Ivan Chekhov is one of the heroes of the USSR, a participant in the Great Patriotic War. He fought at the front since August 1941, was a radio operator. Received the title of Hero in the battles for the crossing of the Dnieper, when, with a radio station on his shoulder, he swam to the other bank under heavy fire from the Nazis and thereby ensured uninterrupted communication between the company and the commanding staff.
Biography: early years
Ivan Mitrofanovich Chekhov was born on June 13, 1920 in the village of Podgornoye, in the Rossosh district of the Voronezh region. Parents were collective farmers. After finishing seven classes, he also went to work on a collective farm.
When Ivan was 18 years old, he went to Donbass. At that time, it was possible to make good money in this coal region. In one of the Donbass mines, Chekhov worked as a horseman. His job was to steer the horses pulling the coal-laden carts. The work was harmful and exhausting.
In 1940, Chekhov was drafted into the army. There was only a year left before the war.
The Great Patriotic War
Ivan Chekhov went to the front in August 1941. By that time, he was barely 21 years old. He took part in different battles in different directions. Was on the Steppe, Donskoy, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts.
Ivan Chekhov showed himself when crossing the Dnieper as part of the Poltava-Kremenchug operation. In October 1943, our soldiers fought offensive battles. Chekhov was one of the first to swim across the Dnieper under the fire of enemy machine guns and mortars. He established communication with the regimental commanders, which allowed the fighters to successfully complete a number of combat missions. While at the bridgehead, Ivan also corrected the actions of the Soviet artillery. Later, for his fearlessness and contribution to the overall victory, Chekhov was awarded the title of Hero of the USSR.
Ivan Chekhov also took part in the Soviet army's counter-offensives at Stalingrad from November 1942 to February 1943. These battles were called Operation Uranus.
He took part in the final battles at the Kursk Bulge. His division was liberating Kharkov and Belgorod. For participation in these battles, he was awarded the medal "For Courage". Chekhov returned from the front with the rank of lieutenant.
Life after the war
Ivan Chekhov came from the front to his native village. Soon he moved to neighboring Kursk. There he entered courses, where he mastered the specialty of railway transport technology. Chekhov dreamed of continuing his career as a signalman in a peaceful life.
In 1951 he was admitted to the Signaling and Communication Distance of the Kursk branch of the railway, where he began to work as a senior electromechanic. Now a memorial plaque hangs on the building where he worked for two years.
In 1956, Chekhov successfully graduated from the Soviet party school. Later he began to work at a local plant of mobile units as the head of the regulatory bureau.
Personal life
Ivan Chekhov got married almost immediately after the war. There is no information about the wife and children.
On July 18, 1968, he died suddenly. His grave is located at the Kursk Nikitsky cemetery.
The bust of Ivan Chekhov can be seen on the Alley of Heroes, which is located in Rossosh.
