Soviet tank aces … Very little information has survived about many Soviet tankers who distinguished themselves especially during the Great Patriotic War. One of these heroes is Nikolai Dmitrievich Moiseev, who went through the entire war and survived. The tanker is a recognized ace and a master of tank combat, on account of which there are several dozen victories. Currently, the life path of a tanker, whose fate is inextricably linked with the fate of the 1st Tank Brigade, which later became the 6th Guards Brigade, can be restored almost exclusively on the basis of award documents.
Pre-war life of Nikolai Moiseev
Nikolai Dmitrievich Moiseev, the future master of tank combat, was born in 1916 at the Seltso station of the Bryansk district of the Oryol region. The exact date of birth of the hero is unknown. In the column "social status" it is indicated - a worker. Like millions of Soviet children, Nikolai Moiseev was educated and in 1937 voluntarily found himself in the ranks of the armed forces. Mandatory conscription in the Soviet Union was introduced only on September 1, 1939. The award documents also indicate that Nikolai Moiseev is a career soldier.
It is known that Nikolai Dmitrievich graduated from the armored school, and after distribution he got into the 85th separate tank battalion, which was part of the 39th light tank brigade. The brigade, commanded by the future famous Soviet military leader Dmitry Lelyushenko, arrived in the Leningrad Military District at the end of November 1939. Since December 1939, the unit took part in the Soviet-Finnish war, operating on the Karelian Isthmus.
In February 1940, the brigade fought with Finnish troops in the Muola - Oinila - Kurel region and in the Ilves region. By March 1940, tankers stormed the town of Honkaniemi. Before that, they had to overcome two lines of granite gaps, an anti-tank ditch, and 12 forest blockages with mines organized on the roads. Developing the offensive of the Soviet troops, by the time the conflict ended, units of the 39th Light Tank Brigade had reached Reppola. In battles, the brigade acted quite actively and competently, despite the fact that the main tank at that time was the T-26, which was easily hit by Finnish artillery. During the fighting, units of the brigade suffered moderate human losses: 65 killed and 117 wounded, another 13 people were reported missing. For participation in the battles on the Karelian Isthmus and the successes achieved, the brigade was awarded the Order of Lenin, four tankers from the brigade became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Thus, even before the start of the Great Patriotic War, Nikolai Moiseev received valuable combat experience, which will be useful to him in the future.
The beginning of the Great Patriotic War and the first awards
By the time the Great Patriotic War began, Nikolai Moiseev served in the 34th Panzer Division of the Kiev Special Military District. The division was of a new formation. It was formed only in the spring of 1941 as part of the 8th Mechanized Corps instead of the 15th Panzer Division, which had disappeared into the 16th Mechanized Corps. Together with the corps, the division was part of the 26th army of the district, which, on the first day of the war, became the Southwestern Front. It is noteworthy that the 34th Panzer Division was armed with 48 T-35 heavy tanks. At the same time, the tanks of new designs in the division were not enough; before the start of the war, the tankers managed to receive 50 T-34 and 53 heavy KV-1 tanks.
On June 25-26, units of the division were included in the mobile group of the 8th mechanized corps, which was headed by Brigadier Commissar Popel. On June 26 and 27, 1941, the division took part in a Soviet counterstrike in the Lutsk-Brody-Dubno triangle, fighting with units of the 16th German Panzer Division of the 48th Motorized Corps. The battles were very intense and fierce, but led only to the partial successes of Soviet tankers. On June 28, the division commander, Colonel Vasiliev, was killed in battle, and by the end of June, the division's units were surrounded, but continued to fight on the communications of the German 1st tank group, interfering with the normal supply of the Nazi units that had escaped ahead. The remnants of the division were able to get out of the encirclement, but the losses in the materiel were very significant. By August 15, the division was finally disbanded, the surviving soldiers and commanders were sent to form new tank units.
So Nikolai Moiseev was included in the 1st tank brigade, which by mid-September was completed to form in the area of the Kosterovo station in the Moscow region. The personnel was mainly manned by tankmen of the 32nd and 34th tank divisions, who already had real combat experience behind them. As part of this brigade, for battles in the Shepetovka area in late September - early October 1941, Nikolai Moiseev was presented to the first combat award - the Order of the Red Star. In these battles, which were led by Belov's cavalry-mechanized group, a technician-quartermaster of the 2nd rank (corresponding to the rank of lieutenant) Nikolai Moiseev commanded a heavy tank KV-1 as part of the 1st tank regiment of his brigade.
The award list noted that Moiseev led his tank into the attack at least 10 times, showing courage and decisiveness in battles. During the battles, he proved himself to be a proactive commander. In a battle in the Shepetovka area on the territory of the Sumy region, despite the enemy's superiority, he boldly went on the attack, destroying 2 enemy tanks, up to 5 anti-tank guns in battle, as well as several machine guns and up to a platoon of enemy infantry. Having broken through the line of defense of the German troops, the KV-1 tank, which was controlled by Moiseev, went to the rear of the Nazis and forced the enemy to retreat. During the retreat, the Germans left on the battlefield five transport vehicles with various military equipment and ammunition. In this battle, Nikolai Dmitrievich was wounded.
Later, together with units of the 1st Tank Brigade, he participated in battles in the Kursk direction in December 1941, as well as in the Kharkov direction in March 1942. In these battles he was twice wounded - December 21, 1941 and March 27, 1942, but returned to duty again. In the battles on the territory of the Kharkov region in March 1942, Moiseev again distinguished himself, for which the command presented him to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but as a result the tankman was awarded the Order of Lenin. By that time, Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Moiseev was in command of a tank company in the brigade, which had become the 6th Guards Tank Brigade in February. The command highly appreciated the career soldier, behind whom was the Soviet-Finnish war and heavy fighting in the summer of 1941. The brigade command noted that Nikolai Dmitrievich perfectly organizes the combat actions of his unit, shows personal heroism, which inspires the commanders and the rank and file of his company for exploits. It was also especially emphasized that Senior Lieutenant Moiseev pays great attention to working with personnel, studying the experience of past battles and issues of saving entrusted material.
The award documents of the hero indicated that on March 24, 1942, Moiseyev's company successfully repelled an enemy tank attack in the area of the village of Rubezhnoe, Kharkov region. As a result of the battle, in which the tankers of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade launched a counterattack, they managed to knock out 9 enemy tanks and destroy the enemy infantry battalion. Leading the battle of his company, Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Moiseev knocked out three enemy tanks from his tank. The next time the officer distinguished himself on March 26, when he led the tankers of his company into an attack on the enemy's fortified area located in the area of the village of Zamulevka, Kharkov region. Having repulsed a counterattack of enemy tanks during the battle, the company captured the village. In total, in battle, Soviet tankers managed to knock out 5 fascist tanks, of which Moiseev and his crew recorded two at his own expense.
From Stalingrad to Crimea
During the battles in the area of the Don crossings, the 6th Guards Tank Brigade suffered serious losses in tanks and personnel and was sent to the rear for replenishment. The brigade was replenished with military equipment directly in Stalingrad, receiving new tanks directly from the Stalingrad Tank Plant, the personnel were partially taken from the Stalingrad training center for armored vehicles. By August 1, the brigade was brought to its full strength, after which the reconstituted units were put together at a fairly fast pace. As part of the 13th Panzer Corps, the brigade took part in the battle at the 74th kilometer junction. The fighting near this small settlement in August 1942 was very fierce and played a large role in the defense of the city. For these battles, many Soviet tankers were nominated for government awards, some of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and Nikolai Moiseev was nominated for the Order of the Red Banner.
The award documents indicated that the guard captain Nikolai Moiseev, who is the deputy commander of the 1st separate tank battalion, took part in the battle for the 74th kilometer crossing on August 6, which was occupied by the enemy with a force of up to 70 tanks and a motorized infantry battalion. The battalion was ordered to drive the Germans out of the crossing area. Already during the battle, the battalion commander was wounded and Nikolai Moiseev took command. Under his leadership, the Germans were driven out of the village. In this case, the enemy suffered serious losses. The documents indicate that the enemy lost more than 30 tanks, over 14 different guns, 9 vehicles and up to an infantry battalion. The losses of the battalion of Moiseyev in these battles amounted to 12 tanks burned out and three vehicles knocked out.
By October 1942, the brigade had lost almost all of its tanks, and by that time almost 80 percent of its personnel had dropped out in its motorized rifle battalion, and almost all company commanders had also dropped out. In this regard, the brigade was again withdrawn from the front for replenishment, this time part of it was replenished with graduates of the Kazan Tank School and Astrakhan workers. Subsequently, the brigade, which was part of the Southern Front, took part in the battles near Syantsik and, as part of the 28th Army, took part in the liberation of Rostov-on-Don from the Nazis, fought on the northern coast of the Azov Sea and near Taganrog.
In the spring of 1944, brigade units took part in the liberation of the Crimea. For these battles, already the Guards Major Nikolai Dmitrievich Moiseev, who commanded a tank battalion, was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 3rd degree. In the award documents for the officer, who by that time had already had five combat wounds, it was indicated that Moiseev was a competent commander, inspiring the soldiers with personal courage. It was noted that this is a decisive and courageous commander who is able to quickly and correctly assess the situation in battle, making the right decisions. In April, his battalion succeeded in a deep raid 200 kilometers behind enemy lines. On April 11, 1944, the battalion of Moiseyev, having broken through the German defenses, rushed into the breakthrough and in the area of the Chirik station captured two railway echelons and 250 prisoners. In the battles, the battalion destroyed 10 artillery pieces, 38 vehicles, 82 wagons with military cargo, 6 machine guns. With the fighting, the tank battalion was the first to break into the city of Simferopol, and then into Bakhchisarai. At the same time, the battalion suffered minor losses in the battles.
After the fighting in the Crimea died down and Soviet troops occupied Sevastopol, in May 1944 the 6th Guards Tank Brigade was withdrawn from the front to the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters. The brigade was stationed in the Tula tank military camp. By order from the end of August 1944, the brigade was officially transformed into the Guards Sivash Tank School. It was here that the military career of the Guard Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Dmitrievich Moiseev, who at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War, passed on his knowledge and experience to the cadets, ended. After the war, the officer continued his service for some time, teaching the basics of tank combat, but then he was transferred to the reserve. Perhaps the decision to leave the service was dictated by numerous front-line wounds.
Unfortunately, the further fate of the hero is unknown, and his life path is lost. In the magazine "Front illustration" No. 2 for 2006, Smirnov's article indicated that Nikolai Moiseev had 31 knocked-out enemy tanks, in reality there could have been more tanks knocked out and destroyed in battle, and the hero's personal account could have exceeded 40 tanks, but it is not possible to establish this reliably. We can only say with complete confidence that Nikolai Dmitrievich was a brave and outstanding Soviet tank commander who went through the entire Great Patriotic War and always returned to service, despite his injuries. For his feats of arms, he was awarded numerous state orders and medals.
