Khmelev, Pavel Vasilievich

He was born in 1923 in the village of Kok-Tal, now in the Panfilov district of the Alma-Ata region of Kazakhstan, into a peasant family. Russian. Member of the Komsomol since 1938. After graduating from a seven-year school, he studied at a road technical school in Samarkand.

In March 1942 he was drafted into the Red Army . In the battles of World War II since 1942. He fought on the Central and 1st Ukrainian Fronts.

On December 13, 1943, at the Guyva-Pryazhev line, where parts of the cavalry and rifle divisions were defending, the Nazis went on the offensive, throwing up to two motorized infantry regiments and more than fifty tanks into battle.

Having crushed the defense of rifle units, fascist tanks and motorized infantry rushed along the Berdichev highway to Zhitomir. On the outskirts of the city, the guardsmen of the 7th Guards Cavalry Regiment blocked their path.

The gun of the Komsomol guard Sergeant P.V. Khmelyov took up a position near the bridge over the Teterev River. 15 fascist tanks with the support of motorized infantry on armored personnel carriers a formidable avalanche walked across the bridge. The fearless gun commander, letting the enemy into a direct shot, gave the command to open fire on the head.

One after another, shells hit the steel monster. A black pillar of smoke - and the "tiger" froze in place, ignited. But the enemy continued to harass, trying to destroy the brave. From the fire of tanks killed fighting friends. P.V. Khmelev himself was at the gun. Well-aimed shots, and another fascist tank is burning.

The gun fired continuously. Shards of enemy shells and machine gun bullets showered the position. But P.V. Khmelev thought only of one thing: the enemy must be stopped, destroyed. The unprecedented combat of the anti-tank gun with the advancing tanks and motorized infantry of the enemy continued.

The third tank froze on the approaches to the firing position of the gun. The Nazis tried to go behind the scenes on an armored personnel carrier, but P.V. Khmelev noticed this enemy maneuver in time. A quick U-turn, a well-aimed shot, and the armored car ignited. And the tanks continued to move towards the bridge. Straining his last forces, P.V. Khmelyov shot the fourth car point blank.

Stunned by the unexpected stubbornness, stamina and courage of the Soviet gun crew, enemy tanks retreated to cover. In this battle, the calculation of P.V. Khmelev, having repulsed the Nazi attack, destroyed 4 tanks, one armored car, 2 vehicles with ammunition and many Nazi soldiers and officers.

After a short respite, the Nazis again attacked. In a new battle, Senior Sergeant Pavel Khmelev died, but did not miss the enemy. He was buried in the village of Budilovka in the Radomyshl district of the Zhytomyr region .

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 3, 1944, for the courage and heroism shown in the battles during the liberation of the Zhytomyr Guards, Sergeant Pavel Khmelyov was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union .

He was awarded the Orders of Lenin , Red Banner , World War 1 degree, Red Star , and medals.

A street was named after the Hero and a memorial plaque was installed in the village of Kok-Tal. In the city of Zhytomyr, the Hero has a memorial sign.

• 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 .
• Golden Stars of Polesie. 3rd ed., Kiev, 1985.

Pavel Vasilyevich Khmelev (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ". Date of treatment May 17, 2014.