Faces of war

Sitnikov Petr Filippovich Sitnikov Petr Filippovich (1914-1944), in 1944 - Lieutenant, commander of a platoon of machine gunners of the 846th Rifle Regiment of the 267th Rifle Division of the 51st Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front. On May 8, 1944, Sitnikov was seriously wounded during the assault on Sapun Mountain and died the next day. Hero of the Soviet Union (1945, posthumously).

Skoryatin Fedor Nikolaevich Skoryatin Fedor Nikolaevich (1917-1944), in 1944 - Senior Sergeant, acting platoon commander of the 57th separate assault engineer-sapper battalion of the 12th assault Engineer-Sapper Brigade of Independent Coastal Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front. Hero of the Soviet Union (1945, posthumously).

Skugar Vladimir Antonovich Skugar Vladimir Antonovich, born in 1914, in 1944 - Captain, deputy squadron commander of the 30th reconnaissance air regiment of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force. Hero of the Soviet Union (1944).

Slug Leonty Nikolaevich, Sluzen Leonty Nikolaevich, born in 1918, in 1944 - Captain, squadron commander of the 15th fighter regiment of the 278th fighter aviation division of the 8th Air Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front. Hero of the Soviet Union (1946).

While carrying out research work on compiling the family lineage, I learned that my great-grandfather on my mother's lineage, Nikolai Zasorin, was a participant of the Great Patriotic War. I learned from my grandmother's stories that Nikolai Fyodorovich, like many fellow villagers, was drafted into the Red Army during the first days of the war at the age of 26 by the Kulebak RVC of Gorky region. My great-grandfather, Nikolai Fyodorovich Zasorin, had passed a glorious battle way, from an ordinary soldier to a Junior Lieutenant. The war separated him from his home and family for six long years. My great-grandfather went through the whole war, was twice wounded, welcomed the Victory Day, came home from the war with awards. But I wanted to know more about the heroic deeds of soldier Nikolai Fyodorovich Zasorin. Already in June 1941, Nikolai Fyodorovich was a member of 501 motorized rifle regiment of the Western Front, which was hastily formed to be sent to the front. In the second month of the war, the regiment was already on the front line of the battles near Smolensk. In fierce battles near the walls of the ancient city began one of the largest battles of the war, which lasted two months. In one of the battles on August 16, 1941, my great-grandfather was seriously wounded in the left foot in hand-to-hand combat. In autumn 1941, the division stood west of town Ostashkov, where it held the defense between Lake Seliger and the Volga. After being wounded, my great-grandfather got back into formation and already on January 11, 1942 in the battles near Ostashkovo,taking part in the breakthrough of the heavily fortified enemy defense, he destroyed 8 German soldiers with grenades. In 1942, three fronts were formed: Belarusian, Ukrainian and Stalingrad. My great-grandfather was sent to the Ukrainian front, to the 78th Infantry Division. On July 5, the division withdrew by echelons to the front, unloaded at Staritsa station near Kalinin and headed in camping columns to the border Ostashkov-Selizharovo. In one of the battles Nikolai Fedorovich was seriously wounded in the back and skull. I read this record in his military ticket. In February 1943, the 458th rifle regiment, in cooperation with units of the 33rd rifle corps (commander - General I.I. Semenov), captured the city of Lisichansk. Nikolai Fyodorovich walked thousands of miles along the military roads: Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Germany. From 16-20 April 1944, in battles near the village of Berliesti (Hungary), leading a platoon of 78tth rifle division of Zaporozhye Division, repulsed the enemy counterattack. According to the documents, our great-grandfather was awarded the Order of the Red Star for his courage. In the award sheet I read a brief statement of his personal combat feat: "For exemplary performance of combat missions and command at the front in the fight against the German invaders.” November 21, 1944 in the offensive battle for the village of Chaba (Hungary), he skillfully led a company, not only repulsed three counterattacks of the enemy, but also killed more than 20 fascists and captured five. The homeland praised the heroic deed of the soldier, awarding him the Order of Patriotic War of the second degree. Soon the 78th Division entered Czechoslovakia, liberating cities and villages. In the battle for the capture of Miskolc (Czechoslovakia) my grandfather was wounded in the left leg. After the hospital, he returned to the front line, freeing Europe from fascist invaders. He welcomed the Victory Day in Germany, in Dresden. However, the military service did not end for him. As an experienced officer, he was sent to Barnaul by a military instructor to train young recruits. Nikolai Fedorovich returned home only in 1947, where his family was waiting for him. In 1985, in honor of the 40th anniversary of theVictory, he was awarded the Order of Patriotic War, 1st degree. My great-grandfather was also awarded jubilee awards.

Among the many units that participated in the Great Patriotic War (hereinafter - the GPW), there was 1180th regiment of the 350th rifle division of Zhytomyr-Sandomyr Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky division. In this division my grandfather fought - a Red Army soldier, a rifleman born in 1922, a native of the village Khramtsovo, Sverdlovsk region Slobodo-Turinsky district Trofim Zakharov - fought in it. He was recruited for the war in September 1941. He took a full military training course in the regiment. And on December 18, 1941, he was sent to the front line of the marching company to the Bryansk front. It would be appropriate to mention the heroic way of the 350th Infantry Division, equal to 7,120 km, 30 thousand soldiers of which were awarded orders and medals, and 22 soldiers were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. The division participated in the liberation of Ukraine, Poland, Prague and Czechoslovakia. It reached Berlin. My grandfather Trofim did not return to his native village immediately, but only on June 29, 1946. After the Victory over Germany, he spent a year and a half in the Transcarpathian Border District, as a member of 31st border detachment. Upon returning, Trofim married a beautiful countrywoman, Evdokia Yemelyanovna Khramtsova. Together, they raised five children. And in his working life, my grandfather achieved considerable success. All his life he worked as a veterinarian at a collective farm named after Kirov in Sl-Tura District. He was a Veteran of Labor. Three times he was awarded a bronze medal and one silver medal for labor valor and success in the development of national economy of the USSR. My grandfather is no longer with us, he died on October 30, 2002 at the age of 80. In memory of our heroic grandfather, our family (and today we have 10 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren and one great-grandson) keeps his photo cards, awards, diaries. Flipping through the pages, I read his reflections on the time of war. And I know for sure he was a strong, honest, courageous man. He rose many times to attack under the whistle of deadly metal. For services to his homeland, my grandfather was awarded the Order of Great Patriotic War I degree, the Order of Great Patriotic War II degree, the Order of the Red Star, the Medal "For Bravery" and many other awards in recognition of military and labor services. One of the streets in Kunyamsk, Kharkov region, is named after the 350th Infantry Division, in the ranks of which fought my Heroic grandfather, who liberated this city from the Nazis. By the way, the troops who participated in the liberation of Zhitomir, by order of the All-Russian Military Command on January 1, 1944, received commendations and a salute was ggiven in Moscow with 20 artillery volleys of 224 guns.

He was born on August 6, 1908 in the village of Nakhratovo, Voskresensky district, Gorky region. He graduated from the 3rd grade of Kuznetsovskaya Primary School in 1919, but was quite a literate person for his time, even had calligraphic handwriting. When the Great Patriotic War began, he was 32 years old. During the war, Pavel Yegorovich was summoned for mobilization by the Voskresensky District Military Committee on August 25, 1941, when he was 33 years old. He served in the 332nd Rifle Division, formed in Gorky in the harsh days of autumn 1941, took the oath of allegiance on September 13, went through the battlefield to East Prussia and finished the war in Koenigsberg ... 332nd Rifle Division went from Moscow to Prague, participated in the liberation of Auschwitz, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The division took part in heavy defensive battles, but most of the awards the division received were associated with the victorious battles of 1944 - the year of liberation of the country from Hitler's invaders. For the liberation of Zhytomyr, it was awarded the title of Zhytomyr Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rifle Division. The division took part in heavy battles on the Kursk Bulge. Pavel Yegorovich had the military rank of "Sergeant", served in the artillery regiment as a telephonist, a member of gunnery crew, a shooter. He was demobilized on the basis of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on September 25, 1945. He returned home on November 2, 1945. During the Great Patriotic War, he was seriously wounded in the arm in August 1943 and had two more wounds in the arm and leg in 1944. Moreover, fragments in his wounded leg got inflamed and came out only in 1965. For more than 20 years he had been carrying with him notched metal from enemy shells. Pavel Yegorovich Zimnyakov was awarded the Order "Red Star" in August 1944, two medals "For Courage" - in 1943 and 1944, a medal "For the Victory over Germany" in 1945

I.A. Zinoviev - the Commander of the 198th Guards Rifle Regiment, 68th Guards Rifle Division, 40th Army, Voronezh Front, Guards Sergeant. He was in the Red Army since 1942. In the active army - since October 1942. He fought at the Don and Voronezh fronts. Participated in the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, the liberation of the Left Bank of Ukraine. From August 3, 1943, during the Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Offensive Operation, the 68th Guards Rifle Division liberated many settlements in Kharkov, Poltava, and Kiev regions and by the end of September it reached the Dnieper. The division's units began to prepare for the crossing of the river. On September 24, Sergeant I. A. Zinoviev, at the head of his Guard Division, forced the Dnieper under enemy fire and immediately entered the battle. When the officers were out of action during the bridgehead expansion, I. Zinoviev took command of the platoon and then the company. Under his leadership, the company, repulsing the enemy's fierce counterattacks, moved forward, ensuring that the combat mission of the entire battalion was fulfilled. On October 9, 1943, he was killed in action. According to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on November 13, 1943, for the successful crossing of the Dnieper River, a strong foothold on the western bank of the Dnieper River and the courage shown in this process, and the heroism of the Guards, Sergeant Zinoviev I. A. was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. He was buried in a mass grave in the village of Balyk-Shuchinka, Kagarlyk district, Kiev region (Ukraine). He was awarded the Order of Lenin on November 13, 1943.

Zimin Georgy Nikitovich was born in 1924 in Omsk region, Sargatsky district, the village of Andreevka. His father is Zimin Nikita Vasilyevich. His mother is Ulyana Putofeevna Zimina. He was the fifth child in the family. He was a very talented artist. He had an invitation to study at the Art Academy. In 1941 he was 17 years old. At the time of conscription, he had a reservation and did not have to take part in military operations. He left for the front voluntarily. According to the data bank "Memorial" – he was recruited at Sargatsky RVC, Omsk region. There are doubts here, though, because according to his sister, he was recruited at Kaganovich station of Chita region in March 1942. The last place of duty was the 10th Guards Airborne Division. He rank at that moment was a Sergeant. He took part in the battles in preparation for the Kiev offensive operation. He was killed during the battle on October 4, 1943. At the time of his death, he was 19 years old. On the website of the "Electronic Book of Memory of Ukraine" you can see one of the inscriptions on the plate of the mass grave, where Zilin G.N. (sergeant) is listed among others. Apparently, there is a mistake. We think that this is our Georgy Nikitovich Zimin. Unfortunately, we do not know anything else. During their lifetime, parents did not learn about his death, time of death, a place of death as they received the notice that he had disappeared. The last of the surviving sisters, younger Anna, with great excitement learned about the fate of her beloved brother. The data presented here are received on websites where the information on destinies of participants of the Great Patriotic War is placed. For this opportunity and the huge work done, we are very grateful to all the creators of databases.

Cadet of the Grozny Military Aviation School from November 1944 to March 1946. Sergeant, air gunner-radio operator from March 1946 to August 1948. Commander of launch systems from August 1948 to July 1949. Cadet of the Chelyabinsk Red Banner Military School from July 1949 to December 1949. Petty Officer, Commander of launch systems from December 1949 to April 1949. Armament technician from April 1949 to April 1952. Lieutenant, Head of Air Fire Service of Aviation Squadron from January 1954 to August 1957. Captain from August 1957 to December 1961, Head of Air Fire Service of the airfield. Awards: Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" was awarded on May 1, 1947. Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" was awarded on October 14, 1949. Medal "For Combat Services" was awarded on January 1, 1956. Medal "40 Years of the USSR Armed Forces" was awarded on September 20, 1958. Medal "For Irreproachable Service in the USSR Armed Forces" was awarded on February 22, 1961. Medal "20 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" was awarded on April 30, 1966. Medal "30 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" was awarded on February 14, 1976. Medal "60 Years of the USSR Armed Forces" was awarded on November 12, 1979. Medal "40 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" was awarded on August 21, 1985. Medal "70 Years of the USSR Armed Forces" was awarded on February 22, 1988. Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" was awarded on March 22, 1995.

At the age of 37, Ivan Iosifovich was called up for military service and deployed to the Southwestern Front. He was mobilized on March 13, 1942, by Shevchenkovsky Recruitment Office of Kharkov region, Ukrainian SSR. From March 14, 1942, until June 14, 1942, he served in the 35th Infantry Regiment of the 30th Infantry Division. As of April 1, 1942, he was assigned to the Southern Front, 56th Army, holding the position of rifleman. The Kharkov Operation of 1942, also known as the Second Battle of Kharkov, was a battle where Soviet forces attempting to encircle the Germans found themselves surrounded instead. In late April 1942, the ground slowly thawed following an unusually harsh winter of 1941-1942. Ice melted on the Seversky Donets River. Active combat operations by Soviet troops on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front essentially ceased. Several offensive operations conducted by armies of the Southwestern and Southern Fronts in February-March 1942, particularly aimed at liberating Kharkov, yielded no significant results. Through exhausting battles, only a foothold was established on the western bank of the Seversky Donets River near Star Saltov, improving the situation for the 6th, 57th, and 9th Armies on the Barvenkovo bridgehead. Armies of the Southwestern (21st, 38th, and 6th Armies) and Southern (57th and 9th Armies) Fronts consolidated their positions along the line Marino-Star Saltov-Balakliya-Nizhnyy Russkiy Bishkin-Tseredarovka-Krasnyy Liman. North of Marino, covering Orel-Tula and Voronezh directions, the Bryansk Front defended itself. South of Krasnyy Liman, the 37th, 12th, 18th, and 56th Armies of the Southern Front held defensive positions. During spring engagements, the enemy strengthened its defenses approaching Kharkov, Kramatorsk, and Slavyansk. On snow-free hillsides, outskirts of settlements, riverbanks, dark embankments of trenches marked the forward edge of their main defensive belt. It included two or three positions, reaching depths of 8-12 km. All settlements within this strip were prepared for all-round defense. From Murom southward to Balakliya, about 10-15 km behind the forward edge of the main defensive zone, lay the second defensive belt. About 20-25 km from the front line, mainly using local population efforts, a third defensive strip was being created. The most solid defense was located on the Chuguev bridgehead and north of it. The Kharkov operation of 1942, or the Second Battle of Kharkov, was a major engagement lasting from May 12 to May 30, 1942. The Red Army’s offensive began as an attempt at strategic advance but ended with encirclement and nearly complete annihilation of advancing Soviet units (losses amounted to 270 thousand men, including 170 thousand irretrievable losses). Due to the catastrophe at Kharkov, rapid German advances became possible on the southern sector of the front towards Voronezh and Rostov-on-Don, followed by advance toward Volga and movement toward Caucasus. Desperate attempts by encircled parts of the Red Army to break out of encirclement started on May 25. General Huber Lanz (Hubert Lanz), commanding officer of the 1st Mountain Division, recalled monstrous attacks by massive infantry formations. By May 26, encircled Red Army units were confined to a small area approximately 15 square kilometers around Barvenkovo. Breakout attempts from the east were blocked by determined German resistance supported by aviation. On May 28, Marshal S.K. Timoshenko issued orders terminating the offensive operation, yet efforts to escape continued until May 31. Remaining elements of the 6th and 57th Armies, backed by composite tank group under Major General Kuzmin composed of remnants of 5th Guards Tank Brigade, 7th, 37th, 38th, and 43rd Tank Brigades, plus remains of 21st and 23rd Tank Corps, managed to break through with heavy casualties to reach friendly lines near Lozovenka Village. On June 10, German forces initiated Operation Wilhelm. Breaching defenses between the 21st and 28th Armies, they advanced toward Volchansk. Simultaneously, the main strike force consisting of seven infantry divisions, two tank divisions, and two motorized divisions struck the juncture between the 28th and 38th Armies. After breaking through here too, enemy tanks expanded their attack toward Kupiansk and Veliky Burluk. Ground troops’ actions were supported by large-scale air support. Only on June 10 alone, aircraft made up to 1,800 sorties. The enemy was halted only on June 14 due to active actions by the left-wing units of the 21st Army, steadfastness of the 28th Army troops, and strong counterattacks by the 38th Army units. Thus, over 17 days in June, Southwest Front troops had to retreat 45-100 km beyond the Oskol River, abandoning Volchansk and Kupiansk. This concluded the battle south of Kharkov, where Soviet troops trying to encircle the Germans ended up being encircled themselves. Despite all efforts of our troops, less than one tenth of those trapped succeeded in escaping the "Barvenkovo trap." Soviet losses totaled 270,000 personnel, including 171,000 irrecoverable losses. Among those killed or missing in action were Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Southwest Front Lieutenant General F.Ya. Kostenko, Commander of the 6th Army Lieutenant General A.M. Horodnianskii, Commander of the 57th Army Lieutenant General K.P. Podlas, Commander of the Army Group Major General L.V. Bobkin, and several generals leading the besieged divisions. My grandfather, private Zoloch Ivan Iosifovich, was among those captured. From March 27, 1945, to May 1, 1945, he served in the 951st Infantry Regiment of the 265th Infantry Division, which belonged to the 1st Belorussian Front, 3rd Shock Army, 7th Rifle Corps, and held the position of rifleman. Berlin Offensive Operation Quote: "After completing the battles in East Prussia, our 3rd Shock Army was relocated to the main direction—the Berlin axis—in late March 1945. Within two days we marched 100 km southwestwards and reached the Oder River, not far from Küstrin's bridgehead on the right bank. Our 265th ID occupied the second echelon in the Berlin offensive operation. Soon Zhukov ordered all artillery and mortars of the 1st BF to concentrate on the front line to deliver a powerful artillery blow against German fortifications. On the night of April 15, our company crossed the Oder and took fire positions on the front line next to the mortar company, just 150 meters away from German trenches. Behind us, at a distance of 100m, stood a battery of 120-mm mortars. All divisional artillery was positioned for direct-fire shooting. The German High Command sought to hold onto Berlin at any cost while simultaneously negotiating separate peace agreements with Americans and British. Hitler ordered the capital of the Reich to be defended down to the last man. Around Berlin there were concentrated some 1 million elite German soldiers and officers, of whom 200,000 were inside the city limits. Additionally, there were 10,400 guns and mortars, 1,500 tanks, 3,300 planes, and 3 million Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons. From the Oder to Berlin was 60km. However, these kilometers had been transformed by the Germans into continuous defensive fortifications. Three defensive rings were constructed: outer, inner, and urban. Berlin itself was divided into nine sectors, including the central one, which contained more than 400 reinforced concrete defensive structures. Early morning on April 16, when it was still dark, intense artillery preparation commenced. Some 22,000 artillery pieces and mortars opened fire simultaneously, including hundreds of Katyusha rocket launchers. It was truly an unforgettable spectacle. The earth trembled like during a severe earthquake. There was constant roaring, individual shots and explosions could not be heard. The artillery commander of the 171st SD, 3rd UD, wrote in his memoirs that during this artillery preparation, 1,236 shells and mines were fired. People temporarily lost hearing because of the noise. As soon as the artillery preparation ended, dozens of searchlights lit up, blinding the enemy, and our troops—infantry and tanks—advanced in attack, breached the first line of defense, and moved forward. About three hours later, columns of prisoners passed by us. They walked concussed, blood flowing from many ears due to ruptured eardrums. Many repeated: ‘Hitler kaput.’ Soon enough, the fascists resumed fierce resistance. Their artillery and tanks survived in the second and third echelons of defense. Particularly fierce battles occurred at the Seelow Heights. Only by evening on April 17 did it become possible to capture these heights and move towards Berlin, overcoming continuous defensive barriers: rivers, lakes, forests, barbed wire entanglements, buried tanks, armoured turrets, etc. Overcoming enemy resistance, our troops advanced on Berlin. Our company progressed street by street, house by house, alongside mortar companies of the 951st Infantry Regiment. At 1 p.m. on April 30, the assault on the Reichstag began. Not until 6 p.m. did battalions of the 150th and 171st Divisions storm into the Reichstag. On walls, pillars, window openings, Soviet soldiers raised red flags. That evening, at 10 p.m., Sergeants Mikhail Yegorov and Meliton Kantaria from the 150th Division of the 3rd Shock Army, led by Lieutenant Alexei Berest and Senior Sergeant Syanov, hoisted the Victory Banner atop the dome of the Reichstag. The entire government quarter was a considerable piece of territory according to that era's Berlin standards. It encompassed the Reichstag district, extending from Friedrichstraße, then along the Spree Riverbank, the Reichstag itself, a substantial portion of Tiergarten Park, and then the entire Wilhelmstraße. Being Berlin's governmental street, it wasn't borderline; rather, it was akin to the heart of this administrative quarter. Further down, towards Prinz-Albrecht-Straße where Gestapo headquarters and the Air Ministry were situated. Throughout May 1, we fired upon German fire points and Hitlerian infantry attempting to break through to the Reichstag via Brandenburg Gate. On that day, Ivan Zoloch sustained serious leg wounds (blind fragmentation wound to the left foot causing bone damage). June 6, 1945 - July 30, 1945: hospitalized at evacuation hospital No. 1727 for treatment of blind fragmentation wound to the left foot with bone injury. August 20, 1945: discharged based on Law of the Supreme Council of the USSR dated June 23, 1945. August 29, 1945: Award Name: Medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." Combat Path: - 35th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, Southern Front, 56th Army (April 1, 1942) - 951st Infantry Regiment, 265th Infantry Division, 1st Belorussian Front, 3rd Shock Army, 7th Rifle Corps (April 1, 1945) - 11th Reserve Infantry Regiment, 10th Reserve Infantry Division, Unit 31991

Vasily Zaykov was born on 12.02.1922 in the village of Zaykovo, Shchuchansky District, Chelyabinsk Region._x000D_ During the harsh years of collectivization, the family was dispossessed and evicted from the village. They went to different villages, lived at the Sverdlovsk railway station, starved. They went back to their village. His father died on August 2, 1936 and Vasily, in order to somehow feed himself, left for Chelyabinsk._x000D_ He got a job at the Sergo Ordzhonikidze Machine-Tool Factory in 1939, as an apprentice turner. He lived during this period with a strange old man in a small room. After a while for a good job, the factory gave him a room, then his mother came to see him._x000D_ After working for several years, Vasily leaved for Leningrad. From the military enlistment office, he was sent to the courses of the gunners. After completing the courses in 1941, with the rank of Lieutenant, he was sent to the Leningrad Front._x000D_ During the long years of the war, Vasily participated in the partisan movement, was the commander of a torpedo boat… From the stories I remember how they took weapons, undermined the equipment of the fascists, lay in ambush for days up to their waists in water. And Vasily also recalled in the years of peace how a German sniper killed his friend in front of his eyes._x000D_ He was shell-shocked and wounded. For his military achievements, he was awarded orders and medals. Vasily finished the war in Germany as a First Lieutenant. He served until 1947, first restoring Germany, then in Leningrad. He returned to Chelyabinsk in 1947, where he served in the Ministry of internal Affairs. In 1954, he left for the North, worked as a design technician, and then as an engineer. He graduated from the mining and geological technical school in May 1960. He returned to Chelyabinsk in 1963, where he entered the correspondence Department of the automobile and road technical school in in 1965. Vasily finished his second education in 1968. Since then, he had been working in the South Ural Territorial Administration as the Chief of cargo transportation for agriculture._x000D_ In 1982, Vasily Stepanovich retired._x000D_ He died in 2002 in a circle of close and beloved people.

From June 15, 1942, he took part in active military operations on the territory of the USSR and in the liberation of Romania. He received the medal for the liberation of 5 strategic heights and the city of Buren, where he helped the company commander. The company destroyed and captured more than 160 enemy soldiers and officers.He also took part in the most complex strategic operation of the Great Patriotic War - the Manchurian offensive, which resulted in the defeat of the Kwantung Army, the main shock military force of Japan, which included more than 750 thousand men, 5360 guns and mortars, 1155 tanks, 1800 combat aircraft, and 25 ships. Andrey told his grandchildren that the Manchurian offensive operation concentrated all the accumulated experience of fighting in the desert-steppe, mountain, forest-swampy, taiga areas with the overcoming of large rivers. The Soviet command transferred a significant number of forces from four fronts (1st, 3rd Belorussian, Leningrad, and 2nd Ukrainian) to the Far East in May and July. Only the most experienced formations and units were sent to the Far East, which could successfully solve offensive tasks in specific conditions of the theater of military operations. After the unconditional surrender of Japan, Andrey in August 1945, participated in the Harbin-Jilin operation as part of the 1st Far Eastern Front. Our troops, broke through fortified regions and prepared defence lines in the depth of the japanes defense, defeated the opposing parts of the 5th and 3rd armies of the enemy and overcoming the mountain-taiga terrain, to the end of 18.8.45 reached the line of Pain, Jagakarsa, Dunsinane, Ronan. The Russian Far East became our grandfather's second Homeland, for the benefit of which he worked for many more years, performing daily feats in peaceful life.

Gusman Ziganshin was born on June 20, 1923. He was a participant in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Sergent. Branch of Service: Land Forces, Air Force (except for Naval Aviation), Coast Guard, NKVD troops, Border Guards. Unit: 2nd Guards Taman Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov Rifle Division. He joined the army in March 1942, at the age of 18. He served in the 52nd Rifle Regiment. He was a gunner of a 120mm mortar battalion with the rank of Guards Sergeant. Participated in combat operations on the Kalinin Front from March 1942 to June 1944, on the 1st Baltic Front from June to December 1944, on the 3rd Belorussian Front from December 1944. He was hospitalized with a concussion in the city of Vinba on June 25, 1944. He was wounded in the right leg on October 7, 1944. A shell fragment shattered his leg above the knee. People found him in the woods and took him to the nearest hospital in Siauliai, Lithuania. He did not live to retire and died at the age of 58 in March 1982. List of his awards was found in the guest book of the Memorial of the Great Patriotic War. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star in May 1945. In the battle for the village of Veronique East Prussia on March 15, 1945, operating as part of the detachment of the 1st Sevastopol Red Banner Guards Rifle Regiment, in a difficult combat situation, with well-aimed fire from a mortar killed 6 German soldiers, which helped small units to seize the settlement of Veronique. He was awarded the Medal for Bravery on August 18, 1943. During the fighting from 13 to 19 August 1943 in the 17th Guards Rifle Division of the Kalinin Front, he destroyed 2 machine-gun points with his mortar fire, repulsed 4 counterattacks and destroyed up to 20 enemy soldiers and officers. _x000D_ He was awarded the Medal For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 on November 12, 1945, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the SSR. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd degree on April 6, 1985. He was awarded the badge "Excellent mortarman".

He went to the front in 1941. He fought on the Kalinin and Ukrainian Fronts. He was wounded at the end of January 1942, two bullets hit his chest and shoulder. He was in a hospital in Rostov, Moscow Region. After recovery, he was sent to the Ivanovo Region in the 142nd Regiment. He was wounded in the groin in 1943. He was treated in the Leningrad Region in the hospital of the city of Kresttsy, after which he returned to the front as a signalman-submachine gunner. He was captured at Velikiye Luki in 1944. It happened like this. After eliminating the break in communication, a group of five people returned to the location of the detachment, which was not in place, and the village was already occupied by policemen. The soldiers hid in a barn but were given away by residents. He spent two years in captivity, and for the rest of his life he could not forget the road by that they were driven to Germany: "we went through a field with untidy rutabagas. Hungry prisoners rushed to collect it, and the guards began to hunt them with dogs and severely beat them. They kicked them with "forged" Nazi boots." He had then five ribs broken and was badly torn by a dog. The time spent in captivity seemed like an eternity," the living envied the dead. "Hungry prisoners cut off the flesh of their dead comrades, cooked it in pots, and ate it, but he did not eat, and, many years later, was proud of the fact that he was able to overcome himself. Three times swollen from hunger. "I only survived because I drank my own urine," he told his children. In the spring, German farmers took prisoners to work as farmhands. This is how he learned their customs and farming habits, which later became useful to him in the post-war period when running his own farm. The Americans released the prisoners in 1945, but he returned home in 1949, as the Soviet government considered him an enemy of the people._x000D_ For each year spent in captivity, they were given two years in prison. But after studying the case materials, they replaced the sentence with work at a military factory in the Molotov Region. He was rehabilitated in 1953: he was issued a military ID and his awards were returned (Medal For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, Medal For Bravery, Order of the Patriotic War 2nd degree and others).