Russia – Soviet: An Interesting Engineering Major’s Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class awarded to Pavel Grigoryevich Danilov, the head of the 3rd Guards Tank Army’s Signal Equipment Repair Depot who having served with the Red Army from October 1932, saw frontline service from May 1942, seeing service during the Third Battle of Kharkov, the Orel Offensive, the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive, the Berlin Operation and the Prague Offensive.
Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class, type 2, concave reverse, numbered 529645
Condition: Some very minor blemishing to the Red Enamels on the arms of the award, but otherwise Good very fine
Pavel Grigoryevich Danilov was born in the city of Kaluga in 1912, and served in the Red Army from October 1932, he had served in the Great Patriotic War on the Western Front since May 1942. Later in September 1942 he became a member of the Communist Party.
Serving with the 3rd Guards Tank Army Danilov’s first award was the Order of the Red Star (no.568277) by Order of the 3rd Guards Tank Army on 13th May 1944. Danilov would have seen service before this time in the Third Battle of Kharkov in March 1943 where the Army was largely destroyed. Having been reconstituted the unit then went on to fight in the post-Kursk Orel offensive of July 1943, before clearing out the Ukraine east of the Dnieper and then crossing the River in October 1943.
Involved in the advance through the rest of Ukraine over the winter and spring of 1943-1944 the Division reached the Vistula near Sandomierz in August 1944, where it was involved in the heavy fighting for the bridgehead.
At the instigation of effective long service awards for the members of the Red Army in November 1944, Danilov was to receive the Medal for Combat Merit, which was used to reward 10 Years service in the Red Army (actually 12 as he’d served from October 1932, but this was the very first batch of awards). The Army would go on to serve in the winter offensive of 1945, fighting through southern Poland and Silesia before reaching the Oder/Neisse River’s where it paused for a short while before the start of the Berlin Operation.
During the Berlin Operation 3rd Guards Tank Army was part of 1st Ukrainian Front where it was involved in the advance on the city from the south. 3rd Guards Tank Army overran Zossen, the OKH (German High Command of the Army, responsible for operations on the Eastern Front) on 21st April 1945 on its way into the city. It finally drove east and took part in the advance on Prague, the last major offensive of the war in Europe, taking the city on 9th May.
Danilov was awarded this Order of the Patriotic War by Order of 3rd Guards Tank Army on 13th May 1945, the recommendation being as follows:
Having served as head of the 3rd Guards Tank Army’s signal equipment repair depot from June 1943 up to the present time, Engineering Major P.G. Danilov has shown himself a knowledgeable radio engineer. He arranged major and medium repairs of signals equipment under field conditions, both during the preparatory phase preceding the operations and over the course of the campaign itself. Working under field conditions, he was able to obtain local resources to equip a radio office for the Army Signal Center and the Corps units, as well as to increase the wavelength range of medium-power radio transceivers (seven in total, which were the first prototype models). He also showed initiative in using captured piston rings to repair domestically produced L-3/2 engines. Out of locally procured raw materials he built telegraph poles for the telegraph pole companies. Prior to the operations he carried out all his tasks related to repairing equipment on schedule.
Additionally, throughout all operations he was positioned at the first line, where he managed to keep his domestically produced trucks, which he had received in June 1943 to augment his warehouse and train his men to perform repairs on signals equipment under adverse combat conditions, intact and in good shape.
As a result of the initiative he displayed and his conscientious devotion to duties, he was able to ensure that all military signals equipment was kept in good working order and functioned reliably.
Conclusion: For his efforts, initiative and conscientious devotion to the cause, he deserves the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class.
Signed by the Commander of the Signal Forces of the 3rd Guards Tank Army. Guards Colonel
Danilov continued to serve after the war. Awarded the Medal for the Victory over Germany and the Medal for the Capture of Berlin immediately after hostilities, he then went on to receive the Medal for the 30th Anniversary of the Army and Navy in the late 1940’s, before going on to be awarded the Order of the Red Star for 15 Years Long Service on 6th November 1947, and then an Order of the Red Banner for 20 Years Long Service on 20th April 1953.
At the time of his final award, he was serving as the Head of the 430th Independent Army Signals Equipment Repair Depot, 3rd Guards Tank Army, and was living at 13 Vorontsovskaya (Vorontsov) Street, apartment 9, city of Moscow.
