Soviet OPW2 to tank brigade commissar

[Ferdinand]

I thought I'd post one of my latest research results. This OPW 2nd Class (nr. 98320) was awarded to Guards Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Vasilyevich Logachov, the deputy commander for political affairs (and chief of the Political Section) of the 162nd Guards Tank Brigade. Effectively he was the brigade's second in command and chief commissar.

There are several interesting things about his career. Logachov was conscripted into the army in 1929, he attended a short officer course, he commanded a tank, and after just over a year he was discharged. In July 1940, even though he was a civilian at the time, he was promoted to Senior Political Officer [equivalent to Army Captain]. He was drafted again in March 1941 and immediately sent off to Moscow to attend an accelerated course at the renowned Lenin Military Political Academy. He graduated in July 1942, but already in June he had been promoted to Battalion Commissar (Major). Upon graduation he was assigned as deputy commander for political affairs of the newly formed 239th Tank Brigade. Amazingly, at this point his only frontline experience was his year of service 12 years earlier.

In July 1943 he was appointed deputy commander for political affairs of the 162nd Tank Brigade, a position he would hold for exactly two years. The brigade fought briefly during the summer, and by late August it was back in reserve, probably to reinforce each brigade with an extra tank battalion, now equipped with nothing but T-34 tanks (probably mostly T-34/85 models). The brigade then took part in the massive crossing of the Dnieper River, passed Kiev, took part in the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation in July 1944, the Vistula-Oder Operation at the end of 1944, and advanced toward the Order River. In May 1945 it ended the war near Berlin.

After the war the brigade was reorganized as a tank regiment, stationed in Germany, with Logachov still as its chief commissar. Starting in 1950 he occupied several rather modest political positions. In March 1958 he was discharged.

This is a TOE (Table of Organization and Equipment) I made, showing the 162nd Tank Brigade's strength in January 1944 after its latest refitting.

Edited July 19, 2013 by Ferdinand

[Ferdinand]

Record card

Order booklet nr. A-490164

1. Last name: Logachov

2. First name and patronymic: Vasily Vasilyevich

3. Military rank: Guards Lieutenant Colonel

4. Sex: Male

5. Year of birth: 1908

6. Place of birth: City of Shuya, Ivanovo Oblast

7. Party membership (since which year): Member of the Communist Party since 1928

8. Education: Higher

9. Nationality: Russian

10. Since which year in the Red Army: Since April 1941

11. Place of service (name of the unit) and position occupied at the time of the award: Deputy commander for political affairs of the 162nd Tank Brigade, 25th Tank Corps

12. Current place of service and position: Deputy commander for political affairs of the 162nd Tank Battalion, 25th Independent Tank Regiment

13. Home address of the awardee: City of Shuya, Ivanovo Oblast

14. Record of all awards received:

- Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class nr. 98320, temporary certificate nr. B-162854, awarded by Order of the 13th Army nr. 44/N of February 21, 1944

- Order of the Red Banner nr. 137496, temporary certificate nr. G-146604, awarded by Order of the 1st Ukrainian Front nr. 0132/N of September 22, 1944

- Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class nr. 168680, temporary certificate nr. Ye-118018, awarded by Order of the commander of the Armored and Mechanized Forces of the 1st Ukrainian Front nr. 023/N of April 12, 1945

- Medal for Combat Merit, unnumbered, order booklet nr. A-490164, awarded by Decree of November 15, 1950

- Order of the Red Star, nr. 3393921, order booklet nr. A-490164, awarded by Decree of October 26, 1955

Signature of the awardee: [signed]

I confirm the correctness of the data and the signature of the awardee (position and signature):

Commander of the 162nd Tank Battalion

Lieutenant Colonel [signed] /Batalov/

March 18, 1947

[Ferdinand]

Award sheet

All fields to be filled out fully

1. Last name, first name and patronymic: Logachov, Vasily Vasilyevich
2. Rank: Guards Major
3. Position and unit: Deputy commander for political affairs of the 162nd Novograd-Volynsky Tank Brigade
Nominated for: Order of the Red Banner
4. Year of birth: 1907
5. Nationality: Russian
6. Party affiliation: Member of the Communist Party
7. Participation in the Civil War and the subsequent combat actions to defend the USSR (where and when): In the Patriotic War since 1941
8. Wounds and contusions received during the Patriotic War: No
9. Since when in the Red Army: 1932
10. Drafted by which military commissariat: Military Commissariat of the Poshekhono-Volodarsk Raion
11. Awards received previously: None
12. Permanent home address (of the prospective awardee or his family): ______________

Short, concrete description of his combat feat or merits:

During the period in which the brigade was formed, Guards Major Logachov made every effort in selecting cadre members and unify the battalions and the brigade as a whole.

During the brigade's combat operations between December 18, 1943 and January 3, 1944 he was continuously present among the combat formations, commanding the units and simultaneously properly instructing the Party and Komsomol members. This contributed to the assigned mission as a whole being accomplished.

As a result of his capable and untiring leadership during combat operations, the brigade killed 1060 soldiers and officers, killed 266 horses and captured 80, destroyed 21 mounted machine guns, 32 mortars, 32 cannons, 4 mortar batteries, 1 six-barrel mortar, 2 aircraft, 2 armored personnel carriers, 27 tanks, 10 armored cars, 89 trucks, 2 Ferdinand self-propelled guns, and 5 handheld radio transceivers. 1500 civilians that had been driven away to Germany were liberated.

For the bravery and courage he displayed and for skillfully commanding his units in battle, he deserves the Order of the Red Banner.

Commander of the 162nd Novograd-Volynsky Tank Brigade
Lieutenant Colonel [signed] /Shalygin/
January 9, 1944

He deserves to be awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Commander of the 25th Tank Corps
Major General of the Tank Forces [signed] /Anikushkin/
January 31, 1944

He deserves to be awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Commander of the Armored and Mechanized Forces of the 13th Army
Major General [signed] /Korolyov/
February ..., 1944

He deserves to be awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class.

Chief of the Political Section of the 13th Army
Colonel [signed] /Voronov/
February ..., 1944

He deserves to be awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class.

Commander of the 13th Army
Lieutenant General [signed] /Pukhov/

Member of the Military Council
Major General [signed] /Kozlov/
February 3, 1944

Decorated by Army Order nr. 44/N of February 21, 1944.

[Ferdinand]

A T-34/85 medium tank, the standard tank of the 162nd Tank Brigade in early 1944.

[Ferdinand]

And the order itself:

[JapanX]

Nice one!

He listed here

http://www.tankfront.ru/ussr/tbr/tbr162.html#bchsref

[Ferdinand]

I saw that Always nice when your recipient is mentioned somewhere on the Internet...

[Paul R]

Beautiful order!

I forget... which is higher? ORS or OGPW2?

[Ferdinand]

OPW2 is higher.

Red Stars were awarded by divisions or higher formations, while OPWs could be only awarded by corps or higher formations.

[JapanX]

Official order of ribbons has all answers

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/files/file/100-ussr-ribbon-chart/

[Rogi]

Very cool find Thanks for sharing it with us

[Guest Rick Research]

As an old archive miner, this sort of career always makes me more curious. He obviously must have had some sort of senior civilian political commissar "clout" to be transferred into the army at what would seem to be his non-military Party level. And yet he hung around after the war in uniform without further advancement until nudged out for too-long-in-grade and... no military pension.

Then what?

In so many other countries we could track a civilian life. Maybe some day, some day... the rest of a fascinating story will be known.

For are not all archive miners brothers?