Prudky, Nikolai Petrovich

Nikolai Petrovich Prudky was born on May 20, 1922 in the village of Dudarkov of the Oster district of the Chernigov province of the Ukrainian SSR (now the village of the Boryspil district of the Kiev region of Ukraine ) in the family of a peasant Pyotr Korneevich Prudky. Ukrainian . He graduated from the eight-year school in his native village in 1938. He worked for a year on the Nadezhda collective farm , then, by decision of the general meeting of collective farmers, he was sent to study at the College of Agricultural Mechanization in the city of Nizhyn . Before the war he managed to finish two courses.

In the ranks of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army , N.P. Prudky was called up by the Borispol District Military Commissariat of the Kiev Region in July 1941. He graduated from the tank school ^[2] in 1942, then trained in a reserve tank regiment in the Volga Military District . In February 1943, Lieutenant N.P. Prudky was sent to the 89th tank brigade of the 1st tank corps , which was in the reserve of the Supreme High Command , and was appointed commander of the T-70 tank of the 203rd tank battalion. In battles with the Nazi invaders, Nikolai Petrovich from March 23, 1943 on the Western Front . He was baptized in battles near Spas-Demensky during the Rzhev-Vyazemsky offensive operation . At the frontiers reached during the offensive, the 1st Panzer Corps conducted positional battles until the summer of 1943. Before the battle on the Kursk Bulge began, he was subordinated to the 11th Guards Army and took up defensive positions in the Ulyanovsk region of the Oryol Region ^[3] , and Lieutenant N.P. Prudky was appointed commander of a tank platoon. Nikolai Petrovich particularly distinguished himself in the Battle of Kursk in battles on the northern front of the Kursk Bulge.

A platoon of light T-70 tanks of Lieutenant N.P. Prudkov distinguished himself in the early days of the Kursk strategic defensive operation. Steadily holding the lines near the village of Staritsa of the Ulyanovsk region, Prudkoy’s tankers inflicted tangible damage to the enemy, destroying 2 German tanks, 1 armored personnel carrier, 4 guns, 2 mortars and up to 25 enemy soldiers. During the start of the Oryol offensive operation, the platoon of Lieutenant Prudky, acting in the head marching outpost, opened enemy ambushes, swept away the barriers, was the first to break into the enemy defense strongholds and repeatedly provided valuable intelligence information about the enemy to the command. Especially heavy battles of the 89th tank brigade had to be conducted in the Znamensky district of the Oryol region. Former lieutenant technician of the 159th Tank Brigade of the 1st Tank CorpsP. I. Kirichenko subsequently recalled:

The 89th tank brigade, located in the Krutitsa area, Krutitsky, was in a difficult situation. Attacked by tanks and motorized infantry of the 20th Panzer Division of the Germans, it repelled their onslaught during the day, without stopping attempts to move forward. To a large extent, the success of the brigade was facilitated by the actions of scouts who transmitted data on the actions of the enemy. Particularly valuable data that made it possible to timely transfer fire to the enemy groups that were invading came from the reconnaissance platoon commander, Lieutenant N.P. Prudky, who was operating in his tank in the most threatened direction.

- P. Kirichenko. The first is always difficult: The combat path of the 1st Tank Insterburg Red Banner Corps.

On July 15, 1943, the tanks of the 89th tank brigade reached the approaches to the village of Krutitsy , which the Germans turned into a heavily fortified strong point. A reconnaissance platoon under the command of Lieutenant Prudkov was instructed to conduct reconnaissance in battle in order to determine the number of enemy garrison and identify its weapons. Taking the initiative, due to the skillful use of the terrain, Nikolai Petrovich brought his platoon to the southwestern outskirts of the village and delivered an unexpected blow to the enemy rear, which caused confusion in his ranks. Acting with gunfire and caterpillars, the tankers crushed the enemy’s defenses, destroying 2 armored cars and 3 tractors, a warehouse with ammunition and up to 40 enemy soldiers. Another armored car, as well as 2 guns and 3 motorcycles went to them as trophies. When the Germans opened fire from an artillery gun on the outskirts of the village, Lieutenant Prutkoy left them on the flank with a skillful maneuver and hit the target from the first shot, destroying the gun along with the calculation. When the village of Krutitsy was liberated, the tankmen repelled several dozen civilians and a large herd of cattle from the enemy, which the Germans planned to send to Germany ^[4] . A control prisoner was also captured, who later gave valuable information about the enemy. Thanks to the decisive and skillful actions of N.P. Prudky, the settlement was occupied by a brigade without losses.

July 16, 1943 reconnaissance platoon T-70 again acted at the forefront of the brigade, ensuring the safety of its main forces. At the approaches to the village of Krasnikovo, tankers stumbled upon an anti-tank ambush and boldly entered into battle with superior enemy forces. Skillfully maneuvering on the battlefield, they identified and suppressed enemy fire weapons. When the Germans managed to knock out Prudkiy’s tank, he continued to fire from a stationary car and at the same time broadcasted information about the enemy to the brigade’s headquarters. Before the second hit the tank was set on fire, Nikolai Petrovich managed to destroy the enemy mortar along with the calculation. A heavily wounded and badly burned commander was pulled out of the tank by a driver. The main forces of the brigade, who arrived in time for the battlefield, completed the rout of the enemy. Lieutenant N.P. Prudky was quickly taken to the medical battalion, but the wounds and burns he received were incompatible with life, and after half an hour he died in the arms of the commander of the brigade of the colonel K.N. Bannikova .

For the exemplary performance of the combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the German invaders and the courage and heroism shown by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 4, 1944, Lieutenant Prudkov Nikolai Petrovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. N.P. Prudky was buried in the village of Krasnikovo, Znamensky District, Oryol Region.

• Medal "Golden Star" (06/04/1944, posthumous);
• Order of Lenin (06/04/1944, posthumously);
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (08/04/1943, posthumously).

• A bust of Hero of the Soviet Union N.P. Prudky was installed in the city of Borispol, Kiev region of Ukraine.
• In the village of Dudarkovo, Borispol district, Kiev region, in honor of the Hero of the Soviet Union N.P. Prudky, a bust and a memorial sign were installed. A memorial plaque is installed on the facade of the Dudarkovskaya school.

The reconnaissance platoon he commanded followed in the head march outpost, ensuring the safety of the main brigade forces. Near the village of Krasnikovo, tankers came across an ambush. An unequal battle began. Accurate fire Prudkiy destroyed several firing points. From an enemy shell his car caught fire. Wounded, panting from smoke, N.P. Prudky continued to fight. The second shell interrupted both legs, but he held on until he transmitted the situation data via the radio. When the main forces approached, Prudky, burnt and bleeding, was carried out of the tank. He asked to call the brigade commander to confirm information about the enemy. In his arms, Prudky died.

- Hero of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union Baghramyan I. Kh. So we went to victory. - M: Military Publishing, 1977 .-- S. 219.

• 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 .
• Kiev war stars: essays on the Heroes of the Soviet Union - natives of Kiev and Kiev region / comp .: I.V. Volkov, K.L. Klepik, A.K. Kornilov et al. - 3rd ed., Revised. - Kiev: Political Publishing House of Ukraine, 1983. - S. 343-345. - 518 p.
• Kirichenko P.I. In the Battle of Kursk (Orel operation) // The first is always difficult. The combat path of the 1st Tank Insterburg Red Banner Corps . - M .: Yauza: Eksmo, 2007 .-- 412 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-21864-6 .
• Battle of Kursk. Chronicle, facts, people: in 2 books. - M .: OLMA Media Group, 2003. - T. 1. - S. 131-132. - 415 p. - ISBN 5-224-04435-9 .

• Public electronic document bank “The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” (neopr.) . Date of treatment June 11, 2013. Archived March 13, 2012.

Submission to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the decree of the USSR PVS on conferring the title (neopr.) . Date of treatment June 11, 2013. Archived June 12, 2013.

Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (award list and award order) (neopr.) . Date of treatment June 11, 2013. Archived June 12, 2013.

• The generalized database “Memorial” (neopr.) . Date of treatment June 11, 2013. Archived May 10, 2012.

TsAMO, f. 58, op. 18001, d.306 (neopr.) .

Information from burial list 57-211 (neopr.) .

Burial card 57-211 (neopr.) .

Burial diagram 57-211 (neopr.) .

• Prudky, Nikolai Petrovich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Prudkiy Nikolay Petrovich on www.az-libr.ru (neopr.) . Date of treatment June 11, 2013. Archived June 12, 2013.
• Your Heroes, Kursk Bulge (Neopr.) . Date of treatment June 11, 2013. Archived June 12, 2013.