Viktor Andreevich Turbin (russian: Виктор Андреевич Турбин; 9 November 1923 – 8 August 1944) 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 ...

Junior Lieutenant Junior lieutenant is a junior officer rank in several countries, equivalent to Sub-lieutenant. Germany In the National People's Army, the rank of () was introduced in 1956. Eastern Europe In many Eastern European countries, the rank of junior ...

and posthumous

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 ...

. Turbin was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union 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 ...

for his actions while leading a platoon during

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...

in summer 1944. His platoon reportedly held a bridgehead on the

Drut River The Drut, Druts or Druć (, ; , ) is a river in Belarus, a right tributary of Dnieper. It originates in the Orsha Upland in the Belarusian Ridge and flows through Vitebsk, Mogilev and Homiel provinces of Belarus. It is long, and has a drainage ...

against numerically superior German troops until the crossing of the remainder of Turbin's regiment.

Early life

Turbin was born on 9 November 1923 in Bobrov in

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast (russian: Воронежская область, Voronezhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the 2021 Census. Geography V ...

to a working-class family. He graduated from high school in 1941.

World War II

Turbin was drafted into the Red Army in December 1941. He was sent into combat in January 1942 and was wounded. After recovering, he was sent to the

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...

Military Infantry School. After graduating in August 1942, he was sent back to the front and wounded on 5 January 1943. He was also wounded on 5 February. He became a platoon commander in the 16th Rifle Regiment of the

102nd Rifle Division The 102nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army which participated in the Second World War. It was formed three times. Its first formation was listed as part of the active army from 2 July to 19 September 1941. Its third format ...

. Turbin fought in

. On 24 June, he led his platoon into fortifications between the Dnieper and the

Drut ''Drut'' ( द्रुत; also called ''drut laya'') is the concluding section, in fast tempo (or ''laya''), between 160 and 320 beats per minute, of the performance of a vocal raga in Hindustani classical music. See also *Khyal *Vilambit *Ma ...

and attacked into the German trenches, reportedly personally killing 10 German soldiers. On 25 June, they continued to attack the fortifications. On 26 June, Turbin's platoon moved through the marshes and swam across the Drut. The platoon's attack reportedly took the German troops by surprise. The German troops were reportedly unable to initially offer serious resistance despite their numerical superiority. Turbin destroyed a heavy machine gun and 75mm artillery shells with a hand grenade. The German troops soon recovered from their surprise and made four counterattacks. These were repulsed by Turbin's platoon, which reportedly inflicted 200 casualties on the German troops. The platoon managed to hold the bridgehead until the rest of the regiment arrived. On 8 August,Irretrievable loss report, available online a
pamyat-naroda.ru
/ref> Turbin was killed during the attack on Białystok. He was buried in the village of Vilkowo near Bialystok. On 24 March 1945, he was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turbin, Viktor 1923 births 1944 deaths People from Bobrovsky District Soviet Army officers Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Soviet military personnel killed in World War II