EntranceLittle-known exploits of the Great Patriotic War. Young heroes of the Great Patriotic War and their exploits Heroes of the Patriotic War and their exploits
Heroes of the Great Patriotic War
1. Ivan Timofeevich Lyubushkin (1918-1942)
In the fall of 1941, there were fierce battles in the area of the city of Orel. Soviet tank crews fought off the fierce attacks of the Nazis. At the beginning of the battle, Senior Sergeant Lyubushkin's tank was damaged by an enemy shell and could not move. The crew took on an unequal battle with fascist tanks pressing from all sides. Five enemy vehicles were destroyed by courageous tankers! During the battle, another shell hit Lyubushkin’s car and the crew was wounded.
The tank commander continued to fire at the advancing fascists and ordered the driver to repair the damage. Soon Lyubushkin's tank was able to move and joined its column.
For courage and bravery, I. T. Lyuboshkin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on October 10, 1941.
In one of the battles in June 1942, Lyubushkin died a heroic death.
2. Alexander Matveevich Matrosov (1924-1943)
On February 23, 1943, fierce battles broke out on one of the sections of the Kalinin Front near the village of Chernushki, north of the city of Velikiye Luki. The enemy turned the village into a heavily fortified stronghold. Several times the soldiers launched an attack on the fascist fortifications, but destructive fire from the bunker blocked their path. Then a private of the Sailors Guard, making his way to the bunker, covered the embrasure with his body. Inspired by Matrosov’s feat, the soldiers went on the attack and drove the Germans out of the village.
For his feat, A. M. Matrosov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Today, the regiment in which Sailors served bears the name of a hero who is forever included in the unit’s lists.
3. Nelson Georgievich Stepanyan (1913-1944)
During the Great Patriotic War, the commander of the assault regiment Stepanyan made 293 successful combat missions to attack and bomb enemy ships.
Stepanyan became famous for his high skill, surprise and audacity of striking the enemy. One day, Colonel Stepanyan led a group of planes to bomb an enemy airfield. The attack aircraft dropped their bombs and began to leave. But Stepanyan saw that several fascist planes remained undamaged. Then he directed his plane back, and approaching the enemy airfield, he lowered the landing gear. The enemy's anti-aircraft artillery stopped firing, thinking that the Soviet plane was voluntarily landing on their airfield. At this moment, Stepanyan stepped on the gas, retracted the landing gear and dropped the bombs. All three aircraft that survived the first raid burst into flames with torches. And Stepanyan’s plane landed safely at its airfield.
On October 23, 1942, for the excellent performance of command tasks, the glorious son of the Armenian people was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was awarded a second Gold Star medal posthumously on March 6, 1945.
4. Vasily Georgievich Klochkov (1911-1941)
November 1941. Moscow has been declared in a state of siege. In the Volokolamsk direction, in the area of the Dubosekovo crossing, 28 soldiers of the rifle division of Major General I.V. Panfilov, led by political instructor Klochkov, fought to the death.
On November 16, the Nazis sent a company of machine gunners against them. But all enemy attacks were repulsed. The Nazis left about 70 corpses on the battlefield. After some time, the Nazis moved 50 tanks against 28 brave men. The soldiers, led by the political instructor, courageously entered into an unequal battle. One after another, valiant warriors fell to the ground, struck down by fascist bullets. When the cartridges ran out and the grenades were running out, political instructor Klochkov gathered the surviving soldiers around him and, with grenades in his hands, went towards the enemy.
At the cost of their own lives, Panfilov’s men did not let the enemy tanks rush towards Moscow. The Nazis left 18 damaged and burned vehicles on the battlefield.
For unparalleled heroism, courage and bravery, political instructor V. G. Klochkov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
After the war, a monument was erected to the Panfilov heroes at the Dubosekovo crossing.
5. Alexander Mikhailovich Roditelev (1916-1966)
During the battles for Koenigsberg in April 1945, the commander of a sapper platoon, junior lieutenant Roditelev, and eight sappers acted as part of an assault group.
With a swift rush, the assault group reached the enemy artillery positions. Wasting no time, Roditelev ordered the artillerymen to attack. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, he himself destroyed six fascists. Unable to withstand the onslaught of Soviet soldiers, 25 German soldiers surrendered, the rest fled, leaving 15 heavy guns. A few minutes later, the Nazis attempted to return the abandoned guns. The sappers repulsed three counterattacks and held artillery positions until the main forces marched. In this battle, a group of sappers under the command of Roditelev destroyed up to 40 Nazis and captured 15 serviceable heavy guns. The next day, April 8, Roditelev with twelve sappers blew up an enemy bunker, cleared 6 blocks of the city from the Nazis and captured up to 200 soldiers and officers.
For the courage and bravery shown in battles with the German fascists, A. M. Roditelev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
6. Vladimir Dmitrievich Lavrinenkov (Born 1919)
Fighter pilot Lavrinenkov spent his first battle near Stalingrad. Soon he already had 16 enemy aircraft destroyed. With each flight his skill grew and strengthened. In battle, he acted decisively and boldly. The number of enemy aircraft shot down increased. Together with his comrades, he covered attack aircraft and bombers, repelled enemy air raids, conducting air battles - lightning battles with the enemy, from which he always emerged victorious.
By the end of the war, the communist Lavrinenkov had 448 combat missions, 134 air battles, in which he personally shot down 35 enemy aircraft and 11 as part of a group.
The Motherland twice awarded V.D. Lavrinenkov with the Gold Star medals of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
7. Viktor Dmitrievich Kuskov (1924-1983)
The motorman of the torpedo boat Kuskov fought throughout the war on the ships of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. The boat on which he served took part in 42 combat operations and sank 3 enemy ships.
In one of the battles, a direct hit from an enemy shell into the engine compartment destroyed the left engine and damaged the oil line of the second engine. Kuskov himself was seriously shell-shocked. Overcoming the pain, he reached the engine and closed the hole in the oil line with his hands. The hot oil burned his hands, but he unclenched them only when the boat left the battle and broke away from the enemy.
In another battle, in June 1944, a direct hit from an enemy shell started a fire in the engine room. Kuskov was seriously wounded, but continued to remain at his post, fighting the fire and water that flooded the engine compartment. However, the ship could not be saved. Kuskov, together with Petty Officer Matyukhin, lowered the crew members into the water using lifebelts, and the seriously wounded boat commander and officer were held in the water in their arms for two hours until our ships arrived.
For fearlessness and dedication, a high understanding of military duty and saving the life of the ship commander, communist V.D. Kuskov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on July 22, 1944.
8. Rufina Sergeevna Gasheva (Born 1921)
School, a pioneer detachment, three years of study at Moscow State University - this ordinary biography was radically changed by the war. 848 combat missions are recorded in the summer book of Rufina Gasheva, navigator of the squadron of the 46th Guards Taman Light Bomber Regiment. More than once she had to find herself in difficult situations. In one of the battles in Kuban, Gesheva’s plane was shot down by a fascist fighter and fell behind the front line. For several days, the girl made her way behind enemy lines to her regiment, where she was already considered dead. Near Warsaw, having parachuted out of a burning plane, she landed on a minefield.
In 1956, Rufina Sergeevna Gasheva was demobilized with the rank of major. She taught English at the Academy of Armored Forces named after R. Ya. Malinovsky, worked at Voenizdat. Since 1972 she has been retired in Moscow. For the courage shown in battles with the enemy, Rufina Sergeevna Gasheva was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on February 23, 1945.
10. Evgenia Maksimovna Rudneva (1921-1944)
In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, MSU student Zhenya Rudneva volunteered to go to the front. During the course she mastered the art of navigating. And then there were successful bombings of concentrations of enemy troops and enemy equipment in the Kuban, North Caucasus, and Crimea. The navigator of the Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment, Senior Lieutenant Rudneva, made 645 combat missions. In April 1944, while carrying out another combat mission in the Kerch region, E. M. Rudneva died heroically. On October 26, 1944, the navigator of the Guards Bomber Regiment, Evgenia Maksimovna Rudneva, was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
12. Manshuk Zhiengalievna Mametova (1922-1943)
The best machine gunner of the 21st Guards Rifle Division was considered a Kazakh girl, Manshuk Mametova. She was an example of valor and fearlessness, the pride of the division’s fighters.
On October 15, 1943, there was a fierce battle for the city of Nevel. Manshuk supported the advance of her unit with machine-gun fire. She was wounded in the head. Gathering her last strength, the girl pulled the machine gun into an open position and began shooting the Nazis point-blank, clearing the way for her comrades. Even dead, Manshuk clutched the handles of the machine gun...
From all over our Motherland letters were sent to Alma-Ata, where Manshuk lived and where she left for a great feat. And in Nevel, near whose walls the heroine died, there is a street named after her. The courageous machine gunner was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously on March 1, 1944.
13. Elena Fedorovna Kolesova (1921-1942)
On a frosty November night in 1941 near Moscow, a detachment of girl reconnaissance girls, led by twenty-year-old Muscovite Komsomol member Elena Kolesova, went behind enemy lines. For exemplary performance of this task, Lelya Kolesova was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Since April 1942, Kolesova’s group operated in one of the districts of the Minsk region. Under the leadership of its brave commander, the group collected and transmitted information about the location of the Nazis, the transfer of enemy troops and military equipment, passed highways and railways, blew up enemy trains and bridges. On September 11, 1942, Elena Kolesova died in an unequal battle with punitive forces near the village of Vydritsa, Minsk Region. The heroine’s name was borne by the pioneer squad of Moscow school No. 47, where she worked as a pioneer leader and teacher. The glorious intelligence officer, who gave her life for the freedom and independence of our Motherland, was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on February 21, 1944.
14. Anatoly Konstantinovich Avdeev, gunner fighter anti-tank artillery regiment, born in 1925.
On July 5, 1944, Avdeev’s gun crew was ordered to prevent the fascist troops from breaking out of the encirclement in the Volma region (Belarus). Having taken up an open firing position, the soldiers shot the Nazis at point-blank range. The battle lasted 13 hours. During this time, the gun crew repelled 7 attacks. Almost all the shells ran out, and 5 gun crew members died the death of the brave. The enemy is attacking again. Avdeev's gun is damaged by a direct hit from a shell, and the last soldier in the crew is killed. Left alone, Avdeev does not leave the battlefield, but continues to fight with a machine gun and grenades. But now all the cartridges and the last grenade have been used up. The Komsomol member grabs an ax lying nearby and destroys four more fascists.
Mission accomplished. The enemy did not pass, leaving up to 180 corpses of soldiers and officers, 2 self-propelled guns, a machine gun and 4 vehicles on the battlefield in front of Avdeev’s gun.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the glorious son of the Russian people, Avdeev, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
15. Vladimir Avramovich Alekseenko, Deputy commander of an aviation regiment, born in 1923, Russian.
Attack aviation pilot Alekseenko completed 292 successful combat missions during the war years. He stormed enemy batteries shelling Leningrad, crushed the enemy on the Karelian Isthmus, in the Baltic states and in East Prussia. Dozens of aircraft shot down and destroyed at airfields, 33 tanks, 118 vehicles, 53 railway cars, 85 carts, 15 armored personnel carriers, 10 ammunition depots, 27 artillery pieces, 54 anti-aircraft guns, 12 mortars and hundreds of killed enemy soldiers and officers - this is the combat Captain Alekseenko's account.
For 230 successful combat missions to carry out assault strikes against enemy concentrations of troops and equipment, for courage and courage, the communist V. A. Alekseenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on April 19, 1945. On June 29, 1945, for new military exploits at the front, he was awarded a second Gold Star medal.
16. Andrey Egorovich Borovykh, commander of an aviation squadron, born in 1921, Russian.
During the Great Patriotic War, fighter pilot Andrei Borovoy fought on the Kalinin Front. His battle path ran through Orel and Kursk, Gomel and Brest, Lvov and Warsaw and ended near Berlin. He flew to intercept enemy aircraft, accompanied our bombers behind enemy lines, and conducted aerial reconnaissance. In the first two years of the war alone, Major Borovoy made 328 successful combat missions, participated in 55 air battles, in which he personally shot down 12 enemy aircraft.
In August 1943, the communist Borovykh was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the second Gold Star medal on February 23, 1945 for shooting down another 20 enemy aircraft in the next 49 air battles.
In total, during the war years, Borovoy made about 600 successful combat missions.
After the Great Patriotic War, A.E. Borovykh was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR and a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
17. Boris Aleksandrovich Vladimirov , commander of a rifle division, born in 1905, Russian.
General Vladimirov especially distinguished himself in January 1945 in the Vistula-Oder operation. As a result of a well-thought-out and skillfully organized battle, his division on January 14-15 successfully broke through the deeply echeloned German defenses at the line of the Vistula River. Pursuing the enemy, the division fought about 400 km from January 16 to 28, suffering minor losses in personnel and military equipment. The soldiers under the leadership of General Vladimirov were among the first to enter the territory of Nazi Germany and, having made a difficult maneuver in a wooded area, with fierce resistance from the Nazis, pushed them back from the border and defeated the five thousand-strong garrison of the city of Schneidemuhl. In the area of the city of Schneidemuhl, the division's soldiers captured huge trophies, including 30 trains with military equipment, food and military equipment.
For his skillful leadership of the division in difficult battle conditions and the personal courage and heroism shown, communist B. A. Vladimirov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
18. Alexander Borisovich Kazaev , commander of a rifle regiment, born in 1919, Ossetian.
On April 13, 1945, a rifle regiment under the command of Major Kazaev, conducting offensive battles against the fascist group on the Zemland Peninsula, approached a heavily fortified enemy defense line. All attempts to break through the defenses from the front were unsuccessful. The division's advance was stopped. Then Major Kazaev, with a daring and unexpected maneuver, blocked the enemy’s main stronghold with small forces, and with his main forces broke through the defenses from the flanks and ensured the successful offensive of the entire division.
During the offensive battles from April 13 to 17, 1945, Major Kazaev’s regiment destroyed more than 400 and captured 600 Nazi soldiers and officers, captured 20 guns and freed 1,500 prisoners languishing in concentration camps.
For his skillful leadership of the regiment's combat operations and his courage, A. V. Kazaev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
21. Ermalai Grigorievich Koberidze, commander of a rifle division, born in 1904, Georgian, communist.
Career military man, Major General E. G. Koberidze on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War - since June 1941. He especially distinguished himself in battles in July 1944. On July 27, 1944, the division commander, General Koberidze, personally with the forward detachment of the division went to the eastern bank of the Vistula and organized its crossing. Under heavy enemy fire, the fighters, inspired by the division commander, crossed to the west bank and captured a bridgehead there. Following the advance detachment, the entire division, waging heavy fighting, completely crossed over to the western bank of the river within two days and began consolidating and expanding the bridgehead.
For skillful management of the division in the battles for the Vistula and the personal heroism and courage shown at the same time, E. G. Koberidze was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
22. Caesar Lvovich Kunikov , commander of the landing detachment of sailors of the Novorossiysk Naval Base of the Black Sea Fleet, Russian.
On the night of February 3-4, 1943, a landing detachment of sailors under the command of Major Kunikov landed on the enemy-occupied and heavily fortified coast in the Novorossiysk region. With a swift blow, the landing detachment knocked the fascists out of their strong point and firmly entrenched themselves in the captured bridgehead. At dawn a fierce battle broke out. The paratroopers repelled 18 enemy attacks during the day. By the end of the day, ammunition was running low. The situation seemed hopeless. Then Major Kunikov’s detachment made a surprise raid on an enemy artillery battery. Having destroyed the gun crew and captured the guns, they opened fire on the attacking enemy soldiers.
For seven days, the paratroopers repulsed fierce enemy attacks and held the bridgehead until the main forces arrived. During this period, the detachment destroyed over 200 Nazis. In one of the battles, Kunikov was mortally wounded.
For courage and courage, the communist Ts. L. Kunikov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
24. Kafur Nasyrovich Mamedov . On October 18, 1942, a battalion of marines of the Black Sea Fleet, in which sailor Mamedov fought, fought a difficult battle with superior enemy forces. Nazi troops managed to break through and surround the company commander's command post. Sailor Mamedov rushed to the commander’s rescue and shielded him from the enemy’s attack with his chest. The brave warrior saved the commander at the cost of his own life.
For courage, bravery and self-sacrifice in the battle with the fascist invaders, the son of the Azerbaijani people, Komsomol member K. N. Mamedov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
29. Maguba Guseinovna Syrtlanova , deputy commander of a night bomber squadron, born in 1912, Tatar, communist.
Guard senior lieutenant Syrtlanova fought in the North Caucasus, Taman Peninsula, Crimea, Belarus, Poland and East Prussia during the Great Patriotic War. In battles she showed exceptional courage, courage and bravery, and flew 780 combat missions. In the most difficult meteorological conditions, Syrtlanova guided groups of aircraft to specified areas with great accuracy.
For the courage and bravery of the guard, senior lieutenant M. G. Syrtlanova was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and their exploits are briefly described in many articles and books dedicated to that era. Quite a lot of different films have been made about this. However, the meager information presented in this way cannot fully tell how big a role they played in the overall victory over fascism. But the contribution of each hero individually was simply colossal and inherently unique. In this article, the given facts are also listed very succinctly, but this does not detract from their significance in the historical aspect!
Heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and their exploits, briefly:
Matrosov’s famous feat was admired and applauded by virtually the entire country. His name has always appeared among the most famous heroes of the USSR of that time.
After all, it was hard to imagine that this brave man would be able, at a critical moment in the battle, to take the extraordinary step of covering the embrasure with his own body, from which the German gun was firing. In fact, by this action, Sailors allowed his comrades to successfully complete the attack on German positions, but at the same time lost his own life.
In 1941, the Nazis dominated the skies, so during this period it was extremely difficult for Soviet pilots to compete with them. But, even despite this, on June 26, the crew, led by Captain Gastello, flew out on a combat mission. The purpose of this sortie was to destroy the enemy mechanized column.
However, the Nazis reliably guarded their unit and as soon as they noticed the enemy planes, they opened heavy fire on them from anti-aircraft guns. As a result of this shelling, Gastello's plane was damaged - the fuel tank caught fire. Of course, even in this situation the pilot could jump out of the parachute and land safely. However, he chose a completely different path - he sent the burning plane directly to the accumulation of German equipment.
Victor Talalikhin
He made his first ram in August 1941, when he damaged a German bomber, but at the same time he managed to jump out of the plane by parachute and thus save his life.
Later, Victor managed to destroy 5 more German planes, but in October of the same year, near Podolsk, during another air battle, the hero died.
He was the commander of a partisan detachment, which became a real hell for the Nazis. The partisans, led by Herman, were able to destroy a lot of military equipment and manpower of the enemy, derailed entire trains and destroyed German military locations. But in 1943, in the Pskov region, the detachment was surrounded.
And even being in such a difficult situation, Herman did not lose his composure, but ordered his soldiers to fight their way through the German positions. The partisans fought desperately against superior enemy forces. In one of the battles, Alexander German received a fatal bullet wound, but the feat of his militia will live forever!
Khrustitsky successfully led a tank brigade and distinguished himself during Operation Iskra, which was carried out on the Leningrad Front. Thanks to this success, the German group in this area was subsequently completely eliminated. The battle of Volosovo, which took place in 1944, was fatal for Vladislav.
Finding himself surrounded, Khrustitsky gave the command to his tank unit via radio communication to counterattack the enemy troops, after which his vehicle was the first to go into open battle. As a result of the bloody battle, the village of Volosovo was liberated from the Nazis, but the brave commander fell in this exhausting battle.
In the Lugansk region, an underground youth organization, which included about 100 young people, successfully resisted the fascist regime. The youngest member of this group was only 14 years old. This mainly included young activists and Soviet soldiers cut off from the main units. The most famous members of the Young Guard militia were Sergei Tyulenin, Ulyana Gromova, Oleg Koshevoy, Vasily Levashov. The main activity of this organization was to distribute anti-fascist leaflets among the local population.
Massive damage to the Germans was caused when young underground fighters burned down a workshop in which damaged German tanks were being restored. Also, members of the “Young Guard” managed to liquidate the invaders’ exchange, from which people were sent en masse to Germany for forced labor. In the future, this group planned a large-scale uprising against the Nazis, but their plans were revealed due to traitors. The Nazis shot about 70 people, but the memory of their brave feat will live forever!
Kosmodemyanskaya was part of the Western Front and its main activity was to organize sabotage actions aimed at destroying the occupying forces. In 1941, during another mission, Zoya was caught by the Germans, then she was tortured for a long time in the hope of extracting information from her about other members of the group. However, the 18-year-old girl steadfastly endured all the trials, without saying a single extra word to the Nazis regarding her sabotage activities.
Having come to terms with this fact, the Nazis hanged Kosmodemyanskaya. However, even before her death, Zoya, seeing that peaceful local residents had come to watch her execution, shouted parting words to them that the enemy would be defeated anyway and sooner or later retribution for the Nazis would definitely come!
Matvey Kuzmin
It just so happened that, by the will of fate, Matvey Kuzmin accomplished a feat very similar to the famous story about Ivan Susanin. He also had to lead a unit of invaders through the forest area. Having assessed the situation, Matvey first sent his grandson ahead of him, who was supposed to notify the partisans that the enemy was approaching.
Thanks to this prudent action, the Nazis were actually trapped and a terrible mortal battle ensued. As a result of the shootout, Kuzmin was killed by a German officer, but the feat of this elderly man, who was already 84 years old at that time, will remain in the memory of people forever!
Osipenko led a small partisan detachment. Together with his comrades, he organized various acts of sabotage and during one of them he had to blow up an enemy train. To achieve this goal, Efim Osipenko crawled under the railway bridge and threw homemade explosives under the train itself.
Initially, there was no explosion, but the hero was not taken aback, and managed to hit the grenade with a pole from the railway sign, after which it detonated, and the long train went downhill. Efim miraculously survived this situation, but completely lost consciousness from the blast wave.
In 1942, Zina Portnova distributed leaflets with anti-fascist slogans, and later, having got a job in a German canteen, she was able to commit several acts of sabotage there. Since 1943, the brave girl went to the partisan detachment, where she also continued to engage in sabotage activities against the invaders. However, the defectors handed Zina over to the enemy, after which she was subjected to terrible torture at the hands of the Nazis, but did not submit to them.
During one of the interrogations, the girl noticed that there was a loaded pistol on the table. Without hesitation, she grabbed a weapon and shot three of her tormentors right on the spot. Realizing that her fate was already predetermined, Zina Portnova steadfastly met death in prison, where she was shot by the Nazis.
Of course, each of the listed feats is thoroughly imbued with the courage and fortitude of the fighters against the occupation regime of Nazi Germany. These stories were used to instill a sense of patriotism among young people in the Soviet Union. We were always proud of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War and wanted to emulate them. Children were told about them in school during lessons and even in kindergartens.
The heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and their exploits are briefly described in this article. The memory of those bloody events and the inexhaustible heroism that reigned among the Soviet people will live forever, since one can only admire their exploits! Even future generations, having read a book about the war or watched a film telling about those distant events, will be amazed by the fortitude of the spirit of their legendary ancestors! Thematic Video:
Since 2009, February 12 has been declared by the UN as International Day of Child Soldiers. This is the name given to minors who, due to circumstances, are forced to actively participate in wars and armed conflicts.
According to various sources, up to several tens of thousands of minors took part in the fighting during the Great Patriotic War. “Sons of the regiment”, pioneer heroes - they fought and died along with adults. For military merits they were awarded orders and medals. The images of some of them were used in Soviet propaganda as symbols of courage and loyalty to the Motherland.
Five minor fighters of the Great Patriotic War were awarded the highest award - the title of Hero of the USSR. All - posthumously, remaining in textbooks and books by children and teenagers. All Soviet schoolchildren knew these heroes by name. Today RG recalls their short and often similar biographies.
Marat Kazei, 14 years old
Member of the partisan detachment named after the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution, scout at the headquarters of the 200th partisan brigade named after Rokossovsky in the occupied territory of the Belarusian SSR.
Marat was born in 1929 in the village of Stankovo, Minsk region of Belarus, and managed to graduate from the 4th grade of a rural school. Before the war, his parents were arrested on charges of sabotage and “Trotskyism,” and numerous children were “scattered” among their grandparents. But the Kazey family was not angry with the Soviet regime: In 1941, when Belarus became an occupied territory, Anna Kazey, the wife of the “enemy of the people” and the mother of little Marat and Ariadne, hid wounded partisans in her home, for which she was executed by the Germans. And the brother and sister joined the partisans. Ariadne was subsequently evacuated, but Marat remained in the detachment.
Along with his senior comrades, he went on reconnaissance missions - both alone and with a group. Participated in raids. He blew up the echelons. For the battle in January 1943, when, wounded, he roused his comrades to attack and made his way through the enemy ring, Marat received the medal "For Courage".
And in May 1944, while performing another mission near the village of Khoromitskiye, Minsk Region, a 14-year-old soldier died. Returning from a mission together with the reconnaissance commander, they came across the Germans. The commander was killed immediately, and Marat, firing back, lay down in a hollow. There was nowhere to leave in the open field, and there was no opportunity - the teenager was seriously wounded in the arm. While there were cartridges, he held the defense, and when the magazine was empty, he took the last weapon - two grenades from his belt. He threw one at the Germans right away, and waited with the second: when the enemies came very close, he blew himself up along with them.
In 1965, Marat Kazei was awarded the title of Hero of the USSR.
Valya Kotik, 14 years old
Partisan reconnaissance in the Karmelyuk detachment, the youngest Hero of the USSR.
Valya was born in 1930 in the village of Khmelevka, Shepetovsky district, Kamenets-Podolsk region of Ukraine. Before the war, he completed five classes. In a village occupied by German troops, the boy secretly collected weapons and ammunition and handed them over to the partisans. And he fought his own little war, as he understood it: he drew and pasted caricatures of the Nazis in prominent places.
Since 1942, he contacted the Shepetivka underground party organization and carried out its intelligence orders. And in the fall of the same year, Valya and her boys the same age received their first real combat mission: to eliminate the head of the field gendarmerie.
"The roar of the engines became louder - the cars were approaching. The faces of the soldiers were already clearly visible. Sweat was dripping from their foreheads, half-covered by green helmets. Some soldiers carelessly took off their helmets. The front car came level with the bushes behind which the boys were hiding. Valya stood up, counting the seconds to himself . The car passed, there was already an armored car opposite him. Then he stood up to his full height and, shouting “Fire!”, threw two grenades one after another... Explosions were heard simultaneously on the left and right. Both cars stopped, the front one caught fire. The soldiers quickly jumped to the ground , threw themselves into a ditch and from there opened indiscriminate fire from machine guns,” is how a Soviet textbook describes this first battle. Valya then completed the task of the partisans: the head of the gendarmerie, Chief Lieutenant Franz Koenig and seven German soldiers died. About 30 people were injured.
In October 1943, the young soldier scouted out the location of the underground telephone cable of Hitler's headquarters, which was soon blown up. Valya also participated in the destruction of six railway trains and a warehouse.
On October 29, 1943, while at his post, Valya noticed that the punitive forces had staged a raid on the detachment. Having killed a fascist officer with a pistol, the teenager raised the alarm, and the partisans managed to prepare for battle. On February 16, 1944, five days after his 14th birthday, in the battle for the city of Izyaslav, Kamenets-Podolsk, now Khmelnitsky region, the scout was mortally wounded and died the next day.
In 1958, Valentin Kotik was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Lenya Golikov, 16 years old
Scout of the 67th detachment of the 4th Leningrad Partisan Brigade.
Born in 1926 in the village of Lukino, Parfinsky district, Novgorod region. When the war began, he got a rifle and joined the partisans. Thin and short, he looked even younger than 14 years old. Under the guise of a beggar, Lenya walked around the villages, collecting the necessary information about the location of the fascist troops and the amount of their military equipment, and then passed this information on to the partisans.
In 1942 he joined the detachment. “He took part in 27 combat operations, destroyed 78 German soldiers and officers, blew up 2 railway and 12 highway bridges, blew up 9 vehicles with ammunition... On August 12, in the new combat area of the brigade, Golikov crashed a passenger car in which there was a major general of engineering troops Richard Wirtz, heading from Pskov to Luga,” such data is contained in his award certificate.
In the regional military archive, Golikov’s original report with a story about the circumstances of this battle has been preserved:
“On the evening of August 12, 1942, we, 6 partisans, got out onto the Pskov-Luga highway and lay down near the village of Varnitsa. There was no movement at night. It was dawn. A small passenger car appeared from the direction of Pskov. It was walking fast, but near the bridge, where we were there, the car was quieter. Partisan Vasiliev threw an anti-tank grenade, missed. Alexander Petrov threw the second grenade from the ditch, hit the beam. The car did not stop immediately, but went another 20 meters and almost caught up with us. Two officers jumped out of the car. I fired a burst from a machine gun. Didn't hit. The officer sitting behind the wheel ran through the ditch towards the forest. I fired several bursts from my PPSh. Hit the enemy in the neck and back. Petrov began shooting at the second officer, who kept looking around, screaming and fired back. Petrov killed this officer with a rifle. Then the two of us ran to the first wounded officer. They tore off the shoulder straps, took the briefcase and documents. There was still a heavy suitcase in the car. We barely dragged it into the bushes (150 meters from the highway). While still at the car , we heard an alarm, a ringing, a scream in the neighboring village. Grabbing a briefcase, shoulder straps and three captured pistols, we ran to ours...”
For this feat, Lenya was nominated for the highest government award - the Gold Star medal and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But I didn’t have time to receive them. From December 1942 to January 1943, the partisan detachment in which Golikov was located fought out of encirclement with fierce battles. Only a few managed to survive, but Leni was not among them: he died in a battle with a punitive detachment of fascists on January 24, 1943 near the village of Ostraya Luka, Pskov region, before he turned 17 years old.
Sasha Chekalin, 16 years old
Member of the "Advanced" partisan detachment of the Tula region.
Born in 1925 in the village of Peskovatskoye, now Suvorovsky district, Tula region. Before the start of the war, he completed 8 classes. After the occupation of his native village by Nazi troops in October 1941, he joined the “Advanced” partisan destroyer detachment, where he managed to serve for only a little more than a month.
By November 1941, the partisan detachment inflicted significant damage on the Nazis: warehouses burned, cars exploded on mines, enemy trains derailed, sentries and patrols disappeared without a trace. One day, a group of partisans, including Sasha Chekalin, set up an ambush near the road to the city of Likhvin (Tula region). A car appeared in the distance. A minute passed and the explosion tore the car apart. Several more cars followed and exploded. One of them, crowded with soldiers, tried to get through. But a grenade thrown by Sasha Chekalin destroyed her too.
At the beginning of November 1941, Sasha caught a cold and fell ill. The commissioner allowed him to rest with a trusted person in the nearest village. But there was a traitor who gave him away. At night, the Nazis broke into the house where the sick partisan lay. Chekalin managed to grab the prepared grenade and throw it, but it did not explode... After several days of torture, the Nazis hanged the teenager in the central square of Likhvin and for more than 20 days they did not allow his corpse to be removed from the gallows. And only when the city was liberated from the invaders, partisan Chekalin’s comrades-in-arms buried him with military honors.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to Alexander Chekalin in 1942.
Zina Portnova, 17 years old
Member of the underground Komsomol youth organization "Young Avengers", scout of the Voroshilov partisan detachment on the territory of the Belarusian SSR.
Born in 1926 in Leningrad, she graduated from 7 classes there and went on vacation to relatives in the village of Zuya, Vitebsk region of Belarus, for the summer holidays. There the war found her.
In 1942, she joined the Obol underground Komsomol youth organization “Young Avengers” and actively participated in distributing leaflets among the population and sabotage against the invaders.
Since August 1943, Zina has been a scout in the Voroshilov partisan detachment. In December 1943, she received the task of identifying the reasons for the failure of the Young Avengers organization and establishing contacts with the underground. But upon returning to the detachment, Zina was arrested.
During the interrogation, the girl grabbed the fascist investigator's pistol from the table, shot him and two other Nazis, tried to escape, but was captured.
From the book “Zina Portnova” by the Soviet writer Vasily Smirnov: “She was interrogated by the executioners who were the most sophisticated in cruel torture... They promised to save her life if only the young partisan confessed everything, named the names of all the underground fighters and partisans known to her. And again the Gestapo met with a surprising their unshakable firmness of this stubborn girl, who in their protocols was called a “Soviet bandit.” Zina, exhausted by torture, refused to answer questions, hoping that they would kill her faster... Once in the prison yard, prisoners saw a completely gray-haired girl when she "They were taking me for another interrogation and torture, and threw herself under the wheels of a passing truck. But the car was stopped, the girl was pulled out from under the wheels and again taken for interrogation..."
On January 10, 1944, in the village of Goryany, now Shumilinsky district, Vitebsk region of Belarus, 17-year-old Zina was shot.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to Zinaida Portnova in 1958.
Young heroes of the Great Patriotic War
Educational material for extracurricular work on literary reading or history for elementary school on the topic: WWII
Before the war, these were the most ordinary boys and girls. They studied, helped their elders, played, raised pigeons, and sometimes even took part in fights. These were ordinary children and teenagers, whom only family, classmates and friends knew about.
But the hour of difficult trials came and they proved how huge an ordinary little child’s heart can become when a sacred love for the Motherland, pain for the fate of one’s people and hatred for enemies flares up in it. Together with the adults, the weight of adversity, disaster, and grief of the war years fell on their fragile shoulders. And they did not bend under this weight, they became stronger in spirit, more courageous, more resilient. And no one expected that it was these boys and girls who were capable of accomplishing a great feat for the glory of the freedom and independence of their Motherland!
No! - we told the fascists, -
Our people will not tolerate
So that Russian bread is fragrant
Called by the word "brot"....
Where is the strength in the world?
So that she can break us,
Bent us under the yoke
In those regions where on the days of victory
Our great-grandparents
Have you feasted so many times?..
And from sea to sea
The Russian regiments stood up.
We stood up, united with the Russians,
Belarusians, Latvians,
People of free Ukraine,
Both Armenians and Georgians,
Moldovans, Chuvash...
Glory to our generals,
Glory to our admirals
And to the ordinary soldiers...
On foot, swimming, horseback,
Tempered in hot battles!
Glory to the fallen and the living,
Thank you to them from the bottom of my heart!
Let's not forget those heroes
What lies in the damp ground,
Giving my life on the battlefield
For the people - for you and me.
Excerpts from S. Mikhalkov’s poem “True for Children”
Kazei Marat Ivanovich(1929-1944), partisan of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union (1965, posthumously). Since 1942, scout for a partisan detachment (Minsk region).
The Nazis burst into the village where Marat lived with his mother, Anna Alexandrovna. In the fall, Marat no longer had to go to school in the fifth grade. The Nazis turned the school building into their barracks. The enemy was fierce. Anna Aleksandrovna Kazei was captured for her connection with the partisans, and Marat soon learned that his mother had been hanged in Minsk. The boy's heart was filled with anger and hatred for the enemy. Together with his sister Hell Marat, Kazei went to the partisans in the Stankovsky forest. He became a scout at the headquarters of a partisan brigade. He penetrated enemy garrisons and delivered valuable information to the command. Using this data, the partisans developed a daring operation and defeated the fascist garrison in the city of Dzerzhinsk. Marat took part in battles and invariably showed courage and fearlessness; together with experienced demolition men, he mined the railway. Marat died in battle. He fought to the last bullet, and when he had only one grenade left, he let his enemies get closer and blew them up... and himself. For courage and bravery, fifteen-year-old Marat Kazei was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. A monument to the young hero was erected in the city of Minsk.
Portnova Zinaida Martynovna (Zina) (1926-1944), young partisan of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union (1958, posthumously). Scout of the partisan detachment “Young Avengers” (Vitebsk region).
The war found Leningrad resident Zina Portnova in the village of Zuya, where she came for vacation, not far from the Obol station in the Vitebsk region. An underground Komsomol-youth organization “Young Avengers” was created in Obol, and Zina was elected a member of its committee. She took part in daring operations against the enemy, distributed leaflets, and conducted reconnaissance on instructions from a partisan detachment. In December 1943, returning from a mission in the village of Mostishche, Zina was handed over as a traitor to the Nazis. The Nazis captured the young partisan and tortured her. The answer to the enemy was Zina’s silence, her contempt and hatred, her determination to fight to the end. During one of the interrogations, choosing the moment, Zina grabbed a pistol from the table and shot point-blank at the Gestapo man. The officer who ran in to hear the shot was also killed on the spot. Zina tried to escape, but the Nazis overtook her. The brave young partisan was brutally tortured, but until the last minute she remained persistent, courageous, and unbending. And the Motherland posthumously celebrated her feat with its highest title - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Kotik Valentin Alexandrovich(Valya) (1930-1944), young partisan of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union (1958, posthumously). Since 1942 - liaison officer for an underground organization in the city of Shepetivka, scout for a partisan detachment (Khmelnitsky region, Ukraine).
Valya was born on February 11, 1930 in the village of Khmelevka, Shepetovsky district, Khmelnitsky region. Studied at school No. 4. When the Nazis burst into Shepetivka, Valya Kotik and his friends decided to fight the enemy. The guys collected weapons at the battle site, which the partisans then transported to the detachment on a cart of hay. Having taken a closer look at the boy, the leaders of the partisan detachment entrusted Valya to be a liaison and intelligence officer in their underground organization. He learned the location of enemy posts and the order of changing the guard. The Nazis planned a punitive operation against the partisans, and Valya, having tracked down the Nazi officer who led the punitive forces, killed him. When arrests began in the city, Valya, along with his mother and brother Victor, went to join the partisans. An ordinary boy, who had just turned fourteen years old, fought shoulder to shoulder with adults, liberating his native land. He was responsible for six enemy trains that were blown up on the way to the front. Valya Kotik was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and the medal “Partisan of the Patriotic War,” 2nd degree. Valya died as a hero in one of the unequal battles with the Nazis.
Golikov Leonid Alexandrovich(1926-1943). Young partisan hero. Brigade scout of the 67th detachment of the fourth Leningrad partisan brigade, operating in the Novgorod and Pskov regions. Participated in 27 combat operations.
In total, he destroyed 78 fascists, two railway and 12 highway bridges, two food and fodder warehouses and 10 vehicles with ammunition. He distinguished himself in battles near the villages of Aprosovo, Sosnitsa, and Sever. Accompanied a convoy with food (250 carts) to besieged Leningrad. For valor and courage he was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Battle and the medal "For Courage".
On August 13, 1942, returning from reconnaissance from the Luga-Pskov highway, near the village of Varnitsa, he blew up a passenger car in which there was a German Major General of the Engineering Troops, Richard von Wirtz. In a shootout, Golikov shot and killed the general, the officer accompanying him, and the driver with a machine gun. The intelligence officer delivered a briefcase with documents to the brigade headquarters. These included drawings and descriptions of new models of German mines, inspection reports to higher command and other important military papers. Nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. On January 24, 1943, Leonid Golikov died in an unequal battle in the village of Ostraya Luka, Pskov Region. By decree of April 2, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Council awarded him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Arkady Kamanin dreamed of heaven when I was just a boy. Arkady's father, Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin, a pilot, participated in the rescue of the Chelyuskinites, for which he received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And my father’s friend, Mikhail Vasilyevich Vodopyanov, is always nearby. There was something to make the boy's heart burn. But they didn’t let him fly, they told him to grow up. When the war began, he went to work at an aircraft factory, then at an airfield. Experienced pilots, even if only for a few minutes, sometimes trusted him to fly the plane. One day the cockpit glass was broken by an enemy bullet. The pilot was blinded. Losing consciousness, he managed to hand over control to Arkady, and the boy landed the plane at his airfield. After this, Arkady was allowed to seriously study flying, and soon he began to fly on his own. One day, from above, a young pilot saw our plane shot down by the Nazis. Under heavy mortar fire, Arkady landed, carried the pilot into his plane, took off and returned to his own. The Order of the Red Star shone on his chest. For participation in battles with the enemy, Arkady was awarded the second Order of the Red Star. By that time he had already become an experienced pilot, although he was fifteen years old. Arkady Kamanin fought with the Nazis until the victory. The young hero dreamed of the sky and conquered the sky!
Utah Bondarovskaya in the summer of 1941 she came from Leningrad on vacation to a village near Pskov. Here a terrible war overtook her. Utah began to help the partisans. At first she was a messenger, then a scout. Dressed as a beggar boy, she collected information from the villages: where the fascist headquarters were, how they were guarded, how many machine guns there were. The partisan detachment, together with units of the Red Army, left to help the Estonian partisans. In one of the battles - near the Estonian farm of Rostov - Yuta Bondarovskaya, the little heroine of the big war, died a heroic death. The Motherland posthumously awarded its heroic daughter the medal “Partisan of the Patriotic War”, 1st degree, and the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.
When the war began and the Nazis were approaching Leningrad, high school counselor Anna Petrovna Semenova was left for underground work in the village of Tarnovichi - in the south of the Leningrad region. To communicate with the partisans, she selected her most reliable guys, and the first among them was Galina Komleva. During her six school years, the cheerful, brave, inquisitive girl was awarded books six times with the signature: “For excellent studies.” The young messenger brought assignments from the partisans to her counselor, and forwarded her reports to the detachment along with bread, potatoes, and food, which were obtained with great difficulty. One day, when a messenger from a partisan detachment did not arrive on time at the meeting place, Galya, half-frozen, made her way into the detachment, handed over a report and, having warmed up a little, hurried back, carrying a new task to the underground fighters. Together with the young partisan Tasya Yakovleva, Galya wrote leaflets and scattered them around the village at night. The Nazis tracked down and captured the young underground fighters. They kept me in the Gestapo for two months. The young patriot was shot. The Motherland celebrated the feat of Galya Komleva with the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.
For the operation of reconnaissance and explosion of the railway bridge across the Drissa River, Leningrad schoolgirl Larisa Mikheenko was nominated for a government award. But the young heroine did not have time to receive her award.
The war cut the girl off from her hometown: in the summer she went on vacation to the Pustoshkinsky district, but was unable to return - the village was occupied by the Nazis. And then one night Larisa and two older friends left the village. At the headquarters of the 6th Kalinin Brigade, commander Major P.V. Ryndin initially refused to accept “such little ones.” But young girls were able to do what strong men could not. Dressed in rags, Lara walked through the villages, finding out where and how the guns were located, the sentries were posted, what German vehicles were moving along the highway, what kind of trains were coming to Pustoshka station and with what cargo. She also took part in military operations. The young partisan, betrayed by a traitor in the village of Ignatovo, was shot by the Nazis. In the Decree on awarding Larisa Mikheenko the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, there is a bitter word: “Posthumously.”
Could not put up with the atrocities of the Nazis and Sasha Borodulin. Having obtained a rifle, Sasha destroyed the fascist motorcyclist and took his first battle trophy - a real German machine gun. This was a good reason for his admission to the partisan detachment. Day after day he conducted reconnaissance. More than once he went on the most dangerous missions. He was responsible for many destroyed vehicles and soldiers. For carrying out dangerous tasks, for demonstrating courage, resourcefulness and courage, Sasha Borodulin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner in the winter of 1941. Punishers tracked down the partisans. The detachment left them for three days. In the group of volunteers, Sasha remained to cover the detachment’s retreat. When all his comrades died, the brave hero, allowing the fascists to close a ring around him, grabbed a grenade and blew them up and himself.
The feat of a young partisan
(Excerpts from M. Danilenko’s essay “Grishina’s Life” (translation by Yu. Bogushevich))
At night, punitive forces surrounded the village. Grisha woke up from some sound. He opened his eyes and looked out the window. A shadow flashed across the moonlit glass.
- Dad! - Grisha called quietly.
- Sleep, what do you want? - the father responded.
But the boy did not sleep anymore. Stepping barefoot on the cold floor, he quietly went out into the hallway. And then I heard someone tear open the doors and several pairs of boots thundered heavily into the hut.
The boy rushed into the garden, where there was a bathhouse with a small extension. Through the crack in the door Grisha saw his father, mother and sisters being taken out. Nadya was bleeding from her shoulder, and the girl was pressing the wound with her hand...
Until dawn, Grisha stood in the outbuilding and looked ahead with wide open eyes. The moonlight filtered sparingly. Somewhere an icicle fell from the roof and crashed on the rubble with a quiet ringing sound. The boy shuddered. He felt neither cold nor fear.
That night a small wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows. Appeared never to disappear again. Grisha's family was shot by the Nazis.
A thirteen-year-old boy with an unchildishly stern look walked from village to village. I went to Sozh. He knew that somewhere across the river his brother Alexei was, there were partisans. A few days later Grisha came to the village of Yametsky.
A resident of this village, Feodosia Ivanova, was a liaison officer for a partisan detachment commanded by Pyotr Antonovich Balykov. She brought the boy to the detachment.
The detachment commissar Pavel Ivanovich Dedik and the chief of staff Alexey Podobedov listened to Grisha with stern faces. And he stood in a torn shirt, with his legs knocked against the roots, with an unquenchable fire of hatred in his eyes. The partisan life of Grisha Podobedov began. And no matter what mission the partisans were sent on, Grisha always asked to take him with them...
Grisha Podobedov became an excellent partisan intelligence officer. Somehow the messengers reported that the Nazis, together with policemen from Korma, robbed the population. They took 30 cows and everything they could get their hands on and were heading towards the Sixth Village. The detachment set off in pursuit of the enemy. The operation was led by Pyotr Antonovich Balykov.
“Well, Grisha,” said the commander. - You will go with Alena Konashkova on reconnaissance. Find out where the enemy is staying, what he is doing, what he is thinking of doing.
And so a tired woman with a hoe and a bag wanders into the Sixth Village, and with her a boy dressed in a large padded jacket that is too large for his size.
“They sowed millet, good people,” the woman complained, turning to the police. - Try to raise these fellings with little ones. It's not easy, oh, it's not easy!
And no one, of course, noticed how the boy’s keen eyes followed each soldier, how they noticed everything.
Grisha visited five houses where fascists and policemen stayed. And I found out about everything, then reported in detail to the commander. A red rocket soared into the sky. And a few minutes later it was all over: the partisans drove the enemy into a cleverly placed “bag” and destroyed him. The stolen goods were returned to the population.
Grisha also went on reconnaissance missions before the memorable battle near the Pokat River.
With a bridle, limping (a splinter had gotten into his heel), the little shepherd scurried among the Nazis. And such hatred burned in his eyes that it seemed that it alone could incinerate his enemies.
And then the scout reported how many guns he saw at the enemies, where there were machine guns and mortars. And from partisan bullets and mines, the invaders found their graves on Belarusian soil.
At the beginning of June 1943, Grisha Podobedov, together with partisan Yakov Kebikov, went on reconnaissance to the area of the village of Zalesye, where a punitive company from the so-called Dnepr volunteer detachment was stationed. Grisha snuck into the house where the drunken punishers were having a party.
The partisans silently entered the village and completely destroyed the company. Only the commander was saved; he hid in a well. In the morning, a local grandfather pulled him out of there, like a filthy cat, by the scruff of the neck...
This was the last operation in which Grisha Podobedov participated. On June 17, together with foreman Nikolai Borisenko, he went to the village of Ruduya Bartolomeevka to buy flour prepared for the partisans.
The sun shone brightly. A gray bird fluttered on the roof of the mill, watching people with its cunning little eyes. Broad-shouldered Nikolai Borisenko had just loaded a heavy sack onto the cart when the pale miller came running.
- Punishers! - he exhaled.
The foreman and Grisha grabbed their machine guns and rushed into the bushes growing near the mill. But they were noticed. Evil bullets whistled, cutting off the branches of the alder tree.
- Get down! - Borisenko gave the command and fired a long burst from the machine gun.
Grisha, aiming, fired short bursts. He saw how the punishers, as if they had stumbled upon an invisible barrier, fell, mowed down by his bullets.
- So for you, so for you!..
Suddenly the sergeant-major gasped loudly and grabbed his throat. Grisha turned around. Borisenko twitched all over and fell silent. His glassy eyes were now looking indifferently at the high sky, and his hand was stuck, as if stuck, in the stock of the machine gun.
The bush, where only Grisha Podobedov now remained, was surrounded by enemies. There were about sixty of them.
Grisha clenched his teeth and raised his hand. Several soldiers immediately rushed towards him.
- Oh, you Herods! What did you want?! - the partisan shouted and slashed at them point-blank with a machine gun.
Six Nazis fell at his feet. The rest lay down. More and more often bullets whistled over Grisha’s head. The partisan was silent and did not respond. Then the emboldened enemies rose again. And again, under well-aimed machine gun fire, they pressed into the ground. And the machine gun had already run out of cartridges. Grisha pulled out a pistol. - I give up! - he shouted.
A tall and thin as a pole policeman ran up to him at a trot. Grisha shot him straight in the face. For an elusive moment, the boy looked around at the sparse bushes and clouds in the sky and, putting the pistol to his temple, pulled the trigger...
You can read about the exploits of young heroes of the Great Patriotic War in the books:
Avramenko A.I. Messengers from Captivity: a story / Transl. from Ukrainian - M.: Young Guard, 1981. - 208 e.: ill. — (Young heroes).
Bolshak V.G. Guide to the Abyss: Document. story. - M.: Young Guard, 1979. - 160 p. — (Young heroes).
Vuravkin G.N. Three pages from a legend / Trans. from Belarusian - M.: Young Guard, 1983. - 64 p. — (Young heroes).
Valko I.V. Where are you flying, little crane?: Document. story. - M.: Young Guard, 1978. - 174 p. — (Young heroes).
Vygovsky B.S. Fire of a young heart / Transl. from Ukrainian — M.: Det. lit., 1968. - 144 p. - (School library).
Children of the wartime / Comp. E. Maksimova. 2nd ed., add. - M.: Politizdat, 1988. - 319 p.
Ershov Ya.A. Vitya Korobkov - pioneer, partisan: a story - M.: Voenizdat, 1968 - 320 p. — (Library of a young patriot: About the Motherland, exploits, honor).
Zharikov A.D. Exploits of the Young: Stories and Essays. — M.: Young Guard, 1965. —- 144 e.: ill.
Zharikov A.D. Young partisans. - M.: Education, 1974. - 128 p.
Kassil L.A., Polyanovsky M.L. Street of the youngest son: a story. — M.: Det. lit., 1985. - 480 p. — (Student’s military library).
Kekkelev L.N. Countryman: The Tale of P. Shepelev. 3rd ed. - M.: Young Guard, 1981. - 143 p. — (Young heroes).
Korolkov Yu.M. Partisan Lenya Golikov: a story. - M.: Young Guard, 1985. - 215 p. — (Young heroes).
Lezinsky M.L., Eskin B.M. Live, Vilor!: a story. - M.: Young Guard, 1983. - 112 p. — (Young heroes).
Logvinenko I.M. Crimson Dawns: document. story / Transl. from Ukrainian — M.: Det. lit., 1972. - 160 p.
Lugovoi N.D. Scorched childhood. - M.: Young Guard, 1984. - 152 p. — (Young heroes).
Medvedev N.E. Eaglets of the Blagovsky forest: document. story. - M.: DOSAAF, 1969. - 96 p.
Morozov V.N. A boy went on reconnaissance: a story. - Minsk: State Publishing House of the BSSR, 1961. - 214 p.
Morozov V.N. Volodin Front. - M.: Young Guard, 1975. - 96 p. — (Young heroes).
Modern action movie heroes seem to be the coolest. But we forget the real incredible feats of the WWII participants. They didn't play, they fought to the death, they were cooler.
The war demanded courage from people, and heroism was massive. 5 impressive battle stories in which you can appreciate the resilience and courage of the heroes of the Second World War.
On July 13, 1941, in battles near the city of Balti, while delivering ammunition to his company near the town of Arctic Fox, the riding machine gun company of the 389th Infantry Regiment of the 176th Infantry Division of the 9th Army of the Southern Front, Red Army soldier D. R. Ovcharenko was surrounded by a detachment of soldiers and enemy officers numbering 50 people. At the same time, the enemy managed to take possession of his rifle. However, D. R. Ovcharenko was not taken aback and, grabbing an ax from the cart, cut off the head of the officer who was interrogating him, threw 3 grenades at the enemy soldiers, destroying 21 soldiers. The rest fled in panic. He then caught up with the second officer and also cut off his head. The third officer managed to escape. After which he collected documents and maps from the dead and arrived at the company along with the cargo. (A copy of the document confirming Ovcharenko’s feat is on wikipedia.org)
Unfortunately, the hero did not live to see the Victory. In the battles for the liberation of Hungary in the area of the Sheregeyesh station, the machine gunner of the 3rd Tank Brigade, Private D. R. Ovcharenko, was seriously wounded. He died in hospital from his wounds on January 28, 1945. Awarded the Order of Lenin.
Under the onslaught of Heinz Guderian's 4th Panzer Division, commanded by von Langerman, units of the 13th Army retreated, and with them Sirotinin's regiment. On July 17, 1941, the battery commander decided to leave one gun with a two-man crew and 60 rounds of ammunition at the bridge over the Dobrost River at the 476th kilometer of the Moscow-Warsaw highway to cover the retreat with the task of delaying the tank column. One of the crew numbers was the battalion commander himself; Nikolai Sirotinin volunteered second.
The gun was camouflaged on a hill in thick rye; the position allowed a good view of the highway and bridge. When a column of German armored vehicles appeared at dawn, Nikolai with the first shot knocked out the lead tank that had reached the bridge, and with the second - the armored personnel carrier that trailed the column, thereby creating a traffic jam. The battery commander was wounded and, since the combat mission was completed, retreated towards the Soviet positions. However, Sirotinin refused to retreat, since the cannon still had a significant number of unexpended shells.
The Germans attempted to clear the jam by dragging the damaged tank from the bridge with two other tanks, but they were also hit. An armored vehicle that tried to ford the river got stuck in a swampy bank, where it was destroyed. For a long time the Germans were unable to determine the location of the well-camouflaged gun; they believed that a whole battery was fighting them. The battle lasted two and a half hours, during which time 11 tanks, 6 armored vehicles, 57 soldiers and officers were destroyed.
By the time Nikolai's position was discovered, he had only three shells left. When asked to surrender, Sirotinin refused and fired from his carbine to the last.
Awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (posthumously). N.V. Sirotinin was never nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. According to relatives, a photograph was needed to complete the documents, but the only photograph the relatives had was lost during the evacuation.
“July 7, 1941. Sokolnichi, near Krichev. In the evening, an unknown Russian soldier was buried. He stood alone at the cannon, shot at a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone was surprised at his courage... Oberst said before his grave that if all the Fuhrer’s soldiers fought like this Russian, they would conquer the whole world. They fired rifle volleys three times...” From the diary of Chief Lieutenant of the 4th Panzer Division Friedrich Hoenfeld
One of the beautiful legends from the Second World War tells about a Red Army soldier named Vataman from such an assault unit, who in 1944 killed 10 Nazi soldiers in hand-to-hand combat with a faulty cartridge. According to one version - 10, according to another - 9, according to the third - 8, according to the fourth - 13 in total. Be that as it may, in the article “Engineer assault units of the RVGK” I. Mshchansky talks about 10 Nazis.
Of course, like any legend, the Vataman phenomenon has critics who claim that the Faustpatron is too heavy to fight effectively, and the warhead would simply fall off from the blows. There are several thoughts in the discussion on WarHistory that seem rational.
The first is that in hand-to-hand combat the fighter used the Faust cartridge after firing it. That is, in fact, I only used a pipe that weighs several kg. The Panzerfaust launch tube has a diameter of 15 cm and a length of 1 m, and the projectile weighs 3 kg. For hand-to-hand combat it is quite a suitable weapon.
And for a photograph after the battle, he picked up an entire Faust cartridge. In addition, dr_guillotin also notes that the grenade in the pipe is held by a pin by the ears - so that it will not fall out in hand-to-hand combat. In general, faust cartridges were stored separately from fuses. They were inserted shortly before use, and without a fuse you could even throw it from the third floor...
The second thought is that the whole event did not happen in one fell swoop, as in action films, where a bunch of enemies are scattered at once, but sequentially throughout the battle. After all, the fighter Vataman fought “half of Europe”, and his opponents, urgently mobilized into the militia, only took up arms a few days ago. And in the stupor of the first battle, they were not very formidable opponents.
But in any case, this is an impressive combat story. And Vataman himself looks like a real epic hero - his wide palms reveal him to be a natural strongman. In my opinion, this case can also, in principle, be classified as “one at the gun”... In the end, the Faustpatron is, although not a cannon, but a small anti-tank weapon.
Yes, by the way, I can add that although the name of the daredevil remains unknown, the surname of our hero speaks of his Moldavian roots.
Here we will talk not so much about an individual, but about a team - the crew of the KV-1 tank, led by senior lieutenant Zinovy Grigorievich Kolobanov. In addition to the commander, the crew included driver-mechanic foreman N. Nikiforov, gun commander senior sergeant A. Usov, radio operator-machine gunner senior sergeant P. Kiselnikov and junior driver-mechanic Red Army soldier N. Rodnikov.
So, this heroic crew, in just three hours of battle, on August 19, 1941, destroyed as many as 22 enemy tanks! This is an absolute record for the entire Great Patriotic War, and subsequent wars. No one was able to destroy 22 tanks in three hours. After the “debriefing” it turned out that the battle was carried out in accordance with all the then accepted rules of military art.
The tankers acted very smartly: on a tank column passing along the nearest road, they shot the “head” and “tail”, after which they began to methodically, like in a shooting range, shoot the stuck “iron beasts” of the enemy. Let us note that the tank of our heroes received 135 hits from German shells. At the same time, the tank continued the battle, and nothing in its design failed.
The crew of the KV-1, senior lieutenant Z. Kolobanov (center) at their combat vehicle. August 1941 (CMVS)
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.
Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in battles for the freedom and independence of our Motherland...