The fate of Fyodor Mikhailovich Orlov was difficult and heroic. The person whose street name is now named in Moscow, unfortunately, is little known to descendants. And at the same time, the biography of the commander Orlov is an example of strength, courage and love for his homeland.
What is famous for Orlov?
Fyodor Mikhailovich devoted almost his entire conscious life to military service. Comdiv Orlov participated in the Russo-Japanese War, went through the First World War. In the Great Russian Revolution, he fought side by side with Frunze and reached the post of commander of the 2nd rank, which can be conditionally compared with the current rank of general.
Fyodor Mikhailovich survived 24 injuries and several shell shocks, and after a stroke he was sent to the rear, to resign, where he was offered to engage in administrative work. Unfortunately, he did not enjoy the world for long. In 1941, the Great Patriotic War began, and Orlov went to the front as a volunteer. At that time he was 63 years old.
Biography of Fedor Mikhailovich Orlov
Fedor Mikhailovich was born in a village in Belarus.
He began his military career as an ordinary in the Lancers regiment, and later took part in the 1905 war with Japan. In the rank of non-commissioned officer participated in the First World War. And after 1917 Orlov was sent to the Caucasus to organize partisan detachments.
In 1920 he received his first Order of the Red Banner (before that he already had many awards and valuable gifts, for example, a golden registered cigarette case).
Despite many injuries, he did not leave work. There was Fedor Mikhailovich and the commander of the Kharkov military district, and the deputy chief of military propaganda. And only after a stroke he was forced to leave the army. From 1938 to 1941, Orlov was deputy. Head of one of the departments of the artillery factory number 1.
In old age he found the Great Patriotic War. At 63, he voluntarily appeared at the mobilization point, where he was refused - the age is not the same. But the commander Orlov would not be himself if he had come to terms with this state of affairs. After much persuasion and requests, he was deceived into militia by deception. And so his military path began again - he had to start again from the military lower classes, because he was recorded as an ordinary soldier.
In a short time, he rose to the rank of commander of the reconnaissance battalion of the people's militia. In the battles near Yelnya Orlov was shell-shocked, but remained in service, after which he took part in the formation of the 160th Infantry Division, which he himself headed, becoming a divisional commander.
In 1942, near Kaluga, as a result of an air raid, he was seriously wounded, but in less than six months he recovered and returned to duty. The commander Orlov left military service only in 1946 with the rank of colonel.
He had many awards: orders, medals and just memorable gifts.
The commander Orlov died in January 1954.
Personal life Orlov
Fedor Mikhailovich married a woman to suit himself. His wife, Maria Iosifovna, at the end of the war initiated the construction of a tank for all family savings. The new T-34 went to the unit in the ranks of which their youngest son, Vasily, fought for their homeland. During the war, this tank destroyed many enemy guns and vehicles.
Orlov’s eldest son, Vladimir, rose to the rank of captain and died in battles near Leningrad.
Eugene, like his elder brother, became a captain, received many awards, including for the capture of Berlin and Prague.
Vasily, the youngest son, received the posthumous title of Hero of the Soviet Union, not having survived the victory for only two months.
Orlov's daughter , Maria, became a pilot and ended the war with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
In memory of the division commander Orlov
A street in the north of Moscow near the Botanical Garden is named after the commander.
Every year on Victory Day, students of the school of the district in which Komdiva Orlova Street is located bring flowers to the memorial plaque and hold a solemn ruler in memory of the hero.
In 2003, the tank, built at the expense of the Orlov family, was renovated in St. Petersburg and installed at one of the schools in the Moscow region, in which a museum of military glory was opened.