banner. 98th Anti-tank Artillery Division._x000D_ Sokolov Nikolay was born on April 25, 1917 in the village of Milyatino in the Vshodsky District of the Smolensk Region in the family of a clergyman. His father, Ivan Sokolov, had no children for a very long time. He was well into his forties when his first son was born. There were only three of them: Nikolai, Mikhail and Konstantin. After graduating from the 7th grade, Nikolai worked on the railway as a greaser of cars, since 1933 he had been an accountant, then became an electrician-radio operator at the paper factory club, and at the radio station in the village of Milyatino. In 1939, he was sent to the course of projectionists in the city of Bolkhov, Oryol Region, but did not have time to finish them, and in fact, the specialty of cinema radio mechanics mastered independently. _x000D_ On February 15, 1940 Nicholas was drafted into the Red Army by the Vshod Military Commissariat of Smolensk and sent to serve in the Brest fortress in the 98th Separate Fighter-Antitank Artillery Division. Given Nikolai Sokolov's civilian specialty, he was appointed projectionist of the division. On February 23, 1941, he was awarded the military rank of “Corporal”. _x000D_ As Nikolai later recalled, on the last prewar day, June 21, unexpectedly, all the servicemen were given their first salary ahead of schedule, which the garrison expected to receive only on Monday, the 23rd. This had never happened before. It was also surprising that on that day, for the first time, all the military trading shops were open late, so that a lot of tipsy soldiers were walking around the fortress. _x000D_ At least this, although indirectly, can still explain why in the first minutes of the war so many people died without even having time to wake up. This important detail is not mentioned by any of the sources I know about the defense of the Brest fortress. On that last peaceful evening, several films were shown simultaneously for the first time in the fortress. On the territory of the fortress, under the open sky, on improvised movie screens (stretched on the walls with white sheets), movies: “Military oath", "Circus", "Enemies", "Ruslan and Lyudmila", "Chapaev", "Valery Chkalov", "Fighters"were shown. One of the projectionist was the Corporal of the 98th art Division, Nikolai Sokolov. After the demonstration of the evening film session, he, like many of his colleagues, went to the barracks and fell asleep. There was no sign of impending war. _x000D_ As for everyone, the greatest tragedy of the 20th century for him started with the roar of exploding shells and bombs, the groans of the wounded. Here is a fragment from S. S. Smirnov's Book “Brest fortress” (The Chapter “The Fortress is fighting”), in which there is a mention of Nikolai Sokolov: _x000D_ «...On that first day, battery-operated radios were still working in some of the units. One of these receivers was located in the club of the 98th Anti-Tank Division. The Artillery club was set up in an underground concrete room of some former warehouse, and here Nesterchuk, who headed the defense, ordered the wives and children of the commanders to be placed. Here, in a dark underground hall, where the stern, motionless figure of Red Army Soldier Sokolov, guarding the divisional combat banner, stood next to a radio receiver. Women and children lying side by side on the floor heard a distant voice from Moscow above the roar of exploding shells about noon. The Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR addressed his message from the Soviet government to the people on the radio. _x000D_ And as soon as the broadcast was finished, the content of it, retold by word of mouth, soon became known to all the gunners, who were at that time engaged in a continuous combat with machine gunners on the ramparts...» _x000D_ Nikolai fought under the leadership of the Division's Deputy Commander, Senior Political Officer Nesterchuk, and the Division's Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Akimochkin. Many defenders of the fortress wrote about his courage in their memoirs. For more than two weeks, Mykola participated in the defense of the Eastern part of the main shaft of the Kobrin fortification and repeatedly participated in hand-to-hand combats with the enemy, and in the first days of July, he was shell-shocked and captured. _x000D_ “In the first days of July, a group of Hitlerites,” recalled N. I. Sokolov, " broke into the barracks. A final melee ensued. The Germans cornered us, surrounded us, and led us out into the square. Soon the Nazis pushed out Akimochkin and shot him in front of us." _x000D_ Below are the recollections of Nikolai Ivanovich Sokolov about the combat for the Brest fortress (this is the text of the Chapter "Ordeal" from the book "Heroic defense", published in Minsk in 1966). Printed without changes. _x000D_ "...Before the Artillery cannonade had stopped, Lieutenant Ivan Akimochkin, the Chief of Staff, ran into the unit, covered in dust and soot, with a cap and belt in his hands, leaving his wife and two young children at home. Vassily Volokitin came running after him. Lieutenant Akimochkin found out that there were no commanders among us, ordered a soldier on duty to distribute cartridges, and then began to give various missions. I hurried back to Headquarters. The Headquarters was located in the left wing of a squat room that stretched for more than 100 meters. _x000D_ Women and children were gathered there. Many of them were half-dressed, only in their underwear. Here, giving orders, were Senior political Comissar Nikolai Nesterchuk, Second Lieutenant Haver, petty officer Zastello (Head of regimental clothing and equipment supplies of the 98th Separate Anti-Tank Artillery Division) and wounded soldiers. The Germans launched several attacks. Many were killed and wounded, and the survivors were barely able to stand on their feet from the immense physical strain. In between the attacks we all were amazed at cold-headiness of our wounded platoon Commander Junior Lieutenant Sharaka. _x000D_ The first Hitlerite shells landed in the house where his family lived. His son, sleeping soundly in his crib, and his wife had been killed in front of him. Leaving them in a dilapidated apartment, with tears in his eyes Sharaka rushed to the earth rampart. Women and children were in a shock. The latter were crying and begging for water. To satisfy their desire, the Senior Political Officer ordered the floor to be hacked and a hole dug. After 2-3 meters, the ground became wet. He took a handful of earth and held it out in my left hand, slowly squeezing the water out of it. But when he tasted the first drops, he spat: the water was bitter. Saddened by this setback, everyone went back to their corners. Nearby, just a few meters away, was an artificial bypass canal, but there were already German soldiers in charge... _x000D_ In the second half of the day of June 22, 1941 there were heard thuds from the dining room. Gradually, the thuds grew louder, and it became clear that someone was sneaking into our Headquarters. We waited with bated breath for the last brick to fall through the gap. Blow, another blow, another... Through the gap we saw our Soviet military shirt. Immediately, as if on cue, everyone shouted in unison: “Our people!” and together rushed to break down the remaining bricks. It was Akimochkin, who sent one of the soldiers. _x000D_ Most of the tractors, cannons, and motor vehicles had already been destroyed and damaged by the first bombs and shells. Less than an hour later, there were sharp, high-pitched whistles in the air, followed by flashes of fire and muffled explosions. Fragments of exploding bombs, balls of soil, and debris from smashed cars rained down on the defenders. The air wave hurled a shell-shocked soldier Pitko to the side. It killed Kolesnikov and wounded Novikov. Combat Kaganovich had been in a pool of blood. He moaned and begged to be shot not to be a burden to the defenders. Looking at the agonized Commander, who was being bandaged with undershirts on his stomach, which had been torn open by a splinter, my heart involuntarily sank. Having collected a few surviving tractors and hitched up the guns, Chief of Staff Akimochkin ordered to unload ammunition from the depot. _x000D_ Approaching the warehouse was very challenging, as the enemy held this area under fierce mortar fire. Golovin and Pavel Mochalov took to break the lock of a warehouse of ammunition. Quickly loading the shells into the cars, 6 tractors passed the Kobrin gate and, gaining speed, went to Moskovskaya street. Large columns of enemy troops were moving along the road. German Artillery opened fire on our tractors. In an unequal combat, the drivers of the first tractors Kirkov and Rodin were killed. 4 tractor units were forced to turn back to the fortress. _x000D_ After hiding the vehicles in the bushes, Akimochkin and his soldiers made their way to the shop, where there were wounded, women and children... Akimochkin ordered one of the soldiers to run to the park to the driver Zaitsev, so that he immediately delivered the gun to the 2nd battery. A few minutes passed, and we had the gun. Gunner Vasily Volokitin examined the gun and pointed it at the enemy. Vasily wanted to load the cannon, but there were no shells. Soon the tractor truck came around the corner again. Skidding to a halt, the driver of the tractor Komsomolets Alexander Zaitsev shouted: “Take the shells.” So he ran back and forth from the park and to us and back again. For a long time, the Hitlerites failed to knock out this tractor, which deftly scurried among exploding shells and mines. Another attack started. The Hitlerites were not satisfied. They bombarded the bastions with direct fire. A tank appeared. Akimochkin ordered Zaitsev to roll out the 45mm gun. Volokitin's gun crew opened fire. During this unequal duel, which lasted several minutes, the best gunner of the division, my childhood friend Vasily Volokitin, was killed. Apparently, having used up all the shells, the tank turned back, and at this time a new column of Hitler's sub-machine guns was already moving. When the sun sank below the horizon, Senior Political Officer Nesterchuk decided to join other participants who were defending the fortress. Dawn found us in the machine shop. The people were thirsty... _x000D_ With the sun rising (23rd of June, 1941), the enemy infantry again began their invasion. They marched in a broad front on both sides of the road. The gun commander, Kosenkov, waited for the enemy to converge, then gave the order. Thick black smoke billowed high into the sky. The shell landed in the middle of the attackers. The Hitlerites took to their heels, but then our machine guns and rifles began to work in pursuit of the enemy. And from behind the rampart, on the North side, another column of enemy machine-gunners was already running in small leaps from bush to bush. _x000D_ The gunners, who were at the gun, got carried away and did not immediately notice the enemy. The Germans opened fire. The gunner fell dead. Kosenkov was severely wounded, but ignoring this, he quickly turned the gun around and sent a shell into the Hitlerites... _x000D_ The second severe day June 23rd, 1941 was coming to an end. There was a lull. When I returned to the compartment, I found a group of fighters there. Nesterchuk was also there. Soon Akimochkin appeared along with a group of his fighters. Moving a little to the side, Akimochkin and Nesterchuk discussed something among themselves, and Nesterchuk said in a hoarse voice: _x000D_ “Now we will split into two groups: one will go with me, the other will go with Lieutenant Akimochkin. We will leave the fortress. The place of meeting I appoint the outskirts of the city near the slaughterhouse, the route of the вivision in the area of concentration on combat alert”. Embracing, Nesterchuk and Akimochkin left the shop compartment. The fighters began to disperse in different directions. I fell in with Akimochkin's group, which also included Mosin, Kubasov, Ahmed Aliev, Kornev, Shiryaev, Sergeant-Major Vorobyov of the 3rd Battery, and tractor driver Morozov. _x000D_ We headed North along the earth rampart, and Nesterchuk's group followed the road ditches to the bridge. Spread out in a sparse line, we moved slowly from bush to bush, from crater to crater. After crossing 150 meters, we came across a tree felled by shells, which fortunately ran over the water moat from one bank to the other. Akimochkin paused and waited for the approaching fighters. Parting the thick branches of the bushes on either side, the Lieutenant reached the bank and hid in the thicket. Shiryaev was the next to cross the log, followed by me. Reaching almost to the bank, Shiryaev suddenly slipped and fell down into the water, immediately, an enemy sub machine gun rattled a few meters away, German soldiers ran around, and searchlights jumped in the air. Shiryaev and Akimochkin were besieged by fascists from three sides. We all froze. But Akimochkin was not at a loss. Firing back, he retreated step by step. _x000D_ We did not hesitate to open fire. Soldier Aliev fell down and groaned. Soldier Shiryaev, who had already crossed over to us, ran up to him and, lifting him on his back, dragged him to the shelter of the corner of the rampart. It was time to leave, especially since it was getting close to dawn. After a while, the wounded Nesterchuk returned with a group. The soldiers could barely move with fatigue. From Nesterchuk's group, only he and 4 more wounded soldiers returned. _x000D_ The children who had woken up from the noise began to cry and together with the wounded asked for water. Something had to be done. For the third time, Laden with canteens and kettles, I returned to the wounded, who had long been languishing from excessive thirst. At the entrance, Senior Political Officer Nesterchuk stopped me. He took a couple of kettles from me for the seriously injured, and told me to take the rest of the water to the right compartment and distribute it to the defenders there. _x000D_ On the roof of the barracks of ammunition was found Chishikhin. He was wounded several times, but did not leave his post. Suddenly his machine gun jammed. The Hitlerites took advantage of this and threw grenades at the soldier. Chishikhin was mortally wounded. 4 Hitlerites approached him, fired, and then, poking him with their feet and making sure that the machine gunner was dead, went to the right compartment and began to throw grenades at him. Some soldiers rushed out of the compartment, but the Germans opened fire. _x000D_ Some of the Red Army soldiers turned back. They had not crawled back a dozen paces when German machine-gunners appeared behind them. Morozov, Zaitsev and other comrades were captured. Some of the soldiers, following Akimochkin, ran to the left compartment of the gate. I followed them and reported to Nesterchuk what I had seen. Having learned that the Hitlerites had managed to break into our position, Nesterchuk made a decision: to go to the rampart and dislodge the enemy from the positions they occupied. _x000D_ Picking up the wounded, we noticed that behind the ammunition depot on the Northern rampart, the fascists forced the prisoners of war to dig in a post, bring wires to it, and, having installed a loudspeaker, began to broadcast the Soviet songs "Katyusha", "On the hills of Manchuria" and others. For several hours at a time they played the familiar music, obviously hoping to demoralize our fighters, but the fighters struck the enemy even more fiercely . _x000D_ It was the 5th day of fighting, June 26, 1941. None of the soldiers sent to the Division Headquarters returned. Repeated attempts to go outside the fortress also did not bring the desired result. The radio's batteries run out, we were cut off from the outside world. We tried to talk less. We saved our strength. The short summer night was ending. And at dawn, a firestorm raged for more than two hours. With ammunition, we managed to survive somehow. When the sun rose high, the Hitlerites again issued an ultimatum. _x000D_ Mikhail Dubinin, taking advantage of the lull, brought from somewhere about a dozen smoked bream and began to distribute them. Nesterchuk asked everyone to refrain from eating. We were well aware that salted fish would make us very thirsty, and there was no way to get water. But the temptation was too great: for several days people did not have a crumb in their mouths. We did eat this fish, although we were really thirsty afterwards. The time for the ultimatum was running out. German vultures circled the fortress, dropping bombs. They flew low, and the soldiers, taking cover in the ruins of the barracks, opened fire on them. Soon a large column of fire broke out in the sky, and the Junkers, which had caught fire, went limping down like a stone. _x000D_ Inspired fighters increased their rifle fire. Before the bombardment stopped, and people were fleeing from the houses of the Communist staff, located in the center of the North island, looking for shelter. Having lost her mother and brother Klim, 14-year-old Lida Nesterchuk came running to us. Her father was in the compartment at the time. When Nesterchuk saw his daughter, he froze in surprise, and Lida threw her arms around his neck, hugged him tightly with her little arms, and began to kiss his stubbly face, crying.The soldiers stood silent. The comparatively quiet summer night did not last long. When dawn came, it all began again. _x000D_ In the compartments near the Eastern gate, many wounded people, women, and children were gathered . When the situation became threatening, Nesterchuk suggested that the women surrender to save their children. In one of the days of the second week, the Hitlerites continued to besiege the gunners who were holed up in the barracks of the 2nd battery. _x000D_ There were still a few rounds left in Loreshin's tractor and he met the enemy with a well-aimed machine-gun fire, letting them come to a close range. Several dozen enemy infantrymen were destroyed. German grenades were thrown at Loreshin’s. _x000D_ His machine gun went silent. Then the hatch opened a crack, and a hand hurled a grenade. A few more fascists found their graves. "We must have ammunition," shouted Loreshin, and began to climb out. At this time, the tractor was hit by a shell. A black cloud of smoke enveloped him. _x000D_ For the death of comrade fellow Loreshin soldiers of the group of Charak and Khaver opened fire on the enemy. The situation was challenging: there was a strong lack of ammunition, there was no water or food. The smell of rotting corpses and burning was fierce over the fortress grounds. The Nazis tried to shoot down our little red flag several times. _x000D_ However, there were daredevils who crawled up to it and re-installed it in its old place. In the fierce unequal battles, we lost count of the hours and days. One afternoon, the Hitlerites launched an offensive in our sector. They managed to break through almost to the building in which we were holed up. Now they could throw grenades at us, shoot us at point-blank range with machine guns. Only the thick walls saved us. Nesterchuk ordered one of the soldiers to collect the remaining documents. He was the first to take the party card out of his pocket and hand it over. Following his example, soldiers began to collect their papers. _x000D_ The documents were wrapped in a soldier's tunic, placed in a bucket and buried in a hole in the middle of one of the compartments near the Eastern gate. The Hitlerites_x000D_ came almost close. Mosin, Kubasov and Bondarev have already been injured. Then those who remained behind shouted "hurrah" after Nesterchuk and Akimochkin rushed at the enemy hand-to-hand. With a groan, the wounded Vorobyov fell to the ground. A violent explosion deafened me. _x000D_ My rifle had the last 4 rounds left in it. Lying on the ground, I took aim at one fascist, then another, and just started to aim at the third, when I felt a strong blow on my back. The rifle fell from my hands. An unexploded grenade was spinning on the ground near me. I still did not have time to realize what was happening, as it was quickly seized by Akimochkin, who was lying next to me, and threw it at the approaching fascists. I fired the last two shots. Akimochkin forcefully pulled the trigger of the pistol, but the gun did not fire, the cartridges ran out. It was clear that it would not be possible to drive the Hitlerites back with our forces. Akimochkin ordered to withdraw. To my left, Nesterchuk lay dead. _x000D_ Overcoming the pain, I somehow reached the building with the help of Akimochkin. We found an empty space in the corner of the casemate and, scraping our hands on the stones and glass, dug a hole and put a gas mask bag with a rolled-up banner of our division in it. At this time, a group of Hitlerites had already burst into the room. A final melee ensued. The Germans have cornered us step by step. A tank petty officer from the Central island screamed: “Goodbye, mother! Avenge me! ” and, opening his mouth wide, he fired. Several more people who managed to shoot themselves. _x000D_ In a hand-to-hand combat, Deputy Political Comissar Shiryaev was killed by the Nazis. They surrounded us and began to beat us savagely with their rifle butts. Then, pushing with bayonets, they led them out into the square, where several dozen disarmed prisoners were already standing. Together with me were Akimochkin, Lieutenant Gerasimov, Kubasov and my other comrades. Dirty, ragged, with bloodshot eyes and sunken, overgrown cheeks, we stood in silence, overwhelmed by what had happened. Soon the Nazis took Akimochkin out of the crowd of prisoners of war and, taking him aside, shot him in front of our eyes. A party card was found on him. When the Germans showed him the card, Akimochkin proudly raised his head and, looking the German officer directly in the eyes, said: _x000D_ "Yes, this is my party card." My heart bled when we went to the places where we had recently studied and rested. Now they were disfigured beyond recognition by the war. But the fortress was alive: here and there a gunfight could be heard. The garrison had borne its ordeal with honor.” _x000D_ In captivity. It is known that he was in camp No. 307 near Biala Podlaski. Then, after a failed attempt to escape, he was taken to Holland. Subsequently, a cruel military fate threw him into prison camps in Germany. If I remember correctly from my childhood, my grandfather told me about his terrible life in the camps of Mauthausen and Sachsenhausen. I can still remember his story about how a prisoner of war sat down on the stones at work in the quarries of one of the camps, exhausted, in order to catch his breath. And then the German overseer ran up to him, swung, and backhanded the soldier with a steel spitzruten across the face, depriving the unfortunate prisoner of both eyes. Nikolai also had to work at the Krupp factories in the city of Essen. At the risk of his life, he conducted anti-fascist agitation among prisoners of war. _x000D_ He was released from the camp only in April 1945. _x000D_ After the war. From August 1945 to June 1946, Nikolai Sokolov served as a projectionist in the 340th Rifle Regiment, after which he was discharged from the Red Army. Since September 1946, he worked as a projectionist in the Yaroslavl cinema "ARS". Six months later, he became a technical Manager. _x000D_ In April 1958, he was transferred to the cinema Letny, where he worked for almost 7 years. During this time, he completed his education, graduated from ten classes of Night School. From January 24, 1956 until his retirement in November 1983 Nikolay Ivanovich worked in Yaroslavl as a locksmith for control and measuring devices in the production management of enterprises of the all-Russian society of the blind. _x000D_ Since 1956, he maintained contact with the Museum of the Brest fortress, and in early April 1957, the writer Sergey Smirnov came to Yaroslavl and met with him. The only award for the defender of the Brest Fortress, Corporal Sokolov, was the medal “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic war of 1941-1945”. _x000D_ I saw my heroic grandfather only twice: on May 9, 1981, and a little later in the same year. I was 9 years old at that time, and he was 64 years old. It was from those very meetings that the terrible tragedy of the Brest defense forever settled in my heart. Nikolai Ivanovich Sokolov died after a serious and long illness on June 25, 1985. He was buried at Ignatov cemetery in the Zavolzhsky District of Yaroslavl.

Rank: Senior Lieutenant _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery _x000D_ Subdivision: 188th Infantry Nizhnedneprovsk Red Banner Division _x000D_ My father, Alexander Samsonov, was born on 05/17/1919 in the village of Solovyovka, Ugransky District, Smolensk Region. On July 25, 1941 he volunteered for the Red Army being a student of the last year of the Moscow Credit and Economic Institute of the State Bank of the USSR. After a month and a half of study at the Lenin Military-Political School in the Kubinka of the Moscow Region he was awarded the military rank of Junior Political Instructor. After taking an oath on August 15, 1941, he was sent to the North-Western Front. He was a battery Commissar, a topographer-calculator in a topographic platoon (234 Artillery Regiment, 5th battery, 188 Rifle Division), later a Political Instructor of the 3rd Battalion. He fought on the North-Western Front from September 1941 to August 1943, then on the Steppe Front, later renamed 2nd Ukrainian Front, then on the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Ht participated in the liberation of Krivoy Rog, many mines and settlements on the Dnieper. For liberation of the city of Krivoy Rog he had two thanks from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the Soviet Union I.V. Stalin (orders of February 6 and February 22, 1944). _x000D_ By order of 37th Army dated March 9, 1944, he was awarded the medal “For Courage”. In April 1944 he took part in the liberation of Tiraspol, Chisinau, in the defeat of the Jassy-Kishinev group of the Nazis. _x000D_ By order of November 23, 1944, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree. At the end of 1944, from Bulgaria he was sent to study in Leningrad, to the Higher Officers' Artillery School, where he celebrated the Act of Surrender of Nazi Germany. He graduated from the war with the rank of Guard Senior Lieutenant. The photo was taken in May 1945 at the Higher Officers' Artillery School. After the war, he graduated from the Moscow Financial Institute and the Academy of Foreign Trade. _x000D_ For the last 25 years before retirement, he was the Head of the Financial Department of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Trade. In the postwar years he was awarded the Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, Friendship of Peoples, and the Badge of Honor. He was listed in the Book of Honor of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Trade. For many years my father was a member of the Veterans Council of the 188th Infantry Division. In 1977 he was awarded the "Honorary Badge of the SEC" (Soviet Committee of War Veterans) and the SEC Commemorative Medal. In honor of the 40th anniversary of the victory over fascism in 1985, he was awarded the second Order of the Patriotic War, II degree. He passed away in Moscow on April 17, 2010. He was a bright, open, honest and amazingly kind person.

Rank: Red Army soldier's_x000D_ Branch of troops: Ground Forces_x000D_ He was born on May 7, 1926 in the village of Saki in the Crimea, where he lived until 1998. He was drafted into the Red Army in 1944. He participated in the battles of the Western Front in the liberation of Belarus, Bobruisk-Vitebsk operations under the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Chernyakhovsky. He also took part in the liberation of the Baltic States from the Nazi invaders in East Prussia. Where, after the tragic death of Chernyakhovsky, Commander-in-Chief Bagromyan took over the control of the Army. He was repeatedly awarded medals and orders. In 1946-1947 he took part in military parades in Moscow. He had served in the Army until 1952. In Saki, his Name and Surname are carved at the Obelisk of the Eternal Fire. _x000D_ There is also my uncle, Mikhail Gavrilovich Sosnov, participant of WWII, who was killed and buried in the city of Orel. _x000D_ My grandfather, Sosnov Mikhail Terentievich is also a participant in hostilities, was born in 1900, passed away in 1966. He was an artilleryman, he did not tell much about himself, but according to the stories of his grandmother, Sosnova Maria Sergeevna, my grandfather participated in the Russian Championship in 1926 in freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, French and Russian, he had diplomas. There is also a cousin of my father—Klochkov Vladimir Sergeevich 1925-1997 years of life. A participant in hostilities, according to memoirs, he participated in hostilities against Japan. I am proud of my family, who gave birth to us, gave birth to us. Eternal memory to them and may the earth rest in peace. The memoirs are compiled from the words of Valery Alexandrovich Sosnov.

Rank: Red Army_x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery_x000D_ Division: 89th Infantry Division (1st Formation). _x000D_ My paternal grandfather, Vasily Konstantinovich Sergeev, was born in 1908 in the village of Shcherbinino, Orekhovo-Zuevsky District, Moscow Region. In 1919 he graduated from the 3rd grade of the Primary School in Orekhovo-Zuev. He had never been a Komsomol member or a party member. He had a civilian specialty as a lubricator. _x000D_ Fortunately, Vasily Konstantinovich's military ID was preserved, according to which I tried to restore the combat path of my grandfather. Military ID No. 794125 was issued on March 25, 1948._x000D_ In October 1930, at the age of 22, he was drafted by the Orekhovo-Zuevsky city military registration and enlistment office into the ranks of the Red Army for urgent military service. In the army, he served as an ordinary soldier of 1st military registration specialty (riflemen, machine gunners) as a shooter. _x000D_ It is noteworthy that before the beginning of the Second World War, he was mobilized by the Orekhovo-Zuevsky city military registration and enlistment office on April 4, 1941, in the 89th Rifle Regiment, under which he took the oath on the first day of the war on June 22 and as part of which he fought until February 28, 1942. _x000D_ Surprisingly, how the numbers in the family echo: I, his granddaughter, have a birthday on February 28th. Perhaps it was on this day in 1942 that grandfather Vasily was wounded in combat. _x000D_ From April 28, 1942 to June 1942, Vasily Konstantinovich was recovering from his wounds in evacuation hospital No. 1658 in Orenburg. During the WWII in the period from July 11, 1941 to January 1, 1946, the hospital was located in two buildings: in 4th building of the Orenburg State Pedagogical University at st. Pushkinskaya, 18 and School number 30 on the street. Sovetskaya, d. 24. Having recovered, the grandfather again went to the front. From June 1942 he fought in 37th Infantry Regiment, until he was again wounded on January 4, 1944. _x000D_ This time, the wound led to disability: a blind bullet wound in the left thigh with damage to the femur bone and sciatic nerve. And again evacuation hospital No. 1798 in Gorky from January 14, 1944 to April 29, 1944. The therapeutic department of the sorting evacuation hospital No. 1798 was deployed on the basis of city hospital No. 30 of the Kanavinsky District of Nizhny Novgorod, in the building of the former labor exchange. An important role in the development of the hospital was played by the organization on its basis of the Department of Faculty Therapy of the Gorky Medical Institute, which functioned from 1937 to 1941, i.e. before the start of the Great Patriotic War. _x000D_ On April 29, 1944, Vasily Konstantinovich was declared unfit for military service. On May 30, 1946, Vasily Konstantinovich was awarded the medal “For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”. _x000D_ After the war he returned to his native town of Orekhovo-Zuevo and met my grandmother, Elena Egorovna Atlanova, born in 1905. Where and how my grandfather Vasily ended his life, I do not know.

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery _x000D_ A boy was born in a large and friendly peasant family on October 25, 1919 in the small mountain village of Urada, Shamil District. They named him Magomed. The boy was brought up in excellent Dagestan traditions: respect for elders, courage, love for his land, devotion to his people, reverent attitude towards women, towards mountain culture. _x000D_ Knowing that there is little fertile land in Dagestan, Magomed dreamed of turning the Gidatlinskaya valley into a blooming garden, to be an an agronomist. He plunged headlong into student life. In addition to studying, he fell in love with sports: volleyball, basketball, high jumping, was fond of shooting. In 1939 there was anxiety in the air, tension is felt, people talking about war in Spain, the Japanese aggression on Lake Khasol and Khalkhin Gol, the ideas of fascism about the Aryan nation. This atmosphere called for vigilance, for increased military training. Magomed changed his mind and firmly decided to become a military man. _x000D_ Being the third year of the Agricultural Institute, he transferred to the Krasnodar Military Infantry School. It was hard for a freedom-loving Dagestani to obey someone else's will! The Company Commander spent more than one hour convincing the young man that in the army it was necessary to follow the Commander's orders. The Commander's sincerity, his delicacy, was also remembered by the young man for life, for future military leader. _x000D_ Since the first days of the war, Tankaev had been at the front. He commanded a platoon, a company, a regiment. Everywhere he showed himself to be a competent, caring commander. This is confirmed by the lines from the award list: “... Magomed Tankaevich could be seen only where it was especially hard for his soldiers. Sombre by complexion, he was completely blackened by stress ... "_x000D_ Those regiments commanded by Magomed were highly awarded: 823 Red Banner Rifle Regiment for the assault and capture of the city of Debica and successful actions in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation were given the honorary name" Dembitsky "; the 460th Regiment was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky for valor and courage displayed during capture of Rybnik. _x000D_ The Victory Day on May 9, 1945 Magomed Tankaev had celebrated in the liberated Prague. But the war for Magomed Tankayevich on May 9 did not end. He still had to fight with a fierce retreat and defeat of the enemy. By the end of the war M. Tankaev was in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. For feats of arms during the Patriotic War, our countryman was awarded three Orders of the Red Banner and the Order of the Patriotic War of the first degree, many medals. _x000D_ After the war, Magomed Tankayevich decided to remain in the Armed Forces, to serve the Motherland with faith and truth. But since he was firmly convinced that knowledge was needed for military affairs, in 1948 he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy, and in 1960 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. And both did with a gold medal.

Sushinsky Alexey Petrovich was born on March 7, 1921, in the Kalinin Region, Bezhetsk District, the village of Vydumer. After graduating from high school, in 1939 he entered 2nd Leningrad Red Banner Artillery School, after which in June 1941 he was awarded the rank of Lieutenant. Then he was sent to the Odessa Military District and was appointed Commander of the measuring and sighting platoon of the headquarters battery of the 265th Corps Artillery Regiment. _x000D_ Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he participated in the defense of Odessa as part of the Regiment. Then the Regiment was evacuated to the Crimea, where it took part in the defense of Sevastopol. During the defense of Sevastopol, Alexei Petrovich was awarded the rank of Senior Lieutenant, and in March 1942, he was appointed adjutant of the Regiment Commander. In April 1942, the Regiment was renamed 18th Guards Red Banner Artillery Regiment. _x000D_ Alexey Petrovich took part in the defense of the city until July 3, 1942. On this day, he was wounded, and the next day on July 4, 1942, he was captured near the Chersonesos lighthouse. He remained in captivity until August 28, 1942, and on the night of August 28-29, during transportation by rail, he escaped from a carriage near the Znamenka station of the Kirovograd Region. Then he tried to get to the front line and go out to the Soviet troops. Through the occupied territory he reached the Krasnodar Territory, where at a farm had found the Russian troops. After that, he was reviewed in a special counterintelligence department. Later he was appointed Commander of a control platoon of 773 Artillery Regiment of 317th Rifle Division (2nd formation). Then, in September 1943, he was appointed battery Commander of the same Regiment. As part of the unit, he took part in the liberation of the Taman Peninsula, the liberation of Uzhgorod, the overcoming of the Carpathians, in the breakthrough of the defense in the mountains of Värteshegy, the capture of the cities of Brno, Gyor, Magyarovar. For participation in these operations, the troops received gratitude from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin. _x000D_ Alexey Petrovich was a participant in the combat for the Caucasus, the liberation of the Kuban, a participant in the storming of Budapest and Vienna. He had a celebration of Victory in Czechoslovakia. _x000D_ Further, as part of the unit, he was transferred to the Far East, where he took part in the war with Japan. In the summer of 1946, he retired from the Armed Forces with the rank of Captain and returned home after 7 years of absence. In addition to the wound received near Sevastopol, he was wounded 2 more times: during the liberation of the Taman Peninsula and during the assault on Budapest. _x000D_ After the war he worked as a teacher in a rural school. He passed away in 1998. _x000D_ Awards: the Order of the Red Star, the Order of the Patriotic War II degree, the Order of the Patriotic War II degree was received in 1985, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Victory. _x000D_ Medals: For Defense of Odessa, For Defense of Sevastopol, For Defense of the Caucasus, For Capture of Budapest, For Capture of Vienna, For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, For Victory Over Japan and many jubilee medals.

Rank: Senior Lieutenant_x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery. _x000D_ Division: 166th Infantry Division (1st Formation). _x000D_ Smetanin Akaki Akakievich was born in 1914 on November 23 in the village of Kedva in the Ukhta Region of the Komi ASSR in the family of a middle peasant. My father was engaged in agriculture. In 1924 he entered a rural school and graduated in 1930. From 1930 to 1933 he worked in the production of logging as a worker. The family joined the kolkhoz in 1933. From 1933 to 1936 he worked there as a foreman. In 1936 he was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army. In 1938 he entered the courses for Junior Lieutenants and graduated from them in May 1939, received the rank of Junior Lieutenant. _x000D_ Since May 1939 he was appointed Platoon Commander of 9720 unit in Kirovsk, where he served until September 1939. From September 1939, together with a unit, he left for the Finnish border. He took part in the war with the Finns as Commander of a machine gun platoon in April 1940, he was appointed Company Commander of a Separate Machine-Gun Batillion in 14th Rifle Division of 14th army. In October 1940, he was appointed Commander of the platoon of the regimental school of the 242nd Rifle Regiment by the headquarters of 14th Army. 104th Suvorov Division, where he served until the beginning of the Patriotic War. _x000D_ On June 23, 1941 he was appointed Deputy Commander of a Separate Reconnaissance Detachment, where he served until August 10, 1941. From August 10, 1941 he became a Chief of staff of a Separate Reconnaissance Battalion at 5th Rifle Brigade of 9th Army, where he served until he was wounded on October 28, 1941 and was treated in hospital No. 2537 in the Asbest town on January 8, 1942. From January 1942 to July 1942 he was the Commander of a machine-gun company in 423rd Rifle Regiment. From July 7, 1942 to November 20, 1942 he was on the courses of the Commander of a machine-gun company, was released from the course by the Deputy of Battalion Commander. _x000D_ From November 20, 1942 he was at the post of Deputy Battalion Commander of 423rd Rifle Regiment 166 s.p. At the front on August 3, 1943, on August 3, 1943, he was wounded and was treated in the hospital until November 20, 1943.From December 1943 to March 21, 1944, he was the Commander of a training machine-gun company of 7th Brigade in Kungur. From March 31, 1944 to May 8, 1944, 11th poll in Sverdlovsk was in reserve. From May 8, 1944 to November 1944 he was a Senior Instructor of 4th unit of the District military enlistment office in Malmyzh. From November 1944 to April 1945 he was in reserve. From April 5 to April 25, 1945 he studied at the Reconnaissance courses of the Liegnitz Regiment. From April 27, 1945 to August 30, 1946 he was a recon of the Regiment of 292th Guards Regiment, 97 Guards Suvorov Division. On August 30, 1946 he was demobilized from the Red Army. _x000D_ From December 10, 1946 he worked as a Deputy Director of the school FZO №5 in Balti until April 1947. From May 29, 1947 to January 10, 1949 he was the Chairman of the “Red Border Guard” Martel. From January 10, 1949 to March 14, 1951, he was a Head of oil depot in Bolotinskaya Machinery & Tractor Station (MTS). _x000D_ He was a Member of the Communist Party. He fought in Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria. He has medals "For Victory over Hitler Germany", "For Courage", "For Military Merit", "For Liberation of Prague", "For Capture of Vienna", the Order of the Patriotic War and many others at the war and after the war. He was wounded three times and once shell-shocked. _x000D_ After the war he worked at a construction site in Kazakhstan, Moldova, in the city of Volzhsky. In 1954 he came with his family (wife and 3 children) to Volzhsky. He built houses, also built hydroelectric power plants, then worked at the Abrasive Plant, then retired. After the was he was a Senior Lieutenant in Reserve. He passed away on 02.04.1999 in the city of Volzhsky, where he was buried.

Branch of troops: Artillery_x000D_ I want to tell you about my grandfather Pyotr Fomich Tyukin, a participant in the Great Patriotic War. He was beaten by the ordeal of the war, and not just once. His life path was hard, but he withstood everything with valor. Pyotr Fomich was born on November 23 in 1917 into a large family with three sons and a daughter, Anna. His post-revolutionary childhood was not easy. He was the eldest of the children, and since the age of six he had already helped his father to work the land. He hardly studied at school and finished only four classes. At the age of fifteen, he had already worked in kolkhoz as a hand. In 1937 he graduated from the courses of tractor drivers in the neighboring village of Vetlyanka. And the next year he was drafted into the Red Army. Then there was Khalkhin-Gol, the Great Patriotic War and the war with Japan. _x000D_ Since September 1938, Pyotr Fomich had served in the Red Army in 5588th Tank Regiment in Siberia at the Olovyanaya station. In 1939 he received his first baptism of fire on Khalkhin-Gol. The Japanese militarists launched large-scale military operations against the friendly Mongolian People's Republic in order to seize territory and prepare a foothold for a further offensive against the USSR. The Soviet offensive was successful, and the plans of the Japanese aggressors were thwarted. He returned home in November 1940, began to work as a trackman at the Tirazh railway station. _x000D_ The treacherous and sudden attack of Nazi Germany without declaring war on the USSR on June 22, 1941 showed the whole world the true face of fascism. German troops outnumbered the Soviet in both manpower and equipment. The Germans rushed to the Volga in order to cut off supplies: grains, oil and fuels and lubricants. The main target on this path was the city of Stalingrad. A general mobilization was announced. Pyotr Fomich was drafted in August 1941. Military training took place in Aktyubinsk, the time for training was limited, because the enemy occupied a significant territory of the country. Pyotr Fomich was enlisted in 129th Mortar Regiment. They received weapons, ammunition and the command "To defend Stalingrad!" By train they went along the Ural railway to the station Polotnyanaya, and then on horseback, carts, to the station Kletnaya. This is where it all started. The air hummed, the Nazis bombed non-stop, even the ground groaned with screams and horror. Not everyone made it to the place of deployment. His Regiment entered the Don Front, where Konstantin Rokossovsky was the Commander. Red Army defended Stalingrad without spare no pains. It was hot. Even those who did not believe in God prayed to survive. They fought for every street, for every house. Rumble, explosions, shooting. There was not enough ammunition and grubs, but the louse gnawed mercilessly. _x000D_ Private Tyukin Pyotr Fomich was appointed the Chef of the Division. It would seem an easy mission to feed the soldiers. But try to do this, crossing the Dnieper River, under continuous artillery fire. For courage shown in battles with the German invaders, Pyotr Fomich was awarded in 1943 the medal "For Courage" and "For Defense of Stalingrad". Received the rank of Corporal. _x000D_ In the summer of 1943, he was part of 1st Ukrainian Front. He fought across the Ukrainian land, liberating the cities of Shevchenko, Molodechno. Burnt-out villages, only the stoves stood like candles, reminded that there had been houses here, and people once lived. And everywhere they were greeted by deadly tired old men, women, children. Then they liberated Latvia and Estonia. In July 1944 he was awarded the Order of Glory III degree for courage, fearlessness and resourcefulness. _x000D_ In the battles for Lithuania near the city of Shauliai, enemy aircraft set fire to a car with a kitchen. Not paying attention to the shelling, under the explosive burning shells, Pyotr Fomich removed the slopes from the nearby burning car, and quickly moved it to his own. As a result of his actions, hot food was delivered to the firing positions on time. They drove the fascists all the way to Germany. Here is the long-awaited Victory! _x000D_ They dreamed of a home, of meeting their relatives, but they were transferred to Novosibirsk, in the direction of the Far Eastern Territory. Some were assigned to the Japanese front, and they began to prepare for a new war against the Kwantung Army. _x000D_ Since August, rains have charged, mountain streams and rivers overflowed, off-road. They experienced again shells, explosions and death of comrades. _x000D_ Pyotr Fomich was wounded and was sent to the military medical unit in the town of Sposke, then transferred to a hospital. Only in 1946 did he return home. For military operations he was awarded the medal "For Victory over Japan." _x000D_ The post-war period was not easy either. "Everything for the front, everything For Victory!" All resources were pulled out of the village for the needs of the front. Despite the labor heroism of the peasants, agriculture had suffered heavy losses during the war. The number of able workers in kolkhoz had decreased, and the material and technical base was undermined. The vast majority of equipment available in agriculture was worn out. In kolkhoz, young girls worked on tractors, all the hardships of wartime fell on their shoulders. The lack of equipment and workers affected the area under crops and the number of livestock. The cultivated area has declined from 3.6 million hectares in 1940 to 2.2 million hectares in 1945. Agricultural workers had to restore the potential lost during the war years, rebuild a peaceful life._x000D_ After arriving home in May 1946, Pyotr Fomich continued to work in kolkhoz. For his labor success he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. He married Varvara Vasilievna, raised two daughters and three sons, bringing up in them respect and love for the Motherland. But the events of those years left an indelible mark on his soul. More than once, Pyotr Fomich met with his war veterans, remembering the dead comrades.

Rank: Junior Lieutenant _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery _x000D_ My grandfather Tarasov Leonid Alexandrovich was born on December 6, 1913 in the village Khokhorsk, Bokhansk District, Irkutsk Region, in a poor family, finished 7 classes at a school for working youth. In October 1935 he was drafted into the ranks of the Workers’and Peasants' Red Army and sent to the Buryat Kaalerian Regiment at the Divisional station, where he served as a cavalryman. In November 1939 he began his studies at the courses of Junior Officers, which he graduated in March 1940 and received the rank of Junior Lieutenant. In August 1940 he was sent to Bain-Tumen, now Choybolsan, Mongolian People's Republic in 27th Artillery Regiment, 17th army of the Trans-Baikal Front. _x000D_ The Artillery Regiment was armed with anti-aircraft guns and covered the troops from the Japanese aviation. The Regiment entered the war against the Japanese troops on August 9, 1945. For excellent military operations against the Japanese aggressors, forcing the Great Khingan mountain range, overcoming the waterless Mongolian steppe, the grandfather was commended by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Generalissimo Comrade Stalin I.V. dated August 23, 195 # 372. _x000D_ On this war trip, my grandfather was wounded. The Regiment marched through northeast China. He liberated such large cities as Chang-Chun and Harbin. The Regiment finished fighting on 03.09.1945.In 1947, the Artillery Regiment was transferred to the Soviet Union, in Ulan-Ude. He was released in 1957 with the rank of Major, served in the ranks of the Red Army, and then in the Soviet Army for 22 years. _x000D_ Awards: the Order of the Patriotic War of 2nd degree, the Order of the Red Banner of the combat, the Order of the Red Star and 10 medals, including "For Military Merit", "For Victory over Germany", "For Victory over Japan", medal of the MPR "Bugdnayramdah” (translated as We will win). He passed away on June 10, 1994 at the age of 81, buried in Ulan-Ude.

Rank: Junior Sergeant_x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery. _x000D_ _x000D_ My father, Vikenty Vasilievich Smolin, was born on October 26, 1918 in the Vologda region, Chebsar district, village Sholomovo. His parents Smolin Vasily and Zelenkova Alexandra Konstantinovna had 5 children. His father returned from the army sick, his boots were frozen to his feet. When dad was 3 years old, grandfather died of pneumonia. His mother was left a widow at 32 with children: Nikolai, who was missed in the war, Lydia, Nina, Maria / died in infancy / and the younger Vincent. My grandmother worked in an artel, weaved beautiful Vologda lace, which was sold abroad, including to England. _x000D_ In addition, he had to manage the house and run the entire household, take care of the cattle in order to raise and feed the children. Approximately in 1939, dad left for Arkhangelsk. On 09/20/1939 he was added to the reserve. And then the war began. _x000D_ On 18/12/1942 my father was called up for active military service in Artillery Regiment. From January 1943 to May 1946 he served as the Commander of the reconnaissance department of an artillery and mortar unit. As a Junior Sergeant, he participated in military campaigns from 01/27/1943 to 05/09/1945. _x000D_ On 23/08/1943 for military operations he was awarded the medal "For Military Merit". On 30/03/1944 was wounded when with a friend carried out of the combatfield the Commander, for this action he was awarded 09/01/1944 the Order of the Red Star. For participation in fierce combats on the Leningrad Front 03/05/1945 he awarded the Order of Glory III degree. The very hard combats that my father recalled were near Luga, Staraya Russa. He spent the entire war on the front line, having experienced all the difficulties of military service during the war. He served in artillery reconnaissance, had to go for a German prisoner at any time of the year and in any weather, lie for hours in the cold in the snow, in the summer in the hot sun. With pain he recalled a case when shells of the wrong caliber were brought to the gun, howitzer, and with delight about the Katyusha that had appeared at the end of the war. _x000D_ For Liberation of Soviet Latvia he earned the gratitude of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the Soviet Union I.V. Stalin. _x000D_ On 13/10/1944 at 4 o'clock in the morning, our soldiers were the first to walk along the deserted streets of Riga. My father was one of them. In the Baltics, the war ended for my father. They learned about the Victory 08/05/1945. Everyone was happy, hugging, kissing each other, firing weapons. Then, on May 9, 1945, the victory was officially announced. _x000D_ But despite the fact that the war was over, my father had to serve for another year. _x000D_ After demobilization in May 1946, my father came to Murmansk, got a job at the Murmansk seaport, worked as a loader and crane operator. On 02/22/1948 he married Sidorovskaya Anna Kuzminichna, and they had three children: me, Nadezhda, and my brother Nikolay. _x000D_ Then the whole family left for the Arkhangelsk region, Konosha district, the Krasnoye village, but Murmansk pulled back and we returned. He worked at Murmanskmorstroy. Wherever he was,whether he fought or worked, his merits were celebrated everywhere. For his excellent work, he was repeatedly awarded and acknowledged. _x000D_ Then he became a grandfather, he loved very much his grandchildren. This is how the life of one modest man had passed, difficult and peaceful, quiet and inconspicuous. On 04/04/1983 my dad passed away. _x000D_ Many times, at the invitation, he went to schools and told children about the war. I am very sorry that I, being his daughter, had little interest in the war period of his life, and because of his modesty he spoke so little about it himself. Only when he was drank did he like to sing the song "Fire is beating in a cramped dugout" and cried when they performed "Victory Day" and "Holy War", remembering their fellow soldiers and the harsh war days.

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery _x000D_ SubDivision: 77th Infantry Simferopol Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze _x000D_ Artyom grew up and was brought up in Stalin's family along with other children, was a close friend of his son Vasily. In 1938, Artem Sergeev graduated from the 10th grade, from the 2nd Moscow Special Artillery School and voluntarily joined the ranks of the Red Army. _x000D_ From October 1938 to September 1940 he was cadet, Junior Commander (Sergeant), starshina of the battery of 2nd Leningrad Artillery School (formerly Mikhailovsky). In 1940 he joined the Communist party and in October of the same year with the rank of Lieutenant he was appointed platoon Commander of 13th Artillery Regiment of 1st Rifle Division. He met the war on the western borders as a platoon Commander of 152-mm M-10 howitzers. _x000D_ It happened on June 26, 1941 in Belarus. Already on July 1-2, 1941, Sergeev took part in a fierce defensive combat for the city of Borisov and the crossing of the Berezina River. His artillery battery was destroyed, and the young Lieutenant took over the command of a Rifle company that covered the regiment's retreat. On July 13, the Germans took Sergeev's company into a trap in the area of the town of Gorki and captured him. He was in a prison in the city of Orsha, they planned to shoot him, but on July 23 he managed to escape with several comrades. The group formed the nucleus of the future partisan detachment, to which the soldiers and Commanders of the Red Army began to join. _x000D_ Fighting as part of a partisan detachment, Artyom was wounded for the first time, but by no means the last time. After being cured in a hospital in December 1941, he returned to his 13th Artillery Regiment, which became the 35th Guards. He was the Chief of Reconnaissance of a Division, a Battery Commander, then a Division Commander. _x000D_ On February 18, near Yukhnov, he was again wounded, after the hospital he returned to the Regiment, but in June 1942 he got a new wound. All together, Sergeev A.F. had nine wounds, two of which were very serious. Doctors miraculously saved his left hand, and later he was on the verge of death being hit with a bayonet in the stomach. On June 3, 1942, not completely recovered, he returned to his 35th Guards Artillery Regiment as Battalion Commander, but after 2 weeks he was wounded again and was sent away from the Regiment for follow-up treatment for 3 months. _x000D_ In December 1942, after training at the Higher Officers' Artillery School, he was appointed Chief of Staff of 266th Army Artillery Regiment. After the end of the Stalingrad operation in February, the Regiment from 62nd Army left for the North-Western Front in 68th Army. _x000D_ In April Sergeev was appointed deputy Regiment Commander. In June, the Regiment was transformed into 211st Guards Army Artillery Regiment. _x000D_ From December 1943 to April 1944 Sergeev was the Commander of 554th Army Artillery Rogachevsky Red Banner Regiment. In April he was wounded again. From July to October 1944 he was Commander of 156th Guards Artillery Regiment of 77th Guards Rifle Division. In January 1945, he was Deputy Commander of 140th Army Cannon Artillery Brigade. _x000D_ He took part in combats in the Baltics, East Prussia, Silesia, Saxony, Czechoslovakia. He ended the war on May 12, 1945 as a Lieutenant Colonel._x000D_ After the war he served as a Regiment Commander in Hungary. In August 1945 he was sent to Moscow to the Artillery Academy. After completing his studies in 1951, he commanded 34th Cannon Artillery Brigade of the Carpathian Military District. Then he entered the Military Academy named after K.E. Voroshilov, from which he graduated in 1954. After graduating from the academy, he served in command positions. _x000D_ He retired in 1981 with the rank of Major General of Artillery. In 2006 he published a collection of stories-memoirs about the war "Stories of an artilleryman" and, in co-authorship with Yekaterina Glushik, the book "Conversations about Stalin." Became a member of the Writers' Union of Russia. He was a member of the Donbass community in Moscow. He passed away on January 15, 2008.