Red Star,0489140,Sapper,30th Separate Storm Engineer-Sapper Battalion,27th Army

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Red Star #489140. The top ray having lost some of its enamel.

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Family, Prihod'ko
Name, Petr
Patronym, Arhipovich
Rank, Red Army Soldier
Position and Unit, Sapper, 30th Separate Storm Engineer-Sapper Battalion, 6th Storm Engineer-Sapper Brigade
Home address, 6th Storm Engineer-Sapper Brigade, 1st Ukrainian Front

1. Year of birth 1907
3. Party Membership Non-Partisan
4. Nationality Ukrainian

The Record Card is rather sparse with information but it is a full "group".

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1. Family, Name and Patronym Prihod'ko, Petr Arhipovich
2. Rank, Private
3. Position, Unit, Sapper, 30th Separate Storm Sapper-Engineer Battalion
Presented For Award - The Order "Red Star".
4. Year of birth, 1907
5. Nationality, Ukrainian
6. Party Membership, Non-Partisan
7. Participation in the Civil War, subsequent combat activities in defence of the USSR and Patriotic War (Where, When) Until the Patriotic War not participated.
8. Has been wounded or contused in the Patriotic War, Not had.
9. From which time in the Red Army, From the start of the war until the month of September and from 05-10-1943.
10. To which Regional Military Commissariat called, Baryshev Regional Military Commissariat, Kiev Oblast
11. Has been awarded /for what distinction/ Has not been awarded.

The battalion led the offensive battle in the region of the railway station between Novaki and Hatinovka (20/12/1943).
The day before, under extreme pressure from enemy forces, before units of the Red Army had arrived and the battalion were performing tasks, valiantly restraining the enemy onslaught, reclaiming lost positions and sending the enemy scum back.
Whilst going into an open area, there was no protective terrain, under a hurricane of enemy fire and getting to the railway line - beyond which the enemy were dug-in.
When the battalion had arrived, Private Prihod'ko, Petr Arhipovich fought at the forefront storming and fearlessly fighting the entrenched enemy, which contributed to the general success of the offensive.
Faithful to the nation, devoted to the affairs of the party of Lenin-Stalin.
Private Prihod'ko, Petr Arhipovich, excellently carried out combat tasks to mine the front area of our defence, making a difference in the battle against the German invaders, worthy of the governmental award Order "Red Star".

Commander 30th Separate Storm Sapper-Engineer Battalion Captain Kartavtsev 29th December 1943.

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As we are lucky enough to have an exact location mentioned here the actions can be pinpointed down to a few metres.

There is still the railway station there - not the biggest in the world but integral to this story.

Being a sapper at the forefront there is no wonder the Red Star is damaged. But it does throw up the question - how do you affix a screwback Order to one of those metal body armours?