Anyway, this research is for my screwback Order of the Red Banner. I bought this at a highly discounted price from Igor M back in 1992. It was discounted because some of the enamel had been damaged/replaced.
I was prepared to sell it this year, yet a friend of mine insisted that I have it researched, which I did. Here is the Order.
with the generous help of several people on another forum, the wealth of documentation was translated to:
Yefim Pavlovich NIZOV, Captain and Assistant Commander of Staff for reconnaissance/intelligence of the 911th Rifles Regiment of 244th Rifles Division.
Born in 1904, Russian, Member of the CPSU since 1928.
On the Southwest Front from 27.6.41-31.7.42
Stalingrad Front from 7.8.-22.10.42
Southwest Front since 24 January 1943
WOUNDED 1 August 1941 near (?Smopantsa ?)
WOUNDED 2 October 1941 near Kharkov (one of the major defeats of 1941 and his division was considered destroyed here near Vyazma, the survivors--including him--being rolled into a "new" 244th Rifles Division with the same regimental numbers by absorbing the remaining survivors of the 469th Rifles Division)
WOUNDED 5 April 1942 (can't read... should come up in other versions of the records)
In the Red Army 1926-38
and since 1941
Joined at Oktyabrsky RVK of the city of Kiev in 1926.
Previously received the Military Merit Medal and Defense of Stalingrad Medal.
Next of kin and address: wife Vera Fedorovna Nizova in the village of Barkino, Sudogotsky Raion, Ivanovsky Oblast.
CITATION =
I have never seen a citation to match this one, bar NONE, ever. Reconnaissance here can also be translated as "scouting."
"Took part in the defense from 5 September to 6 September 1943 at the head of and in charge of the reconnaissance around Hill 199.5 in the staff of a group of scouts--in all 40 riflemen-- breaking through the front line of mistaken (((?))) defenses, in which were destroyed 6 light machine guns and up to 50 enemy soldiers and officers. The enemy in a panic left their defensive positions and fled in the area of the village of Khrestintsa. With this entire distance the opportunity arose to advance forward up to 12 kilometers for the regiment, the division, and the entire 12th Army.
Deserves to be awarded the Order 'Red Banner'
26 September 1943 Commander of the 911th RR, Major Veznichenko"
AN ENTIRE ARMY CORPS ADVANCED ALONG ITS ENTIRE FRONT FOR TEN MILES BECAUSE OF THIS GUY AND HIS 40 MEN RAIDING THROUGH THE ENEMY LINES.
Even if we "downplay" the degree of responsibility he had in the enemy's panic and so condescendingly decline to award HIM a Hero's Gold Star... by every single rule and regulation, for a feat like this at his rank he should have received whatever was considered the Supreme Award Possible: a Suvorov 3rd Class.
That he got NEITHER a Hero Star nor a Suvorov, combined with his age and the date he "left" the Red Army (1938) makes me certain this guy was purged, in the Gulag, brought back in a degraded rank under "suspended" sentence...
and they under-decorated him because he was on the Enemies Of The State list.
His other medals are:
Order of the Red Star
Military Merit Medal
Stalingrad Campaign Medal
He would have definitely had the Victory over Germany Medal
According to his award card, there are no other awards listed. On his citation though he recieved the Defense of Stalingrad, and (of course) Victory Over Germany. That's all that's listed anywhere.
His pre-WW2 departure in 1938 appears to have been part of the great purge that they had at the time. This would, of course, not be in the same definition as the purge of the great Marshals of the USSR at the same time - for him, it looks to me like they just gave him the boot out of the service. Maybe he was a sub-standard officer, or perhaps he was outspoken against the communist party... either way, they dumped him from the active rolls.
After WW2, he was given the boot from the party again in August 1945 "for reaching maximum age" though ironically he was only 41 at the time.
1926 was a Red Army Soldier. Four years later, he becomes an officer candidate and in 1931, they commission him. When he finally gets the boot from the military, it's September 1938, and he's just a Senior Lieutenant, after seven years commissioned service! They recall him in June 1941 and he finally makes it to the front in March 1942. That September, he gets promoted to Captain. Then, he sits at Captain until August 1945 when he is again discharged.
Below, is a scan of what all of his medals would have looked like if everything was together...
I went ahead and placed the Stalingrad, an unnumbered Military Merit Medal, and a Victory over Germany Medal with the group(permanently). The red star was used only for this scan.
If anyone is interested in seeing the actual documents, shoot me a PM.
Regards
Paul
PS... needless to say, this ORB is going nowhere!
I was prepared to sell it this year, yet a friend of mine insisted that I have it researched, which I did. Here is the Order.
with the generous help of several people on another forum, the wealth of documentation was translated to:
Yefim Pavlovich NIZOV, Captain and Assistant Commander of Staff for reconnaissance/intelligence of the 911th Rifles Regiment of 244th Rifles Division.
Born in 1904, Russian, Member of the CPSU since 1928.
On the Southwest Front from 27.6.41-31.7.42
Stalingrad Front from 7.8.-22.10.42
Southwest Front since 24 January 1943
WOUNDED 1 August 1941 near (?Smopantsa ?)
WOUNDED 2 October 1941 near Kharkov (one of the major defeats of 1941 and his division was considered destroyed here near Vyazma, the survivors--including him--being rolled into a "new" 244th Rifles Division with the same regimental numbers by absorbing the remaining survivors of the 469th Rifles Division)
WOUNDED 5 April 1942 (can't read... should come up in other versions of the records)
In the Red Army 1926-38
and since 1941
Joined at Oktyabrsky RVK of the city of Kiev in 1926.
Previously received the Military Merit Medal and Defense of Stalingrad Medal.
Next of kin and address: wife Vera Fedorovna Nizova in the village of Barkino, Sudogotsky Raion, Ivanovsky Oblast.
CITATION =
I have never seen a citation to match this one, bar NONE, ever. Reconnaissance here can also be translated as "scouting."
"Took part in the defense from 5 September to 6 September 1943 at the head of and in charge of the reconnaissance around Hill 199.5 in the staff of a group of scouts--in all 40 riflemen-- breaking through the front line of mistaken (((?))) defenses, in which were destroyed 6 light machine guns and up to 50 enemy soldiers and officers. The enemy in a panic left their defensive positions and fled in the area of the village of Khrestintsa. With this entire distance the opportunity arose to advance forward up to 12 kilometers for the regiment, the division, and the entire 12th Army.
Deserves to be awarded the Order 'Red Banner'
26 September 1943 Commander of the 911th RR, Major Veznichenko"
AN ENTIRE ARMY CORPS ADVANCED ALONG ITS ENTIRE FRONT FOR TEN MILES BECAUSE OF THIS GUY AND HIS 40 MEN RAIDING THROUGH THE ENEMY LINES.
Even if we "downplay" the degree of responsibility he had in the enemy's panic and so condescendingly decline to award HIM a Hero's Gold Star... by every single rule and regulation, for a feat like this at his rank he should have received whatever was considered the Supreme Award Possible: a Suvorov 3rd Class.
That he got NEITHER a Hero Star nor a Suvorov, combined with his age and the date he "left" the Red Army (1938) makes me certain this guy was purged, in the Gulag, brought back in a degraded rank under "suspended" sentence...
and they under-decorated him because he was on the Enemies Of The State list.
His other medals are:
Order of the Red Star
Military Merit Medal
Stalingrad Campaign Medal
He would have definitely had the Victory over Germany Medal
According to his award card, there are no other awards listed. On his citation though he recieved the Defense of Stalingrad, and (of course) Victory Over Germany. That's all that's listed anywhere.
His pre-WW2 departure in 1938 appears to have been part of the great purge that they had at the time. This would, of course, not be in the same definition as the purge of the great Marshals of the USSR at the same time - for him, it looks to me like they just gave him the boot out of the service. Maybe he was a sub-standard officer, or perhaps he was outspoken against the communist party... either way, they dumped him from the active rolls.
After WW2, he was given the boot from the party again in August 1945 "for reaching maximum age" though ironically he was only 41 at the time.
1926 was a Red Army Soldier. Four years later, he becomes an officer candidate and in 1931, they commission him. When he finally gets the boot from the military, it's September 1938, and he's just a Senior Lieutenant, after seven years commissioned service! They recall him in June 1941 and he finally makes it to the front in March 1942. That September, he gets promoted to Captain. Then, he sits at Captain until August 1945 when he is again discharged.
Below, is a scan of what all of his medals would have looked like if everything was together...
I went ahead and placed the Stalingrad, an unnumbered Military Merit Medal, and a Victory over Germany Medal with the group(permanently). The red star was used only for this scan.
If anyone is interested in seeing the actual documents, shoot me a PM.
Regards
Paul
PS... needless to say, this ORB is going nowhere!
