Poshtarenko, Yakov Timofeevich

Yakov Timofeevich Poshtarenko was born on November 26 ( November 13, according to the old style ) in 1904 in the village of Malye Dmitrovichi of the Kiev district of the Kiev province of the Russian Empire (now the village of Obukhov district of the Kiev region of Ukraine ) in a working class family. Ukrainian . He graduated from the parish school . In 1923-1926 he served in the Red Army .

Again in the ranks of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army, Y. T. Poshtarenko since the fall of 1941. He graduated from a three-month course of sappers . In battles with the Nazi invaders, the Red Army soldier Y. T. Poshtarenko from January 25, 1942 on the Western Front . Participated in the Rzhev-Vyazemsky operation . February 9, 1942 was seriously injured.

Ya. T. Poshtarenko returned to the front line only in November 1943. He fought on the 1st Ukrainian front . He took part in the Zhytomyr-Berdichev operation . On December 30, 1943, Yakov Timofeevich received a severe concussion and was evacuated to the hospital. After recovery, he returned to his unit and fought in its composition until the beginning of spring 1944. Since March 8, 1944, Corporal Ya. T. Poshtarenko as part of the 420th separate combat engineer battalion of the 252nd Infantry Division of the 52nd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front . In the spring of 1944, Yakov Timofeevich participated in the Uman-Botoshanskoy operation , during which, as part of his unit, he freed a significant part of Right-Bank Ukraine , forced the Gorny Tikich , Southern Bug , Dniester and Reut rivers . By mid-April, units of the 252nd Infantry Division reached the area southwest of the village of Teshkuren , where they went on the defensive. On the night of April 14–15, 1944, the 420th separate combat engineer battalion was tasked with mining the neutral strip. Acting as part of a group of miners, corporal Ya. T. Poshtarenko advanced 200 meters to the German trenches and scouted the front edge of the German defense, after which he set up stretch marks under the enemy’s machine-gun and mortar fire. For the successful completion of the command assignment, Y. T. Poshtarenko was awarded the medal “For Courage” and promoted to junior sergeant with the appointment of commander of the sapper department.

In August 1944, the 252nd Infantry Division, part of the 4th Guards Army, participated in the Iasi-Chisinau Operation , after which it was withdrawn to the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command . Until the beginning of November 1944, Ya. T. Poshtarenko was training replenishment who arrived at the battalion and was prematurely promoted to sergeant for his success in this matter. On November 3, 1944, the 4th Guards Army was transferred to the 3rd Ukrainian Front and its units joined the Budapest operation , during which Sergeant Y. T. Poshtarenko distinguished himself in battles for the city of Szekesfehervar . The 252nd division, leading the attack on the city, was threatened from the flank by a large group of German and Hungarian troops, which controlled the left bank of the Charviz Canal. It was necessary to blow up the bridge over the canal in the area of ​​the village of Sabat . The bridge was well guarded, but Sergeant Poshtarenko with three fighters of his squad managed to get to him unnoticed on the night of December 21, 1944. However, when laying tola, the Germans discovered the Poshtarenko group and opened heavy automatic and machine-gun fire on it. Then the fire was opened by a German tank standing in combat guard. Having ordered his fighters to depart, Yakov Timofeyevich continued to work, and laying down the explosives, set fire to the Bikford cord . Forty seconds later, the bridge flew into the air, and on December 23, 1944 Szekesfehervar was completely cleared of enemy troops.

In February 1945, the 252nd Infantry Division was transferred to the 46th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, as part of which went on the offensive during the Vienna Operation . Having broken through the enemy’s defenses, the division crossed the Altal River and began to push the opposing enemy units towards the Danube. On March 24, 1945, near the village of Modogorosbanya (Mogyorosbanya), an enemy screen blocked the path of one of the rifle battalions. At the nameless height prevailing over the area, the Germans equipped machine-gun points, from which the whole district was shot. The infantrymen made an attempt to circumvent the height on the right, but entered long minefields. The sapper sergeant Ya. T. Poshtarenko was sent to help the infantry. Shortly before dawn, the sappers made a wide passage in the minefield, but when the signal for an attack sounded in the morning after artillery preparation, the infantrymen hesitated. Yakov Timofeevich realized that the soldiers were afraid of mines, and along the passage made by his squad he was the first to rush forward, carrying the fighters behind him. Bursting along with infantry into enemy trenches, in hand-to-hand combat, he personally destroyed 6 enemy soldiers.

Developing the offensive, on March 28, 1945, units of the 46th Army captured the right-bank part of the city of Komar ^[1] . The army commander set the task for the 252nd Infantry Division: to force the Danube and clear the left-bank part of the city from the enemy. As a place for crossing, a section of the river was chosen in the area of ​​Sentpal Island, whose forested banks made it difficult for the enemy to see. The operation to force the Danube began on the night of March 30, 1945. Sergeant Y. T. Poshtarenko, being the commander of the calculation of half-pontoon, took 15 paratroopers aboard and was the first to set sail from the right bank. The enemy discovered the crossing, when 100-150 meters remained to the left bank, and opened a fierce machine-gun, and then artillery fire. Half-pontoon was broken in several places, but Poshtarenko plugged the holes with tow and safely delivered the landing party to the left bank. When the landing was a close shell gap, Yakov Timofeyevich was shell-shocked, but continued to work at the crossing, making another 9 flights overnight. On the same day, the left-bank part of the city was liberated from the Nazis. On April 3, 1945, the commander of the 420th separate combat engineer battalion, Captain M.G. Kozlov, introduced Sergeant Y. T. Poshtarenko to the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union. The decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was signed on May 15, 1946.

In early April 1945, the 252nd Infantry Division was transferred to the 7th Guards Army and participated in the liberation of the city of Bratislava during the Bratislava-Brnovsk offensive operation . In May 1945, Sergeant Y. T. Poshtarenko participated in the Prague operation , completing the military route in southern Czechoslovakia . After the end of World War II, Yakov Timofeevich lived and worked in Kiev . April 14, 1977 he died. He was buried in the capital of Ukraine.

• The Gold Star Medal (05/15/1946);
• Order of Lenin (05/15/1946);
• Order of the Red Star (12/30/1944);
• medals, including:
  • Medal "For Courage" (05/25/1944).

• 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 .
• Battle stars of Kiev: essays on the Heroes of the Soviet Union - natives of Kiev and Kiev region / comp. I.V. Volkov, K.L. Klepik, A.K. Kornilov. - 3rd ed., Revised. - Kiev: Political Publishing House of Ukraine, 1983. - S. 340—342. - 519 p.
• Our rifle: veterans of the 252nd division remember / comp. I. G. Anisimov, A. K. Godovykh, I. G. Grebtsov. - 2nd ed., Pererab. and add. - Perm: Perm Book Publishing House, 1987. - S. 195—198. - 284 p.

• Public electronic document bank “The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” (neopr.) . Date of treatment March 19, 2013. Archived March 13, 2012.

Presentation to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Neopr.) . Date of treatment March 19, 2013. Archived on April 8, 2013.

Order of the Red Star (award sheet and award order) (neopr.) . Date of treatment March 19, 2013. Archived on April 8, 2013.

Medal "For Courage" (award sheet and order for awarding) (neopr.) . Date of treatment March 19, 2013. Archived on April 8, 2013.

• Poshtarenko, Yakov Timofeevich (Russian) . The site " Heroes of the country ."
• Poshtarenko Yakov Timofeevich on www.az-libr.ru (neopr.) . Date of treatment March 19, 2013. Archived on April 8, 2013.
• Follow me! There are no mines ahead! (unspecified) . Date of treatment March 19, 2013. Archived on April 8, 2013.