The battle path of my grandfather. My grandfather's name is Bunegin Pyotr Ivanovich. He was a blue-eyed old soldier, gray-haired, hardened by a difficult childhood and gone through the hell of war. Until his death, his soul did not allow him to sit up doing nothing. His face, covered with many wrinkles, shows how exhausting his military and labour years were. He tried to show himself as a strong, restrained and fair man. Grandfather loved to talk about his life, joked a lot, but at the same time he did not sit still, because he had a motto in his life: "You move - you live" Grandpa was born on June 17, 1926, in a large peasant family. He went to school at 9. The Great Patriotic War began in 1941, and his father was called to the front. Finally, my grandfather had to go to work as a groom instead of him. In 1943, he joined the Komsomol organization, and on November 6 he was drafted into the ranks of the Soviet Army. He was only 17 at that time! Ah, war, what have you done?.. Our yards have become quiet. Our boys raised their heads. They grew up earlier. They stood for a while on the threshold And went away, soldier after the soldier. My grandfather passed the course of a young soldier in the city of Belebey in the 49th Artillery Regiment, Racon platoon. He took the military oath there. In April 44, he was sent to the front. He had to fight on the 1st Ukrainian front of the 52nd Army of the 936th Infantry Regiment with a large anti-tank rifle. My grandfather was both a spotter and a shooter. The 254th Division, in which he served, received the honorary title - Cherkasskaya and was awarded the Orders of Lenin, Order of Red Banner, Order of Suvorov, Order of Kutuzov, Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky. The military unit of my grandfather was located near the Kovel station, Vladimir-Volyn region. He started from here liberating Poland and Germany, and finally reached Czechoslovakia. The major operation was planned at the Sandomierz bridgehead On January 18, 1945. Our engineers cleared and marked the passages pierced by the artillery with poles ahead of time. Therefore, the operation began earlier than it was planned. It happened on January 12, at 5 a.m and developed rapidly. The German historian Friedrich von Mellenthin wrote about this offensive: “The Russian offensive developed with unprecedented strength and swiftness. It is impossible to describe everything that happened between the Vistula and the Oder for the first time in the months of 1945. Europe didn’t know anything like this since the fall of the Roman Empire. " In a battle near the village of Gidle, my grandfather destroyed a German armoured vehicle. Unfortunately if managed to give a return shot. Its shell exploded near my grandfather and he was wounded by three shrapnel in the spine. That ache stayed with him through life. As a result, the barrel of the grandfather's gun was torn off, and the second soldier - a guy from Bashkiria - was killed. Grandfather's legs failed, he was laying all night on the snow, warming himself with sips of alcohol from a flask, till the nurse found him in the morning. He was the only one from his battalion to return to his unit after the hospital. The troops of the 254th Infantry Division entered German territory after liberating Western Ukraine and Poland. On May 2, the division entered the area north-west of Gorlitz, where it was replenished, and on May 7, 1945, it launched an offensive from the area south of Nisko, 17 kilometres north-west of Gorlitz, with the task of breaking through the enemy's defences and subsequently capturing the city of Zittau. The division reached the city by May 8, 1945, could not take it on the move and took it only on May 9, 1945. Later the division rushed to Mlada Boleslav, and soon the enemy was knocked out by the advanced division. They stopped on the outskirts of a city. Grandfather with his combat comrades entered one of the luxurious two-story houses and saw a woman there. They were very surprised when she began speaking Russian. The soldiers got acquainted with her and were happy to discuss much. They learned that she was taken prisoner in the Suma region. She became the servant of a German rich man. One morning the woman woke up and the owners were gone. They ran away after they had heard about the success of the Russian army. The soldiers saw a radio in the room and turned it on. It was reported about the complete surrender of Germany. My grandfather and his comrades were stunned by that news, could not hold back tears of joy after the message. It was VICTORY !!!! But some German groups still continued a stubborn resistance. Everything ended finally on May 11th for my grandfather. He was sent to a military school in June, after the end of the war. J. Stalin ordered to reduce all military personnel at the same time. My grandfather was among those and in 1947 he was sent to serve in the city of Novosibirsk in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He guarded German and Japanese prisoners of war in a camp. My grandfather got his first military award at that time. He was marked by the Order of the Red Star. How strongly I hate the war, For many years it comes to my dreams Breaks them and silence, It knocks at my door at night. My former comrades also come Who did not return from the battlefield, I lost friends every day, And I fell asleep in a trench while standing … My grandfather returned to his native village after demobilization in 1950, Burannaya, Sol-Iletsk district, Orenburg region, where he worked until 1986. For his excellent work he was awarded the Order of the “Badge of Honour”, he has the medals “For Labour Valour” and medal “Veteran of Labour”.