Artyushenko, Alexander Trofimovich

Before the war

Alexander Trofimovich Artyushenko was born on June 10, 1921 ^{[1] [2]} in the village of Pavlovka, Poltava district, Poltava province of the Ukrainian SSR (now a urban-type settlement of Skorokhodovo, Chutovsky district, Poltava region of Ukraine ) in a working class family. Ukrainian ^[1] . He graduated from 10 classes of secondary school in his native village. In 1938 he entered the Donetsk Industrial Institute . After a year of studying at Stalino, Alexander Trofimovich moved to Kharkov , where he continued his studies at the Maxim Gorky Kharkiv State University , simultaneously working at a distillery, then in a water-break ^[3] . But he was prevented from getting higher education by war.

In military service

In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, A. T. Artyushenko, like many of his peers, came to the military registration and enlistment office, but the medical commission found him unfit for military service ^[4] . Alexander Trofimovich returned to his native village to help his parents, and soon the Germans came. Only on October 18, 1943, after the liberation of Poltava region by Soviet troops, the Chutovsky district military registration and enlistment office A. T. Artyushenko was drafted into the ranks of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army ^{[5] [6]} .

The service Red Armyman Artyushenko began in Kovrov , in the reserve cavalry regiment, on the basis of which he underwent military training, mastered the military specialty of the machine-gunner of the easel machine-gun ^[3] . In the spring of 1944 he was sent to the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps , which was in the reserve of the 1st Baltic Front , where on March 12 he was credited with the 1st machine gun number to the 2nd squadron of the 24th Guards Cavalry Regiment of the 5th Guards Cavalry divisions ^[7] .

In battles with the Nazi invaders, Alexander Trofimovich from July 23, 1944 on the 3rd Belorussian Front . During the Vitebsk-Orshansk operation, the baptism of fire was adopted by the strategic plan “Baration” near the village of Smolyany, Vitebsk region . He participated in the operation of the corps to encircle and defeat parts of the 256th Infantry Regiment and the 14th Wehrmacht Infantry Division in the Smolyany - Oboltsy area , crossed the Berezina River near the village of Studenka , where he helped repel six enemy counterattacks ^[4] , fought for the bridgehead on the left bank River Gaina near the village of Rudnya . Especially distinguished himself in battles for the city of Lida .

Order of Glory III degree

Having mastered the stronghold of the German defense in the village of Krasnoe , the 24th Guards Cavalry Regiment carried out the combat mission set as part of the Vitebsk-Orsha operation. From here on July 5, 1944 the cavalrymen of the lieutenant colonel of the guardPF Tkalenko launched an offensive during the Vilnius operation . On July 7 and 8, the regiment repelled counterattacks of motorized infantry and German tanks, captured the Yuratishki station, cutting the highway to Traby , and then saddled the big Lida — Ivie . Moving along the railway in the direction of Lida, the 2nd squadron, in which the Red Army guard A. T. Artyushenko fought, acted in the regiment forward detachment and was the first to come into contact with the enemy. On the near approaches to the city on July 9, 1944, the squadron was ambushed. Artyushenko, immediately unfolding the cart , opened fire on the enemy from the machine gun, giving his comrades the opportunity to organize defense. During the shootout, Alexander Trofimovich was wounded, but continued to fire on the enemy, preventing him from concentrating. Noticing a more convenient position, he moved his machine gun to a new place and continued to smash the enemy, despite the second wound. In total, during the battle, he destroyed 15 enemy soldiers. After the Germans were dispersed, the Red Army guard Artyushenko was sent to the hospital by order of the platoon commander, and the city of Lida was released on the same day as part of the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps ^{[1] [2] [6]} . For valor and courage shown in battle, by order of June 31, 1944, Alexander Trofimovich was awarded the Order of Glory of the 3rd degree (No. 222414) ^[2] .

Order of Glory II degree

After being wounded by A. T. Artyushenko, the infirmary was not for long. Returning to duty, he as part of his regiment still managed to take part in the battles for Augustow . In October 1944, the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps as part of the 2nd Belorussian Front began preparations for the upcoming battles in East Prussia . On January 14, 1945, the front forces launched an offensive from the Pultussky bridgehead within the framework of the Mlavsko-Elbing operation and in three days of fighting managed to break through the strongly fortified and deeply echeloned enemy defenses in the area from Lomza to the mouth of the Narew . On January 17, the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps was introduced into the breach. Since January 19, the 24th Guards Cavalry Regiment carried out special tasks of the command. Having completed a sixty-kilometer march, by the end of the day the cavalrymen broke into the town of Yanovo from the west and, together with the 17th Guards Cavalry Regiment, captured it, after which they crossed the Ozhits river on the shoulders of a running enemy, thus entering East Prussia. On January 21, the regiment, with a courageous roundabout maneuver, facilitated the seizure by parts of the corps of the important transport hub of the city of Nydenburg , and on January 22 left the rear of the Allenstein enemy group, and straddled the road to Hohenstein , broke into the west from Allenstein , which contributed to the seizure of the city by the main forces of the corps. During the offensive, the commander of the calculation of the easel machine gun of the Guard, the Red Army soldier AT T. Artyushenko always walked in the front ranks of the attackers, and with bold and decisive actions repeatedly contributed to the fulfillment of the combat missions set ^[7] .

After the capture of Allenstein, the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps continued its offensive northward into German territory. The enemy violently, but unsuccessfully attacked cavalrymen. On January 24, 7 kilometers from Allenstein, near the town of Dongen ^{[8], the} Germans attacked the battle formations of the 4th squadron of the 24th Guards Cavalry Regiment, leaving the infantry battalion in support with several tanks. Having advanced to the vantage point with his “Maxim” , A.T. Artyushenko let the enemy go 200 meters and opened heavy fire at enemy chains, destroying 25 German soldiers and a light machine gun with a calculation. Unable to withstand the destructive fire, the German infantry fled, and the tanks left without cover turned back ^{[1] [2] [7]} . “Through his bold and bold actions, he ensured the reflection of the enemy counterattack and subsequently contributed to the successful attack of the squadron and the fulfillment of the assigned task with his machine gun,” the commander of the regiment of the guard, Lieutenant Colonel P. F. Tkalenko, gave such an assessment ^[7] .

Having defeated the enemy’s Mlaw-Elbing grouping, the forces of the 2nd Belorussian Front invaded Pomerania . As part of the East Pomeranian Guard operation , the Red Army soldier A. T. Artyushenko took part in breaking through the German defense line north of the city of Ratzebur , stormed Hammerstein , Baldenberg and Neustettin . In total, during the battles in East Prussia and Pomerania, the 24th Guards Cavalry Regiment destroyed at least the enemy infantry regiment, knocked out 13 tanks and self-propelled artillery, captured 48 guns, 60 machine guns, 6 steam locomotives, 345 wagons, 48 ​​warehouses and many different enemy equipment ^[9] . Personally, the guard Red Army Artyushenko for the period from January 19 to February 10, 1945 destroyed up to 50 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht ^[10] . On March 28, the promotion of the 3rd squadron, which included A.T. Artyushenko at that time, was stopped by heavy fire of enemy ambush. Risking his life, Alexander Trofimovich approached the enemy as close as possible and destroyed 12 enemy soldiers with aimed fire, and captured three of them, thereby ensuring the further advancement of the unit ^[11] . By order of March 6, 1945, Alexander Trofimovich was awarded the Order of Glory of the 2nd degree (No. 10657) ^[2] . At the same time, he was also awarded the sergeant rank.

Order of Glory I Class

During the East Pomeranian operation, the German Army Group Vistula was defeated, but not completely destroyed. As part of the Berlin operation, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front were to finish off its remains in Front Pomerania . On April 27, 1945, the 24th Guards Cavalry Regiment crossed the Oder , and having fought more than 120 kilometers, cut off the enemy's transport arteries in the area of Gransee - Neustrelitz and Lindov - Reinsberg . With their swift breakthrough, cavalrymen contributed to the rapid capture of the cities of Zedenik , Gransee, Rainsberg and Neuruppin . On April 30, 1945, the 3rd squadron of the regiment reached Binenwalde, 8 kilometers south-west of Reinsberg. The enemy, striving at all costs to keep the stronghold of his defense, led a strong artillery and machine-gun fire and repeatedly turned into a counterattack, preventing the squadron from advancing. Guard sergeant A. T. Artyushenko was able to detect the enemy machine-gun point, and moving with his "Maxim" to the firing position in the immediate vicinity of the enemy, with accurate shots silenced it, then opened heavy fire on the counterattacking enemy infantry, destroying up to 30 German soldiers . The enemy’s resistance was broken, and the squadron completed its combat mission ^[5] . Chasing the fleeing enemy, the cavalrymen seized the crossing of the Rin River, thereby creating good conditions for the development of the offensive.

On the same day, the 24th Guards Cavalry Regiment was assigned the task of seizing the settlement of the Workshops (Zechow). The Germans fiercely defended the airfield here and fiercely counterattacked the cavalry battle formations. Having shown exceptional courage, sergeant A. T. Artyushenko with his machine gun went to the flank of the enemy who attacked the enemy and with hurricane fire forced the enemy chains to lie down, destroying up to 25 Wehrmacht soldiers. The Germans quickly discovered the firing point of Artyushenko and opened artillery fire on it. The shell exploded just five meters from the machine gun. Alexander Trofimovich lurking, and the Germans, considering that the machine gun was destroyed, again went on the attack. When the enemy was 80 meters away, Artyushenko again opened fire, putting up to 30 German soldiers. Here, the machine-gun belt ended inappropriately, which allowed the enemy to approach the firing point 30-40 meters. Alexander Trofimovich had to reload a machine gun, driving away the Germans with hand grenades. Replacing the tape, he continued to smash the enemy and forced him to roll back to their original positions. While the sergeant Artyushenko was guarding the guards with a battle of the enemy, the cavalry squadrons went around the German positions and broke into the airfield ^{[1] [5] [12]} . Cavalry got 22 operational transport aircraft, 12 gliders and a lot of different equipment and weapons ^[10] .

Having broken the resistance of the enemy on the right bank of the Rin River, the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps resumed its offensive to the west. Acting directly behind the tank assault, the 24th Guards Cavalry Regiment marched 90 kilometers during the day, defeated a large artillery grouping of the enemy, captured Perleberg and Lenzen settlements and by the end of the day went to the Elbe , where he met with American troops. Here the guard sergeant A.T. Artyushenko completed his military career. During the period from April 29 to May 3, 1945, Alexander Trofimovich destroyed 5 enemy firing points, one car and up to 150 Wehrmacht soldiers and officers ^[5] . June 24, 1945 A.T. Artyushenko participated in the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow ^[3] , and on June 29 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR he was awarded the 1st Degree Order of Glory (No. 313) ^{[2] [13]} .

After the war

Demobilized in May 1946 ^[3] with the rank of guard senior sergeant, A.T. Artyushenko returned to the village of Artyomovka. He worked as a setter at a local sugar factory ^{[2] [4]} . In 1965, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, he received the military rank of the foreman in the retired guard ^[3] . In 1975, Alexander Trofimovich moved to the city of Zhdanov (since 1989 - Mariupol ) ^[3] . Prior to retirement, he worked for seven years at the Zhdanov Heavy Machine-Building Plant as a metal worker in workshop No. 1 ^[14] . Alexander Trofimovich died on June 10, 1997 ^{[1] [2]} . He was buried in the Starokrymsky cemetery of the city of Mariupol of Ukraine ^[15] .

• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (03/11/1985) ^[16] ;
• Order of Glory 1st degree (06/29/1945) ^[5] ;
• Order of Glory of the 2nd degree (03/06/1945) ^[7] ;
• Order of Glory 3rd degree (07/31/1944) ^[6] ;
• medals, including:
  • Medal "For Courage" (03/03/1945) ^[11] .

• The publicly available electronic bank of documents "The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." (Unidentified) .

Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (archive props 1511409322) (neopr.) .

Order of Glory of the 1st degree (archive props 46774117) (neopr.) .

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 29, 1945 (archival attribute 46562209) ( unidentified ) .

Order of Glory of the 2nd degree (archive props 26269013) (neopr.) .

Order of Glory 3rd degree (archival props 33299909) (neopr.) .

Medal "For Courage" (archival props 150883710) (neopr.) .

• Holders of the Order of Glory of three degrees: A Concise Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium D. S. Sukhorukov. - M .: Military Publishing House, 2000 .-- 703 p. - ISBN 5-203-01883-9 .
• Loboda V. F. Soldier glory. Prince 2. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1967. - P. 22. - 352 p.
• Dubrov B.I. Soldier glory . - Kiev: Young, 1970 .-- S. 186. - 230 p. - 15 000 copies
• Artyushenko Alexander Trofimovich // Your, Mariupol, glory !: Biographical guide / ed.-comp. N.N. Ryabchenko, V.P. Dzhuvaga. - Mariupol: OO Travelers Club, 2004. - 175 p. (inaccessible link)

• Artyushenko, Alexander Trofimovich (Russian) . The site " Heroes of the country ."