Red Star,0223285,Battery Commander,253rd Army Mortar Regiment

[Bill Garvy]

1. Award card

Order booklet V 054469
1. Last name: Khazitarkhanov
2. Name and Patrionymic: Zayan Tagirovich
3. Rank: Major
4. Sex: Male
5. Birthyear: 1914
6. Birthplace: B. ASSR, Ust-Ikinskii Region, village of Volshaya Oka
7. Party Membership: member since 1943
8. Education: mid-level
9. Nationality: Tatar
10. Service in the Red Army: 22.6.41-16.7.46
11. Place of service and duty position at time of awarding: 4th Ukrainian Front, 253rd Mortar Regiment, Regimental First Deputy Chief of Staff
12. Place of service and duty position at the current time: Transcarpathian Oblast, city of Mukachevo, VSO MVD, Transcarpathian Okrug – Engineer 1 Section
13. Home of Record: Transcarpathian Oblast, Mukachevo, A. Nevsky St. #14

14. Awards

Award Serial Number Awarder
Red Star 223.285 9 Army dated 21.6.43
Patriotic War II Class 334.167 18 Army dated 20.2.1945
Patriotic War II Class 550.461 38 Army dated 17.6.45
Defense of the Caucasus Medal Edict dated 1 May 1944
Victory over Germany Medal Edict dated 9.5.1945

Verified by the Mukachevskii Okrug Military Commissariat, Major Zherlokov on 9 January 1947

[Bill Garvy]

Award Sheet

1. Last name, name, and patrionymic: Khazitarkhanov, Zayan Tagirovich
2. Rank: Captain
3. Duty position: Battery Commander – 2nd Battalion, 253rd Army Mortar Regiment

Application for the Order of the Red Banner

4. Birthyear: 1914
5. Nationality: Tatar
6. Party membership: yes
7. Participation in combat: May 1941 – Southern and Northern Caucasus Fronts
8. Wounds or shell-shock: n/a
9. Previous awards: n/a
10. Inducted by: Dzerzhinskii Regional Military Commissariat, Novosibirsk
11. Home of record: Novosibirsk, Trikotazhstroi Bldg. 1 Apt. 7. Wife - Dolgova, Ekaterina Stepanovna

Short description of personal combat feat or service

Captain Z.T. Khazitarkhanov has been continuously in the Patriotic War since 1 April 1942 and proven himself a bold and valorous commander, having amassed on his combat tally hundreds of destroyed fascists and enemy firing positions.
On 9.6.42 while correcting the battery’s fire during twelve counterattacks near Nyrkovo Station, he destroyed an enemy cavalry squadron, destroyed two tanks, and repelled twelve enemy counterattacks destroying as many as three companies of infantry.
In August 1942 in fighting for Hill 910 near Nalchik, he positioned himself in the infantry’s forward formations and caused destructive fire along the enemy firing positions, enabling the capture of the hill. He was the first to scale the hill from where he directed fire against the retreating Romanians and destroyed as much as a company of infantry.
In October 1942 during combat near Nizhskii Karp while adjusting fire in the infantry front lines he destroyed two enemy tanks and three heavy machineguns and repelled two enemy counterattacks, destroying as many as two platoons of enemy infantry.
In fighting for the Kuban during March-April 1943 he was situated in an Observation Position (OP). He repelled more than five enemy counterattacks, destroyed eighteen enemy machinegun positions, four 81.5mm mortars with their crews, as many as 80 soldiers, and five reinforced bunkers, thus enabling the capture of Semisvodnii Hill, Anastasieevskaya Station, and Prikubanskii.
Comrade Khazitarkhanov is among the best battery commanders, bringing up his subordinates in unwavering dedication to the Lenin-Stalin Party. The battery’s personnel signed up for more than 300% of the monthly quota in the second military bond drive.
He is a fearless, capable commander deserving of the Order of the Red Banner.

Signed 253 Army Mortar Regiment Commander, Major Zhuk on 10 June 1943

Awarded the Order of the Red Star by 9 Army Artillery Commander Order #027 dated 21 June 1943. Signed Chief of the Personnel 9 Army Major Gorbatenko on 22 June 1943.

[Bill Garvy]

Order of the Red Star, #223285.

[RedMaestro2]

What an extraordinary citation! Too bad for him that he was downgraded.

Congrats on a great piece, Bill! :thumbsup


Alex

[Bill Garvy]

Thank you, Alex, I have found these earlier stars seemed to have more military merit ascribed to their confirmation, despite being a "downgrade" from a Red Banner.

[Eryk]

Great award and cite. The 253rd Mortar Regiment was apparently an army asset during the time span mentioned. Glantz doesn't list it as part of 9th Army until July 1943, though units moved around so much during the German's Operation Edelweiss, the invasion of the Caucasus during the Stalingrad campaign, that it's not surprising to not be found. Nalchik is near Grozny and was one of the furthest points reached - the Rumanian 2nd Mountain Division did indeed fight there. The 9th Army was at Nalchik and marched back to the Taman by March 1943, hundreds of kilometers, so it makes sense that comrade Khazitarkhanov and the 253rd served there throughout.

I agree that this would have been a Red Banner or OPW later in the war. With the tally of destroyed enemy it seems to lend itself to an OPW. The 'downgrade' is illustrative of why the OPW was created IMO. Again, great award and cite, a keeper!