David Lebkovich
Born: May 1, 1923 Vitebsk
Interviewed In: Toronto, Ontario
Medals Awarded: Medal for Courage and Medal for Battle Merit
“I don’t know exactly how many, but I can tell you that 50% of soldiers and officers were killed during the Battle of Stalingrad”
Platoon Commander 550 Rifle Regiment Battle of Stalingrad, Fought near Odessa, in Romania, and Bulgaria, Liberations of Vienna and Budapest
Grigori’s unit was part of the 2nd encirclement echelon that broke through German lines at The Battle Of Stalingrad in 1942: “My unit was following the infantry men, firing direct fire. We managed to make a gap in
the German defenses for our 4th Mechanized Corps to go through and to join, on November 23rd, the 4th Tank Corps, thus destroying the German defenses. 22 German divisions and 320,000 officers and soldiers were surrounded”
Shortly after Stalingrad, Grigori was wounded and transferred to a different rifle regiment after he recuperated. He was now with the 49th Rifle Division under the command of General Marguelov. They fought in The Battle of Budapest in January 1945:
“Early in the morning, the German tanks made an attempt to break out, to come to the aid of the Budapest garrison. There was a winding road there, with hills on the flanks. I focused my artillery gun. There were many artillery guns there. As soon as the German column started moving we started firing point blank putting German tanks on fire”
Grigori served throughout Europe but is considers Stalingrad his most important contribution to the war:
“Even the Germans, and their commanders… admit in some publications… that the Battle of Stalingrad became a grave for the German army. That was their grave. Before that the Germans were advancing all the time. Even in ’42, prior to Stalingrad they were advancing. At that time, in ’42, 64th army was caught in a pocket. That was nearly the end of the 64th army. We saved it. That’s why I am proud to have been involved in that battle”
Born: May 1, 1923 Vitebsk
Interviewed In: Toronto, Ontario
Medals Awarded: Medal for Courage and Medal for Battle Merit
May 17, 1924 Minsk, Belarus
Interviewed In: Toronto, Ontario
Born 1927 Malin, Ukraine.
Interviewed In: Montreal, Quebec
Medals Awarded: Order of the Patriotic War (1st and 2nd Class), Medal for Courage, Medal For Defense of Stalingrad and Victory over Germany In The Great Patriotic War