Nikolai Alekseyevich Pochitalov

Order of the Red Banner nr. 242001 was awarded by Order of the 1st Belorussian Front of June 18, 1945 to 41-year-old Colonel Nikolai Alekseyevich Pochitalov, artillery commander of the 247th Rifle Division, 61st Rifle Corps, 69th Army, 1st Belorussian Front.

Promotions

Date

Captain

April 29, 1938

Major

February 20, 1940

Lieutenant Colonel

April 11, 1942

Colonel

April 9, 1943

Major General of the Artillery

May 31, 1954


Record card

Order booklet nr. A-106350

1. Last name: Pochitalov
2. First name and patronymic: Nikolai Alekseyevich
3. Military rank: Guards Colonel
4. Sex: Male
5. Year of birth: 1903
6. Place of birth: City of Rostov-on-Don
7. Party membership (since which year): Member of the Communist Party since 1942
8. Education: Secondary
9. Nationality: Russian
10. Since which year in the Red Army: January 1925
11. Place of service (name of the unit) and position occupied at the time of the award: Commanding officer of the 421st Artillery Brigade, 260th Rifle Division
12. Current place of service and position: Artillery commander of the 16th Mechanized Division
13. Home address of the awardee: ___ 7th Street, city of Rostov-on-Don

14. List of all awards received:

Name of the order or medal

Serial number

Number of the document

Ground of award

Order of the Red Banner

65737

Temporary certificate nr. 587382

Order of the 3rd Tank Army nr. 34/N of March 17, 1943

Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class

33941

Temporary certificate nr. A-430098

Order of the 4th Ukrainian Front nr. 6/N of October 30, 1943

Order of Kutuzov, 2nd Class

700

Temporary certificate nr. B-532393

Decree of May 16, 1944

Order of the Red Banner

7525 (#2)

Temporary certificate nr. D-670902

Order of the 1st Baltic Front nr. 0995 of October 26, 1944

Order of the Red Star

912824

Temporary certificate nr. 142252

Decree of November 3, 1944

Order of the Red Banner [citation]

242001

Temporary certificate nr. Zh-081132

Order of the 1st Belorussian Front nr. 677/N of June 18, 1945

Order of the Red Banner

242335

Temporary certificate nr. 278398

Decree of November 6, 1945

Medal for the Defense of Stalingrad

/

Permanent certificate nr. U-05885

Decree of December 22, 1942

Medal for the Liberation of Warsaw

/

Permanent certificate nr. A-283556

Decree of June 9, 1945

Medal for the Capture of Berlin

/

Permanent certificate nr. B-151270

Decree of June 9, 1945

Medal for the Victory over Germany

/

Permanent certificate nr. Zh-0098428

Decree of May 9, 1945

Order of Lenin

321857

 

Decree of December 30, 1956

Signature of the awardee: [signed]

I confirm the correctness of the data and the signature of the awardee (position and signature):

Commanding officer of the 16th Mechanized Division
Major General of the Tank Forces [signed] /Gritsenko/
September 30, 1946


Award sheet

All fields to be filled out fully

1. Last name, first name, and patronymic: Pochitalov, Nikolai Alekseyevich
2. Rank: Colonel
3. Position and unit: Artillery commander of the 247th Roslavl Rifle Division

Nominated for: Order of Lenin

4. Year of birth: 1907
5. Nationality: Russian
6. Party membership and period: Member of the Communist Party since 1942
7. Participation in the Civil War, the subsequent combat actions to defend the USSR, and the Patriotic War (where and when): In the Patriotic War since June 1941
8. Wounds and contusions received during the Patriotic War: No
9. Since when in the Red Army: Since 1925
10. Drafted by which military commissariat: Military Commissariat of the city of Rostov-on-Don
11. Previous awards (for which achievements): Order of the Red Banner in 1943; Order of the Red Banner in 1944; Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class in 1943; Order of Kutuzov, 2nd Class in 1944; and Order of the Red Star in 1945
12. Permanent home address of the prospective awardee and his family's address: _______________

Brief, concrete description of his feat of arms or achievements:

Even before the fighting started, comrade Pochitalov put a great deal of effort into arranging the artilly's coordination with the infantry and the tanks and planning the artillery barrages. As a result, on April 16, 1945, during the breakthrough of the multi-layered permanent German defenses on the western bank of the Oder River, the division's artillery inflicted crushing blows upon the enemy's units, occasioning heavy enemy losses in troops and materiel. All enemy attempts to counterattack our advancing units were overwhelmed by powerful artillery salvos, and the enemy always had to fall back, having suffered severe casualties. For four days the division fought to breach the enemy defenses in their entire depth, and during this battle comrade Pochitalov displayed exceptional skill in commanding the divion's artillery and supporting units. Skillfully providing artillery support in the field, he supported the infantry and tanks. Bringing down sudden artillery strikes, he dispersed the enemy troops and prevented them from putting up organized resistance.

The artillery played a particularly important role during the destruction of the enemy pocket in the woods southeast of Berlin. The division, having advanced more than 100 kilometers while continually engaged in heavy fighting, had suffered significant losses in manpower. Nevertheless, however, the division, facing enemy forces that were clearly superior strength-wise, inflicted heavy losses upon them, and took even more prisoners. An ingenious maneuver and sudden artillery strikes dismayed the enemy, who was then finished off by the infantry.

Colonel Pochitalov ably combines personally bravery with skillful command of his artillery units. Personal heroism and an unparalleled will to accomplish his orders are comrade Pochitalov's principal qualities.

During the fighting the division captured more than 3000 soldiers and officers in prisoners alone, hundreds of vehicles, and many other sorts of weapons. For this, the artillery deserves significant credit.

Comrade Pochitalov deserves to be awarded the Order of Lenin.

Commanding officer of the 247th Roslavl Rifle Division
Major General [signed] /Mukhin/
May 8, 1945



Major General of the Artillery Nikolai Alekseyevich Pochitalov


Order of the Red Banner nr. 242001, obverse and reverse



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