Tank Rider: Into the Reich with the Red Army

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.

The Women of the Battalion

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.

Officers of the Brigade

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:

Colonel Petr Nikitovich Turkin, Brigade commander. He stayed in the army after the war and served for some seven to ten years. Before his retirement he served in Kaliningrad (former Koenigsberg). This is where he settled with his wife, Alla Alexeevna. When he passed away in the spring of 1987, he was over 80 years old.