Alexey Konstantinovich Dolzhikov_x000D_ _x000D_ Rank: Second Lieutenant military branch: Land forces, air force (except naval aviation), coast service, NKVD troops, border guard Unit: 219th rifle Idritskaya red banner division My great-grandfather Alexey Dolzhikov was born on March 23, 1924 in the village of Rogovatoe, Starooskolsky district, Belgorod region. I would like the Heroes to be known not only by their names, but also to know their exploits, to recognize them by sight, which is why I want to tell you the story of my great-grandfather, to share his memories, which we fortunately managed to record and save.- Grandfather, tell me about the war, - I persisted and persistently asked to remember the events of the past years. There were many things I didn't understand at the time, but questions flowed in a steady stream. I'll sit on my grandfather's lap and whisper softly:"Tell me, dear grandfather, and I will be silent!" I will listen to everything you want to tell me, And I will not turn around and interrupt! I want to hear about the war, how you fought, how in a battle so far away you saved the banner! Tell us about your military friends and grandfather. And in the album yellowed photo show! He smiled at his grandfather's grandson and hugged him to his chest:"I'll tell you all about it, of course, since I promised!" How we survived the war, how we went to our deaths, how many miles we traveled in mud and dust! As the enemy with fights we drove from our native land, we did not give up an inch - we survived, we could!"On February 7, 1943, I was called up by the Shatalovsky RVC to join the red army. He put on a soldier's greatcoat and went to war, to fight for his native land, on which the enemy German foot had set foot. My combat career began in the training battalion of the 169th rifle reserve regiment. After taking the oath on February 23, 1943, he joined the newly formed company for training scouts. We came to the village of Velikaya Pisarevka, Sumy region. Night. About 12 o'clock the captain comes running and says: «Alarm». They formed up and began to withdraw to Belgorod. We came to Tomarovka on March 18. Belgorod was already occupied by enemy tank forces. We then go to Oboyan in the morning. They came to Oboyan, handed over their weapons, ate, spent the night, and went to Prokhorovka. Spent the night - on the Crust. And classes go with us (platoon commanders, departments). From Korcha we reached Stary Oskol.On March 22, 1943, the Kursk bulge was formed. The command was replaced. Vatutin was appointed instead of Golikov, Malinovsky instead of Vatutin, and Talbukhin instead of Malinovsky. After three months of training as a Sergeant, he was sent to a platoon of foot reconnaissance of the 375th regiment of the 219th idritskaya rifle division of the 40th army of the Voronezh front, which took part in the battle of Kursk from 11.07.43. During the battle of Kursk, I remember almost every battle, but you can't describe or tell everything. The summer of 1943 was to be a "moment of truth" for both us and the Nazis. Either the Red Army will be able to finally seize the offensive initiative and defeat the most powerful German group since the beginning of the war, or the enemy will again be able to overturn our troops, as it did two summers in a row, and Moscow will be under threat for the second time during the war. In defense, we stood in front of the New Berezovka Rakityansky district. At the sugar factory in the forest, we were divided into three parts: combined arms, scouts and mortars. I got into a group of scouts. Several times I went on a mission, the purpose of which was to get the language in any way. Once, we managed to capture 8 people of the military guard at once. A rare case! If you tell anyone, they won't believe you! After that, I was put on an observation post in front of Novaya Berezovka. I had to carefully observe everything that was happening around me, register and report the situation to headquarters in the evening. It was necessary to find out what movement the enemy was making as they prepared to attack. On July 5, when the enemy went on the offensive, our division was withdrawn from the defense. A March was made in the direction of Oboyan, and on July 8, the division arrived in the village of Novenkoe in the Ivnyansky district. 3-4km South-West of the village of Novenkoe there is a Thick tract that was occupied by the enemy. The division, transferred to the 6th guards army, took its first battle on July 9. The first fight… Our regiment is ordered to " stand to the death." Bombers appear. They drop bombs on our rear and move on. We managed to destroy one of the enemy planes. At the time of the appearance of the aircraft, German tanks and infantry attacked. At one kilometer, the number of tanks reached a hundred or more. Two walls were moving towards each other. We were supported, as it turned out later, by 14 "Katyushas", which gradually approached our place. They were only beaten with termite, which instantly ignited everything. The first attack was repulsed. After that, about thirty minutes later, the bombers again flew, after which the tanks reappear. A Volley Of "Katyusha". The attack is repulsed. And so four attacks. The order to "withdraw"followed. We, as scouts, went ahead. The enemy conducted continuous offensive battles, but could not advance to Oboyan.After 15 days of continuous fighting, there were 6-8 men left in the companies. But the village, we have New released! In July, 1943, when the Red Army led an offensive in the Kursk-Oryol direction. And now a monument to the soldiers-liberators of our 219th rifle division, who gave their lives for the liberation of the village, has been erected in the Tolstoe tract. On July 26, we were replaced by the troops of the Steppe front, and our division was transferred to the Kalinin front. On September 16, 1943, he was slightly wounded. Recovered quickly. And fight again! My great-grandfather Alexey Dolzhikov was awarded the Order of the red Star for his courage and bravery in the fight against the enemy, for his work in training the platoon personnel, and for the fact that the platoon did not have a single case of violation of discipline during the March. Then there was the 3rd Baltic and last southern group of troops, the Austrian city of Graz.