Nikolai Vychuzhanin

Nikolai Vychuzhanin
Native name	Николай Алексеевич Вычужанин
Born	23 February 1919 Ashkeldino, Tonkinsky Volost, Varnavinsky Uyezd, Kostroma Governorate, RSFSR
Died	26 June 1964 (aged 45) Adayevka, Kamyshninsky District, Kostanay Region, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	Red Army
Years of service	1939–45
Rank	Junior lieutenant
Unit	37th Guards Rifle Division
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of Stalingrad Byelorussian Strategic Offensive
Awards	Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin Order of the Red Banner

Nikolai Alexeyevich Vychuzhanin (Russian: Николай Алексеевич Вычужанин; 23 February 1919 – 26 June 1964) was a Red Army junior lieutenant and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Vychuzhanin was awarded the title on 15 January 1944 for his actions in crossing the Dnieper in eastern Belarus, in which he commanded a 37th Guards Rifle Division machine gun platoon. Vychuzhanin's platoon, according to his Hero of the Soviet Union citation, repulsed 20 counterattacks, killing up to 400 German soldiers. After the war, Vychuzhanin left the army and worked successively in a village and a Machine and tractor station.^[1]

Early life

Vychuzhanin was born on 23 February 1919 to a peasant family in Ashkeldino, Kostroma Governorate (now Nizhny Novgorod Oblast's Tonkinsky District). He graduated from fifth grade and became a brigadier of tractor drivers. In 1939, he was drafted into the Red Army.^[1]

World War II

Vychuzhanin fought in combat during World War II from 1942. He joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1943. Vychuzhanin fought in the Battle of Stalingrad, becoming commander of a machine gun platoon in the 37th Guards Rifle Division's 118th Guards Rifle Regiment. In September and October 1943, he fought in the crossing of the Desna River and the Sozh River. On 17 October 1943 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for his actions in the crossing of the rivers.^[2]

On 21 October, Vychuzhanin crossed the Dnieper with his platoon near Starodubka in Loyew District. His platoon covered the regiment's crossing with machine gun fire. In the battles for the bridgehead, he fought in the German trenches, capturing two light machine guns and reportedly using them to kill a German anti-tank gun crew and a mortar crew. His platoon was reported to have repulsed twenty counterattacks, killing up to 400 German soldiers. On 15 January 1944, Vychuzhanin was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin for his actions.^[1][3]

Postwar

Vychuzhanin was discharged from the Red Army after the war. He lived and worked in the village of Adayevka in the Kamyshninsky District of Kostanay Region in northwestern Kazakhstan. Vychuzhanin participated in the Virgin Lands Campaign. Vychuzhanin died on 26 June 1964^[1] and was buried in Adayevka.^[4]

Legacy

A street in Tonkino was named for Vychuzhanin. There is a memorial plaque on the building of the former regional agricultural machinery department.^[1]

References

1. "Nikolai Vychuzhanin". Герои страны ("Heroes of the Country") (in Russian).
2. Order No. 203 of the 65th Army, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
3. Hero of the Soviet Union citation, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
4. Dandybayev, Farid (11 September 2014). "Звезда из нержавеющей стали" [Stainless Steel Star]. Kostanaysky Novosti (in Russian). Retrieved 28 November 2016.