Since July 1941, a cadet of the Tomsk Artillery School, and in December, with the rank of junior lieutenant, he is baptized by fire in the area of Sukhinichi in the ranks of Rokosovsky's army. In the battles for Bryansk, while repelling a tank attack, the young commander is wounded in the leg. After the hospital, the front was again. Fighting on Belarusian soil and a serious wound. Among the military awards medals "For Courage" and "For Victory over Germany"