Hero of the Soviet Union Sadik Ali-Nazarov
Participant of the Great Patriotic War, the first number of the light machine gun of the 4th rifle company of the 1031st rifle regiment of the 280th rifle division of the 60th army of the Central Front. Hero of the Soviet Union (10.17.1943), Red Army soldier.
He was born in the city of Pishpek, now Bishkek - the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, in 1914, in the family of a small craftsman. Uzbek. Primary education. Having lost his parents at an early age, Sadik began working at a meat processing plant, from where he was drafted into the Red Army. He served in the border troops. After his service, he returned to Frunze and continued to work at the meat processing plant. In August 1942, he went to defend his homeland as a private, later becoming a machine gunner. He displayed exceptional heroism and courage in battles for Ukraine.
On October 17, 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Sadik Ali-Nazarov fought until the very end, and after the war, the brave warrior returned to his homeland, worked, and lived in Frunze. Sadik Ali-Nazarov died in 1969.
On the Fire Line
September 1943 was underway. In fierce battles, the Red Army was pushing the German-Fascist occupiers from the long-suffering Ukrainian land, liberating new cities and settlements every day. The enemy suffered significant losses, which, according to the captured commander of the 2nd battery of the 430th artillery division, Lieutenant Helmut Bolumel, the Hitlerite army had not experienced throughout the years of the war. Despite substantial losses in manpower and equipment, the enemy resisted fiercely; however, they could no longer hold back the increasing pressure of our troops and began to retreat behind the Dnieper. The fascist generals firmly believed that this natural water barrier could, if not stop, at least delay our troops, and they entertained hopes of organizing an insurmountable defense here. It was rumored that Hitler himself had visited the headquarters of the army group "South" operating here, ordering to fight for the Dnieper to the last man and to hold it at any cost. The price that the fascists paid for the great Ukrainian river indeed turned out to be high, but they failed to hold the Dnieper and establish themselves here.
Right away, as they say, on the shoulders of the retreating enemy troops, the advanced units of the Red Army crossed the Desna River on September 18 and reached the southern and eastern outskirts of the city of Chernihiv. The enemy concentrated large forces in Chernihiv and launched counterattacks several times. As a result of three days of fierce fighting, the Soviet troops defeated the enemy grouping and stormed the city. The Hitlerites suffered heavy losses in personnel and equipment. Pursuing the enemy, our units created mobile detachments, which included the most experienced fighters, mainly from among the communists and Komsomol members. These detachments, rapidly penetrating into the enemy's rear, captured strategically important positions and held them until the main forces arrived.
One of these detachments, formed from volunteers, included Kyrgyzstani Sadik Ali-Nazarov. An experienced fighter, he had undergone good training in border units guarding the southern borders of our homeland before the war. He had already been at the front for two years. The soldier had seen a lot, participated in many battles, and he was not lacking in endurance and resilience, having marched with battles from the Volga plains to the Dnieper cliffs. He had a good understanding of the combat situation and was capable of making independent, correct decisions under difficult circumstances. And now the task was crystal clear: not to allow the Hitlerites to establish themselves on the western bank of the river, to capture important strongholds there, and to hold them at all costs until all the divisions' units were ferried across the Dnieper.
Sadik Ali-Nazarov left with the first mobile group. They carried out the crossing on the night of September 24-25 in the area of the fishing grounds southwest of the village of Okuninovo in the Ostersky district of Chernihiv region.
The speed of the breakthrough did not allow for the use of engineering crossing means. They crossed the Dnieper on everything that came to hand and could stay afloat: hastily constructed log rafts, homemade ferries, and fishing boats. Such a journey is unsafe even in peacetime. So what immense persistence, courage, and bravery were required from the handful of daredevils who undertook it under continuous enemy fire! And although the night was dark, it did not become an ally to the brave paratroopers.
Time and again, illuminating rockets hung over the black surface of the river, illuminating the frail floating means of the Soviet fighters from the darkness. The enemy fired from the other bank with mortars and machine guns, and, following the orders of their mad Fuhrer, they spared no shells, mines, or bullets.
The group that included Ali-Nazarov managed to go half the distance unnoticed. While it was still light, they spotted an island lying between the old and new riverbeds and immediately headed for it, using this natural barrier as cover. Only as they approached the western bank were they discovered and fired upon, but time was gained; the paratroopers were already wading to the enemy-occupied shore and immediately engaged in battle. The idea of significantly strengthening their position was out of the question; the enemy continuously attacked, trying by all means to throw the daredevils back into the river. In the dark, Sadik quickly oriented himself, dashed to a small rise, set up his machine gun there, and without hesitation opened fire - he needed to cover his comrades approaching the shore. It is hard to say how the fate of the landing would have unfolded if it had not been for this well-chosen position by Ali-Nazarov. That night, about a battalion of Soviet soldiers and officers landed on a small section of the shore reclaimed from the enemy. The firefight lasted until dawn. The Hitlerites did not cease fire, intensively shelling the crossing and the landing area occupied by the paratroopers, but they did not attack again. Apparently, having suffered heavy losses, the fascists decided to wait for morning. This meant that the paratroopers managed to create the illusion that they were much more numerous than they actually were.
Meanwhile, our fighters were deciding how to develop the success of the successfully initiated operation. Having secured themselves on the narrow coastal strip, they did not intend to sit back in defense. It was necessary to expand the bridgehead.
In the morning, the Hitlerites literally descended upon the positions of the paratroopers. The enemy realized that the number of opposing forces was insignificantly small and attacked fiercely, but each time, encountering the dagger-like fire, they retreated.
The paratroopers defended themselves steadfastly and courageously and even advanced slightly. The appearance of enemy tanks on the battlefield did not cause confusion in their ranks. This unequal battle lasted for two days. The fearless Soviet warriors repelled twelve attacks but did not retreat. The Hitlerites tried to attack them from the flanks to encircle and destroy them. But here, the machine gun of Ali-Nazarov, operating on the right flank, spoke its weighty word. The embittered enemy, frustrated by their failures, did not succeed with this maneuver either. For 42 hours, the brave machine gunner stood on the fire line, and when the ammunition ran out, he quickly mastered a trophy machine gun captured in one of the night raids and continued to fire. In this protracted battle, Sadik Ali-Nazarov personally destroyed over 20 Hitlerite soldiers and officers.
On September 26, the entire 280th rifle division, which successfully crossed the water barrier, joined the fight to expand the bridgehead captured by the paratroopers on the right bank of the Dnieper. Subsequently, a prisoner showed: "Three weeks ago, the platoon commanders were read an order from the division commander, which stated that the valiant troops of the Fuhrer had reached a favorable natural line - the Dnieper - and must hold it at all costs. The command ordered to shoot without mercy at soldiers who left their positions without permission. However, all our attempts to hold on to the Dnieper did not achieve their goal."
They did not hold on either at the Dnieper or behind it. By the end of September, our troops, having suppressed the enemy's defense, crossed the Dnieper over a stretch of 700 kilometers from Loyev to Zaporizhzhia and continued their offensive further west.
The 1031st regiment of the 280th rifle division continued to pursue the retreating enemy, 43 warriors of which were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the Dnieper operation. Together with his comrades-in-arms, Hero of the Soviet Union machine gunner Sadik Ali-Nazarov drove the enemy away.
Awards
Medal "Golden Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union (No. 5274) (10.17.1943)[2]
Order of Lenin (10.17.1943)
Medals, including:
Medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"
Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"