Andrei Leonievich Kramarenko joined the Red Army in 1941 at the age of 19. He was immediately selected for a commission, and began his schooling to become a political officer.
After his graduation, Guards Junior Lieutenant Kramarenko joined the line as the Commissar of the 117th Guards Rifle Regiment, 39th Guards Rifle Division. The 39th was in the process of being formed, and on 15 August 1942, just 9 days after the Division had been officially formed, they were transported to the cauldron of Stalingrad.
According to official Soviet histories from the battle of Stalingrad, the 39th was officially credited with entering the 'Stalingrad Theater' on 12 August 1942, and they would stay through 2 February 1943!
The Division arrived on the eastern bank of Volga, having fought through the German forces attempting to surround the city. It had been responsible for maintaining the "Volga Corridor", preventing the Germans from completely closing all access to the units. By the time the Division was committed to combat on 30 September, it could muster less than half of it's original strength.
The mission of the 39th was to defend the "Red October" factory. From 30 September to 02 February, the Division fought in almost continuous combat, often in hand-to-hand fighting, against superior German forces. On 14 October 1942, the Germans staged a major counterattack, sending three complete infantry and two panzer divisions, and 3,000 aircraft sorties against a Soviet front three miles long by one half mile wide! Enemy artillery and mortar bombardment began at sunrise and continued to twilight, cutting visibility to less than 100 yards, with the dust and rubble!
The 117th Regiment of the 39th was particularly hard hit, their commander being killed this day. As a member of the commander's staff, Kramarenko was in the same position, and was seriously wounded in this exchange, but remained at his post, setting an example for the men to follow.
The 39th Division held out for weeks, and then months, fighting amongst the rooms of the Red October factory, never leaving an area which was approximately 1000 yards in depth, and 3000 yards in length! Major battles were fought in each building and room of the factory, with success being measured by which office or which storage area the Division captured.
The Germans surrendered at the beginning of February, and the few remnants of the Division were transferred into the reserve, to be be rebuilt prior to April 1943, when they became part of the new 8th Guards Army, which was built on the foundation of the heroic 62nd Army the Division had fought so valiantly for in the center of Stalingrad.
They fought across the Ukraine for the rest of 1943. Their mission was to cross the North Donets River, set up a bridgehead south of Izyum, and in cooperation with adjacent armies, advance on the Don Basin and ultimately liberate it. They fought across the Don, through to Dnepropetrovsk, continuing to Zaporozhe, and participated in the bloody fighting on the Zaporozhe bridgehead across the Dnepr on 10-14 October.
In the fighting across the Don, he was awarded his first decoration, the medal "For Valor":
"In the battles for the Donbass during the offensive on the western side of the forest that was west of the village of Mazanovka on 22 August 1943, Comrade Kramarenko was with the battalion. Before the offensive, Comrade Kramarenko explained the mission to the personnel and upon the signal he inspired the fighters by his personal example as he threw himself at the enemy's defenses. The enemy, not expecting such and instantneous leap, could not hold and fell back. During his retreat, they tried to coutnerattack several times, but was repulsed each time with heavy Hitlerite losses. During the German's attacks, Comrade Kramarenko was on the front lines, with a sub-machinegun in his hand, inspiring the soldiers to carry out the mission. As a result, the mission was accomplished at the right time..."
It was noted in a later citation that he personally killed seven German soldiers during this action.
They then turned south to Nikolayev, fighting there until March 1944. Once they had freed that city, they then turned south again, and fought through to free Odessa. By April 1944, the division had freed Odessa, and began their northward charge.
During this operation, outside of Nikolayev, he was awarded his second decoration, the Order of the Red Star:
"Guards Lt. Kramarenko, while working as aide to the chief of the political section-Komsomol, and during the offensive battles of the Nikono-___ Operation to force the Zhigulei and destroy the surrounded enemy group at Kherson, skillfully organized the work of the unit's Komsomol organizations, mobilizing Komsomol members to heroic military feats while carrying out Comrade Stalin's Order Number 16 on the battlefield. Comrade Kramarenko was always on the front line in difficult military situations. He taught the most active Komsomol members the practice of Komsomol work during the offensive battles. By his personal example of courage and valor he inspired Komsomol members to carry out the commander's orders at the highest level. Comrade Kramarenko was one of the first to force the Bug River and with soldiers, he was in the water for three days where he personally participated in repelling enemy attacks. By personal examples of courage and endurance, he showed the soldiers the stability of the Russian Guards."
Heading north through Moldavia, they liberated Kovel by June. Here, they participated in the Lvov-Sandomir Operation, which began on 13 July, and lasted till 29 August. On 20 July, they crossed the Bug, and entered into Poland. On 24 July, they freed Lublin, and continued to advance on Warsaw.
They then advanced as far as Magnuszew, and captured a major bridgehead on the Vistula river, which was the key for the Soviet advance towards Silesia, central Poland, and the German border. Here they encountered furious counterattacks by German units, with the 8th Army losing 17,000 men in the process. However, the bridgehead was maintained, and the Division secured the area.
On 12 January, they, along with 138 other divisions, participated in the Vistula-Oder Operation, which would last for the next 23 days. During this push, they advanced 500km through Poland. They crushed the German defenders (including the division "Gross Deutschland") as they liberated the towns of Lodz, then Posnan, finally arriving at the Oder River, north of Frankfurt on 3 February.
They then moved forward, storming the Kustrin fortress, and taking the Kustrin bridgehead over the Oder, 60 km from Berlin.
Here, he was awarded his third decoration, the Order of the Red Banner:
"Senior Lt. Kramarenko, in the battle during the breaking of the enemy's defense on the western bank of the Vistula River and the city of Posnan, organized and mobilized the Komsomol to successfully carry out the orders of the commander.
"During the battle, Comrade Kramarenko was in the sub-units and helped in their work. By his personal example of courage, steadfastness and valor, he constantly inspired the Komsomol and personnel to military feats.
"In difficult situations of battle, he many times risked his life to help the sub-unit commanders successfully carry out the orders. On 31 January, while with the 2nd Battalion, 117th Guards Rifle Regiment, Comrade Kramarenko, for almost a continuous day, participated in the battles of three Storm Groups. During that day the battalion captured three city blocks and fully completed the mission.
"In the battles for Posnan, Comrade Kramarenko worked hard to organize the ___ group and daredevil groups in the 117th Guards Rifle Regiment, and inspired the Komsomol to fight the Fascists without mercy. By his work, he helped the Regiment's commander to successfully carry out the military orders.
"During the battles in January, 85 people joined the Komsomol. Every company has a Komsomol organization. He efficiently sent Komsomol cadre to replace regular casualties during the battle.
"Comrade Kramarenko, in difficult military situations, provided for the completion of the orders of the Division's commander to deliver fuel. The column he led delivered 11 tons of fuel, and by that he carried out the military mission."
The Division continued it's attack on Berlin, the heart of the Reich. They attacked the city from the east, pushing through the area of Karlshorst, across the Templehof airport, and across the Landwehr canal, pushing through the German Nordland Panzer Grenadier Division, and then the XVIII Panzer Division, south of the Reichstag.
They then pushed to the north, and fought through the Tiergarten, ending their war along Charlottenburger Chaussee at the Brandenburg Gate, meeting units from the 207th and 150th Rifle Divisions, 250 yards south of the Reichstag.
The final banner of the Division, that had served from the center of Stalingrad to the center of Berlin was: "39th Barvenkovskikh Guards Order of Lenin, Twice Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Second Class and Bogdan Khmelnitskii Second Class Rifle Division."
Here, one week after the end of the War, he was awarded his final decoration, the Order of the Patriotic War, First Class:
"In the period of battles to break the German's defenses on the west bank of the Oder River, the Berlin Offensive, and the Battle for Berlin, he was able to correctly organize and direct the work of the Komsomol organizations to carry out military orders. During the period of offensive battles, 95 people were admitted into the Komsomol with 86 membership cards being handed out.
"Comrade Kramarenko, during the period of military action, was able to constantly rebuild the Komsomol organizations, of which all were fully completed. Komsomol organizers of the Company and Battalion organizations who became casualties were replaced immediately. From the Komsomol organization structure, 8 people were awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union".
"In the battles with the German Fascists, Comrade Kramarenko proved himself to be a brave, determined and enterprising political worker. More than once he carried out crucial and important missions of the Division Commander and I. During the breaking of the enemy's defenses in the region of Dol'gelin, he received a mission from the Division Commander to prepare personnel of the 3rd Battalion, 117th Guards Rifle Regiment for an attack. Comrade Kramarenko successfully accomplished this mission and the personnel successfully carried out the military mission.
"During the forcing of the Teltow Canal by the 2nd Battalion, 117th Guards Rifle Regiment, he greatly helped the Battalion Commander and the Party's political workers by providing for the accomplishments of this military mission. By his personal example and his Bolshevik's words, he mobilized all the personnel. One of the first to cross the Canal with his group, he successfully fought on the bridgehead. The Battalion successfully carried out the mission.
"He skillfully organized the popularization of the "Hero-Komsomol member" among the youth and all personnel. Before the forcing of the Spree River by the 112th Guards Rifle Regiment, with the Regiment was on the initial line, he gave out 10 Komsomol membership cards.
"He is a credit to the Party of Lenin-Stalin and of the Socialist Motherland".
Additional photos of Kramarenko's Group
