Mikhail Alekseevich Bolshakov - tank driver of the 28th Separate Guards Tank Brigade of the 39th Army, a participant in the Great Patriotic War. Full Knight of the Order of Glory.
Biography
Mikhail Alekseevich was born in early November 1920 in the small village of Abramtsevo, Moscow Region. Mikhail's family was from peasants. In the early period of the Soviet Union, the life of the peasants was very difficult. From an early age, the boy was introduced to work, since in the village it was impossible to do otherwise.
Bolshakov received a seven-year education and immediately after school went to Balashikha, where he got a job at a factory specializing in dry cleaning of clothes. After some time, a local locksmith took Mikhail to his apprentice. Having received the proper knowledge, the young guy himself took the position of a locksmith in this factory.
War period
In 1940, when Bolshakov was already twenty years old, he was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army. Having locksmith skills and experience of village life, Mikhail was assigned to the tank troops, where he studied and trained until mid-1941. At the very beginning of his career, he was still in a training battalion, and for the first time appeared at the front only in October of the same year.
Bolshakov has always demonstrated amazing courage and resourcefulness in battle. However, he received his first high award only in 1944. On June 23, when the offensive operation "Bagration" began, he destroyed the hidden position of the Nazis on his tank, simply crushing it with caterpillars. Later, their crew crossed the Luchesa River in Nazi-occupied territory without any problems.
When a fierce battle began with a grouping of German forces, Bolshakov's tank destroyed three fortified enemy positions, three bunkers and twelve Nazi soldiers. For such a huge contribution to the success of the operation, Mikhail Alekseevich was presented to the Order of Glory of the third degree after only three days.
In October of the same year, his tank took part in battles on the territory of Lithuania. The unit was tasked with recapturing the Soviet city of Taurage. The brave driver's tank broke through the Nazi defense line and, during a heated battle, disabled two artillery crews, destroyed three fortified positions and killed nearly three dozen Nazis. In November, for his services in the battle for the city of Bolshakov, he received the Order of Glory of the second degree.
The last battle of Mikhail Alekseevich took place in mid-January 1945 near Konigsberg. Without betraying himself, Bolshakov was one of the first to break into the position of the Nazis and destroyed several guns and anti-tank fortifications. He also killed more than 30 soldiers and neutralized three machine-gun crews. In this battle, Mikhail's tank was knocked out, but the crew continued to fight even with a faulty main gun. After the battle, Bolshakov was found on the battlefield by orderlies who arrived in time. He was the only survivor of the tank's crew. For this battle, Mikhail Alekseevich was awarded the Order of Glory of the first degree.
Post-war life and death
After the victory, Bolshakov continued his military service until 1946. He took part in the victory parade in the summer of 1945 on Red Square. After leaving the army, he returned to Balashikha where he continued to work as a mechanic at a dry-cleaning factory. He died in January 1997 on the twentieth at the age of 76.
