Yushchuk, Ivan Ivanovich

The early years

Born May 5, 1898 in the village of Malynka, Zabludovskoy volost, Białystok county, Grodno province (now Bialystok county of Podlaskie Voivodeship , Poland ) into a poor peasant family. Belarus ^[2] . From eight years old shepherded peasant cattle, then moved to the city to earn money. As a refugee of the First World War he moved to Tula ^[3] .

In February 1918, he volunteered to join the detachment in the Red Guard in Tula, and in April to the Red Army ^[2] . Member of the Civil War ^[3] .

In 1922 he graduated from tractor courses at the Higher Armored School , and the next year - repeated courses at the Higher Armored School ^[2] .

In February 1923 he was appointed tank commander of a separate tank training brigade of the Moscow Military District, and a month later he commanded a platoon in the 5th separate armored squad. Since September - the commander of the 1st division of the 1st light fleet of tanks ^[2] .

In 1925 he graduated from the KUKS in the armored case at the Leningrad school of mechanics. In 1935 he graduated from the I. Stalin Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization ^[2] .

In June 1935 he was appointed commander of a tank battalion of the 27th mechanized brigade of the Belarusian Military District (BVI). Since April 1938 - the head of the armored service (ABTS) of the 13th infantry division of the BOVO ^[2] .

The fate of the commander was in the balance during the years of Stalin's repressions. In July 1938, I. I. Yushchuk, by order of BOVO, was relieved of his post as head of the ABTS of the 13th Infantry Division and dismissed from the Red Army under Art. 43, paragraph “b” (for official non-compliance). However, already in September, he was reinstated in the Red Army and appointed to his previous position ^[2] .

In August 1939, I. I. Yushchuk was appointed commander of the 27th separate light tank brigade. Since March 1941 - Chief of Staff of the 48th Panzer Division ^[2] .

During the Great Patriotic War

At the front from the first days of World War II . In August 1941, Colonel I.I. Yushchuk, together with a group of division headquarters commanders, gathered disparate marching battalions and, together with the remnants of the 48th Panzer Division, took up the city of Velikie Luki with a counterattack. At the same time he was in the battle formations of units and by personal example carried the units into battle, which ensured the defeat of the German 86th Panzer Division ^[4] . On August 28, he was appointed commander of the 48th Panzer Division ^[2] , which, after leaving the encirclement, was sent to the city of Vladimir for reformation and was soon disbanded on September 2.

On October 5, 1941, Colonel I. I. Yushchuk was appointed commander of the 32nd Tank Brigade , which arrived in Tula on the evening of October 30 (5 KV-1 , 7 T-34 , 22 T-60 and a motorized infantry battalion of 960 people ^[5] ) and took an active part in the defense of Tula , and then in the defeat of German troops near Tula , in the liberation of Yasnaya Polyana . Having scouted a weak spot in the enemy’s defense, together with the 124th Panzer Regiment of the 112th Panzer Division, it raided the enemy’s rear to a depth of 25 km, defeating three large enemy convoys and capturing a number of settlements, including Yasnaya Polyana. Under his leadership, the 32nd Panzer Brigade actively participated in the liberation of Kaluga and in the pursuit of the enemy to the city of Yukhnov ^[4] . For participation in the Tula and Kaluga offensive operations he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner ^[3] In November 1941, I. I. Yushchuk was appointed head of the Tula garrison ^[6] .

In February 1942, Colonel I.I. Yushchuk was appointed assistant commander of the Western Front for the combat use of tank forces. According to the assessment of the Deputy Commander of the Western Front for Tank Troops, Major General of the Panzer Troops D.K. Mostovenko , “while being directly in the troops, Comrade Yushchuk pays much attention to training ABT troops in modern combat, transferring combat experience to troops and organizing combat.” ^{[ 4]} Since November 1942 - commander of the 6th Panzer Corps. In December 1942, he was injured and sent for treatment at the hospital ^[2] .

June 7, 1943 awarded the rank of Major General of the tank forces. Since September 1943 - the head of the Advanced Training Courses for Command Staff (KUKS) at the Military Academy of the Armored and Mechanized Forces of the Red Army named after I.V. Stalin ^[2] .

From July 15, 1944 until the end of the war, Major General of the tank forces I. I. Yushchuk commanded the 11th Panzer Corps ^[2] . Member of the Belarusian, Wisla-Oder, Berlin offensive operations, the assault of the Imperial Chancellery and the Reichstag ^[3] .

From the description: “Having commanded a corps, he proved himself to be a highly cultured officer, well versed in the art of controlling a tank battle” ^[7] .

For the successful crossing of the Pilitsa River and serious damage to the enemy caused by the 11th Panzer Corps in January 1945, the command of the 69th Army introduced Major General Panzer Troops I. Yushchuk to the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union , but the decision of the Military Council of the Front was awarded the Order of Suvorov I degree (April 6, 1945) ^[8] . A participant in the operation to maintain and expand the bridgehead in the Kustrin region (February - March 1945).

During the war he was twice wounded. The end of the war met in the center of Berlin ^[9] .

Post-war

After the war, he held a number of command posts in the Soviet Army. In July 1945, the 11th Panzer Corps of Major General Panzer Troops I. I. Yushchuk was transformed into the 11th Panzer Division. In August 1946, he was appointed head of the Advanced Training Courses for Officers (KOS) at the Military Academy of the Armored and Mechanized Forces of the Red Army. I.V. Stalin. Since June 1947, he commanded the 23rd Panzer Division in the Carpathian Military District. In December 1948, he was appointed senior inspector of armored and mechanized troops (BT and MV) of the Main Inspectorate of the USSR Armed Forces ^[2] .

In 1957, Major General Panzer Troops I. I. Yushchuk was transferred to the reserve ^[2] . Being on a well-deserved rest, he did a lot of public work. Author of the book "Eleventh Panzer Corps in the battles for the motherland" ^[3] . On May 9, 1965, a veteran organization of the 11th Panzer Corps was created under the chairmanship of TV Major General I. I. Yushchuk, and in 1981, the Fighting Way Museum was established at school No. 610 (now GBOU Pushkin Lyceum No. 1500, Moscow) 11th tank Red Banner Radom-Berlin Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov II degree corps " ^[10] .

He died on September 19, 1991 ^[2] . He was buried at the Khimki cemetery in Moscow ^[11] .

• Yushchuk I.I. Eleventh Panzer Corps in battles for the Motherland. - M .: Military Publishing , 1962.
• Yushchuk I.I. Heroes of those days / I.I. Yushchuk // Tula - a hero city. - Tula, 1981. - S. 145-150.
• Yushchuk I.I. Armor for armor / I.I. Yushchuk // Banner of communism. March 21,22,23 1985.
• Yushchuk I.I. For Yasnaya Polyana / I.Yushchuk // Kommunar. July 30, 1971.
• Yushchuk I. I. In the battles for Yasnaya Polyana / I. Yushchuk // Banner of Communism. February 24, 1967.

• Order of Lenin (February 21, 1945 - length of service 25 years )
• three orders of the Red Banner (April 1, 1943 ^[4] , November 3, 1944 - 20 years of service , 1949 - 30 years of service )
• Order of Suvorov I degree (April 6, 1945 ^[8] )
• Order of Suvorov II degree (May 29, 1945 ^[9] )
• Order of Kutuzov II degree (August 23, 1944 ^[12] )
• Order of the Patriotic War I degree (April 6, 1985 ^[13] )
• medals, including:
  • "XX years of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army" (1938)
  • "For the defense of Moscow"
  • “For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.”
  • “For the capture of Berlin”
  • “For the liberation of Warsaw”
  • "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
• Honorary citizen of the city of Shchekino (October 27, 1967) ^[3] , a personal pensioner of national importance (November 1974) ^[2] .

• In honor of I. I. Yushchuk, the pass was named in the Dzungarian Alatau ^[14] .

• Team of authors . World War II: Comcor. Military Biographical Dictionary / Edited by M. G. Vozhakin . - M .; Zhukovsky: Kuchkovo Field, 2006 .-- T. 2 .-- S. 204-206. - ISBN 5-901679-08-3 .
• Yushchuk Ivan Ivanovich // Honorary citizens of the city of Shchekino and Shchekino district. - Shchekino, 1985.
• He was an honorary citizen / Shchekinsky Bulletin. November 10, 1991.

• Yushchuk Ivan / Honorary citizens of the city of Shchekino and Shchekino district (Neopr.) . Shchekino Inter-settlement Central Library. Date of treatment February 13, 2014.
• Yushchuk Ivan Ivanovich (1898-1991) (neopr.) . Pages of Russian history. Date of treatment February 13, 2014.
• Yushchuk Ivan Ivanovich on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation