Aleksey Polosin

Aleksey Ivanovich Polosin (Russian: Алексей Иванович Полосин; 1924 – 15 October 1943) was a Red Army sergeant, who was posthumously a Hero of the Soviet Union. He was posthumously awarded the title for his actions in the Battle of the Dnieper. Polosin was reported to have killed three German officers during a reconnaissance mission and 26 soldiers while repulsing a German counterattack.

Early life Polosin was born in 1924 in Kazinka village, Sosnovsky District, Tambov Oblast to a peasant family.

Hero of the Soviet Union citation In the offensive battle for the village of Strakholesye on 2 October 1943, as a squad leader of a reconnaissance platoon moving ahead of the infantry, [he] burst into a German battalion headquarters and in a fierce hand-to-hand fight singlehandedly bayoneted a German major and two captains, retrieved valuable documents, and blew up a staff car with a grenade. Completing the reconnaissance mission in the enemy rear, he sowed panic and confusion in the enemy ranks, ensuring the success of the advancing units. When the enemy counterattacked, he was sent to the most critical section of the main blow of the enemy, covering the flank of the battalion. He shot 26 enemy soldiers at point blank range with a captured weapon and threw grenades at the enemy firing position impeding the advance of our units.