Utkin, Mikhail Vasilievich

Born on March 14, 1923 in the village of Kostychi, within the Oktyabrsky district of the city of Syzran, Samara region ,. Education is incomplete secondary. He worked as a mechanic in the repair and mechanical workshop of the Batraki station depot.

In May 1942, a volunteer through the Syzran district military enlistment office went to the Red Army . In the battles of World War II from November 1942. He was baptized in battles near Stalingrad , and was wounded. After the hospital he returned to the front.

He mastered a rare military specialty - the leader of the tank destroyer dogs. Until the end of the war he fought in the 2nd separate regiment of dog trainers of special services, formed in March 1943 at the 3rd Guards Army of the South-Western Front. In addition to performing his special duties, the Red Army soldier Utkin hunted for the enemy’s manpower. In the battles from July 3 to 6, 1943, under the Privolnoye farm, 7 soldiers and 2 enemy snipers were destroyed. He was awarded the medal "For Courage"

In the future, in the battles on the South-Western, 4th and 1st Ukrainian fronts, the Red Army soldier Utkin repeatedly distinguished himself in the performance of non-direct duties.

During the battles from August 27 - October 25, 1943, the Red Army soldier Utkin, together with a platoon of tank destroyers, acted as part of the 303rd fighter anti-tank division of the 243rd rifle division. In battles with personal weapons, he destroyed 15 enemy soldiers. On January 1, 1944, in the area of ​​the Novo-Troitskoye farm, while counterattacking the enemy, being wounded in the left hand, he did not leave the battlefield and destroyed 11 opponents with fire from his machine gun. In total, during the period of fighting from August 27, 1943 to January 2, 1944, he personally destroyed 29 German soldiers.

By order of the troops of the 3rd Guards Division of January 22, 1944, Red Army soldier Mikhail Utkin was awarded the Order of Glory of the 3rd degree.

On January 30-31, 1944, in offensive battles near the city of Nikopol, when repulsing an enemy counterattack, Red Army soldier Utkin destroyed 4 opponents from a machine gun. While on the defensive from May 25 to June 15, he took part in a sniper hunt with a sniper rifle and destroyed 13 enemy soldiers and officers.

By order of the troops of the 3rd Guards Division of October 25, 1944, Red Army soldier Mikhail Utkin was awarded the Order of Glory of the 2nd degree.

From January 12 to 19, 1945, in the offensive battles on the territory of Poland, a unit consisting of Red Army Utkin accompanied the 963rd Rifle Regiment of the 253rd Rifle Division. On January 19, he was the first to launch a counterattack, dragging his comrades behind him. Despite a shrapnel wound to the chest, he continued to move forward and fire, personally destroyed five opponents and captured three.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 10, 1945, for exemplary execution of the combat missions of command on the front of the struggle against the German invaders and the valor and courage shown at the same time, Red Army soldier Mikhail Utkin was awarded the Order of Glory of the 1st degree. became the full holder of the Order of Glory.

In 1946, the foreman Utkin was demobilized.

He lived in the city of Tashkent. Member of the CPSU since I960. He worked as a locksmith in the Tashtekstilmash association. He died on May 10, 1991. He was buried in Tashkent.

He was awarded the orders of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, Glory of 3 degrees, medals, including the medal "For Courage".

• Cavaliers of the Order of Glory of three degrees: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium D. S. Sukhorukov . - M .: Military Publishing House , 2000 .-- 703 p. - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-01883-9 .
• Kurguzov I.P. Soldier Valor. Tashkent, 1970.

Mikhail Vasilievich Utkin (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ". Date of treatment September 3, 2014.