Heroes and feats

My great-grandfather's name is Yuri Sirotkin. He was born on July 18, 1926 in the village of Krapivki, Zavolzhsky district. In 1943, as a seventeen-year-old boy, he was drafted into the Red Army. He was sent to Gorokhovets camps in the Vladimir region to a sniper school. The service in these camps was difficult, especially because of poor nutrition. Rations at that time were very poor. Not having completed his studies at the school of snipers, great-grandfather was transferred to a tank school, where he learns to be a mechanic-driver of a KV tank. By the beginning of the summer of 1944, he finishes school, passes the driving test, and was sent to the active army. He was assigned to the 101st Tank Brigade, which wass part of the 43rd Army. This army was commanded by General A.P. Beloborodov, already famous after the battles near Moscow, who repeatedly mentioned the 101st Tank Brigade in his memoirs. This army was aimed from Vitebsk to the North, to Riga. At the end of June 1944, the famous operation Bagration began, and the 43rd Army launched an offensive on Riga. The fighting was very heavy. The Nazis resisted with frenzied fanaticism, and despite the huge losses, went into a furious counterattack. Especially heavy fighting was outside the city Ietsava. It was captured, lost and recaptured several times. Great-grandfather tree times on his tank broke into this city, and three times the Nazis recaptured it. Here, the great-grandfather and his crew were concussed by a nearby bomb. Once, while on one of the Baltic farms, the tank commander sent him to get needles in the forest. My great-grandfather went into the forest and began to see which tree to cut branches from. Then he heard the crunch of a dead branch. Great-grandfather turned and ran to the tank. He reported to the commander, who reported to the commander of the rifle battalion. The soldiers began to comb the forest and found six Germans. It was a recon group. A battle ensued, four Germans were destroyed, and two were taken as prisoners. Before reaching Riga 13 km, 101 Tank Brigade and the entire army were transferred to the Western direction, near the city of Shaulyay. There they liberated a concentration camp with women. As the women later said, the Germans already wanted to shoot them, but thanks to our tankers broke through to the camp, the Germans fled and the people remained alive. My great-grandfather also took part in the liberation of the camp. Later the 101 Tank Brigade was withdrawn from the 43rd Army and moved back to Riga. The fascists there resisted fiercely. In one of the attacks, the great-grandfather's tank and several other vehicles got into a swamp and got bogged down. A stationary tank is a great target for gunners. And the crew left their tank. But the command ordered them to return to the tank and guard it. And when it got dark, great-grandfather and the crew crawled to their tank. He was in no-man's-land. Before they reached the tank, they saw a light in the tank 50 meters away, then heard German speech. The Nazis got into the tank, they were drinking their schnapps, playing the harmonica and shouting songs. Then the fascists got out of the tank, and it was blown up. So great-grandfather was "horseless". So he became an infantryman. In one of the battles, their infantry could not stand the fascist pressure and began to retreat. The great-grandfather and the major began to stop the fighters sperring back, and then dragged them into the attack. After the battle, the major found my great-grandfather, wrote down his last name and said that he would introduce him to the order. But then the major died or the award list was lost in the headquarters, but there was no award. During the next battle, the commander sent my great-grandfather for ammunition. He began to make his way to the rear and running across the highway was wounded by a sniper. The bullet hit great-grandfather in the mouth and came out behind the ear. Most likely it was fired by a vlasovite who disguised himself in our rear. My great-grandfather rolled into a ditch, somehow made a bandage for himself, and crawled to the wooden building. There were many wounded soldiers. After the battle, everyone was loaded into cars and taken to the hospital. The wounded were transported in five trucks. Driving across the river on a bridge, the bridge was blown up. Two trucks with injured people fell into the river and all died. The truck in which the great-grandfather was traveling at the time of the explosion was on the shore. Then he ended up in the hospital, in Kazan. Here he met the long-awaited victory. After the hospital, my great-grandfather was sent to the Far East. The train was halfway there when they were told that Japan had been defeated and the war was over. The train went back to the West. And until 1950, my great-grandfather served in various units, after which he was demobilized. After the war, my great-grandfather worked all his life as a tractor driver in the village of Novlyanskoe, Zavolzhsky district, Ivanovo region. There are awards for military achievements. We remember our great-grandfather and are proud of him.

Gavriil Alexandrovich was called to the front in 1941. From the first day till the last, he went through this war. Like everyone else, he saw death and often found himself on the edge between life and death. Difficult and incredibly bitter was the period of retreat of our troops in the first years of the war. After heavy fighting, the soldiers had to leave their native land to be desecrated by the enemy. Gavriil Alexandrovich participated in many battles and operations, and was repeatedly awarded for heroism. When our troops went on the offensive, they needed a "language". The reconnaissance group, which included Gavriil Alexandrovich, went to take him, they managed to capture not just a soldier, but an officer! In the forest, they came across an enemy ammunition depot. To prevent the Germans from getting it, they lay on the cold ground and guarded it all night. After this operation, my grandfather was awarded the Order of the Red Star. He was offered to be trained as a recon, but after going through half the war with a friend, he could not part with him and refused. The war ended, but the fighting continued near Prague. Many Russian soldiers were killed. The end of the war was officially announced, but the blood of Soviet soldiers continued to flow. Gavriil Alexandrovich was lucky to be alive, although he was shell-shocked. At the end of the fighting the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet troops, Marshal G.K. Zhukov arrived in Prague. At a large table he congratulated the soldiers with the end of the war and thanked them for their bravery. Gavriil Alexandrovich was also sitting at this table. It was time to go home. Gavriil Alexandrovich and his bosom friend drove to Lviv, where they parted ways. They promised to remember each other and meet from time to time. But there was an accident at the railway station, the train went downhill, and before the eyes of Gavriil Alexandrovich, a friend was run over by a train… Flushed and indignant, he went to deal with the authorities, not without physical abuse — he could not restrain himself. After that, he was taken off the train and jailed for 4 years. He came home in 1949, stripped of all awards and without a passport. In the new passport, he took the name of his friend Gennady and lived with this name all his life. The passport office gave him the name Gennady instead of Gavriil. He did not correct it and left the name, the name of his dead friend. And he named his son Gabriil. When they were making out a new military book, an error occurred: it turned out that my grandfather hadn’t not fought at all. He was stripped of all the benefits that were presented at the time. But he did not give up, worked hard and restored the destroyed economy. Together with his wife, they raised 7 children.

Fyodor Smetanin was born on December 26, 1925 in the village of Gryazovo in Plesetsk district of Arkhangelsk region in a big family. He was the second son. Fyodor was the pride of his parents. Every school year he finished with a commendation list, he wanted to become a military man. He was tall, statuesque, athletic and intelligent young man. But on June 22 all plans collapsed… His elder brother Sasha went to the front. Grandfather was left in charge of helping his old parents and younger sisters. All men of military age were drafted into the Red Army. In 1942, my grandfather joined the Komsomol and became an active Komsomol member. At the age of sixteen, he was hired as a water carrier at a water pump, filling locomotives with water. Trains ran around the clock, and there were few stops at the station. So there was a lot of work. Sometimes he had to work 24 hours a day, but everyone knew that it was necessary to win the war. By then, the elder brother was missing. My grandfather was always thinking "how to get to the front". He said that he really wanted to sleep and eat. As a railway worker, he was given rations. But at home, his little sisters were waiting, they were not given rations. Then one day, on his way home, he lost his bread cards. He was very upset, he went looking for them, but didn't find them. Then, in January 1943, adding six months to the age, he applied to the district military enlistment office, with a request to be called up to the Soviet Army. The military enlistment office granted his request and sent him as a cadet to the military school for officer training in Arkhangelsk. The school was transferred from Arkhangelsk to Irkutsk. After completing the accelerated courses, young officers were assigned to the first Belorussian front. Upon arrival in the active army on the 1st Belorussian front as part of the 1st Department of the Engineer-Sapper Brigade, where he was enlisted as a sapper in the 3rd Company of the 1st platoon. He performed his first feat on January 6, 1944 in the Vitebsk region under artillery and mortar fire at the crossing of the Luchesa river. The enemy attacked a battalion of sappers working at the crossing to disrupt the work. But the Red Army men completed their misson. My grandfather performed his second and last feat in the war on March 2, 1944. Their platoon was ordered to set up a pontoon ferry to cross the Luchesa river. It was very difficult to do this, Messers were constantly flying and bombing. It was very scary, but was even more scary not to follow the order and to let the enemy pass. He was seriously injured. From 11 fighters - the only one remained alive. Shrapnel had torn the entire left side of his body. A young nurse carried him out of the battlefield. My grandfather didn't like to talk about it and always repeated it: "How did she drag me so small and young!" The seriously injured man was sent to a hospital in Tomsk, where his left arm was amputated. My grandfather lost an eye, but his leg was saved. For bravery, he was awarded the Order of the Great Patriotic War II class, the medal “For Bravery» and other medals. He didn't want to live, go home, and be a burden to his family. Some elderly female nurse shamed: "You are alive, on your feet, with your head - how not to be ashamed!" He returned home before the Victory. There were not enough personnel in the timber industry. A young demobilized guy was taken as a braker to the lower warehouse, and was elected Secretary of the Komsomol organization of the Shalakush forestry enterprise. He checked, marked and sent wagons with timber to the Ukraine to restore the mines of Donbass. He proved to be a competent, reliable person, and in 1949 he was offered to go to accounting courses in Arkhangelsk. My grandfather graduated with honors. The young specialist was offered a job as a chief accountant in the city, but he refused. He decided that he should start working as an ordinary accountant. So he and his family ended up in the Solza forest center, where he began his career as a senior accountant. Then he was transfered to Turzanski lesopunkt. The village was small. The school was only for primary classes, and the family had a first-grader daughter growing up. The head of the family decided to move to Iwatsu. Here our grandfather worked as a chief accountant until his retirement. Together with his wife Zoya Stepanovna, he raised four children, all of them were given an education. And the eldest daughter Nina followed in her father's footsteps and also became an accountant. My grandfather's three granddaughters work as accountants in different cities of Russia. We remember, love and thank our grandfather for the VICTORY!

Nikolai Ivanovich Tarasov, born in 1917. He was called up by the Pervomayskaya district millitary comissariat of Moscow in 1938. In the ranks of the Navy as part of the 6th Ladoga Military Flotilla. In 1939, he participated in the Finnish company. After the Winter war agaist the Finns, he continued to serve in the Baltic Fleet. In the Great Patriotic War, he defended Moscow as part of the 200th Special Artillery Division of the Navy, 6th Battery under the command of Senior Lieutenant G. D. Fokin. The mobile battery of Senior Lieutenant Fokin selflessly covered the withdrawal of rifle units (2nd Division of the People's Militia of Stalinsky district of Moscow) and personnel of the 200th omad of the Navy. From 9 to 12 October 1941, Soviet units retreated under strong pressure from the enemy. It came to hand-to-hand fights more than once. A fierce battle took place near the village of Bogoroditsky on October 12, 1941. Here is what Fokin G. D. writes about the most difficult moments of this battle: "A huge number of our troops have accumulated Near the breakout point in the area of the village of Bogoroditsky. The hollow along the stream Bebrya was filled with wagons, artillery, vehicles, mortars. The Nazis shot our troops. Because of the huge crowding of our military units, dozens of people were killed by each enemy shell. We managed to destroy 4 large tanks and damage 2 tanks by shooting at point-blank range. The others turned back and fled the battlefield. In the same battle, a 105-mm four-gun battery of the enemy, one battery of large mortars were destroyed by naval gun fire in a dueling skirmish, a number of firing points were suppressed and destroyed, as well as a lot of enemy manpower, which prevented our breakthrough ." (Excerpt from the book "Military sailors in the battles for Moscow" 1968. Ternovsky G. V.) in the future, the sailors in the most difficult conditions made their way out of the environment. There was nothing to eat. They went without an accurate map, guided by a compass, and came under fire. Sometimes it even seemed that there were Germans everywhere. Skirmishes even with small groups of opponents were avoided, as they led the wounded and were afraid to get into the ring. It was decided to leave between Mozhaisk and Volokolamsk. It was very hungry, everyone was exhausted. Sometimes at night they managed to dig up potatoes and bake them. Exhausted people stopped, fell asleep, and sometimes in the darkness they could not find them, going further without them. Once they got into the gatehouse of Gerasim Ivanovich Ivanov. The sailors tired from the sleepless nights and long treks for the first time to catch up on sleep. He fed everyone and brought them from Kalinin region to the Moscow region. On October 26, the sailors arrived in the capital. For heroism shown in the defense of the city of Moscow from 9 to 12 October 1941 Nikolai Ivanovich Tarasov was awarded the Order of the ReBbanner by decree of April 3, 1942. Due to the huge losses of personnel from 700 people, 300 remained, 200 Omad was disbanded. Nikolai Ivanovich Tarasov continued his further combat career in units of the 60th Brigade, 4th Battalion, and 1st Company on the Transcaucasian Front, where he served as a submachine gunner. On September 27, 1942, fierce battles fought against the enemy near the village of Illarionovka, where Junior Sergeant Nikolai Ivanovich Tarasov received a through wound in the arm, because of which was he was commissioned.

Due to the early death of his parents, he was grew up in the family of an uncle. After school, he studied at the pedagogical College, from which he graduated in 1935. He taught history, German, and physical education at the school. In the late 30s, he was enrolled in the first year of the Moscow Regional pedagogical institute, from which he graduated ahead of schedule with honors in 1941. Immediately, he was enlisted in the district fighter battalion as part of the Fighter Motor Rifle Regiment of the UNKVD, which conducted patrol service on the streets of Moscow. In their spare time, the soldiers underwent intensive military training a few days before November 7, not knowing that they would take part in the historic Parade on Red Square. A few days after the Parade, machine gunner Talaraya joined the ranks of the defenders of the capital in the area of Rogachev. Once on the front lines, Nicholas went into battle against the German invaders. He was up against a clearly superior enemy force. Left alone against fifty German submachine gunners, running from place to place, created an impression on the enemy that a large fire force is against him, Nikolai covered the retreat of his fighters. When the fascists retreated, he joined up with his unit. For this fight, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. During the days of defense, the young soldier was elected Secretary of the Komsomol Committee of the regiment. In the late spring of 1942, several detachments of the regiment were sent to the rear of the enemy in Bryansk region. There they, together with the partisans, raided the enemy's rear, ambushed, blew up bridges, and disabled the enemy's communications equipment. After that, Talaria participated in combat operations against the invaders in Smolensk and Orel regions. After returning from the enemy's rear, Talaraya was sent to study at the Higher diplomatic school of the NKID of the USSR , then to work at the USSR Ministry of Foreing Affairs. Working in the Department of diplomatic relations, he visited almost all countries in Europe, Asia, America and Africa. And the Great Patriotic War was still going on. While working at the Ministry, he met Molotov many times. In early 1943, Molotov brought him to Stalin, who assigned Nikolai Bagrationovich an extremely important mission.

Soloshchev Ivan Semyonovich Was born on 01.01.1918. Position: Commander of the 82 mm MortarDdivision. Rank: Guards Captain of the 1075 Rifle Regiment. Divisions in which the front-line soldier served: 8th Guards Rifle Panfilov Red Banner Division (6 front-line soldiers), 8th Guards Rifle Rezhitskaya Red Banner Division of the order of Lenin and the order of Suvorov named after Major General I. V. Panfilov. Additional information: Home address during the war: Usinskoe village, Shigonsky (Syzran) district, Kuibyshev (Samara) region. Relatives during the war: mother: Solodova Nadezhda Ivanovna. Additional information: Soloshchev Ivan Semyonovich, born in 1918, a native of the village of Usinskoe, Shigonsky district, Kuibyshev region, Guards Captain-Deputy Commander of the 82 mm Mortar Division. Drafted into the rRd Army in 1938 by The shigon RVC, Kuibyshev region. Defense of Moscow. Western, 2nd Baltic, 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. 316th Rifle Division. On November 18, 1941 the 8th Guards Rifle Division received the status for its courage and heroism in the battles near Moscow. 8th Guards Rifle Rezhitskaya Red Banner of the order of Lenin and Suvorov named after hero of the Soviet Union Major General Panfilov Ivan Vasilyevich division, 1075th Guards Rifle Regiment. Survived.Died in 1990. He was buried in Usinskoe village. Wife: Salomea Anna Ivanovna. During the autumn fighting in 1941 during the defense of Moscow in November 1941 was awarded the Order of the Red Star, awarded in April 1942, the medal "For military merit", awarded 06 June 1942 Order of the Red Star, awarded April 20, 1945 Order of the Red Star. The division fought to the death on the approaches to Moscow, their lives stopped 252 Silesian Infantry Division and two Panzer, the 2nd Panzer Division, 40th Motorized Corps Colonel-General G. Stumm and 11-th Tank Division, 46th Motorized Corps General G. von Vittinghoff-Scheel, fire, anti-tank guns destroyed tanks, burned with bottles of flammable mixture, with antitank grenades went under the tracks, showing the resilience and heroism. The commander of the 4th Panzer Group Colonel-General Erich Gepner, whose shock forces were defeated with the 8th Guards Division, called it in his reports to the commander of the Center group, Fyodor Von Bock – "a wild division fighting against the rules, whose soldiers do not surrender, are extremely fanatical and do not fear death." Ivan Semyonovich in the battles near the village of Kryukovo, 25 km from Moscow, destroyed the headquarters of the fascist regiment with his mortars, which made it possible to occupy the village without losses. Correcting the fire of his batteries from the neutral zone, he destroyed machine-gun points and smashed several dugouts with the Germans. November 16, 1941 at the village of Ivoilovo destroyed a large ammunition depot and two vehicles with infantry. November 20, 1941 at the village of Rozhdestveno destroyed one submachine gun, one staff car, while at the observation post killed 4 machine gunners who were sent to eliminate him, and their machine guns "Schmeister" brought to the location of the regiment. On November 30, 1941 at the village of Kryukovo, 25 km from Moscow, he destroyed one machine gun and five trucks with infantry, one mortar battery, 4 motorcycles, 12 submachine gunners and smashed the headquarters of the German regiment with a direct hit of mines. On February 12, 1942 Soloshchev I. S. with the fire of his mortars drove the fascists out of the village of Svyatogora thus enabling the infantry to take the village without firing a shot. On February 22, 1942, while conducting mortar fire, he struck a sensitive blow to the enemy. In April 1942 a joint gun and machine-gun fire consisting of five people knocked out two Yu-87 aircraft, which, after bombing the regiment's positions, cheekily flew at an altitude of 40-50 meters and fired machine guns. Information about this feat was reported in the evening report of the Soviet information Bureau on April 22, 1942. The division made a huge and invaluable contribution to the defense of Moscow. Usinsk high school Museum, Usinskoye village, Syzran district, Samara region.

My great-grandmother, Lydia Solovyova, was born on June 15, 1929 in the Krasnoyarsk territory, Achinsk. The family was large, but very friendly. In addition to my great-grandmother, the family had five more children. In 1941, Lydia's father was called to the front, the family was left without a breadwinner; moreover, her mother fell ill and died after a while. Her father went missing. That is how all the children ended up in an orphanage. To say that they experienced difficulties is not to say anything, my great-grandmother remembered these times with tears in her eyes. But Lida, at the age of 13, as the eldest among her brothers and sisters, had no right to lose heart and, as best she could, encouraged and took care of her relatives. In those days, many children were destined to be in an orphanage, since the war did not spare anyone, and many were left without parents as babies. At the age of 14, Lida was sent to Krasnoyarsk, to a military factory. At first, she was assigned to an adult master who trains her to work on a lathe. The training took two months, and the girl begun to use the machine with the dexterity of a professional Turner. She produced parts for grenades and bullets, which in turn were sent to the front. Great-grandmother no longer remembered how much staff she managed to produce during this time, but only the old dents and crooked fingers on her hands indicate that it was definitely not easy for her. Everything she went through and saw at that time. There was hunger, when a few people were given 700 gr. of bread and soup from potato peelings. There was cold, when with -50 one had to wrap his feet with rags because of the lack of shoes and work in this form at the machine. There was longing for her family, from which she was separated. But her duty to her Country gave her the strength to stand up and hope for the best. Of course, she considered the announcement of the end of the war to be the happiest day of her life. Lydia was awarded the title of Home Front Worker, as well as Honorary Donor, because, despite all the hardships that happened to her, her heart did not harden, and she continued to try to help people by donating her blood. Memories of those times still stir her soul. Especially sad is the fact that she completely lost touch with her loved ones, despite all her efforts to find them. She submitted search requests to all instances, but to this day has no idea about their fate. Perhaps, for her, this is the most important damage that the war has caused. Lydia got married, created a strong family, gave birth and raised four children, including my grandmother. She has nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. This year, she will be 91 years old, and my great-grandmother is still in good health, which makes us all very happy.

He was awarded orders and medals: Red Star, Patriotic War 2 Degree, For Bravery and others. He fought on the South–Western front troops in the 6th Order of Suvorov Starokonstantinovskaya Engineer-Sapper Brigade of the 1st Guards Army. In the ranks of the sappers of the brigade, he went a long way from the Don to Prague. Seven orders of the Soviet Union adorn the battle signs of the brigade and its units. Together with other troops, the brigade's sappers repelled the enemy's fierce counterattacks. Thousands of mines were laid by the brigade's sappers on the front line of the army line, conducted engineering reconnaissance, cleared minefields, and built river crossings and bridges. In July 1944, an engineer battalion crossed the Dniester River. Without rest, the sappers worked at night under the light of searchlights, risking incurring enemy aircraft. During the summer offensive under enemy fire, the brigade built 58 and restored 41 bridges, defused 6,530 mines, and made 111 passes through minefields. The Starokonstantinovskaya Brigade was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class, for its exemplary performance of command tasks in the battles with the German invaders and for its courage. In the autumn of 1944, the battle for the Carpathians began. Fierce battles were fought for every slope of the mountain. The battalion was awarded the Order of the Red Star for its bravery in battle. In November 1944, having broken the stubborn resistance of the enemy, the brigade, along with other Soviet Troops, entered the Slovak valley. In the spring of 1945, an important German defense point on the Morava River, 60 km away from the city of Prague, was liberated. Victory Day Starokonstantinovskaya Brigade, in which Alexey served, met on the territory of Czechoslovakia. After the end of the Great Patriotic War, Alexey worked in the Stavropol territory in Essentuki. For a long time, he was the Deputy Chief physician of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Sanatorium Moscow" of the office of the President of the Russian Federation. His name is listed in the city's jubilee "Book of Labor Glory". The Council of veterans of the 6th Order of Suvorov Starokonstantinovskaya Engineer-sapper Brigade of the 1st Guards Army was located in Moscow. The Chairman of the Council of veterans of the brigade was Colonel N. Lapotyshkin the Council of veterans carried out a great military-patriotic work. Military magazines published works on the combat experience of the Soviet troops during the Great Patriotic War, streets were named after the dead sappers, the book "Sappers of one detachment" was published, and an obelisk "Sappers of Suvorov in Honor of the Heroic Battles for the Carpathians" was installed on the slopes of the Carpathians.

My grandfather, Nikolai Timoshenko, was born in 1916 in the village of Krivosheevka in the Gvardeiskiy District of Taldy-Kurgan Region. In 1939, he was drafted into the Red Army. From 1939 to 1940, he served in the 246th unit of the anti-aircraft regiment. From 1940 to May 1941 in the 588th Anti-aircraft ArtilleryR. From 1941 to 1942, he served in the 121st squad of the anti-aircraft regiment in a rank of corporal. From 1942 to May 1946, he served in the 447th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment in a rank of Senior Corporal. In 1944, he was awarded the Medal For Bravery for the fact that, in battles with the German invaders, he showed perseverance and courage, quickly passed commands from the command post to the batteries and skillfully fixed breaks of the wire . From 10 to 16 October 1944, he maintained continuous communication with the batteries, which were firing at the enemy. Thanks to his work, two breaks in the communication line were fixed under enemy mortar fire. 18.05.1945 was awarded the Order of Glory, 3rd degree. Working as a telephone operator in a platoon of the regiment's management, he repeatedly restored the telephone line under enemy mortar fire, showing courage and bravery to his comrades. 26.04.1945, the battery conducted artillery preparation and clarity in communication during this period was more important than ever. Our grandfather was assigned as a line officer to the most responsible area where communication was often broken by enemy artillery fire. Sacrificing his life, grandfather, under heavy rifle and artillery fire of the enemy five times restored communication, which contributed to the timely and accurate transmission of orders of the regiment's command to the battery. He went through the whole war and despite all the difficulties that he had to go through, he returned home alive. He met my grandmother Ekaterina after the war in 1946. They had six daughters. According to my mother, my grandfather was very kind, often read books to them in the evenings. They were happy. My grandmother told my mother that he did not like to talk about the war, to remember how the telephone line was pulled under fire. He often said that it was over, but now it is quiet. Unfortunately, my grandfather died before I was born, and I could not know him. We remember his exploits, how he defended our Homeland. We tell our children about it. That they would know, remember, and be proud of him. This victory was due to the courage and heroism of the Soviet people. For which the people paid a high price-the price of their lives, for the sake of a bright future.

My great-grandfather Alexey Smirnov was born in the village of Krasniy Kust of the 2nd Berezovskiy selsoviet of the Muchkapskiy District of the Tambov Region. Participant of the Great Patriotic War. He finished only five classes - his mother died, and his father could not raise children, because he worked hard. My great-grandfather went to live with his older sister in the city of Balashov. After some time there, he entered the Tractor operators school. Before the war, he served in the 3rd Separate Tank Company as a driver from November 1936. In October 1939, he was dismissed to the reserve. He was mobilized by the Kursinskiy District Military Commissariat in the Chita Region. He was the Chief of the military record-keeping Desk. After that, he was transferred to military unit #527, to the 3rd company, then was called up to the 206th Special Training Company of Scouts. Then transferred to the 328th Artillery Regiment. My great-grandfather was an ordinary soldier. He did not have a high rank, but did everything possible and impossible during the war. He was a brave and courageous man with a strong character. After that, he was assigned to the 2nd Belorussian Front. These war years were hard. Under the bursts of shells in rain and snow, heat and cold, the Soviet soldiers confidently approached Victory. My great-grandfather remembered their commander-in-chief, Konstantin Rokossovsky, a Soviet military commander and statesman, one of the most outstanding military leaders. Great-grandfather went through the war. He fought bravely for the world we now live in. My great-grandfather received Medals For the Defense of Leningrad, For the Victory over Germany, letters of thanks. After the war, my he participated in the restoration of the war-torn city of Voronezh. My great-grandfather died on April 27, 1980. I am very proud of my great-grandfather! 3rd grade student MAOU "Lyceum #29" Tambov Ksenia Lopukhova.

M. Syrovatkin was born on April 21, 1923 in the village of Bychok, Petropavlovskiy District, Voronezh Region. Military rank: Guards Corporal. Position: calculator of the 8th Battery, 3rd Detachment, 38th Guards Kalinkovichskaya Double Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Artillery Brigade. In the Red Army from May 18, 1942. He was called up by the Mechetinsky District Military Commiserate of the Zernogradskiy District of the Rostov Region. Participation in the Great Patriotic War from September 27, 1942. Awards: Order of the Red Star (April 18, 1945), Order of the Patriotic War 2nd degree, Medals: For the Defense of the Caucasus, For the Liberation the Crimea, For the Capture of Berlin, For Bravery, For the Victory over Germany. “In May 1942, I was drafted into the Red Army and was sent to the Artillery Officer School in Ordzhonikidze (Vladikavkaz). After 4 months of training, due to the approach of the front, the school was disbanded and the cadets were assigned to military units. I was assigned to the 61st Artillery Regiment, which was in the Commander-in-Chief's reserve. The Commander, Colonel G. Dol, assigned me to a platoon of 152 mm guns, and soon transferred to the platoon management of calculations and adjustments, where there were more competent soldiers. I had a technical school and four months of artillery school behind. 61 regiment took part in the battles by the village of Voznesenskaya near Mozdok. With the German advance on Vladikavkaz, our regiment was transferred there. Fierce battles were fought for the villages of Khorsky, S. Dzuarikau and Elkhotovo (Elkhotovo Gate). That was a kind of meat grinder. We defended, the Germans pressed, they needed a breakthrough to the Caspian sea, and its oil. But we had hold out. Help came from the North. In connection with the defeat of the Germans at Stalingrad, our troops launched an offensive towards Transcaucasia. The Germans began to withdraw to the Taman Peninsula. Thanks to the coordinated work of fire control of the 61st Artillery Regiment, the shells fell exactly on targets at the retreating German troops. On January 11, 1943, Mozdok and Nalchik were liberated, and Stavropol was liberated by the morning of January 21. I participated in the liberation of Pyatigorsk and Krasnodar. My first award, the most expensive, for the defense of the Caucasus. The 61st Artillery Regiment also had a lot of merit in the liberation of this cities. Then our 61st Artillery Regiment was transferred to the Crimea in the area of Perekop and Sivash. In early March, it rained. Muddy roads hindered the movement of troops. We were practically standing still. Only tractors could move, but with difficulty. On April 8, we received an order for the offensive. We were issued with four sets of ammunition, food for 18 days, and five refills of gas. On April 11, 1944, we broke through the defenses at Perekop and Sivash and captured the city of Dzhankoy, and on April 13, our banners were flying over Simferopol, Yevpatoria and Feodosia. The 61st artillery regiment contributed a lot for these victories. After the Crimea, our regiment was sent to Belarus and fought as a part of the 1st Belorussian Front. Belarus was occupied by German for three years. We saw devastated cities, burned down houses in villages, not a single school, not a single family that would not have suffered from the Nazis. The task of the 1st Belorussian Front was to liberate Baranovichi, Pinsk, and Brest. At dawn on July 8, fighting broke out for the city of Baranovichi and by lunchtime, it was liberated. I participated in the liberation of Pinsk, and Borovichi. By the order of the Commander-in-Chief, the 61st Artillery Regiment was merged with the 62nd Artillery Regiment into the 38th Artillery Brigade in October 1944, and it was transferred to the Baltic States and participated in the liberation of Riga. Heavy battles were fought for the station Vainode. War is war. They awarded those who distinguished themselves, buried the dead, and sent the wounded to the medical unit. We received replacements in return, and were taught them how to fire. I close my eyes and see my comrades standing in front of me. I remember their faces, even some of them by name. Soldiers who died in battle are alive as long as we remember them. The closest comrades-in-arms remained in my memory forever. Ivan Kolmykov from Azov, was trained in Ordzhonikidze, received baptism of fire near the station of Arkhonskaya, Ivan Zhukov - the gun commander. Near Riga, he engaged 13 German tanks and destroyed four of them. Peter Kubanskiy, the chauffeur, delivered ammunition in any weather under any conditions. They are dead, they are dead! In December 1944, our 38th Artillery Brigade was already fighting in Poland. We came to the Oder River near Neu-Glitzen. Our troops started crossing and our artillery brigade covered it. The crossing was difficult, we made several attempts and suffered heavy losses. Many of our soldiers and commanders displayed heroism. The Oder River is more than 100 meters wide and up to 7 meters deep. In some places, the crossing was difficult. The town of Neu-Glitzen was located on the German side of the Oder River. From April 16 to April 19, the German defense consisting of three echelons was breached and the road to Berlin was opened. On April 18, 1945, I was awarded the Order of the Red Star for fighting in the town of Neu-Glitzen. Being the only calculator in the battery, despite the lack of a reference network and solid contour points when changing the battle lines of the battery, I managed to link the firing position and observation point in a timely and accurate manner. In addition, while simultaneously performing the role of a scout, I discovered on April 18 one enemy artillery battery, which was later suppressed. Our 38th Artillery Brigade together with other troops of the 1st Belorussian Front reached Berlin. I remember for the rest of my life the moment when the capitulation of Nazi Germany was announced on the radio at night. There was so much joy and tears. We congratulated each other, because we were still alive and the war was over. Combat crews of the 38th Artillery Brigade were stationed 6 km from Potsdam in the barracks of the former German air force. Everyday life, study, guard duty, and technical training and maintenance of equipment began. I participated in the opening ceremony of the Soldier-liberator Monument on May 8, 1946 in Treptow Park in Berlin. Its location was chosen by the Soviet command. The remains of soldiers who were previously buried in various city cemeteries, about 7,000 soldiers, were moved here, and granite from Hitler's Reich Chancellery was used in the construction of the memorial. During the formation of troops at this event, I was in the honor guard in my 38th Artillery brigade, next to us were our aviation and infantry divisions, as well as American, British and French soldiers. Marshal G. Zhukov was present at the opening of the monument, P. Rybalko made a speech, and then there was a parade of allied troops. Participated in the protection of Victory Day in Berlin in 1946. The most memorable moment of the Victory Day was the airship in the sky, from which a huge canvas with portraits of Lenin, Stalin, Engels, Marx hung. I also visited the Reichstag Building. I was impressed by the building itself, the figure of Wilhelm sitting on a horse, but most of all I remember the walls covered with chalk, charcoal and bayonets with names and surnames, numbers of military units who fought their way to Berlin, took the Reichstag and finished off the fascist evil spirits . My service in Germany continued until February 1947, and then I was discharged.”

My grandfather Vladimir Timoshenko was born in Ukraine in the village of Podlesnovka, Sumskoy Region, on December 03, 1925. His father, my great-grandfather Michael, was killed in fighting with the Ukrainian nationalists. In 1937, a mother with three children, fleeing from starvation, moved to Siberia in the small town of Yashkino in the Novosibirsk (now Kemerovo) Region. When the Great Patriotic War began, he was only 16 years old. By the age of 18, he graduated from the Novosibirsk Officer Courses and was sent to the front as a Second Lieutenant. He fought on the Kursk bulge near Prokhorovka, where the famous tank battle took place. The young officer commanded a squad whose task was to conduct reconnaissance behind the enemy lines, as well as take diversionary actions to confuse the fascists and distract them from attacking the main forces of the Russian Army. When the battle of Prokhorovka took place on July 12, 1943, the soldiers of the combat squad, being slightly away from the epicenter of the battle, created noise to confuse the enemy so that the blow to the main units was not so strong. This saved the lives of many of our soldiers. After such a fake attack, the soldiers lay down and waited for the reaction of the Germans. At this time, a German Tiger tank was already moving towards them. The muzzle of the Tiger was pointed in the direction of the fighters, but... fortunately, the aiming angle was not enough, and it fired at a nearby tree, which instantly shattered into splinters. Shrapnel shells wounded my grandfather, he received multiple wounds, and one fragment was near his heart. He lost consciousness. Some time later, when the shooting subsided, the wounded soldier was picked up by an old local woman. She dragged him to her house and hid there. When the attack began, and our troops entered the village, she told them that she had a wounded officer in her house. My grandfather was sent to a military hospital. The injuries were multiple, as a result of which he underwent many surgeries and was treated there for a long time, but the fragment that was near his heart could not be extracted. He passed with it all his life. After the battle of Prokhorovka, my grandfather was awarded the Order of the Red Star and medals for his military services. After the war, he moved to the city of Kemerovo and served In the Department for combating banditry. Then, served in the Regional military enlistment office, he accompanied conscripts to the Far East. After a while, he became a Director of the Central Stadium in Kemerovo. In 1954, by order of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, he received the rank of Lieutenant. With his wife, my grandmother, Maria, they lived together for 50 years, raised two wonderful sons, one of them is my father. With their difficult life and honest work for the good of the Motherland, they set an example to their grandchildren, and even managed to rejoice at their great-granddaughter. My grandfather died on February 23, 1995, on Defender of the Fatherland Day. I will always keep the memory of my grandfather a true Defender of the Motherland.

My mother, Varvara Sinyavskaya (Mitina) was born in 1915, in the ancient Russian village of Ilinskoe-Khovanskoe, Rostov District, Yaroslavlskaya Province (now an urban-type settlement and district center in the Ivanovo Region) in a large working family. The family lived in a tiny house. I grew up in this house, but I still don not understand — how the whole family was housed in it? Despite the difficulties, all the children received a good education. The older sister, Anna, graduated from the Institute of Noble Maidens, my mother and her brother Anatoly became agronomists, Claudia was a wonderful dressmaker, and the younger, Nadezhda, became a nurse and worked in a military hospital during the war. My mother did well at school and was one of the first to join the pioneers. For her active work, she was awarded a trip to the All-Union meeting of young pioneers in Moscow. After school, my mother studied at an Agricultural College, received a diploma of agronomist, and was sent to the Smolensk Region. It was there that she met my future father, Stepan Sinyavsky. He worked as a history teacher in a rural school then. When my father joined the army, my mother went to live with my parents. I was born in 1939, and my brother Eugeniy was born in 1940. My grandmother, Elizaveta Mitina, helped me to raise my children. When the war started, I was only two years old, and my brother was one year old. My mother worked from dawn to dawn: all her strength she gave to the front. She, the chief agronomist of the district, went to all the villages on foot in any weather. In February 1944, our father unexpectedly came to us after treatment in the hospital. He was with his family for a few days, and in August of the same year, the funeral came. We lived very sparsely, always hungry. My mother and her sister used every opportunity to take care of us. My mother was strict, but she never told me what they talked about at school at a parent-teacher meeting. I was always worried, even though I studied well. I remember May 9, 1945 (I was already 6 years old). The day was sunny and warm. A band was playing from somewhere — and my mother was sobbing loudly. She became a widow at 29 years old. Then again, endless work from dawn to dawn. And in rare moments of rest — the garden, firewood, delicious cheesecakes, knitting, participation in the choir. My mother liked very much when linen was snow-white, and the house was full of flowers. Every September 1, children came to her from all over the street — and no one left without flowers. Almost until her death in 1988, my mother worked first at her home village of Ilyinskiy, and then in the neighboring village of Fedorovskoye in a kindergarten, and participated in Amateur performances.

This is the story of a short life and a heroic feat that every day, every hour was performed by simple Russian unknown guys who gave their lives for the sake of the lives of their mothers, wives and children. Alexander Slyakov was born back in 1902 (still in tsarist Russia) in the village of Kryukovo, Podolskiy District, Moscow Province, now Domodedovo District. Like all his peers, he witnessed the First world war in 1914, the revolutionary upheavals of 1917, famine, devastation, NEP. Married. Built a house in the village of Chulpanovo. During the Soviet time, from 1925 to 1928, Alexander served in the Workers and Peasants Red Army. After service he worked for the Podolsk Mechanical Sewing Machine Factory (former plant of the joint-stock company “Singer”, during the Soviet times the plant was named after M. Kalinin) as a fitter, raised children. But the peaceful happy life was over. The Great Patriotic War knocked on his door. Already Podolsk cadets stopped the enemy, at the cost of their lives, on the Ilinskiy borders of the Warsaw Highway. His factory was evacuated to the East. On October 31, 1941, Alexander was drafted by the Podolsk Military Commissariate into the Soviet Red Army, when the last of the four children was just over 2 months old. In the first days of November, he was sent to Kashira, where the 979th Artillery Regiment was formed as part of the 173rd Rifle Division, withdrawn to the reserve of the Western Front after bloody defensive battles, to put itself in order and replenish. On November 27, being under the operational control of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps of General P. Belov, the division's regiments, interacting with the cavalry, launched a counter-offensive. The 173rd Division and the Cavalry Corps in the battle of Moscow were the first on the entire Western Front (commander G. Zhukov) to launch a decisive offensive. Since then, Alexander, along with most of the regimental colleagues, did not know the bitterness of retreat. From November 27 to December 9, during the defeat of the Kashir-Venev enemy group, General Belov's troops liberated 78 localities. The division was located at the junction of the 49th and 50th Armies and often moved from one subordination to another for tactical reasons. During the joint battles, the cities of Mordves, Venev, and Aleksin were liberated. By February 1942, according to the Stavka plan, units and formations of the Western Front, together with the troops of the Kalinin Front advancing from the North, were to close the encirclement of the enemy army group at Yukhnov. The 50th Army was ordered to pin down the enemy with its right flank. The left flank (413th, 290th, 173rd, 366th Rifle Divisions, 2nd and 32nd Tank Brigades) was to deliver the main blow in the area of Adamovka, then, in cooperation with parts of the 4th Airborne Corps operating behind enemy lines, to attack North of the Warsaw Highway in the rear of the enemy's Yukhnov group. Thus, on January 24, the 173rd Rifle Division also went on the offensive near the village of badgers. For almost a month, bloody fighting continued on this highway – the most important highway that connected the strong Yukhnov group of the enemy with its rear. The Nazis clung to every meter of land here. Strong fortifications were erected in villages along the highway, including reinforced concrete pillboxes with armored hoods. Their caps were so strong that they could withstand the bombing attacks of Soviet aircraft. The approaches to the highway were surrounded by trenches, barbed wire, and minefields. On the sixty-kilometer section from Yukhnov to Milyatin, there were more than three dozen such nodes-fortresses. On Warsaw Highway day and night plied detachments of infantry on cars and motorcycles with tanks, protected from the blows of our artillery with ice ramparts, drenched with water. Their thickness was such that they could not be pierced by gun shells. In addition, the Nazis created an effective fire system, and the air was constantly dominated by their aircraft. In early February 1942, the Germans attacked the villages of Vyshnee and Sitskoe and cut the road to the Height #186.1. Soviet divisions were surrounded. Soviet soldiers were forced to take up a circular defense four kilometers South-East from Barsukovo. To help them from the outside of the ring, the 290th and newly arrived fresh 336th Rifle Divisions and the remaining units of the 173rd Rifle Division began to strike. On February 8, they recaptured Vyshnee with heavy losses, but were unable to advance further and break the encirclement ring. On February 9-12, new, fresh enemy units appeared in the Barsukovo area: the 181st Infantry Regiment of the 52nd Infantry Division and the 57th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division. All this indicated that the Germans were preparing to strike. When the headquarters lost hope of outside help, they decided to break through the encirclement on their own. They wanted to break the enemy's resistance in the valley of the Popolta river by a night attack and join the main forces of our army. The Germans lit up everything around them with rockets and hit them with machine guns and machine guns almost at point-blank range. I had to fight my way through a solid carpet of dead bodies. The enemy's resistance was broken and at dawn on February 15, 1942, the soldiers joined the main forces of the 50th Army. Our contemporaries call the surrounding area adjacent to the villages of badgers, Vyshnee, Devyatovka, as well as the floodplains of the former river Lydia and Popolta the "Valley of Death". More than eight thousands of our soldiers died in this place only from February 1 to February 15, 1942. The amazing courage and steadfastness of Soviet soldiers and their unparalleled heroism in overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles will forever go down in history. Death Notice Your husband, a Red Army soldier Alexander Slyakov, a native of Moscow Region, Podolsk District, village Kryukovo 45, in the battle for the Socialist Homeland, loyal to the military oath, showing heroism and courage, was killed on February 14, 1942.

The childhood and youth of Stefan had passed in the village of Ananenkovskoe. At school, he studied diligently and had good grades. In the spring of 1941, he was transferred from 8th to 9th grade, but the outbreak of the war did not allow him to study further. In the first years of war, not upon reaching adulthood, worked hard on the state farm of Apanasenkovskoe, had positive reviews from fellow villagers and the management of the collective farm. In April 1943, at the age of 18, he was called up as a gunner for a 45 mm gun in the 22nd Cavalry Artillery Regiment, which was part of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps of the Steppe Military District with a deployment in the area of Kartashevo, Borovoe, Dryazgi of the Lipetsk Region. On July 9, 1943, based on the Directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the Steppe Front was formed from the forces of the Steppe Military District in the Kursk Region. Initially, the front's troops were deployed in reserve behind the Central and Voronezh Fronts. The task of the front was to stop the enemy's advance on the occupied line in the event of a breakthrough. Since July 5, 1943 he took part in the battle of Kursk. 28.07.1943, the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps was transferred to the Bryansk Front. On the night of September 9, 1943 the 2nd Guards cCavalry Corps was assigned the task of reaching Desna, cutting off the enemy's escape routes to the Troitskiy and Vladimirovka crossings, seizing a bridgehead on the West Bank of the river, cutting the Bryansk — Smolensk railway, and holding the bridgehead until the infantry arrived. By noon on September 11, 1943. The 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps, which included the 22nd Cavalry Artillery Regiment, fully completed its combat mission: it crossed the Desna River, captured a bridgehead on the Western Bank of the river that stretched up to eight kilometers along the front and up to five kilometers deep, and cut the Bryansk-Smolensk railway. This brilliant success played an important role in the general course of the battle for Bryansk and Bezhitsa, in the breakthrough of the enemy's defensive line along the Desna River by our troops. During the fighting, when crossing the river Stefan was seriously wounded. He was urgently sent to the evacuation hospital #1601, located in Arkhangelsk, where he was treated until April 1944. After the hospital, in April 1944, Stefan was sent to the 14th Separate Tank Battalion, and in August 1944 he participated in combat operations in the area of the cities of Wengruv, Sokol-Podlaski. At the end of August 1944 however, his previous injury did not allow him to participate in combat operations and Stefan was sent to the evacuation hospital #5135, where he was demobilized for health reasons on September 23, 1944. For bravery, fortitude and courage shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, Stefan Suchkov was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree and the Marshal Zhukov Medal. He died on 16.08.1997 in the village of Divnoye, Apanasenkovskiy District, Stavropol territory.