Nikolai Ilyin (sniper)

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Nikolai Ilyin
Native name
Николай Яковлевич Ильин
Born25 June 1922
Chernukhino, Ukrainian SSR
(located in present-day Perevalsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast)
Died4 August 1943
Yastrebovo, Kursk Oblast, RSFSR, USSR
Cause of deathMachine Gun Burst
Buried
Mamayev Kurgan
AllegianceSoviet Union Soviet Union
Service/branchRed Army
Years of service1942—1943
RankStarshina
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union

Nikolai Yakovlevich Ilyin (Russian: Николай Яковлевич Ильин; 25 June 1922 — 4 August 1943) was one of the top Soviet snipers of World War II. Awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 8 February 1943 for his first 216 kills, by the time he was killed in action later that year his tally reached 494.[1]

Early life

Ilyin was born to a Russian family in Chornukhyne village on 25 June 1922. After graduating from secondary school, he worked as a mechanic at the Debaltsevo-Sortirovochny depot in Donbass.[2] [3]

Sniper feats

He entered the Red Army in 1941 soon after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, and started off as a machine gunner before mastering his sniper skills. He fought in the intense battle of Stalingrad, and became a deputy political commissar in the 50th Guards Rifle Regiment.[4] He showed himself to be a skilled sniper, killing 95 Nazis during eleven days of battle.[5] He was awarded his first military award, the Order of the Red Banner on 29 September 1942,[6] and on 8 February 1943 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for killing a total of 216 Nazis, including 95 that he killed in the course of eleven days.[5][7] For his work as a sniper he was awarded a personalized sniper rifle named after Hero of the Soviet Union Khusen Andrukhaev.[8]

Death

On 4 August 1943, Ilyin was killed by a machine gun burst near the City of Yastrebovo, outside Belgorod.[9] He finished with a tally of 494,[a] making him one of the best snipers of World War II.[11] His personal sniper rifle was given to sniper Afanasy Gordienko.[12] He was buried in Nikolskoye in present day Belgorodsky District, Belgorod Oblast.[8]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Some sources report he killed 459 Nazi soldiers and officers, including 70 enemy snipers.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Ильин Николай Яковлевич". soviet-aces-1936-53.ru. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  2. ^ Сталинградская битва: хроника, факты, люди (in Russian). ОЛМА Медиа Групп. 2002. p. 83. ISBN 978-5-224-03719-3.
  3. ^ Shkadov, Ivan, ed. (1987). Герои Советского Союза: краткий биографический словарь I, Абаев - Любичев. Moscow: Voenizdat.
  4. ^ "Ильин Николай Яковлевич". soviet-aces-1936-53.ru (in Russian).
  5. ^ a b Award list on the site «pamyat-naroda.ru» (archive materials of TsAMO, ф. 33, оп. 682525, д. 12)
  6. ^ Award list on the site «pamyat-naroda.ru» (archive materials of TsAMO, ф. 33, оп. 682524, д. 994)
  7. ^ Vorobyev, Valery. "Ильин Николай Яковлевич". warheroes.ru (in Russian).
  8. ^ a b Юность мужала в боях: статьи, очерки, документы (in Russian). Voenizdat. 1966. p. 53.
  9. ^ Saifullin, Gani (1973). Через реки, через горы (in Russian). Tatarskoe knizhnoe izd-vo.
  10. ^ "Действующая армия" (PDF). Altai Pravda (in Russian). 3 October 1943. p. 4.
  11. ^ "Жизнь после котла". Argumenty I Fakty (26): 7. 2015.
  12. ^ Воинские ритуалы (in Russian). Voenizdat. 1986. p. 160.
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