Viktor Ivanovich Melnikov ( 1920 - 1944 ) - senior lieutenant of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army , participant in the Great Patriotic War , Hero of the Soviet Union ( 1944 ).
| Victor Ivanovich Melnikov | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | August 9, 1920 | ||
| Place of Birth | Ekaterinoslav | ||
| Date of death | March 11, 1944 (23 years old) | ||
| Place of death | Bershad district with. Beryozovka , Vinnytsia region | ||
| Affiliation |  the USSR | ||
| Type of army | armored forces | ||
| Years of service | 1939 - 1944 | ||
| Rank |  | ||
| Battles / wars | The Great Patriotic War | ||
| Awards and prizes |
| ||
Biography
Victor Melnikov was born on August 9, 1920 in Yekaterinoslav. He graduated from an industrial college. In 1939, Melnikov was called up for service in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. In 1941, he graduated from the Saratov Tank School. Since June of that year - on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. By March 1944, the Guard Senior Lieutenant Viktor Melnikov commanded a company of the 8th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment of the 3rd Tank Corps of the 2nd Tank Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front . He distinguished himself during the Uman-Botoshansk operation [1] .
On March 6, 1944, Melnikov’s company, breaking through the enemy’s defenses, went to the Gorny Tikich river and captured the crossing over it, after which it successfully held it until the main forces approached, repelling three enemy counterattacks. On March 7, in a battle for the Potash station in the Mankovsky district of the Cherkasy region of the Ukrainian SSR, the company forced the enemy to retreat, who threw about 500 tanks, 1000 cars, 350 artillery pieces, a large number of warehouses. On March 8, in the battle on the outskirts of Uman, Melnikov’s tankers destroyed 3 armored personnel carriers and 2 anti-tank guns. On the night of March 9-10, 1944, in battles on the streets of Uman, Melnikov personally destroyed 2 tanks and 1 self-propelled artillery of the enemy. On March 11, 1944, in a battle near the village of Beryozovka, Melnikov’s tank was shot down, but the tankman remained in the burning tank. Continuing to fire, he destroyed 1 tank, 3 artillery pieces and a large number of enemy soldiers and officers, but he also died. He was buried in the village of Ternovka, Bershad district, Vinnitsa region of Ukraine [1] .
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 13, 1944 for “courage, bravery and heroism shown in the fight against the German invaders” of the guard, senior lieutenant Viktor Melnikov was posthumously awarded the high rank of Hero of the Soviet Union . He was also posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin [1] .
In honor of Melnikov named street in Uman [1] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Melnikov, Victor Ivanovich . Site " Heroes of the country ".
Literature
- 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 .
- Heroes-liberators of Cherkasy. - Dnepropetrovsk: Promin, 1980.
- Both the general and the private. Dnepropetrovsk: Promin, 1983.