Евгений Бессонов - Tank Rider - Into the Reich with the Red Army

Ivan Egorovich Karnaukhov, Sergeant. Born in 1925. He was short and not very strong physically, but fast and enduring. He was fast and mean in battle. He came back into the company after being wounded. He was the battalion’s veteran, soldiers respected him and were not afraid to fight the war by his side. He was a good comrade and could find common language with everyone. He survived the war. In recent times (around 1995) he lived close to Samara. Until 1991 he worked as a chairman of his village soviet. Now retired.

Ivan Zakharovich Chechin, Maxim heavy machine gun crew leader. Born in 1925, a tall and physically strong person. In battle he was brave and smart. He provided fire support for our company in the battles in Lvov. He survived the war. In April and May 1945, we were in the same hospital with him. He had several decorations. He did not come back to the battalion after the hospital. Apparently, he left the service.

Konstantin Mikhailovich Efron, Private. Born in 1921, a tall, physically strong and enduring soldier. He was also brave. He arrived in the company in June 1944. Wounded in August 1944. Was treated in hospital in Kopychintsy. He survived the war and found me after the war. He lives in Moscow.

Anatoly Nikolaevich Danilyuk. Born in 1923. He arrived in the company in August 1944. He was part of partisan movement in Ukraine. It was he that swam across Havel channel in front of Ketzin together with several other soldiers and brought the ferry to our side, so that the company could cross the channel and assault the German positions. For this heroic deed, a real act of heroism, no one received an award. Danilyuk survived the war. He lives in Kiev. He used to work as a surgeon. We met in Moscow in 1995.

Mikhail Vladimirovich Sarafanov, Sergeant, rifle squad leader. Born in 1925. He was short and enduring, but not very strong physically. He was modest, but brave and stoic. One could rely on him, especially in reconnaissance missions. He had a sailor’s gait – he would rock from side to side when walking and then step firmly on the ground. He was the first one to stand up during the assault, and the whole squad, and sometimes even platoon and company followed him. He was expert in handing his weapon. He cut down quite a few Fritzes with his submachine-gun. He survived the war. He passed away in 1977.

Pavel Nazarovich Poddubny, Sergeant, rifle squad leader. Born in 1925, he was quite tall. He was well-built, physically strong and enduring. One rarely meets a braver guy than him. He always assaulted the enemy at his full height, pressing forward. He was not afraid of Fritzes, on the contrary, they were scared of him. He never used a submachine-gun, he fought the war with his carbine. During an assault in April 1944 (in the vicinity of Dobropolie) a German machine-gun crew fled after seeing Poddubny, leaving their MG34, submachine-gun and lunch behind. His bravery was a good support and example for his soldiers. His soldiers felt confident and fit next to him. He had several decorations. I cannot say anything else about him or his life after the war.

Shamrai, Junior Sergeant. Arrived in October 1944 at Sandomir bridgehead. He fought the war well and had several decorations. But I do not remember what happened to him. When I came back from the hospital, he was no longer there.

Ishmuhametov, RPD machine gun crew member. Born in 1925. He was a tall, slim and enduring guy. Survived the war. He was brave and his machine-gun always worked. However, during battles around Sambor (Lvov operation) he screwed up, which was really not like him, leaving his machine-gun behind, so that it would be easier to flee the Germans. That was his only act of cowardice in the whole war. He fought till the end of the war and retired from service.

Alexei Pavlovich Kolesnikov, Sergeant, assistant platoon leader. Born in 1925. He was of medium height, slim, physically strong and quick (an important feature in combat). He distinguished himself with bravery. He would be the first one to stand up during the assault, carrying the rest of the platoon behind. Was also tenacious in defence. He easily took all hardships of life at the front. He would never lose heart and was always cheerful. He was awarded with the Order of Glory 2nd and 3rd degree. He was wounded in the end of the war and went to the hospital.

I also still remember several names of women that fought the war in the battalions of our Brigade.

Praskovia Mikhailovna Pankova, Senior Lieutenant of Medical Corps, doctor of our 1st battalion. Born in 1920, she arrived at the battalion in June 1944. She survived the war. Dismissed from service in June 1945 on the grounds of pregnancy. She was married to deputy battalion commander M. T. Burkov, who was killed in January 1945. Her ambulance vehicle was in the same column with us, with tanks. She provided timely treatment to the wounded. I remember two or three occasions when their ambulance was destroyed by the enemy. Guri Borisovich Yaranski, her medical assistant, was killed. She must have had a hard time to be the only woman among hundreds of soldiers, but she stood up to the test. Everyone respected her a lot. She had several awards from the government.

Cook. The second woman in our battalion, I do not remember her last name, but everyone called her Lelka (apparently her full name was Elena). She survived the war and was dismissed from service after the war. She was no more than 25 years old. She was quite chubby and short. She arrived in the battalion most probably in November 1944. I saw her after the war, she left service in 1945.

Alexandra Grigorieva. (We called her Shurka) After the war she married the battalion’s chief of staff, Grigoriev. I do not remember how she ended up in the battalion, she was some kind of a medic. I think she arrived in March or April 1945. I rarely saw her and can say almost nothing about her. She survived the war and stayed in the Brigade as Yuri Grigoriev’s wife.

Maria Ivanovna Chernomorets, doctor of the 2nd battalion, Lieutenant of Medical Corps. She went through the war and survived. She married 2nd battalion commander Major Grigori Afanasievich Chernomorets. I kept correspondence with them after the war, but after Grigori’s death the correspondence stopped. They lived in Stryi, Western Ukraine.

Nina Arkhipovna Vasiltsova, doctor of the Brigade’s medical platoon. She went through the whole war as Captain of the Medical Corps. She was a fragile woman, but everything worked out fine. After the war she married to tank regiment commander Major Alexander Danilovich Stolyarov. I maintain contact with her, she lives in Gomel (Belorussia).

Evdokia Alexandrovna Chuyah, medic of the Brigade’s medical platoon. Born 1921. She had been at the front from the battle for Stalingrad (from 1942). She survived the war. After the war she married to the 3rd motor rifle battalion commander of the Brigade, Major Alexander Grigorievich Chuyah. They had three sons, now already grown up, they have their own families. However, one of their sons died, and Evdokia herself also died (in 1998). Alexander, her husband, died in 1988. They lived in Dnepropetrovsk. I stayed in touch with them until their deaths.

I remember that there was also Anastasia Mikhailovna Turchenko , born in 1921, in the medical platoon. She lives in Dnepropetrovsk. Sukacheva, another female medic, also served in that platoon. After the war she married to deputy Brigade commander (technical support) Leonid Timofeevich Sukachev. She lives in Saint Petersburg.

I would like to add few final lines about the fate of my brother officers from the Brigade, about their lives after the war. Some of them continued their service in the army: