Medal Hero of Soviet Union # 3676. Order Lenin # 18593. Converted from suspended to screw. Medal and order are ORIGINALS. A BULLY ACT: HOW BORIS KOSHECHKIN STOLE A STAFF CAR FROM UNDER THE NOSE OF THE NAZIS. Boris Koshechkin was born on December 28, 1921 in the village of Beketovka in the Ulyanovsk region in a simple peasant family with many children. Boris’s father, Kuzma Stepanovich, was the owner of two St. George’s crosses, which he received for participating in the Russian-Japanese war. In Beketovka, he worked as a physical education teacher. From an early age he taught all his children to sports and taught them to be enduring. His wife Anisia Dmitrievna was a simple housewife and worked on a collective farm. It was difficult for a large family to feed, so immediately after the seventh grade, Boris entered the Ulyanovsk Industrial Pedagogical College. In 1938, he got a job as a teacher at the Novo-Pogorelovskaya secondary school. But Koshechkin could not sit in one place, and a year later he went to work in the Far East, where he worked at the Energomash plant. In parallel, he was engaged in the Khabarovsk flying club and dreamed of becoming a pilot. But when the coveted direction to the Ulyanovsk Flight School was received, it turned out that Boris was late. The recruitment of cadets has already been completed. By the will of fate, he ended up in the Kazan Infantry School, which was soon transformed into a tank school. Koshechkin mastered the management of light tanks T-26 and BT-5. According to his recollections, the only T-34 was in the school, but he always stood, covered with a tarpaulin, in the garage. One day his T-26 tank was hit, the car burned down, but the crew was incredibly lucky. In 1943, Koshechkin was already at the Kursk Bulge, where a truly amazing story happened to him. Boris Kuzmich himself later called his act nothing more than a hooligan trick. Even the Germans were discouraged by what he did. This vehicle was very similar to the German T-3 tank. A daring plan was born in the head of the 22-year-old platoon commander Boris Koshechkin. He painted Hitler’s crosses on his tank, put on a German overalls and, together with the crew, went to the rear of the Germans in broad daylight. I spoke German quite well – nevertheless, I grew up among the Volga Germans. Our teacher was a real German. And he looked like a German – fair-haired, – said Boris Koshechkin. Crossed the front line, went to the rear of the Germans. There are guns with calculations. I crushed two guns, seemingly by accident. A German yells to me: Where are you going? ! ” – I told him – “Shprechen zi bitte nicht zo shnel. Like, talk not so fast. I drove up to a large German command vehicle. I say to the mechanic Terentyev: Pasha, now we will attach this car. Misha Mityagin climbs into this car, looking for a pistol or something to devour. They picked up the car and drove off. The Germans were startled only when a tank with a heavy staff vehicle attached to it was moving towards the front line. They opened fire with an 88mm cannon. The shell pierced through the turret of the tank. Driver-mechanic Pavel Terentyev received a minor shrapnel wound in his shoulder, and Koshechkin was severely deafened, and blood began to flow from his nose and ears. Nevertheless, they were able to return to the unit’s location on a damaged tank and bring in a German command vehicle. For the delivered important documents and papers of the enemy in such an unusual way, Boris Koshechkin was awarded the Order of the Red Star. I barely jumped out of the tank. The next time the tanker distinguished himself in the battles for the village of Bolshaya Medvedevka. When she was liberated, Koshechkin’s company was able to destroy one German tank, 4 armored cars, up to 50 Nazis and a staff bus and capture two guns. Soon Koshechkin was wounded in both arms. And he ended up in a hospital in Tambov. When the wounds began to heal, he immediately took up a pencil, since he loved to draw from childhood. In the hospital, he even published a hospital newspaper. Nurse Lidia Milovanova asked the surgeon to detain the tanker. Let him draw our newspapers, she said. Boris accidentally overheard this conversation and immediately cut off: No, I must go to the front. In the spring of 1944, Koshechkin had a chance to liberate Shepetivka and Ternopil. The commander of the 60th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Colonel-General Chernyakhovsky, personally assigned the commander of the tank company of the Guard, Lieutenant Koshechkin, to conduct reconnaissance behind enemy lines in the conditions of the onset of a thaw. Since March 9, our troops have fought intense battles with a 12,000-strong German group surrounded in Ternopil. The Nazis understood that nothing could save them and fought desperately, with perseverance. Having made his way to the Zbarazh – Ternopil highway, Koshechkin with his tanks was able to cut off the escape route for the enemy’s equipment and manpower. Then ours knocked out 50 Nazi vehicles, 6 tanks and destroyed a large number of infantrymen. Before breaking into Ternopil, Koshechkin, having changed into ordinary clothes, went into reconnaissance himself. He made his way to the city, found out which side was better to approach, found the weak and strong points of the Germans, determined the location of the firing points. The night attack on Ternopil took the Nazis by surprise. Koshechkin’s tank on the move began to crush German vehicles with tracks. In that battle, Boris Kuzmich destroyed up to 100 Nazis, a battery of anti-tank guns and set fire to two Nazi tanks. In Ternopil itself, I burned two tanks. And then, as they gave me, I barely jumped out of the tank, – Boris Koshechkin recalled. In the tank, even if the enemy’s shell licks, makes a ricochet, then in the tower all these nuts fly off. Dross in the face, but it can punch through the head with a nut. Well, if it caught fire, open the hatch, jump out quickly. Tank is on fire. In that battle, Boris Koshechkin survived. For his courage and heroism he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war, Koshechkin graduated from the Military Academy of Armored and Mechanized Forces, served as chief of staff of a tank battalion, then was an officer in tank fire training. Please let me know if you have any questions. Please carefully review the attached photos, if you need any additional photos please contact me. Pay Pal only Thank you. The item “Soviet red Medal Banner Order Hero Soviet Union Lenin Tank Valentine (#1725)” is in sale since Saturday, February 13, 2021. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Militaria\WW II (1939-45)\Original Period Items\Russia\Medals, Pins & Ribbons”. The seller is “redmedals” and is located in San Francisco, California. This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Region of Origin: Russia
• Featured Refinements: Order
• Modified Item: No
• Country/Region of Manufacture: Russian Federation
• Conflict: WW II (1939-45)
• Theme: Militaria
• Original/Reproduction: Original
• Type: Medal