Poluektov, Georgy Vasilievich

Georgy Vasilyevich Poluektov was born on April 19 ( April 6, old style ) in 1904 in a peasant family in the village of Nakaplovo, Venevsky district, Tula province of the Russian Empire (now the village of Serebryano-Prudsky district, Moscow region of the Russian Federation ). Russian He graduated from elementary school. Until the age of 18, Georgy Vasilievich worked in the farm of his father.

G.V. Poluektov joined the ranks of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army as a volunteer in 1922. In 1924, he graduated from the 2nd Moscow Infantry School with an artillery program. Then he served in the Odessa Military District , having gone from the commander of an artillery platoon to the commander of an artillery division.

Member of the CPSU (b) since 1926.

In 1937, Georgy Vasilievich graduated from the Artillery Academy of the Red Army named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky . After graduating from the academy, Georgy Vasilievich was sent to the Crimea , where he served as commander of an artillery regiment and head of artillery of the 156th Infantry Division . Before the war, the division was stationed in the area of ​​the city of Feodosia .

On June 24, 1941, the 156th Infantry Division was included in the 9th Special Rifle Corps of the Southern Front in accordance with the Supreme Command Directive No. 20466. In anticipation of a possible German naval landing on the southern coast of Crimea, divisions of the division occupied positions along the Black Sea coast from Sudak to Sevastopol . However, due to the threat of German troops invading Crimea from the north, the 156th Infantry Division was included in the 51st separate army ^[1] and was hastily transferred to Perekop shaft. In the period from September 12 to 26, largely thanks to the effective artillery operations commanded by Colonel Poluektov, the division held its positions, reflecting the attacks of many times superior enemy forces ^[2] . On September 26, 1941, the division was forced to withdraw to the village of Armyansk , where it restrained the advance of the Germans for four more days, after which it retreated to the Ishun defensive positions. In bloody battles on the Ishun Plateau, the commander of the 156th Infantry Division, Major General P.V. Chernyaev , was seriously wounded, and Georgy Vasilyevich took command of the remainder of the division. After the Germans captured Krasnoperekopsk , the 156th Infantry Division found itself in operational surroundings in the vicinity of the village of Proletarka , but Colonel G.V. Poluektov managed to organize the crossing of units across Lake Krasnoe , after which he retreated to the Kerch Peninsula with battles. From there, in November 1941, the artillery, which did not have a single shell in its arsenal, was evacuated from the Crimea. All artillery at the disposal of the 51st Army was reduced to a corps artillery group and took up positions on the Chushka Spit in the Kerch Strait . Colonel G.V. Poluektov was appointed commander of the group. The artillery group of Poluektov supported the actions of rifle units in the Kerch region. In January 1942, Georgy Vasilievich returned to the post of artillery commander of the 156th Infantry Division of the 51st Army and in February of the same year he participated in battles on the Kerch Peninsula as part of the Crimean Front during the Kerch landing operation . On May 13, 1942, in a battle near the village of Sarayman, he was seriously wounded and evacuated to the hospital.

After recovering in August 1942, Colonel G.V. Poluektov was sent to the 66th Army , which was formed on the basis of the 8th reserve army of the reserve of the Supreme Command High Command , and was appointed first deputy commander of the artillery army, and in September 1942 - commander of the artillery of the army. On September 30, 1942, the 66th Army was included in the Stalingrad Front , which was renamed the Don Front on the same day. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the 66th Army was given the role of fettering German units on its own site in order to facilitate the situation of the 62nd Army, which was fighting in Stalingrad . To this end, in September-October 1942, the 66th Army constantly attacked in the area of ​​the settlements of Erzovka and Kuzmichi , each of which was accompanied by powerful artillery preparation. On November 19, 1942, the artillery men of Poluektov participated in eighty-minute artillery preparation, which marked the beginning of the Soviet counteroffensive near Stalingrad. Then, Georgy Vasilievich led the artillery of the 66th Army during Operation Uranus and the liquidation of the enemy grouping encircled in Stalingrad in January 1943. January 29, 1943 G.V. Poluektov was awarded the title of Major General. On March 13, 1943, the 66th Army was transferred to the Reserve Front, first of the 2nd, then of the 3rd formation ^[3] , which was transformed into the Stepnoy Military District on April 15, 1943. On May 5, 1943, the army was transformed into the 5th Guards Army .

In May 1943, the 5th Guards Army took up positions on the Oskol River in the rear of the Voronezh Front . She had to stop the enemy in the event of a breakthrough of German troops in the Belgorod direction. July 5, 1943 the Battle of Kursk began. In the early days of the Kursk strategic defensive operation, the Germans managed to press out the rifle units of the Voronezh Front near Oboyan . Having completed the 140-kilometer march, on July 11, 1943, rifle and artillery units of the 5th Guards Army entered the battle in the vicinity of the villages of Ivnya and Prokhorovka , stopping the German advance. Major General G.V. Poluektov prudently concentrated part of the artillery on Prokhorovsky Field. It was the artillery men of Poluektov who were the first to take the blow of the German tank armada. Subsequently, the artillerymen of the 5th Guards Army participated in the counterattack of the Voronezh Front, helping rifle units regain previously lost positions. During the offensive phase of the battle on the Kursk Bulge, Georgy Vasilievich commanded artillery operations of the 5th Guards Army during the Belgorod-Kharkov operation . His gunners played a major role in the liquidation of the 19th Wehrmacht Panzer Division , surrounded in the vicinity of the villages of Tomarovka and Grayvoron , as well as in repelling the counterattack of the SS Panzer Division “Dead Head” west of Bogodukhov .

On September 7, 1943, the 5th Guards Army was transferred to the Steppe Front (from October 20 - the 2nd Ukrainian Front ) and participated in the Poltava-Kremenchug operation , during which the artillery of the army repelled German counterattacks, and also took part in the liberation the cities of Poltava and Kremenchug . On October 13, 1943, artillery of the 5th Guards Army was transferred to the bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper in the vicinity of the village of Mishurin Rog and took part in the defeat of the Kirovograd enemy group during the Alexandria-Znamenskaya Army operation and the liberation of the settlements of Pavlysh , Alexandria , Znamenka and New Prague . A characteristic feature of the artillery offensive of the 5th Guards Army was the allocation of a large number of guns for direct fire and direct escort of rifle companies. In winter and spring of 1944, Major General G.V. Poluektov led the artillery operations of the army during the Kirovograd and Uman-Botoshansk operations, being able to organize artillery movement in adverse weather conditions and provide artillery support for rifle units. On April 14, 1944, the advanced units of the 5th Guards Army crossed the Dniester River near the village of Pleteny Tashlyk and occupied a bridgehead on the right bank of the river. An important role in the battles for the retention and expansion of the bridgehead was played by army artillery. On June 26, 1944, the 5th Guards Army was withdrawn to the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

On July 13, 1944, the 5th Guards Army was included in the 1st Ukrainian Front . Until August 3, 1943, the army was in the reserve of the front and was thrown into battle to repel German counterattacks. In an effort to encircle the group of Soviet troops on the Sandomierz bridgehead and destroy its rear, on August 3, 1944, the Germans launched two counterattacks along the eastern bank of the Vistula River near the cities of Sandomierz and Mielec . Reflecting the attacks of the Germans, units of the 5th Guards Army crossed to Sandomierz bridgehead. Major General Poluektov was able to effectively arrange the artillery, turning the occupied lines into an impregnable fortress. On August 13, in the battles on the Vistula, the German command first used the T-VI “Royal Tiger” tanks. Georgy Vasilyevich ordered a large-caliber gun to be put forward for direct fire, as a result of which the demonstration of the new German weapon failed. The Germans lost 12 new tanks, three of which were in good condition.

The Vistula-Oder operation began on January 12, 1945, as part of which the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front carried out the Sandomierz-Silesian Frontal Offensive Operation . The artillery preparation planned and carried out by Major General G.V. Poluektov near the city of Kielce was so effective that the Germans could not resist the advancing units of the 5th Guards Army . Assessing the results of the artillery strike, the Wehrmacht infantry general Kurt von Tippelskirch subsequently wrote:

“On January 12, the Russians, after a powerful five-hour artillery preparation, struck from the large Sandomierz-Baranuv bridgehead against the 4th Panzer Army. The blow was so strong that it overturned not only the first-tier divisions, but also rather large mobile reserves, tucked up by Hitler’s categorical order very close to the front. The latter suffered losses already from the artillery training of the Russians, and subsequently, as a result of a general offensive, they could not be used at all according to the plan ... ”

During the offensive, the gunners smashed the enemy’s engineering barriers, his surviving strongholds, including a strong resistance knot in the area of Stopnitsa , supported the assault on the heights southwest of Stopnitsa. The advance of the army artillery after the breakthrough of the enemy’s main defense line was carried out with the expectation of providing more operational control, quick and continuous tracking of infantry and tanks with massive fire. The best artillerymen of the Red Army who were under the command of Major General G.V. Poluektov solved: Generals P.M. Korolkov ^[5] , I.F. Sanko ^[6] , S.S. Volkenstein ^[7] , Colonels M A. Tarasov ^[8] , V. I. Bazelenko ^[9] , N. A. Smirnov ^[10] , A. V. Klebanovsky ^[11] and others. Acting in large artillery formations and small groups directly in the rifle divisions, the artillery men of Poluektov ensured the liberation of the cities of Stopnitsa, Busko-Zdroj , Czestochowa , and the forcing of the rivers Nida , Pilitsa and Varta . On January 21, 1945, units of the 5th Guards Army, with the support of their artillery, captured the cities of Guttentag ^[12] , Rosenberg ^[13] and Kreuzburg ^[14] . And two days later, army units, with decisive support of artillery, captured bridgeheads on the Oder River near the cities of Oppeln ^[15] and Olau ^[16] . By January 30, 1945, the Silesian industrial region was completely liberated and the troops on the Oder bridgeheads began to prepare for the Lower Silesian operation . In February - March 1945, the 5th Guards Army participated in the blockade of the city of Breslau ^[17] and the liquidation of the encircled opposition group of the enemy.

During the Berlin operation, the artillerymen of Major General G.V. Poluektov ensured the crossing of the Neisse and Spree rivers by the 5th Guard Army , the capture of the city of Weisswasser and its access to the Elbe River near the city of Riesa . During the Prague operation, Georgy Vasilievich participated in the assault on the city of Dresden and the liberation of several areas of Czechoslovakia . He ended the battle path in Prague on May 9, 1945. In contrast to the Sandomierz-Silesian operation, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 29, 1945, the Guard, Major General of Artillery Poluektov, Georgy Vasilyevich, was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

After the war, Georgy Vasilievich continued to serve in the Armed Forces of the USSR . June 27, 1945 he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general . In 1947, he graduated from the Higher Academic Courses at the Military Academy of the General Staff named after K. E. Voroshilov . Until 1948, G.V. Poluektov served as commander of the artillery of the Transcaucasian Military District . In 1948 he was appointed deputy chief, and in 1950 - head of the F.E.Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy. In 1953, Lieutenant General G.V. Poluektov took the post of deputy commander of the USSR air defense , and the following year he was appointed commander of the anti-aircraft artillery of the USSR air defense. Since 1955, Georgy Vasilievich - artillery commander of the Far Eastern Military District . In 1961, G.V. Poluektov with the rank of Colonel General retired. He lived in the hero city of Moscow . April 6, 1982 George Vasilyevich died. He was buried at the Kuntsevsky cemetery of the capital.

• The Gold Star Medal (Medal No. 6048) (05/29/1945);
• two orders of Lenin (05/29/1945; 11/06/1947);
• four orders of the Red Banner (01/24/1943; 08/27/1943; 11/03/1944; 04/20/1953);
• Order of Suvorov 1st degree (04/06/1945) ^{[18] [19]} ;
• Order of Kutuzov 1st degree (09/23/44) ^[20] ;
• Order of Suvorov 2 degrees (02.22.1944).
  • Medals:
    • “In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin” ;
    • “For the defense of Stalingrad” ;
    • “For the defense of the Caucasus” ;
    • “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” ;
    • “Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” ;
    • “Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” ;
    • “For the Liberation of Prague” ;
    • "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR" ;
    • “30 years of the Soviet Army and Navy” ;
    • “40 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR” ;
    • "50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" ;
    • "60 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR . "

Foreign Awards

• Legion of Honor Order ( USA );
• Order of the Cross of Grunwald ( Poland );
• medal "For the Odra, Nisa and the Baltic" ( NDP );
• medal "Victory and Freedom" ( Poland );
• Order of the White Lion ( Czechoslovakia );
• Military Cross ( Czechoslovakia ).

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Love - Yashchuk /. - 863 s. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .
• Batov P.I. In campaigns and battles. 3rd edition, revised and supplemented . - M .: Military Publishing, 1974.
• Baklanov G.V. The wind of the war years. . - M .: Military Publishing, 1977 .-- 288 p.

• Public electronic document bank “The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” (neopr.) . Date of treatment July 28, 2012. Archived March 13, 2012.

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (neopr.) . Date of treatment July 28, 2012. Archived September 30, 2012.

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated January 24, 1943 on awarding the Order of the Red Banner (Neopr.) . Date of treatment July 28, 2012. Archived September 30, 2012.

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of 08/27/1943 on awarding the Order of the Red Banner (Neopr.) . Date of treatment July 28, 2012. Archived September 30, 2012.

Submission to the Order of Suvorov 1st degree (neopr.) . Date of treatment July 28, 2012. Archived September 30, 2012.

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on awarding the Order of Suvorov 1st degree (neopr.) . Date of treatment July 28, 2012. Archived September 30, 2012.

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on awarding the Order of Suvorov 2nd degree (neopr.) . Date of treatment July 28, 2012. Archived September 30, 2012.

Order of Kutuzov 1st degree (award sheet and decree on assignment) (neopr.) . Date of treatment July 28, 2012. Archived September 30, 2012.

• Poluektov, Georgy Vasilievich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Poluektov Georgy Vasilievich at www.az-libr.ru (neopr.) . Date of treatment July 28, 2012. Archived September 30, 2012.
• Poluektov Georgy Vasilievich on the official website of Serebryano-Prudsky municipal district (Neopr.) . Date of treatment July 28, 2012. Archived September 30, 2012.