Russia – Soviet: A fine ‘destruction of the Halbe Pocket’ Order of the Red Banner awarded to Guards Major Aleksandr Kovlovskii, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the 7th Separate Guards Ant-Tank Artillery ‘Tarnopolskii’ ‘Order of Lenin and Red Banner’ Brigade, 1st Ukrainian Front, a veteran of the fighting for Stalingrad, Kursk, the Dnieper Crossing, the cities of Kiev, Zhitomir, Tarnopol, Lvov and Krakow and finally for the Spree River, he was instrumental in the defence against the breakout of the German 9th Army in the Cottbus region and surrounding areas in later April 1945, killing up to 200 German soldiers and taking 80 enemy prisoners whilst the Germans tried to escape their encirclement and flee west to surrender to the Americans on the Elbe.
Order of the Red Banner, type 4, numbered 246880
Condition: a small area of enamel replaced near the flagpole, original gilding remains, overall Good very fine
Guards Major in the Reserves Aleksandr Petrovich Kozlovsky was born in the city of Kalesniskiiku, Khielachsk Raion, Smolensk Oblast in 1907. A Russian by nationality he served in the Red Army from June 1941 until December 1945.
He was to receive 4 numbered awards during the Patriotic War, the first of which was an order of the Red Star on 25th August 1943, the second an Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class on 20th January 1945, the third an Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class on 17th May 1945 and the final being this Order of the Red Banner issued to him on 8th June 1945 for his part in the destruction of the Halbe Pocket to the southeast of Berlin.
During the course of his service, Kozlovsky is noted as serving in the Liberation of the Western Ukraine and Belorussia in 1939, and then in the Patriotic War from July 1941 onwards, the Leningrad Front in July 1942, the Stalingrad Front from January 1943 (presumably in Operation Ring, the destruction of the German Sixth Army that began on 10th January 1943), the Voronezh Front, immediately after the battle of Kursk and finally as part of the 1st Ukrainian Front in the final advance into Germany.
This Order of the Red Banner was awarded to him whilst a Guards Major, and the Deputy Chief of Staff, 7th Separate Guards Anti-Tank Artillery Tarnopol’skii, Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner Brigade as a result of the following citation:
‘Guards Major Kozlovskii served in the Patriotic War from 1941 in the battles of Stalingrad, Kursk Arch, the crossing of the Dnieper and for the cities of Kiev, Zhitomir, Tarnopol, Lvov and Krakow, in the operations for the enemy defences on the Spree River, the destruction of the surrounded enemy groups northwest of Cottbus with valour and courage.
A veteran of the brigade, Guards Major Kozlovsky held the position of primary Deputy Chief of Staff of the Brigade, often precisely directing the regiments during combat operations.
A knowledgeable artillerist, always pleasant in every situation, operationally he brought to the sections, the orders of the commander of the brigade, controlled and assisted the commanders of the regiments, he assisted in the successful accomplishments of their missions.
In the battle for the destruction of the surrounded enemy group, when the staff of the brigade with the 321st Guards Anti-Tank Artilley Regiment in the period 27 to 29 April in the absence of two regiments of the brigade he organised the all-around defence of the staff of the brigade in the region of Tarnow, and personally showed bravery. Due to his skilful assessment of the situation the fierce attacks of the enemy from the east and southeast of Tarnow were twice beaten off. During the repulse of the counterattacks 200 Germans were killed and up to 80 enemy soldiers were taken prisoner.
For demonstrating personal bravery and valour in repulsing the enemy counterattack Guards Major Kozlovsky is recommended for the high military award of the Order of the Red Banner.’
Signed by the Chief of Staff, 7 Separate Guards Anti-Tank Artillery Tarnopol Order of Lenin, Order of Red Banner Brigade Guards Lieutenant Colonel Malakhov.
Kozlovksy’s unit fought against the German 9th Army which had been trapped in the Halbe Pocket to the southeast of the city of Berlin, it desperately tried to extricate itself and escape to the west to surrender to the Western Allies. General Wenck’s 12th Army which Hitler had ordered to fight towards Berlin and relieve the city, instead fought to the southeast to open the escape route. Upwards of 40,000 Germans are believed to have been killed in the fighting and an even higher of Soviet troops. The area along the Berlin-Dresden highway is now littered with the graves of Soldiers of both sides.
After the war Kozlovsky served as a Chief of Section at the ‘Linotip’ Factory in Leningrad, and lived at the Pushkarskai building in the city of Leningrad.
