During the Great Patriotic War, heroism was the norm of behavior of Soviet people; the war revealed perseverance and courage Soviet man. Thousands of soldiers and officers sacrificed their lives in the battles of Moscow, Kursk and Stalingrad, in the defense of Leningrad and Sevastopol, in the North Caucasus and the Dnieper, during the storming of Berlin and in other battles - and immortalized their names. Women and children fought alongside men. Home front workers played a big role. People who worked, exhausting themselves, to provide the soldiers with food, clothing and, at the same time, a bayonet and a shell.
We will talk about those who gave their lives, strength and savings for the sake of Victory. These are the great people of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
Doctors are heroes. Zinaida Samsonova
During the war, more than two hundred thousand doctors and half a million paramedical personnel worked at the front and in the rear. And half of them were women.
The working day of doctors and nurses in medical battalions and front-line hospitals often lasted several days. During sleepless nights, medical workers stood relentlessly near the operating tables, and some of them pulled the dead and wounded out of the battlefield on their backs. Among the doctors there were many of their “sailors” who, saving the wounded, covered them with their bodies from bullets and shell fragments.
Without sparing, as they say, their belly, they raised the spirit of the soldiers, raised the wounded from their hospital beds and sent them back into battle to defend their country, their homeland, their people, their home from the enemy. Among the large army of doctors, I would like to mention the name of Hero of the Soviet Union Zinaida Aleksandrovna Samsonova, who went to the front when she was only seventeen years old. Zinaida, or, as her fellow soldiers sweetly called her, Zinochka, was born in the village of Bobkovo, Yegoryevsky district, Moscow region.
Just before the war, she entered the Yegoryevsk Medical School to study. When the enemy entered her native land and the country was in danger, Zina decided that she must definitely go to the front. And she rushed there.
IN active army she has been since 1942 and immediately finds herself on the front line. Zina was a sanitary instructor for a rifle battalion. The soldiers loved her for her smile, for her selfless assistance to the wounded. Zina went through the most terrible battles with her fighters, this Battle of Stalingrad. She fought on the Voronezh Front and on other fronts.
Zinaida Samsonova In the fall of 1943, she participated in the landing operation to capture a bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper near the village of Sushki, Kanevsky district, now Cherkasy region. Here she, together with her fellow soldiers, managed to capture this bridgehead.
Zina carried more than thirty wounded from the battlefield and transported them to the other side of the Dnieper. There were legends about this fragile nineteen-year-old girl. Zinochka was distinguished by her courage and bravery.
When the commander died near the village of Kholm in 1944, Zina, without hesitation, took command of the battle and raised the soldiers to attack. In this fight last time Her fellow soldiers heard her amazing, slightly hoarse voice: “Eagles, follow me!”
Zinochka Samsonova died in this battle on January 27, 1944 for the village of Kholm in Belarus. She was buried in a mass grave in Ozarichi, Kalinkovsky district, Gomel region.
For her perseverance, courage and bravery, Zinaida Aleksandrovna Samsonova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The school where Zina Samsonova once studied was named after her.
A special period of activity for Soviet foreign intelligence officers was associated with the Great Patriotic War. Already at the end of June 1941, the newly created State Defense Committee of the USSR considered the issue of foreign intelligence work and clarified its tasks. They were subordinated to one goal - the speedy defeat of the enemy. For exemplary performance of special tasks behind enemy lines, nine career foreign intelligence officers were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. This is S.A. Vaupshasov, I.D. Kudrya, N.I. Kuznetsov, V.A. Lyagin, D.N. Medvedev, V.A. Molodtsov, K.P. Orlovsky, N.A. Prokopyuk, A.M. Rabtsevich. Here we will talk about one of the scout-heroes - Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov.
From the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he was enrolled in the fourth directorate of the NKVD, whose main task was to organize reconnaissance and sabotage activities behind enemy lines. After numerous trainings and studying the morals and life of the Germans in a prisoner of war camp, under the name of Paul Wilhelm Siebert, Nikolai Kuznetsov was sent behind enemy lines along the line of terror. At first, the special agent conducted his secret activities in the Ukrainian city of Rivne, where the Reich Commissariat of Ukraine was located. Kuznetsov communicated closely with enemy intelligence officers and the Wehrmacht, as well as local officials. All information obtained was transferred to partisan detachment. One of the remarkable exploits of the USSR secret agent was the capture of the Reichskommissariat courier, Major Gahan, who was carrying a secret map in his briefcase. After interrogating Gahan and studying the map, it turned out that a bunker for Hitler was built eight kilometers from the Ukrainian Vinnitsa.
In November 1943, Kuznetsov managed to organize the kidnapping of German Major General M. Ilgen, who was sent to Rivne to destroy partisan formations.
The last operation of intelligence officer Siebert in this post was the liquidation in November 1943 of the head of the legal department of the Reichskommissariat of Ukraine, Oberführer Alfred Funk. After interrogating Funk, the brilliant intelligence officer managed to obtain information about the preparation of the assassination of the heads of the “Big Three” of the Tehran Conference, as well as information about the enemy’s attack on Kursk Bulge. In January 1944, Kuznetsov was ordered to go to Lviv along with the retreating fascist troops to continue his sabotage activities. Scouts Jan Kaminsky and Ivan Belov were sent to help Agent Siebert. Under the leadership of Nikolai Kuznetsov, several occupiers were destroyed in Lviv, for example, the head of the government chancellery Heinrich Schneider and Otto Bauer.
From the first days of the occupation, boys and girls began to act decisively, and a secret organization “Young Avengers” was created. The guys fought against the fascist occupiers. They blew up a water pumping station, which delayed the sending of ten fascist trains to the front. While distracting the enemy, the Avengers destroyed bridges and highways, blew up a local power plant, and burned down a factory. Having obtained information about the actions of the Germans, they immediately passed it on to the partisans.
Zina Portnova was assigned increasingly complex tasks. According to one of them, the girl managed to get a job in a German canteen. After working there for a while, she carried out an effective operation - she poisoned food for German soldiers. More than 100 fascists suffered from her lunch. The Germans began to blame Zina. Wanting to prove her innocence, the girl tried the poisoned soup and only miraculously survived.
Zina Portnova In 1943, traitors appeared who revealed secret information and handed our guys over to the Nazis. Many were arrested and shot. Then the command of the partisan detachment instructed Portnova to establish contact with those who survived. The Nazis captured the young partisan when she was returning from a mission. Zina was terribly tortured. But the answer to the enemy was only her silence, contempt and hatred. The interrogations did not stop.
“The Gestapo man came to the window. And Zina, rushing to the table, grabbed the pistol. Apparently catching the rustle, the officer turned around impulsively, but the weapon was already in her hand. She pulled the trigger. For some reason I didn’t hear the shot. I just saw how the German, clutching his chest with his hands, fell to the floor, and the second one, sitting at the side table, jumped up from his chair and hastily unfastened the holster of his revolver. She pointed the gun at him too. Again, almost without aiming, she pulled the trigger. Rushing to the exit, Zina pulled the door open and jumped out next room and from there to the porch. There she shot at the sentry almost point-blank. Running out of the commandant’s office building, Portnova rushed like a whirlwind down the path.
“If only I could run to the river,” the girl thought. But from behind there was the sound of a chase... “Why don’t they shoot?” The surface of the water already seemed very close. And beyond the river the forest turned black. She heard the sound of machine gun fire and something spiky pierced her leg. Zina fell on the river sand. She still had enough strength to rise slightly and shoot... She saved the last bullet for herself.
When the Germans got very close, she decided it was all over and pointed the gun at her chest and pulled the trigger. But there was no shot: it misfired. The fascist knocked the pistol out of her weakening hands.”
Zina was sent to prison. The Germans brutally tortured the girl for more than a month; they wanted her to betray her comrades. But having taken an oath of allegiance to the Motherland, Zina kept it.
On the morning of January 13, 1944, a gray-haired and blind girl was taken out to be executed. She walked, stumbling with her bare feet in the snow.
The girl withstood all the torture. She truly loved our Motherland and died for it, firmly believing in our victory.
Zinaida Portnova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The Soviet people, realizing that the front needed their help, made every effort. Engineering geniuses simplified and improved production. Women who had recently sent their husbands, brothers and sons to the front took their place at the machine, mastering professions unfamiliar to them. “Everything for the front, everything for victory!” Children, old people and women gave all their strength, gave themselves for the sake of victory.
This is how the collective farmers’ call sounded in one of the regional newspapers: “... we must give the army and the working people more bread, meat, milk, vegetables and agricultural raw materials for industry. We, the state farm workers, must hand over this together with the collective farm peasantry.” Only from these lines can one judge how obsessed the home front workers were with thoughts of victory, and what sacrifices they were willing to make to bring this long-awaited day closer. Even when they received a funeral, they did not stop working, knowing that it was The best way to take revenge on the hated fascists for the death of their relatives and friends.
On December 15, 1942, Ferapont Golovaty gave all his savings - 100 thousand rubles - to purchase an aircraft for the Red Army, and asked to transfer the aircraft to a pilot of the Stalingrad Front. In a letter addressed to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, he wrote that, having escorted his two sons to the front, he himself wanted to contribute to the cause of victory. Stalin replied: “Thank you, Ferapont Petrovich, for your concern for the Red Army and its Air Force. The Red Army will not forget that you gave all your savings for the construction combat aircraft. Please accept my greetings." The initiative was given serious attention. The decision about who exactly would get the plane was made by the Military Council of the Stalingrad Front. The combat vehicle was awarded to one of the best - the commander of the 31st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Major Boris Nikolaevich Eremin. The fact that Eremin and Golovaty were fellow countrymen also played a role.
Victory in the Great Patriotic War was achieved through superhuman efforts of both front-line soldiers and home front workers. And we need to remember this. Today's generation should not forget their feat.
The Pravoslavie.fm portal is like a bee, hardworkingly collecting for itself and for its beekeeper readers the nectar of good news and Christian wisdom.
You will learn about how the world is dangerous and what things you need to be careful of from many sources. We will try to tell you about the sacrificial love of some people towards others, presenting below several cases of heroism from the life of Russians:
1. Students of the Iskitim branch of the Novosibirsk Assembly College - 17-year-old Nikita Miller and 20-year-old Vlad Volkov - managed to immobilize an armed raider who was trying to rob a grocery kiosk and hold him until the police arrived.
“We didn’t have any visitors, so we went into the back room for a couple of minutes to sort out the goods. Suddenly we heard the scales hit with something iron. We look out and there’s a man standing there with a gun. I screamed, of course, immediately and pressed the panic button. And just then the guys came in. This raider got scared and tried to run away.
But Nikita and Vlad didn’t let him escape: they knocked the criminal down near the kiosk and kept him there until the police, called by the panic button, arrived,” recalls seller Svetlana Adamova.
2. In the Chelyabinsk region, priest Alexey Peregudov saved the life of the groom at a wedding.
During the wedding, the groom lost consciousness. The only one who was not at a loss in this situation was Priest Alexey Peregudov. He quickly examined the man lying down, suspected cardiac arrest and provided first aid, including chest compressions. As a result, the sacrament was successfully completed.
Father Alexey noted that before this incident he had only seen chest compressions in movies.
3. An explosion unexpectedly occurred at one of the gas stations in the city of Kaspiysk. As it turned out later, a foreign car driving at high speed crashed into a gas tank and knocked down the valve.
To hesitate a little and the fire would have spread to nearby tanks with flammable fuel.
The situation was saved by Dagestani Arsen Fitzulaev, who prevented a catastrophe at a gas station by skillfully reducing the scale of the accident to a burnt-out car and several damaged vehicles. Later the guy realized that he was actually risking his life.
4. Schoolchildren from the Krasnodar region Roman Vitkov and Mikhail Serdyuk saved an elderly woman from a burning house.
Heading home, they saw a fire in a private house. Running into the yard, the schoolchildren saw that the veranda was almost completely engulfed in fire. Roman and Mikhail rushed into the barn to get a tool. Grabbing a sledgehammer and an ax, breaking out the window, Roman climbed into the window opening. An elderly woman was sleeping in a smoky room. The guys broke down the door and saved the woman.
5. Tuljak Alexander Ponomarev saved a man from a burning car.
The driver went on a regular trip - or rather, everything was as usual, if the man had not seen a burning car on the side of the road.
Alexander couldn’t just drive past like the other drivers: he stopped, took a fire extinguisher and rushed to help. He knocked out the flames and tried to open the driver's door, but it was locked while a person remained in the car.
“I broke out the side window and opened the door. The car continued to burn, but there was no time to put it out - it was necessary to save the person. He pulled the man out of the driver's seat, he didn't understand what was happening - he inhaled carbon monoxide"- said Ponomarev.
Having dragged the victim to a safe distance, Alexander called the dispatcher and she called rescuers to the scene of the fire and went out to meet them. And Ponomarev, in order not to waste time, took the stricken driver to the nearest hospital in his truck.
6. Pskov policeman Vadim Barkanov saved two men in a fire. While walking with his friend, Vadim saw smoke and flames escaping into one of the houses.
A woman ran out of the building and began to call for help, since two men remained in the apartment. Calling the firefighters, Vadim and his friend rushed to their aid. As a result, they managed to carry two unconscious men out of the burning building. The victims were taken by ambulance to the hospital, where they received the necessary medical care.
7. In Borisov, policeman Igor Pozdnyakov saved a child by removing him from the roof of a store.
32-year-old police officer Igor Poznyakov accidentally saw a one-and-a-half-year-old baby on the roof of a store: the boy was calmly walking along the edge of the roof, to which the apartment windows adjoin.
He himself talked about it this way: “I was with a colleague. I told him to stand near the roof for safety, and he ran into the entrance to the second floor. Mom opened the door, and I immediately ran to the window. He climbed through the window sill onto the roof and approached the child with the words: “Hello, buddy, come to me!” After that, he abruptly grabbed him in his arms - he didn’t even cry. By that time, people had already gathered on the street and were watching the baby. Mother, of course, was shocked. Imagine: from the roof to the ground about six meters.”
“When the doorbell rang, I was scared: “God forbid, my husband forgot to close the door and my son went outside!” A policeman stood on the threshold and ran to the window. I woke up and didn’t understand what happened. And when I saw that my son was on the roof, I was speechless. I was sleeping and didn’t even hear him wake up. It turned out that he rolled his bicycle up to the window, after which he climbed onto the windowsill and opened the window handle!” the baby’s mother shared with reporters.
The young mother is very grateful to the savior - the child’s walk on the roof could have turned into a tragedy.
8. Zalina Arsanova shielded her brother from bullets in Ingushetia.
The story took place at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In Ingushetia, this is the time when children congratulate friends and relatives on the holiday by coming to visit them. In a neighboring yard, an attempt was made on one of the FSB officers.
When the first bullet pierced the facade of the nearest house, the girl realized that it was shooting, and her younger brother was in the line of fire, and covered him with herself.
The girl with a gunshot wound was taken to Malgobek Clinical Hospital No. 1, where she underwent surgery. Surgeons had to assemble the internal organs of a 12-year-old child literally piece by piece, but both the girl and her brother remained alive.
9. A resident of the village of Yurmash (Bashkortostan), Rafit Shamsutdinov, saved two children in a fire.
Fellow villager Rafita lit the stove and went to school with her older children, leaving her three-year-old daughter and one-and-a-half-year-old son at home.
For some reason, a fire started. Rafit Shamsutdinov noticed smoke from the burning house. Despite the abundance of smoke, he managed to enter the burning room and carry out both children.
10. While resting after his shift, a firefighter from Bely Yar carried a woman and her baby out of the fire.
It seems like an ordinary everyday story for firefighters - saving people from burning houses. But Ivan Morozov had a day off that day - the guy and his friend worked a daily shift and went out at night to “ride around the village.”
From under the roof of one of the two-story houses, Vanya saw thick smoke escaping - and the first thing he did was dial 112, calling the fire department. But then the veranda caught fire and Ivan rushed to the house so that help could arrive on time. The fireman knocked down the door and immediately saw a woman on the floor.
“She sat as if in oblivion, and covered herself from the smoke with her hand. The door had already caught fire by that time, so I evacuated it through the window. In the process, he asked if there was anyone else at home, and she said that her son was sleeping on the second floor,” the hero recalls.
The fireman, as he was - in only a T-shirt, without a protective suit, as is required in such cases - rushed upstairs to look for the boy. He was sleeping, so Ivan easily picked him up, went down and handed him through the window to his mother.
The selection is based on materials from Komsomolskaya Pravda, the portal “Heroes of Our Time”, etc.
Andrey Szegeda
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Imagine trying to save a blind man from a burning building, walking step by step through searing flames and smoke. Now imagine that you are blind too. Jim Sherman, born blind, heard his 85-year-old neighbor's cries for help when she was trapped in her burning house. He found his way, moving along the fence. Once he got to the woman's house, he somehow managed to get inside and find his neighbor Annie Smith, who was also blind. Sherman pulled Smith from the fire and took her to safety.
Skydiving instructors sacrificed everything to save their students
Few people will survive a fall of several hundred meters. But two women did it thanks to the dedication of two men. The first gave his life to save a man whom he saw for the first time in his life.
Skydiving instructor Robert Cook and his student Kimberley Dear were about to make their first jump when the plane's engine failed. Cook told the girl to sit on his lap and tied their belts together. As the plane crashed to the ground, Cook's body bore the brunt of the impact, killing the man but leaving Kimberly alive.
Another skydiving instructor, Dave Hartstock, also saved his student from being hit. This was Shirley Dygert's first jump, and she jumped with an instructor. Diegert's parachute did not open. During the fall, Hartstock managed to get under the girl, softening the blow to the ground. Dave Hartstock injured his spine, the injury paralyzed his body from the neck down, but both survived.
Mere mortal Joe Rollino (pictured above) performed incredible, inhuman things during his 104-year life. Although he only weighed about 68 kg, in his prime he could lift 288 kg with his fingers and 1,450 kg with his back, for which he won various competitions several times. However, not the title “Most strong man in the world" made him a hero.
During World War II, Rollino served in the Pacific and received a Bronze and Silver Star for bravery in the line of duty, as well as three Purple Hearts for battle wounds that left him in the hospital for a total of 2 years. He carried away 4 of his comrades from the battlefield, two in each hand, and also returned to the thick of the battle for the rest.
Fatherly love can inspire superhuman feats, and this was proven by two fathers on opposite sides of the world.
In Florida, Joeph Welch came to the aid of his six-year-old son when an alligator grabbed the boy's arm. Forgetting about his own safety, Welch hit the alligator, trying to force it to open its mouth. Then a passerby arrived and began punching the alligator in the stomach until the animal finally let go of the boy.
In Mutoko, Zimbabwe, another father saved his son from a crocodile when it attacked him in a river. Father Tafadzwa Kacher began poking reeds into the animal's eyes and mouth until his son ran away. Then the crocodile targeted the man. Tafadzwa had to gouge out the animal's eyes. The boy lost his leg in the attack, but he will be able to tell of his father's superhuman bravery.
Two ordinary women lifted cars to save loved ones
Not only men are capable of demonstrating superhuman abilities in critical situations. The daughter and mother showed that women can be heroes too, especially when a loved one is in danger.
In Virginia, a 22-year-old girl saved her father when the jack slipped from under the BMW he was working under and the car fell onto the man's chest. There was no time to wait for help, the young woman lifted the car and moved it, then performed artificial respiration on her father.
In Georgia, a jack also slipped and a 1,350-pound Chevrolet Impala fell on a young man. Without help, his mother Angela Cavallo lifted the car and held it for five minutes until neighbors pulled her son out.
Superhuman abilities are not only strength and courage, but also the ability to think quickly and act in an emergency.
In New Mexico, a school bus driver suffered a seizure, putting children in danger. A girl waiting for the bus noticed that something had happened to the driver and called her mother. The woman, Rhonda Carlsen, immediately took action. She ran next to the bus and, using gestures, asked one of the children to open the door. After that, she jumped inside, grabbed the steering wheel and stopped the bus. Thanks to her quick reaction, none of the schoolchildren were injured, not to mention people passing by.
A truck and trailer drove along the edge of a cliff in the dead of night. The cab of a large truck stopped right above the cliff, with the driver inside. A young man came to the rescue, he broke the window and pulled the man out with his bare hands.
This happened in New Zealand in the Waioeka Gorge on October 5, 2008. The hero was 18-year-old Peter Hanne, who was at home when he heard the crash. Without thinking about his own safety, he climbed onto the balancing car, jumped into the narrow gap between the cab and the trailer, and broke the rear window. He carefully helped the injured driver out as the truck swayed under his feet.
In 2011 for this heroic deed Hanne was awarded the New Zealand Medal for bravery.
War is full of heroes who risk their lives to save their fellow soldiers. In the movie Forrest Gump, we saw how the fictional character saved several of his fellow soldiers, even after he was wounded. IN real life You can find a more abrupt plot.
Take, for example, the story of Robert Ingram, who received the Medal of Honor. In 1966, during an enemy siege, Ingram continued to fight and save his comrades even after he was shot three times: in the head (which left him partially blind and deaf in one ear), in the arm, and in the left knee. Despite his wounds, he continued to kill North Vietnamese soldiers who attacked his unit.
Aquaman is nothing compared to Shavarsh Karapetyan, who saved 20 people from a sinking bus in 1976.
The Armenian speed swimming champion was jogging with his brother when a bus with 92 passengers left the road and fell into the water 24 meters from the shore. Karapetyan dived, kicked out a window and began to pull out people who were by that time in cold water at a depth of 10 m. They say that it took 30 seconds for each person he saved, he saved one after another until he lost consciousness in the cold and dark water . As a result, 20 people survived.
But Karapetyan’s exploits did not end there. Eight years later, he saved several people from a burning building, suffering severe burns in the process. Karapetyan received the Order of the USSR Badge of Honor and several other awards for underwater rescue. But he himself claimed that he was not a hero at all, he simply did what he had to do.
A man takes off a helicopter to save his colleague
The TV show site turned into a tragedy when a helicopter from the popular TV series Magnum PI crashed into drainage ditch in 1988.
During landing, the helicopter suddenly tilted, went out of control and fell to the ground, while the whole thing was captured on film. One of the pilots, Steve Kux, was pinned under the helicopter in shallow water. And then Warren “Tiny” Everal ran up and picked up the helicopter from Kax. It was a Hughes 500D, which weighs at least 703kg empty. Everal's quick reactions and superhuman strength saved Kax from being pinned in the water by a helicopter. Even though the pilot injured himself left hand, he escaped death thanks to a local Hawaiian hero.
The exploits of Soviet heroes that we will never forget.
Roman Smishchuk. In one battle, destroyed 6 enemy tanks with hand grenades
For ordinary Ukrainian Roman Smishchuk, that battle was his first. In an effort to destroy the company that had taken up a perimeter defense, the enemy brought 16 tanks into battle. At this critical moment, Smishchuk showed exceptional courage: letting the enemy tank come close, he knocked out its chassis with a grenade, and then threw a bottle with a Molotov cocktail and set it on fire. Running from trench to trench, Roman Smishchuk attacked the tanks, running out to meet them, and in this way destroyed six tanks one after another. The company personnel, inspired by Smishchuk’s feat, successfully broke through the ring and joined their regiment. For his feat, Roman Semenovich Smishchuk was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. Roman Smishchuk died on October 29, 1969, and was buried in the village of Kryzhopol, Vinnytsia region.
Vanya Kuznetsov. The youngest holder of 3 Orders of Glory
Ivan Kuznetsov went to the front at the age of 14. Vanya received his first medal “For Courage” at the age of 15 for his exploits in the battles for the liberation of Ukraine. He reached Berlin, showing courage beyond his years in a number of battles. For this, already at the age of 17, Kuznetsov became the youngest full holder of the Order of Glory of all three levels. Died January 21, 1989.
Georgy Sinyakov. Saved hundreds from captivity Soviet soldiers according to the Count of Monte Cristo system
The Soviet surgeon was captured during the battles for Kyiv and, as a captured doctor at a concentration camp in Küstrin (Poland), saved hundreds of prisoners: being a member of the camp underground, he drew up documents in the concentration camp hospital for them as dead and organized escapes. Most often, Georgy Fedorovich Sinyakov used imitation of death: he taught patients to pretend to be dead, declared death, the “corpse” was taken out with other truly dead people and thrown into a ditch nearby, where the prisoner was “resurrected.” In particular, Dr. Sinyakov saved the life and helped pilot Anna Egorova, Hero of the Soviet Union, who was shot down in August 1944 near Warsaw, escape from the plan. Sinyakov lubricated her purulent wounds with fish oil and a special ointment, which made the wounds look fresh, but in fact healed well. Then Anna recovered and, with the help of Sinyakov, escaped from the concentration camp.
Matvey Putilov. At the age of 19, at the cost of his life, he connected the ends of a broken wire, restoring the telephone line between the headquarters and a detachment of fighters
In October 1942, the 308th Infantry Division fought in the area of the factory and the workers' village "Barricades". On October 25, there was a breakdown in communication and Guard Major Dyatleko ordered Matvey to restore the wired telephone connection connecting the regiment headquarters with a group of soldiers who were holding a house surrounded by the enemy for the second day. Two previous unsuccessful attempts to restore communications ended in the death of the signalmen. Putilov was wounded in the shoulder by a mine fragment. Overcoming the pain, he crawled to the site of the broken wire, but was wounded a second time: his arm was crushed. Losing consciousness and unable to use his hand, he squeezed the ends of the wires with his teeth, and a current passed through his body. Communication was restored. He died with the ends of telephone wires clenched in his teeth.
Marionella Koroleva. Carried 50 seriously wounded soldiers from the battlefield
19-year-old actress Gulya Koroleva voluntarily went to the front in 1941 and ended up in a medical battalion. In November 1942, during the battle for height 56.8 in the area of the Panshino farm, Gorodishchensky district (Volgograd region of the Russian Federation), Gulya literally carried 50 seriously wounded soldiers from the battlefield. And then when moral forces The fighters dried up, she went on the attack, where she was killed. Songs were written about Guli Koroleva’s feat, and her dedication was an example for millions of Soviet girls and boys. Her name is carved in gold on the banner military glory on Mamayev Kurgan, a village in the Sovetsky district of Volgograd and a street are named after her. E. Ilyina’s book “The Fourth Height” is dedicated to Gula Koroleva
Koroleva Marionella (Gulya), Soviet film actress, heroine of the Great Patriotic War
Vladimir Khazov. A tanker who alone destroyed 27 enemy tanks
The young officer has 27 destroyed enemy tanks on his personal account. For services to the Motherland, Khazov was awarded the highest award - in November 1942 he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He especially distinguished himself in the battle in June 1942, when Khazov received an order to stop an advancing enemy tank column, consisting of 30 vehicles, near the village of Olkhovatka (Kharkov region, Ukraine) while senior lieutenant Khazov’s platoon had only 3 combat vehicles. The commander made a bold decision: let the column pass and start firing from the rear. Three T-34s opened aimed fire at the enemy, positioning themselves at the tail of the enemy column. From frequent and accurate shots, German tanks caught fire one after another. In this battle, which lasted just over an hour, not a single enemy vehicle survived, and the full platoon returned to the battalion's location. As a result of the fighting in the Olkhovatka area, the enemy lost 157 tanks and stopped their attacks in this direction.
Alexander Mamkin. The pilot who evacuated 10 children at the cost of his life
During the operation of air evacuation of children from Polotsk orphanage No. 1, whom the Nazis wanted to use as blood donors for their soldiers, Alexander Mamkin made a flight that we will always remember. On the night of April 10-11, 1944, ten children, their teacher Valentina Latko and two wounded partisans fit into his R-5 plane. At first everything went well, but when approaching the front line, Mamkin’s plane was shot down. The R-5 was burning... If Mamkin had been alone on board, he would have gained altitude and jumped out with a parachute. But he was not flying alone and drove the plane further... The flame reached the pilot's cabin. The temperature melted his flight goggles, he flew the plane almost blindly, overcoming the hellish pain, he still stood firmly between the children and death. Mamkin was able to land the plane on the shore of the lake, he was able to get out of the cockpit and asked: “Are the children alive?” And I heard the voice of the boy Volodya Shishkov: “Comrade pilot, don’t worry! I opened the door, everyone is alive, let’s get out...” Then Mamkin lost consciousness, a week later he died... The doctors were still unable to explain how a man could drive the car and even land it safely, whose glasses had been fused into his face, and only his legs remained bones.
Alexey Maresyev. Test pilot who returned to the front and combat missions after amputation of both legs
On April 4, 1942, in the area of the so-called “Demyansk Pocket”, during an operation to cover bombers in a battle with the Germans, Maresyev’s plane was shot down. For 18 days, the pilot wounded in the legs, first on crippled legs, and then crawled his way to the front line, eating tree bark, pine cones and berries. Due to gangrene, his legs were amputated. But while still in the hospital, Alexey Maresyev began training, preparing to fly with prostheses. In February 1943, he made his first test flight after being wounded. I managed to get sent to the front. On July 20, 1943, during an air battle with superior enemy forces, Alexey Maresyev saved the lives of 2 Soviet pilots and shot down two enemy Fw.190 fighters at once. In total, during the war he made 86 combat missions and shot down 11 enemy aircraft: four before being wounded and seven after being wounded.
Rosa Shanina. One of the most formidable lone snipers of the Great Patriotic War
Rosa Shanina - Soviet single sniper of a separate platoon of female snipers of the 3rd Belorussian Front, holder of the Order of Glory; one of the first female snipers to receive this award. She was known for her ability to accurately fire at moving targets with a doublet - two shots in succession. Rosa Shanina’s account records 59 confirmed killed enemy soldiers and officers. The young girl became a symbol of the Patriotic War. Her name is associated with many stories and legends that inspired new heroes to glorious deeds. She died on January 28, 1945 during the East Prussian operation, protecting the seriously wounded commander of an artillery unit.
Nikolay Skorokhodov. Flew 605 combat missions. Personally shot down 46 enemy aircraft.
Soviet fighter pilot Nikolai Skorokhodov went through all levels of aviation during the war - he was a pilot, senior pilot, flight commander, deputy commander and squadron commander. He fought on the Transcaucasian, North Caucasian, Southwestern and 3rd Ukrainian fronts. During this time, he made more than 605 combat missions, conducted 143 air battles, shot down 46 enemy aircraft personally and 8 in a group, and also destroyed 3 bombers on the ground. Thanks to his unique skill, Skomorokhov was never wounded, his plane did not burn, was not shot down, and did not receive a single hole during the entire war.
Dzhulbars. Mine detection dog, participant of the Great Patriotic War, the only dog awarded the medal “For Military Merit”
From September 1944 to August 1945, taking part in mine clearance in Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria, service dog nicknamed Dzhulbars discovered 7468 mines and more than 150 shells. Thus, the architectural masterpieces of Prague, Vienna and other cities have survived to this day thanks to the phenomenal flair of Dzhulbars. The dog also helped the sappers who cleared the grave of Taras Shevchenko in Kanev and St. Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv. On March 21, 1945, for the successful completion of a combat mission, Dzhulbars was awarded the medal “For Military Merit.” This is the only time during the war that a dog received a military award. For his military services, Dzhulbars participated in the Victory Parade, held on Red Square on June 24, 1945.
Dzhulbars, a mine-detecting dog, a participant in the Great Patriotic War
Already at 7.00 on May 9, the telethon “Our Victory” begins, and the evening will end with a grandiose festive concert “VICTORY. ONE FOR ALL”, which will start at 20.30. The concert was attended by Svetlana Loboda, Irina Bilyk, Natalya Mogilevskaya, Zlata Ognevich, Viktor Pavlik, Olga Polyakova and other popular Ukrainian pop stars.
The war demanded from the people the greatest effort and enormous sacrifices on a national scale, revealing the fortitude and courage of the Soviet people, the ability to sacrifice themselves in the name of freedom and independence of the Motherland. During the war years, heroism became widespread and became the norm of behavior of Soviet people. Thousands of soldiers and officers immortalized their names during the defense Brest Fortress, Odessa, Sevastopol, Kyiv, Leningrad, Novorossiysk, in the battle of Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, in the North Caucasus, the Dnieper, in the foothills of the Carpathians, during the storming of Berlin and in other battles.
For heroic deeds in the Great Patriotic War, over 11 thousand people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (some posthumously), of which 104 were awarded twice, three three times (G.K. Zhukov, I.N. Kozhedub and A.I. Pokryshkin ). The first to receive this title during the war were Soviet pilots M.P. Zhukov, S.I. Zdorovtsev and P.T. Kharitonov, who rammed fascist planes on the outskirts of Leningrad.
In total, over eight thousand heroes were trained in the ground forces during wartime, including 1,800 artillerymen, 1,142 tank crews, 650 engineering troops, over 290 signalmen, 93 air defense soldiers, 52 military logistics soldiers, 44 doctors; in the Air Force - over 2,400 people; in the Navy - over 500 people; partisans, underground fighters and Soviet intelligence officers– about 400; border guards - over 150 people.
| Representatives of nations | Number of heroes |
|---|---|
| Russians | 8160 |
| Ukrainians | 2069 |
| Belarusians | 309 |
| Tatars | 161 |
| Jews | 108 |
| Kazakhs | 96 |
| Georgian | 90 |
| Armenians | 90 |
| Uzbeks | 69 |
| Mordovians | 61 |
| Chuvash | 44 |
| Azerbaijanis | 43 |
| Bashkirs | 39 |
| Ossetians | 32 |
| Tajiks | 14 |
| Turkmens | 18 |
| Litokians | 15 |
| Latvians | 13 |
| Kyrgyz | 12 |
| Udmurts | 10 |
| Karelians | 8 |
| Estonians | 8 |
| Kalmyks | 8 |
| Kabardians | 7 |
| Adyghe people | 6 |
| Abkhazians | 5 |
| Yakuts | 3 |
| Moldovans | 2 |
| results | 11501 |
Among the military personnel awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, privates, sergeants, foremen - over 35%, officers - about 60%, generals, admirals, marshals - over 380 people. There are 87 women among the wartime Heroes of the Soviet Union. The first to receive this title was Z. A. Kosmodemyanskaya (posthumously).
About 35% of Heroes of the Soviet Union at the time of awarding the title were under 30 years of age, 28% were between 30 and 40 years old, 9% were over 40 years old.
Four Heroes of the Soviet Union: artilleryman A.V. Aleshin, pilot I.G. Drachenko, rifle platoon commander P.Kh. Dubinda, artilleryman N.I. Kuznetsov - were also awarded Orders of Glory of all three degrees for their military exploits. Full gentlemen Over 2,500 people, including 4 women, received three degrees of the Order of Glory. During the war, over 38 million orders and medals were awarded to the defenders of the Motherland for courage and heroism. The Motherland highly appreciated the labor feat of the Soviet people in the rear. During the war years, 201 people were awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, about 200 thousand were awarded orders and medals.
Viktor Vasilievich Talalikhin
Born on September 18, 1918 in the village. Teplovka, Volsky district, Saratov region. Russian. After graduating from the factory school, he worked at the Moscow meat processing plant and at the same time studied at the flying club. Graduated from the Borisoglebok Military Aviation School for Pilots. Participated in Soviet-Finnish war 1939 – 1940. He made 47 combat missions, shot down 4 Finnish aircraft, for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Star (1940).
In the battles of the Great Patriotic War from June 1941. Made more than 60 combat missions. In the summer and autumn of 1941, he fought near Moscow. For military distinctions he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner (1941) and the Order of Lenin.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal was awarded to Viktor Vasilyevich Talalikhin by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 8, 1941 for the first night ramming of an enemy bomber in the history of aviation.
Soon Talalikhin was appointed squadron commander and was awarded the rank of lieutenant. The glorious pilot took part in many air battles near Moscow, shooting down five more enemy aircraft personally and one in a group. He died a heroic death in an unequal battle with fascist fighters on October 27, 1941.
V.V. was buried Talalikhin with military honors at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow. By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR dated August 30, 1948, he was forever included in the lists of the first squadron of the fighter aviation regiment, with which he fought the enemy near Moscow.
Streets in Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Borisoglebsk in the Voronezh region and other cities, a sea vessel, State Pedagogical Technical University No. 100 in Moscow, and a number of schools were named after Talalikhin. An obelisk was erected at the 43rd kilometer of the Warsaw Highway, over which the unprecedented night fight took place. A monument was erected in Podolsk, and a bust of the Hero was erected in Moscow.
Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub
(1920–1991), Air Marshal (1985), Hero of the Soviet Union (1944 – twice; 1945). During the Great Patriotic War in fighter aviation, squadron commander, deputy regiment commander, conducted 120 air battles; shot down 62 planes.
Three-time Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub on the La-7 shot down 17 enemy aircraft (including the Me-262 jet fighter) out of 62 he shot down during the war on La brand fighters. Kozhedub fought one of the most memorable battles on February 19, 1945 (sometimes the date is given as February 24).
On this day, he went on a free hunt together with Dmitry Titarenko. On the Oder traverse, the pilots noticed a plane quickly approaching from the direction of Frankfurt an der Oder. The plane flew along the river bed at an altitude of 3500 m at a speed much greater than the La-7 could reach. It was Me-262. Kozhedub instantly made a decision. The Me-262 pilot relied on the speed qualities of his machine and did not control the airspace in the rear hemisphere and below. Kozhedub attacked from below on a head-on course, hoping to hit the jet in the belly. However, Titarenko opened fire before Kozhedub. Much to Kozhedub’s surprise, the wingman’s premature shooting was beneficial.
The German turned to the left, towards Kozhedub, the latter could only catch the Messerschmitt in his sights and press the trigger. Me-262 turned into a fireball. In the cockpit of the Me 262 was non-commissioned officer Kurt-Lange from 1./KG(J)-54.
On the evening of April 17, 1945, Kozhedub and Titarenko carried out their fourth combat mission of the day to the Berlin area. Immediately after crossing the front line north of Berlin, the hunters discovered a large group of FW-190s with suspended bombs. Kozhedub began to gain altitude for the attack and reported to the command post that contact had been made with a group of forty Focke-Wolwofs with suspended bombs. The German pilots clearly saw a pair of Soviet fighters go into the clouds and did not imagine that they would appear again. However, the hunters appeared.
From behind, from above, Kozhedub in the first attack shot down the leading four Fokkers at the back of the group. The hunters sought to give the enemy the impression that they were in the air significant amount Soviet fighters. Kozhedub threw his La-7 right into the thick of the enemy planes, turning Lavochkin left and right, the ace fired in short bursts from his cannons. The Germans succumbed to the trick - the Focke-Wulfs began to free them from bombs that were interfering with air combat. However, the Luftwaffe pilots soon established the presence of only two La-7s in the air and, taking advantage of the numerical advantage, took advantage of the guardsmen. One FW-190 managed to get behind Kozhedub’s fighter, but Titarenko opened fire before the German pilot - the Focke-Wulf exploded in the air.
By this time, help arrived - the La-7 group from the 176th regiment, Titarenko and Kozhedub were able to leave the battle with the last remaining fuel. On the way back, Kozhedub saw a single FW-190 trying to drop bombs on Soviet troops. The ace dived and shot down an enemy plane. This was the last, 62nd, German plane shot down by the best Allied fighter pilot.
Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub also distinguished himself in the Battle of Kursk.
Kozhedub's total account does not include at least two aircraft - American P-51 Mustang fighters. In one of the battles in April, Kozhedub tried to drive away German fighters from the American “Flying Fortress” with cannon fire. The US Air Force escort fighters misunderstood the La-7 pilot's intentions and opened barrage fire from a long distance. Kozhedub, apparently, also mistook the Mustangs for Messers, escaped from under fire in a coup and, in turn, attacked the “enemy.”
He damaged one Mustang (the plane, smoking, left the battle and, having flown a little, fell, the pilot jumped out with a parachute), the second P-51 exploded in the air. Only after the successful attack did Kozhedub notice the white stars of the US Air Force on the wings and fuselages of the planes he had shot down. After landing, the regiment commander, Colonel Chupikov, advised Kozhedub to keep quiet about the incident and gave him the developed film of the photographic machine gun. The existence of a film with footage of burning Mustangs became known only after the death of the legendary pilot. A detailed biography of the hero on the website: www.warheroes.ru "Unknown Heroes"
Alexey Petrovich Maresyev
Maresyev Alexey Petrovich fighter pilot, deputy squadron commander of the 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, guard senior lieutenant.
Born on May 20, 1916 in the city of Kamyshin, Volgograd Region, into a working-class family. Russian. At the age of three he was left without a father, who died shortly after returning from the First World War. After finishing 8th grade high school Alexey entered the federal educational institution, where he received a specialty as a mechanic. Then he applied to the Moscow Aviation Institute, but instead of the institute, he went on a Komsomol voucher to build Komsomolsk-on-Amur. There he sawed wood in the taiga, built barracks, and then the first residential areas. At the same time he studied at the flying club. He was drafted into the Soviet army in 1937. Served in the 12th aviation border detachment. But, according to Maresyev himself, he did not fly, but “took up the tails” of the planes. He really took to the air already at the Bataysk Military Aviation School of Pilots, from which he graduated in 1940. He served as a pilot instructor there.
He made his first combat mission on August 23, 1941 in the Krivoy Rog area. Lieutenant Maresyev opened his combat account at the beginning of 1942 - he shot down a Ju-52. By the end of March 1942, he brought the count of downed fascist planes to four. On April 4, in an air battle over the Demyansk bridgehead (Novgorod region), Maresyev’s fighter was shot down. He attempted to land on the ice of a frozen lake, but released his landing gear early. The plane began to quickly lose altitude and fell into the forest.
Maresyev crawled to his side. His feet were frostbitten and they had to be amputated. However, the pilot decided not to give up. When he received prosthetics, he trained long and hard and got permission to return to duty. I learned to fly again in the 11th reserve air brigade in Ivanovo.
In June 1943, Maresyev returned to duty. He fought on the Kursk Bulge as part of the 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and was deputy squadron commander. In August 1943, during one battle, Alexey Maresyev shot down three enemy FW-190 fighters at once.
On August 24, 1943, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Guard Senior Lieutenant Maresyev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Later he fought in the Baltic states and became a regiment navigator. In 1944 he joined the CPSU. In total, he made 86 combat missions, shot down 11 enemy aircraft: 4 before being wounded and seven with amputated legs. In June 1944, Guard Major Maresyev became an inspector-pilot of the Directorate of Higher educational institutions Air Force. Boris Polevoy's book "The Tale of a Real Man" is dedicated to the legendary fate of Alexei Petrovich Maresyev.
In July 1946, Maresyev was honorably discharged from the Air Force. In 1952, he graduated from the Higher Party School under the CPSU Central Committee, in 1956, he completed graduate school at the Academy of Social Sciences under the CPSU Central Committee, and received the title of Candidate of Historical Sciences. In the same year, he became the executive secretary of the Soviet War Veterans Committee, and in 1983, first deputy chairman of the committee. He worked in this position until the last day of his life.
Retired Colonel A.P. Maresyev was awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, the Red Banner, the Patriotic War, 1st degree, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of People's Friendship, the Red Star, the Badge of Honor, "For Services to the Fatherland" 3rd degree, medals, and foreign orders. He was an honorary soldier of a military unit, an honorary citizen of the cities of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Kamyshin, and Orel. A minor planet of the solar system, a public foundation, and youth patriotic clubs are named after him. He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Author of the book "On the Kursk Bulge" (M., 1960).
Even during the war, Boris Polevoy’s book “The Tale of a Real Man” was published, the prototype of which was Maresyev (the author changed only one letter in his last name). In 1948, based on the book at Mosfilm, director Alexander Stolper made a film of the same name. Maresyev was even offered to play the main role himself, but he refused and this role was played by professional actor Pavel Kadochnikov.
Died suddenly on May 18, 2001. He was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery. May 18, 2001 at the Theater Russian army A gala evening was planned to mark Maresyev's 85th birthday, but an hour before the start, Alexei Petrovich had a heart attack. He was taken to the intensive care unit of one of the Moscow clinics, where he died without regaining consciousness. The gala evening still took place, but it began with a minute of silence.
Krasnoperov Sergey Leonidovich
Krasnoperov Sergei Leonidovich was born on July 23, 1923 in the village of Pokrovka, Chernushinsky district. In May 1941, he volunteered to join the ranks Soviet army. I studied at the Balashov Aviation Pilot School for a year. In November 1942, attack pilot Sergei Krasnoperov arrived at the 765th attack air regiment, and in January 1943 he was appointed deputy squadron commander of the 502nd attack air regiment of the 214th attack air division of the North Caucasus Front. In this regiment in June 1943 he joined the ranks of the party. For military distinctions he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Red Star, and the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded on February 4, 1944. Killed in action on June 24, 1944. "March 14, 1943. Attack pilot Sergei Krasnoperov makes two sorties one after another to attack the port of Temrkzh. Leading six "silts", he set fire to a boat at the pier of the port. On the second flight, an enemy shell hit the engine. A bright flame for a moment, like it seemed to Krasnoperov, the sun eclipsed and immediately disappeared in thick black smoke. Krasnoperov turned off the ignition, turned off the gas and tried to fly the plane to the front line. However, after a few minutes it became clear that it would not be possible to save the plane. And under the wing there was a complete swamp. There was only one way out. : to land. As soon as the burning car touched the marsh hummocks with its fuselage, barely had the pilot time to jump out of it and run slightly to the side, an explosion roared.
A few days later, Krasnoperov was again in the air, and in the combat log of the flight commander of the 502nd assault aviation regiment, junior lieutenant Sergei Leonidovich Krasnoperov, a short entry appeared: “03.23.43.” In two sorties he destroyed a convoy in the area of the station. Crimean. Destroyed 1 vehicles, created 2 fires." On April 4, Krasnoperov stormed manpower and firepower in the area of 204.3 meters. In the next flight, he stormed artillery and firing points in the area of Krymskaya station. At the same time, he destroyed two tanks and one gun and a mortar.
One day, a junior lieutenant received an assignment for a free flight in pairs. He was the leader. Secretly, in a low-level flight, a pair of “silts” penetrated deep into the enemy’s rear. They noticed cars on the road and attacked them. They discovered a concentration of troops - and suddenly brought down destructive fire on the heads of the Nazis. The Germans unloaded ammunition and weapons from a self-propelled barge. Combat approach - the barge flew into the air. The regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov, wrote about Sergei Krasnoperov: “Such heroic deeds of Comrade Krasnoperov are repeated in every combat mission. The pilots of his flight became masters of assault. The flight is united and occupies a leading position. The command always entrusts him with the most difficult and responsible tasks. With his heroic exploits, he created military glory for himself and enjoys well-deserved military authority among the regiment’s personnel.” Indeed. Sergei was only 19 years old, and for his exploits he had already been awarded the Order of the Red Star. He was only 20, and his chest was decorated with the Golden Star of the Hero.
Sergei Krasnoperov made seventy-four combat missions during the days of fighting on the Taman Peninsula. As one of the best, he was trusted to lead groups of “silts” on assault 20 times, and he always carried out a combat mission. He personally destroyed 6 tanks, 70 vehicles, 35 carts with cargo, 10 guns, 3 mortars, 5 anti-aircraft artillery points, 7 machine guns, 3 tractors, 5 bunkers, an ammunition depot, sunk a boat, a self-propelled barge, and destroyed two crossings across the Kuban.
Matrosov Alexander Matveevich
Sailors Alexander Matveevich - rifleman of the 2nd battalion of the 91st separate rifle brigade (22nd Army, Kalinin Front), private. Born on February 5, 1924 in the city of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk). Russian. Member of the Komsomol. Lost his parents early. He was raised for 5 years in the Ivanovo orphanage (Ulyanovsk region). Then he was brought up in the Ufa children's labor colony. After finishing 7th grade, he remained to work in the colony as an assistant teacher. In the Red Army since September 1942. In October 1942 he entered the Krasnokholmsky Infantry School, but soon most of the cadets were sent to the Kalinin Front.
In the active army since November 1942. He served in the 2nd battalion of the 91st separate rifle brigade. For some time the brigade was in reserve. Then she was transferred near Pskov to the area of Bolshoi Lomovatoy Bor. Straight from the march, the brigade entered the battle.
On February 27, 1943, the 2nd battalion received the task of attacking a strong point in the area of the village of Chernushki (Loknyansky district of the Pskov region). As soon as our soldiers passed through the forest and reached the edge, they came under heavy enemy machine-gun fire - three enemy machine guns in bunkers covered the approaches to the village. One machine gun was suppressed by an assault group of machine gunners and armor-piercers. The second bunker was destroyed by another group of armor-piercing soldiers. But the machine gun from the third bunker continued to fire at the entire ravine in front of the village. Attempts to silence him were unsuccessful. Then Private A.M. Sailors crawled towards the bunker. He approached the embrasure from the flank and threw two grenades. The machine gun fell silent. But as soon as the fighters went on the attack, the machine gun came to life again. Then Matrosov stood up, rushed to the bunker and closed the embrasure with his body. At the cost of his life, he contributed to the accomplishment of the unit’s combat mission.
A few days later, the name of Matrosov became known throughout the country. Matrosov’s feat was used by a journalist who happened to be with the unit for a patriotic article. At the same time, the regiment commander learned about the feat from the newspapers. Moreover, the date of the hero’s death was moved to February 23, timing the feat to coincide with Soviet Army Day. Despite the fact that Matrosov was not the first to commit such an act of self-sacrifice, it was his name that was used to glorify the heroism of Soviet soldiers. Subsequently, over 300 people accomplished the same feat, but this was no longer widely publicized. His feat became a symbol of courage and military valor, fearlessness and love for the Motherland.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was posthumously awarded to Alexander Matveevich Matrosov on June 19, 1943. He was buried in the city of Velikiye Luki. On September 8, 1943, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, the name of Matrosov was assigned to the 254th Guards Rifle Regiment, and he himself was forever included (one of the first in the Soviet Army) in the lists of the 1st company of this unit. Monuments to the Hero were erected in Ufa, Velikiye Luki, Ulyanovsk, etc. The museum of Komsomol glory of the city of Velikiye Luki, streets, schools, pioneer squads, motor ships, collective farms and state farms were named after him.
Ivan Vasilievich Panfilov
In the battles near Volokolamsk, the 316th Infantry Division of General I.V. especially distinguished itself. Panfilova. Reflecting continuous enemy attacks for 6 days, they knocked out 80 tanks and killed several hundred soldiers and officers. The enemy's attempts to capture the Volokolamsk region and open the way to Moscow from the west failed. For heroic actions, this formation was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and transformed into the 8th Guards, and its commander, General I.V. Panfilov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was not lucky enough to witness the complete defeat of the enemy near Moscow: on November 18, near the village of Gusenevo, he died a brave death.
Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov, Guard Major General, commander of the 8th Guards Rifle Red Banner (formerly 316th) Division, was born on January 1, 1893 in the city of Petrovsk, Saratov Region. Russian. Member of the CPSU since 1920. From the age of 12 he worked for hire, in 1915 he was drafted into tsarist army. In the same year he was sent to the Russian-German front. He joined the Red Army voluntarily in 1918. He was enlisted in the 1st Saratov Infantry Regiment of the 25th Chapaev Division. He took part in the civil war, fought against Dutov, Kolchak, Denikin and the White Poles. After the war, he graduated from the two-year Kyiv United Infantry School and was assigned to the Central Asian Military District. He took part in the fight against the Basmachi.
The Great Patriotic War found Major General Panfilov at the post of military commissar of the Kyrgyz Republic. Having formed the 316th Infantry Division, he went to the front with it and fought near Moscow in October - November 1941. For military distinctions he was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner (1921, 1929) and the medal "XX Years of the Red Army".
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded posthumously to Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov on April 12, 1942 for his skillful leadership of division units in battles on the outskirts of Moscow and his personal courage and heroism.
In the first half of October 1941, the 316th Division arrived as part of the 16th Army and took up defense on a wide front on the outskirts of Volokolamsk. General Panfilov was the first to widely use a system of deeply layered artillery anti-tank defense, created and skillfully used mobile barrage detachments in battle. Thanks to this, the resilience of our troops increased significantly, and all attempts of the 5th German Army Corps to break through the defenses were unsuccessful. For seven days, the division, together with the cadet regiment S.I. Mladentseva and dedicated anti-tank artillery units successfully repelled enemy attacks.
Giving important After the capture of Volokolamsk, the Nazi command sent another motorized corps to this area. Only under pressure from superior enemy forces were units of the division forced to leave Volokolamsk at the end of October and take up defense east of the city.
On November 16, fascist troops launched a second “general” attack on Moscow. A fierce battle began again near Volokolamsk. On this day, at the Dubosekovo crossing, there were 28 Panfilov soldiers under the command of political instructor V.G. Klochkov repelled the attack of enemy tanks and held the occupied line. Enemy tanks were also unable to penetrate in the direction of the villages of Mykanino and Strokovo. General Panfilov's division firmly held its positions, its soldiers fought to the death.
For the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command and the massive heroism of its personnel, the 316th Division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on November 17, 1941, and the next day it was reorganized into the 8th Guards Rifle Division.
Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello
Nikolai Frantsevich was born on May 6, 1908 in Moscow, into a working-class family. Graduated from 5th grade. Worked as a mechanic at the Murom Locomotive Plant construction machines. In the Soviet Army in May 1932. In 1933 he graduated from the Lugansk military pilot school in bomber units. In 1939 he took part in the battles on the river. Khalkhin - Gol and the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940. In the active army since June 1941, the squadron commander of the 207th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment (42nd Bomber Aviation Division, 3rd Bomber Aviation Corps DBA), Captain Gastello, carried out another mission flight on June 26, 1941. His bomber was hit and caught fire. He flew the burning plane into a concentration of enemy troops. The enemy suffered heavy losses from the explosion of the bomber. For the accomplished feat, on July 26, 1941, he was posthumously awarded the Title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Gastello's name is forever included in the lists of military units. At the site of the feat on the Minsk-Vilnius highway, a memorial monument was erected in Moscow.
Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya (“Tanya”)
Zoya Anatolyevna ["Tanya" (09/13/1923 - 11/29/1941)] - Soviet partisan, Hero of the Soviet Union was born in Osino-Gai, Gavrilovsky district, Tambov region in the family of an employee. In 1930 the family moved to Moscow. 
She graduated from the 9th grade of school No. 201. 
In October 1941, Komsomol member Kosmodemyanskaya voluntarily joined a special partisan detachment, acting on instructions from the headquarters of the Western Front in the Mozhaisk direction.
Twice she was sent behind enemy lines. At the end of November 1941, while performing a second combat mission near the village of Petrishchevo (Russian district of the Moscow region), she was captured by the Nazis. Despite cruel torture, she did not extradite military secrets, did not give her name.
On November 29, she was hanged by the Nazis. Her devotion to the Motherland, courage and dedication became an inspiring example in the fight against the enemy. On February 6, 1942, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Manshuk Zhiengalievna Mametova
Manshuk Mametova was born in 1922 in the Urdinsky district of the West Kazakhstan region. Manshuk’s parents died early, and the five-year-old girl was adopted by her aunt Amina Mametova. Manshuk spent her childhood in Almaty.
When the Great Patriotic War began, Manshuk was studying at a medical institute and at the same time working in the secretariat of the Council of People's Commissars of the Republic. In August 1942, she voluntarily joined the Red Army and went to the front. In the unit where Manshuk arrived, she was left as a clerk at the headquarters. But the young patriot decided to become a front-line fighter, and a month later Senior Sergeant Mametova was transferred to the rifle battalion of the 21st Guards Rifle Division.
Her life was short, but bright, like a flashing star. Manshuk died in battle for the honor and freedom of her native country when she was twenty-one and had just joined the party. The short military journey of the glorious daughter of the Kazakh people ended with an immortal feat she performed near the walls of the ancient Russian city of Nevel.
On October 16, 1943, the battalion in which Manshuk Mametova served received an order to repel an enemy counterattack. As soon as the Nazis tried to repel the attack, Senior Sergeant Mametova’s machine gun started working. The Nazis rolled back, leaving hundreds of corpses. Several fierce attacks of the Nazis had already been drowned out at the foot of the hill. Suddenly the girl noticed that two neighboring machine guns had fallen silent - the machine gunners had been killed. Then Manshuk, quickly crawling from one firing point to another, began to fire at the advancing enemies from three machine guns.
The enemy transferred mortar fire to the position of the resourceful girl. A nearby explosion of a heavy mine knocked over the machine gun behind which Manshuk lay. Wounded in the head, the machine gunner lost consciousness for some time, but the triumphant cries of the approaching Nazis forced her to wake up. Instantly moving to a nearby machine gun, Manshuk lashed out with a shower of lead at the chains of the fascist warriors. And again the enemy’s attack failed. This ensured the successful advancement of our units, but the girl from distant Urda remained lying on the hillside. Her fingers froze on the Maxima trigger.
On March 1, 1944, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, senior sergeant Manshuk Zhiengalievna Mametova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Aliya Moldagulova
Aliya Moldagulova was born on April 20, 1924 in the village of Bulak, Khobdinsky district, Aktobe region. After the death of her parents, she was raised by her uncle Aubakir Moldagulov. I moved with his family from city to city. She studied at the 9th secondary school in Leningrad. In the fall of 1942, Aliya Moldagulova joined the army and was sent to sniper school. In May 1943, Aliya submitted a report to the school command with a request to send her to the front. Aliya ended up in the 3rd company of the 4th battalion of the 54th Rifle Brigade under the command of Major Moiseev.
By the beginning of October, Aliya Moldagulova had 32 killed fascists.
In December 1943, Moiseev’s battalion received an order to drive the enemy out of the village of Kazachikha. Capturing this locality The Soviet command hoped to cut the railway line along which the Nazis were transporting reinforcements. The Nazis resisted fiercely, skillfully taking advantage of the terrain. The slightest advance of our companies came at a high price, and yet slowly but steadily our fighters approached the enemy’s fortifications. Suddenly a lone figure appeared ahead of the advancing chains.
Suddenly a lone figure appeared ahead of the advancing chains. The Nazis noticed brave warrior and opened fire with machine guns. Seizing the moment when the fire weakened, the fighter rose to his full height and carried the entire battalion with him.
After a fierce battle, our fighters took possession of the heights. The daredevil lingered in the trench for some time. Traces of pain appeared on his pale face, and strands of black hair came out from under his earflap hat. It was Aliya Moldagulova. She destroyed 10 fascists in this battle. The wound turned out to be minor, and the girl remained in service.
In an effort to restore the situation, the enemy launched counterattacks. On January 14, 1944, a group of enemy soldiers managed to break into our trenches. Got started hand-to-hand combat. Aliya mowed down the fascists with well-aimed bursts from her machine gun. Suddenly she instinctively felt danger behind her. She turned sharply, but it was too late: the German officer fired first. Gathering her last strength, Aliya raised her machine gun and the Nazi officer fell to the cold ground...
The wounded Aliya was carried out by her comrades from the battlefield. The fighters wanted to believe in a miracle, and vying with each other to save the girl, they offered blood. But the wound was fatal.
On June 4, 1944, Corporal Aliya Moldagulova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Sevastyanov Alexey Tikhonovich
Aleksey Tikhonovich Sevastyanov, flight commander of the 26th Fighter Aviation Regiment (7th Fighter Aviation Corps, Leningrad Air Defense Zone), junior lieutenant. Born on February 16, 1917 in the village of Kholm, now Likhoslavl district, Tver (Kalinin) region. Russian. Graduated from the Kalinin Freight Car Building College. In the Red Army since 1936. In 1939 he graduated from the Kachin Military Aviation School.
Participant of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. In total, during the war years, junior lieutenant Sevastyanov A.T. made more than 100 combat missions, shot down 2 enemy aircraft personally (one of them with a ram), 2 in a group and an observation balloon.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded posthumously to Alexei Tikhonovich Sevastyanov on June 6, 1942.
On November 4, 1941, junior lieutenant Sevastyanov was on patrol on the outskirts of Leningrad in an Il-153 aircraft. At about 10 p.m., an enemy air raid on the city began. Despite anti-aircraft fire, one He-111 bomber managed to break through to Leningrad. Sevastyanov attacked the enemy, but missed. He went on the attack a second time and opened fire at close range, but again missed. Sevastyanov attacked for the third time. Having come close, he pressed the trigger, but no shots were fired - the cartridges had run out. In order not to miss the enemy, he decided to ram. Approaching the Heinkel from behind, he cut off its tail unit with a propeller. Then he left the damaged fighter and landed by parachute. The bomber crashed near the Tauride Garden. The crew members who parachuted out were taken prisoner. Sevastyanov’s fallen fighter was found in Baskov Lane and restored by specialists from the 1st repair base.
April 23, 1942 Sevastyanov A.T. died in an unequal air battle, defending the “Road of Life” through Ladoga (shot down 2.5 km from the village of Rakhya, Vsevolozhsk region; a monument was erected in this place). He was buried in Leningrad at the Chesme Cemetery. Enlisted forever in the lists of the military unit. A street in St. Petersburg and a House of Culture in the village of Pervitino, Likhoslavl district, are named after him. The documentary "Heroes Don't Die" is dedicated to his feat.
Matveev Vladimir Ivanovich
Matveev Vladimir Ivanovich Squadron commander of the 154th Fighter Aviation Regiment (39th Fighter Aviation Division, Northern Front) - captain. Born on October 27, 1911 in St. Petersburg in a working-class family. Russian Member of the CPSU(b) since 1938. Graduated from 5th grade. He worked as a mechanic at the Red October factory. In the Red Army since 1930. In 1931 he graduated from the Leningrad Military Theoretical School of Pilots, and in 1933 from the Borisoglebsk Military Aviation School of Pilots. Participant in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939–1940.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War at the front. Captain Matveev V.I. On July 8, 1941, when repelling an enemy air raid on Leningrad, having used up all the ammunition, he used a ram: with the end of the plane of his MiG-3 he cut off the tail of the fascist aircraft. An enemy plane crashed near the village of Malyutino. He landed safely at his airfield. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal was awarded to Vladimir Ivanovich Matveev on July 22, 1941.
He died in an air battle on January 1, 1942, covering the “Road of Life” along Ladoga. He was buried in Leningrad.
Polyakov Sergey Nikolaevich
Sergei Polyakov was born in 1908 in Moscow, into a working-class family. He graduated from 7 classes of junior high school. Since 1930 in the Red Army, he graduated from the military aviation school. Participant civil war in Spain 1936 - 1939. In air battles he shot down 5 Franco planes. 
Member of the Sovetsko – Finnish War 1939 – 1940. On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War from the first day. The commander of the 174th Assault Aviation Regiment, Major S.N. Polyakov, made 42 combat missions, delivering precision strikes on enemy airfields, equipment and manpower, destroying 42 and damaging 35 aircraft.
On December 23, 1941, he died while performing another combat mission. On February 10, 1943, for the courage and courage shown in battles with enemies, Sergei Nikolaevich Polyakov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). During his service, he was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner (twice), the Red Star, and medals. He was buried in the village of Agalatovo, Vsevolozhsk district, Leningrad region.
Muravitsky Luka Zakharovich
Luka Muravitsky was born on December 31, 1916 in the village of Dolgoe, now Soligorsk district of the Minsk region, into a peasant family. He graduated from 6 classes and the FZU school. Worked on the Moscow metro. Graduated from the Aeroclub. In the Soviet Army since 1937. Graduated from the Borisoglebsk military pilot school in 1939.B.ZYu 
Participant of the Great Patriotic War since July 1941. Junior Lieutenant Muravitsky began his combat activities as part of the 29th IAP of the Moscow Military District. This regiment met the war on outdated I-153 fighters. Quite maneuverable, they were inferior to enemy aircraft in speed and firepower. Analyzing the first air battles, the pilots came to the conclusion that they needed to abandon the pattern of straightforward attacks, and fight on turns, in a dive, on a “slide” when their “Seagull” gained additional speed. At the same time, it was decided to switch to flights in “twos”, abandoning the officially established flight of three aircraft.
The very first flights of the twos showed their clear advantage. So, at the end of July, Alexander Popov, together with Luka Muravitsky, returning from escorting the bombers, met with six “Messers”. Our pilots were the first to rush into the attack and shot down the leader of the enemy group. Stunned by the sudden blow, the Nazis hastened to get away.
On each of his planes, Luka Muravitsky painted the inscription “For Anya” on the fuselage with white paint. At first the pilots laughed at him, and the authorities ordered the inscription to be erased. But before each new flight, “For Anya” appeared again on the starboard side of the plane’s fuselage... No one knew who Anya was, whom Luka remembered, even going into battle...
Once, before a combat mission, the regiment commander ordered Muravitsky to immediately erase the inscription and more so that it would not be repeated! Then Luka told the commander that this was his beloved girl, who worked with him at Metrostroy, studied at the flying club, that she loved him, they were going to get married, but... She crashed while jumping from a plane. The parachute did not open... She may not have died in battle, Luka continued, but she was preparing to become an air fighter, to defend her Motherland. The commander resigned himself.
Participating in the defense of Moscow, Flight Commander of the 29th IAP Luka Muravitsky achieved brilliant results. He was distinguished not only by sober calculation and courage, but also by his willingness to do anything to defeat the enemy. So on September 3, 1941, while operating on the Western Front, he rammed an enemy He-111 reconnaissance aircraft and made a safe landing on the damaged aircraft. At the beginning of the war, we had few planes and that day Muravitsky had to fly alone - to cover the railway station where the train with ammunition was being unloaded. Fighters, as a rule, flew in pairs, but here there was one...
At first everything went calmly. The lieutenant vigilantly monitored the air in the area of the station, but as you can see, if there are multilayer clouds overhead, it’s raining. When Muravitsky made a U-turn over the outskirts of the station, in the gap between the tiers of clouds he saw a German reconnaissance plane. Luka sharply increased the engine speed and rushed across the Heinkel-111. The Lieutenant’s attack was unexpected; the Heinkel had not yet had time to open fire when a machine-gun burst pierced the enemy and he, descending steeply, began to run away. Muravitsky caught up with the Heinkel, opened fire on it again, and suddenly the machine gun fell silent. The pilot reloaded, but apparently ran out of ammunition. And then Muravitsky decided to ram the enemy.
He increased the speed of the plane - the Heinkel was getting closer and closer. The Nazis are already visible in the cockpit... Without reducing speed, Muravitsky approaches almost closely to the fascist plane and hits the tail with the propeller. The jerk and propeller of the fighter cut the metal of the tail unit of the He-111... The enemy plane crashed into the ground behind the railway track in a vacant lot. Luka also hit his head hard on the dashboard, the sight and lost consciousness. I woke up and the plane was falling to the ground in a tailspin. Gathering all his strength, the pilot hardly stopped the rotation of the machine and brought it out of a steep dive. He could not fly further and had to land the car at the station...
Having received medical treatment, Muravitsky returned to his regiment. And again there are fights. The flight commander flew into battle several times a day. He was eager to fight and again, as before his injury, the words “For Anya” were carefully written on the fuselage of his fighter. By the end of September, the brave pilot already had about 40 aerial victories, won personally and as part of a group.
Soon, one of the squadrons of the 29th IAP, which included Luka Muravitsky, was transferred to the Leningrad Front to reinforce the 127th IAP. The main task of this regiment was to escort transport aircraft along the Ladoga highway, covering their landing, loading and unloading. Operating as part of the 127th IAP, Senior Lieutenant Muravitsky shot down 3 more enemy aircraft. On October 22, 1941, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, for the courage and courage shown in battles, Muravitsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By this time, his personal account already included 14 downed enemy aircraft.
On November 30, 1941, the flight commander of the 127th IAP, Senior Lieutenant Maravitsky, died in an unequal air battle, defending Leningrad... The overall result of his combat activities, in various sources, is assessed differently. The most common number is 47 (10 victories won personally and 37 as part of a group), less often - 49 (12 personally and 37 in a group). However, all these figures do not fit in with the number of personal victories – 14, given above. Moreover, one of the publications generally states that Luka Muravitsky won his last victory in May 1945, over Berlin. Unfortunately, there is no exact data yet.
Luka Zakharovich Muravitsky was buried in the village of Kapitolovo, Vsevolozhsk district Leningrad region. A street in the village of Dolgoye is named after him.