Savchuk, Grigory Petrovich

The early years

Grigory Petrovich Savchuk was born on January 24, 1902 in the village of Komarov in the Vornovitsky district (now the Vinnitsa region ) of the Podolsk province of the Russian Empire (now the Vinnitsa region of Ukraine ). Ukrainian ^[1] . The father of the future hero Pyotr Konstantinovich Savchuk was born in 1872 in the village of Komarov before the revolution he worked for the landowner, after the revolution he received land for personal use, and in 1930 joined the collective farm. During the Great Patriotic War was in occupation ^[2] . Mother - Savchuk Alexandra Stepanovna (1880-1926) - was born in the same village and before the revolution she also worked for the landowner. Grigory Petrovich had three brothers: Vasily (born 1904), Stepan (born 1907), Ignat (born 1914). All brothers were born in Komarov ^[3] .

Grigory Savchuk in 1916, having completed two classes of the Voronovitsky elementary school, went to work as a locksmith apprentice at the Stepanovsky sugar factory , located in the same village ^[4] . In 1918 he graduated from college ^[5] .

Participation in the Civil War and service in the troops of the OGPU - NKVD of the USSR

Since February 1919 G.P. Savchuk in the city of Tulchin began his service in the Red Army . In the Red Army, he took an active part in the Civil War . In June 1920, the rank of Red Army soldier Savchuk served in the Tulchinsky separate guard company, then until April 1921 he was an orderly at the headquarters of the 24th Infantry Division ^[4] , where he participated in the fight against detachments of Makhno , Yu. O. Tyutyunnik , and subsequently and with the white poles . In 1920, he was wounded in battles west of Kiev. From April to October 1921, Grigory Petrovich was trained at 78 Vinnytsia infantry courses ^[1] , after which he was seconded to the 15th Kiev infantry courses as a junior commander ^[5] . From December 1921 to October 1922, Savchuk was a cadet at the Kiev school of Chervona elders . After the merger of the Kiev school with the Kharkov school, he continued his studies in Kharkov until August 1925 ^[1] . Later he served in command posts ^{[4] of the} 287th Infantry Regiment of the 96th Infantry Division , located in Zhmerynka : until 1928 - commander of a machine-gun platoon ; until 1930 - commander of a machine gun company ; until February 1931 - chief of staff of the battalion ^[5] . In 1926 he joined the CPSU (b) ^[6] .

In February 1931, G.P. Savchuk was transferred to the GPU troops as commander of the anti-aircraft battalion of the 2nd GPU regiment ( Kultuk station). In the same year he completed the courses " Shot " ^[7] . In March 1934 he was appointed assistant chief of staff of the 67th railway regiment (Irkutsk), and from August to December 1936 he served in the same regiment as chief of staff. From January 1937 to October 1938, Grigory Petrovich studied at the Higher Border School of the NKVD Troops in Moscow ^[4] . After graduation, he was sent to Birobidzhan as chief of staff of the 63rd regiment of the NKVD troops for the protection of railway structures. And from July 1940 to January 1942 he commanded the 69th regiment of the NKVD, stationed at the Koganovich station of the Trans-Baikal Railway ^[8] .

World War II

In January 1942, he headed the newly formed 272nd Infantry Regiment of the NKVD Internal Troops , which was included in the 10th Infantry Division of the NKVD Internal Troops . The formation of the regiment took place in Irkutsk .

Battle of Stalingrad

By order of Colonel Division Commander A. A. Sarayev No. 002, dated April 9, 1942, the city of Stalingrad became the seat of the 272nd Rifle Regiment (headquarters in the fire station ^{[to 1]} of the 1st fire unit), while the 3rd rifle the battalion was to be deployed in the village of Shishikin, Kachalinsky District, Stalingrad Region ^[9] .

Until August 24, the regiment carried out the rear guard service of the 64th and 62nd armies and the maintenance of law and order in Stalingrad. On August 24, 1942, the 272nd regiment (without the 1st and 3rd companies of the 1st rifle battalion) occupied the line of defense of the Experimental Station - height 146.1 ^{[to 2]} - height 53.3 ^{[to 3]} - height 147 , 5 ^{[to 4]} . The 1st and 3rd companies of the 1st Infantry Battalion served as barriers. Based on the results of this service, from 19 August to 7 September 1935 people were detained and transferred to the bodies of military counterintelligence and police. At this point, the regiment had 1,498 people ^[10] .

In early September, the 71st and 295th Wehrmacht motorized infantry divisions, supported by the 24th Panzer Division, launched an active offensive from the Tsybenko line ^{[to 5]} - Gavrilovka ^{[to 6]} in the direction of Yezhovka, Experimental Station, Pionerka River. In this situation, the 272nd Infantry Regiment was on the cutting edge of the advancing enemy. On September 3, the Savchuk regiment entered the battle with the enemy. EG Kolenskaya described these events in such a way: “On September 3, an active German offensive began. Our soldiers fought off 10-12 attacks per day. It was a total hell. A huge number of wounded on the battlefield, and in the ravine. Often, for days on end, fighters fought without water and food ... ” ^[11] . The tension of the battles was such that the regiment commander himself led the fighters six times ^[12] . On September 7, the 272nd regiment surrendered its position to the 914th regiment of the 244th Infantry Division ^[13] . In the period from September 7 to 14, the 272nd regiment was transferred to the rear line of defense in the area from the village of the factory "Red October" to a height of 112.7. On the night of September 14, an order was urgently ordered to move to the area of ​​the airfield village, where on the eve the enemy was able to break through the positions of the 269th Infantry Regiment of the NKVD Internal Troops . The 272nd regiment occupied the area at the junction of the 269th and 271st rifle regiments of the NKVD and at 3:30 on September 14 went on the offensive. The common goal of the counterattack was the Razgulyaevka detour, height 153.7 and the hospital ^[14] . In addition to the NKVD regiments, the combined regiment of the 399th Infantry Division and the surviving tanks of the 6th Tank Brigade participated in the attack. Directly to the 272nd regiment, the goal was to attack from a height of 112.5 in the direction of heights 126.3 and 144.3 (south of the Razgulyaevka junction). On the site of the neighboring 38th motorized rifle brigade, the enemy was able to break through and entered the streets of Stalingrad in the central part of the city. Until the evening of September 15, the 2nd and 3rd rifle battalions of the Chekists counterattacked the enemy and were able to restore the situation in the defense sector of the regiment ^[10] . That day 210 people remained in service, and the regiment was practically surrounded ^[15] . On September 16, Major G.P. Savchuk was able to withdraw his regiment (115 people ^[11] ) from encirclement ^[16] to the border of the railway bridge over the Pionerka River - the railway station Stalingrad-I, where he fought in three battalions until September 26. On September 19, Major G.P. Savchuk was injured in the arm and leg, but he left his post only on September 20 at the direct order of Colonel Division Commander A. A. Saraev. As a result of heavy battles with the enemy, the 272nd regiment under the command of Major G.P. Savchuk suffered heavy losses, but retained combat effectiveness and never left its position without orders. For the battles in Stalingrad, the commander of the 10th Infantry Division of the NKVD Internal Troops, Colonel A. A. Saraev introduced Grigory Petrovich to the Order of Lenin , but as a result he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner ^[12] .

Commander of the 288th Rifle Regiment

In February 1943, after treatment at the hospital, Grigory Petrovich was appointed to the post of commander of the 288th Stalingrad Rifle Regiment of the 181st Rifle Division (the 10th Rifle Division of the NKVD Internal Troops became known after reorganization in the Red Army and included in the Red Army ) Under his command, the regiment took part in the offensive phase of the Battle of Kursk, the Chernihiv-Pripyat offensive operation and the Battle of the Dnieper.

On March 23, 1943, the 288th Regiment received orders to block the enemy’s path in the area of ​​the Sevsk - Dmitrovsk road. Lieutenant Colonel G. P. Savchuk was able to organize the defense of the regiment and with small losses stopped the German units in the area of ​​settlements Farygino - Yushino, and then threw it for three kilometers ^[17] . On July 13, 1943, the 288th regiment was transferred to the offensive direction, July 15 broke through the enemy’s defenses and 16 completed the breakthrough to the entire depth. Only from July 15-19, when Grigory Petrovich was seriously wounded, the regiment under the leadership of Savchuk managed to advance 15 kilometers. For successful hostilities during these four days, Lt. Col. G.P. Savchuk was introduced to the Order of the Red Banner, but was eventually awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree ^[17] .

On August 31, the 288th regiment was withdrawn from the front line . Simultaneously with the redeployment, Grigory Petrovich was able to organize the adoption of replenishment, the reorganization of the regiment and the formation of units . And on September 19, the regiment, led by Savchuk, crossed the Desna , while the regiment commander organized the forcing so that the regiment did not suffer losses in personnel or equipment. Having gained a foothold in the bridgehead, Savchuk led the regiment on the offensive. As a result, the regiment managed to cut the Chernigov - Oster road, go to the outskirts of Chernigov and create a threat to the encirclement of the Chernihiv enemy grouping. In general, the successful actions of Lieutenant Colonel G. P. Savchuk ensured the success of the 181st Infantry Division ^[7] . During the night storm of Chernihiv, the regiment suffered losses of only 10 people. For military success, Grigory Petrovich was introduced to the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, but the command awarded him the Order of the Red Banner ^[7] .

Feat

On the night of September 25-26, his regiment was the first to force the Dnieper and gain a foothold on the bridgehead in the area of ​​the village of Berezky, Bragin district, Gomel region of Belarus . It was the success of the 288th regiment that allowed the 181st division to succeed in crossing the Dnieper ^[6] . For these military successes (including the fighting in Stalingrad), Colonel G.P. Savchuk was presented to the title Hero of the Soviet Union on October 4, 1943, and only twelve days later the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR approved this submission ^[6] .

End of War

From December 1943 to January 1944, Grigory Petrovich was in the hospital in Moscow ^[2] . From January to July 1944 he served as deputy chief of the Podolsky military infantry school , who was evacuated during this period in Ivanovo ^[4] .

From August 4, 1944 to February 17, 1945, Colonel Savchuk commanded the 222nd Infantry Division . During his command, the division participated in defensive battles in East Prussia , and then was assigned to reorganization. In October 1944, the division was transferred to Poland, southeast of Bialystok , where it took part in the Wisło-Oder offensive operation, advancing from the Pulawski bridgehead in the direction of Szydlowiec , Oppochno , Tomaszow Mazowiecki and Kalisz . On January 23, 1945, Savchuk’s division participated in the liberation of Kalisz and went to the Oder , south of Frankfurt an der Oder , and successfully crossed the river on the night of February 3 ^[18] . From March to April he served as deputy commander of the 16th Rifle Corps , from April to May 1945 he was deputy commander of the 29th Guards Rifle Corps for combatant part and in this position participated in the capture of Berlin ^[19] . During the Berlin offensive from April 25 to May 3, he was a representative of the headquarters of the corps at the 74th Guards Division . For the differences shown during the capture of Berlin, Grigory Petrovich was awarded the Order of the Red Banner ^[20] .

After the war

After the war ended, until March 1946 he continued to serve as deputy commander of the 29th Guards Rifle Corps ^[21] (in the Group of Soviet Occupation Troops in Germany ). In 1947 he graduated from advanced training courses for commanders of rifle divisions at the MV Frunze Military Academy ^[1] . In 1947-1956 he worked as the head of the 1st faculty of the Military Institute of Foreign Languages . A graduate of the 1st faculty of 1954 G. A. Mkrtchyan spoke of G. P. Savchuk as “an extremely energetic and experienced leader ^[22] ”.

In October 1956, Colonel G.P. Savchuk was sacked ^[1] . Subsequently, from 1957 to 1979 he worked as the head of the training unit at the All-Union Academy of Foreign Trade , and since 1979, in the same place, as the chief of staff of the Civil Defense ^[19] .

After returning from Germany until his death, Grigory Petrovich lived in Moscow . He died on February 20, 1983 ^[1] and was buried at the Vostryakovsky cemetery in Moscow ^[4] .

• Hero of the Soviet Union and the Gold Star Medal ^[1] (October 16, 1943 ^[6] ).
• Two Orders of Lenin ^[1] (October 16, 1943 ^[6] , February 21, 1945 ^[4] ).
• Five Orders of the Red Banner ^[1] (October 25, 1942 ^[12] , September 28, 1943 ^[7] , November 3, 1944, June 30, 1945 ^[20] , 1950s ^[4] ).
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree ^[1] (September 13, 1943 ^{[4] [17]} ).
• Order of the Red Star ^{[4] [1]} .
• Medals:
  • Medal " For Courage " (October 28, 1967 ^[4] );
  • the medal " XX years of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army " ^[12] (1938 ^[7] );
  • medal " For the Defense of Stalingrad " ^[20] ;
  • medal " For the capture of Berlin " ^[23] ;
  • medal “ For the Liberation of Warsaw ” ^[23] ;
  • medal " For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War " ^[23] ;
  • anniversary medals ^[23] .

• 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 .
• Lagodsky S.A., Rzhevtsev Yu.P. 272nd Infantry Regiment of the Internal Troops of the NKVD of the USSR // Stalingrad: feat of the soldiers of law and order . - M .: United. ed. Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 2013 .-- 487 p. - ISBN 978-5-8129-0108-0 .
• Starikov N.N. NKVD troops in the Battle of Stalingrad . - M .: Algorithm, 2013 .-- 208 p. - ISBN 978-5-4438-0384-5 .

• Team of authors. World War II: Divisional Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary. - M .: Kuchkovo field, 2014 .-- T. 5.

• Simonov A.A. Savchuk, Grigory Petrovich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Bespalov R.L. 10th Infantry Division of the NKVD troops in the Battle of Stalingrad (Neopr.) . New university life. Date accessed August 17, 2016. Archived August 30, 2016.
• Savchuk G.P. Autobiography (neopr.) . M .: Immortal regiment (1947). Date of treatment November 21, 2016.
• Photo G.P. Savchuk in a uniform with awards (neopr.) . Heroes of the Country (late 1950s). Date of treatment November 21, 2016.