Russia – Soviet: A Long Service Award of the Order of the Red Banner awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Prokopy Yefimovich Platonov, the Regional Military Commandant’s Office, 2nd Guards Mechanized Army, a much decorated officer who was also to receive another Order of the Red Banner, an Order of Aleksandr Nevsky, Two Orders of the Patriotic War 2nd Class, an Order of the Red Star, a Medal for Combat Merit and a Medal for Courage, he had seen combat at Warsaw and Berlin amongst other locations during the Great Patriotic War.
Order of the Red Banner, type 4 numbered 507257
Condition: Good Very Fine
Prokopy Yefimovich Platoonov was born in the village of Verkohovino, Nikolsk Raion, Vologda Oblast in 1913 and served in the Red Army from 11th October 1935. A highly decorated officer who served throughout the Great Patriotic War and for at least a decade afterwards.
Platonov’s first award was a Medal for Courage by Order of the 13th Army on 12th August 1942, this could be for a number of actions, some awards of around this date were late awards for 1941 where 13th Army was heavily involved in the defences of Minsk, Smolensk and Moscow, as part of the Bryansk Front the army also fought in the winter attacks around the Moscow area during the course of December 1941-March 1942.
After this award and at some point before August 1944, Platonov transferred to the 5th Shock Army, when as part of the Jassy-Kishinev offensive this unit participated in the invasion and surrender of Romania. On 12th August 1944 he was to receive his first Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class this most likely an award for earlier in the summer during the clearing of western Ukraine up to the Polish/Hungarian/Romanian Borders. This was quickly followed by a second Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class on 10th October 1944, this most likely another award for the Jassy-Kishinev Offensive.
In late October the 5th Shock Army transferred to the 1st Belarussian Front where it later in January took part in the Warsaw-Poznan Offensive, a part of the major Red Army Offensive that began on 12th January and took the Red Army to the River Oder just 50kms from Berlin by the end of January/early February 1945. On 22nd February 1945, Platonov was awarded an Order of the Red Banner by 5th Shock Army presumably for his role in the winter offensive.
5th Shock Army led the assault on Berlin with an attack over the Seelow Heights and into the western suburbs, it was involved in some of the heaviest fighting in the city. It was most likely for a leadership role in this offensive, that Platonov was awarded the Order of Aleksandr Nevsky on 23rd May 1945.
As well as his wartime decorations, Platonov was entitled to the Medal for the Liberation of Warsaw, Medal for the Capture of Berlin and the Medal for the Victory over Germany.
Continuing to serve in the Red Army after the war, Platonov was to receive a series of medals for long service. The first award was a Medal for Combat Merit, issued to him on 6th November 1945 for 10 years long service, the next an Order of the Red Star on 15th November 1950 for 10 years long service and finally this award of the Red Banner for 20 years long service was awarded to him on 30th December 1955.
By the time of this final award of the Order of the Red Banner, Platonov was acting as Regional Military Commandant in the 102nd Regional Military Commandant’s Office, 2nd Guards Mechanised Army he was living in the village of Verkhovino, Nikolsk Raion, Vologda Oblast.
An interesting award to a much decorated Red Army Officer
