POZNYAK VIKTOR GENRIKHOVICH

POZNYAK VIKTOR GENRIKHOVICH
Lieutenant, Participant of World War II, The Hero of the Soviet Union (April 6, 1945)

   He was born on April 26, 1901 in Samarkand. He was Lithuanian. He was drafted into the Red Army in March 1919. He was a soldier of the Red Army of Samarkand Fortress, a foreman of squadron of the 12^th Cavalry Regiment of the 3^rd Turkestan Cavalry Brigade and a platoon and squadron commander in the 3^rd Turkestan Cavalry Division, in the 2^nd Turkestan Cavalry Division and in the 4^th Cavalry Division. He took part in the battles on the Turkestan front.
   In January 1921, Poznyak was sent to study at the Higher Cavalry School in Petrograd, in September he was appointed squadron commander in the 40^th Cavalry Regiment, and then in the 39^th Cavalry Regiment of the 7^th Samarkand Cavalry Division. In August 1923, he was sent to study at the Frunze Military Academy, and in July 1926, was appointed the chief of staff of the 1^st Cavalry Regiment.
   In 1928 he was appointed the chief of staff of a Separate Uzbek Cavalry Regiment, and in 1929 he was appointed commander of a special battalion of Tajik Cavalry.
   In 1927-1931 he took part in the battles against the invaders in Tajikistan.
   He was arrested in July 1938, but released in May 1939, and was appointed tactical instructor at the Frunze Military Academy, and in April 1941 as deputy head of the academy course.
   In October 1941, he was appointed commander of the 39^th Artillery Brigade, which took part in the Toropetsk-Kholma offensive to liberate the city of Toropets.
   In February 1942, he was appointed commander of the 360^th Infantry Division, which was fighting the enemy in the towns of Velij and Demidov.
   In February 1943, he was appointed the Chief of Staff of the 43^rd Army, which carried out defensive operations along the Lososno and Rytoye lakes, and later took part in the Smolensk offensive. In September 1943, he was appointed commander of the 5^th Guards Rifle Corps, which took part in the Dukhovshchinsk-Demidov attack, as well as in the liberation of the cities of Dukhovshchina and Rudnya. In January 1944, the corps was taken to the reserve of the 2^nd Belorussian Front. He was treated at the Arkhangelsk sanatorium until February 1944, after which he was transferred to the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters.
   In March 1944, as commander of the 77^th Infantry Corps, he took part in offensive operations in Lublin-Brest and Wislo-Oder.
   He organized the infiltration of the enemy’s defenses in the territory of the city of Yablonna-Legiyonov, crossed the Vistula River, and took part in the liberation of Warsaw.  He took part in offensive operations in East Pomerania and Berlin, and in the liberation of Sohachev, Potsdam, and Brandenburg.
   By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 6, 1945, “For exemplary performance of combat duties, courage and heroism in the fight against Nazi invaders on the front”, Lieutenant Poznyak Victor was awarded the title of “The Hero of the Soviet Union”.
   In July 1945 he served as commander of the 29^th Guards Rifle Corps, and in February 1946 as Deputy Commander of the 8^th Guards Army in the Soviet Army in Germany.
   He died on August 12, 1983 in Moscow. He was buried in Kunsevsky Cemetery.