Russia – Soviet: A Head of Staff of a Railway Brigade’s Order of the Red Banner to Colonel Aleksandr Lavrentievich Gatsenko, 19th Railway Brigade for his part in the reconstruction of the Rzeszow-Debica-Tarnow-Krakow Railway Line immediately after the Red Army advance as part of the Vistula-Oder Offensive.
Order of the Red Banner, type 3, variation 1 numbered 177867
Condition: Good very fine
Aleksandr Lavrientievich Gatsenko was born in the village of Avdeevka, Donestk Region in 1905, joining the Red Army in 1925 as a Volunteer at the Ukrainian Cavalry School, Kirovograd, and serving at the front in the Great Patriotic War from October 1942 onwards as the Head of Staff of the 19th Railway Brigade.
Gatsenko was to receive a number of awards during the Great Patriotic War, the first being an Order of the Red Star by Order of the Voronezh Front on 8th April 1943, most likely for a role in the post Stalingrad offensives on that part of the front, which retook Voronezh and a number of other important towns before the German counter-attack that took place in early March.
The next award to be received was an Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class awarded to him on 13th September 1943, and then an Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class, both of these would have bene related to the post-Kursk counter attacks and the resulting general offensive that resulted in the liberation of Eastern Ukraine.
On 3rd November 1944 Gatsenko was to receive an Order of the Red Star for 15 years long service in the Red Army. In January 1945 as part of the Vistula-Oder offensive, he was assigned to the 1st Ukrainian Front for their advance across Poland, and it was for his part in the rebuilding and reverting the gauge of the railways to enable Russian trains to run over them that he was awarded this Order of the Red Banner by Order of 1st Ukrainian Front on 11th June 1945
‘As a head of Staff of the brigade, Colonel comrade Gatsenko conducted great work for organisation of reconstruction of the railway line Rzeszow-Debica-Tarnow-Krakow. In the short period available, he assured the deployment of the brigade on the new line, which allowed prompt start of the reconstruction works.
Thanks to him, the operational command of the troops and the quality control was efficient. He promptly eliminated deficiencies in the processes, which actively assisted in successful reconstruction of the railway line.
His personal initiative, persistence, scrupulousness, and efficient organisation of the Headquarters contributes greatly to finishing the reconstruction work ahead of the schedule on the railway stretch Rzeszow-Debica-Tarnow-Krakow. In its turn, this opened the railway connection for military purposes in time assigned by the Command.
For excellent execution of the combat objectives, Colonel Gatsenko deserves order ‘Red Banner’.
Signed by Commander of 19th Railway Brigade, Major General of the Technical Corps Zhukov.
After the war, Gatsenko continued to serve as the Head of Staff of the 19th Railway Brigade, and was subsequently awarded the Order of the Red Banner for 20 years long service on 6th November 1945, and an Order of Lenin for 25 years long service on 15th November 1950. Gatsenko was resident at Lomonosova Street, 41, Novaya Bavaria, Kharkov on 22nd July 1946.
