Medal Group to a Ukrainian

[admin]

I have posted this before, long ago, but images are missing etc so I thought I would repost it.

With the current situation in Ukraine, I had a vague remembrance that I had a Russian group awarded to an ethic Ukrainian somewhere. I collect Russian medals, but haven't actively done so for about 7 or 8 years.
Anyway, after having a hunt around I found them, but more importantly the research which confirmed to me that he was in fact Ukrainian.

I even found some old photos in my Google Photos account that I took at the time, so didn't need to photograph them again. Front view :


And rear view :


The 4 medals are from left to right (front view - first image), Bravery Medal, Bravery Medal, Victory over Germany and 1946 - 1965 Commemorative medal.

The last 2 are not particularly valuable, however the Bravery Medals are made of solid silver and as you can see on the second photo, they have serial numbers.
The USSR kept very efficient records and it is possible to have serial numbered medals researched to find out information about the recipient and the citation for the act that got them the medal.


The first page of research gives us some information about our man, and at the bottom is the citation for the first Bravery Medal number 902452.

1. Award card

Order booklet B 159181

1. Last name: Ovsyukov

2. Name and Patrionymic: Mikhail Evdokimovich

3. Rank: Junior Sergeant

4. Sex: Male

5. Birthyear: 1904

6. Birthplace: Grigorevskii Selsovet, Amvrosievskii Region, Stalin Oblast

7. Party Membership: n/a

8. Education: elementary

9. Nationality: Ukrainian

10. Service in the Red Army: October 1943-August 1945

11. Place of service and duty position at time of awarding: 336 Rifle Regiment, 126 Rifle Division, 54
Rifle Corps, 3 Belorussian Front - machinegunner

12. Place of service and duty position at the current time: Stalin Oblast, Amvrosievskii Region,
Grigorevskii Selsovet, Collective Farm #518 – collective farm worker

13. Home of Record: Same

14. Awards

Award Serial Number Awarder

Bravery Medal 902.452 690 Rifle Regiment dated 13.3.1944

Red Banner 173.556 4 Ukrainian Front dated 11.5.44

OPW I 191.091 54 Rifle Corps dated 6.5.1945

Verified 27 May 1946

2. Award card

A second award card dated 30 May 1947 captures the above information, but includes 2 Guards Army as
being under 3 Belorussian Front, not 4 Ukrainian Front. The 2 Guards Army served earlier under 4
Ukrainian Front, then shifted to 3 Belorussian Front late in the war. It also adds Bravery Medal
#2.955.776 awarded by the 126 Rifle Division dated 19.4.44. It also specifies the dates of service as 9
October 1943 through 21 August 1945.

3. Award Citation

Award Sheet

Order 03/N of the Commander, 690 Rifle Regiment, 126 Gorlov Red Banner Rifle Division, 2 Guards
Army 18 March 1944.

On behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme soviet USSR, I award the Bravery Medal to:

22. Rifleman Private Mikhail Evdokimovich Ovsyukov, 4 Rifle Company, 2 Rifle Battalion,
who on 18 October 1944 in fighting for Melitopol displayed exceptional bravery and courage.
Under a hurricane of enemy fire he got himself into position and destroyed with grenades a heavy
machinegun and three Germans. During the defense he daily kept watch on the enemy and while
on watch destroyed two Germans.

Born 1904, Ukrainian, non-party member, in Red Army since 1943, inducted by
Grigorevskii Regional Military Commisariat (Stalin Oblast). Home of record: Stalin
Oblast, Amrosievskii Region, village of Grigorevka.
Signed Commander, 690 Rifle Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Brodskii

[admin]

So that's the first citation, our Ukrainian Mikhail Ovsyukov was a Rifleman with the 4 Rifle Company, 2 Rifle Battalion, 690 Rifle Regiment, 126 Gorlov Red Banner Rifle Division, 2 Guards Army.
He has taken a 3 man German heavy machine gun position out with grenades, obviously it's close action to do that. He has also killed another 2 Germans while on watch, so he has killed 5 Germans in the Battle for Melitopol which is in Ukraine. The Russians took back Melitopol on October 23 1944 after Germany took it in 1941.


Our second citation shows that Mikhail is now a machine gunner when awarded Bravery Medal 2955776

4. Award Citation

Award Sheet

1. Last name, name, and patrionymic: Ovsyukov, Mikhail Evdokimovich

2. Rank: Private

3. Duty position: Machinegunner – Light Machinegun, 2 Rifle Battalion, 690 Rifle Regiment, 126
Gorlov Red Banner Rifle Division, 2 Guards Army

Application for the Order of Glory II Class

4. Birthyear: 1904

5. Nationality: Ukrainian

6. Party Membership: n/a

7. Time in the Combat: SW, Caucasian, and 4 Ukrainian Fronts since 1941

8. Wounds or contusions: n/a

9. In Red Army: since 1941

10. Inducted by: Stalin Oblast, Amrosievskii Regional Military Commissariat

11. Earlier awards: n/a

12. Home of record: Stalin Oblast, Amrosievskii Region, village of Grigorevka
Short description of personal combat feat or service



On 8 April 1944 in fighting for the city of Armyansk after losing his assistant gunner, Comrade
Ovsyukov moved from his firing position and delivered deadly fire on the counterattacking enemy while
the enemy opened fire upon our attacking infantry. Comrade Ovsyukov selected a convenient position for
observing the enemy and delivered confident and accurate fire. In this engagement Comrade Ovsyukov
suppressed two enemy heavy machineguns and moving into the enemy rear, destroyed an enemy mortar
crew of five Germans, thus permitting our units to advance with no further losses.

He is deserving of the Order of Glory II Class.

Signed Commander, 690 Rifle Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Brodskii on 18 April 1944
118 Heavy Howitzer Twice Red Banner Artillery Brigade, 6 MAD, RGK, Colonel Recommended
downgrade to Bravery Medal by Commander, 126 Gorlov Red Banner Rifle Division Hero of the Soviet
Union General-Major Ka(?) in April 1944
Awarded the Bravery Medal by Order 016 of the 126 Rifle Division dated 19 April 1944.

[admin]

Certainly full on stuff......he lost his assistant machine gunner who no doubt was the ammo feeder, and kept going by himself. He has then destroyed a German Mortar crew of 5 men. And interestingly, Armyansk is a town in the Crimea, which Russia has taken off the Ukraine.

I suspect it was an inspiring act, so much so that he was recommended for an Order Of Glory Second Class.

But there is a major problem with the application, in order to get an Order of Glory Second Class, you must already have an Order Of Glory Third Class.
Which he didn't have. Rather than change the application to a recommendation for an Order of Glory Third Class, it was downgraded to a Bravery Medal.


So there you have it. But there is more. After reading the research, I couldn't help but wonder what he did to be awarded a Red Banner and an Order of The Great Patriotic War 1st Class. These are a lot higher up the table than Bravery Medals.

So I have submitted a request for the citations for these actions and I am happy to say they have been located (sometimes they are not) and they are currently being translated to english for me.

I can't wait to see them, particularly as the researcher has told me that it appears that he was recommended for Hero of The Soviet Union, the highest honor there is, but it was downgraded to a Red Banner !

Order of The Great Patriotic War 1st Class



Order Of The Red Banner



Hero Of The Soviet Union

[admin]

I will come back with the information on his final 2 awards when I have received the translations, it should be within 48 hours. These Ukrainians are made out of some pretty stern stuff.

[wotnot]

Great history dig this ; good stuff B)

[admin]

Great history dig this ; good stuff B)

It's funny, I mostly hated history at school. I think the main problem with teaching History is making it interesting. There were a lot of dud teachers back when I went to school, I hate to think of the quality now.
One good teacher can make such a huge difference to what you want to learn. In Grade 6, I got a ripper of a teacher. Old school, shirt, tie, shorts with long white socks - even smoked a pipe in the class room (horror !). He made me take an interest in learning. Even funnier on the shock horror list, he made every student do a 5 minute talk in front of the class on a historical subject. I did one on firearms and in particular Samuel Colt. I brought a .38 revolver, a shotgun and a .44 Winchester rifle to school with me. I dunno what was more dangerous, his tobacco smoke or me armed to the teeth I even brought ammo along for them, but he did say I wasn't allowed to load them. You have to draw the line somewhere.

When I left primary school, I was at Year 9 secondary school pass level. When I left secondary school, I failed Year 10, giving me a Year 9 pass which of course is ironically what I had when I left primary school. I didn't come across a single outstanding teacher in Secondary school.

Russian Medals are fascinating due to their ability to be researched like this. I have been asked before, "surely they just make these citations up, they had an army of millions, how would they know who did what ?"

A fair question. The USSR was a communist country and every company, battalion - anything -, had Communist Party officers attached to it to observe who was doing their job and who wasn't. They observed and wrote down observations. The brave were rewarded, so that their medals and orders would be an inspiration to others to fight harder for the motherland. Unlike our WW2 medals which were awarded after the war, a large amount of Russian Medals were worn in combat. Including these. It's a pity they can't talk, as they would have seen some amazing scenes.

I just did a search on some of my old posts and re-added photos to one. I did spot a post I did about a Red Star, but interestingly it was not the one I thought it was, so if you are interested let me know and I will see if I can find the correct Red Star (I think I have 3 or 4) and the citation for it. It's a combat citation, and interestingly, he was not fighting the Germans at the time.........

[admin]

While doing a search for some photos of Russian soldiers fighting with medals on, I found this interesting story. Worth a look, amazing stuff. Our kids are still helpless when they are 30.

Below is a group of Russian soldiers during the war, I can see a few either Bravery/Combat Service Medals (both are made of silver and look similar from a distance), and a couple of what looks like Orders of he Great Patriotic War.

[admin]

I brought a .38 revolver, a shotgun and a .44 Winchester rifle to school with me. I dunno what was more dangerous, his tobacco smoke or me armed to the teeth I even brought ammo along for them, but he did say I wasn't allowed to load them. You have to draw the line somewhere.

Just reading this made me laugh remembering the time when I was 15 in about 1984 when I got picked up hitch hiking on a main road armed with a .22 with a telescopic site and the formerly mentioned .44 Winchester rifle.

By the police. No one else was topping....strange about that.

Hitch hiking facing the traffic with 2 rifles over my shoulder, police car pulls up. Luckily for me, it's the local senior sergeant

SS : Hello their young Andrew, what have you got there ?

ME : Hello Senior Sergeant Taylor. Just some guns.

SS : Ahhh, you heading home are you ?

Me : Yes sir.

SS : Best you jump in son and I will give you a lift. They are not loaded are they ?

Me : No, no.

SS : Ok, just throw them on the back seat. Some people these days take a dim view of guns and you might not get a lift.

.

[lsemmens]

Love these stories.

[admin]

I will come back with the information on his final 2 awards when I have received the translations, it should be within 48 hours. These Ukrainians are made out of some pretty stern stuff.

I only have the information in regards to his Order Of The Red Banner. And it is more than interesting.



Just to note, I haven't used this person for translations before and each and every translator sets things out differently. Some translate it literally, others will for example add a full stop or something knowing it should be an end of sentence. They all differ. I don't mind as long as I get the correct story. You will notice different ways of spelling, particularly in regards to our mans name.

Our researcher has his name as Mihail Evdokimovich Ovsjukov. I will continue to refer to him as Mikhail Evdokimovich Ovsyukov for no other reason than to keep it simple as I don't know exactly how and why they differ. There are differences in translation between Ukrainian and Russian, probably the main one you would have noticed in recent times is the capital of Ukraine - previously we referred to it as Kiev, as that's what Russia referred to it as. The Ukrainian's call it Kyiv.




Let's go back to Bravery Medal 2955776, the second one awarded to Ukrainian Mikhail Ovsyukov. It plays a major part in the recommendation Mikhail Ovsyukov received for Hero of The Soviet Union. I have reposted the citation for it below :

On 8 April 1944 in fighting for the city of Armyansk after losing his assistant gunner, Comrade Ovsyukov moved from his firing position and delivered deadly fire on the counterattacking enemy while the enemy opened fire upon our attacking infantry. Comrade Ovsyukov selected a convenient position for observing the enemy and delivered confident and accurate fire. In this engagement Comrade Ovsyukov suppressed two enemy heavy machineguns and moving into the enemy rear, destroyed an enemy mortar crew of five Germans, thus permitting our units to advance with no further losses.

He is deserving of the Order of Glory II Class.



So as we discovered, Mikhail was involved in the fight for the city of Armyansk, (which is on the Crimean Peninsula and is part of the land seized by Russian in 2014) on the 8th of April 1944 and destroyed a a 5 man German mortar crew as well as suppressing 2 German Heavy Machine Guns. Due to administrative error, he was recommended for the Order of Glory Second Class. As I have previously mentioned, as a collector I know quite well he could not get that because you have to first be awarded the Order of Glory Third Class. Rather than change it to a recommendation for an Order of Glory Third Class, it was downgraded to a recommendation for a Bravery Medal. Sadly, a second major downgrading was about to follow.



Astoundingly, the recommendation for Hero of The Soviet Union is for action on the 8th of April 1944 at Armyansk, the very same time, place and day as the above Bravery medal ! Our new researcher refers to it as Armjansk and not Armyansk, but it is quite clear it is the same place given that both events take place on the same date. What's the odds on that one ?



So what the hell happened on the 8th April 1944 after Mikhail Ovsyukov lost his assistant gunner and took on the Germans himself ? Lets find out, this is the citation in which he was recommended for Hero Of The Soviet Union :

"On 8th April 1944 during the breaking of fortifications in the region of Armjansk, Comrade Ovsjukov was positioned in combat order of an advanced sub-unit which was the first to rush into the storm, delivering a hurricane of fire on the enemy not letting them stick their heads out, firing from his machinegun he suppressed two enemy heavy machineguns, allowing the advance of infantry forward.

Breaking into the city of Armjansk, Comrade Ovsjukov boldly rushed to the firing point that prevented the advance of 5th Company. Throwing grenades, he destroyed a heavy machinegun with crew. By the end of the day of battle, his machinegun refused to work. Comrade Ovsjukov left his machinegun and took an Anti-Tank Rifle of a dead Comrade and began activity to destroy fire points. Observing on the outskirts of the town an auto-mobile with a 6-barrelled mortar, under a hurricane of fire Comrade Ovsjukov moved into an open position and opened fire on the machine, the machine caught fire and our units captured the mortar.

On 15th April 1944 active with submachine-gunners south of the settlement point of Mamashaj, Comrade Ovsjukov showed special courage and heroism. He first went to blockade an enemy bunker, despite a hurricane of machinegun fire Comrade Ovsjukov crawled to the bunker throwing a grenade into the embrasure of the bunker, that allowed the infantry to advance and enter the rear of the bunker. Acting impertinently and with lighting speed Comrade Ovsjukov pursued the running enemy and fired his submachine-gun destroying up to 16 Germans".

(Note : I have added a couple of words in for clarity, such as "he", "on", "Ovsjukov", a commer etc etc. None of which exaggerate or denigrate anything he has done. It's simply to make reading easier and I believe the previous researcher/translator has done the same)






So this is crazy stuff. His citation for Herof the Soviet Union is for actions on 2 different days. The Bravery Medal award says that he suppressed 2 heavy machine guns on the 8th of April and this new citation says the exact same thing on the exact same day ! So we now know exactly what happened on the 8th April 1944 by piecing together the 2 different citations for the same date. I have put the 2 pieces of information together, and changed the spelling to reflect the first researchers words :


On 8 April 1944 in fighting for the city of Armyansk after losing his assistant gunner, Comrade Ovsyukov moved from his firing position and delivered deadly fire on the counterattacking enemy while the enemy opened fire upon our attacking infantry. Comrade Ovsyukov selected a convenient position for observing the enemy and delivered confident and accurate fire. In this engagement Comrade Ovsyukov suppressed two enemy heavy machineguns and moving into the enemy rear, destroyed an enemy mortar crew of five Germans, thus permitting our units to advance with no further losses.

During the breaking of fortifications in the region of Armyansk, Comrade Ovsyukov was positioned in combat order of an advanced sub-unit which was the first to rush into the storm, delivering a hurricane of fire on the enemy not letting them stick their heads out, firing from his machinegun he suppressed two enemy heavy machineguns, allowing the advance of infantry forward.

Breaking into the city of Armyansk, Comrade Ovsyukov boldly rushed to the firing point that prevented the advance of 5th Company. Throwing grenades, he destroyed a heavy machinegun with crew. By the end of the day of battle, his machinegun refused to work. Comrade Ovsyukov left his machinegun and took an Anti-Tank Rifle of a dead Comrade and began activity to destroy fire points. Observing on the outskirts of the town an auto-mobile with a 6-barrelled mortar, under a hurricane of fire Comrade Ovsyukov moved into an open position and opened fire on the machine, the machine caught fire and our units captured the mortar.

Now that is a fair days work ! And then a week later he was at it again.


This new research also had an award card of course that showed that Ovsyukov had in fact been seriously wounded previously. See below :

1. Family, Name And Patronym: Ovsjukov, Mihail Evdokimovich

2. Rank: Red Army Soldier

3. Position : Unit, Machinegunner, Handheld machinegun, 2nd Rifle Battalion, 690th Rifle Regiment, 126th Rifle Gorlovka Red Banner Division, 2nd Guards Army
Presented for Hero Of The Soviet Union

4. Year Of Birth: 1904

5. Nationality: Ukrainian

6. Party Membership: Non-Partisan

7. Participation In Civil War, Other Military Actions Of Defence Of The USSR (Where, When): Western, Southern and 4th Ukrainian Fronts from 1941.

8. Had Which Wounds And Contusions In Patriotic War: One heavy wound.

9. Since What Time In Red Army: Since 1941

10. Which Regional Military Commissariat Conscripted: Amrosiev Regional Military Commissariat, Stalino Oblast

11. Received Which Awards (For Which Distinction): Not awarded.


Ok, so what the hell went wrong ? Why was he not awarded the title of Hero of The Soviet Union ?
It's interesting to note his rank and position at the time.
Machinegunner, Handheld machinegun, 2nd Rifle Battalion, 690th Rifle Regiment, 126th Rifle Gorlovka Red Banner Division, 2nd Guards Army.

It's pretty similar to his position when he was awarded the first Bravery Medal, which was 690 Rifle Regiment, 126 Gorlov Red Banner Rifle Division, 2 Guards Army.


And this is how it played out as it went through the process of the commander of each section all the way to the top :

Worthy of the Governmental Award Hero Of The Soviet Union
Commander 690th Rifle Division Lieutenet-Colonel Brodskij ------ ( Note : Brodskij put forward both his original medal applications with no issues)
20th April 1944

Worthy of Governmental award - Assign the Title "HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION"
Commander of the 126th Rifle Gorlovka Red Banner Division Hero Of The Soviet Union Major-General Kazartsev -------- (Note : This man is the one who downgraded his Order of Glory. He has no issues here)
20th April 1944

Worthy of Governmental award - Title "HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION"
Commander of the 54th Rifle Corps Lieutenant-General Kolomiets
20th April 1944

Worthy of assignment of the Title - "HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION"
Commander of the 2nd Army Guards Lieutenant-General Zaharov
Member Of The Military Soviet Guards Major-General Chereshnjuk
21st April 1944

Worthy of assignment of the Title "HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION"
Commander of Troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front Army General Tolbuhin
Member Of The Military Soviet Guards Lieutenant-General Subbotin
May 1944

Order of Troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front #140/N of 11th May 1944 awarded the Order Red Banner.


So it would seem it went through the entire chain of command and for no apparent reason it was downgraded to a Red Banner despite some heavyweights approving it. Why ?

I dont know all the stats for Hero of the Soviet Union, however 12,777 were awarded in total. 44 foreigners were awarded it. But I don't know the stats on how many non Russians from the USSR were awarded it, ie, how many ethnic Ukrainians, how many ethnic Uzbeks etc etc.

It did provide some extra benefits such as :

A pension with survivor benefits in the event of the death of the title holder.

Priority on the housing list with 50% rent reduction, tax exempt and an additional 45 square metres (480 sq ft) in living space.

Annual round-trip first class airline ticket

Free local public transportation

Free annual visit to sanatorium or rest home

Medical benefits

Entertainment benefits


Sadly, for some unknown reason Mikhail Ovsyukov was not made a Hero of The Soviet Union. We will never know why, but it is possible it was because he was an ethic Ukrainian and not Russian.

[fromaron]

I dont know all the stats for Hero of the Soviet Union, however 12,777 were awarded in total. 44 foreigners were awarded it. But I don't know the stats on how many non Russians from the USSR were awarded it, ie, how many ethnic Ukrainians, how many ethnic Uzbeks etc etc.

I can help with this data. Before proceeding, please understand the meaning of Nationality in the former USSR.
It is a bit different to how majority of westerners understand it.

In USSR as well as in all former USSR states nationality of people relate to their ancestors, not the state they live in.
We all were citizens of USSR but had different nationality written in our residential passports. People there had two types of passports - one for use within USSR and that was mandatory document to have which shows you are Russian, Ukranian, Uzbek, or else including you place of residence which could be any state of USSR. You could live in Ukraine and still be Russian or Uzbek. Second passport used only if people travelled overseas where nationality was shown as USSR.

Now about the stats of people who received Hero of the Soviet Union by their nationality:
Russians - 7998
Ukranians - 2021
Belorussians - 291
Tatars - 161
Jews - 107
Kazachs - 96
Georgians - 90
Armyans - 89
Uzbeks - 67
Mordvins - 63
Chuvashies - 45
Azerbadjans - 43
Bashkirs - 38
Osetins - 33
Marijes, Turkmens, Lithuanians, Tadjiks, Latvis, Kirgizes, Komis, Udmurts - between 10 and 18 heroes from each nationality.
Germans - 9
Estonians - 9
12 more minor nationalities gave between 1 and 8 heroes each.

[admin]

And for the final piece of the story...............his citation and awarding of the Order of The Great Patriotic War 1st Class.


1. Family, Name And Patronym: Ovsyukov, Mikhail Evdokimovich

2. Rank: Junior Sergeant

3. Position : Commander of a section, 2nd Rifle Company, 366th Rifle Order Of Suvorov Regiment Rifle Regiment, 126th Rifle Gorlovka Twice Red Banner Order Of Suvorov Division, 43rd Army, Third Belorussian Front
Presented for the Order "Patriotic War I Class"

4. Year Of Birth:1904

5. Nationality: Ukrainian

6. Party Membership: Candidate VKP(b)

7. Participation In Civil War, Other Military Actions Of Defence Of The USSR (Where, When): In the Patriotic War from 15-10-1943

8. Had Which Wounds And Contusions In Patriotic War: Wounded 04-02-1945, 09-04-1945

9. Since What Time In Red Army: Since 15-09-1943

10. Which Regional Military Commissariat Conscripted: Amrosiev Regional Military Commissariat, Stalino Oblast

11. Received Which Awards (For Which Distinction): Medal "For Valour" Order of the 690th Rifle Regiment #3/N of 13-03-1944. Order "Red Banner" Order of the 2nd Guards Army #140/N of 11-05-1944

"In street battle in the city of Konigsberg from 08-04-1945 to 10-04-1945 Comrade Ovsyukov showed himself to be a skilful commander, brave and bold fighter. The section which was commanded by Comrade Ovsyukov, was one of the first to break into the enemy trenches, laying on the outskirts of the city. Knocking them out of their trenches destroyed during this 9 Hitlerites and lead the battle to liquidate the enemy, settled in a fortified building. Destroying 13 Hitlerites, up to 25 people were taken prisoner and set fire to one vehicle with ammunition. Personally in this battle Comrade Ovsyukov destroyed 4 Hitlerites and set fire to the fortified building where 46 Germans were located and too into captivity 15 people."


Worthy of Governmental award Order "Patriotic War I Class"

Commander 366th Rifle Order Of Suvorov Regiment Rifle Regiment Guards Lieutenant-Colonel Bazarnov
23rd April 1945


Worthy of Governmental award Order of the Patriotic War I Class

Commander 126th Rifle Gorlovka Twice Red Banner Order Of Suvorov Division Guards Colonel Sadorenov
24th April 1945


Awarded the Order Of The Pariotic War 1st Class Order of the 54th Rifle Corps #61/N of 06-05-1945

Assistant Head Department Of Cadre 54th Rifle Corps Senior Lieutenant Shevyrev


Wow, what a story. Clearly after his previous efforts were recognised he received a promotion to Junior Sergeant and became a candidate for party membership. it's also worth nothing that it states that he was wounded in this engagement. Personally I dont know how he survived the war.

The Battle for Konigsberg was one serious shit fight. The Russian's still today own this piece of land and it is playing a major party in proceedings in the war with Ukraine. Here is a map for you, it went from being German to now being a land locked Russian outpost with sea access. It is no surprise whatsoever that the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) all joined NATO.




Have a read below about this battle.



I have somewhere a Medal for the Capture of Konigsberg, further info below :

[admin]

Hope you enjoyed this mans story.