Hero of the Great Patriotic War, Kyrgyzstani Andrey Maksimovich Khimenko

Hero of the Soviet Union Khimenko Andrei Maksimovich

Born on December 7, 1915, in the village of Yelizavetovka, Soviet (now Akkayin) district of North Kazakhstan region, in a peasant family. Ukrainian. Education: 7 grades. Member of the VKP(b) since 1939. Hero of the Soviet Union (March 24, 1945). Awarded the Order of Lenin and a medal.

The war found communist Khimenko in the city of Frunze (now Bishkek), where he had arrived as a boy in 1927.

Andrei began working as a postman, and this first profession left a lasting mark on his heart. Later, he worked as an accountant for the “Soyuzpechat” agency. As a party organizer of his platoon at the front, he constantly cared about the delivery of newspapers, letters, and correspondence to the units, considering all this as important as delivering ammunition.

In October 1941, he volunteered to go to the front. He initially served in the 108th Cavalry Division, then fought against the enemy as part of the 39th Guards Rifle Barvenkovskaya Division, which was twice awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Orders of Suvorov and Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

He was at the front during the Great Patriotic War from February 1942. He fought on the Northwestern, Southwestern, 3rd Ukrainian, and 1st Belorussian fronts.

Participated in:
- the battles for the city of Kholm and the encirclement of the Demyansk Hitlerite group in 1942;
- the liberation of Kharkov and Poltava regions, in battles on the approaches to the city of Zaporizhzhia in 1943;
- the battles to eliminate the Nikopol bridgehead, including the liberation of the city of Apostolove, in the Bereznegovato-Snegiryov and Brest-Lublin operations, including the liberation of the city of Lublin and the crossing of the Vistula near the city of Magnushiv, in battles for the capture and expansion of the Magnushiv bridgehead in 1944.

As a rifleman of the 117th Guards Rifle Regiment, party organizer of the platoon, Red Army soldier Khimenko was among the first to cross the Vistula River on August 1, 1944, near the city of Magnushiv (Poland). He was the first to rise for the attack several times, inspiring other fighters by his example. On August 2, 1944, during the battle for the village of Osemboru, he took command of the platoon, which defeated the enemy garrison. In this battle, Khimenko destroyed more than 10 soldiers and officers of the enemy.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 24, 1945, for exemplary performance of combat missions from the command at the front in the fight against the German-fascist invaders and for the courage and heroism displayed, Guards Red Army soldier Khimenko Andrei Maksimovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

He died in battle near the village of Podosye on the Magnushiv bridgehead on October 6, 1944. He was buried in the village of Eduardov (Poland).

A street in the city of Petropavlovsk, Republic of Kazakhstan, is named after the Hero (1975).

He is eternally listed among the personnel of the 4th Motorized Rifle Company of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Battalion of the 117th Guards Poznan, Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Bohdan Khmelnytsky Regiment (military unit 35872) of the 39th Guards Motorized Rifle Barvenkovskaya Division of the 8th Guards Army of the Western Group of Forces (WGF). The regiment's location was in the city of Meiningen, Germany, until August 1991.

He was awarded the Order of Lenin and the medal “For Courage”.

Combat Path

The combat baptism of rifleman Andrei Khimenko took place on the Northwestern Front in February 1942 as part of the 8th Guards Panfilov Rifle Division in the area of the village of Borodino on the approaches to the city of Kholm in the Novgorod region. Later, as part of another division, he participated in battles on the Lovat River against the Demyansk fascist group. In the area of the "Ramushivsky corridor" - the throat of the Demyansk group connection with the other parts of the 16th Field Army of the Wehrmacht - Khimenko was severely wounded and spent a long time recovering in the hospital.

Khimenko returned to the front only in May 1943 and joined the 39th Guards Rifle Division of the 8th Guards Army of the Southwestern Front, which became famous for its battles for the “Krasny Oktyabr” factory in Stalingrad.

The title of guard obliged him to earn it further.

In August 1943, Khimenko participated in the breakthrough of the Hitlerite defense in the area of the city of Izium, in the liberation of Kharkov and Poltava regions. On the approaches to the city of Zaporizhzhia in October 1943, he received a second wound and was again treated in the hospital.

Khimenko returned to his native division in February 1944 and immediately joined the battles to eliminate the enemy's Nikopol bridgehead. He distinguished himself in the battle for the city of Apostolove in the Dnipropetrovsk region and on March 8, 1944, during the assault on the village of Bashtanka during the Bereznegovato-Snegiryov operation. For his distinction in these battles, he was commended by the command. In addition, Khimenko was elected as the party organizer of the 5th Rifle Company of the 2nd Rifle Battalion of the 117th Guards Rifle Regiment.

In the summer of 1944, as part of the entire 8th Guards Army, Khimenko moved to the 1st Belorussian Front. On July 19, 1944, the Brest-Lublin operation began. Breaking through the enemy's defenses and crossing the Western Bug, Soviet troops rushed deep into Poland towards the Vistula and Warsaw. On July 23, 1944, Khimenko participated in the liberation of the city of Lublin, and a week later, after offensive battles, reached the banks of the Vistula. On July 30, 1944, for his courage shown during the liberation of Lublin, he was awarded the medal “For Courage”.

On August 1, 1944, after a twenty-minute artillery preparation, the 5th company of Lieutenant Danilyants, under machine-gun and rifle fire, began to approach the river. Party organizer Khimenko, with four fighters, was the first to enter the water. Despite the fierce enemy fire, they successfully crossed the river, and the rest of the company followed them to the western bank of the Vistula.

A large dam had been built by the Germans a few meters from the shore, and a heavy machine gun was continuously firing from its embankment. Its fire forced our soldiers to press to the ground. Party organizer Khimenko estimated the distance to the enemy machine gun. Calling over the machine gunner Ardashev, he instructed him to destroy the enemy firing point. A few short bursts - and the enemy machine gunner was knocked down into the parapet of the trench. The way was opened.

Party organizer Khimenko led the company into battle. The soldiers overcame the dam and jumped into the enemy trenches. The fight in the trenches was short. The Germans retreated to the second line of trenches and opened fire. Mines exploded, and shells from enemy guns whizzed by with a sharp howl. Until the evening of August 1, the soldiers could not rise to attack; the battle continued between the 1st and 2nd lines of trenches.

On August 2, led by company commander Danilyants and party organizer Khimenko, the guards surged into the enemy positions. In hand-to-hand combat, Lieutenant Danilyants was wounded. Guards Private Khimenko bravely took command of the company and led it to storm the village of Osemboru.

The enemy threw 7 self-propelled guns and up to 150 soldiers and officers against the company. Skillfully maneuvering forces and correctly using anti-tank rifles and tank destroyers, Khimenko forced the enemy self-propelled guns to retreat and engaged in battle with the infantry. Despite the superior enemy forces and heavy fire from all types of weapons, the enemy group was surrounded and defeated. The guards left 102 enemy corpses on the battlefield. Khimenko himself killed more than 10 Germans in this battle and captured one officer. Thanks to his skillful command and personal bravery, the task set before the company was accomplished with minimal losses. On August 1, 1944, the units of the 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front captured a bridgehead on the left bank of the Vistula up to 10 kilometers along the front and up to 5 kilometers deep, and during the battles on August 2 and 3, significantly expanded it. The party organizer of the platoon, Guards Private Andrei Khimenko, played a significant role in this.

In the award sheet, Guards Major Gritsenko wrote: “Despite the superior enemy forces and heavy fire from all types of weapons, the enemy group was surrounded and defeated. The enemy left 102 corpses of soldiers and officers on the battlefield. Khimenko himself killed more than 10 Germans and captured one officer.

Thanks to his skillful command and personal bravery, the task set before the company was accomplished with minimal losses.”

“The name of party organizer Andrei Khimenko,” wrote the divisional newspaper in those days, “became a symbol of courage and bravery among the soldiers of the entire unit.”

Hundreds of kilometers were traveled in battles by party organizer Khimenko. On March 24, 1945, for his heroic actions during the crossing of the Vistula, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But Andrei Khimenko did not live to see the day when the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarding him the title of Hero was made public…

On October 6, 1944, in battle near the village of Podosye on the Magnushiv bridgehead, reflecting fierce counterattacks from the enemy, party organizer of the 5th Rifle Company Khimenko was killed…

The next day, discussions about the combat path of party organizer Khimenko were held in all the companies of the regiment.

Corporal Prudskikh wrote in his application: “I ask to accept me as a candidate for party membership. I want to replace the communist Andrei Khimenko, who was killed by the hands of German fascists.”

A. M. Khimenko was buried in the Polish village of Eduardov.