Polyakov, Leonid Evdokimovich

Leonid Evdokimovich Polyakov was born on November 27 ( November 14, according to the old style ) in the village of Sklyarovka in the Sumy district of the Kharkov province of the Russian Empire (now the village of the Sumy region of the Sumy region of Ukraine ) in the family of a worker Evdokim Danilovich Polyakov. Ukrainian . He graduated from the 7th grade of the school. In the mid 20-ies of the 20th century, Leonid Evdokimovich moved to Sumy . He entered the rabfak . During his studies, he worked at construction sites as a bricklayer, then as a technician. In 1928, he got a job at the Sumy Machine-Building Plant named after M.V. Frunze . He worked as a painter and concrete worker. Then he entered the Kharkov Civil Engineering Institute . However, before being drafted for military service, he managed to finish only two courses.

L.E. Polyakov was drafted into the ranks of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army in 1932 and sent to the Vladivostok Military School, where he received the specialty of military engineer. He continued his service in the Far East . He participated in the construction of a naval base of the Pacific Fleet on Russky Island . In 1936, Leonid Evdokimovich retired. Returning to his native places, before the start of the new school year, he worked in Sumy Forestry. Then he completed his studies at the Kharkov Civil Engineering Institute. Since 1938, he worked at the Sumy Machine-Building Plant named after M.V. Frunze, first as a planner in a special design bureau, then as a foreman.

In connection with the aggravation of the foreign policy situation in January 1940, L. E. Polyakov was again called up for military service. He was sent to Mariupol , where he assumed the post of assistant chief of staff of the 515th Infantry Regiment of the 134th Infantry Division of the Kharkov Military District , which he held until May 1941. Then he was transferred to the 789th Infantry Regiment of the 227th Infantry Division . Before the war, the regiment was at military training camps in Svyatogorsky camps near Svyatogorsky Stalin (now Donetsk ) region. With the outbreak of World War II, the 227th Infantry Division became part of the Southern Front , but on July 10, 1941, it was transferred to the 26th Army of the Southwestern Front . In battles with the Nazi invaders, Senior Lieutenant L. E. Polyakov from July 24, 1941. He received baptism of fire under the White Church during the Kiev defensive operation . In the battles for Kiev Polyakov was twice wounded. The second wound received on September 9, 1941, was severe, and Leonid Evdokimovich was evacuated to the hospital.

After recovering in January 1942, L. E. Polyakov was assigned to the officer reserve, and then sent to the Shot courses . After their graduation, Leonid Evdokimovich served as a teacher in the Kalinovichi infantry military school, which was evacuated in Rybinsk . Again in the army, Captain L. E. Polyakov from January 1943 as a company commander of the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 1150th Infantry Regiment of the 342th Infantry Division of the 61st Army of the Western Front . The regiment took up defense in the Belev area. On February 26, 1943, the division in which Captain Polyakov served was transferred to the 3rd Army of the Bryansk Front and took up defense along the eastern bank of the Zusha River ^[1] . In the summer of 1943, Leonid Evdokimovich participated in the operation "Kutuzov" of the Battle of Kursk , the liberation of the cities of Mtsensk and Orel . In September 1943, for the liberation of Oryol, the 342nd Rifle Division was transformed into the 121st Guards Rifle Division , and the 1150th Guards Rifle Regiment into the 342nd Guards. In September - early October 1943, the captain L.E. Polyakov participated in the Bryansk operation , during which divisions of the division liberated the cities of Surazh and Mglin . In October 1943, Leonid Evdokimovich was appointed to the post of battalion commander. In this capacity, in November 1943 he took part in the Gomel-Rechitsa operation , during which the 121st Guards Division, acting as part of the 3rd Army of the Belorussian Front , crossed the Sozh River and broke into the enemy’s defenses on a 30-kilometer stretch. Having liberated the village of Korma on November 25, 1943, the division reached the Dnieper in the region of the city of Rogachev , forcing the enemy to leave the city of Gomel .

On December 1, 1943, the 121st Guards Rifle Division was withdrawn to the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command . In the period from December 5 to December 23, 1943 she made a 400-kilometer march from the city of Rogachev to the city of Korosten , where she became part of the 13th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front . Guard captain L. E. Polyakov in the winter-spring offensive of the front took part in the liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine ( Zhytomyr-Berdychiv , Rivne-Lutsk and Proskurov-Chernivtsi operations). April 3, 1944 Leonid Evdokimovich was heavily shell-shocked near the city of Brody . About two months he was treated at a hospital in the city of Dubno . At the end of May 1944, he arrived at the disposal of the headquarters of the 13th Army and on May 31 received the appointment to the post of commander of the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 388th Infantry Regiment of the 172th Infantry Division ^[2] . Leonid Evdokimovich participated in the Lviv-Sandomierz operation and battles at the Sandomierz bridgehead . In the fall of 1944, he was awarded the next military rank - Major.

On January 12, 1945, the Vistula-Oder operation began . Major L.E. Polyakov was especially distinguished during its component - the Sandomierz-Silesian operation of the 1st Ukrainian Front. Coming from the Sandomierz bridgehead, Major Polyakov’s battalion was the first to break into the northwestern outskirts of Kielce . In pursuit of the retreating enemy, the battalion was one of the first to reach the Oder River and crossed the river on January 27, 1945, capturing a strategically important bridge over which the entire 388th Infantry Regiment crossed over to the West Bank. However, German saboteurs managed to blow up the bridge, as a result of which the regiment was cut off from the main forces. Pulling up reserves, the Germans forced the regiment to leave the seized bridgehead and move behind the Oder. Further attempts to force the river in this section were unsuccessful. Then, on the night of February 3, 1945, Major L.E. Polyakov crossed his Oder, two kilometers from the destroyed bridge, after which, with an unexpected blow from the rear, the Germans hurriedly retreated. During February 3 and 4, 1945, the Polyakov battalion held its positions, repelling several enemy counterattacks. During this time, sappers built a pontoon bridge over which the main forces of the 172nd Infantry Division and part of the 3rd Guards Tank Army crossed over to the left bank. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 10, 1945, Major Polyakov Leonid Evdokimovich was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Leonid Evdokimovich learned about the award at the hospital. At the end of February 1945, in a battle on the Neisse River near the city of Forst, he was seriously wounded in the head and shell-shocked. In an unconscious state, L. E. Polyakov was taken to the hospital in the city of Czestochowa . Doctors managed to save his life, but the treatment was long. Leonid Evdokimovich returned to his part only six months after the end of World War II.

In January 1946, Major L.E. Polyakov, for health reasons, was transferred to the reserve. He lived in the city of Sumy. Before retiring in 1968, he worked as a senior engineer in the capital construction department of the Sumy Machine-Building Plant named after M.V. Frunze. He also participated in the construction of Sumy TPP . Leonid Evdokimovich died on February 10, 2003. He was buried in Ukraine at the Central cemetery of the city of Sumy.

• Medal "Golden Star" (04/10/1945);
• Order of Lenin (04/10/1945);
• Order of Alexander Nevsky (08.13.1944);
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (03/11/1985);
• medals, including:

medal “For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” ;

anniversary medal "50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR . "

• A memorial plaque in honor of the Hero of the Soviet Union L. E. Polyakov was installed in the city of Sumy at the address: Ogaryova street, 1.
• The name of the Hero of the Soviet Union, L. E. Polyakov, is immortalized on the Walk of Fame in the city of Sumy.
• The name of the Hero of the Soviet Union L. E. Polyakov is listed in the Book of Honor of Sumy Engineering Plant.

• 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 .
• Grichenko I.T., Golovin N.M. Feat: Dokum. essays about the Heroes of Owls. Union. 3rd ed., Revised. and add. - Kharkov: Prapor, 1983 .-- S. 377-379. - 524 s.

• Public electronic document bank “The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” (neopr.) . Date of treatment August 31, 2012. Archived March 13, 2012.

Presentation to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Neopr.) . Date of treatment August 31, 2012. Archived October 29, 2012.

Decree of the USSR PVS on conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Neopr.) . Date of treatment August 31, 2012. Archived October 29, 2012.

Application for conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Neopr.) . Date of treatment August 31, 2012. Archived October 29, 2012.

Order of Alexander Nevsky (award sheet and award order) (neopr.) . Date of treatment August 31, 2012. Archived October 29, 2012.

• Polyakov, Leonid Evdokimovich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Polyakov Leonid Evdokimovich at www.az-libr.ru (neopr.) . Date of treatment August 31, 2012. Archived October 29, 2012.
• Bridges and rivers battalion commander Polyakova. Social and business weekly “Your chance” No. 18 dated 05/09/2009 (neopr.) . Date of treatment August 31, 2012. Archived October 29, 2012.
• The site of the museum of JSC Sumy NPO Frunze (neopr.) . Date of treatment August 31, 2012. Archived October 29, 2012.
• Leonid Polyakov. Day after day - about the heroes of the march (neopr.) . Date of treatment August 31, 2012. Archived October 29, 2012.