Skidin, Nikolay Alekseevich

Mykola Skidin was born on May 3, 1919 in the village of Dolgintsevo station (now Krivoy Rog, Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine ) in a working family. Prior to being drafted into the army, he worked on the railway as an assistant locomotive driver ^[1] .

In September 1939, Skidin was drafted into the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army by the Krivorozhsky District Military Commissariat of the Dnipropetrovsk Region. He served in the 122nd separate combat engineer battalion of the 84th Infantry Division . In 1940, the division was transferred to the Lithuanian SSR and became part of the Baltic Special Military District ^[1] .

Since June 22, 1941 - on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. He took part in defensive battles in the Baltic states as part of the 11th Army of the North-Western Front . By June 30, Skidin’s division was surrounded and routed. Miraculously, the surviving Skidin escaped from the encirclement and joined the Soviet units. Since May 1942, Skidin was the platoon commander of the 1732th separate engineer battalion, from October 1942 - the platoon commander of the 178th engineer battalion of the North-Western Front, and since 1944 - the platoon commander of the 64th separate guard engineer battalion of the 12th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 1st Baltic Front . He took part in the hostilities during the Demian operations of 1942 and 1943 , the Belarusian , Baltic and Wisla-Oder offensive operations ^[1] .

Since March 1945, Skidin commanded a sapper company of the 92nd separate engineer battalion of the 33rd Rifle Division of the 12th Guards Rifle Corps of the 3rd Strike Army of the 1st Belorussian Front . Distinguished himself during the Berlin operation . Prior to the onset of the Soviet offensive, his company, despite enemy fire, managed to build three bridges across the Oder . Skidin personally scouted the riverbed, noting the places for crossing, while he was shell-shocked, but refused to be evacuated to the hospital and was under construction under fire and bombing ^[1] .

On April 16, 1945, Skidin's company made passages in minefields and wire fences of the enemy. During the assault on the city of Lechin, Skidin, being at the head of a group of 8 fighters, collided with a detachment of 30 German soldiers. In the battle, Skidin shot a German officer and soldier, another 8 enemy soldiers were killed by Skidin's subordinates, the rest fled. The group continued to complete the mission and managed to provide passage for tanks through the minefields ^[1] .

In the battle for the city of Neu-Freeland, Skidin, at the head of a group of fighters, captured the bridge, breaking the guards and cleared the bridge prepared for the explosion, which ensured the successful promotion of the division. On the night of April 24, during the assault on Berlin, Skidin, picking up an explosive box at an enemy stronghold located in a fortified building, blew up the building along with the garrison inside it. On the same day, in a street battle, he killed two enemy soldiers. On the night of April 24–25 , together with a group of fighters, he managed to repel an enemy counterattack, destroying 15 German soldiers and defending artillery pieces that were temporarily left without vehicles ^[1] .

On May 31, 1945, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for “courage and heroism in the fight against Nazi invaders,” Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Skidin was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal number 6760. After After the war he served in a group of Soviet troops in Germany , and in April 1946, with the rank of captain, he was transferred to the reserve for health reasons. He lived in the city of Kryvyi Rih , worked as a normalizer in the railway workshop of the Krivoy Rog Metallurgical Plant ^[1] .

In 1949 he was sentenced to 25 years in forced labor camps for committing the theft of state property. On August 1, 1950, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Skidin was deprived of all ranks and awards. After his release, he lived and worked in Izmail. He died on March 31, 1999 ^[1] .

He was also awarded two Orders of the Red Star (1944, 1945), medals " For Courage ", " For Victory over Germany ", " For the Capture of Berlin " ^[1] .

• Konev V.N. Damned and forgotten. Outcast Heroes of the USSR. - M. Yauza, 2010.

• Skidin, Nikolai Alekseevich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".