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Nikolai Nikolayevich Palgov Order of the Red Banner nr. 209832 was awarded by Order of the commander of the Artillery of the 1st Belorussian Front of February, 8 1945 to 30-year-old Guards Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Nikolayevich Palgov, commander of the 94th Guards Mortar Regiment, 26th Guards Rifle Corps, 5th Shock Army, 1st Belorussian Front. 
Nikolai Nikolayevich Palgov was born on July 21, 1914 in the village of Pavlodarovka, Zherdevka Raion, Voronezh Oblast, Russia, in a family of peasants. He finished high school and on December 12, 1934 he enlisted in the Red Army. After a year of service as a Private in the 4th Artillery Regiment he enrolled in a school in Byelorussia, and in November 1936 he enrolled in Krasin Krasnodar Artillery School. He graduated in June 1938, was promoted to Lieutenant, and was assigned to the 106th Artillery Regiment as a platoon leader. In November 1939 Palgov was given command of an artillery battery in the 216th Independent Artillery Regiment, and in 1940 he was appointed as battalion chief of staff in this regiment. He underwent his baptism of fire in September 1941. In November 1941 he was sent off to Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy, and when he returned in early 1942 he was once again given the post of battalion chief of staff, and later as battalion commander. He was severely wounded on May 12, 1942. In June 1942 Palgov was promoted to Captain. He served in the 5th Guards Mortar Regiment, equipped with 'Katyusha' rocket launcer trucks. Palgov would serve in Katyusha units for the next four years. Palgov was promoted steadily: in early 1943, now a Major, he was appointed as chief of staff of the 5th Guards Mortar Regiment. He was then assigned to the 92nd Guards Mortar Regiment as its deputy commander for a while, and on August 17, 1944 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, barely 30 years old, and given command of the 94th Guards Mortar Regiment. Palgov would occupy this position until the end of the war. In the summer of 1944, as part of Operation Bagration, Palgov's regiment fought at Lublin, Brest, Warsaw, and Poznań, and eventually it would advance toward Berlin, where it saw the end of the war. Palgov's regiment was highly decorated: by May 1945 it was known as the "94th Guards Novgorod-Seversky Red Banner Orders of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd Class, Suvorov 3rd Class, Kutuzov 2nd Class, and Alexander Nevsky Mortar Regiment". Palgov himself had been awarded five orders and six medals. It seems that in the shrinking postwar Red Army, there were not enough positions left for all distinguished wartime commanders; Palgov retained his post until late 1946, but was then essentially demoted to deputy commander of the 93rd Motorized Regiment. In August 1947 he was honorably discharged, after twelve and a half years of service in the Red Army. Lieutenant Colonel Palgov was married to Zinaida Ivanovna Chuvilina; they lived in the city of Kovrov in the Russian Ivanovo Oblast. Record card [first] Order booklet nr. 470031 1. Last name: Palgov 14. Record of all awards received:
Signature of the awardee: [signed] I confirm the correctness of the data and the signature of the awardee: Chief of the Personnel Section of the Artillery of the Group of Soviet Occupational Forces in Germany Record card [second] Order booklet nr. 470031 1. Last name: Palgov 14. Record of all awards presented:
Signature of the awardee: [signed] I confirm the correctness of the data and the signature of the awardee: Chief of the Personnel Section of the 3rd Shock Army Award sheet [for his Medal for Courage] All fields to be filled out fully Last name, first name and patronymic: Palgov, Nikolai Nikolayevich Short, concrete description of his combat feat or merits: Serving as a battery commander since the moment the mortar units were formed, comrade Palgov has displayed exceptional bravery and courage. During this period his battery killed over one hundred German fascists. During the fighting for Lozovaya, while the enemy launched an offensive on February 19, 1942 in the direction of the southwestern outskirts of Lozovaya, comrade Palgov arranged for his battery to fire on direct lay, after which his battery destroyed an enemy column of up to 300 men, as a result of which the enemy offensive was halted. On February 25, 1942 the enemy launched an offensive from the Zakharyevsky farm. Firing on direct lay, comrade Palgov's separate artillery pieces killed up to a battalion of Romanians, and also destroyed a mortar battery. On February 26 he repelled an enemy counterattack launched from the Petrovsky farm. Commander of the 5th Guards Mortar Regiment Commissar of the 5th Guards Mortar Regiment Award sheet [for his second Red Banner] All fields to be filled out fully 1. Last name, first name and patronymic: Palgov, Nikolai Nikolayevich Short, concrete description of his combat feat or merits: The 94th Guards Mortar Regiment under command of Guards Lieutenant Colonel Palgov occupied combat formations. Thanks to the well-organized reconnaissance, several enemy pockets of resistance were detected, which, during the preparatory artillery bombardment, were suppressed by a few salvos of the battalions. Units of the 26th Guards Rifle Corps broke through the deep enemy line of defense and pushed forward. At 11:30 on January 14, 1945, the enemy attempted to stop the advancing infantry at the edge of Boska Volya. By having his battalions fire off a few salvos, comrade Palgov, suppressed an enemy artillery battery, and dispersed and partially destroyed up to two infantry platoons. Without encountering any resistance, our units pushed on toward the Pilica River. The Germans tried to hold off the river crossings (near Biała Gуra), but comrade Palgov accomplished a quick maneuver with two M-13 battalions and fired off two consecutive salvos. The battalions destroyed and suppressed two artillery batteries and killed up to three platoons of enemy infantry. On January 15, 1945, while providing artillery support for the infantry, comrade Palgov was present among the combat formations. One of the battalions fired off a salvo toward a pocket of resistance near Kielce, after which units of the 26th Guards Rifle Corps pushed forward, without suffering any losses. Comrade Palgov, the entire time present among the combat formations of the infantry, exemplarily organized the communication and interaction with the units of the 26th Guards Rifle Corps. Performing a quick maneuver, he enabled the succes of the infantry offensive. By displaying skill and bravery in combat, perfectly controlling the fire of the battalions, figuring out the enemy plans in a timely manner, and destroying enemy forces and materiel, the regiment renders the units of the corps great assistance. For controlling the fire of his battalions in an excellent manner during the breakthrough of the enemy line of defense, for his skillful leadership during offensive combat, and for the bravery and skillful maneuvers he displayed during the crossing of the Pilica River, comrade Palgov deserves the Order of the Red Banner. Commander of the Artillery of the 26th Guards Rifle Corps 
Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Nikolayevich Palgov 
Order of the Red Banner nr. 209832, obverse and reverse Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the image. Click on the magnification to shrink it back.
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