Branch of the army: Land forces, Air Force (except naval aviation), Coast Service, NKVD troops, Border Guard. Unit: 230th Stalin Rifle Division of the order of Suvorov. After graduating from the 10th grade he was sent to the Mogilev infantry school which was evacuated to the city of Volsk, Saratov region. He graduated from school as a mortar. In July 1943, the entire school was sent to the front on alert. He participated in the battles for the liberation of Kharkov, Poltava and the city of Kobeliaky. On September 27, 1943, they reached the Bank of the Dnieper river opposite the large village of Mishurin Rog. On the right high bank of the Dnieper, the Regiment captured a bridgehead and was fighting to expand it . In the afternoon they received orders to cross the Dnieper and support their infantry with fire. Their mortar company ran to the shore, where the pontoons were served. At night, an order was received to go to the ferry for landing on the other side of the Dnieper. They landed near the village a bit later. They were ordered to join their battalion, which was already fighting. Leaving their rolls, gas masks, and duffel bags on the Bank, they caught up with their battalion and began to support their comrades with fire. On October 29, 1943 the Regiment was encircled near Krivoi Rog. They left the encirclement without mortar's support, and after checking, they were sent to the infantry. They were advancing on Odessa. On August 20,1944 the offensive of Chisinau began. V.Gordeev was ordered to destroy a group of fascists and remove the dead adjutant from the battlefield. He was marked with the Order of the ""Patriotic War of the 1st class"" fot this fight. On January 10, 1945, their 230th Stalinist Division in the 9th Corps moved to the bridgehead behind the Vistula. On January 12, due to bad weather, without artillery and air training, the offensive began, broke through the German defenses and quickly went to the Oder. On February 1, 1945, the Germans were driven out of the city of Zellin. In the evening, they received orders to cross the Oder, to understand the enemy's position and capture the ""informer"". Five of them walked along the Oder river in white coats. It was a high causeway on the opposite bank . Their commands were sure there was a defense behind the dam. They crawled behind the dam and made sure that there was no one behind it. There was a small house not far from the shore where they found a sleeping German soldier near the phone. They learned from him that the entire company had gone to the nearest German estate, and they promised to come for him later. V.Gordeev sent 2 soldiers to the headquarters to inform them that crossing the Oder at this point was possible. After 1.5 hours, company of machine gunners came to support them near that estate. Machine gunners quickly captured the estate, destroying all the Germans. By morning, the entire Regiment was on the defensive at the indicated point , and the 148th Rifle Division next to us was ordered to cross the Oder, where our division had passed. In the morning, the attacks of the fascists began, but the bridgehead expanded in depth and width. Heavy fighting with German tank divisions began. At night, they received an order to capture the city in the nearest locality. They also captured the informer and took him to the regimental headquarters. In the future, heavy fighting continued, and part of the regiment was forced to withdraw behind the coastal dam. V.Gordeev was presented with the Order of the ""Great Patriotic War of 2nd class"" for the perfect fulfilling of all the missions. The war ended on May 2, 1945 in Berlin. For fighting in Berlin, he was awarded the Order of the ""Red Star"". Later he served in the 5th Shock Army, which served as a garrison in Berlin."