Alexander Petrovich Nikolayev (
Russian: Александр Петрович Николаев; 14 November 1918 – 13 June 2009) was a
Red Army senior lieutenant and
Hero of the Soviet Union. He received the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the
Order of Lenin for his actions during the
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula– ...
. Nikolayev also fought in the
Siege of Leningrad
The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...
.
Early life
Alexander Nikolayev was born on 14 November 1918 in the village of Strakhinovo in
Bezhetsky Uyezd of the
Tver Governorate to a peasant family. He graduated from junior high school. After graduation, Nikolayev worked as a shepherd on the farm. In 1935, he moved to
Leningrad and became a plumber.
In October 1939, he was drafted into the
Red Army.
World War II
Nikolayev fought in the
Winter War as a driver in the 824th Motor Transport Battalion. On 22 June 1941, he was stationed with the
13th Tank Brigade
In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave p ...
. He fought in the early stages of the
Siege of Leningrad
The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...
. When the tank brigade was sent to reform in the area of
Staraya Russa, Nikolayev transferred to become a driver in the
128th Rifle Division
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
's 15th Motor Transport Battalion. The remnants of the division retreated into the
Sinyavino swamps. After Nikolayev's truck was destroyed in a bombing raid, he fought with a rifle platoon. By then a senior sergeant, Nikolayev became the platoon commander. In December, German infantry began to attack. After letting the German troops advance a hundred meters, the platoon opened fire with machine guns. Reportedly, none of the German troops escaped and eleven wounded were taken prisoner. He became a candidate member of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
in February and was promoted to junior lieutenant. In March 1942, Nikolayev led a reconnaissance patrol in the area of the
Chernaya River. After the patrol had captured two German prisoners and was preparing to withdraw, it was ordered to occupy the trench. He helped the patrol repulse multiple German attacks but was wounded in the evening.
While in the hospital, Nikolayev was promoted to
lieutenant. Due to the lack of officers in the regiment, he became a company commander. In August 1942, the division fought in the
Sinyavino Offensive. The 741st Rifle Regiment helped capture Worker's Settlement No. 8. Nikolayev reportedly captured a bunker with six machine guns and attacked the German headquarters, capturing two officers and a radio operator. During the battle for Worker's Settlement No.5, he was wounded four times. Three of the bullets passed through the soft tissue, but the fourth was in the shoulder. These wounds were severe enough to send him into the hospital.
After being discharged from the hospital, Nikolayev was sent to the "Vystrel" Commander's Courses in
Sverdlovsk, from which he graduated in March 1943. In the spring, he became a company commander in the
197th Tank Brigade 197th may refer to:
*197th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade, formation of the British Army during the First World War
*197th Air Refueling Squadron, unit of the Arizona Air National Guard 161st Air Refueling Wing
*197th Battalion (Vikings of Canada), ...
's mechanized infantry battalion. The brigade was part of the
30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. Nikolayev fought in the
Operation Kutuzov in August. On 8 August, he led the company during heavy fighting for control of the village of Volosatov. Nikolayev reportedly distracted the German troops with a smokescreen and machine gun fire to their front while he led a platoon into the ravines in the German rear area. The platoon attacked a German firing point, the signal for an attack by the battalion. The village was captured and the German troops reportedly lost 600 killed. After several more days of fighting, Nikolayev was severely wounded and sent to the hospital again. On 28 August, he was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner for his actions.
While in the hospital, Nikolayev was promoted to
senior lieutenant. In fall 1944, he became a rifle company commander in the
37th Guards Rifle Division The 37th Guards Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army which fought during World War II.
The division was formed on 2 August 1942 from the 1st Airborne Corps in Lyubertsy, near Moscow. Its most famous action was the defense of the ...
's 118th Guards Rifle Regiment. He fought in the fighting to hold the
Narew
The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributary of the river Vis ...
bridgehead. During the Narew bridgehead fighting, he was wounded by shrapnel in the leg. Nikolayev continued to fight in combat and participated in the capture of
Graudenz in January 1945 and the
East Pomeranian Offensive. During the capture of
Danzig between 21 and 23 March, Nikolayev reportedly led his company in breaking through German positions, killing 80 German troops and capturing 12. On 23 March, he was wounded in action but did not leave the frontline. He was recommended for the
Order of Alexander Nevsky but instead awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 6 May. On 20 April, Nikolayev led his company across the
Oder
The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...
near
Schillersdorf
Schillersdorf is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
History
*1208: First mention of "Schiltolfesdorf"......
*1358: Becomes schillersdorf which veient Schilter, which means village on a hill......
*1400: ...
, southwest of
Stettin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
. The company held off German counterattacks until the rest of the regiment arrived. In this action, he was wounded again. On 29 June 1945, Nikolayev was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin for his actions during the Oder crossing.
Postwar
In August 1946, Nikolayev was discharged from active duty due to illness. Returning home, he became the chairman of the village council in
Puzyrevsky. In September 1947, he was hired by the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and worked in various positions in the forced labor system. He graduated from the
Kazan military-political school in 1951. Nikolayev was dismissed from the internal affairs ministry in 1954 on grounds of redundancy. He became a mechanic at the Kalinin Artificial Fiber Factory, where he led the party organization. Nikolayev graduated from the
University of Marxism-Leninism
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', whic ...
. On 6 April 1985, he was awarded the
Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class for the 40th anniversary of World War II. After retirement, he lived in
Orsha village
and became an honorary citizen of Tver in 1997.
He died on 13 June 2009. Nikolayev was buried in the local Dmitrovo-Cherkassy Cemetery.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolayev, Alexander
1918 births
2009 deaths
People from Kesovogorsky District
People from Bezhetsky Uyezd
Soviet Army officers
Soviet military personnel of the Winter War
Soviet military personnel of World War II
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner