Russia – Soviet: An early Operation Bagration Order of Glory 3rd Class awarded to Guards Junior Sergeant Nikolai Grigor’evich Bolotov, a Submachine Gunner, 210th Guards Rifle Regiment, 71st Guards ‘Vitebsk’ Division, 6th Guards Army, Leningrad Front, who after meeting a group of enemy soldiers, used his submachine gun to kill three and capture four German soldiers., he had seen service throughout the Great Patriotic War being wounded in January 1943 and again in July 1944.
Order of Glory 3rd Class, type 2, numbered 678944
Condition: Good very fine
Nikolai Grigor’evich Bolotov was a Russian born in 1923 in the city of Afopisho, Anpudipovskii, Ketobskii Region, Gor’kovskii Oblast. He joined the Red Army on 10th May 1941. During the Great Patriotic War he was seriously wounded twice in January 1943 and 1st July 1944.
This Order of Glory 3rd Class was the only decoration he received during the War, and was awarded for his actions during Operation Bagration in Belarus. The award recommendation states:
‘In the battle of 23rd June 1944, in the region of Derevni Gusakovo, Bitebeskii Oblast, with the fire of his submachine gun, he met a group of enemy soldiers, killing three and capturing four German soldiers.’ Recommended for the high award of the Order of the Red Star, dated 19th July 1944 and signed by Guards Lieutenant Colonel Grivomlin, the Commander of the 210th Guards Rifle Regiment.
The Order of Glory was established in 1943 as the highest ‘soldiers only’ (enlisted men and NCOs) award and was given only for direct combat with the enemy. Its statues defined 32 feats for which the award could be granted.
The 6th Guards Army saw considerable action during the war. Formed on 16th April 1943 from the 21st Army, it fought under the command of the Voronezh, 1st Baltic, 2nd Baltic, and Leningrad Fronts from its inception until the end of the war. In 1943 the army fought in the Battle of Kursk. During the summer of 1944, the army fought in Operation Bagration, the Polotsk Offensive, the Siauliai Offensive and the Riga Offensive. During the Battle of Memel, the army helped drive German troops into what became the Courland Pocket. The 6th Guards Army was one of the Soviet formations committed to besieging German Army Group Kurland in the Courland Peninsula. This was a lengthy operation that continued until the Germans in Courland surrendered on 12th May 1945, four days after the official conclusion of the war. Post-war, the army was stationed in the Baltic region until its disbandment in 1947.
Guards Corporal Bolotov survived the War and was released from the Red Army in November 1946. He returned to work as a well digger on a collective farm in his home town.
The Order of Glory was established on 8th November 1943 as the highest “soldier’s only” - enlisted men and NCO’s award, and was given only for direct combat with the enemy.