Soviet Sergeant Gnitienko's "Glory-Trio"

[Alfred]

Yes, you kann ask

.....

In the other bible of research:

The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotric War

Robert G. Poirier and Albert Z. Conner

1985

regards

Andreas

P.S. Sometimes you find a copy to sell try google with the title

[Ferdinand]

Thanks!

[Christian Zulus]

Here are some information about the 347 Rifle Division:

Crimea w/ 1 Guards Rifle Corps, 51. Army Apr 1944

347 Rifle Division - "Melitopol" Order of Red Banner, Suvorov

Dear Andreas,

interesting information, because Sgt. Gnitienko got his Glory 2cl at the Crimea from the 2nd Guards Army and not the from the 51th Army .

Gnitienko got his second Glory 2cl from the 51th Army in the Baltics.

Is it possible, that the 1175 rifle regiment and/or the 347th rifle division joined the 51th Army in summer 1944 ?

The fact is, that both armies - the 2nd Guards Army and the 51th Army - were involved in the liberation of Crimea in 1944 from the north side.

Best regards

Christian

[Ferdinand]

According to some orbat's I found on the internet the 347th Rifle Division was part of the 55th Rifle Corps, 51st Army, 4th Ukrainian Front as of December 1943. Somewhere in February 1944 the 55th Rifle Corps (consisting of the 87th, 347th and 387th Rifle Divisions) was transferred to the 2nd Guards Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front. Somewhere in May 1944 the 347th Rifle Division became part of the 1st Guards Rifle Corps of the 51st Army and the army was transferred to the Stavka Reserve. Somewhere in June the 51st Army became active again when it joined the 1st Baltic Front. Somewhere in August 1944 the 347th Rifle Division was transferred to the 10th Rifle Corps of the 51st Army, where it stayed until the end of the war.

[Alfred]

What I found is, that the 347 Rifle Division was before April 1944 part of the 51 Army and in April 1944 it was trasfered to the 2. Guards Amry.

regards

Andreas

[Christian Zulus]

Dear Auke,

dear Andreas,

many thanks for your expertise .

That's what I assumed: Sgt. Gnitienko's unit had been "borrowed" to the 2nd Guards Army for the liberation of Crimea and then transfered back to the (initial) 51th Army. Well, both armies had been fighting side by side and within the 4th Ukrainian Front during Crimean Battle.

That fact - switching of Sgt. Gnitienko's unit from one army to another and back - might be an explaination, why he got two 2nd classes of the Order of Glory:

His first Glory 2cl he got from the 2nd Guards Army and his second Glory 2cl he got from the 51th Army, due to the fact, that the staff of the 51th Army might not have recognized, that Sgt. Gnitienko already got a Glory 2cl from another army .

O.K., let's wait for the new material from our researcher - maybe it will bring some light into that error.

Best regards

Christian

[Christian Zulus]

Gentlemen,

our researcher just sent my an e-mail, that he will go on with the research in citations and recommendations .

Best regards

Christian

[Ed_Haynes]

Super! We await the rest of the story . . . .

[Christian Zulus]

Super! We await the rest of the story . . . .

I hope, we will get rather interesting line-of-fire-stories of the liberation of Crimea and "Operation Bagration" in Latvia - both in 1944 - rather soon .

Best regards

Christian

[Christian Zulus]

Ed presented a researched "Crimean" Glory 3cl of Gnitienko's comrade from the 55th Rifle Corps

Gentlemen,

Ed Haynes showed us the research of the Glory 3cl of Private Netsenko - also an Ukrainian soldier -, who got his Glory 3cl also for heroic deeds during the liberation of the Crimean peninsula in spring 1944 - 12th of may:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=22041

Also with a really great citation .

Best regards

Christian

[Ed_Haynes]

It is nice when you see these stories link up. Another way of restoring the lost history to the "things".

[Christian Zulus]

Update at "Mir Nagrad" of Gnitientko's correct s/n. for his Glory 1cl

Gentlemen,

the staff of "Mir Nagrad" http://www.mirnagrad.ru/cgi-bin/index.cgi , a website, which has a comprehensive listing of all full cavaliers of the Order of Glory, already updated Gnitienko's correct 1965 s/n. for his Glory 1cl:

http://www.mirnagrad.ru/cgi-bin/exinform.c...;ич

Best regards

Christian

BTW: I sent all the documents to them .

Edited December 26, 2007 by Christian Zulus

[Christian Zulus]

Gnitienko's younger brother, who died in 1941 ?

Gentlemen,

I just found that entry http://allaces.ru/p/people.php?id=00000001198 in the internet, which shows a Gnitienko with the ident "Father's Name":

Петр Платонович Гнитиенко (Pyotr Platonovich Gnitienko)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Страна: СССР

Годы жизни: 1913 - 25.12.1941 (ПАК)

Вид авиации: Бомбардировочная

Категория: Стрелок (стрелок-радист)

Места службы: 5 ба??25.12.41 Стрелок-радист

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Родился в 1913 г. в д. Шостаки, Супруновского с/с, Полтавской области.

25.12.41 г. в районе с. Литвиновка потерпел катастрофу самолет. Погибли командир звена ст. лейтенант В.Ф.Царьков, стрелок-бомбардир мл. лейтенант И.П.Лимаренко, стрелок-радист старшина П.П.Гнитиенко. Похоронены в с. Погорелое, на кладбище в 2 км сев.-зап. Военного городка.

Источники информации:

1. Мемориал.

2. ЦАМО, ф. 58, оп. 818883, д. 389, л. 4,5.

My knowledge of the Russian language is too weak - maybe one of our experts might translate the information in a correct way - many thanks .

Best regards

Christian

[Ferdinand]

It probably is his brother! Pyotr Platonovich Gnitienko was born in Shostaki, Poltava Oblast, in 1913, just like 'your' Gnitienko. Pyotr was a gunner-radio operator in a bomber in the 5th Bombing Aviation Regiment. He died on 25 December 1941 near the town of Litvinovka in an aircraft catastrophe. Flight commander V.F. Tsarkov, gunner-bombardier Junior Lieutenant I.P. Limarenko and gunner-radio operator Master Sergeant P.P. Gnitienko died. They are buried in the town of Pogoreloye, on the cemetary two kilometers north-west of the military post.

Auke

[Ed_Haynes]

Nice . . .

Filling in every piece of the "puzzle" is always a good thing. All we can learn in important (vital?) in restoring the lost history to these "things"!

Edited November 6, 2007 by Ed_Haynes

[Christian Zulus]

It probably is his brother! Pyotr Platonovich Gnitienko was born in Shostaki, Poltava Oblast, in 1913, just like 'your' Gnitienko. Pyotr was a gunner-radio operator in a bomber in the 5th Bombing Aviation Regiment. He died on 25 December 1941 near the town of Litvinovka in an aircraft catastrophe. Flight commander V.F. Tsarkov, gunner-bombardier Junior Lieutenant I.P. Limarenko and gunner-radio operator Master Sergeant P.P. Gnitienko died. They are buried in the town of Pogoreloye, on the cemetary two kilometers north-west of the military post.

Dear Auke,

many thanks for the translation and your expertise .

Pyotr had been 10 years younger, than "our" Gnitienko, but he died at the beginning of the GPW ...

"Our" Gnitienko entered service in the Red Army almost 40 years old - rather late -, but made a rather "heroic" career.

I guess, that the propability is almost 100 %, that the 2 Gnitienkos had been brothers.

Best regards

Christian

BTW: I hope, that I will get soon the last documents about Sgt. Gnitienko from our researcher .

[Christian Zulus]

Research of the citations is ready

Gentlemen,

yesterday I got an e-mail from our researcher, that the citations-research is finished, but that "the translation would take

about two weeks. Once it?s ready I?ll email it to you."

So, let's wait 2 weeks for the exact & detailed story of heroic deeds of Sgt. Gnitienko .

Best regards

Christian

[Ed_Haynes]

Good news, Christian! We've all been waiting. As we've been waiting for our own research!

[Christian Zulus]

Gnitienko's citations (Russian language)

Gentlemen,

I hope, that I will get the English translations in some days. Here are the origianal citations in Russian language. Maybe Rick Research might tell us the essence of Gnitienko's 3 "Order of Glory"-citiations .

Many thanks to Rick in advance .

The fact is, that Sgt. Gnitienko got first two 2nd classes of the Glory, which had been transformed in the late Brezhnev-years to a 1st class.

I will post now the pages of Gnitienko's citations beginning with his Glory 3cl.

Best regards

Christian

Edited December 5, 2007 by Christian Zulus

[Christian Zulus]

Glory 3cl av

[Christian Zulus]

Glory 3cl rv

[Christian Zulus]

Glory 2cl av

[Christian Zulus]

Glory 2cl rv

[Christian Zulus]

Glory 1cl av & rv (first: 2nd 2cl)

[Christian Zulus]

Gnitenko's citations

Gentlemen,

sorry .... , I am still waiting for the translations of the citations and I didn't receive till now any help from GMIC-members .

Maybe our researcher might send the translations as a x-mas gift to me .

Best regards

Christian

Gnitienko's citations (Russian language)

Gentlemen,

I hope, that I will get the English translations in some days. Here are the origianal citations in Russian language. Maybe Rick Research might tell us the essence of Gnitienko's 3 "Order of Glory"-citiations .

Many thanks to Rick in advance .

The fact is, that Sgt. Gnitienko got first two 2nd classes of the Glory, which had been transformed in the late Brezhnev-years to a 1st class.

I will post now the pages of Gnitienko's citations beginning with his Glory 3cl.

Best regards

Christian