Heroes 14/01/20 Vladimir Podgorbunsky: bandit, which became the best front-line scout
Vladimir Podgorbunsky is one of the most successful and daring of the scouts of the great Patriotic war. At the front, he was considered a living legend, but before becoming a hero, Vladimir was an ordinary bandit.
the Letter to Kalinin
Vladimir Podgorbunsky was born in 1916 in the Irkutsk region. Two years later his father, who fought against the whites was killed, and the child with his mother spent several years in the red partisan. After the Civil war, lived in Irkutsk, Barnaul, Moscow, when Vladimir’s mother in 1932 he died, he was in Chita, where he went to a local orphanage.
Brave and cocky Vladimir became the leader of the Chita orphans and engaged in theft. In conversation with Lieutenant-General Nikolai Popiel Podgorbunsky recalled: “in the orphanage to steal to learn was easier than reading and writing… and yet I had thirty-six years of imprisonment. The number of drives accounting can not be”. After receiving first term, Vladimir escaped from juvie and made a number of new crimes.
was caught again and sent to a camp for adults. In conclusion, the guy got acquainted with a convicted political article by Colonel-tanker, which influenced Vladimir took his word that he will do away with crime and become a normal person. Podgorbunsky wrote a letter to the all-Union headman Kalinin with the request to affect his fate. Mikhail responded and the guy from the camp was in the army, and after demobilization in the factory.
the devil
Its first award – the medal “For courage” ex-convict received in the summer of 1942. Fighter knocked out a German tank and being wounded by the firing of a machine gun platoon suppressed the enemy infantry. For the feat Vladimir was awarded the rank of officer and took to the party. Ironically, the former the VGA appointed Deputy comandira birth on the political part. A year Podgorbunskogo appointed commander of a platoon of machine gunners the recon company of the 1st mechanized brigade.
Despite the prohibitions in the exploration of Vladimir Nikolaevich went out in uniform and medals on his tunic. In one of the battles he personally shot and killed three Germans. The commander of the hero, Colonel Theodore Lipatenkova, in a conversation with a military journalist Yuri Zhukov recalled: “Yes, the original people. Does amazing things… he can’t always maintain discipline, so sometimes has trouble with the command. But in fighting the devil. This sometimes will do that I can’t believe this”.
Heroic scout
Senior Lieutenant Podgorbunsky became a legend. His scouts always perform combat tasks, and the command turned a blind eye to his cheeky behavior. He is a member of the military Council of the front and Secretary of the Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev after a personal conversation with the scout said: “underworld scum will gradually come down, it’s nothing… But man, appears to be outstanding…”.
In the late winter of 1943, the group Podgorbunskogo of 20 scouts on the armor of the two tanks and with the support of the sappers captured the town of Kazatin of Vinnytsia region. At this important railway junction fighters destroyed 8 guns and several platoons of German infantry. It turned out that the city had up to 3.5 thousand Germans, but the shock of sudden impact played a role.
January 10, 1944, Vladimir Podgorbunsky received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. 23 February of the same year he was awarded the order of Lenin and “Gold Star”. By this time the scout had already three serious and three minor injuries.
In his memoirs, General Katukov was describing the episode, when he asked, and ordered the scout to destroy the German pontoon Park on the Gums. Podgorbunsky with his men attacked the village, occupied by a German garrison. Knocked out the enemy and towed the pontoon bridges at the location of the units Katukova. With their help, managed to smuggle Soviet tanks over the river.
on July 18 near the town of Sokal fighters Podgorbunskogo on penetransportero crossed the Western bug and 40 kilometers walked into the German rear. During the RAID, was destroyed by an enemy convoy of 100 cars. Loss of the scouts were not, and their commander was awarded the order of Alexander Nevsky and the Patriotic war, 1 St degree.
the Sandomierz bridgehead
Podgorbunsky in the role of commander of a tank company of the 8th motorcycle battalion, one of the first entered the territory of Poland. His unit crossed the Vistula, gained and kept a small area, then known as the Sandomierz bridgehead. In these battles Vladimir gets a serious concussion, partially loses his hearing and begins to stutter. While on treatment, 28-year-old scout married nurse Anna Belyaeva.
Vladimir had planned to reserve for the injury, but because of a critical situation again otpravili to the front. August 19, several hours before the completion of Lviv-Sandomierz operation, ex-bandit and war hero ambushed. Late at night, the scouts found a burned armored personnel carrier with a commander and ordered his body. The hero was buried in a mass grave of Soviet soldiers in the city of Sandomierz.
Alexander Brazhnik
Source:
© Russian Seven
Featured articles Share: Comments Comments on the article “Vladimir Podgorbunsky: bandit, which was the best frontline intelligence” Please log in to leave a comment! br>
Share on Tumblr
