Leytenant Ivan Zabolotny

Ivan was born into a very ordinary peasant family in August 1926 near Odessa in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. His father was a brigade leader on a collective farm while his mother was a collective farm member.

Zabolotny joined the military and became a platoon commander in early 1944. He led his platoon in the liberation of Shepetovka, Kremenets, Ternopol and Lvov on his way to the Polish border during Operation Bagration.

Upon reaching Poland his assault platoon, supported by OT-34 and PT-34 tanks, was initially repelled by stiff German resistance. Zabolotny however would not give up and after repeated attempts finally overcame the defenses and took his objective with just seven members left in his platoon. He accepted these heavy losses as a part of combat operations. Ivan received a ‘For Bravery’ medal for this success.

His tenacity to get things done found Ivan frequently called upon to perform reconnaissance missions prior to major assaults. His mission would be to uncover enemy gun emplacements and to estimate their strength. This talent kept him up front during most assaults.

When his unit reached the Vistula River near Sandomierz, Zabolotny was once again called upon to assault the German defenses. His actions in storming across the river resulted in the award of his second ‘For Bravery’ medal. Ivan was very grateful when, upon reaching the other side of the river, he found an Italian soldier who was chained to a machine gun, surrendering instead of firing. For the last four months of 1944, his unit held the Sandomierz bridgehead against German counterattacks.

A tremendous artillery bombardment heralded their return to the offensive on 12 January 1945. It allowed them to break out of the bridgehead and advance towards the Polish city of Krakow.

On 26 January 1945, Ivan was assigned to a temporary detachment that included thirty tanks with six to eight riflemen on each tank. This detachment broke through the German lines advancing nearly forty kilometres into the German rear area. They encircled and liberated a concentration camp named Osventsim. (Auschwitz in German). He was awarded the Order of Glory 3rd Class for this action.

Ivan crossed the Oder River in February. There he was wounded in the assault on the German city of Breslau. Knocked unconscious by artillery, he awoke in a hospital with numerous injuries. Though he eventually fully recovered, his injuries ended his combat career in the Great Patriotic War.