Nesterov, Stepan Kuzmich

Stepan Kuzmich Nesterov was born on December 5 (18), 1906 in the village of Talitsky Chamlyk (now the Dobrinsky district of the Lipetsk region ) into a peasant family. He graduated from the 4th grade of the parish school. In 1927, the city ​​of Tashkent left for the construction of a dam in the capital of Uzbekistan , and worked as a concrete worker.

In 1928 he was drafted into the Red Army , with which he forever linked his life. He served in the cavalry units. After graduating from junior commander courses, he became the squad leader, and then the foreman of the squadron.

In the early 1930s, S.K. Nesterov joined the service in tank and mechanized troops. In 1935 he graduated from the Leningrad armored courses, became a tank commander, and after a while was appointed commander of a tank platoon.

During the Soviet-Finnish War, S. K. Nesterov was the chief of staff of the tank battalion. In 1941 he graduated in absentia from the Military Academy of Armored and Mechanized Forces.

Since October 1941, Nesterov on the fronts of World War II . At first he was the chief of staff of the tank battalion, and then the regiment. In June 1942, Nesterov was appointed commander of the 130th tank brigade of the 24th tank corps . Nesterov’s tankers participated in battles near Stary Oskol , in holding a bridgehead on the western bank of the Don in the Korotoyak area.

On November 19, 1942, a historic battle began to defeat the Germans on the Volga . The skill and experience of the brigade commander Nesterov was especially evident in one of the most daring operations of the Great Patriotic War from the point of view of the general art. It was deployed after the encirclement of German troops near Stalingrad . To push the outer front of this encirclement away, the Supreme High Command decided to deliver two converging attacks on the western bank of the Don .

Six days of the offensive behind the enemy’s rear became a new combat page in the history of the Red Army armored forces . This was written not only by us, but also by the foreign press. The tankers of the 24th Panzer Corps under the command of General V.M. Badanov cut off a number of important communications of the enemy, causing serious damage to his reserves. The actions of the brigades were so swift and unexpected that the Germans mistook them for partisan raids. The raid of the Soviet tankers was truly heroic - the Nazis had to remove tank formations from the area closest to Stalingrad and throw them to liquidate the deep breakthrough of our tankers.

At the Tatsinskaya station, which the 130th brigade under the command of Nesterov took in a night battle, the enemy’s airfield was also captured, hundreds of aircraft, tanks, guns, thousands of soldiers and officers were destroyed. The Germans prepared the planes for takeoff, the engines were started. But I had to surrender - the runway was occupied by Soviet tanks. For military services during the Middle Don operation on December 26, 1942, the 24th Panzer Corps, which included the Nesterov brigade, was transformed into the 2nd Guards Tank Corps and was awarded the Tatsinsky honorary title. The 130th Tank Brigade became the 26th Guards.

After the victory of Soviet troops on the Volga, the 26th Guards Tank Brigade took part in the Battle of Oryol-Kursk - in the famous battle near the Prokhorovka Guard, Colonel Nesterov personally led the tankers in the attack, being in the heat of battle. The brigade smashes the Germans in the Belgorod direction. In August 1943, as part of the corps, it was transferred to the Western Front . Here, tankers under the command of the brigade commander Nesterov liberate Smolensk , Yelnya . For excellent execution of the order of the command to defeat the enemy in Yelnya, the brigade receives the honorary name "Yelninskaya".

In April 1944, the 2nd Guards Tatsinsky Corps became part of the 3rd Belorussian Front . Parts of the Nesterov brigade on the morning of July 3, 1944 were among the first to break into Minsk . For the liberation of Minsk and successful battles in Belarus, the 26th Guards Tank Brigade was awarded the Order of the Red Banner . Subsequently, the Nesterovites contributed to the encirclement of a large enemy group and participated in its liquidation.

After the liberation of Belarus, the soldiers of the 26th Guards Brigade smash the enemy in Lithuania . Tankers of Nesterov were especially distinguished during the liberation of Vilnius and the forcing of the Neman , for which the brigade was awarded the Order of Suvorov 2nd degree.

When the tankers came close to the border with East Prussia , the guard Colonel Nesterov parted with his brigade, which he walked along the front roads from the Don to Lithuania . He, as one of the experienced and talented commanders, is appointed to the post of deputy commander of the 2nd Guards Tatsin Tank Corps.

In October 1944, Colonel Stepan Nesterov, deputy commander of the 2nd Guards Red Banner Tatsinsky Panzer Corps ( 3rd Belorussian Front ) of the Guards , led force-boosting with formations and units of the Pissa River corps in the area of ​​Kassuben, located 14 kilometers south of the city of Stallupenen , now the city of Nesterov, Kaliningrad region , and ensured their further successful actions.

On the morning of October 16, the Gumbinnen offensive operation began . For the pursuit of the retreating enemy along the current highway, Kaliningrad - Nesterov , units of the 2nd Guards Tatsinsky Red Banner Tank Corps were brought into battle. Tankers attacked the disparate units of the enemy, moving farther into the depths of East Prussia . They acted decisively on the left flank, where the advance of the 26th Panzer and 4th Motorized Rifle Brigades was coordinated by Stepan Kuzmich Nesterov.

One of the heavy obstacles in the way of the Soviet troops was the Pissa River . When our tanks came close to the river, the enemy met them with strong artillery fire. Guard Colonel Nesterov, choosing the most vulnerable spot in the enemy’s defenses, ordered tank landings to force Pissa. The enemy least expected a blow from the wetland section of the river. At the town of Kassuben, we managed to force the river.

Developing the offensive, the tankers, supported by a motorized rifle brigade, reached the city of Stallupenen . At the height of the battle, on October 20, 1944, the Guard Colonel Stepan Kuzmich Nesterov died west of the town of Kassuben (now the village of Ilyinskoye, Nesterovsky District, Kaliningrad Region ). However, the operation, begun under the able guidance of S.K. Nesterov, was completed with honor. The city of Stallupenen was taken by his subordinates, and the German division German Goering suffered heavy losses. The bridgehead for the general offensive of the Red Army on East Prussia was conquered.

Guard Colonel S.K. Nesterov was buried with military honors in a park in the city of Kaunas ( Lithuania ).

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 19, 1945, for the courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, the guard Colonel Nesterov Stepan Kuzmich was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union .

He was awarded two Orders of Lenin , the Order of the Red Banner , two orders of Suvorov of the 2nd degree, orders of Alexander Nevsky , Red Star , and medals.

• In 1946, in the Kaliningrad region, the city ​​of Stallupenen was renamed Nesterov and the Nesterovsky district was formed .
• In 1956, a monument to the Hero of the Soviet Union S.K. Nesterov was erected in the center of the city of Nesterov. In 2005, the old monument was replaced with a new one from bronze.
• A bust of Nesterov is installed in the village of Dobrinka, Lipetsk region .
• On May 21, 1957, Nesterova Street was formed in Lipetsk .
• The name of Nesterov is the secondary school of the village of Talitsky Chamlyk, Dobrinsky district, Lipetsk region . A memorial plaque is installed on her building.

Nesterov, Stepan Kuzmich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".