Soviet Sergeant Gnitienko's "Glory-Trio"

[Christian Zulus]

Translations of Gnitienko's citations

Gentlemen,

my x-mas gift has come .

Here are the translations of the citations for Glory 3cl & Glory 2cl:

Best regards

Christian

Edited December 23, 2007 by Christian Zulus

[Christian Zulus]

Citation Glory 1cl (first: 2nd 2cl)

[Ed_Haynes]

Quite a Christmas gift!

I still await Comrade Santa to deliver my missing-in-inaction translations.

[Christian Zulus]

Quite a Christmas gift!

I still await Comrade Santa to deliver my missing-in-inaction translations.

Dear Ed,

many thanks .

I think, these had been quite heroic - and "Glory-typical" - deeds, which Sgt. Gnitienko as a section leader of a machinge-gun company fullfilled for getting his 3 Orders of Glory:

- rescuing 4 heavily wounded comrades from the battle field

- doing a dangerous reconnaissance mission beyond the fortified "Tatar Wall" just before the beginning of the operation for liberating the Crimea

- storming & capturing the fortified heights "Bezymyannya" close to Sevastopol at the Crimea and being the first in the enemy trench

- capture of the Latvian town Jelgava, the most distant point in northwest direction during the "Operation Bagration"

- AND killing numerous "Hitlerites" (officers & soldiers) with his personal weapon

He took part - and earned his Glories - at two major operations in the history of WW II:

- liberation of the Crimea (spring 1944)

- "Operation Bagration" (summer 1944)

He got all his Glories very, very early and his citation for the (later) Glory 1cl is one of the very first citations (july 1944!) for the Order of Glory 1st class .

Sgt. Gnitienko had been a man from the working class, 40 years old, twice wounded and not a member of the communist party. He was born in Poltava and moved after the GPW to Charkov.

Best regards

Christian

Edited December 26, 2007 by Christian Zulus

[Christian Zulus]

The locations, where Sgt. Gnitienko got his 3 Orders of Glory

Gentlemen,

he got his Glory 3cl for a reconnaissance mission (and rescuing 4 comrades) beyond the "Tatar Wall" just before the beginning of the operation for liberating the Crimea at the Perekop Isthmus:

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isthmus_of_Perekop" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isthmus_of_Perekop</a>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Crimea_(1944)" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Crimea_(1944)</a>

His Glory 2cl he got for storming and capturing the fortified heights "Bezymyannya" (= "No Name" Hill) north of Sevastopol and close to fort "Maxim Gorki I". The site "Bezymyannya" is a hill-top fortress overlooking the Valley of Balaklavah, where the famous Crimean War battle, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," took place. Here is a view from the helicopter of the site:

Sgt. Gnitienko got his Glory 1cl in Latvia during the "Operation Bagration" for fightings in the streets of the town Jelgava (= Mitava or Mitau in German language). Jelgava is south-west of the Latvian capital Riga.

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelgava" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelgava</a>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Bagration" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Bagration</a>

The commander of the 51th Army had been the famous Jewish General Yakov Kreizer.

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakov_Kreizer" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakov_Kreizer</a>

Here is a map of "Bagration" showing at the north-west-corner the 51th Army at Jelgava:

Best regards

Christian

Edited January 9, 2008 by Christian Zulus

[Christian Zulus]

Why Sgt. Gnitienko got two Orders of Glory 2cl ?

Gentlemen,

I think, the reasons had been:

- the very sloppy hand-written citation of his first Glory 2cl

- the exchange of unit-commanders between "Crimea" and "Bagration"

The staff might have overseen his citation of his Crimean Glory 2cl and just saw the typed citation of his Glory 3cl. So he got another Glory 2cl.

Gentlemen, what do you think about the reasons, why Gnitienko got Glory 2cl twice ?

The fact is, that such cases happened very, very often, that comrades finished the GPW with two Glory 3cl or two Glory 2cl. I think, that there are several hundred of such cases.

Best regards

Christian

Edited December 23, 2007 by Christian Zulus

[Christian Zulus]

Gnitienko's citations in a more "readable" form

Gentlemen,

I transfered carefully the translations into a more "readable" English (and corrected some geographic terms) and put all 3 citations together:

Great stories .

Best regards

Christian

Edited December 26, 2007 by Christian Zulus

[Christian Zulus]

Gnitienko's photographs

Gentlemen,

these are two photographs of Sgt. Gnitienko in his late years.

One before he received his deserved Glory 1cl and another after he got his hughe golden star:

Gnitienko in the year 1980:

Gnitienko in the year 1981:

For my taste, our comrade looks a bit more satisfied with Glory 1cl, 2cl & 3cl on his jacket .

Best regards

Christian

[Ed_Haynes]

Thanks for all the background, Christian. It helps to fill out the story.

[Bryan]

Very interesting that his 2nd Class was upgraded much more later for a 1st Class. I didn't even know one could have 2 Glories 2nd Class.

What's also interesting is that he got his awards in a very short period of time in the same area.

That was a good move to research you crown jewel!

[Christian Zulus]

Very interesting that his 2nd Class was upgraded much more later for a 1st Class. I didn't even know one could have 2 Glories 2nd Class.

What's also interesting is that he got his awards in a very short period of time in the same area.

That was a good move to research your crown jewel!

Dear Bryan,

many thanks for your remarks .

That might be THE point, that Gnitienko got his Glories too fast - within 4 months time! .

The historic fact is, that the two very first Orders of Glory 1st class had been confered to lance corporal M. T. Pitenin and senior sergeant K. K. Shevtshenko at the 22nd of july 1944. Another fact is, that Gnitienko fullfilled his heroic deeds in the Latvian town Jelgava end of july / beginning of august 1944, as you can read from the citation, just a few days later, as the first Orders of Glory 1st class had been awarded. So, Gnitienko was actually one of the first awardees with the Order of Glory 1st class .

Maybe the 51th Army didn't know, that it was already possible to award soldiers with a Glory 1cl ?

Maybe the sloppy handwritten citation of Gnitienko's Glory 2cl stayed with the 2nd Guards Army and was not transfered to Kreizer's 51th Army ?

Gnitienko got his full cavalier set of Glory in three different aeras:

- "Tatar Wall", Perekop Isthmus

- fortified heights "Bezymyannya", norhteast of Sevastopol (160km away from Perekop Isthmus!)

- Jelgava, Latvia

For actions in the same aera, you usually get only one award.

The problem - why Gnitienko got his 1cl so late - might have been, that the Glory 1cl is exclusivly awarded by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet - as the HSU. Such a procedure takes time and the Supreme Soviet had a lot of other duties, than to exchange wrong orders ... AND Gnitienko wasn't a member of the communist party and left the Red Army just after the end of the GPW in 1945 ...

The Order of Glory is still awarded - catch-up or maybe even exchange - by the government of the Russian Federation to veterans (or their heirs) of the GPW.

Best regards

Christian

[Christian Zulus]

104th birthday of Sgt. Gnitienko (today)

27th anniversary of getting the Glory 1cl (tomorrow)

Gentlemen,

today (and tomorrow) is a great day for Sgt. Gnitienko & me: His birthday and the day, when he got his Glory 1cl.

As usually - since 1995 - I celebrate both events around midnight in commemoration to comrade Gnitienko: His deeds and his contribution to the liberation of his motherland will never be forgotten!

Years ago - before my "crown juwels" were stored in a bank-safe - I always took his Glories out, put them on a red velvet bolster, arranged some candles around the bolster, invited some military-interested friends and we watched the "Victory Parade 1995" (with the veterans ) on video - and emptied some bottles of Chianti Classico Riserva or of other fine wines from Tuscany .

Thanks for all the background, Christian. It helps to fill out the story.

Dear Ed,

many thanks for your remarks .

Some more aspects, to fill out Gnitienko's story:

He entered the Red Army at the 5th of november 1943, when his unit already reached the "Tatar Wall" at the Perekop Isthmus (entrance to the Crimea).

Gnitienko was there wounded at 13th of december 1943 for the first time (there had been smaller fightings at the "Tatar Wall" from autumn 1943 to spring 1944, till the hughe operation for the liberation of the Crimea started).

Gnitienko was wounded at the 9th of april 1944 for the second time - just three days after he received his Glory 3cl and one day after the massive assault of the 2nd Guards Army for the liberation of the Crimea started - two weeks later, Gnitienko got his Glory 2cl!

He left the Red Army after the GPW in 1945.

1985 Gnitienko got a OPW 1cl, due to the fact, that he had been wounded during the GPW.

Best regards

Christian

Edited January 10, 2008 by Christian Zulus

[Christian Zulus]

Our veteran's civil occupation before and after the GPW

Gentlemen,

thanks to the translation of Auke "Ferdinand" http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=232818 I can complete now the (labour & military) biography of Sgt. Gnitienko. The result is a very homgenous one :

He worked as a brigadier (= foreman) leading a railroad repair brigade before entering active service in the GPW. I guess, that Gnitienko & his team repaired the ruined tracks, which left the Germans rather destroyed during their withdrawl at the Eastern Front (he joined in november 1943 the Red Army).

During his GPW-duty Gnitienko was Sergeant and a section leader (= almost the same position as a brigadier in civil life, leading a small group of comrades) in a machine-gun company.

After the war (1945) he got - maybe due to his 3 Orders of Glory (3cl, 2cl + another 2cl) - the better paid job of a crane operator at a fuel depot (such jobs are rather well paid in the West and I guess, also in the East). He moved from Poltava to Charkov.

Best regards

Christian

BTW: Gnitienko had been already too old (and retired) for getting "Orders of Labour Glory". Otherwise he would have been a candidate for getting one or two Labour Glories, as the (younger) full cavalier of Glory, Gennady Korjukov, who got - in addition to his 3 (military) Glories - a Labour Glory 3cl & 2cl in later years (from the small Putnikov-booklet). I don't think, that there any double cavaliers: Glory & Labour Glory ?

Edited January 10, 2008 by Christian Zulus

[Riley1965]

Christian,

I am glad to hear that Sergeant Gnitienko's "Glory-Trio" is the real deal!!! Congrats One day I might have something close to that.

Doc

[Christian Zulus]

I am glad to hear that Sergeant Gnitienko's "Glory-Trio" is the real deal!!! Congrats One day I might have something close to that.

Dear Doc,

many thanks for the congratulations .

As I already pointed out at the "Nakhimov-Medal-thread" http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=230106 , our researcher did THE job perfectly and without the advice and motivation of you and some other collector-friends here at GMIC, I wouldn't have invested several hundred of USD into the research - thousend thanks to you and to the others .

I was lucky, because it turned out, that our Sgt. Gnitienko was almost a "prototype" full cavalier of the Order of Glory with great & couragous citations from historic important battles: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=229303

You can read in Gnitienko's citation for his Glory 3cl, that he had been also active in your military profession as a field medic: He brought forth 4 heavily wounded comrades from the enemy trench and from the battle field during a reconnaissance mission beyond the "Tatar Wall".

As long, as the Russian economy keeps on booming and the exchange rate of the USD slides down, such groups will stay expensive - but who knows, what the future will bring.

For me, Gnitienko's Glory-Trio is much more important as a matter of keeping up the memory of a Soviet working class GPW-Hero and as a part of WW II-history, than as an mere investment, as I mentioned in that post: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=230004

Best regards

Christian

Edited January 8, 2008 by Christian Zulus

[Riley1965]

Dear Doc,

many thanks for the congratulations .

As I already pointed out at the "Nakhimov-Medal-thread", our researcher did THE job perfectly and without the advice and motivation of you and some other collector-friends here at GMIC, I wouldn't have invested several hundred of USD into the research - thousend thanks to you and to the others .

I was lucky, because it turned out, that our Sgt. Gnitienko was almost a "prototype" full cavalier of the Order of Glory with great & couragous citations from historic important battles: <a href="http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=229303" target="_blank">http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=229303</a> .

You can read in Gnitienko's citation for his Glory 3cl, that he had been also active in your military profession as a field medic: He brought forth 4 heavily wounded comrades from the enemy trench and from the battle field during a reconnaissance mission beyond the "Tatar Wall".

As long, as the Russian economy keeps on booming and the exchange rate of the USD slides down, such groups will stay expensive - but who knows, what the future will bring.

For me, Gnitienko's Glory-Trio is much more important as a matter of keeping up the memory of a Soviet working class GPW-Hero and as a part of WW II-history, than as an mere investment, as I mentioned in that post: <a href="http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=230004" target="_blank">http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=230004</a> .

Best regards

Christian

Christian,

Was he a Medic? Or did he bring his wounded comrades off of the front to an Battle Aid Station?

Doc

[Christian Zulus]

Was he a Medic? Or did he bring his wounded comrades off of the front to an Battle Aid Station?

Dear Doc,

no, not at all! He had been - as a sergeant - just an ordinary commander of section in a machine-gun company (= leader of a sub-division; group inside a platoon).

During a reconnaissance mission 1100 meters beyond the fortified "Tatar Wall" in the Perekop region, at the western entrance to the Crimean Peninsula, Gnitienko and his team made some "action" inside the German trenches, 4 comrades had been heavily wounded and our sergeant managed to bring them off of the front to a Battle Aid Station. For that deed, he had been awarded with the Glory 3cl.

I guess, that Gnitienko had no "special" education at all: Till end of 1943 he repaired as a brigadier (= foreman) with his team railroads, then served as a sergeant (Crimea & Baltics), promoted to a Cavalier of the Order of Glory and after the GPW (1945) he worked as a crane operator at a fuel depot.

Best regards

Christian

[Riley1965]

Sergeant Gnitienko was indeed a heroic man.

Doc

[Christian Zulus]

Gentlemen,

here are some additional pics, I shot recently.

Best regards

Christian

"Glory-Trio"

[Christian Zulus]

Glory 1cl

[Christian Zulus]

Glory 2cl

[Christian Zulus]

Glory 2cl (details)

[Christian Zulus]

Glory 3cl

[Christian Zulus]

Glory 3cl (rv.)

[Christian Zulus]

Gentlemen,

a created a special album on facebook, dealing with sergeant Gnitienko's "Glory-Trio". Have a look:

http://www.facebook....=3&l=4f0e9af72d

Best regards

Christian

Edited March 13, 2012 by Christian Zulus