13 days in the life of the T-34 Bashny.Net

via Redakteur

December 17, 1943 328 th Tank Battalion 118th Tank Brigade went to another attack - the village Demeshkovo Nevelsk District. However, the Germans prevailed; on combat reports of 16 tank battalion in the attack burned six, three were hit, another three out of service for technical reasons, and one - a platoon commander Lieutenant Stepan Tkachenko - was missing.

T-34 release in 1943.





118th Armored Brigade is not the first day was in almost continuous combat.

7/12/43 L-T comrade. Tkachenko his platoon took part in the storming of the settlement Zamoschitsa. In the difficult conditions of combat platoon under the command of Comrade. Tkachenko, in close cooperation with the infantry skillfully maneuvered on the battlefield, fire and destroying caterpillars struggling pr-ca. As a result of fierce combat to the avenue was knocked to the reference point. Tank l-ta Tkachenko destroyed 3 PTO, 5 machine guns and up to 40 soldiers and official. pr-ca. Ably led his platoon acted bravely and courageously. Worthy government award of the Order "Red Banner».

Top bosses corrected battalion commander and brigade commander Captain Dzhimieva Colonel Bregvadze; December 11, 1943 by the order №0850 troops of the 3rd Shock Army Lieutenant Tkachenko was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War I level.

The lieutenant did not let up.

12.16.43 participating in breaking the enemy defenses in the district of Gatchina led his platoon bravely and skillfully to prot-ka, first crossed the river [Dolyssitsa] and the first burst onto the tank at the location of his prot-ka and destroying everything in its path that was blocking cross the river the rest of the column of tanks. Destroyed battery prot-ka, 2 bunkers and at least 50 of the Nazis. Along the way, movement captured the warehouse and defeated the enemy rear. Going on the attack, she rushed to the village and its massive Borovuhu fire made it possible to approach his infantry. Worthy of government awards: the Order of the Red Star.

Crossing rivers Dolyssitsy only a width of fifteen was not a simple matter.

The enemy held the defense on the eastern bank of the river near the village of Dolyssitsa Gatchina twenty kilometers north-west of Nevel. The front edge located in 550-700 meters from the river and passed on the heights dominating the West Bank. Approaches to the leading edge of engineering barriers have been strengthened - wire obstacles and minefields. Section of the river where the crossing was carried out, was under cross fire heavy machine guns and hand. The approaches to the river were covered by fire three batteries battalion mortars and six 75-mm guns. Neutral band reached a depth of 200 meters. The plot is defended by the enemy to the infantry regiment. River had a width of 15 m, a depth of two meters at a flow rate of one meter per second.

Here I would like to pause and express deep gratitude to the battalion commander and brigade commander Dzhimievu Bregvadze: if not for their scruples, I probably would have nothing to say about the crew Tkachenko. These officers not only entrusted to them they sent crews to battle, and tried as quickly as possible to issue premium at all distinguished themselves as dead and alive - in fact alive, perhaps, to the heroic death remained one more day of fighting.

Tank driver Sergeant Michael Bezukladnikova Tkachenko, by the way, for those fights were also to "sign", but all the same order of December 11, he was awarded "Glory» III degree. And I hope that he could get it.

Because his "Patriotic War» II-th degree for all the same fight on December 16 in the vicinity of Gatchina Bezukladnikov not received.

* * *

Apparently, it is the platoon commander Tkachenko led to the attack on the village of Demeshkovo tank battalion. While the Germans dealt with his friends, he managed to break almost to the line of defense. Was literally thirty meters when "tridtsatchetvёrka" hopelessly sat down on his belly in the swampy and never promёrzshey hollow.

The tank got stuck in a very interesting place: pull guns for direct fire the Germans could not, at least with impunity - immediately found themselves under fire tankers. But special tankers cause damage to the German defense could not.

Nevertheless throwing defective tank before the noses of the Germans was no way. Not according to the ordinance, no conscience. Sergeant Bezukladnikov commander (by the way, both - the communists) came out of the tank, to evaluate the possibility of salvation - and the Germans did not panic. Tkachenko was injured Bezukladnikov killed.

The machine gently left turret gunner Sergeant Alexander Kavlyugin who brought their wounded commander; back back he did not have - prototype bashnёra put in another tank, where it is the next day and burned, and have not received for the fight on December 16, its first and last Order of "Patriotic War» II degree.

In the cooling "tridtsatchetvёrke" there was only one member of the crew: the commander of the second after the crest, 18-year-old member of the Komsomol, gunner Sergeant Victor Chernyshenko, who managed to get the "Red Star" for the fighting in early December.

On aid remains leaderless mired tank the next day was sent to the best mehvoda battalion - Sergeant Alexei Sokolov, who was sitting at the controls by another Finnish. Orders are orders that even getting on the road severely wounded in the leg, Sokolov reached tkachenkovskoy "tridtsatchetvёrki».
A.I.Sokolov



Alas, despite all the experience of the wounded, but hardened 25-year-old native of mehvoda Orenburg region, stronut tightly mired car he did not.

And then two tanker, Russian and Ukrainian, have decided not to leave the problem has been solved and not give up.

Ammunition in the tank was nearly full. That was the trouble with the NT: a few cans of stew, crackers and a little sugar, and a piece of bacon. Water - the water gradually seeped through the bottom. From the marshes. The other, however, it is not.

The tank, as I said, was in an interesting situation: it is not that he is a danger to the Germans, and the Germans with impunity to approach it could not. And still "alive", although fixed, the tank next door to them was not necessary, but because the Germans have made regular forays, hoping to destroy the tank, if not, then at least his crew improvised means.

Complete success they achieve and failed, but half the crew was getting weaker. Sokolov could not really move; All that it lacked - feeding shells and wheels Chernyshenko. However, the force of his spirit could break neither wound.

Chernyshenko recalled:

Frankly speaking, these fights in the siege merged in my memory into one endless battle. I can not even tell one day from another. The Nazis tried to come to us from different directions, singly and in groups, at different times of the day. We had all the time to be alert. They slept fitfully, alternately. He tormented by hunger, metal zhёg hands. Only by working with guns and machine guns, a little warmed. But even harder was a famine. No matter how miserable we were stretched supplies of food, it was only enough for a few days. We both greatly weakened, especially Sokolov was seriously wounded ...
What it was an amazing person! From severe wounds he suffered greatly, but I never heard a word of the complaint. On the contrary, Sokolov tried to show, that feels good, strongly encouraged me. It is unlikely that I would have survived if he had not ...

December 29 tank crews spent the last shell; in the last tower DT store ammunition ran out, too. All that they had - some of the staff "daddy" and a couple dozen grenades. Grenades sergeants decided to use the last fight - still throw their forces have no choice.

The next day, our offensive was a success; Demeshkovo village was taken. Chernyshenko was conscious and able to understand it. Here are mired in a hollow tank we did not notice the heat of the moment. The last effort of the grenade rolled Victor mehvodovskogo hatch; explosion drew their attention.

They pulled out of the tank surrounded by a parapet of corpses of German tanks and sent to the field hospital.

December 31, Alexey Sokolov died - from wounds "shin, thigh, neck, forearms, and forced a 12-day fast." Viktor Semenovich Chernyshenko survived, but ... Doctors had hoped to keep him as much as possible from the affected gangrene frostbitten feet. First amputated fingers, then on polstopy ...



04



Back in the rear hospital read Chernyshenko signed 10 March 1944 a decree on awarding him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union - he and posthumously to Alexei Sokolov.

The young hero stood on dentures, discharged, finally out of the hospital and, of course, it was immediately discharged. I went in June 1945; to return to his native Donetsk region Krasnolimanskiy he did not. But where dolechivatsya and received - in the Sverdlovsk Law Institute. He graduated and left for distribution in Ozersk - together with his young wife a nurse Raya. Then he was appointed to Chelyabinsk, where for many years was a national judge of the Kalinin district.



Viktor Semenovich Chernyshenko.



Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Semenovich Chernyshenko died on 2 December 1997 and was buried in the cemetery Mitrofanovskom Chelyabinsk.

Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Sokolov lies in a mass grave in the village of Turki-Perevoz Nevelsk district of the Pskov region.

Nearby, at the settlement of Ust-Dolyssy, in a mass grave is their fighting sister of the then village Otryakon Molotov region Mikhail Bezukladnikov.



Burnt in the tank born in the Tambov region Alexander Kavlyugin, like many of his fellow tankers, the "official" does not have a grave.



After the war, on the spot and exploit Sokolova Chernyshenko was set obelisk. Over the years, he almost collapsed, but the Victory Day in 2010 thanks to the help of sponsors was built new, granite.



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