GLOTOV Nikolai Timofeevich
Commander of a squad of machine gunners of the motorized battalion of machine gunners (3rd Guards Tank Brigade, 3rd Guards Tank Corps, 5th Guards Tank Army, 1st Baltic Front) Guards Sergeant – at the time of his nomination for the Order of Glory 1st Class.
Born on May 8, 1923* (Another year of birth – 1924 is indicated in front-line documents) in the village of Ananyevo, now in the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan, in a peasant family. Russian. In 1937, he graduated from 7 grades of school in his native village. He began his labor activity as a horse driver at the horse farm No. 54 in the Issyk-Kul region. From December 1938, he worked as a blacksmith at the Issyk-Kul forestry. In 1941, he was mobilized through the district military enlistment office for defense works as a blacksmith.
In September 1942, he was drafted into the Red Army by the Issyk-Kul district military enlistment office. In the 101st reserve regiment of the Volga Military District (Kuznetsk city), he completed sergeant school. After finishing the training unit, he was sent to the front.
He was assigned to the motorized battalion of machine gunners of the 3rd Guards Tank Corps of the Voronezh Front. As part of this battalion, he went through the entire combat path, from a machine gunner to a platoon commander. He fought on the Leningrad, 2nd Ukrainian, 2nd and 3rd Belarusian, and 1st Baltic fronts.
The first combat award Sergeant Glotov earned in the spring of 1944 during the battles on Romanian soil during the Uman-Botoshany operation. On April 28, in a battle near the village of Beycheny, he threw a grenade and eliminated two observers in a trench; on May 4, advancing ahead of the infantry units, he eliminated 10 enemy soldiers with a sniper rifle. He was awarded the medal "For Courage".
In June 1944, the brigade, as part of the 3rd Guards Tank Corps, was redeployed to the Smolensk area, where it came under the command of the 3rd Belarusian Front. He participated in the battles for the liberation of Belarus during Operation "Bagration".
On June 27, 1944, during the offensive near the settlement of Bobr (Minsk region, Belarus), Guards Sergeant Glotov and his subordinates were the first from the company to break into the enemy's position. The machine gunners, through their brave actions, eliminated up to 30 enemy soldiers, 9 of them personally by Glotov. On July 1, he was the first to cross the Berezina River and, with his squad, broke into the city of Borisov. In the battle for the city, he and his squad eliminated more than 20 soldiers and officers, capturing 5 personally. He was nominated for the Order of the Red Banner.
In the award sheet, this combat episode is described as follows: "...During the offensive on the city of Borisov, Comrade Glotov was the first to cross the Berezina River using improvised means and was the first to break into the outskirts of the city. In the battle for the city, the squad of machine gunners under Glotov's command eliminated 25 German soldiers and officers. Personally, Comrade Glotov eliminated 9 soldiers and captured 5. He is worthy of a government award – the Order of the Red Banner".
However, the army commander, noting Sergeant Glotov's personal contributions in this battle, disagreed with Captain Erofeevsky and, by an army order, awarded Glotov the Order of Glory 3rd Class.
On July 5, 1944, on the approaches to the settlement of Rakov (now the agro-town of the Volozhin district of the Minsk region), Guards Sergeant Glotov and his squad broke into the enemy trench. In a short skirmish, the machine gunners eliminated about 30 Nazis, 12 of them personally by Glotov. On July 9, on the outskirts of the city of Vilnius (Lithuania), he eliminated 8 enemy soldiers and captured an officer. This was an SS lieutenant. He was nominated for the Order of Glory 2nd Class.
By orders of the troops of the 5th Guards Tank Army dated July 21, 1944 (No. 95/n) and August 20, 1944 (No. 122/n), Guards Sergeant Glotov Nikolai Timofeevich was awarded the Orders of Glory 3rd and 2nd Classes, respectively.
In August 1944, the brigade, as part of the 3rd Guards Tank Corps, joined the 1st Baltic Front in the area of the city of Šiauliai.
On October 30, 1944, in the battle for the farmstead of Dindzurbe (northeast of the city of Priekule, Latvia), Guards Sergeant Glotov, after the platoon commander's injury, took command of the unit and led it into attack. Breaking into the enemy trenches, the platoon fighters eliminated up to 20 enemy soldiers and officers, four of them personally by Glotov. In another battle on October 31, the fighters of the platoon under his command eliminated more than 30 Nazis. He was nominated for the Order of Glory 1st Class.
In December 1944, the brigade was redeployed to the area of the city of Zambrow (Poland), where it joined the troops of the 2nd Belarusian Front. Here, it participated in the East Pomeranian strategic offensive operation. In these battles, Guards Senior Sergeant Glotov continued to command the machine gun platoon. For his skillful command of the platoon and personal courage, he was nominated for the officer's Order of Alexander Nevsky, but by the order of the brigade commander, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 24, 1945, Guards Sergeant Glotov Nikolai Timofeevich was awarded the Order of Glory 1st Class. He became a full knight of the Order of Glory.
At the end of March, the brigade, as part of the 3rd Guards Tank Corps, was reassigned to the 70th Army. On May 5, it fought its way to the area of the city of Wismar on the Baltic Sea and did not engage in further combat operations.
After the Victory, he continued to serve in the army as a foreman of the artillery base. In April 1947, Foreman Glotov was demobilized.
He returned to his homeland. He worked in his village as a blacksmith at the Osipenko artel, head of the dairy farm, deputy chairman of the collective farm named after Voroshilov, and was elected as a party organizer.
In 1950, he moved to the capital of the republic, the city of Frunze, and began working as a blacksmith at a motor repair plant. He then transitioned to the paramilitary security of the Kyrgyz mining and processing plant, serving as a watchman and later as a senior security officer of the enterprise.
In 1954, he became an assistant steam turbine operator. He completed the seventh grade of evening school and continued his studies at the turbine school. However, after a year and a half, he was forced to leave his studies due to health issues, a result of his wartime concussions.
In 1959, he moved to the settlement of Shantobe, now in the Akmolinsk region of Kazakhstan, and began working at the mining administration No. 1, which was developing the "Balkashinskoye" uranium ore deposit. He worked as a senior operator at the thermal power station, diesel operator in the thermal water supply, energy shop, and network and substation shop. From 1968 to 1971, he was the chairman of the village council. He worked at the enterprise until his retirement.
In 1990, he returned to Kyrgyzstan. He lived in the city of Kara-Balta.
He was awarded the Orders of the Patriotic War 1st Class (March 11, 1985), Red Star (March 20, 1945), Glory 1st (March 24, 1945), 2nd (August 20, 1944), and 3rd (July 21, 1944) Classes, as well as medals, including "For Courage" (May 10, 1944), and a Polish medal.
Full Knights of the Order of Glory 0