Sukhoruchkin, Pyotr Nikolaevich

Born on June 28, 1915 in the village of Shinovka, Kirsanovsky Uyezd (now - Kirsanovsky District, Tambov Region ). He graduated from 7 classes of school number 1 in the city of Kirsanov. He worked at a flour mill as a pupil of a flour mill, then as a foreman and shop manager.

He was drafted on October 25, 1937 by the Kirsanovsky RVK to the Red Army . In 1938 he graduated from junior lieutenant courses. He participated in the war with Finland from 1939-1940, was wounded in the leg.

At the front in World War II since July 1941. In 1942 he joined the CPSU (b). By the summer of 1944 he was twice wounded (3.01.1942 and 07.10.1943), was awarded the medal "For Courage". In 1944 he graduated from Officer Improvement Courses.

By July 1944, Captain Sukhoruchkin commanded the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 738th Infantry Regiment of the 134th Infantry Division as part of the 61st Infantry Corps of the 69th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front . July 21 skillfully and quickly with small losses organized the crossing of the battalion across the Western Bug River . Developing the offensive, in two days of fighting, the battalion fully completed the combat mission, more than 200 fascists were destroyed and 12 were taken prisoner, warehouses with engineering equipment and ammunition were seized. For these battles he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky on August 1, 1944.

A few days later, the officer again distinguished himself when crossing the Vistula River. On July 29, under enemy fire, he skillfully organized and led the battalion when crossing the river. The battalion immediately entered the battle, over the next days it repelled several counterattacks by the opponents. On August 4, in a critical battle situation, he personally raised the fighters in a counterattack, and the situation was restored. For these fights, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on September 28, 1944.

Until January 1945, the division, in which Major Sukhoruchkin fought, was on this dependent bridgehead, called Pulavsky , and was preparing for new battles. In January 1945, the Warsaw-Poznan offensive operation began .

Starting the offensive on January 14, 1945, in the ten days of the operation, the 738th Infantry Regiment marched 300 kilometers with fighting and on January 25 broke into the eastern outskirts of Poznan (Poland). Having crossed the Warta River, the regiment skillfully maneuvered the enemy’s retreat westward and, in cooperation with other units, completed the encirclement of the enemy’s Poznan group and reached the Oder River in the area of ​​Frankfurt an der Oder.

During the battles from January 14 to 21, 1945, up to 600 German soldiers and officers were exterminated by the battalion, 45 Germans were captured, 2 warehouses with food, 2 warehouses with ammunition and a lot of other military property and equipment were captured. On January 16, 1945, when the Germans launched a counterattack near the village of Aleksandrovka, the battalion commander Sukhoruchkin resolutely led the battalion into the attack and all the Germans were destroyed.

On January 29, 1945, crossing the Oder River, being at the forefront of the division, Major Sukhoruchkin’s battalion broke down the Germans' strong resistance on the German border and swiftly hit three lines of enemy trenches and, despite the continuous German artillery barrage, went deep into German territory with minor losses .

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated February 27, 1945, Major Peter Sukhoruchkin was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (medal No. 5204) .

From the first days of the Berlin offensive in April 1945, the battalion of Major Sukhoruchkin fought in the most critical and dangerous areas. In the period from April 18 to 22, the battalion completed all combat missions, occupied 6 settlements, exterminated up to 400 opponents and captured about 90, about 50 machine guns, more than 300 rifles and machine guns, and other military equipment were captured as trophies. For these battles he was awarded May 13, 1945 with the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.

On April 23, 1945, he personally raised the soldiers of the battalion to the attack, was wounded by a sniper in the head and sent to the rear for treatment. Victory Day met in the hospital. A few months later he was demobilized due to disability, his right hand became paralyzed and a scar remained on his forehead.

He returned to his homeland - he lived in the village of Shinovka. Wife - Sukhoruchkina Serafima Timofeevna. Son Victor (1952-2014) worked as the deputy chief of police in Kirsanov, and then - in the Tambov regional police; buried next to his father in the Kirsanov military cemetery.

He died on April 23, 1966. He was buried in the city of Kirsanov at the city military cemetery, a monument was erected on the grave.

He was awarded the Orders of Lenin , Red Banner , Alexander Nevsky , World War 1 degree, medal "For Courage".

• 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 .
• Dyachkov L.G. Fanned by glory. - Tambov, 2002.

Pyotr Nikolaevich Sukhoruchkin (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ". Date of treatment July 9, 2014.