Viktor Aksyonov
Date of Birth: 01.01.1924
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Content:
- Early Life and Call to Duty
- Frontline Experience
- Heroism at Brońki
- Self-Sacrifice and Legacy
- Posthumous Recognition
Early Life and Call to Duty
Victor Ivanovich Aksenov was born in 1924 in the village of Staraya Pustyn, Nizhny Novgorod Governorate. As the dark clouds of World War II gathered, Aksenov was drafted into the Red Army on August 31, 1942, by the Chernukhin District Military Commissariat.
Frontline Experience
Aksenov's baptism of fire came in November 1943. He served as a loader on a SU-76 self-propelled artillery installation as part of the 1515th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment of the 5th Tank Corps on the 2nd Baltic Front.
Heroism at Brońki
On July 19, 1944, Aksenov's self-propelled gun, commanded by Lieutenant Nikolai Ivanovich Khromov, participated in an offensive near the hamlet of Brońki in the Daugda district of the Latvian SSR. They successfully neutralized a German tank and provided support for advancing infantry.
The dense, marshy terrain made it challenging to pinpoint enemy firing positions. Aksenov dismounted to reconnoiter, approaching a vegetable storage facility converted into a fortified machine-gun nest. As infantry prepared to attack, Aksenov noticed the nest threatening their advance.
Self-Sacrifice and Legacy
In a selfless act of heroism, Aksenov attempted to eliminate the machine gun with a grenade but was wounded. Undeterred, he closed the narrow firing slit with his body, emulating the legendary sacrifice of Alexander Matrosov.
Though German forces attempted to dislodge Aksenov's body, Khromov's self-propelled gun swiftly destroyed their fortification. Aksenov's remains were initially laid to rest on the battlefield near the hamlet of Bogdan, later exhumed and interred in the fraternal cemetery in Daugda.
Posthumous Recognition
For his extraordinary bravery and self-sacrifice, Junior Sergeant Victor Ivanovich Aksenov was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class, by the 5th Tank Corps on August 15, 1944. His name remains etched in the annals of Soviet war heroes, forever remembered for his ultimate sacrifice in the cause of victory.