Purse, Ivan Yakovlevich

Before the war

Ivan Yakovlevich Koshel was born on July 22, 1923 ^{[1] [2] [3]} in the village of Podgorodnoe ^{[2] [4]} Novomoskovsk district of the Ekaterinoslav province of the Ukrainian SSR of the USSR (now a city in the Dnieper region of the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine ) in the family of a miner worker ^{[5 ]} . Ukrainian ^{[1] [2]} . Since 1927 he lived in the city of Novomoskovsk . He graduated from the 7th grade of the school ^{[1] [2] [3]} . For some time he worked on a collective farm ^{[6] [7]} . In 1941 he left for Dnepropetrovsk . He studied at the school of factory training at the G.I. Petrovsky Metallurgical Plant ^{[1] [2] [5]} , which he graduated from after the start of World War II , in August 1941 ^[6] , when the enemy was on the threshold of the city.

On the fronts of World War II

Immediately after graduating from the Federal Law School I. Ya. Koshel voluntarily appeared at the recruiting station. German troops were already at the near approaches to the city, and Ivan Yakovlevich hoped to be at the front right away, but they decided to send an untrained conscript in the city military registration and enlistment office to Transcaucasia . By September 1941, Wallet was in Leninakan , where he was trained in machine gunner courses ^{[3] [4]} . In early December, Ivan Yakovlevich was enrolled in one of the regiments of the 302nd Mountain Division of the Transcaucasian Front ^[8] , and at the end of the month the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation began . December 26 ^[9] Colonel Division Assault BattalionsUnder the heavy fire of the enemy, M.K. Zubkov landed on the coast of the Kerch Peninsula near the village of Kamysh-Burun south of Kerch . During the landing, the machine gunner I. Ya. Koshel was wounded in the arm, but remained in service. With fire from a machine gun, he covered the landing of his comrades, destroying up to 20 German soldiers. Only after the landing operation was successfully completed, he, on the orders of the commander, along with other wounded first transport was evacuated to the hospital ^{[7] [10]} . The treatment took place in the city of Tuapse ^{[3] [4]} . After returning to duty, he participated in battles on the Don ^[7] , where in August 1942 he was seriously wounded ^{[3] [4]} . The recovery took a long time, and only in September 1943 Ivan Yakovlevich was again at the forefront when he was assigned to the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division as a sergeant in the rank of sergeant ^{[3] [5]} . In October 1943, Wallet participated in battles near Krivoy Rog . Somehow, his department was urgently asked to " get the tongue ." In broad daylight, Sergeant Koshel with several fighters entered the enemy’s position and captured two German soldiers ^{[4] [11]} , for which he was awarded the Medal of Courage .

In the battles for Krivoy Rog, the Iron Division suffered heavy losses, as a result of which in November 1943 it was withdrawn to the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and after being staffed in December of that year, it was transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front . In the winter of 1944, Sergeant I. Ya. Koshel took part in the Zhytomyr-Berdichev operation , liberated the city of Berdichev as part of his unit. On January 6, 1944, Ivan Yakovlevich was wounded ^[12] , but quickly returned to duty. Particularly distinguished during the Proskurovsky-Chernivtsi operation .

Order of Glory III degree

Proskurovsky-Chernivtsi Operation 24th Rifle Division of Major General F. A. Prokhorova began an offensive in the secondary direction as part of the 52nd Rifle Corps of the 18th Army . However, due to the fierce resistance of the Germans in the direction of the main attack, adverse weather conditions and powerful tank counterattacks of the enemy, the command of the 1st Ukrainian Front was forced to regroup, and the Iron Division was part of the 11th Rifle Corps , which had to act together with the units 1st tank army . The offensive resumed on March 21, 1944. During the day, the 7th Major Rifle Regiment V.P. Minakova broke through the German defenses southwest of Volochysk and, developing the offensive with the task of cutting the highway to Gusyatin , along which the enemy withdrawed his troops, late in the evening went to the large German stronghold of the village of Satanov . Before the company of machine gunners, the regiment commander was tasked with reconnaissance of the enemy’s forces and revealing his weapons. To cover the actions of machine gunners, moving ahead of the main forces, was the separation of Sergeant I. Ya. Koshel, reinforced by the division of regimental scouts. Under cover of darkness, Ivan Yakovlevich with his fighters managed to come close to the front line of the Germans. Suddenly, quite near the enemy opened a machine gun . It was not clear whether the Germans noticed the Soviet machine gunners moving behind them, or they shot at random, aimlessly. In any case, the firing point could interfere with the performance of the combat mission, and Ivan Yakovlevich decided to destroy it. He acted boldly and boldly. Having jumped into the enemy’s trench , he lifted an empty box from under the cartridges onto his shoulder, and without hiding, he headed towards the machine gunners. As Wallet expected, the Germans mistook him for their own. In a short hand-to-hand fight, Ivan Yakovlevich destroyed three enemy soldiers and took possession of a machine gun ^{[3] [13] [14]} .

The reconnaissance was successful, and the company returned without loss to the regiment’s location, delivering valuable intelligence to the command ^[7] . Using the information received, the 7th Rifle Regiment, with a bold roundabout maneuver, went onto the Satanov-Gusyatin highway and cut off the enemy’s retreat routes in the vicinity of Primakovo village and a height of 338.2. During March 23-24, the enemy counterattacked the positions of the regiment twenty times, throwing at least an infantry battalion each time with the support of 10-15 tanks ^[15] . While repelling the onslaught of the enemy, Sergeant I. Ya. Koshel replaced the out-of-command platoon commander. Under his able command, the unit destroyed up to 60 German soldiers and knocked out 2 tanks ^[4] . On March 25, the regiment continued the offensive and, breaking the enemy’s resistance, took control of the German defense strongholds of the villages Golenishchevo and Germanovka ^[16] and crossed the Zbruch and Gnilu rivers , creating favorable conditions for a further attack on Chertkov . On March 29, Sergeant I. Ya. Koshel with his squad participated in the liberation of the city of Chernivtsi ^[15] . For valor and courage shown in battles, by an order of April 30, 1944, Ivan Yakovlevich was awarded the Order of Glory of the 3rd degree ^{[1] [3]} .

Order of Glory II degree

During the Proskurovsky-Chernivtsi operation, the 24th Infantry Division reached the foothills of the Ukrainian Carpathians and, until the summer of 1944, consolidated its positions in the north-west of the city of Kolomyia . In the framework of the Lviv-Sandomierz operation that began in July 1944, she was to conduct an offensive in the Pre-Carpathian region under conditions of very rough terrain. Using the features of the relief, the enemy built a powerful defensive line in this direction. Nevertheless, on July 23, the 7th Carpathian Rifle Regiment of Major V.P. Minakov broke through the defenses of German and Hungarian troops in the Cheremkhuv — 360.6 — Khlebichin- Lesny height and began to rapidly move towards the village of Bogorodchany ^[17] . In an effort to eliminate the breakthrough, the enemy threw large reserves into battle. On July 25, a fierce battle ensued in the area of ​​the Volosuv settlement. The positions of the 7th Infantry Regiment were counterattacked by two infantry regiments and an engineer battalion of Hungarian troops with the support of 35 tanks and 13 self-propelled artillery installations ^[17] . The assistant commander of a platoon of machine gunners, sergeant I. Ya. Koshel, with the forces of the platoon entrusted to him, skillfully organized the repulsion of the enemy’s onslaught. Launching the enemy at close range, machine gunners threw him with hand grenades, after which they opened heavy automatic fire on enemy chains. Hungarian soldiers fled in panic, leaving up to 10 people dead on the battlefield ^[18] . In total, in the battle near Volosuv, the enemy lost up to 200 soldiers and officers, 2 tanks and 1 self-propelled gun. Another 50 Hungarians were captured ^[17] .

On July 27, 1944, the 7th Infantry Regiment started a battle for the large stronghold of the enemy, the village of Gorokholina . A company of machine gunners was instructed to seize the dominant height of 440.1. During the assault on the hill under heavy machine-gun fire, Senior Sergeant I. Ya. Koshel, with his platoon, was the first to burst into the trenches of the enemy and destroyed 3 enemy machine guns, thereby ensuring the company fulfills the combat mission. The Hungarians, trying to regain their lost positions, went over to the counterattack three times. During a fierce battle, the platoon commander and company commander were wounded out of action, and Senior Sergeant Koshel took over the command of machine gunners. Under his leadership, the company successfully repelled the onslaught of the enemy, destroying 15 enemy soldiers and capturing 8 more ^[18] . For the skillful leadership of the unit, Ivan Yakovlevich was promoted to foreman and took command of a platoon of machine gunners.

On July 30, by decision of the Supreme High Command Headquarters, the 4th Ukrainian Front was recreated. On August 5, the 18th Army was subordinated to him. Solving the tasks already within the framework of the new operational-strategic military association, the 24th Infantry Division continued the offensive in the foothills of the Skole Beskydy Mountains . The 7th rifle regiment, including a platoon of foreman I. Ya. Koshel, distinguished himself again when the Skole district center was liberated, destroying up to 300 enemy soldiers and officers in battles for the city ^[17] . After the capture of Skole, the 18th army continued to push parts of the 1st Hungarian army to the borders of the Kingdom of Hungary . Trying to prevent the entry of Red Army units into their territory, the Hungarian troops, taking control of the key peaks of the Ukrainian Carpathians in the areas of mountain roads and passes, tried to create a powerful fire system. One of such well-fortified peaks with a mark of 1130.6 was to be taken by fighters of machine gunners of the 7th Infantry Regiment. According to the developed plan, the company was to disperse by the platoon, seep into the enemy rear and drive the enemy off the mountain. Petty Officer I. Ya. Koshel in difficult conditions of mountainous-wooded area skillfully and secretly brought his platoon to its original position. On a conditional signal, Ivan Yakovlevich with his fighters was the first to rush to storm the heights, firing at once on enemy positions. The attack was so unexpected and swift for the Hungarians that they could not provide decent resistance and were stampeded. In this battle, Koshel machine gunners exterminated up to 20 enemy soldiers and captured two ^{[1] [2] [12]} . For the exemplary performance of a combat mission by order of September 2, 1944, Ivan Yakovlevich was awarded the Order of Glory of the 2nd degree ^[3] .

Order of Glory I degree

At the end of August 1944, a national uprising began in Slovakia , and on August 31, his leadership turned to the Soviet government for help. Despite the fact that the Red Army troops had just completed large-scale offensive operations and were greatly exhausted, the Headquarters hastily began to develop the East Carpathian strategic plan . Within its framework, the forces of the 4th Ukrainian Front were to carry out the Carpathian-Uzhgorod operation , with the aim of driving out enemy troops from the Main Carpathian Range and occupying the territory of the Transcarpathian Lowland with the cities of Chop , Uzhgorod , Mukachevo and Khust , controlled by Hungary. On September 8, 1944, the 18th Army went on the offensive from the Skole region. This time, the German army group Gotthard Heinrici , who relied on the heavily fortified Arpad defensive line, confronted parts of the army. Trying not to miss the Soviet troops to the Carpathian passes, the Germans clung desperately to every peak. Due to the complexity of the terrain, the stubborn resistance of the enemy and the tiredness of the troops, the advance of the front developed very slowly. By October 9, the 24th Infantry Division managed to reach the approaches to the Sredneveretsky pass, the key to which was a heavily fortified height with a mark of 734.0. The task of taking the height was set before the 7th Rifle Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Minakov. On October 12, during an assault on the lower tier of German fortifications, the advance of a company of machine gunners was stopped by heavy machine-gun fire. Petty Officer Wallet received orders to destroy the enemy firing points. Taking with him three fighters, Ivan Yakovlevich secretly advanced to German positions and threw grenades at them, destroying two enemy machine gunners. As soon as the machine-gun fire ceased, the company went on the attack, and the foreman Koshel, bursting into the German trench, grabbed a working machine gun and opened fire on him from the enemy. The enemy’s defense was broken, and by order of the company commander, Ivan Yakovlevich with his platoon rushed to a height. About 30 fighters reached the summit. In a short fierce battle, they knocked out the enemy from their positions, destroying more than 10 German soldiers, and gained a foothold. The enemy, not resigned to the loss of important defensive lines, went on a counterattack 12 times, but Soviet fighters steadfastly held their positions. When reinforcements arrived, only 7 people remained in the ranks of the summit defenders ^{[3] [4] [19]} .

On October 14, 1944, after six days of fierce fighting, the 7th Infantry Regiment with the battle took the stronghold of the Germans in the village of Podpolozie . On October 18, units of the division established control over the Sredneveretsky pass and crossed the main Carpathian ridge. On October 27, the Iron Division entered the eastern bank of the Uzh River , where it went on the defensive. Three days later, the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel V.P. Minakov, for the courage and bravery shown in the battles in the Ukrainian Carpathians, introduced Sergeant I. Ya. Koshel to the Order of Glory of the 1st degree ^[19] . A high award was awarded to Ivan Yakovlevich by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945 ^{[3] [20] [21]} .

After the war

Before being awarded the Order of Glory of the 1st degree, the foreman I. Ya. Koshel still managed to fight in the Czech Tatras ^{[3] [4] [11]} . Then he was sent to the city of Chernivtsi for junior lieutenant courses, which he graduated after the end of World War II ^{[2] [3] [5]} . However, Ivan Yakovlevich could not continue his military career. The wounds received at the front seriously affected his health, and in August 1945 he was transferred to the reserve due to his disability ^{[3] [5]} . He lived in the city of Novomoskovsk, Dnipropetrovsk region . He worked as an electrician at the Novomoskovsk Gorbytkombinat ^[2] and an electrician at a metallurgical plant (now the Novomoskovsk Pipe Plant) ^{[3] [5] [7]} . Since 1975, captain I. Ya. Koshel - retired ^{[2] [5]} . He actively participated in the public life of the city, the veteran movement, conducted a lot of work on military-patriotic education of youth ^[7] . Ivan Yakovlevich died on April 3, 2002 ^[22] . He was buried in Novomoskovsk.

• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (04/06/1985) ^[23] ;
• Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree (08/20/1944) ^[18] ;
• Order of Glory of the 1st degree (03.24.1945) ^[20] ;
• Order of Glory of the 2nd degree (09/19/1944) ^[12] ;
• Order of Glory 3rd degree (04/30/1944) ^[14] .
• Medals, including:

medal "For Courage" ^{[3] [4]} ;

medal "For Military Merit" - twice ^{[3] [4]} ;

medal "In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" ;

medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus" ^[4] ;

medal "For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."

• In the city of Novomoskovsk, Dnipropetrovsk region, a memorial plaque was erected on the house where I. Ya. Koshel lived, and a memorial sign was erected on Lenin Square ^[3] .
• In 1999, I. Ya. Koshel was forever enlisted in the lists of a separate medical battalion of the 98th Mechanized Division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ^{[3] [4]} .

• Public electronic document bank “The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” (neopr.) .

Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (neopr.) .

Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree (neopr.) .

Presentation to the Order of Glory of the 1st degree (neopr.) .

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945 (neopr.) .

The list of those awarded by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945 (neopr.) .

Order of Glory 2nd degree (neopr.) .

Order of Glory 3rd degree (neopr.) .

• 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. - ISBN 5-203-01883-9 .
• Loboda V.F. Soldier Glory. Prince 2. - M: Military publishing house, 1967. - S. 169-170. - 352 p.
• Dubrov B.I. Soldier Glory. - 3rd ed. - Kiev: Young, 1987 .-- S. 294.
• Soldier Glory. - M: Gospolitizdat, 1963. - S. 265-282. - 527 p.

• Pavlov I.N. They glorified the Iron Division: a brief biographical guide (1918-1998). - M .: Publishing House club "Iron Division", 1998. - 175 p.