Smuglyanka - Soviet song with lyricsYakov Zakharovich Shvedovand musicAnatoly Grigorievich Novikov.
The song was part of a suite written by composer A. Novikov and poet Yakov Shvedov in
For the first time the ensemble sang a song in the Concert Hall named after Tchaikovsky in 1944 . It was sung by the soloist of the Red Banner Ensemble Nikolay Ustinov , to whom this song largely owes its success. The concert was broadcast on the radio. “Darkie” was thus heard by a lot of people. It was picked up in the rear and at the front. The song, which spoke about the events of the civil war, was perceived as a song about those who heroically fought for the liberation of the long-suffering Moldovan land in Great Patriotic WarThe song was also played in the film "Only “old men” go into battle"1973.
Morning May 2 1945 turned out to be a gentle year. Corporal Shalneva regulated the movement of our military equipment one and a half kilometers from the Reichstag. Suddenly, one Emka pulled off to the side of the road, and the poet Evgeny Dolmatovsky and front-line correspondent Evgeny Khaldei got out of the car. The experienced eye of the TASS photojournalist immediately “snatched the type.” Khaldei did not get out of the car calmly as he did. Dolmatovsky, he jumped out of it as if he had been scalded with boiling water, almost knocking his comrade off his feet. Whirling around the girl like a bumblebee, he rattled off with a smile from ear to ear:
- Tell me, beauty, where are you from?!
“I’m a Siberian, from a village whose name won’t tell you anything,” the traffic controller smiled in response.
The shutter of the watering can clicked, and Maria Shalneva made history... Maria Timofeevna Shalneva, corporal of the 87th separate road maintenance battalion, regulates the movement of military equipment near the Reichstag in Berlin.
Oath. IN During the war, women served in the Red Army not only in auxiliary positions, such as signalmen and nurses. There were even rifle units: the 1st separate women's reserve rifle regiment, the 1st separate women's volunteer rifle brigade (OZhDSBr) of 7 battalions with a total number of 7 thousand people. These were mostly 19-20 year old girls
Girls of the 487th Fighter Wing. In the photo, Sergeant O. Dobrova is sitting on the left. Inscriptions on the back of the photo:
“Masha, Valya, Nadya, Olya, Tanya are the girls of our unit 23234-a”
"July 29, 1943"
Local residents erect barricades on one of the streets of Odessa. 1941
Northern Fleet nurses.
Knight of the Order of Glory, 3rd degree, sniper Maria Kuvshinova, who destroyed several dozen German soldiers and officers.
December 1942
Location: Active duty army
Female officers of the 46th Guards Taman Night Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 325th Night Bomber Aviation Division of the 4th Air Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front: Evdokia Bershanskaya (left), Maria Smirnova (standing) and Polina Gelman.
Evdokia Davydovna Bershanskaya (1913-1982) - commander of the women's 588th night light bomber aviation regiment (NLBAP, since 1943 - 46th Guards Taman night bomber regiment). She is the only woman awarded the military orders of Suvorov (III degree) and Alexander Nevsky.
Maria Vasilievna Smirnova (1920-2002) - squadron commander of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. By August 1944, she had flown 805 night combat missions. On October 26, 1944 she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Polina Vladimirovna Gelman (1919-2005) - chief of communications of the aviation squadron of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. By May 1945, as a navigator of the Po-2 aircraft, she had flown 860 combat missions. On May 15, 1946 she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Valentina Milyunas, medical instructor of the 125th Infantry Regiment of the 43rd Latvian Guards Division.
From the book by Andrey Eremenko “Years of Retribution. 1943-1945":
“Subsequently, the 43rd Guards Latvian Division, advancing slightly north of Daugavpils, occupied the Vishki railway station; The battle here was very stubborn, since, having entrenched themselves in strong station buildings, the Nazis fired destructive fire at the attackers. The arrows are stuck. It was at that moment that Valya Milyunas stood up and shouted: “Forward, for our native Latvia!” - rushed towards the enemy. Dozens of other warriors followed her, but an enemy bullet struck the heroine. Everyone thought she was killed. With the thought of revenge for the death of a young patriot
New units quickly moved in. Suddenly Valya stood up and, waving a red flag, again began to call the soldiers forward to the enemy. The Nazis were driven out of the station. The wounded heroine was picked up by her friends, the nurses. The red flag turned out to be a scarf soaked in her blood. Valya was accepted into the party and awarded a high award.”
Hero of the Soviet Union, sniper of the 25th Chapaev Division Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko (1916-1974). Destroyed over 300 fascist soldiers and officers.
Women dig anti-tank ditches near Moscow in the fall of 1941.
Sniper of the 54th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division of the Primorsky Army of the North Caucasus Front, junior lieutenant L.M. Pavlichenko. The photo was taken during her trip to England, the USA and Canada with a delegation of Soviet youth in the fall of 1942.
Pavlichenko Lyudmila Mikhailovna was born in 1916, a participant in the Great Patriotic War since June 1941 - a volunteer. Participant in defensive battles in Moldova and southern Ukraine. For good marksmanship training, she was assigned to a sniper platoon. Since August 1941, she took part in the heroic defense of the city of Odessa and destroyed 187 Nazis. Since October 1941, he took part in the heroic defense of the city of Sevastopol. In June 1942, Lyudmila Pavlichenko was wounded and recalled from the front line. By this time, Lyudmila Pavlichenko had killed 309 Nazis with a sniper rifle, including 36 enemy snipers. She was not only an excellent sniper, but also an excellent teacher. During the period of defensive battles, she trained dozens of good snipers.
In October 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 1218).
A female medical instructor from the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps.
Soviet girl volunteers go to the front. 
Soviet soldiers in Prague are resting in trucks.
Soviet soldiers who took part in the assault on Koenigsberg before being sent home.
A nurse at an American field hospital in France. Normandy, 1944.
In June 1941, without warning of war, fascist troops entered the territory of our Motherland. The bloody war claimed millions of lives. Countless number of orphans, destitute people. Death and destruction are everywhere. On May 9, 1945 we won. The war was won at the cost of the lives of great people. Women and men fought side by side, without thinking about their true purpose. The goal was the same for everyone - victory at any cost. Do not allow the enemy to enslave the country, the Motherland. This is a great victory.
Women at the front
According to official statistics, about 490 thousand women were drafted into the war. They fought on an equal basis with men, received honorary awards, died for their Motherland, and drove out the Nazis until their last breath. Who are these great women? Mothers, wives, thanks to whom we now live under a peaceful sky, breathe free air. In total, 3 air regiments were formed - 46, 125, 586. Women pilots of the Great Patriotic War struck fear into the hearts of the Germans. Women's company of sailors, volunteer rifle brigade, rifle regiment. This is only official data, but how many women were there in the rear during the Great Patriotic War. Underground fighters, at the cost of their lives, forged victory behind enemy lines. Women intelligence officers, partisans, nurses. We will talk about the great heroes of the Patriotic War - women who made an overwhelming contribution to the victory over fascism.
"Night Witches", awarded and instilling terror in the German occupiers: Litvyak, Raskova, Budanova
The female pilots received the most awards during the war. Fearless, fragile girls went to ram, fought in the air, and took part in night bombings. For their bravery they received the nickname “night witches”. Experienced German aces were afraid of a witch raid. They carried out raids on German squadrons using plywood U-2 biplanes. Seven of the slightly more than thirty female pilots were awarded the Order of the highest rank of cavalier posthumously.
The most famous “witches” who made more than one combat mission and were responsible for more than a dozen shot down fascist planes:
- Budanova Ekaterina. The rank of Guard was senior lieutenant, she was a commander, and served in fighter regiments. The fragile girl has 266 combat missions. Budanova personally shot down about 6 fascist planes and with her comrades another 5. Katya did not sleep or eat, the plane went out on combat missions around the clock. Budanova took revenge for the death of her family. Experienced aces were amazed at the courage, endurance and self-control of a fragile girl who looked like a guy. The biography of the great pilot includes such feats - one against 12 enemy aircraft. And this is not the last feat of a woman during the Great Patriotic War. One day, returning from a combat mission, Budanova saw three Me-109s. There was no way to warn her squadron; the girl entered into an unequal battle, despite the fact that there was no longer any fuel in the tanks and the ammunition had run out. Having fired the last bullets, Budanova starved out the Nazis. Their nerves simply gave way and they believed that the girl was attacking them. Budanova bluffed at her own peril and risk, the ammunition ran out. The enemy's nerves gave way, the bombs were dropped without reaching a specific target. In 1943, Budanova made her last flight. In an unequal battle, she was wounded, but managed to land the plane on her territory. The chassis touched the ground, Katya breathed her last. This was her 11th victory, the girl was only 26 years old. She was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation only in 1993.
- - a pilot of a fighter aviation regiment, who has killed more than one German soul. Litvyak made more than 150 combat missions, and was responsible for 6 enemy aircraft. In one of the planes there was a colonel of an elite squadron. The German ace did not believe that he was shot down by a young girl. The fiercest battles Litvyak experienced were near Stalingrad. 89 sorties and 7 downed aircraft. There were always wildflowers in the Litvyak cockpit and a design of a white lily on the plane. For this she received the nickname “White Lily of Stalingrad”. Litvyak died near Donbass. Having made three flights, she never returned from the last one. The remains were discovered in 1969 and reburied in a mass grave. The pretty girl was only 21 years old. In 1990 she received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
- She has 645 night combat missions. Destroyed railway crossings, enemy equipment, and manpower. In 1944, she did not return from a combat mission.
- - famous pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, founder and commander of the women's aviation regiment. Died in a plane crash.
- Ekaterina Zelenko is the first and only woman to perform an aerial ram. During reconnaissance flights, Soviet aircraft were attacked by Me-109s. Zelenko shot down one plane and rammed the second. A minor planet of the solar system was named after this girl.
Women pilots were the wings of victory. They carried her on their fragile shoulders. Fighting bravely under the skies, sometimes sacrificing their own lives.
"Silent war" of strong women
Women underground fighters, partisans, and intelligence officers waged their own quiet war. They made their way into the enemy’s camp and carried out sabotage. Many were awarded the Order of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Almost everything is posthumous. Great feats were accomplished by such girls as Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Zina Portnova, Lyubov Shevtsova, Ulyana Gromova, Matryona Volskaya, Vera Voloshina. At the cost of their own lives, without giving up under torture, they forged victory and committed sabotage.
Matryona Volskaya, on the orders of the commander of the partisan movement, led 3,000 children across the front line. Hungry, exhausted, but alive thanks to teacher Matryona Volskaya.
Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya is the very first female Hero of the Great Patriotic War. The girl was a saboteur, an underground partisan. She was captured on a combat mission; sabotage was being prepared. The girl was tortured for a long time, trying to find out any information. But she bravely endured all the torment. The scout was hanged in front of local residents. Zoya’s last words were addressed to the people: “Fight, don’t be afraid, beat the damned fascists, for the Motherland, for life, for the children.”
Vera Voloshina served in the same intelligence unit as Kosmodemyanskaya. On one of the missions, Vera’s squad came under fire, and the wounded girl was captured. She was tortured all night, but Voloshina remained silent, and in the morning she was hanged. She was only 22 years old, she dreamed of a wedding and children, but she never had the chance to wear a white dress.
Zina Portnova was the youngest underground fighter during the war. At the age of 15, the girl joined the partisan movement. In the territory occupied by the Germans in Vitebsk, underground fighters carried out sabotage against the Nazis. Flax was set on fire, ammunition was destroyed. Young Portnova killed 100 Germans by poisoning them in the dining room. The girl managed to avert suspicion by tasting poisoned food. The grandmother managed to pump out her brave granddaughter. Soon she joins a partisan detachment and from there begins to conduct her underground sabotage activities. But there is a traitor in the ranks of the partisans, and the girl, like other participants in the underground movement, is arrested. After prolonged and painful torture, Zina Portnova was shot. The girl was 17 years old, she was led to execution blind and completely gray-haired.
The quiet war of strong women during the Great Patriotic War almost always ended with one outcome - death. Until their last breath they fought the enemy, destroying him little by little, actively operating underground.
Faithful companions on the battlefield - nurses
Women doctors have always been on the front lines. They carried out the wounded under shelling and bombing. Many received the title of Hero posthumously.
For example, medical instructor of the 355th battalion, sailor Maria Tsukanova. A female volunteer saved the lives of 52 sailors. Tsukanova died in 1945.
Another heroine of the Patriotic War is Zinaida Shipanova. By forging documents and secretly escaping to the front, she saved the lives of more than one hundred wounded. She pulled soldiers out from under fire and bandaged wounds. She calmed down the discouraged warriors psychologically. The main feat of a woman occurred in 1944 in Romania. Early in the morning, she was the first to notice the creeping fascists and informed the commander through Zina. The battalion commander ordered the soldiers to go into battle, but the tired soldiers were confused and were in no hurry to engage in battle. Then the young girl rushed to the aid of her commander, without understanding the road, she rushed into the attack. Her whole life flashed before her eyes, and then the soldiers, inspired by her courage, rushed towards the fascists. Nurse Shipanova has inspired and rallied soldiers more than once. She didn’t make it to Berlin and was hospitalized with a shrapnel wound and concussion.
Women doctors, like guardian angels, protected, treated, encouraged, as if covering the fighters with their wings of mercy.
Women infantrymen are the workhorses of war
Infantrymen have always been considered the workhorses of war. They are the ones who begin and end every battle, and bear all its burdens on their shoulders. There were women here too. They walked side by side with men and mastered hand weapons. One can envy the courage of such infantrymen. Among the women infantry there are 6 Heroes of the Soviet Union, five received the title posthumously.
The main character was the machine gunner Liberating Nevel, she single-handedly defended the heights with one machine gun against a company of German soldiers, shooting everyone, she died from her wounds, but did not let the Germans through.
Lady Death. Great snipers of the Patriotic War
Snipers made a significant contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany. During the Great Patriotic War, women endured all the hardships. Staying in hiding for days, they tracked down the enemy. Without water, food, in the heat and cold. Many were awarded significant awards, but not all during their lifetime.
Lyubov Makarova, after graduating from sniper school in 1943, ends up on the Kalinin Front. The green girl has 84 fascists to her name. She was awarded the medal "For Military Merit" and the "Order of Glory".
Tatyana Baramzina destroyed 36 fascists. Before the war, she worked in a kindergarten. During the Patriotic War, she was sent behind enemy lines as part of reconnaissance. She managed to kill 36 soldiers, but was captured. Baramzina was cruelly mocked before her death, she was subjected to torture, so that afterwards she could only be identified by her uniform.
Anastasia Stepanova managed to eliminate 40 fascists. Initially she served as a nurse, but after graduating from sniper school she actively took part in the battles near Leningrad. She was awarded the award "For the Defense of Leningrad".
Elizaveta Mironova destroyed 100 fascists. She served in the 255th Red Banner Marine Brigade. Died in 1943. Lisa destroyed many soldiers of the enemy army and steadfastly endured all difficulties.
Lady Death, or the great Lyudmila Pavlichenko, destroyed 309 fascists. This legendary Soviet woman terrified the German invaders during the Great Patriotic War. She was among the volunteers at the front. Having successfully completed his first combat mission, Pavlichenko ends up in the 25th Infantry Division named after Chapaev. The Nazis were afraid of Pavlichenko like fire. The fame of the female sniper of the Great Patriotic War quickly spread in enemy circles. There were bounties placed on her head. Despite the weather conditions, hunger and thirst, the “lady death” calmly waited for her victim. Participated in battles near Odessa and Moldova. She destroyed the Germans in groups, the command sent Lyudmila on the most dangerous missions. Pavlichenko was wounded four times. “Lady Death” was invited with a delegation to the USA. At the conference, she loudly declared to the journalists sitting in the hall: “I have 309 fascists on my account, how long will I continue to do your work.” “Lady Death” went down in Russian history as the most effective sniper, saving hundreds of lives of Soviet soldiers with her well-aimed shots. An amazing female sniper of the Great Patriotic War was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Tank built with the money of the heroine's woman
Women flew, shot, and fought equally with men. Without hesitation, hundreds of thousands of women took arms voluntarily. There were also tankers among them. So, with the money raised from Maria Oktyabrskaya, the “Battle Friend” tank was built. Maria was kept in the rear for a long time and was not allowed to go to the front. But she still managed to convince the command that she would be more useful on the battlefields. She proved it. Oktyabrskaya was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. She died while repairing her tank under fire.
Signalmen - “postal doves” of wartime
Assiduous, attentive, with good hearing. Girls were willingly taken to the front as signalmen and radio operators. They were trained in special schools. But here, too, there were our own Heroes of the Soviet Union. Both girls received the title posthumously. The feat of one of them makes you shudder. During the battle of her battalion, Elena Stempkovskaya called artillery fire on herself. The girl died, and victory was won at the cost of her life.
Signalmen were wartime “messenger doves”; they could find any person upon request. And at the same time, they are brave heroes, capable of heroic deeds for the sake of common victory.
The role of women in the Great Patriotic War
In wartime, women became an integral figure in the economy. Almost 2/3 of workers, 3/4 of agricultural workers were women. From the first hours of the war until the last day there was no longer a division between male and female professions. Selfless workers plowed the land, sowed grain, loaded bales, worked as welders and lumberjacks. Industry was boosted. All efforts were aimed at fulfilling orders for the front.
Hundreds of them came to factories, working 16 hours at the machine, and still managed to raise children. They sowed in the fields and grew grain to send to the front. Thanks to the work of these women, the army was provided with food, raw materials, and parts for aircraft and tanks. Unbending, steely heroines of the labor front are worthy of admiration. It is impossible to single out just one feat of a woman on the home front during the Great Patriotic War. This is a common service to the Motherland of all women who were not afraid of hard work.
We cannot forget their feat before the Motherland
Vera Andrianova - reconnaissance radio operator, was awarded the medal "For Courage" posthumously. The young girl took part in the liberation of Kaluga in 1941; after completing courses for reconnaissance radio operators, she was sent to the front to be deployed behind enemy lines.
During one of the raids behind German lines, the U-2 pilot did not find a place to land, and this female hero of the Great Patriotic War made a jump without a parachute, jumping into the snow. Despite the frostbite, she completed the task of the headquarters. Andrianova made many more forays into the camp of enemy troops. Thanks to the girl’s penetration into the location of Army Group Center, it was possible to destroy an ammunition depot and blockade a fascist communications center. Trouble happened in the summer of 1942, Vera was arrested. During interrogations they tried to lure her to the side of the enemy. Adrianova was not forgiving, and during the execution she refused to turn her back on the enemy, calling them insignificant cowards. The soldiers shot Vera, discharging their pistols right in her face.
Alexandra Rashchupkina - for the sake of serving in the army, she pretended to be a man. Having once again been refused by the military registration and enlistment office, Rashchupkina changed her name and went to fight for her homeland as a mechanic-driver of a T-34 tank under the name Alexander. Only after she was wounded was her secret revealed.
Rimma Shershneva - served in the ranks of the partisans, actively participated in sabotage against the Nazis. She covered the embrasure of the enemy bunker with her body.
Low bow and eternal memory to the Great Heroes of the Patriotic War. We won't forget
How many of them were brave, selfless, shielding themselves from bullets heading towards the embrasure - a great many. The warrior woman became the personification of the Motherland, the mother. They went through all the hardships of the war, bearing on their fragile shoulders the grief of the loss of loved ones, hunger, deprivation, and military service.
We must remember those who defended their homeland from the fascist invaders, who gave their lives for the sake of victory, remember the exploits, women and men, children and old people. As long as we remember and pass on the memory of that war to our children, they will live. These people gave us the world, we must preserve their memory. And on May 9th, stand in line with the dead and march in the parade of eternal memory. A low bow to you, veterans, thank you for the sky above your heads, for the sun, for life in a world without war.
Women warriors are role models of how to love your country, your Motherland.
Thank you, your death is not in vain. We will remember your feat, you will live forever in our hearts!
Time is powerless to weaken the memory of humanity about
courage and unbending fortitude of the Soviet people who rose to
defense of your Motherland, your Fatherland. This
The war was waged by the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders not only for the sake of
of the Soviet people, but also for the sake of other peoples, for the sake of world peace. Invaluable
Soviets made contributions to the victory over fascism
women who stood up to defend their homeland. In the article “On the moral character of our people,” M. I. Kalinin wrote:
all previous ones pale before the great epic of the current war, before the heroism
and the sacrifice of Soviet women, showing civic valor, endurance
with the loss of loved ones and enthusiasm in the fight against such a force and, I would say,
majesty such as have never been seen in the past.”
Soviet women performed an immortal feat in the name of the Motherland in the rear
countries. Overcoming the greatest difficulties of the war years, sparing no effort, they did
everything to provide the front with what was required to defeat the enemy. Woman
collected funds for the country's defense fund,
food and clothing for the population affected by the occupiers became
donors. Throughout the war, women from the home front kept in touch with the Red Wars
The armies showed constant concern for them and their families.
Sending gifts to wars,
patriotic letters, traveling with delegations to the front, they provided
on the defenders of the Motherland and moral influence, inspired them to new combat
feats.
Soviet Women as equal members
socialist state, were during the Great Patriotic War and
his equal defenders. Women and girls served in the Red Army,
participated in the partisan movement, took the most direct and
active participation in the expulsion of the occupiers from Soviet soil and in their complete
defeat.
About the military and labor exploits of Soviet women
many books, essays, documentary stories, magazine and newspaper stories have been written
articles. Poets and writers have dedicated many stories to women warriors and home front workers.
of their works.
Already during the Patriotic War, the first
pages of history about the contribution of Soviet women to the defense of the socialist Fatherland.
The military and labor feats of Soviet women were consecrated in a number of works, in
the first decade after the war. And yet many of them were inherent
significant disadvantages associated primarily with the limited
source base of those years.
It is known that the war began at extremely
unfavorable balance of forces with Germany for the USSR. It's especially hard
the loss of important economic areas affected the development of the military economy
countries at the beginning of the war. As a result
occupation by the enemy of a significant part of Soviet territory, the country lost
territory in which before the war 68% of steel, 60% of aluminum, 62% of
mined coal, etc. More than once during the war, Soviet soldiers had
one rifle for two. Through great efforts
by 1942 the USSR had become
produce more weapons than Germany. Stalin raising the people
holy war against fascism, warned the Soviet people against underestimating the enemy,
armed with powerful military equipment and
experienced in modern warfare.
Stalin called on the people to
in order to “defend every inch of Soviet land in a merciless fight against the enemy,
fight to the last drop of blood for our cities and villages, show courage,
initiative and intelligence characteristic of our people.” All over the country
slogans sounded: “Everything for the front!
everything for victory! "
From this table you can see that the number of women
number of people employed in production is constantly growing and over 5 years they have grown by more than 1.5 times.
Years 1940 in thousand 1945 in thousand in % of 1940 Total people employed in production 47520 52820 111 Men 35550 34210 96 Women 11970 18610 156
Use of female labor in production
showed another greatest advantage of the Soviet socialist system. AND
In this matter, not a single capitalist state can compare with the USSR.
The thoughts and aspirations of the patriots of the Soviet rear are well expressed in the addresses of the participants
two thousandth rally of women of the Ivanovo region. “Revenge and the great just
anger, they wrote, does not fade away for a minute in the hearts of each of us. Remember
that the front passes through our great Motherland, to the smallest remote
town, to the most remote village! We are all fighters of a formidable, merciless enemy
people's army! There is only one desire of every honest Soviet
people - everything for the front! Everything for victory! The front demands - it will be fulfilled! "
Soviet power, socialist method
production provided women in our country with opportunities for active labor
activities. The active participation of women in creative work has dramatically changed their
the situation in the national economy is much
their share of participation in the country's production has increased. Thanks to the care and great
the organizational work of the party already in the years of the first five-year plans, Soviet women
became active builders of socialism in the USSR. Women have mastered such
professions that were previously only possible for men: in 1939, only in
metalworking industry, about 50 thousand women worked as turners, 40
thousand - mechanics, 24 thousand milling workers, 14 thousand toolmakers, etc.
Soviet women also took a place in the ranks of the intelligentsia. If before the victory of October
a female engineer was a rare exception in Russia, then in 1934 women
made up 10% of the engineering and technical personnel of the USSR industry, and in the chemical industry
industry they accounted for 22.5%, etc.
The Communist Party's call to women is to replace
men who went to the front received a warm response from them. Hundreds of thousands of girls
and women voluntarily came to production. Only in Moscow during the war days
production came to 374 thousand women
housewives. Of these, more than 100t. – industrial enterprises of the capital.
In besieged Leningrad, already in the first days of the war,
There are 500 housewives at the Kirov plant, and their number is increasing every day. In August 1941, in the mechanical shop of this plant, women made up 90% of all workers. In the first two months of the war
11,600 women came to Gorky's factories, and mostly they were
housewives. They occupied a variety of positions and became blacksmiths,
mechanics, molders, heaters
etc.
The influx of female labor into the country's industry at the expense of housewives
increased from month to month. By October 1941, women made up 45% of all
workers of the country.
On increasing the share of female labor among
qualified can be judged by the following data (in %) Main professions of skilled workers At the beginning of 1941 At the end of 1942 Among steam engine operators 6 33 Among compressor operators 27 44 Among metal turners 16 33 Among metal welders 17 31 Among mechanics 3.9 12 Among blacksmiths and stampers 11 50 Among car drivers 3.5 19
Many women entered the industries that produced
defense products. Thus, by the end of 1942, in the most important sectors of the defense
industry, women accounted for from 30% to 60%. With the advent of a large number
women in production, training them in their professions has become important, as well as
and improving production qualifications.
Many working women mastered new
professions right at the machine, at the workplace. Most girls and women
acquired working qualifications through short-term courses.
On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War
Among the volunteers who applied to be sent to
active army, up to 50% of applications were from women. Only in Barnaul
Altai Territory received over 800 volunteer applications, including 474
from women. Already in August 1941, 4544 women and girls of the region were trained
courses for nurses and aides. Soviet patriots went to the front, courageously
fought with the fascist invaders, shedding their blood and parting with
life in order to preserve the lives and protect unarmed women, children and
old people, so that the native land is free again, so that happiness and
the world again became the ordinary life of a working person.
Faithful daughter of the Motherland Alexandra Okunaeva, fallen
death of the brave, going into battle, she left a note that said: “I
went to the front to defend the Motherland. I
wanted to take revenge on the Nazis for that
the immeasurable grief, suffering and evil they brought to our land. I had to kill them. I understood and
I felt in my heart that I couldn’t live without it.” Boundless love for the Motherland, for the Communist Party, for
gave birth to her people from Soviet patriots
heroism and courage, strength and steadfastness in the fight against hated invaders
.
Assessing the military feat of Soviet women,
who went through the entire battle path with male soldiers, Marshal of the Soviet Union
A.I. Eremenko wrote: “There is hardly at least one military specialty with
which our brave women did not cope with as well as their brothers,
husbands and fathers.” On the initiative of the Komsomol Central Committee in 1942, the system
Universal education, formed under the People's Commissariat of Defense on October 1, 1941, created Komsomol youth
divisions. which included girls. Over 222 were trained
thousand women specialist fighters, including: mortar women - 6097 people, heavy machine gunners - 4522 people,
light machine gunners – 7796 people, automatic riflemen – 15290 people,
shooters-snipers - 102333 people, signalmen of all specialties -
45509, etc.
Many thousands of Soviet women and girls fought bravely for
socialist Fatherland in the Air Force. In 1942 from
female volunteers were formed
three aviation regiments that have gone through a glorious battle path. Many women served in
other parts of Soviet aviation. In 1944, for example, in the 13th Air Army
1,749 women served on the Trans-Baikal Front and
girls, of which 1613-
Komsomol members 3,000 women served in the 10th Air Army of the Far Eastern Front
and girls, including 712 communists. And in the 4th Air Army of the 2nd
Belorussian Front, which included the 46th Guards Women's Aviation Regiment,
4,376 women served, of which 237 were officers. 862 sergeants, 1125
privates and 2117 civilians. Pilots of the female regiment fought air battles
with the enemy, cleared the way for infantry and tanks, helped them break through the enemy
defense, in pursuit, encirclement and destruction of enemy groups, etc.
There are many bright pages in the history of the fight against the hated
Fearless scouts entered the enemy. Risking their lives, they went to the front line
line of fire, penetrated into the territory of enemy fortifications, went into deep
behind enemy lines, delivering a lot of valuable information. There are a lot of messages addressed to the scouts.
kind words were said, books and poems were written. I wrote this about them, about the scouts.
poet I. Selvinsky:
And what stubborn strength,
In the outline of this mouth!
This girl contains all of Russia,
Everything down to the mole is spilled.
Thousands of Soviet patriots - fighters of the invisible front
for exploits performed during the Patriotic War, they were awarded orders and
medals of the country, and N. T. Gnilitskaya and H. A. Kulman were awarded the title of Hero
Soviet Union.
Significant contribution to the fight for the lives of Soviet soldiers
contributed by those patriots who
worked on military ambulance trains, in front-line and rear hospitals. This
a poem by the poet Joseph Utkin, dedicated to a nurse:
When leaned over me
My sister's suffering -
The pain immediately became different:
Not as strong, not as sharp.
It's like I've been watered
Living and dead water,
It's like Russia is above me
Bowed her brown head!..
Soviet women took direct and
active participation in all decisive battles of the Soviet Armed Forces. Big
they contributed to the defense of the hero cities of Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Kyiv,
Odessa, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, Kerch, Minsk and other important military
operations. Participants in the armed struggle against Nazi Germany set an example
selfless service to the Motherland, one’s people, devotion to the Leninist party.
The main part of Hitler's plan "Barbaross" was
the destruction of Moscow, and in its place a huge sea would appear, namely
Therefore, the patriotism of Soviet women was clearly expressed in the battle of Moscow.
Ten thousand women and girls served in military units and formations that defended
capital of the Motherland.
Thousands of Soviet patriots became workers' fighters and
communist battalions, Moscow militia divisions. High
patriotism and their contribution to the defense of the capital were brought by each of the 12 Moscow
divisions. Their motto: “It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.” In fact they do
arrived. Over 300 were destroyed by fire from their sniper rifles.
German fascist invaders. In addition, Natasha Kovshova, and Masha Polivanova
were the organizers of training in sniper skills. They prepared 26
snipers of the regiment, who also exterminated up to 300 Nazis. In an unequal battle
During the liberation of Novogorod land, brave patriots died. Soviet
the government posthumously awarded them
honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, not all patriots
defending the capital, had a chance to see the desired day of victory over the enemy.
Many of
They laid down their lives already during the defense of Moscow.
Soviet soldiers and residents showed massive heroism
in the defense of a large industrial center and an important base of the Black Sea Fleet -
Odessa, which lasted 67 days. The enemy threw 18 divisions against the city’s defenders, which
several times greater than the strength of the Soviet troops. But the Supreme Headquarters
The High Command gave the order to defend Odessa to the last opportunity
This order was carried out with honor. Women of Odessa, like men, courageously
endured all the hardships and hardships - continuous bombing and shelling, lack of
food, and then water, which from September 10, after the capture
water station by the enemy, was issued using special cards.
Dozens
brave patriots who distinguished themselves in the battles for Odessa were awarded high
government awards.
Knowing their job well, disciplined and
The girls who served in the Leningrad
air defense army. They wrote quite a few bright pages into the history of the hero city from
air pirates. Komsomol member Corporal M.A. Vodinskaya was excellent
instrument operator of the 618th anti-aircraft artillery division of the Leningrad Air Defense Army. She
gave 100% accuracy in determining the target. According to her calculations, the shot was not hit
one enemy aircraft. The Soviets showed exceptional courage and bravery
patriots in the fight for the lives of wounded soldiers. When fierce fighting began,
Stalingrad hospitals daily 500 girls - combatants and nurses
worked to care for the wounded.
When 25
August 1942 at night in Traktorozavodsky
The Komsomol district committee appealed
commander of one of the military units
requesting assistance in
carrying the wounded to the crossing, secretary of the district committee
Lidiya Plastikova and 25 girls went to the front line. Under
machine-gun fire, explosions of mines and shells, they bandaged all the wounded and
They were taken to the left bank of the Volga.
Courage and bravery demonstrated
women warriors and at the final stage
Great Patriotic War. For 1418 days they walked along front roads,
overcoming all difficulties and adversity
military life, admiring his courage and endurance, inspiring young
few experienced soldiers.
In the last blows against the fascist army,
new strategic weapon - searchlights,
whose crews consisted mainly of girls. Soviet patriots
We were proud of our participation in this important and responsible task. Bright rays
searchlights, the enemy was blinded and confused, and while the Nazis came to their senses from the powerful
light strike, our artillery and tanks broke through the enemy’s defenses,
and the infantrymen went on the attack, together with the searchlight crews, in carrying out this historic operation
40 female snipers also took part. And the Motherland appreciated it
military exploits of their brave daughters,
surrounded them with attention and care. For military merits in the fight against
the Nazi invaders awarded over 150 thousand women with combat
orders and medals.
Many of them received several military awards. 200
women were awarded the Order of Soldier's Glory, and four patriots became full holders of the Order of Glory.
The struggle of Soviet women against the occupiers in
behind enemy lines
Partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War
war was an important part of the Soviet people against Hitler's
Germany, one of the most active forms of participation of the broad masses in
defeat of foreign invaders. It was truly a whole people's movement,
generated by the just nature of the war, the desire to protect
socialist conquests, honor and independence of the Motherland of the Soviets.
It was not easy for women partisans. But love for
socialist Fatherland and hatred of the enemies of the Motherland helped overcome everything
difficulties and adversities.
In partisan detachments
Entire families of Soviet patriots fought. Taganrog resident M.K. Trubareva came to
partisans of the Taganrog detachment together with their daughters Valentina, Raisa and son
Petey.
Large number
women and girls partisans received special training. During the war
only in the Central Schools of the Partisan Movement received military training
1262 women. Women of all ages, all professions and
nationalities of our vast country. According to the records of the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement as of January 1, 1944. Number of participants in the partisan movement Total 287,453 Men 26,746 Women 26,707
IN
difficult days for the country when the enemy
rushed to Moscow, Zoya’s feat was similar to the feat of the legendary Danko.
Going to
execution, she did not ask for mercy and did not bow her head to the executioners. She's firmly
believed in the inevitable victory over the enemy, in the triumph of the cause for which she
fought. Guerrilla scouts made a great contribution to the holy war
Smolensk region. The fact that many combat operations were successfully carried out
partisans, there is a share of the hard work of intelligence officers. Lots of important information about
the enemy was delivered by intelligence officers, communist D. T. Firichenkova and Komsomol member
Lyudmila Kalinovskaya.
Often women - fighters of partisan detachments
had to participate in carrying out tasks to commit acts of sabotage.
Collecting information about the enemy, they distributed underground literature, leaflets, and conducted political
work among the population of enemy-occupied areas, and Rima Shershneva closed
with her body the embrasure of an enemy machine gun, thereby saving more than one life.
The Soviet government posthumously awarded the patriot of the Motherland the Order of the Red
Banner.
Navlinskaya underground woman Tamara Stepanova and Maria
Dunaev was propagandized and brought to
a partisan detachment of 30 encirclement artillerymen who served in the German police.
To prevent hijacking to Nazi Germany 2
thousand young Red Guards, under the cover of darkness Lyudmila Shevtsova made her way to the stock exchange building, squeezed out a window and
climbed inside the room. Using artillery gunpowder and gasoline, she set fire to
paper Thus all were destroyed
documents about sending Soviet people to hard labor.
The patriots shared their last piece with the partisans
bread, gave them their things, saved them from inevitable death. Only in December
1943 under the leadership of the secretary of the Antopol underground district party committee
Brest region A. I. Khromova
women of the Antopol region were collected and sent to the partisans of the detachment
named after Kirov 40 warm shirts, 71 pairs of underwear, 10 short fur coats, 20 pairs
felt boots, 30 woolen scarves, etc.
Invaluable
contributed to the fight against the Nazis
women and young girls who were under 18 years old when they left
to the front.
71 years have passed since that spring when the Soviet
the people, all progressive humanity celebrated the victory over fascism.
The inspirer and organizer of this victory is the Communist Party
Soviet Union. It was she - Lenin's party that raised the Soviet people to
a just, liberation war, turned the USSR into a single combat camp,
mobilized all the material and spiritual forces of the country and people for the defeat
fascist Germany. Creating the Armed Forces of the country, the Communist Party
provided them with first-class equipment and supervised their combat operations. Your
With everyday and tireless work, she raised high moral, political and
fighting qualities of soldiers and officers who fought on the fronts of the Patriotic War
war, among partisans waging war against the invaders in the captured Soviet
territory, among the workers and peasants who forged victory over the enemy in the rear of the country.
The Great Patriotic War, in which the Soviet
The Union won a victory, not only a historical event that determined the fate
humanity. During these difficult years, ideological,
moral and moral traits are inherent in a person in a socialist society.
The war was a great test for our women.
countries that have not only suffered the bitterness of the loss of relatives and friends, have endured
not only the greatest hardships and difficulties of wartime, but also went through all
the hardships and hardships of front-line life. And the women who worked in the rear of the country endured
bear the brunt of labor on their shoulders
production and agriculture.
The Soviet people remember with gratitude the soldiers of the country's Armed Forces, the brave
partisans, home front workers, whose heroic hands ensured world peace.
This victory saved many peoples of Europe and Asia from the yoke of fascist invaders.
Women of the Land of Soviets also made their contribution to the victory over fascism.
Over the four years of war, the country's highest award was awarded to nine dozen women who defended the Motherland with arms in hand.
Women - heroes of the Second World War: who are they? To answer this question, you don't need to guess for a long time. There is no type or type of army in which Soviet women did not fight. And on land, and at sea, and in the air - everywhere one could find female warriors who took up arms to defend their Motherland. Names such as Tatyana Markus, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Marina Raskova, Lyudmila Pavlichenko are known, perhaps, to everyone in our country and the former Soviet republics.
Girls snipers before being sent to the front
Official statistics say that 490 thousand women were drafted into the army and navy. Three aviation regiments were formed entirely from women - the 46th Guards Night Bomber, the 125th Guards Bomber and the 586th Air Defense Fighter Regiment, as well as a separate women's company of sailors, a separate women's volunteer rifle brigade, a central women's sniper school and a separate women's reserve rifle regiment
But in reality, the number of women who fought was, of course, much larger. After all, many of them defended their country in hospitals and evacuation centers, in partisan detachments and underground.
And the Motherland fully appreciated their merits. 90 women earned the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their exploits during the Second World War, and four more became full holders of the Order of Glory. And there are hundreds of thousands of women who are holders of other orders and medals.
Heroine pilots
Most of the women who earned the country's highest rank on the WWII fronts were among female pilots. This is easily explained: after all, in aviation there were as many as three all-female regiments, while in other branches and types of troops such units were almost never found. In addition, women pilots had one of the most difficult tasks: night bombing on the “heavenly slow-moving vehicle” - the U-2 plywood biplane.
Is it any wonder that out of 32 female pilots who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 23 are “night witches”: this is what the German warriors called the heroines, who suffered serious losses from their night raids. In addition, it was female pilots who were the first to receive the highest rank even before the war. In 1938, the crew of the Rodina plane - Valentina Grizodubova, Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova - received the highest award for the non-stop flight Moscow - Far East.
Pilots of the women's air regiment
Of the more than three dozen women holders of the highest rank, seven received it posthumously. And among them is the first pilot to ram a German plane, Su-2 bomber pilot Ekaterina Zelenko. By the way, she was awarded this title many years after the end of the war - in 1990. One of the four women who were full holders of the Order of Glory also served in aviation: air gunner of the reconnaissance air regiment Nadezhda Zhurkina.
Underground heroines
There are slightly fewer female underground fighters and partisans among the Heroes of the Soviet Union than female pilots - 28. But here, unfortunately, there is a much larger number of heroines who received the title posthumously: 23 underground fighters and partisans accomplished feats at the cost of their lives. Among them are the first woman, Hero of the Soviet Union during the war, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, and pioneer hero Zina Portnova, and members of the Young Guard Lyubov Shevtsova and Ulyana Gromova...
Three Soviet women partisans, 1943
Alas, the “quiet war,” as the German occupiers called it, was almost always waged until complete destruction, and few managed to survive by actively operating underground.
Medical heroines
Of the nearly 700 thousand doctors in the active army, about 300 thousand were women. And among the 2 million nursing staff, this ratio was even higher: almost 1.3 million! At the same time, many female medical instructors were constantly at the forefront, sharing all the hardships of war with male soldiers.
A nurse bandages a wounded man
Therefore, it is natural that in terms of the number of Heroes of the Soviet Union, women doctors are in third place: 15 people. And one of the full holders of the Order of Glory is also a doctor. But the ratio among them who are alive and those who were awarded the highest title posthumously is also indicative: 7 out of 15 heroines did not live to see their moment of glory.
Like, for example, the medical instructor of the 355th separate marine battalion of the Pacific Fleet, sailor Maria Tsukanova. One of the “twenty-five thousand” girls who responded to the order to draft 25,000 female volunteers into the navy, she served in the coastal artillery and became a medical instructor shortly before the landing attack on the coast occupied by the Japanese army. Medical instructor Maria Tsukanova managed to save the lives of 52 sailors, but she herself died - this happened on August 15, 1945...
Foot Soldier Heroines
It would seem that even during the war years it was difficult for women and infantry to be compatible. Pilots or medics are one thing, but infantrymen, the workhorses of war, people who, in fact, always and everywhere begin and finish any battle and at the same time endure all the hardships of military life...
Nevertheless, women also served in the infantry, risking not only to share with men the difficulties of infantry life, but also to master hand weapons, which required considerable courage and dexterity from them.
Oath
Among the female infantrymen there are six Heroes of the Soviet Union, five of them received this title posthumously. However, for male infantrymen the ratio will be the same. One of the full holders of the Order of Glory also served in the infantry. What is noteworthy is that among the infantry heroines is the first woman from Kazakhstan to earn such a high rank: machine gunner Manshuk Mametova. During the liberation of Nevel, she alone held the commanding heights with her machine gun and died without letting the Germans through.
Heroine snipers
When they say “female sniper,” the first name that comes to mind is Lieutenant Lyudmila Pavlichenko. And deservedly so: after all, she received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, being the most successful female sniper in history! But besides Pavlichenko, the highest award for the art of marksmanship was awarded to five more of her combat friends, and three of them posthumously.
One of the full holders of the Order of Glory is Sergeant Major Nina Petrova. Her story is unique not only because she killed 122 enemies, but also because of the sniper’s age: she fought when she was already 52 years old! Rarely did any man achieve the right to go to the front at that age, but the instructor of the sniper school, who had the Winter War of 1939–1940 behind her, achieved this. But, alas, she did not live to see the Victory: Nina Petrova died in a car accident a week before, on May 1, 1945.
Tank heroines
You can imagine a woman at the controls of an airplane, but behind the controls of a tank is not easy. And, nevertheless, there were women tankers, and not only were they there, but they achieved great success at the front, receiving high awards. Two female tank crews received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and one of them - Maria Oktyabrskaya - posthumously. Moreover, she died while repairing her own tank under enemy fire.
Soviet tankman
Own in the literal sense of the word: the “Fighting Friend” tank, on which Maria fought as a driver, was built with money collected by her and her sister after the woman learned of the death of her husband, regimental commissar Ilya Oktyabrsky. To gain the right to take a place behind the levers of her tank, Maria Oktyabrskaya had to personally turn to Stalin, who helped her get to the front. And the woman tanker fully justified her high trust.
Heroine signalmen
One of the most traditional book and film characters associated with the war is signal girls. Indeed, for delicate work that required perseverance, attentiveness, accuracy and good hearing, they were willingly hired, sending them to the troops as telephone operators, radio operators and other communications specialists.
Female signalmen
In Moscow, on the basis of one of the oldest units of the signal troops, during the war there was a special school in which female signalmen were trained. And it is quite natural that among the signalmen there were their own Heroes of the Soviet Union. Moreover, both girls who deserved such a high rank received it posthumously - like Elena Stempkovskaya, who, during the battle of her battalion, was surrounded by artillery fire and died during the breakthrough to her own.
This text is compiled on the basis of the diary entries of Vladimir Ivanovich Trunin, about whom we have already told our readers more than once. This information is unique in that it is transmitted first-hand, from a tanker who rode a tank throughout the war.
Before the Great Patriotic War, women did not serve in units of the Red Army. But they often “served” at border outposts together with their border guard husbands.
The fate of these women with the advent of the war was tragic: most of them died, only a few managed to survive in those terrible days. But I’ll tell you about this separately later...
By August 1941, it became obvious that there was no way to do without women.
Women medical workers were the first to serve in the Red Army: medical battalions (medical battalions), MPG (field mobile hospitals), EG (evacuation hospitals) and sanitary echelons, in which young nurses, doctors and orderlies served, were deployed. Then military commissars began to recruit signalmen, telephone operators, and radio operators into the Red Army. It got to the point that almost all anti-aircraft units were staffed by girls and young unmarried women aged 18 to 25 years. Women's aviation regiments began to form. By 1943, from 2 to 2.5 million girls and women served in the Red Army at different times.
Military commissars drafted the healthiest, most educated, most beautiful girls and young women into the army. All of them showed themselves very well: they were brave, very persistent, resilient, reliable fighters and commanders, and were awarded military orders and medals for the bravery and bravery shown in battle.
For example, Colonel Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova, Hero of the Soviet Union, commanded a long-range aviation bomber division (LAD). It was her 250 IL4 bombers that forced her to capitulate in July-August 1944 Finland.
About girls anti-aircraft gunners
Under any bombing, under any shelling, they remained at their guns. When the troops of the Don, Stalingrad and Southwestern fronts closed the encirclement ring around enemy groups in Stalingrad, the Germans tried to organize an air bridge from the territory of Ukraine they occupied to Stalingrad. For this purpose, the entire German military transport air fleet was transferred to Stalingrad. Our Russian female anti-aircraft gunners organized an anti-aircraft screen. In two months they shot down 500 three-engine German Junkers 52 aircraft.
In addition, they shot down another 500 aircraft of other types. The German invaders had never known such a defeat anywhere in Europe.
Night witches
The women's night bomber regiment of Guard Lieutenant Colonel Evdokia Bershanskaya, flying single-engine U-2 aircraft, bombed German troops on the Kerch Peninsula in 1943 and 1944. And later in 1944-45. fought on the first Belorussian front, supporting the troops of Marshal Zhukov and the troops of the 1st Army of the Polish Army.
The U-2 aircraft (from 1944 - Po-2, in honor of the designer N. Polikarpov) flew at night. They were based 8-10 km from the front line. They needed a small runway, only 200 meters. During the night in the battles for the Kerch Peninsula, they made 10-12 sorties. The U2 carried up to 200 kg of bombs at a distance of up to 100 km to the German rear. . During the night, they each dropped up to 2 tons of bombs and incendiary ampoules on German positions and fortifications. They approached the target with the engine turned off, silently: the plane had good aerodynamic properties: the U-2 could glide from a height of 1 kilometer to a distance of 10 to 20 kilometers. It was difficult for the Germans to shoot them down. I myself saw many times how German anti-aircraft gunners drove large-caliber machine guns across the sky, trying to find the silent U2.
Now the Polish gentlemen do not remember how Russian beautiful pilots in the winter of 1944 dropped weapons, ammunition, food, medicine to the citizens of Poland who rebelled in Warsaw against the German fascists...
A Russian girl pilot named White Lily fought on the Southern Front near Melitopol and in the men’s fighter regiment. It was impossible to shoot it down in an air battle. A flower was painted on board her fighter - a white lily.
One day the regiment was returning from a combat mission, White Lily was flying at the rear - only the most experienced pilots are given such an honor.
A German Me-109 fighter was guarding her, hiding in a cloud. He fired a burst at White Lily and disappeared into the cloud again. Wounded, she turned the plane around and rushed after the German. She never returned back... After the war, her remains were accidentally discovered by local boys when they were catching grass snakes in a mass grave in the village of Dmitrievka, Shakhtarsky district, Donetsk region.
Miss Pavlichenko
In the Primorsky Army, one of the men - sailors - fought - a girl - a sniper. Lyudmila Pavlichenko. By July 1942, Lyudmila had already killed 309 German soldiers and officers (including 36 enemy snipers).
Also in 1942, she was sent with a delegation to Canada and the United States 
States. During the trip, she received a reception from the President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt. Later, Eleanor Roosevelt invited Lyudmila Pavlichenko on a trip around the country. American country singer Woody Guthrie wrote the song “Miss Pavlichenko” about her.
In 1943, Pavlichenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
“For Zina Tusnolobova!”
Regimental medical instructor (nurse) Zina Tusnolobova fought in a rifle regiment on the Kalinin Front near Velikiye Luki.
She walked in the first chain with the soldiers, bandaged the wounded. In February 1943, in the battle for the Gorshechnoye station in the Kursk region, trying to help a wounded platoon commander, she herself was seriously wounded: her legs were broken. At this time, the Germans launched a counterattack. Tusnolobova tried to pretend to be dead, but one of the Germans noticed her and tried to finish off the nurse with blows from her boots and butt.
At night, a nurse showing signs of life was discovered by a reconnaissance group, transferred to the location of Soviet troops, and on the third day taken to a field hospital. Her hands and lower legs were frostbitten and had to be amputated. She left the hospital wearing prosthetics and with prosthetic arms. But she didn’t lose heart.
I've recovered. Got married. She gave birth to three children and raised them. True, her mother helped her raise her children. She died in 1980 at the age of 59.
Zinaida’s letter was read to the soldiers in the units before the storming of Polotsk:
Avenge me! Avenge my native Polotsk!
May this letter reach the hearts of each of you. This is written by a man whom the Nazis deprived of everything - happiness, health, youth. I am 23 years old. For 15 months now I have been confined to a hospital bed. I now have neither arms nor legs. The Nazis did this.
I was a chemical laboratory assistant. When the war broke out, she voluntarily went to the front along with other Komsomol members. Here I took part in battles, carried out the wounded. For the removal of 40 soldiers along with their weapons, the government awarded me the Order of the Red Star. In total, I carried 123 wounded soldiers and commanders from the battlefield.
In the last battle, when I rushed to help the wounded platoon commander, I was also wounded, both legs were broken. The Nazis launched a counterattack. There was no one to pick me up. I pretended to be dead. A fascist approached me. He kicked me in the stomach, then began hitting me on the head and face with the rifle butt...
And now I am disabled. I recently learned to write. I am writing this letter with the stump of my right arm, which was cut off above the elbow. They made me prosthetics, and maybe I will learn to walk. If only I could pick up a machine gun just one more time to get even with the Nazis for their blood. For the torment, for my distorted life!
Russian people! Soldiers! I was your comrade, I walked with you in the same row. Now I can't fight anymore. And I ask you: take revenge! Remember and do not spare the damned fascists. Exterminate them like mad dogs. Avenge them for me, for hundreds of thousands of Russian slaves driven into German slavery. And let every girl’s burning tear, like a drop of molten lead, incinerate one more German.
My friends! When I was in a hospital in Sverdlovsk, Komsomol members of a Ural plant, who took patronage over me, built five tanks at an inopportune time and named them after me. The knowledge that these tanks are now beating the Nazis gives great relief to my torment...
It's very difficult for me. At twenty-three years old, to find myself in the position in which I found myself... Eh! Not even a tenth of what I dreamed of, what I strived for has been done... But I don’t lose heart. I believe in myself, I believe in my strength, I believe in you, my dears! I believe that the Motherland will not leave me. I live in hope that my grief will not remain unavenged, that the Germans will pay dearly for my torment, for the suffering of my loved ones.
And I ask you, dear ones: when you go on the assault, remember me!
Remember - and let each of you kill at least one fascist!
Zina Tusnolobova, guard sergeant major of the medical service.
Moscow, 71, 2nd Donskoy proezd, 4-a, Institute of Prosthetics, ward 52.
Newspaper “Forward to the Enemy”, May 13, 1944.
Tankers
A tank driver has a very hard job: loading shells, collecting and repairing broken tracks, working with a shovel, crowbar, sledgehammer, carrying logs. And most often under enemy fire.
In the 220th T-34 Tank Brigade we had Lieutenant Valya Krikalyova as a mechanic-driver on the Leningrad Front. In the battle, a German anti-tank gun smashed the track of her tank. Valya jumped out of the tank and began to repair the caterpillar. The German machine gunner stitched it diagonally across the chest. Her comrades did not have time to cover her. Thus, a wonderful tank girl passed away into eternity. We, tankers from the Leningrad Front, still remember it.
On the Western Front in 1941, the tank company commander, Captain Oktyabrsky, fought in a T-34. He died the death of the brave in August 1941. The young wife Maria Oktyabrskaya, who remained behind the lines, decided to take revenge on the Germans for the death of her husband.
She sold her house, all her property and sent a letter to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich with a request to allow her to buy a T-34 tank with the proceeds and take revenge on the Germans for the tankman husband they killed:
Moscow, Kremlin To the Chairman of the State Defense Committee. Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
Dear Joseph Vissarionovich!
My husband, regimental commissar Ilya Fedotovich Oktyabrsky, died in the battles for the Motherland. For his death, for the death of all Soviet people tortured by fascist barbarians, I want to take revenge on the fascist dogs, for which I deposited all my personal savings - 50,000 rubles - into the state bank to build a tank. I ask you to name the tank “Battle Friend” and send me to the front as the driver of this tank. I have a specialty as a driver, I have excellent command of a machine gun, and I am a Voroshilov marksman.
I send you warm greetings and wish you good health for many, many years to come, to the fear of your enemies and to the glory of our Motherland.
OKTYABRSKAYA Maria Vasilievna.
Tomsk, Belinskogo, 31
Stalin ordered Maria Oktyabrskaya to be accepted into the Ulyanovsk Tank School, trained, and given a T-34 tank. After graduating from college, Maria was awarded the military rank of technician-lieutenant driver-mechanic.
She was sent to that section of the Kalinin Front where her husband fought.
On January 17, 1944, near the Krynki station in the Vitebsk region, the left sloth of the “Battle Girlfriend” tank was destroyed by a shell. Mechanic Oktyabrskaya tried to repair the damage under enemy fire, but a fragment of a mine that exploded nearby seriously wounded her in the eye.
She underwent surgery in a field hospital, and then was taken by plane to a front-line hospital, but the wound turned out to be too severe, and she died in March 1944.
Katya Petlyuk is one of nineteen women whose gentle hands drove tanks towards the enemy. Katya was the commander of the T-60 light tank on the Southwestern Front west of Stalingrad.
Katya Petlyuk received the T-60 light tank. For convenience in battle, each vehicle had its own name. The names of the tanks were all impressive: “Eagle”, “Falcon”, “Grozny”, “Slava”, and on the turret of the tank that Katya Petlyuk received there was an unusual inscription – “Malyutka”.
The tankers chuckled: “We’ve already hit the nail on the head – the little one in the Malyutka.”
Her tank was connected. She walked behind the T-34, and if one of them was knocked out, then she would approach the knocked-out tank in her T-60 and help the tankers, deliver spare parts, and act as a liaison. The fact is that not all T-34s had radio stations.
Only many years after the war, senior sergeant from the 56th Tank Brigade Katya Petlyuk learned the story of the birth of her tank: it turns out that it was built with money from Omsk preschool children, who, wanting to help the Red Army, donated their savings for toys to the construction of a combat vehicle and dolls. In a letter to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, they asked to name the tank “Malyutka”. Omsk preschoolers collected 160,886 rubles...
A couple of years later, Katya was already leading the T-70 tank into battle (she still had to part with the Malyutka). She took part in the battle for Stalingrad, and then as part of the Don Front in the encirclement and defeat of Nazi troops. She took part in the battle on the Kursk Bulge and liberated left-bank Ukraine. She was seriously wounded - at the age of 25 she became a disabled person of the 2nd group.
After the war, she lived in Odessa. Having removed her officer's shoulder straps, she studied to be a lawyer and worked as the head of the registry office.
She was awarded the Order of the Red Star, the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree, and medals.
Many years later, Marshal of the Soviet Union I. I. Yakubovsky, the former commander of the 91st separate tank brigade, would write in the book “Earth on Fire”: “... in general, it is difficult to measure how much the heroism of a person elevates. They say about him that this is courage of a special order. Ekaterina Petlyuk, a participant in the Battle of Stalingrad, certainly possessed it.”
Based on materials from the diary entries of Vladimir Ivanovich Trunin and the Internet.
