MINSK, 24 April (BelTA) — Rewatching the archive footage of the 1945 Victory Parade, the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of veteran Filipp Manuilov always stop at the moment when the combined regiment of the 2nd Belorussian Front marches through Red Square. Looking at the silhouettes of the Red Army soldiers, they spot their hero: in the second line of the second column on the right!
Filipp Manuilov was drafted on 8 October 1943. His wife and two little daughters remained at home: Tamara was born in 1940, Raisa - in 1942. Having passed military training, he received the rank of sergeant. He served in the 1320th rifle regiment of the 413th rifle division of the 46th rifle corps of the 2nd Belorussian Front, was the commander of the mortar unit in the first company of the first battalion. He was was honored with a sign “Excellent mortar man”.
Filipp Manuilov took part in the Belarusian offensive operation Bagration, one of the largest in the Great Patriotic War. Back then, during the Red Army's successful advance from 23 June to 29 August 1944, the territory of Belarus, eastern Poland, part of the Baltic States were liberated and the German Army Group Center was almost completely destroyed. During the operation to eliminate the encircled group of German troops near Bobruisk on 30 June 1944, Filipp Manuilov operated a mortar gun. He fired accurately and destroyed the enemy's firing point.
Several of Filipp Manuilov's high awards were presented for the liberation of Poland. The award sheet for the Order of Glory, 3rd Class reads: “Since November 1943 he participated in numerous battles against the German invaders on the fronts of the Patriotic War. On 26 August 1944, in the battle for the village of Dybów near the town of Radzymin, Masovian Voivodeship, he showed exemplary courage and bravery. Amid heavy artillery shelling, he destroyed one machine-gun point of the enemy and up to 12 German soldiers and officers due to his accurate and skillful operation of his mortar gun. On 29 August 1944 he also used his mortar launcher in the battles for Razdymin to destroy two machine gun points of the enemy and up to 18 German soldiers and officers, thus contributing to the successful repulsion of all enemy counterattacks”. A similar characteristic goes with another award of Filipp Manuilov - the Order of the Red Star.
The Victory Parade, which took place in Moscow on 24 June 1945, remained forever etched in the memory of the war veteran. Along the Red Square he marched in the composite regiment of the 2nd Belorussian Front, in the second column in the second row on the right. Soon after the victory march on the Red Square, Filipp Manuilov went back to his military unit. He returned home to his wife and daughters in March 1946 after demobilization.
In the run-up to the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Belarusian news agency BelTA together with the 7 Days newspaper launched a large-scale project. During the year we will be narrating the stories of the Belarusians who took part in the legendary Victory Parade in 1945. These men fought at Rzhev and Odessa, won the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, liberated Belarus, and took Berlin. On 24 June 1945 they marched triumphantly through Red Square in Moscow. They are the faces of our great Victory!
