Heroic deeds of people during the war. Fifty facts: the exploits of Soviet soldiers during the Great Patriotic War
Feats Soviet heroes that we will never forget.
Roman Smishchuk. Destroyed 6 enemy tanks in one battle with hand grenades
For ordinary Ukrainian Roman Smishchuk, that fight was the first. In an effort to destroy a 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, knocked out its undercarriage with a grenade, and then set it on fire with a bottle of Molotov cocktail. Running from trench to trench, Roman Smishchuk attacked the tanks, running towards them, and in this way destroyed six tanks one after the other. The personnel of the company, inspired by the feat of Smishchuk, successfully broke through the ring and joined their regiment. For his feat Roman Semyonovich Smishchuk was awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. Roman Smishchuk died on October 29, 1969, and was buried in the village of Kryzhopol, Vinnitsa 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, at the age of 17, Kuznetsov became the youngest full holder of the Order of Glory of all three degrees. He died on January 21, 1989.
Georgy Sinyakov. Spas from captivity hundreds Soviet soldiers on the system "Count of Monte Cristo"
The Soviet surgeon was taken prisoner during the battles for Kiev and as a captive doctor of the concentration camp in Kustrin (Poland) saved hundreds of prisoners: as a member of the camp underground, he processed documents in the concentration camp hospital for them as dead and organized escapes. Most often, Georgy Fedorovich Sinyakov used imitation of death: he taught the sick to pretend to be dead, stated death, the "corpse" was taken out with other really dead and thrown into a ditch nearby, where the prisoner was "resurrected". In particular, Dr. Sinyakov saved the life and helped the Hero of the Soviet Union escape from the plan, the pilot Anna Yegorova, who was shot down in August 1944 near Warsaw. Sinyakov smeared her purulent wounds fish oil and special ointment, from which the wounds looked fresh, but in fact healed perfectly. 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 the 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 plant and the workers' settlement "Barricades". On October 25, communications were interrupted and the guard, Major Dyatleko, ordered Matvey to restore the wire telephone connection connecting the regiment headquarters with a group of fighters, who for the second day the fighters held the house surrounded by the enemy. Two previous unsuccessful attempts to restore communication ended in the death of the signalmen. A fragment of a mine wounded Putilov in the shoulder. Overcoming the pain, he crawled to the point where the wire was broken, but was wounded again: his arm was shattered. Losing consciousness and unable to act with his hand, he squeezed the ends of the wires with his teeth, and a current passed through his body. The connection was restored. He died with the ends of the telephone wires clamped in his teeth.
Marionella Koroleva. She carried 50 seriously wounded soldiers off the battlefield
19-year-old actress Gulya Koroleva voluntarily went to the front in 1941 and ended up in the medical and sanitary battalion. In November 1942, during the battle for height 56.8 in the area of the Panshino farm in the Gorodishchensky district (Volgograd region of the Russian Federation), Gulya literally carried 50 seriously wounded soldiers from the battlefield. And then, when the moral strength of the fighters dried up, she went on the attack, where she was killed. Songs were composed about the feat of Guli Koroleva, and her dedication was an example for millions of Soviet girls and boys. Her name is carved in gold on the banner of military glory on the Mamayev Kurgan, a village in the Soviet district of Volgograd and a street are named after her. The book by E. Ilyina "The Fourth Height" is dedicated to Gulya Koroleva
Koroleva Marionella (Gulya), Soviet film actress, heroine of the Great Patriotic War
Vladimir Khazov. Tanker who destroyed 27 enemy tanks alone
On personal account a young officer of 27 destroyed enemy tanks. For his 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 approaching 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 accepted bold decision: skip the convoy and start shooting from the rear. Three T-34s opened aimed fire at the enemy, joining the tail of the enemy column. From frequent and accurate shots one after another the German tanks caught fire. In this battle, which lasted just over an hour, not a single enemy vehicle survived, and the platoon in full force 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, which 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. R-5 was burning ... If Mamkin were alone on board, he would have gained altitude and jumped out with a parachute. But he was not flying alone and was leading the plane further ... The flame reached the cockpit. 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, we go out ... "Then Mamkin lost consciousness, a week later he died ... The doctors could not explain how he could operate the car, and even put it safely in a man, in whose face glasses were melted, and only from his legs were left bones.
Alexey Maresyev. Test pilot who returned to the front and to combat missions after amputation of both legs
On April 4, 1942, in the area of the so-called "Demyansky cauldron" during an operation to cover the bombers in a battle with the Germans, Maresyev's plane was shot down. For 18 days, a pilot wounded in the legs, first on crippled legs, and then crawling to the front line, feeding on tree bark, cones and berries. His legs were amputated due to gangrene. But even in the hospital, Alexey Maresyev began to train, preparing to fly with prostheses. In February 1943, he made the first test flight after being wounded. I got sent to the front. On July 20, 1943, during an air battle with superior enemy forces, Alexei Maresyev saved the lives of 2 Soviet pilots and shot down two enemy Fw.190 fighters at once. In total, during the war, he flew 86 sorties, shot down 11 enemy aircraft: four before being wounded and seven after being wounded.
Rose Shanina. One of the most formidable lone snipers of the Great Patriotic War
Roza 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 that follow each other. On the account of Rosa Shanina, 59 confirmed killed soldiers and officers of the enemy are recorded. The young girl became a symbol of the Patriotic War. Many stories and legends are associated with her name, which inspired new heroes to glorious deeds. She died on January 28, 1945 during the East Prussian operation, defending the seriously wounded commander of an artillery unit.
Nikolay Skorokhodov. He flew 605 combat missions. Personally shot down 46 enemy aircraft.
During the war, the Soviet fighter pilot Nikolai Skorokhodov passed all stages of aviation - 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 flew more than 605 sorties, conducted 143 air battles, personally shot down 46 and in a group of 8 enemy aircraft, and also destroyed 3 bombers on the ground. Thanks to the unique skill of Skomorokhov, he was never wounded, his plane did not burn, was not shot down, during the whole war he did not receive a single hole.
Dzhulbars. A mine detective service dog, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, the only dog awarded the medal "For Military Merit"
From September 1944 to August 1945, taking part in demining in Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria, a service dog named Dzhulbars discovered 7468 mines and more than 150 shells. Thus, architectural masterpieces Prague, Vienna and other cities have survived to this day thanks to the phenomenal instinct of Dzhulbars. The dog also helped the sappers who cleared the grave of Taras Shevchenko in Kanev and the Vladimir Cathedral in Kiev. On March 21, 1945, for the successful completion of the combat mission, Dzhulbars was awarded the medal "For Military Merit". This is the only time during the war when a dog was awarded a combat award. For military merits, Dzhulbars participated in the Victory Parade held on Red Square on June 24, 1945.
Dzhulbars, dog of mine-search service, participant of the Great Patriotic War
Already at 7.00 on May 9, the television marathon "Our Victory" begins, and the evening will end with a grandiose festive concert "POBEDA. ONE FOR ALL ”, which starts at 20.30. The concert was attended by Svetlana Loboda, Irina Bilyk, Natalia Mogilevskaya, Zlata Ognevich, Victor Pavlik, Olga Polyakova and other popular Ukrainian pop stars.
Since 2009, 12 February has been declared by the UN as the 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 hostilities during the Great Patriotic War. "Sons of the regiment", pioneer heroes - they fought and died on a par with adults. They were awarded orders and medals for military service. The images of some of them were used in Soviet propaganda as symbols of courage and loyalty to the Motherland.
Five underage fighters of the Great Patriotic War were awarded the highest award - the titles of Heroes of the USSR. All - posthumously, remaining in textbooks and books by children and adolescents. 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 October, scout of the headquarters of the 200th partisan brigade named after Rokossovsky in the occupied territory of the Byelorussian SSR.
Marat was born in 1929 in the village of Stankovo, Minsk region of Belarus, managed to finish 4 classes of a rural school. Before the war, his parents were arrested on charges of sabotage and "Trotskyism"; numerous children were "scattered" over their grandparents. But the Kazei family did not get angry with the Soviet regime: In 1941, when Belarus became an occupied territory, Anna Kazei, the wife of an "enemy of the people" and the mother of little Marat and Ariadna, hid wounded partisans in her house, for which she was executed by the Germans. And the brother and sister went to the partisans. Ariadne was subsequently evacuated, but Marat remained in the detachment.
Along with his older comrades, he went on reconnaissance - both alone and with a group. Participated in raids. He blew up trains. For the battle in January 1943, when, wounded, he roused his comrades to attack and fought his way through the enemy ring, Marat received the medal "For Courage".
And in May 1944, while performing another task near the village of Khoromitskie, Minsk region, a 14-year-old soldier died. Returning from a mission together with the intelligence commander, they stumbled upon the Germans. The commander was killed immediately, and Marat, firing back, lay in a hollow. There was nowhere to leave in the open field, and there was no possibility - the teenager was seriously wounded in the arm. While there were cartridges, I kept the line, and when the store was empty, I took the last weapon - two grenades from my belt. He threw one at the Germans at once, and from the second he waited: when the enemies came very close, he blew himself up with them.
In 1965, Marat Kazei was awarded the title of Hero of the USSR.
Valya Kotik, 14 years old
A partisan scout 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 graduated from five classes. In a village occupied by German troops, the boy secretly collected weapons, ammunition and handed them over to the partisans. And he waged 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 assignments. And in the fall of the same year, Valya and her boys of the same age received their first real combat mission: to eliminate the chief of the field gendarmerie.
"The roar of engines grew louder - the cars were approaching. The faces of the soldiers were already clearly visible. Sweat was dripping from their foreheads, half-covered with green helmets. Some soldiers carelessly took off their helmets. The front car caught up with the bushes behind which the boys were hiding. Valya stood up, counting the seconds to himself. The car passed, an armored car was already in front of him. Then he got up to his full height and, shouting "Fire!" , rushed into a ditch and from there opened random fire from machine guns, "- this is how a Soviet textbook describes this first battle. Val then fulfilled the task of the partisans: the chief of the gendarmerie, chief lieutenant Franz Koenig and seven German soldiers were killed. About 30 people were injured.
In October 1943, the young soldier scouted the location of the underground telephone cable of the Hitlerite headquarters, which was soon blown up. Valya also took part in the destruction of six railway echelons and a warehouse.
On October 29, 1943, while at the post, Valya noticed that the punishers had staged a raid on the detachment. After killing a fascist officer with a pistol, the teenager raised the alarm, and the partisans had time to prepare for battle. On February 16, 1944, 5 five days after his 14th birthday, in a 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 went to the partisans. Slim, short, he looked even younger than all 14 years old. Disguised as a beggar, Lenya walked around the villages, collecting the necessary data on the location of the fascist troops and the number of their military equipment, and then passed this information on to the partisans.
In 1942 he joined the detachment. "He took part in 27 military operations, destroyed 78 German soldiers and officers, blew up 2 railway and 12 highway bridges, blew up 9 vehicles with ammunition ... troops Richard Wirtz, heading from Pskov to Luga "- such data is contained in his award sheet.
The regional military archive preserved the original report of Golikov with a story about the circumstances of this battle:
“In the evening of 12.08.42, we, 6 partisans, got out onto the Pskov-Luga highway and lay down near the village of Varnitsa. There was no movement at night. we were, the car was quieter. Partizan Vasiliev threw an anti-tank grenade, missed. The second grenade was thrown by Petrov Alexander from the ditch, hit the traverse. The car did not stop immediately, but walked another 20 meters and almost caught up with us. Two officers jumped out of the car. I fired a burst from a machine gun. Did not hit. The officer who was driving ran across the ditch towards the forest. I gave several bursts from my PPSh. I hit the enemy in the neck and back. Petrov began to shoot at the second officer, who kept looking around, shouting and 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, documents. There was still a heavy suitcase in the car. We barely dragged it into the bushes (150 meters from the highway). Not at the car, we heard an alarm, a ringing, a shout in the neighboring village. Grabbing a briefcase, shoulder straps and three captured pistols, we ran to our ... ".
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 he did not have time to get them. From December 1942 to January 1943, the partisan detachment in which Golikov was located, with fierce battles left the encirclement. 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 was 17 years old.
Sasha Chekalin, 16 years old
Member of the Vanguard partisan detachment of the Tula region.
Born in 1925 in the village of Peskovatskoe, now the Suvorov district of the Tula region. Before the start of the war, he graduated from 8 classes. After the occupation of his native village by the Nazi troops in October 1941, he joined the "Vanguard" fighter partisan detachment, where he managed to serve 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 went downhill, sentries and patrols disappeared without a trace. Once a group of partisans, including Sasha Chekalin, ambushed the road to the town of Likhvin (Tula region). A car appeared in the distance. A minute passed - and the explosion blew the car apart. Several more cars passed and exploded behind it. One of them, overcrowded with soldiers, tried to slip through. But the grenade thrown by Sasha Chekalin destroyed it too.
In early November 1941, Sasha caught a cold and took to bed. The commissar allowed him to lie down with a trusted person in the nearest village. But there was a traitor who betrayed him. At night, the Nazis broke into the house where the sick partisan was lying. 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 Likhvin square and for more than 20 days did not allow his corpse to be removed from the gallows. It was only when the city was liberated from the invaders that the military comrades-in-arms of the partisan Chekalin 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", a scout of the Voroshilov partisan detachment on the territory of the Byelorussian SSR.
She was born in 1926 in Leningrad, finished 7 classes there and went to rest with her relatives in the village of Zuya in the Vitebsk region of Belarus for the summer holidays. There she was caught by the war.
In 1942, she joined the Obolsk underground Komsomol-youth organization "Young Avengers" and was actively involved in distributing leaflets among the population and sabotaging the invaders.
Since August 1943, Zina has been a scout for the Voroshilov partisan detachment. In December 1943, she was tasked with identifying the reasons for the failure of the Young Avengers organization and establishing contact with the underground. But upon returning to the detachment, Zina was arrested.
During interrogation, the girl grabbed the pistol of the fascist investigator from the table, shot him and two more Nazis, tried to escape, but was captured.
From the book "Zina Portnova" by the Soviet writer Vasily Smirnov: "The most sophisticated executioners in cruel torture interrogated her ... She was promised to save her life, if only the young partisan confesses everything, names all the underground fighters and partisans she knows. And again the Gestapo met with the astonishing by 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 this would kill her faster. I was taken to another interrogation-torture, 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 led for interrogation ... ".
On January 10, 1944, in the village of Goryany, now in the Shumilinsky district of the Vitebsk region of Belarus, 17-year-old Zina was shot.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union Zinaida Tailor was awarded in 1958.
During the Great Patriotic War, many Soviet citizens (not only soldiers) performed heroic deeds, saving other people's lives and bringing the USSR's victory over the German invaders closer. These people are rightfully considered heroes. In our article, we will recall some of them.
Heroes men
The list of heroes of the Soviet Union who became famous during the Great Patriotic War is quite extensive, therefore Let's name the most famous:
- Nikolay Gastello (1907-1941): Hero of the Union posthumously, squadron commander. After the bombing of German heavy equipment, Gastello's plane was shot down. On a burning bomber, the pilot rammed an enemy convoy;
- Victor Talalikhin (1918-1941): Hero of the USSR, deputy squadron commander, took part in the battle for Moscow. One of the first Soviet pilots to ram the enemy in a night air battle;
- Alexander Matrosov (1924-1943): Hero of the Union posthumously, private, shooter. In a battle near the village of Chernushki (Pskov region), he closed the embrasure of a German firing point;
- Alexander Pokryshkin (1913-1985): three times Hero of the USSR, fighter pilot (recognized as an ace), improved combat techniques (about 60 victories), went through the entire war (about 650 sorties), air marshal (since 1972);
- Ivan Kozhedub (1920-1991): three times Hero, fighter pilot (ace), squadron leader, participant Battle of Kursk, made about 330 sorties (64 victories). He became famous for his effective shooting technique (200-300 m before the enemy) and the absence of cases when the plane was shot down;
- Alexey Maresyev (1916-2001): Hero, deputy squadron commander, fighter pilot. He is famous for the fact that after the amputation of both legs, using prostheses, he was able to return to combat flights.
Rice. 1. Nikolay Gastello.
In 2010, an extensive Russian electronic database "People's Feat" was created, containing reliable information from official documents about the participants in the war, their exploits and awards.
Heroes women
Separately, it is worth highlighting the women of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.
Some of them:
- Valentina Grizodubova (1909-1993): the first female pilot - Hero of the Soviet Union, instructor pilot (5 world aviation records), air regiment commander, flew about 200 combat missions (of which 132 were night missions);
- Lyudmila Pavlichenko (1916-1974): Hero of the Union, world famous sniper, instructor at a sniper school, participated in the defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. Destroyed about 309 opponents, including 36 snipers;
- Lydia Litvyak (1921-1943): Hero posthumously, fighter pilot (ace), squadron flight commander, participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, battles in the Donbass (168 sorties, 12 victories in air battles);
- Ekaterina Budanova (1916-1943): Hero Russian Federation posthumously (she was listed as missing in the USSR), fighter pilot (AC), repeatedly fought against superior enemy forces, including going into a frontal attack (11 victories);
- Ekaterina Zelenko (1916-1941): Hero of the Union posthumously, deputy squadron commander. The only Soviet female pilot who participated in the Soviet-Finnish war. The only woman in the world who rammed an enemy plane (in Belarus);
- Evdokia Bershanskaya (1913-1982): the only woman awarded the Order of Suvorov. Pilot, commander of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (1941-1945). The regiment was exclusively female. For his skill in performing combat missions he received the nickname "night witches". Particularly distinguished himself in the liberation of the Taman Peninsula, Feodosia, Belarus.
Rice. 2. Pilots of the 46th Guards Aviation Regiment.
05/09/2012 in Tomsk, the modern movement "Immortal Regiment" was born, designed to honor the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. On the streets of the city, residents carried about two thousand portraits of their relatives who participated in the war. The movement became widespread. Every year the number of participating cities is increasing, covering even other countries. In 2015, the Immortal Regiment campaign received official permission and took place in Moscow immediately after the Victory Day parade.
The fighting has long since died down. One by one the veterans are leaving. But the heroes of the Second World War 1941-1945 and their exploits will forever remain in the memory of grateful descendants. This article will tell about the brightest personalities of those years and their immortal deeds. Some were still very young, and some were no longer young. Each of the heroes has his own character and his own destiny. But all of them were united by love for the Motherland and the willingness to sacrifice themselves for its good.
Alexander Matrosov.
The pupil of the orphanage Sasha Matrosov went to war at the age of 18. Immediately after the infantry school, he was sent to the front. February 1943 turned out to be "hot". Alexander's battalion went on the attack, and at some point the guy, along with several comrades, was surrounded. It was not possible to break through to our own - enemy machine guns fired too dense fire. Soon Matrosov was left alive alone. His comrades were killed by bullets. The young man had only a few seconds to make a decision. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the last in his life. Wanting to bring at least some benefit to his own battalion, Alexander Matrosov rushed to the embrasure, covering it with his body. The fire stopped. The attack of the Red Army was eventually crowned with success - the Nazis retreated. And Sasha went to heaven as a young and handsome 19-year-old guy ...
Marat Kazei
When the Great Patriotic War began, Marat Kazei was only twelve. He lived in the village of Stankovo with his sister and parents. In 41st he was in the occupation. Marat's mother helped the partisans, providing them with her own shelter and feeding them. Once the Germans found out about this and shot a woman. Left alone, the children, without hesitation, went into the forest and joined the partisans. Marat, who had finished only four classes before the war, helped his older comrades as much as he could. They even took him on reconnaissance; and he also participated in undermining German trains. In 1943, the boy was awarded the medal "For Courage" for his heroism during the breakthrough of the encirclement. The boy was wounded in that terrible battle. And in 1944 Kazei was returning from intelligence with an adult partisan. The Germans noticed them and started firing at them. The senior comrade died. Marat fired back to the last bullet. And when he had only one grenade left, the teenager let the Germans get closer and blew himself up with them. He was 15 years old.
Alexey Maresyev
The name of this person is known to every inhabitant of the former Soviet Union. After all it comes about the legendary pilot. Alexey Maresyev was born in 1916 and dreamed of the sky since childhood. Even the transferred rheumatism did not become an obstacle on the way to the dream. Despite the prohibitions of doctors, Alexey entered the flight department - they took him after several vain attempts. In 1941, the stubborn young man went to the front. The sky was not what he dreamed of. But it was necessary to defend the Motherland, and Maresyev did everything for this. One day his plane was shot down. Alexei, wounded in both legs, managed to land the car on the territory occupied by the Germans and even somehow make his way to his own. But time was lost. The legs were "devoured" by gangrene and had to be amputated. Where can a soldier go without both limbs? After all, he is completely crippled ... But Alexei Maresyev was not one of those. He remained in the ranks and continued to fight the enemy. As many as 86 times, a winged machine with a hero on board managed to rise into the sky. 11 German planes were shot down by Maresyev. The pilot was lucky enough to survive in that terrible war and feel the heady taste of victory. He died in 2001. "The Story of a Real Man" by Boris Polevoy is a work about him. It was the feat of Maresyev that inspired the author to write it.
Zinaida Portnova
Born in 1926, Zina Portnova met the war as a teenager. At that time, the native inhabitant of Leningrad was visiting relatives in Belarus. Once in the occupied territory, she did not sit on the sidelines, but entered partisan movement... She pasted leaflets, established contacts with the underground ... In 1943, the Germans seized the girl and dragged her to their lair. During the interrogation, Zina managed to somehow take a pistol from the table. She shot her tormentors - two soldiers and an investigator. It was heroic deed, which made the attitude of the Germans towards Zina even more brutal. It is impossible to convey in words the torment that the girl experienced during the terrible torture. But she was silent. Not a word was squeezed out of her by the Nazis. As a result, the Germans shot their captive, and did not achieve anything from the heroine Zina Portnova.
Andrey Korzun
Andrey Korzun turned thirty in the 41st. He was drafted to the front immediately, sending him to the gunners. Korzun took part in terrible battles near Leningrad, during one of which he was seriously wounded. It was November 5, 1943. As he fell, Korzun noticed that the ammunition depot started on fire. It was urgent to put out the fire, otherwise an explosion of enormous force threatened to take many lives. Somehow, bleeding and suffering from pain, the artilleryman crawled to the warehouse. The artilleryman did not have the strength to take off his overcoat and throw it into the flames. Then he covered the fire with his body. The explosion did not happen. Andrey Korzun did not manage to survive.
Leonid Golikov
Another young hero is Lenya Golikov. Was born in 1926. He lived in the Novgorod region. With the beginning of the war, he left to partisan. Courage and determination to this teenager was not to take. Leonid destroyed 78 fascists, a dozen enemy trains and even a couple of bridges. The explosion, which went down in history and carried away the German general Richard von Wirtz, was his handiwork. The car of an important rank flew into the air, and Golikov took possession of valuable documents, for which he received the Star of the Hero. A brave partisan died in 1943 near the village of Ostraya Luka during a German attack. The enemy significantly outnumbered our fighters, and they had no chance. Golikov fought until his last breath.
These are just six of the great many stories that permeate the entire war. Everyone who has passed it, who has brought victory even for a moment closer, is already a hero. Thanks to the likes of Maresyev, Golikov, Korzun, Matrosov, Kazei, Portnova and millions of other Soviet soldiers, the world got rid of the brown plague of the 20th century. And the reward for their exploits was eternal life!
What exploits of the Great Patriotic War do we know about? Alexander Matrosov, who closed the embrasure; Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who was tortured by the Nazis; pilot Alexei Maresyev, who lost both legs, but continued to fight ... Hardly anyone will be able to remember the names of other heroes. Meanwhile, there are a lot of people who have done the impossible to defend their homeland. The streets of our cities are named after them, and we don't even know who they are and what they did. The editors decided to rectify this situation - we invite you to learn about the 10 most incredible feats of the Great Patriotic War.
Nikolay Gastello
Nikolay Gastello
Nikolai Gastello was a military pilot, captain, and commander of the 2nd Squadron of the 207th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment. Before World War II, Gastello worked as a simple mechanic. He went through three wars, a year before the Second World War, he received the rank of captain.
On June 26, 1941, the crew commanded by Nikolai Gastello flew out to strike a German mechanized convoy located between the Belarusian cities of Molodechno and Radoshkovichi. During the operation, Gastello's plane was hit by an anti-aircraft gun shell - the plane caught fire. Nikolai could have ejected, but instead he directed the burning plane at the German convoy. Before that, for the entire time of the Second World War, no one had done such a thing, therefore, after Gastello's perfect feat, all the pilots who dared to go to the ram were called Gaster's men.
Lenya Golikov Lenya Golikov
Lenya Golikov during the Great Patriotic War was in the Leningrad partisan brigade as a brigade intelligence officer of the 67th detachment of the 4th. When the Second World War began, he was 15 years old, he left for a partisan detachment when the Germans captured his native Novgorod region. During his stay in the partisan brigade, he managed to take part in twenty-seven operations, destroy several bridges behind enemy lines, destroy ten trains carrying ammunition, and kill more than seventy Germans.
In the summer of 1942, near the village of Varnitsa, Lenya Golikov blew up a car in which a German Major General of the Engineering Troops Richard von Wirtz was traveling. As a result of this operation, Golikov was able to obtain important documents that spoke of the German offensive. This made it possible to disrupt the impending German attack. For this feat of laziness, Golikov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He died in battle in the winter of 1943 near the village of Ostraya Luka, he was 16 years old.
Zina Portnova Zina Portnova
Zina Portnova was a scout of the Voroshilov partisan detachment, which operated in the territory occupied by the Germans. When the war began, Zina was in Belarus on vacation. In 1942, at the age of 16, she joined the underground organization Young Avengers, where she initially distributed anti-fascist leaflets in the German-occupied territories. Then Zina got a job in the canteen for German officers. There she committed a number of sabotage, the Germans did not capture her only by a miracle.
In 1943, Zina joined the partisan detachment, where she continued to engage in sabotage behind enemy lines. But soon, thanks to reports of traitors who sided with the Germans, Zina was taken prisoner, where she was brutally tortured. However, the enemies underestimated the young girl - the torture did not make her betray her, and during one of the interrogations, Zina managed to grab a pistol and kill three Germans. Shortly thereafter, Zina Portnova was shot, she was 17 years old.
Young guard Young guard
This was the name of the underground anti-fascist organization, which conducted its activities in the area of the modern Luhansk region. The Young Guard included over a hundred members, the youngest of whom was only fourteen years old. The most famous members of the "Young Guard" are Oleg Koshevoy, Ulyana Gromova, Lyubov Shevtsova, Vasily Levashov, Sergey Tyulenin and others.
Members of this underground organization issued and distributed leaflets in the territory occupied by the Germans, and also committed sabotage. As a result of one of the acts of sabotage, they were able to disable an entire repair shop, in which the Germans were repairing tanks. They also managed to burn down the stock exchange, from where the Germans drove people to Germany.
The traitors turned over the Young Guard members to the Germans just before the planned uprising. More than 70 members of the organization were taken prisoner, tortured and then shot.
Victor Talalikhin Victor Talalikhin
Viktor Talalikhin was the deputy squadron commander of the 177th Air Defense Fighter Aviation Regiment. Talalikhin took part in the Soviet-Finnish war, during which he managed to destroy four enemy aircraft. After the war, he went to serve in an aviation school. During the Second World War, in August 1941, he shot down a German bomber by ramming it, and survived, getting out of the cockpit and parachuting down to the rear of his own.
After that, Viktor Talalikhin managed to destroy five more fascist aircraft. However, already in October 1914, the hero died while participating in the next air combat near Podolsk. In 2014, Viktor Talalikhin's plane was found in the swamps near Moscow.
Andrey Korzun Andrey Korzun
Andrey Korzun was an artilleryman of the 3rd counter-battery artillery corps of the Leningrad Front. Korzun was drafted into the army at the very beginning of the Second World War. His battery came under heavy enemy fire on November 5, 1943. In this battle, Andrei Korzun was seriously wounded. Seeing that the powder charges were set on fire, due to which the ammunition depot could fly up into the air, Korzun, experiencing severe pain, crawled towards the burning powder charges. He no longer had the strength to take off his greatcoat and cover the fire with it, so, losing consciousness, he covered him with himself. As a result of this feat of Korzun, the explosion did not occur.
Alexander German Alexander German
Alexander German was the commander of the 3rd Leningrad partisan brigade. Alexander served in the army since 1933, and when the Great Patriotic War began, he became a scout. Then he took command of a partisan brigade, which managed to destroy several hundred trains and cars, and kill thousands of German soldiers and officers. Germans long time tried to go to the partisan detachment of German, and in 1943 they succeeded: on the territory of the Pskov region, the detachment was surrounded, and Alexander German was killed.
Vladislav Khrustitsky Vladislav Khrustitsky
Vladislav Khrustitsky was the commander of the 30th Separate Guards Tank Brigade on the Leningrad Front. Vladislav served in the army since the 1920s, at the end of the 1930s he graduated from the armored courses, and in the fall of 1942 he began to command the 61st separate light tank brigade. Vladislav Khrustitsky distinguished himself during Operation Iskra, which gave impetus to the future defeat of the Nazis on the Leningrad Front.
In 1944, the Germans were already retreating from Leningrad, but the tank brigade of Vladislav Khrustitsky fell into a trap near Volosovo. Despite the fierce fire from the enemy, Khrustitsky transmitted the order "Stand to the death!" By radio communication, after which he was the first to go forward. In this battle, Vladislav Khrustitsky died, and the village of Volosovo was liberated from the Nazis.
Efim Osipenko Efim Osipenko
Efim Osipenko was the commander of a partisan detachment, which he organized with several of his comrades immediately after the capture of his land by the Germans. Detachment Osipenko committed anti-fascist sabotage. During one of such acts of sabotage, Osipenko had to throw explosives made from a grenade under a German train, which he did. However, the explosion did not occur. Without hesitation, Osipenko found a railway sign and hit the grenade with a stick attached to it. It exploded, the train with food and tanks for the Germans went downhill. The hero survived, but lost his sight. For this operation, Efim Osipenko received the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War", this was the first time such a medal was awarded.
Matvey Kuzmin Matvey Kuzmin
Matvey Kuzmin became the oldest participant in the Second World War, who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but, alas, posthumously. He was 83 years old when the Germans took him prisoner and demanded to lead them through the forest and swamps. Matvey sent his grandson ahead to warn the partisan detachment that was next to them about the approaching Germans. thus, the Germans were ambushed and defeated. During the battle, Matvey Kuzmin was killed by a German officer.
