Georgy Andrianovich Morozov (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Георгий Андрианович Морозов; 24 April 1923 – 29 April 1971) was a

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

sergeant and a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

. Morozov was awarded the title for reportedly killing 50 German soldiers during the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 in Ukraine on the Eastern Front of World War II. One of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost 4,000,000 troops at a time stretched on a front. Over four m ...

and capturing a machine gun. Postwar, he was an overseer at an engineering plant in his home of

Elektrostal Elektrostal (russian: Электроста́ль, from Russian Электро (Elektro), lit: Electric and Сталь (Stal), lit: Steel) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. Population: 135,000 (1977); 123,000 (1970) ...

Early life

Morozov was born on 24 April 1923 in Uprayamovo Village in Yukhnovsky District of

Kaluga Oblast Kaluga Oblast (russian: Калу́жская о́бласть, translit=Kaluzhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kaluga. The 2021 Russian Census found a population of 1,069,904. G ...

to a peasant family. After finishing seven grades of school, he worked at an engineering plant in

World War II

Morozov was drafted into the Red Army in June 1941. In 1942, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He fought in the

Battle of Demyansk The Demyansk Pocket (german: Kessel von Demjansk; russian: Демя́нский котёл) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. Th ...

and the Staraya Russa operation in spring 1943. In July, he fought in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

. By October 1943, he was a sergeant in a reconnaissance platoon of the 2nd Guards Airborne Regiment of the

3rd Guards Airborne Division The 3rd Guards Airborne Division was a Red Army division of World War II. In December 1945 it appears to have become 125th Guards Rifle Division, while serving with 35th Guards Rifle Corps, 27th Army, Carpathian Military District.Feskov et al. 20 ...

. He fought in the

. On 2 October 1943, Morozov's unit was discovered by German troops during a reconnaissance mission in Stracholesje,

Chernobyl Raion The Chernobyl Raion (russian: Чернобыльский район, translit=Chernobyl'skiy rayon) or Chornobyl Raion ( uk, Чорнобильський район, translit=Chornobylskyi raion) was one of 26 administrative raions (districts) o ...

. Morozov reportedly killed 30 German soldiers. On the night of 8 October, he captured a German machine gun, reportedly killing 20 German soldiers despite being seriously wounded. On 10 January 1944, he was awarded the title

and the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

.Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «О присвоении звания Героя Советского Союза генералам, офицерскому, сержантскому и рядовому составу Красной Армии» от 10 января 1944 года
// Ведомости Верховного Совета Союза Советских Социалистических Республик : газета. — 1944. — 19 января (№ 3 (263)). — С. 1 Morozov continued to fight in combat with the 3rd Guards Airborne. In the fall, he fought in the Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive. In spring 1944, he participated in the Uman–Botoșani Offensive. During the summer, Morozov fought in the

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

. In November, the division fought in the

Battle of Debrecen The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the ''Debrecen Offensive Operation'', was a battle taking place 6–29 October 1944 on the Eastern Front in Hungary during World War II. The offensive was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front ...

. It advanced into Hungary and participated in the

Siege of Budapest The Siege of Budapest or Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budape ...

. In spring 1945, the division repulsed

Operation Spring Awakening Operation Spring Awakening (german: Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) was the last major German offensive of World War II. The operation was referred to in Germany as the Plattensee offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton defensive operati ...

and entered Austria, taking part in the

Vienna Offensive The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945. After several days of street-to-street f ...

Postwar

Morozov was demobilized in 1945. He returned to

, becoming an overseer of production in an engineering plant. The plant manufactured equipment for nuclear reactors. Morozov died on 29 April 1971.

References

{{Heroes of the Soviet Union 3rd GAbnD 1923 births 1971 deaths People from Yukhnovsky District Soviet military personnel of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Communist Party of the Soviet Union members