Teodor Kulakov

At 1325 hours on November 16 the German air force began a series of heavy strikes against the division's positions, with over 100 sorties. Colonel Kulakov had established his observation post in the midst of his division's forward defense line in the northern portion of the Voikov factory. At 1330 hours he was killed along with two other officers standing nearby by a bomb blast, with a fourth officer wounded. Unaware of his fate, the People's Commissariat of Defense issued a decree the following day promoting Kulakov to the rank of Major General. On May 16, 1944, Kulakov was posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union for his outstanding performance in the Kerch–Eltigen Operation, along with a captain and a sergeant-major of his division who were also killed during its course. Kulakov was buried at the Vsesvyatskoye Cemetery in Krasnodar.

Teodor Sergeevich Kulakov (Russian: Теодор Сергеевич Кулаков; March 18 [O.S. March 6] 1900, Rozhdestvenka, Belgorod Oblast – November 16, 1943, Kerch) was a colonel of the Red Army during the Second World War. He was officially promoted to the rank of major general the day after he was killed in action. He was also posthumously awarded the gold star of the Hero of the Soviet Union in May, 1944.

The 339th spent a few months rebuilding in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in the spring of 1943. On March 16, 1943, Kulakov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for his services. During most of the year his troops served in the Novorossiysk-Taman Operation, back in 56th Army, gradually eroding the positions of 17th Army in the Kuban bridgehead. In early October the 339th played a leading role in the defeat of these Axis forces; the division was awarded the honorific "Taman", while Kulakov received both the Order of Kutuzov and the Order of Suvorov within weeks of each other.

At the start of the Great Patriotic War, Kulakov was serving as the chief of staff of a rifle division. During 1941 he went on to see action in the Yelnya Offensive in September–October, and then in the defense of Moscow. By August 14, 1942, he had been promoted to the rank of colonel, and on that date was appointed to the command of the 339th Rifle Division, a position he would hold until his death. At the time he was appointed the division was retreating from Rostov-on-Don into the passes of the Caucasus Mountains. As of September 4 his division was in Front reserves of Transcaucasus Front. When the German 17th Army began a new offensive towards the Black Sea port of Tuapse on September 23, the 339th was in 56th Army, where it remained for the rest of Kulakov's career. Tuapse was successfully defended, and the German offensive ground to a halt in early November.

Kulakov was born on March 18, 1900, to a peasant family in the village of Rozhdestvenka in the former Belgorod Oblast. A Russian by nationality, he finished elementary school and then worked in one of the printing houses in Kharkov. At the age of 18 he joined the Red Army and actively participated in the Russian Civil War. He showed obvious signs of command capabilities, and remained in the cadre Red Army after the war. In 1926 he attended the Combined Military School in Tashkent, and later the 3rd Course at the Frunze Academy.