Karuna, Vasily Petrovich

Born on April 27, 1899 in the village of Taubev Region, the Don Army (in 1917-1938 - the village of Morozov, now Morozovsk , a city in the Rostov Region).

In 1913 he entered the repair workers in the Morozov depot.

Civil War

In December 1917, Karuna voluntarily joined the Morozovsky detachment of Kr. guard. He took part in battles with the White Guards and the disarmament of the Cossacks returning from the front in the areas of Nizhne-Chirskaya, Vasilievsky mines, stations Tatsinskaya and Belaya Kalitva. In September 1918 he entered with a detachment in Kr. The army was enlisted by the Red Army in the 10th Morozovsky Railway Regiment, in the same year he was a machine gunner on the armored car "Fox". He participated in battles with the troops of General A.I. Denikin in the vicinity of Art. Morozovskaya and near Tsaritsyn. In September 1919, near Tsaritsyn, he was wounded in the legs and hospitalized. After the cure, he served as a nurse in the 1st Morozovsky sanitary unit of the 10th Morozovsky regiment ^[2] .

Interwar

From August 1920 to September 1923 he studied at the 2nd Borisoglebsko-Petrograd cavalry school, then was appointed commander of the machine gun platoon of the 61st cavalry regiment of the 8th cavalry division of the Turkestan front. He participated in battles with the Basmachi in Eastern Bukhara . In 1925, the gang of Mustafakul was also destroyed there. For these battles in 1929 he was awarded a gilded saber from the Military Council of the Military Military District. Member of the CPSU (b) since 1926. After the cure, he returned to the regiment, where he was appointed head of the regiment's economic team ^[2] .

Since May 1926, Karuna served in the 43rd Cavalry Regiment of the 8th Cavalry Division of the Volga Military District in Orenburg as a commander of a machine-gun platoon, as a commander of a machine-gun squadron and as a commander of a saber-reciprocal squadron. In October 1927 he was transferred to the 47th cavalry regiment in the city of Troitsk as a squadron commander. From October 1930 to June 1931 he studied at the cavalry KUKS of the Red Army in the city of Novocherkassk, then he was appointed to the 43rd cavalry regiment of the 11th cavalry division of the Military Military District and served in it. Chief and Wrede Chief of Staff of the regiment, pom. regiment commander for households. parts. In November 1935, the regiment as part of the division was redeployed to the BVI (m. Pukhovichi), and Karuna was appointed chief of staff of the regiment. In October 1938 he was transferred to the 4th Cossack Division of the 6th Cavalry Corps as commander of the 20th Cossack Regiment, then he commanded the 77th Cavalry Regiment there ^[2] .

In the last position he took part in the campaign of Kr. Army in Zap. Byelorussia 1939. Being in the front squad of the division, on September 23, 1939, Major Karuna was given the task of “cutting off the enemy retreating along the August forests to the Lithuanian border and destroying”. When meeting with the enemy in the Kalita region, skillfully and clearly led the regiment in battle, the regiment personnel carried away with its heroism. As a result of the battle, up to 300 people were killed, more than 500 people were taken prisoner, as well as 255 rifles, 200 grenades, five easel machine guns, 140 horses. Since July 1940, Karuna took command of the 128th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 29th Motorized Division of ZAPOVO ^[2] .

World War II

At the beginning of the war, the 29th Motorized Division as part of the 6th Mechanized Corps of the 10th Army of the Western Front conducted defensive battles in the areas of Grodno, Lida, Novogrudok. At the end of June 1941 was surrounded. In late July, Colonel Karuna took over the provisional command of the regiment of the 108th Infantry Division of the Western Front. From August 7, he was in the hospital after being wounded, then on vacation, and from September 27 to November 22, 1941, while studying at the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army named after K.E. Voroshilova, then he was placed at the disposal of the GUK with secondment to the Inspectorate of the Cavalry of Kr. army. In December, he was appointed widow of the commander of the 113th Cavalry Division in Blagoveshchensk ^[2] .

Since June 1942 he was again at the disposal of the Inspectorate of Cavalry of Kr. army, and on August 12 sent to the disposal of the Military Council of the Voronezh Front. In the same month, he took command of the 195th Rifle Division, which led fierce offensive and defensive battles for the city of Voronezh. At the beginning of October 1942, the division was withdrawn to the reserve of the Supreme High Command Headquarters and redeployed to the city of Balashov, Saratov Region, where it was engaged in understaffing. On November 21, it became part of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps of the 1st Guards Army of the South-Western Front and was transferred to the area of ​​Buturlinovka, Kalach, Vorobyovka (Voronezh Region). On December 16, the division, acting as part of the Voronezh, and on December 19 the Southwestern fronts, went on the offensive, forced the river. Don broke through the heavily fortified defense of parts of the Italian army and within six days advanced 120 km, freeing about 40 of us. points. Continuing the pursuit of the retreating enemy, its units reached the line of Bondarevka, Streltsovka, Velikotsk on December 29, where, having met strong resistance from the enemy’s reserves, they went over to the defensive. In January 1943, its units in the 1st Guards Army took part in the Voroshilovgrad offensive operation. On March 13, 1943, Major General Karuna was removed from his post and in April he was appointed deputy. commander of the 152nd Infantry Division. Then, from May 17, he was admitted to command of this division. As part of the 34th Rifle Corps of the 6th Army, the division participated in the Donbass offensive operation, during which the city of Zmiev was liberated (08/18/1943). In August, during the same operation, the division was subordinated to the 1st Guards Army, in September it conducted combat operations as part of the 34th, then the 6th Guards Rifle Corps ^[2] .

In September 1943, units of 152 rifle divisions crossed the river. The Dnieper within the current boundaries of the city of Dnepropetrovsk (Zavodskaya embankment area, railway station Red Stone, a monument has been erected at the crossing site)

September 30, 1943, while preparing to force the river. The Dnieper, Karuna, together with the officers of the headquarters of the 152nd division crossed to Fr. Green (located opposite the river station in Dnepropetrovsk). During the reconnaissance was spotted by the Nazis, who opened artillery fire. A fragment of one of the shells mortally wounded Major General Karun. He died of wounds in the hospital of his division on September 30, 1943 and was buried on the liberated left bank of the Dnieper.

In 1967, when the serious reconstruction of the memorial cemetery on the October Square of the city of Dnepropetrovsk began (marble tombstones were installed, a memorial sign, the Eternal Flame were installed), his remains were transferred to this cemetery.

He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, Suvorov 2nd century, the medal "XX years of the Red Army", as well as award weapons.

• In 1944-1945, it was decided to erect a monument to Karuna V.P. in Dnepropetrovsk. A place for him was chosen in the park to them. Shevchenko T. G. , where the bust was installed in 1946 (architect G. B. Barkhin ) ^[3]
• In the late 1940s, Zheleznodorozhnaya Street in Dnepropetrovsk was renamed in honor of Major General V.P. Karuna.
• Archival documents of V. P. Karuna are in the Museum of Military and Labor Glory of the Public Organization “Frunze Council of Veterans”, Dnepropetrovsk ^[4] .
• In the city of Morozovsk, Rostov Region, one of the streets is named after the commander.

• Team of authors. World War II: Divisional Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary. - M.: Kuchkovo field, 2015 .-- V. 4. - P. 163-164. - 330 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9950-0602-2