Potapov, Eduard Dmitrievich

Eduard Dmitrievich Potapov was born on January 31, 1925 in the district town of Kozlov ^{[1] of the} Tambov province of the RSFSR of the USSR (now the city of Michurinsk , the regional center of the Tambov region of the Russian Federation ) in a working class family. Russian . He graduated from 10 classes of Michurin transport school number 50 ^[2] . Before conscription, he worked as a physical teacher at school.

E.D. Potapov was drafted into the ranks of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army by the Michurinsky military recruitment office in July 1943. On August 10, 1943, the Red Army soldier Potapov arrived at the North-Western Front with a reinforcement and was sent to the 580th Infantry Regiment of the 188th Infantry Division of the 34th Army , which fought hard under Staraya Russa . But Edward Dmitrievich didn't hit the front line. On August 24, 1943, the 188th Infantry Division, which suffered great losses, was withdrawn to reserve. After recruiting, it was redeployed to the Steppe Front and on September 9, 1943 it became part of the 37th Army . Red Army soldier E.D. Potapov received his baptism of fire during the Poltava-Kremenchug Operation Battle of the Dnieper . On the night of October 4, 1943, Eduard Dmitrievich, as part of his 2nd Infantry Battalion, forced the Dnieper near the village of Perevolochnaya ^{[3] in the} Dnipropetrovsk region of the Ukrainian SSR . He participated in repelling numerous enemy counterattacks on the bridgehead seized by the battalion. He distinguished himself in battles on October 5 and 6, 1943, at heights of 106.7 and 122.2 near the village of Mishurin Rog . During the battle, the Red Army soldier Potapov, under enemy fire, managed to carry out from the neutral zone 1 mounted machine gun and 2 light machine guns, thereby contributing to repelling enemy attacks. In the battle for Mishurin Rog, Eduard Dmitrievich was seriously wounded and evacuated to the hospital.

After recovering, E. D. Potapov graduated from junior lieutenant courses and in the spring of 1944 received the appointment of the 50th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 15th Guards Rifle Division of the 37th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front , where he took command of a platoon of a machine-gun company. Guards Junior Lieutenant Potapov participated in the Odessa operation , during which units of the army liberated a significant part of the Odessa region and Transdniestria, forced the Dniester and seized bridgeheads on its right bank. The 50th Guards Rifle Regiment forced the Dniester north of the town of Bender near the village of Varnitsa . In the battles for the bridgehead in the period from April 19 to May 30, 1944, a platoon of guard lieutenant E. D. Potapov repulsed several enemy counterattacks, destroying up to 40 enemy soldiers and officers. April 28, 1944, when in the course of a fierce battle, the first calculation numbers dropped out, Edward Dmitrievich himself went to bed for a machine gun and personally destroyed 16 enemy soldiers.

In June 1944, the 15th Guards Rifle Division was transferred to the 5th Guards Army ^[4] , which on July 13, 1944 became part of the 1st Ukrainian Front . In July 1944, Guards Junior Lieutenant E.D. Potapov participated in the Lviv-Sandomierz operation . In the middle of the month he was wounded, but quickly returned to service. In the fall of 1944, Eduard Dmitrievich participated in the battles on the Sandomierz bridgehead . For the skillful leadership of a platoon in December 1944 he was given the rank of guard lieutenant ahead of schedule. Especially distinguished himself in the Sandomierz-Silesian Frontal Operation , carried out by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front within the framework of the Vislo-Oder strategic operation .

Starting the offensive from the Sandomierz bridgehead on January 12, 1945, units of the 5th Guards Army already the next day broke through the enemy's deeply echeloned and heavily fortified defense and rushed into the breakthrough. Having crossed the Pilica and Warta rivers, army units liberated the southern regions of Poland and reached the Oder River south of Breslau . During the offensive, the commander of a platoon of machine-gun Guards Lieutenant E.D. Potapov was temporarily transferred to the post of platoon commander of a reconnaissance battalion, replacing his retired comrade. The scouts were tasked to scout the approaches to the Oder, determine the thickness of the ice on the river, and map out the place of the crossing. On January 23, 1945, with seven scouts of his platoon of guards, Lieutenant Potapov went out to the river near the village of Faundorf. Not finding the enemy on the east bank, Edward Dmitrievich decided to force the Oder on the ice. On the west bank, the scouts discovered empty trenches. In a nearby settlement, Potapov's fighters captured a German captain dressed in civilian clothes. Soon a detachment of 14 German soldiers approached the village, which the guardsmen managed to disarm. From the interrogation of prisoners it was found out that the detachment was the vanguard of the German battalion, which was ordered to take up positions on the west bank of the Oder. After setting up an ambush, the guard lieutenant E.D. Potapov and his scouts engaged in battle with the superior forces of the enemy, during which the Germans lost up to 30 people killed. The reinforcements came in time allowed to encircle and destroy the Germans. Taking command of the consolidated detachment from the reconnaissance platoon, the machine-gun platoon and the anti-tank rifle platoon, E. D. Potapov moved to the highway, where he and his men occupied the all-round defense . In the morning the Germans went to the counter. For five hours, Potapov’s squad fought with superior enemy forces, thanks to which the main forces of the regiment forced the Oder without losses. On January 26, 1945, for the heroism shown in battles, the commander of the 50th Guards Rifle Guard Regiment, Colonel B. I. Birin introduced Edward Dmitrievich to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and for the skilful leadership of the unit he was given the extraordinary military rank of senior lieutenant guard. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to E. D. Potapov by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 27, 1945.

E. D. Potapov received the deserved award only in 1946. At the end of February 1945, while he was performing an assignment to take a control prisoner, he was seriously wounded. After surgery in a mobile surgical hospital, he was evacuated to Dnepropetrovsk . For ten months, Edward Dmitrievich spent in a hospital bed. After being healed in January 1946, he was sent for further service to the reserve regiment, stationed in Kharkov , from where he was soon discharged for health reasons as a captain. Edward Dmitrievich returned to Michurinsk. In 1958 he graduated from the Tambov Institute of Physical Culture and Sports, after which he worked as a physical education teacher at the Michurinsky Technical College ^[5] .

Eduard Dmitrievich died on May 28, 1987. Buried in Michurinsk .

• Gold Star Medal (06/27/1945);
• Order of Lenin (06.27.1945);
• Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (11.03.1985);
• Order of the Red Star (07/07/1944);
• medals, including:
  • Medal "For Courage" (10/08/1943).

• The name of the Hero of the Soviet Union E. D. Potapov bears MBOU Secondary School No. 18 of the city of Michurinsk.

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. College I. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Lyubov - Yashchuk /. - 863 s. - 100 000 copies - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .
• L. Dyachkov. Our Pride and Glory: Essays on Heroes of the Soviet Union - Tambovtsy. - Voronezh: Central Black Earth Prince. publishing house, 1968. - p. 148. - 192 p.

• The publicly available electronic bank of documents "The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." (Unidentified) . The appeal date is February 26, 2013. Archived on March 13, 2012.

Submission to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Neopr.) . The date of circulation is February 26, 2013. Archived on March 23, 2013.

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Neopr.) . The date of circulation is February 26, 2013. Archived on March 23, 2013.

Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (information from the card awarded to the 40th anniversary of the Victory) (Unidentified) . The date of circulation is February 26, 2013. Archived on March 23, 2013.

Order of the Red Star (award list and award order) (Neopr.) . The date of circulation is February 26, 2013. Archived on March 23, 2013.

Medal "For Courage" (Order of Awarding) (Neopr.) . The date of circulation is February 26, 2013. Archived on March 23, 2013.

• Potapov, Eduard Dmitrievich (Rus.) . The site " Heroes of the country ."
• Potapov Eduard Dmitrievich on www.az-libr.ru ( Neopr .) . The date of circulation is February 26, 2013. Archived on March 23, 2013.
• He did his duty (Unsolved) . The date of circulation is February 26, 2013. Archived on March 23, 2013.
• Biography of E. D. Potapov on the site of the Secondary School of Secondary School No. 17 of the city of Michurinsk (Neopr.) . The date of circulation is February 26, 2013. Archived on March 23, 2013.