Nikolay Markelov, a Red Army soldier, gunner of anti-tank gun of the 4th Company of the 1050th Regiment of 301st Rifle Division, was born on May 21, 1900 in the village of Maksymivka Bazarnosyzganskiy District of Saratov Region. Russian. Education - primary. He served in the Red Army in 1918-1920 and from 1941 to 1945. Participated in the Civil War on the southern front. For many years he worked for the Kurilovskiy forestry, and in the pre-war years - for the state farm Vodnik. During the Great Patriotic War - from August 1941 to January 15, 1945 - he fought on the South-Western, 3rd Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian Fronts. He took part in the defense of Kiev and Kharkov, the liberation of Ukraine and Poland. For military distinctions, he was awarded the medal For Bravery (1944). He was wounded four times. He died on January 15, 1945. Buried in a mass grave on Polish soil near the village of Magnuszew of the Kielce Voivodeship. Nikolay Markelov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously on February 27, 1945, for his bravery and heroism during the crossing of the Pilitsa River and in the battle to hold the bridgehead on its Western Bank. On the morning of January 14, 1945, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front launched the Vistula-Oder operation. A newspaper published by the occupiers in Lodz wrote: "the deceptive, abnormal silence on the Eastern front has finally passed. The storm of fire raged again. The Soviets threw their months-accumulated masses of men and materials into battle. The battle that has raged since last Sunday may surpass all the previous big battles in the East." The fascist newspaper was not far from the truth this time. The battles that took place on the territory of Poland in the winter of 1945 unfolded over vast expanses, involving millions of troops equipped with all types of modern military equipment. The regiment in which Nikolay Markelov served also successfully led the offensive. After defeating the enemy in the main defense zone, our units reached the Pilitsa River near the village of Vyala Gura on January 15. On the West Bank of the river, the Nazis had a well-equipped defense line. The first attempt to cross the Pilitsa by the thin ice was not successful. It was stopped be the heavy fire of the enemy. Two heavy machine guns laid the company on the ice. The soldiers began to crawl back. It was well seen by Markelov. The brave warrior crawled forward to the enemy-occupied shore. Climbing the steep slope, he took a comfortable position and opened fire on the embrasures of the enemy bunkers. With well-aimed shots, the armored car driver silenced both machine guns. The company resumed the offensive, crossed the river without losses, and captured a tactically advantageous bridgehead on its Western Bank. After some time, the Nazis launched a strong counterattack, trying to throw the company from the bridgehead and restore the lost positions. On a narrow front, the enemy threw an infantry battalion with 16 tanks into battle. Soviet soldiers courageously engaged in an unequal battle with a numerically superior enemy. With rifle and machine-gun fire, the company, supported by gunners and mortars, fired from closed firing positions, forced the enemy infantry to lie down. Six German tanks were hit by anti-tank grenades, the rest broke into the company's location and began to iron the trenches occupied by it. Markelov fired an anti-tank rifle at the sides of enemy vehicles. He managed to set fire to one tank. Two more tanks froze in place from the well-aimed fire of his comrades. The remaining enemy vehicles hurried back to their starting positions. Having dealt with the tanks, Markelov aimed the fire to the infantry and enemy firing points. With targeted fire, he destroyed more than a dozen and a half of Nazi soldiers. Seven counterattacks were sustained by the brave soldiers of the company. By the end of the day, the main forces of the regiment were concentrated on the bridgehead. With a determined attack, they overturned the enemy and drove them West. But Nikolay Markelov was no longer among the attackers. While repelling the last counterattack, he was mortally wounded and died on the way to the hospital.