Rudskoy, Fedor Andreevich

Born May 21, 1921 in the village of Avdeevka , now the city of the Donetsk region of Ukraine , in a peasant family. Ukrainian . Member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU since 1944. He graduated from high school in 1939.

In the Red Army since November 1939. He served as a Red Army soldier in the 3rd railway regiment of the Western Special Military District . In February 1940 he was sent to study and enrolled as a cadet at the Minsk Cavalry School, which in September 1940 was reorganized into the Borisov Cavalry School, and in January 1941 it was transformed into the Borisov Tank School ^[2] .

In the early days of World War II, as part of a combined detachment of cadets of the school, being appointed commander of a tank crew, he participated in defensive battles in Belarus in June 1941. He distinguished himself in the defense of Borisov . Then the surviving cadets and teachers of the school were evacuated, they were sent to the 3rd Saratov Armored School . He graduated in August 1941 and was sent to the emerging 73rd Cavalry Division of the Siberian Military District as a platoon commander, and in October became deputy commander of a machine gun squadron . In December 1941, he arrived in the Moscow Military District with a division ^[3] .

At the front since April 1942, when he was appointed deputy squadron commander of the 55th Cavalry Division of the 8th Cavalry Corps of the Voronezh Front . He fought until November 1942, when he was sent to study at the Leningrad armored improvement courses for command personnel. After their graduation, in March 1943 he was appointed commander of a tank company of the 7th tank training regiment, but already in April he was transferred as a company commander to the 173rd tank brigade of the 10th tank corps on the Voronezh Front . In her ranks participated in the Battle of Kursk . In a tank battle near Prokhorovka, his company waged a heavy battle with the enemy for an hour until the main brigade forces approached. Personally, Fyodor Rudskaya destroyed three tiger tanks in this battle. For this feat, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree. Two days after his glorious battle, on July 14, F. Rudskoy was wounded. After a month of treatment in the hospital, he again headed his company. He took part in the battle for the Dnieper and in the battle on October 10, 1943 was wounded a second time. The wound was severe, this time he was sent to the evacuation hospital in Ufa . After recovering, they wanted to leave him as a seriously wounded teacher at a military school, but Captain F. Rudskoy managed to return to his corps, and in December 1943 he became commander of the tank battalion of the 178th tank brigade .

At the head of the battalion, he went all the way to the end of the war. After reorganization and staying in the reserve of the Supreme High Command Headquarters , the 10th Panzer Corps (which included the 178th Panzer Brigade) arrived in August 1944 on the 3rd Baltic Front . Then the corps was transferred several times to the 2nd Baltic Front , to the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts ^[4] . Participated in the Baltic and East Prussian offensive operations.

In the East Prussian operation, the tank battalion of the 178th Tank Brigade ( 10th Panzer Corps , 5th Guards Tank Army , 3rd Belorussian Front ) under the command of Captain Fedor Rudsky on January 25-28, 1945 distinguished himself in battles on the outskirts of the bay Frishes-Huff in the vicinity of Trunz (now Milejewo, Commune Mileevo , Elblлонg County , Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship , Poland ). On January 24, the battalion of Captain Fyodor Rudsky was given the task of passing behind enemy lines, capturing the junction of roads leading to the city of Elbing ( Elblag , Poland), and paralyzing the movement of fascist troops on important highways. A company of machine gunners and a fighter anti-tank battery were given to help the tankers.

Far away from the main forces, the battalion confidently moved forward, skillfully collecting data about the enemy, arranging mobile ambushes. The tanks reached their intended target exactly on time. The Germans did not expect their appearance and, suspecting nothing, moved along the highway. Tankers literally shot cars with troops and cargo in the forehead. But the news of the Soviet tank landing, apparently, reached the German headquarters. There were armored personnel carriers , self-propelled artillery mounts and even a few "tigers". The Nazis launched one attack after another. Moreover, they attacked from all sides. Tankers and motorized rifles steadfastly held the defense. However, the situation was becoming more alarming. There was almost no fuel, the ammunition ran out. Several tanks were already knocked out. There were losses in personnel. Soon the enemy pulled up heavy artillery as well.

For almost three days, the battalion of Captain Fyodor Rudsky held an important junction of railways and highways. During these days, tankers and the forces given to them destroyed 260 enemy vehicles, 9 self-propelled guns, 2 T-IV tanks, 12 armored personnel carriers, three heavy artillery batteries, more than 600 soldiers and officers. In addition, about 200 people were captured.

The command mission was successfully completed by the battalion. But there was no time to rest. The tankers of Captain Fyodor Rudsky received an order to immediately go to the intersection of six important highways in the Karbiten area. And again forced march, again swift tank attacks, stubborn battles. Tankers fought for 4 days, holding the intersection of roads, and repelled 6 counterattacks of numerically superior enemy forces during this time.

During battles in East Prussia, the battalion under the command of Captain Fedor Rudsky destroyed 14 fascist tanks, 19 self-propelled artillery installations, 46 cannons of various calibers, 51 mortars, 14 armored personnel carriers, 26 tractors with trailers and artillery, 520 trucks and 34 cars. About 1300 enemy soldiers and officers were killed. Rudskoy himself in this raid was heavily shell-shocked, but remained in service.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 19, 1945, for the exemplary performance of command missions on the front against the Nazi invaders and their courage and heroism, Captain Rudsky Fyodor Andreyevich was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star medal "(No. 7460).

After heavy losses in East Prussia, the corps was withdrawn to the reserve and did not return to the front until the end of the war. After the war, F. A. Rudskoy continued to serve in the Armed Forces of the USSR . Since August 1945, he commanded a battalion of self-propelled artillery units SU-122 in the 38th guards heavy tank and self-propelled regiment of the 10th tank division of the 7th mechanized army , from February 1947 (after the reduction of the 7th mecharmy to the division) he became commander companies. Since October 1947, he again commanded a tank battalion, but already in the 27th separate mechanized regiment. From September 1949 to August 1950 he was the commander of a training tank battalion in the 10th tank division of the 7th mechanized army. From there he was sent to study.

In 1954 he graduated from the Military Academy of Armored and Mechanized Forces named after I.V. Stalin . Since December 1954, F. A. Rudskoy was the commander of the 69th Tank Regiment in the 34th Guards Mechanized Division (in November 1957 it was reorganized into the 34th Guards Motorized Rifle Division) of the Odessa Military District . Since October 1960, he was deputy commander of the 34th Guards Training Motorized Rifle Division. From March 1963 he commanded the 39th Guards Tank Division , and from March 1965 to June 1967 - the 37th Guards Tank Division.

In 1969 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR . From June 1969 until the last day of his life for 13 years, he was the head of the Minsk Suvorov Military School . At this post, he passed on his rich combat experience to the youth, educated future soldiers on the traditions of the Armed Forces.

Major General of the tank forces F.A. Rudskoy died after a serious illness on July 29, 1982. He was buried at the Eastern (Moscow) cemetery in the hero city of Minsk .

• lieutenant (03.03.1941)
• senior lieutenant (1.10.1942)
• captain (11.11.1943)
• major (04.17.1945)
• lieutenant colonel (07/07/1949)
• Colonel (12/18/1954)
• major general of tank troops (05/07/1966)

• Hero of the Soviet Union (04/19/1945)
• Order of Lenin (04/19/1945)
• Order of Alexander Nevsky (12/25/1944)
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (07/31/1943)
• Order of the Red Star
• Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree (1975)
• medals

• 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 .
• Kalashnikov K.A., Dodonov I.Yu. High command staff of the USSR Armed Forces in the post-war period. References (1945-1975). Volume 3. The command staff of the tank troops. Ust-Kamenogorsk: Media Alliance, 2017. - ISBN 978-601-7887-15-5 . - S. 407-410.

• Rudskoy, Fedor Andreevich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Eroshenko P. Not for Glory and Awards // "For the Glory of the Motherland". - 2014.23 September. . Part 1.
• Eroshenko P. Not for Glory and Awards // "For the Glory of the Motherland". - 2014.22 October. . Part 2.