Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad.

The Battle of Stalingrad is a Great Battle in which two great armies collided. This is a battle that claimed more than two million lives. The Germans considered Stalingrad hell on Earth. Soviet newspapers wrote that one German soldier per second was dying in this city. It was the Battle of Stalingrad that became a turning point in the Great Patriotic War and, without a doubt, became the personification of the feat of the Red Army.

The Nazis, justifying the failures of their troops, said that Stalingrad was allegedly surrounded by powerful fortifications. Boris Polevoy, exposing the Germans, wrote: “The huge city stands in the bare steppe, open on all sides, and the fact that the Germans, despite desperate attempts, have still not been able to take it, is explained not by a mythical wall, but by courage and wonderful courage his defenders."

The purpose of our work : talk about the most outstanding heroes of the Soviet army who accomplished a feat during the Battle of Stalingrad, and thereby pay tribute to their memory.

The objective of our research: study the necessary historical materials to consider the military exploits of the heroes of Stalingrad.

Relevance of the work is that many people know about the Battle of Stalingrad, but few know about the heroes thanks to whom this victory was accomplished.

The feat of Nikolai Serdyukov

Nikolai Filippovich Serdyukov was born in 1924 in the village. Goncharovka, Oktyabrsky district, Volgograd region. In June 1941 he entered the Stalingrad school. In August 1942 he was drafted into the active army, and on January 13, 1943 he accomplished his feat, which made his name immortal.

These were the days when Soviet troops destroyed enemy units surrounded at Stalingrad. The division led an offensive in the area of ​​​​the settlements of Karpovka and Stary Rogachik (35-40 km west of Stalingrad). At the agreed time, Soviet troops rushed to attack, but machine-gun fire from three enemy pillboxes that survived our artillery barrage forced the soldiers to lie down in the snow. The attack had to be stopped. It was necessary to stop the enemy. Lieutenant V.M. Osipov and junior lieutenant A.S. Belykh undertook to complete this task. Grenades were thrown. The pillboxes fell silent. But two commanders, two communists, two guardsmen remained lying in the snow forever. When the Soviet soldiers went on the attack, the third pillbox spoke. Komsomol member N. Serdyukov turned to the company commander: “Allow me, Comrade Lieutenant.”
Having received permission from the commander, Serdyukov crawled to the third pillbox under a hail of bullets. He threw one and two grenades, but they did not reach the target. In full view of the guards, he rose to his full height and rushed to the embrasure of the pillbox. The enemy's machine gun fell silent, the guards rushed towards the enemy. The street and school where he studied are named after the 18-year-old hero of Stalingrad. His name is included forever in the lists of personnel of one of the units of the Volgograd garrison.

The feat of the defenders of Pavlov's House

On the square. There is a mass grave of V.I. Lenin. The memorial plaque reads: “The soldiers of the 13th Guards Order of Lenin Rifle Division and the 10th Division of the NKVD Troops, who died in the battles for Stalingrad, are buried here.” The 13th Guards Rifle Division, commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General A.I. Rodimtsev, held the defense in this area. The guardsmen were given the task of turning every trench into a stronghold, every house into an impregnable fortress. The “Pavlov’s House” became such an impregnable fortress on this square.

The garrison of Pavlov's House consisted of 24 people. The soldiers adapted the house for all-round defense. The firing points were moved outside of it, and underground communication passages were made to them. Sappers from the side of the square mined the approaches to the house, placing anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. The skillful organization of home defense and the heroism of the soldiers allowed the small garrison to successfully repel enemy attacks for 58 days. The newspaper “Red Star” wrote on October 1, 1942: “Every day the guards take on 12-15 attacks from enemy tanks and infantry, supported by aviation and artillery. And they always repel the enemy’s onslaught to the last opportunity, covering the earth with new dozens and hundreds of fascist corpses.” The fight for Pavlov's House is one of many examples of the heroism of Soviet people during the battle for the city.

Alexandra Maksimovna Cherkasova

Another name is associated with the history of the “House of Pavlov”, the name of a simple Russian woman, whom many now call “the dear woman of Russia” - Alexandra Maksimovna Cherkasova. It was she, a kindergarten worker, who in the spring of 1943, after work, brought soldiers’ wives like herself here to dismantle the ruins and breathe life into this building. In 1948, there were 80 thousand people in the Cherkasov brigades. From 1943 to 1952 they worked 20 million hours for free in their free time. The name of A.I. Cherkasova and all members of her team is included in the city’s Book of Honor.

The feat of Ivan Naumov.

Ivan Ivanovich Naumov was born in 1911 in the Pallasovsky district, into a working-class family. Voluntarily went to the front. He was the commander of a rifle company.

On the night of November 24-25, 1942, the 7th company, together with other units of the regiment, went on the offensive. Guard senior lieutenant Naumov with a grenade in his hands rushed at the enemy shouting “Hurray! Behind me!" The guardsmen, carried away by the commander, rose in a single impulse. The blow was swift and irresistible. The Nazis ran. In this battle, Guard Senior Lieutenant Naumov died.

The feat of Mikhail Panikakha

Panikakha Mikhail Averyanovich. Born in 1918 in the village of Mogilev, now Tsarichansky district, Dnepropetrovsk region, into a peasant family. Ukrainian. Primary education. He worked on a collective farm. In the Red Army since 1939. Participated in the battles of the Great Patriotic War from March 1942.
On the night of September 28, 1942, the artillery of the 62nd Army shelled Mamaev Kurgan, preventing the enemy from gaining a foothold on it. Several enemy vehicles were moving toward the trench in which sailor Mikhail Panikakha was located. By this time, Panikaha had already used up all his grenades. He only had 2 bottles of flammable mixture left. He leaned out of the trench and swung, aiming the bottle at the nearest tank. The bullet broke the bottle raised above his head. The warrior flared up like a living torch. The pain did not bother his mind. He grabbed 2 bottles. The tank was nearby. And everyone saw how a burning man jumped out of the trench, ran close to the fascist tank and hit the grille of the engine hatch with a bottle.

Feat of signalmen

Private signalman of the 308th Infantry Division Matvey Putilov, when communications stopped on Mamayev Kurgan at the most intense moment of the battle, went to repair the wire break. While restoring the damaged communication line, both his hands were crushed by mine fragments. Losing consciousness, he tightly clamped the ends of the wire with his teeth. Communication was restored. For this feat, Matvey was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree.
A similar feat was accomplished by Vasily Titaev. During the next attack on Mamayev Kurgan, the connection was lost. He went to fix it. In the conditions of the most difficult battle this seemed impossible, but the connection worked. Titaev did not return from the mission. After the battle, he was found dead with the ends of the wire clenched in his teeth.

The feat of Vasily Zaitsev.

Born on March 23, 1915 in the village of Elino, now Agapovsky district, Chelyabinsk region, in a peasant family. Russian. Graduated from a construction college in Magnitogorsk. Graduated from the Military Economic School. In the battles of the Great Patriotic War from September 1942. From a simple “three-line” Zaitsev killed 32 Nazis. In the period from November 10 to December 17, 1942, in the battles for Stalingrad, he destroyed 225 soldiers and officers, including 11 snipers. He taught sniper training to soldiers and commanders and trained 28 snipers. In January 1943, Zaitsev was seriously wounded. Professor Filatov saved his sight in a Moscow hospital.

The feat of Guli the Queen.

Gulya Koroleva was born in Moscow on September 9, 1922, in the family of the director, V.D. Korolev and actress Z. M. Metlina. She volunteered to go to the front. November 23, 1942 during a fierce battle for height 56.8 near x. Panshino provided assistance and carried 50 seriously wounded soldiers and commanders with weapons from the battlefield. By the end of the day, when there were few soldiers left in the ranks, she and a group of Red Army soldiers launched an attack on the heights. Under bullets, the first one burst into the enemy trenches and killed 15 people with grenades. Mortally wounded, she continued to fight an unequal battle until the weapon fell out of her hands.

The Tatar Amet Khan Sultan fought fearlessly in the skies of Stalingrad. He shot down 11 vultures personally and 19 in group battles.

Ukrainian artilleryman V. Ya. Boltenko, Left alone at the gun, he boldly entered into single combat with 15 enemy tanks and defeated them.

The medical staff acted selflessly. Nurse Anna Beschastnova, carried hundreds of wounded from the battlefield. Her feat is immortalized on the panorama canvas. In the famous division of Colonel L.N. Gurtiev, female nurses A. Egorova, L. Barlina, L. Novikova and others saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers and commanders. Thus, L. Barlina carried 92 wounded from the battlefield.

The outstanding commanders of the Battle of Stalingrad are:

N.N. Voronov (, , - , ,

On February 2, Russia celebrates the 72nd anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, which changed the course of the Great Patriotic War, and with it the history of the entire twentieth century. Officially it is called the Day of Military Glory of Russia. Almost 760 thousand people were awarded the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad". 125 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their military exploits during the Battle of Stalingrad. So who are the Great Heroes of the Great Battle?

Yakov Pavlov

Yakov Pavlov is perhaps the most famous hero of Stalingrad. On the evening of September 27, 1942, he received a combat mission from the company commander, Lieutenant Naumov, to reconnoiter the situation in a 4-story building in the city center, which had an important tactical position. This house went down in the history of the Battle of Stalingrad as “Pavlov’s House”. With three fighters - Chernogolov, Glushchenko and Aleksandrov, Yakov managed to knock the Germans out of the building and capture it. Soon the group received reinforcements, ammunition and a telephone line. The Nazis continuously attacked the building, trying to smash it with artillery and aerial bombs. Skillfully maneuvering the forces of a small “garrison”, Pavlov avoided heavy losses and defended the house for 58 days and nights, not allowing the enemy to break through to the Volga.
Sergeant Yakov Pavlov became the only one who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for defending the house.

Vasily Zaitsev

The legendary sniper of the Great Patriotic War, Vasily Zaitsev, during the Battle of Stalingrad in a month and a half, destroyed more than two hundred German soldiers and officers, including 11 snipers. From the very first meetings with the enemy, Zaitsev proved himself to be an outstanding shooter. Using a simple “three-ruler”, he skillfully killed an enemy soldier. During the war, his grandfather’s wise hunting advice was very useful to him. Later, Vasily will say that one of the main qualities of a sniper is the ability to camouflage and be invisible. This quality is necessary for any good hunter. Just a month later, for his demonstrated zeal in battle, Vasily Zaitsev received a medal “For Courage”, and in addition to it... a sniper rifle! By this time, the accurate hunter had already disabled 32 enemy soldiers. Vasily, as if in a chess game, outplayed his opponents. For example, he made a realistic sniper doll, and he disguised himself nearby. As soon as the enemy revealed himself with a shot, Vasily began to patiently wait for his appearance from cover. And time didn't matter to him. Zaitsev not only shot accurately himself, but also commanded a sniper group. He accumulated considerable didactic material, which later allowed him to write two textbooks for snipers. For the demonstrated military skill and valor, the commander of the sniper group was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. After being wounded, when he almost lost his sight, Zaitsev returned to the front and met Victory with the rank of captain.

Maxim Passar, like Vasily Zaitsev, was a sniper. His surname, unusual for our ears, is translated from Nanai as “sharp eye.” Before the war he was a hunter. Immediately after the Nazi attack, Maxim volunteered to serve and studied at a sniper school. After graduation, he ended up in the 117th Infantry Regiment of the 23rd Infantry Division of the 21st Army, which on November 10, 1942 was renamed the 65th Army, 71st Guards Division. The fame of the well-aimed Nanai, who had the rare ability to see in the dark as if it were day, immediately spread throughout the regiment, and later completely crossed the front line. By October 1942, the “dead eye” was recognized as the best sniper of the Stalingrad Front, and he was also eighth in the list of the best snipers of the Red Army. By the time of the death of Maxim Passar, he had 234 killed fascists. The Germans were afraid of the sharp-shooting Nanai, calling him “the devil from the devil’s nest”; they even issued special leaflets intended for Passar personally with an offer to surrender. Maxim Passar died on January 22, 1943, having managed to kill two snipers before his death. The sniper was twice awarded the Order of the Red Star, but he received his Hero posthumously, becoming a Hero of Russia in 2010.

Hero of the Soviet Union Mikhail Panikakha is called “Danko of Stalingrad.” He fought in the 193rd Infantry Division. According to the recollections of division commander Smekhotvorov, their positions “were attacked simultaneously by more than 70 German tanks. Seven of them broke through to the front edge of the 883rd regiment and began to circle over the trenches.” Then Private Panikaha, a former Marine, took Molotov cocktails and crawled to the lead tank, and was already raising his hand to throw when the bottle was broken by a bullet that accidentally hit it. The ignited liquid doused the fighter - his head, shoulders, chest. According to eyewitnesses, Panikakha burned like a torch. He finally caught up with the German tank, jumped on it and broke the second bottle over the engine of the car, setting it on fire, and he himself died. The remaining tanks turned back.
He was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in November 1942, but the title was awarded only posthumously on May 5, 1990. Awarded the Order of Lenin, Patriotic War, 1st degree.
A monument was erected at the site of the death of Mikhail Panikakha. One of the streets of Volgograd bears the name of the hero. His name is inscribed on a memorial plaque on the mass grave of Mamayev Kurgan.

Pilot Nurken Abdirov spent only 52 days at the front and died on December 18, 1942.
Nurken Abdirov was born in an unnamed steppe village in the Karaganda region in Kazakhstan, later the family moved to Karaganda, his father and older brothers became miners. He graduated from school, worked as a bookkeeper in a bookstore - he was drawn to books. At that time, flying clubs were very popular among young people. It was in such a club that Nurken became a pilot.
He was drafted into the army in 1940, and when the war began, he was sent to a military aviation school in Chkalov (now Orenburg). He became an attack pilot. Stormtroopers at the front were called “suicide bombers.” Even attack aircraft were built with a safety margin of no more than 50 sorties - more simply did not make sense. Nurken Abdirov managed to make 16 combat missions, during which he destroyed several tanks and dozens of German vehicles.
Nurken Abdirov's last combat mission was as part of a group of four "ILs", commanded by Boris Alekseev, to destroy German positions at the Bokovskaya - Ponomarevka line. Formally, this is the territory of the Rostov region, but it was part of the borders of the Battle of Stalingrad. When Nurken's plane was shot down, he drove his burning car into a convoy of German fuel tankers.
Nurken Abdirov is buried in the Konkovo ​​farmstead, Veshensky district, Rostov region, and on Mamayev Kurgan there is a memorial plaque in memory of him.

We all know the slogan “No pasaran!”, which translates as “they will not pass!” It was declared on July 18, 1936 by the Spanish communist Dolores Ibarruri Gomez. She also owns the famous slogan “It is better to die standing than to live on your knees.” In 1939 she was forced to emigrate to the USSR. Her only son, Ruben, ended up in the USSR even earlier, in 1935, when Dolores was arrested, he was sheltered by the Lepeshinsky family. From the first days of the war, Ruben joined the Red Army. For heroism shown in the battle for the bridge near the Berezina River near the city of Borisov, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. During the Battle of Stalingrad, in the summer of 1942, Lieutenant Ibarruri commanded a machine gun company. On August 23, Lieutenant Ibarruri’s company, together with a rifle battalion, had to hold back the advance of a German tank group at the Kotluban railway station. After the death of the battalion commander, Ruben Ibarruri took command and raised the battalion in a counterattack, which turned out to be successful - the enemy was driven back. However, Lieutenant Ibarurri himself was wounded in this battle. He was sent to the left bank hospital in Leninsk, where the hero died on September 4, 1942. The hero was buried in Leninsk, but later he was reburied on the Alley of Heroes in the center of Volgograd. He was awarded the title of Hero in 1956. Dolores Ibarruri came to her son’s grave in Volgograd more than once.

Matvey Putilov

In October 1942, in the area of ​​the Barricades plant, signalman of the 308th Infantry Division Matvey Putilov, under enemy fire, carried out a mission to restore communications.
When communication stopped on Mamayev Kurgan at the most intense moment of the battle, an ordinary signalman of the 308th Infantry Division, Matvey Putilov, went to repair the wire break. While restoring the damaged communication line, both his hands were crushed by mine fragments. Losing consciousness, he tightly clamped the ends of the wire with his teeth. Communication was restored. For this feat, Matvey was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree. His communication reel was passed on to the best signalmen of the 308th division.

Gulya Koroleva was born in Moscow on September 9, 1922, in the family of director and set designer Vladimir Danilovich Korolev and actress Zoya Mikhailovna Metlina. At the age of 12, she starred in the leading role of Vasilinka in the film “The Partisan’s Daughter.” For her role in the film she received a ticket to the Artek pioneer camp. Subsequently she starred in several more films. In 1940 she entered the Kiev Irrigation Institute. In 1941, Gulya Koroleva with her mother and stepfather evacuated to Ufa. In Ufa, she gave birth to a son, Sasha, and, leaving him in the care of her mother, volunteered for the front in the medical battalion of the 280th Infantry Regiment. In the spring of 1942, the division went to the front in the Stalingrad area.
November 23, 1942 during a fierce battle for height 56.8 near x. Panshino, a medical instructor of the 214th Infantry Division, provided assistance and carried 50 seriously wounded soldiers and commanders with weapons from the battlefield. By the end of the day, when there were few soldiers left in the ranks, she and a group of Red Army soldiers launched an attack on the heights. Under bullets, the first one burst into the enemy trenches and killed 15 people with grenades. Mortally wounded, she continued to fight an unequal battle until the weapon fell out of her hands. Buried in x. Panshino, Volgograd region.
On January 9, 1943, the command of the Don Front was awarded the Order of the Red Banner (posthumously).

Justifying the failures of its troops at Stalingrad, Goebbels propaganda invented a fable that the city was allegedly surrounded by powerful fortifications. Exposing the fabrications of the fascists, Boris Polevoy wrote in Pravda on October 23, 1942: “A huge city stands in the bare steppe, open on all sides, and the fact that the Germans, despite desperate attempts, have still not been able to take it, is explained by not by a mythical wall, but by the courage and wonderful courage of its defenders.”

On February 2, 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad ended. This bloody turning point in the history of the country revealed many heroes. Here are just a few of them.

Street fighting in Stalingrad. Storming the house. November 1942 Photo: Georgy Zelma

Feat of the artist

19-year-old actress, Muscovite and simply beautiful Gulya (Marionella) Koroleva volunteered for the front. In 1941, she ended up in the medical battalion of a rifle regiment, which almost immediately received assignment to the very heat of the Stalingrad cauldron.

Gulya Koroleva

Gulya Koroleva was born into the family of a theater director and actress. From early childhood, the girl was such a lively child that her neighbors nicknamed her Satanella instead of Marionella. Shoes, dresses, bows, filming. Perhaps, with the exception of the last, the life of Gulya Koroleva was no different from the life of an ordinary girl.

By the beginning of the war, Gulya had already managed to get married and even give birth to a son, Sasha, whom she affectionately called Hedgehog. Would anyone have been able to condemn her if she had refused to go to the front? Hardly.

She independently signed up for the medical battalion and went to the front. But she did not manage to stay in the war for long. Six months later, Gulya Koroleva passed away...

In November 1942, during the battle for height 56.8 in the area of ​​the Panshino farm, Gorodishchensky district, Gulya literally carried 50 seriously wounded soldiers from the battlefield. And then, when the moral strength of the fighters was exhausted, she herself went on the attack. The brave nurse was the first to break into an enemy trench and kill 15 German soldiers and officers with several grenade throws. The already mortally wounded Gulya Koroleva fought this unequal battle until reinforcements arrived. To end.

Once upon a time, songs were written about Guli Koroleva’s feat, and her dedication was an example for millions of Soviet girls and boys. Her name is carved in gold on the banner of military glory on Mamayev Kurgan, and a village in the Sovetsky district of Volgograd and a street are named after her. True, if you ask modern schoolchildren, they are unlikely to be able to answer who it is and what Gulya Koroleva became famous for.

House of Sergeant Pavlov

Not every tourist recognizes this inconspicuous house opposite the Battle of Stalingrad Panorama Museum. Most often, the destroyed mill that stands not far from the museum is mistaken for the legendary Pavlov’s house. The Gerhardt mill, almost completely destroyed by fascist bombing, was not restored after the end of the Great Patriotic War, but the house, which by that time had become a real symbol, was restored first.

This ordinary 4-story building got its name - Pavlov's House - thanks to Sgt. Yakov Pavlov, who commanded the defense of this building in September 1942.

Pavlov's House in Volgograd

At that time, the most fierce fighting was taking place in Stalingrad, when 24-year-old Sergeant Yakov Pavlov with three fighters - Chernogolov, Glushchenko and Alexandrov- We received the task - to reconnoiter the situation in one of the houses in the city center. At the appointed time, Pavlov and his comrades ran across the road between Gerhardt’s mill and the house and lay down in shelter. After the German artillery died down, the soldiers entered the house. They were given orders to hold the building until reinforcements arrived.

This went on for two months. Having a meager supply of ammunition and food, the fighters managed not only to dislodge the Germans from their occupied positions, but also to completely capture the building. To survive and withstand continuous attacks, they had to make dangerous forays and destroy enemy garrisons.

As he later wrote in his memoirs Vasily Chuikov:“This small group, defending one house, destroyed more enemy soldiers than the Nazis lost during the capture of Paris.”

But there were people in the house, peaceful citizens. Pavlov's garrison managed to make invisible underground passages to the sewer hatches and remove the exhausted townspeople from under fire.

The house, which received a common name, actually had more defenders. To date, the names of 24 of them are known. They are engraved on a memorial plate that is installed on the building.

Yakov Pavlov

Yakov Pavlov himself continued to serve at the front after the Battle of Stalingrad. He was a gunner and commander of the intelligence department of the Ukrainian and Belorussian fronts. And in June 1945, for the heroic defense of his house in Stalingrad, Pavlov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By the way, he became the only defender of the House who received such a high award.

Island for the Colonel

Ivan Lyudnikov

Great Patriotic War Ivan Ilyich Lyudnikov I met him when he was already a mature man - a commander of the Red Army, a participant in the Civil War.

A professional military man, colonel, Ivan Lyudnikov by June 22, 1941 commanded the 200th Infantry Division, which took part in the battles for the defense of Kyiv and Chernigov. Lyudnikov arrived in Stalingrad in May 1942, where he headed the 138th Infantry Division. For one hundred days and nights, the soldiers of his unit defended the Stalingrad Barricades plant. This territory of 700 by 400 meters in the urban village of Nizhnie Barrikady, later called “Lyudnikov Island,” was surrounded by the Germans on three sides, and the Volga flowed on the fourth side.

As Lyudnikov himself wrote in his memoirs, this territory received its name “island” thanks to one of the pilots who dropped ammunition on the Soviet troops at night. Flying up to the designated point, he radioed: “Hey, there, “on the island,” turn on the lights!” When the Germans saw that the Red Army men were lighting fires, they also lit a fire. Then the pilot commanded over the radio again: “Hey, “on the island,” put out the lights!” This went on for several months. The guards, squeezed into a tight ring, held back the onslaught of German troops until the counteroffensive began. Only at the end of January 1943 did parts of the unit turn north and set out to destroy other groups of fascist troops in the area of ​​factory villages.

After the Battle of Stalingrad, Ivan Lyudnikov was sent to the Central Front, where he took part in the Battle of Kursk, the crossing of the Dnieper, and then fought in Manchuria, was the commandant in Port Arthur and the commander of a group of Soviet troops in China.

Today, a memorial to heroically fighting soldiers has been erected at this site.

“Ivan Ilyich never lost his head and in the event of an unsuccessful development of the battle, remaining even at that moment balanced, emphatically calm, he gave orders calmly and intelligibly, without raising his voice. At the same time, he, like no one else, knew how to demand from his subordinates and help them. It was felt that the crucible of the Stalingrad epic, the flames of the Battle of Kursk and the experience of many other battles through which he went through strongly strengthened his character as a commander,” his contemporary wrote about Lyudnikov in his memoirs, Hero of the Soviet Union, Army General Pyotr Lashchenko.

Sailor cast in bronze

In the Krasnooktyabrsky district of Volgograd, directly opposite the Red October plant, there is a monument. Cast in bronze is a man engulfed in flames, rage in his eyes, and his arms extended forward and preventing an invisible enemy from passing forward. So forever he froze, like a tiger, in a mighty leap. This is a monument to the heroic sailor who defended Stalingrad - Mikhail Panikakha.

Monument to Mikhail Panikakha.

Mikhail Panikakha was drafted into the Red Army from Ukraine. Served as a sailor in the Pacific Fleet. During the Great Patriotic War, at his own request, he was sent to Stalingrad. He was enlisted in the 883rd Infantry Regiment of the 193rd Infantry Division of the 62nd Army as an armor-piercing officer. On November 2, 1942, in the area of ​​the Red October plant, Mikhail Panikakha found himself in a trench surrounded by German tanks. With grenades and Molotov cocktails, Panikakha tried to crawl towards the tanks, but a German bullet hit one of the bottles, and the Red Army soldier instantly flared up like a torch. Engulfed in flames, Panikakha rushed towards the German tank.

Mikhail Panikakha.

“Everyone saw how a burning man jumped out of the trench, ran close to the fascist tank and hit the grill of the engine hatch with a bottle. An instant - and a huge flash of fire and smoke consumed the hero along with the fascist car he set on fire,” wrote in his memoirs “From Stalingrad to Berlin” Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Chuikov.

Mikhail Panikakha was 24 years old... He was buried right there, at the site of his heroism, in a deep crater near the Red October plant.

Sniper legend

Vasily Zaitsev born in a small village in the Orenburg province (now Chelyabinsk region). From early childhood he was accustomed to hunting and at the age of 12 he received his first gun as a gift. Vasily Zaitsev found the war in the Pacific Fleet, where he served.

Vasily Zaitsev.

By mid-1942, Zaitsev submitted five reports asking to be sent to the front. Finally, the command granted his request. This is how 27-year-old Vasily Zaitsev ended up in Stalingrad, where he was able to put into practice his skills and abilities acquired in his youth while hunting. Zaitsev was especially glorified by his sniper duel with the German “super sniper”, the head of the Berlin sniper school, Koening. He was sent to Stalingrad specifically to destroy Zaitsev, but he managed to “outplay” the German. In total, during the Battle of Stalingrad, Vasily Zaitsev managed to destroy 242 German enemies.

Vasily Zaitsev and new snipers.

The feat of Vasily Zaitsev is immortalized on the canvas of the panorama “The Defeat of the Nazi Troops at Stalingrad” in the Panorama Museum “Battle of Stalingrad”, and the story of the confrontation between the legendary shooter and a German sniper formed the basis of the feature film “Enemy at the Gates”, where the role of Zaitsev was played by a Hollywood actor Jude Law. And, of course, the words of the hero sniper became completely legendary: “For us there is no land beyond the Volga. We have stood and will stand to the death."
This list of heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad can be continued endlessly. There are not tens of them, but thousands. Everyone who fought the enemy contributed to the victory over the fascist invaders.

The Great Battle of Stalingrad took place from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943. It is divided into two periods: from July 17 to November 18, 1942 - the German offensive on Stalingrad and the fighting in the city. November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943 counter-offensive of Soviet troops near Stalingrad, defeat, encirclement and surrender of the German group of troops led by Field Marshal Paulus. Briefly about the essence of the battle: The Battle of Stalingad was the beginning of a radical turning point during the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War.

Below is a brief history, the course of the Battle of Stalingrad and material about the heroes and commanders of the great battle, memories of the participants. The hero city of Volgograd (Stalingrad) carefully preserves the memory of those tragic events. The city has many museums dedicated to the Great Patriotic War. One of them is the House of Sergeant Pavlov (House of Soldiers' Glory), which Soviet soldiers defended for 58 days. To list all the heroes of the great battle, even a few articles are not enough. Even the Americans made a film about one of the heroes of Stalingrad - sniper from the Southern Urals Vasily Zaitsev.

The material can be used for events, conversations, classes, lectures, quizzes, quests for children and adults in the library or school, writing essays, reports, abstracts dedicated to December 3 - the Day of the Unknown Soldier or the Battle of Stalingrad itself. Published by November 19

Battle of Stalingrad: history, heroes, commanders

Theme for the evening (author – Alexey Gorokhov)

On a summer morning in 1965, an elderly woman stepped off the ramp of a local airlines plane that landed near the village of Bokovskaya, in the Veshensky district of the Rostov region. She flew from afar, transferring from plane to plane in Mineralnye Vody and Rostov.

The woman's name was Bagzhan Zhaikenova. Accompanied by her grandchildren Auken and Aliya, she undertook a difficult journey for her advanced age from Karaganda to hitherto unknown lands to bow to the ashes of her twenty-year-old son Nurken Abdirov, an attack pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, who found eternal rest on Don soil.

Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov heard about the guest from Kazakhstan and invited him to his place in Veshenskaya. The writer talked for a long time with old Bagzhan. At the end of the meeting, she asked to take a photo together. Sholokhov seated the guests on the steps of the porch, sat down himself, and a photojournalist from a local newspaper took several photographs. Grigory Yakimov, who flew on behalf of Karaganda regional organizations together with Bagzhan Zhaikenova, later included this photograph in his book “Pike into Immortality” (Alma-Ata: Kazakhstan, 1973).

In the pre-war years, Grigory Yakimov was the head of the Karaganda flying club. Nurken Abdirov studied here, who on December 19, 1942, near the village of Bokovskaya, sent his damaged attack aircraft, as stated in the nomination for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, “... into the thick of enemy tanks and died with his crew the death of a hero.” Yakimov collected everything connected with the name of Abdirov, found his fellow soldiers, picked up archival documents and, perhaps, was the first to talk in detail about the young Kazakh pilot who died at the height of the Battle of Stalingrad.

Here is another episode of that heroic time. On January 9, 1943, seven Il-2 attack aircraft under the command of Captain I. Bakhtin from the 622nd Attack Aviation Regiment attacked the Salsk airfield, one of the main supply bases for Nazi troops surrounded at Stalingrad.

The pilots approached the target six times under enemy anti-aircraft fire and destroyed 72 transport aircraft. They knew very well that the day before two attempts to break through to this airfield had failed... And this time there were losses; two of the seven pilots were not destined to return to the regiment.

It was this heroic page of the battle on the Volga that served as the basis for Heinrich Hoffmann’s first book, “The plane was shot down over the target” (M.: Voenizdat, 1959). The now famous Soviet writer, who recently celebrated his sixtieth birthday, during the war he himself flew attack aircraft, and in 1944 he became a Hero of the Soviet Union. He was well acquainted with the characters in his documentary story, since he served in the same regiment with them.

... Of course, taken from the general description of the great event, namely, the defeat of the fascist troops at Stalingrad, the fortieth anniversary of which will soon be celebrated, belongs to this rank, the above facts may not seem so significant. Moreover, if we are talking about a battle that brought a radical turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War, a battle in which millions of people were drawn in on both sides.

And yet, it was precisely these “little things” that formed the mass heroism that allowed the Red Army not only to survive at the walls of Stalingrad, but also to break the back of the Nazis.
The future writer Ivan Paderin served in the legendary 62nd Army, which was literally pressed by the Germans to the steep right bank of the Volga. In his collection “11a in the Main Direction” (M.: Soviet Writer. 1978), Paderin, among other works, included the stories “Father’s Order” about army commander V.I. Chuikov and “In Stalingrad.”

In the latter, he wrote, in particular: “It is difficult to push a stone off a huge cliff, but when it flies, you won’t be able to collect even the fragments at the foot. Stalingrad is the highest point of the war from where we pushed the Nazis. Now they will not be able to hold out either on the Don, or on the Dniester, or on our borders, and Berlin will only have fragments left from Hitler’s army.”

By the way, I. Paderin owns the book “Volgograd,” published in the “Hero Cities” series. Pages of the heroic defense of the hero city 1942-1943" (M.: Politizdat, 1980).

THE ENEMY IS RUNNING TO THE VOLGA

Battle of Stalingrad - first period July - November 1942

The works of prominent Soviet military leaders, already mentioned in materials dedicated to the fortieth anniversary of the defeat of Nazi troops near Moscow, will help us clarify many of the circumstances of the summer-autumn battles of 1942 (Librarian, 1981, No. 12). I mean “The Work of a Whole Life” by A. M. Vasilevsky (M.: Politizdat, 1975), “Memories and Reflections” by G. K. Zhukov (M.: APN, 1969), “A Soldier’s Duty” by K. K. Rokossovsky (M.: Voenizdat, 1968).

To this list we will add the memoirs of the former commander of the Stalingrad and South-Eastern Fronts A.I. Eremenko “Stalingrad” (M.: Voenizdat, 1961), the memoirs of the commander of the 62nd Army V.I. Chuikov “The Beginning of the Path” (M.: Voenizdat , 1962), notes by S. A. Krasovsky, commander of the 17th Air Army, which operated as part of the Southwestern Front and in which attack pilot Nurken Abdirov fought. The book by S. A. Krasovsky is called “Life in Aviation” (M.: Voenizdat, 1968).

What were the plans of the German command for the summer of 1942? A. M. Vasilevsky writes:

“With the summer offensive, the Nazis expected to achieve not only turning-point military-strategic results, but also to paralyze the economy of the Soviet state. They believed that as a result of a decisive offensive in the Caucasian and Stalingrad directions, after seizing Caucasian oil, Donetsk industry, Stalingrad industry, with access to the Volga and after they managed to deprive us of contact with the outside world through Iran, they would achieve the necessary preconditions for defeat of the Soviet Union."

In Directive No. 41 of April 5, 1942, Hitler set the task of seizing the initiative lost as a result of the defeat near Moscow, “to finally destroy the manpower still at the disposal of the Soviets, to deprive the Russians of as many military-economic centers as possible.”

In turn, the Soviet Supreme High Command planned several offensive operations for the summer of 1942, the main one of which was planned in the Kharkov direction. Moreover, the Supreme Command Headquarters counted on simultaneous attacks by the allied Anglo-American troops on Germany from the west. This, as we know, did not happen. The Soviet troops failed near Kharkov. A difficult situation has developed in Crimea. Offensive operations had to be abandoned and switched to defense along the entire Soviet-German front.

In June, the Nazis reached Voronezh, the upper reaches of the Don, and captured the Donbass. On July 9, the German command divided the southern group of its troops into army groups “A” and “B” and threw the latter into a breakthrough into the big bend of the Don. On July 12, the Supreme Command Headquarters formed the Stalingrad Front, which included the 8th Air Army of General T. T. Khryukin.

On July 14, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks declared martial law in the Stalingrad region. And on July 28, Order No. 227 of People’s Commissar of Defense I.V. Stalin was signed and immediately sent to the troops, “one of the most powerful documents of the war years,” as A.M. Vasilevsky assessed it, “in terms of the depth of patriotic content, the degree of emotional tension." The meaning of this order boiled down to the main thing: “... it’s time to end the retreat. No step back!"

On July 17, 1942, the defensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad began. On August 26, G.K. Zhukov was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Three days later he was already in the Stalingrad area. Here's what he writes in his book:

“The Supreme High Command sent everything that was possible to the Stalingrad area, with the exception of newly formed strategic reserves intended for further struggle. Urgent measures were taken to increase the production of aircraft, tanks, weapons, ammunition and other materiel in order to timely introduce them into the defeat of the enemy group that had reached the Stalingrad area.”

Here are the numbers: from August 1 to August 20, 15 rifle divisions and three tank corps were sent to Stalingrad from the depths of the country. These measures were very significant, but far from sufficient to, as A. M. Vasilevsky writes, remove the threat hanging over the city. On August 19, the enemy launched another offensive, and on August 23, his troops broke through to the Volga north of Stalingrad. On the same day, the city was subjected to barbaric air bombardment.

The Headquarters entrusted to G.K. Zhukov the leadership of all the troops involved in the liquidation of the enemy who had broken through to the Volga and the restoration of the broken front of our defense... Here is a telegram addressed to him from the Supreme Command Headquarters on September 3:

“The situation with Stalingrad has worsened. The enemy is located three miles from Stalingrad. Stalingrad could be taken today or tomorrow if the northern group of troops does not provide immediate assistance. Demand that the commanders of the troops located north and north-west of Stalingrad immediately strike the enemy and come to the aid of the Stalingraders. No delay is acceptable. Delay is now tantamount to a crime. Send all aviation to the aid of Stalingrad. There is very little aviation left in Stalingrad itself.”

Colonel General of Aviation, twice Hero of the Soviet Union V.D. Lavrinenkov, who fought at Stalingrad as part of the 8th Air Army, notes in the book “Return to Heaven” (M.: Voenizdat, 1974):

“Stalingrad changed especially dramatically after the terrible raid of German bombers on August 23. Changed is not the right word. The city we knew simply no longer exists. In its place, only burnt boxes of buildings were visible and black smoke spread in thick clouds, covering everything in its path. My heart sank with pain when I saw this, flying out to escort the “silts”..."

A special group was formed in the same 8th Air Army. It included the 150th Bomber Regiment, headed by I. Polbin, and the 434th Fighter Regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union I. Kleshchev. Lieutenant General of Aviation, Hero of the Soviet Union A. V., Zholu Dev spoke about the combat work of the Polbintsy in his book “Steel Squadron” (M.: Voenizdat’ 1972). Here is an interesting piece of evidence from these memoirs:

“It was clear that the enemy was still strong, that we still did not have enough tanks and aircraft, that many units were understaffed. But even at such a tense moment, during the retreat of our troops, confidence grew that the war was approaching some as yet invisible brink, which would be followed by a sharp turn.”

Lieutenant General of Aviation, Hero of the Soviet Union A.F. Semenov, who fought in the 434th Fighter Regiment, reports the following data in his book “On Takeoff” (M.: Voenizdat, 1969). The regiment arrived at Stalingrad for the second time on July 13, 1942. From July 15 to August 3, the regiment's pilots carried out 827 combat missions, shot down 55 enemy aircraft, but also suffered significant losses. And the regiment was again put into reserve for replenishment. But already in mid-September this unit arrived at Stalingrad for the third (!) time.

From September 16 to 28, the regiment's pilots shot down seventy-four German aircraft, and themselves lost fifteen. Such was the intensity of the air battles.

“It was hot in the Stalingrad sky,” writes A. Semenov. “From morning to evening it trembled from the booming roar of aircraft engines, the clatter of cannon and machine-gun fire, and the dull explosions of anti-aircraft shells. Often it was traced by smoky torches: these were downed planes - German and ours. But a turning point was already approaching: a few more persistent efforts, and the onslaught of enemy aircraft would begin to subside...”

From morning until sunset - flights, flights, flights... The pilots knew that in a burning city among the ruins, infantrymen were dying to death. And they fought to the last. And although the 4th Luftwaffe Air Fleet, commanded by Colonel General von Richthofen, had a quantitative advantage in aircraft until our counteroffensive, the fascist pilots failed to become masters of the Stalingrad sky.

OPERATION URANUS

Battle of Stalingrad - second period November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943

From July to November 1942, fascist German troops lost up to 700 thousand people, more than 1,000 tanks and about 1,400 aircraft in battles in the Don, Volga and Stalingrad areas.

Meanwhile, Soviet troops were completing preparations for a grandiose offensive operation, called “Uranus”. Its meaning boiled down to the encirclement and destruction of the enemy group drawn into the protracted battles for Stalingrad. The troops of the newly created South-Western Front were supposed to strike from the north, and Stalingrad from the south. The start of the offensive was scheduled for November 19.

Let us remember how the story “Days and Nights” by Konstantin Simonov, written in 1943-1944, ended:

“The two fronts on this winter night, like two hands converging on a map, moved, ever approaching each other, ready to close in the Don steppes west of Stalingrad. In this space they captured, in their cruel embrace, there were still German corps and divisions with headquarters, generals, discipline, guns, tanks, with landing sites and planes, there were hundreds of thousands of people who still seemed to rightly consider themselves a force and at the same time the time of being nothing more than tomorrow’s dead.”

On November 23, the encirclement closed.
The offensive was supported by pilots of the 8th, 16th and 17th Air Armies. “Dawn had barely broken,” recalled the former commander of the 17th S.A. Krasovsky in his book, “when small groups of our bombers, attack aircraft, and fighters rose from the airfields and headed for enemy positions.

Unfortunately, the weather was extremely unfavorable. Low gray clouds hung over the snow-covered fields, snow flakes were falling from above, visibility was very poor, and air raids did not have the desired effect. On the first day of the offensive, enemy aviation was almost inactive. The weather did not improve on the second day, but still the pilots, in small groups and alone, attacked the enemy... Most attention was paid to the largest enemy airfields..."

The weather nevertheless improved and air battles flared up with renewed vigor. And no wonder. After all, the enemy tried to organize supplies for the encircled army of Paulus via an air bridge. At a meeting at headquarters, Goering assured Hitler that the Luftwaffe would cope with this task.

The best squadrons of the German air force were sent to Stalingrad, including even Hitler’s communications detachment, and the fascist command sent one of its best fighter units, the Udet squadron, into the encirclement to cover the arriving transport aircraft.

Hitler ordered approximately 300 tons of fuel, food and ammunition to be delivered to the Stalingrad area every day. Therefore, the main task of the Soviet pilots during the air blockade was the decisive destruction of enemy transport aircraft. The air bridge to the encirclement zone was broken. Suffice it to say that during this time the Nazis lost more than a thousand aircraft, including about seven hundred transport ones. The implementation of the air blockade of Paulus's army is described in great detail in the military-historical essays “The 16th Air Army” (M.: Voenizdat, 1973) and “The 17th Air Army in the Battles from Stalingrad to Vienna” (M.: Voenizdat, 1977) .

The surrounded German troops fought desperately for every position. This persistence was fueled by hopes for a speedy rescue: after all, from the Kotelnikov area, the new German Army Group Don, under the command of Field Marshal Manstein, struck the outer front of the encirclement. Manstein's tanks broke through our defenses and were already forty kilometers from Stalingrad.

At this moment, the Soviet command brought into the battle the reinforced 2nd Guards Army, well equipped with tanks and artillery. The army was commanded by R. Ya. Malinovsky. The blow of the guards decided the fate of the battle in our favor.
It was this page of the Battle of Stalingrad that formed the basis of Yuri Bondarev’s novel “Hot Snow”. There are these lines in the novel:

“While in the highest German headquarters everything seemed to be predetermined, developed, approved, and Manstein’s tank divisions began fighting for a breakthrough from the Kotelnikov area to Stalingrad, tormented by a four-month battle, to the more than three hundred thousand-strong group of generals closed by our fronts in the snow and ruins. Colonel Paulus, tensely awaiting the outcome - at this time, another of our newly formed army in the rear, by order of Headquarters, was thrown south through the boundless steppes to meet the army strike group “Goth”, which included 12 divisions.

The actions of both sides resembled scales, on which all possibilities were now placed in the current circumstances.”
Meanwhile, the troops of the Southwestern Front also launched a successful offensive. The fate of Paulus's encircled troops was sealed. On February 2, 1943, the enemy group was completely eliminated.
The Battle of Stalingrad is over.

...In the forty years that have passed since the Battle of the Volga, our libraries have been replenished with many works of various genres dedicated to those ancient events. Of course, there is no way to even list them. And yet I would like to highlight two more books from the general series. One of them is “Stalingrad: Lessons from History” (M.: Progress, 1980). The first part of the book contains chapters from the memoirs of Soviet military leaders G.K. Zhukov, A.M. Vasilevsky, K.K. Rokossovsky.

In the second, the reader will become acquainted with fragments of notes from former Nazi soldiers from the 6th Army defeated at Stalingrad.
I would also like to recommend the collection “The Stalingrad Epic” (M.: Nauka, 1968). Its authors are prominent Soviet military leaders, active participants in the Battle of Stalingrad.

With great reliability they talk about the events of 1942-1943, about the steadfastness and mass heroism of Soviet soldiers, their remarkable moral qualities, high offensive impulse...

On October 15, 1967, 25 years after the Battle of Stalingrad, the grand opening of a monument-ensemble in honor of the heroic defenders of the Volga stronghold took place in Volgograd. Speaking at the celebration, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev said: “The victory at Stalingrad was not just a victory, it was a historical feat.
And the true measure of any feat can be fairly assessed only when we fully imagine - amid what difficulties, in what circumstances it was accomplished.”

Hard battles and hard-won victories. Feats that determined the outcome of the battle. On February 2, 1943, the bloody Battle of Stalingrad ended. On this day we decided to remember the heroes who fought in Stalingrad. Soldiers who became Heroes of the Soviet Union.

Unmistakable sniper Nikolai Ilyin

Nikolai Ilyin went to the front as a volunteer. In February 1942, a twenty-year-old guy from the Ukrainian village of Chernukhino was sent as a sniper to the 50th Guards Regiment of the 57th Army of the Stalingrad Front.

A master of camouflage, a resourceful and brave fighter, an unerring marksman, at the front he daily increased the number of military victories. While fighting on Mamayev Kurgan, Nikolai adapted a rifle scope to an anti-tank rifle and, with accurate shooting, disabled several enemy tanks. In one of the battles, Ilyin chalked up a German bomber...

Sniper of the 64th Army N. Ilyin at the firing line in Stalingrad

Soon the young sniper was known throughout the Stalingrad direction. By October 1942, when the skilled shooter was given a sniper rifle named after Hero of the Soviet Union Khusein Andrukhaev, Nikolai Ilyin had killed 115 Nazis.

Young fighters asked him for advice, and he taught them the intricacies of his craft.

By the end, the sniper had 350 German soldiers and officers on his account.

The award found the hero, and on February 8, 1943, Nikolai Ilyin received the well-deserved “Gold Star”.

In August 1943, in a heavy battle near the village of Yastreboevoye, Ilyin died. After the death of the sniper, the rifle with which he killed about 500 Nazis began to bear the names of two Heroes of the Soviet Union...

Tank ram by Ivan Malozemov

Ivan Malozemov went to the front in February 1942, after graduating from the Saratov Tank School. The young tankman, platoon commander, received his baptism of fire in the battles near Kharkov.

By September 1942, Malozemov was appointed commander of a tank company. By this time, the guard lieutenant had received two awards - the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

“Boldly attacks enemy firing points and tanks. Quickly navigates the situation and makes decisions in a timely manner,” this is a characteristic given to a tanker in a nomination for one of the awards.

Hard January 1943. The guard company of Lieutenant Malozemov received an order to destroy enemy crews - artillery and tanks - in the Nizhny village of the Barrikady plant in Stalingrad. Hiding behind a dilapidated stone wall, K.V. Malozemova opened fire on enemy positions. Guns thundered, enemy tanks burned. Malozemov's fighters behind the powerful armor of the KV were unharmed. The crew shot at Nazi vehicles point-blank.

Several German combat vehicles moved at full speed towards Malozemov’s shelter. A tank duel ensued, which continued until the shells ran out...

Ivan ordered the crew to leave the tank. Left alone, he threw his KV straight towards the enemy, destroying Nazi tanks with a ram. From somewhere from cover, a heavy weapon hit Malozemov’s combat vehicle directly, mortally wounding the tankman.

In April 1943, Ivan Malozemov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He did not live to see the end of the Battle of Stalingrad for only three days.

Alive, received a Hero posthumously

Nikolai Kochetkov became a pilot before the war. In 1939, he graduated from the Engels Military Aviation School, and then served as an instructor in Chelyabinsk. He made his first combat missions in November 1941 in the skies near Moscow, where his 686th Bomber Regiment fought.

From the first days at the front, he flew in all weather conditions, day and night, and, having completed the task flawlessly, always brought the plane to his home airfield. Just a month later, Kochetkov became a Knight of the Order of the Red Banner. “Occupies a vanguard role in a combat situation in cold winter conditions,” “flies fearlessly, is not afraid of obstacles and difficulties,” “raises pilots through personal example and courage,” says his nomination for the award.

In August 1942, Kochetkov’s native air regiment became part of the 8th Air Army of the Stalingrad Front, and the pilot himself became deputy squadron commander.

On September 3, near the Konny crossing in the west of Stalingrad, Kochetkov’s plane was shot down - a shell hit the gas tank.

In front of his stunned colleagues, the pilot flew a burning plane directly into a concentration of enemy troops... The pilot was posthumously awarded Hero of the USSR in November 1942.

But Kochetkov survived! During the explosion, he was thrown out of the plane, and, losing consciousness, the pilot managed to pull the parachute ring. When he woke up, he realized that he was captured. A few months later, Nikolai managed to escape from the concentration camp to his own...

After months of interrogation, in February 1944, the heroic pilot returned to his native regiment. He served with it until the end of the war. In total, during the Great Patriotic War, Nikolai Kochetkov made 101 combat missions.

10 guardsmen who stopped a tank column

Innokenty Gerasimov was born in 1918 in the village of Pamyat 13 Bortsov, Krasnoyarsk Territory. He went to the front in January 1941, served in the Guards Rifle Regiment as a military commissar of an anti-tank rifle company. For unparalleled courage in the battle at Voroponovo station near Stalingrad, he received the title of Hero of the USSR.

On August 22, 1942, a column of German tanks was moving towards Stalingrad. Gerasimov's group of 9 armor-piercing soldiers needed to stop the enemy at Voroponovo station. “He took a PTR rifle and, together with his guardsmen, repelled the attack of tanks,” says the presentation for the award. After the first attack, five of the 20 German combat vehicles were left burning on the battlefield.

German bombers appeared and powerful fire fell on the defenders' position. Under the cover of aviation, tanks moved into the attack. Every piece of land was shelled, but Gerasimov’s fighters did not think of hiding in the trenches. Sparing no effort and shells, the armor-piercing soldiers opened fire on German combat vehicles...

Soon the enemy’s attack fizzled out - having lost seven more tanks in that battle, the Nazis turned back. Our soldiers also had significant losses - six out of ten guardsmen died that day... Innokenty Gerasimov himself was seriously wounded.

The surviving soldiers lifted him by the arms and showed how the remaining tanks were running away - the feat is described in the presentation for the award - then Gerasimov said (...): “Well, who else wants to go to Stalingrad?!”

Yakov Fefilov, who replaced the commander of the riflemen

Yakov Fefilov was drafted into the Red Army in January 1942. A few months later, in July 1942, senior sergeant Fefilov ended up on the Don Front.

The liaison officer of the company commander of machine gunners, Yakov Fefilov, became one of the first soldiers of the rifle division to receive the highest award - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On January 23, 1943, Soviet troops advanced in the area of ​​the village of Starodubovka. After the death of the submachine gunner platoon commander, senior sergeant Fefilov took command and led the soldiers into the attack. Inspired by the courage of their colleague, the defenders managed to break into Starodubovka and push the enemy out of the village. During the battle, the riflemen captured five heavy and six light machine guns. The defenders turned two artillery pieces captured from the Nazis against the enemy.

“Two enemy counterattacks are broken by the resilience of Fefilov’s submachine gunners,” says the hero’s presentation for the award.

On January 25, 43, in a battle near the village of Peschanka, Fefilov took command of a company of riflemen. Under hurricane fire, he led the soldiers to the Nazi positions. Having broken through the barrage, Fefilov’s riflemen were the first to occupy Peschanka. In this battle, more than 100 German soldiers and officers were killed, more than 200 Nazis were captured.