The war demanded from the people the greatest effort and enormous sacrifices on a national scale, revealing the fortitude and courage of the Soviet people, the ability to sacrifice themselves in the name of freedom and independence of the Motherland. During the war years, heroism became widespread and became the norm of behavior of Soviet people. Thousands of soldiers and officers immortalized their names during the defense Brest Fortress, Odessa, Sevastopol, Kyiv, Leningrad, Novorossiysk, in the battle of Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, in the North Caucasus, the Dnieper, in the foothills of the Carpathians, during the storming of Berlin and in other battles.

For heroic deeds in the Great Patriotic War, over 11 thousand people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (some posthumously), of which 104 were awarded twice, three three times (G.K. Zhukov, I.N. Kozhedub and A.I. Pokryshkin ). The first to receive this title during the war were Soviet pilots M.P. Zhukov, S.I. Zdorovtsev and P.T. Kharitonov, who rammed fascist planes on the outskirts of Leningrad.

Among the Heroes of the Soviet Union are representatives of most nations and nationalities of the USSR

About 35% of Heroes of the Soviet Union at the time of awarding the title were under 30 years of age, 28% were between 30 and 40 years old, 9% were over 40 years old.

Four Heroes of the Soviet Union: artilleryman A.V. Aleshin, pilot I.G. Drachenko, rifle platoon commander P.Kh. Dubinda, artilleryman N.I. Kuznetsov - were also awarded Orders of Glory of all three degrees for their military exploits. Over 2,500 people, including 4 women, became full holders of the Order of Glory of three degrees. During the war, over 38 million orders and medals were awarded to the defenders of the Motherland for courage and heroism. The Motherland highly appreciated the labor feat of the Soviet people in the rear. During the war years, 201 people were awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, about 200 thousand were awarded orders and medals.

Viktor Vasilievich Talalikhin

In the battles of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. Made more than 60 combat missions. In the summer and autumn of 1941, he fought near Moscow. For military distinctions he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner (1941) and the Order of Lenin.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal was awarded to Viktor Vasilyevich Talalikhin by Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR on August 8, 1941 for the first night ramming of an enemy bomber in the history of aviation.

Soon Talalikhin was appointed squadron commander and was awarded the rank of lieutenant. The glorious pilot took part in many air battles near Moscow, shot down five more enemy aircraft personally and one in a group. He died a heroic death in an unequal battle with fascist fighters on October 27, 1941.

V.V. was buried Talalikhin with military honors at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow. By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR dated August 30, 1948, he was forever included in the lists of the first squadron of the fighter aviation regiment, with which he fought the enemy near Moscow.

Streets in Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Borisoglebsk in the Voronezh region and other cities, a sea vessel, State Pedagogical Technical University No. 100 in Moscow, and a number of schools were named after Talalikhin. An obelisk was erected at the 43rd kilometer of the Warsaw Highway, over which the unprecedented night fight took place. A monument was erected in Podolsk, and a bust of the Hero was erected in Moscow.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub

Three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub, flying the La-7, shot down 17 enemy aircraft (including the Me-262 jet fighter) out of the 62 he shot down during the war on La brand fighters. Kozhedub fought one of the most memorable battles on February 19, 1945 (sometimes the date is given as February 24).

On this day, he went on a free hunt together with Dmitry Titarenko. On the Oder traverse, the pilots noticed a plane quickly approaching from the direction of Frankfurt an der Oder. The plane flew along the river bed at an altitude of 3500 m at a speed much greater than the La-7 could reach. It was Me-262. Kozhedub instantly made a decision. The Me-262 pilot relied on the speed qualities of his machine and did not control the airspace in the rear hemisphere and below. Kozhedub attacked from below on a head-on course, hoping to hit the jet in the belly. However, Titarenko opened fire before Kozhedub. Much to Kozhedub’s surprise, the wingman’s premature shooting was beneficial.

The German turned to the left, towards Kozhedub, the latter could only catch the Messerschmitt in his sights and press the trigger. Me-262 turned into a fireball. In the cockpit of the Me 262 was non-commissioned officer Kurt-Lange from 1./KG(J)-54.

On the evening of April 17, 1945, Kozhedub and Titarenko carried out their fourth combat mission of the day to the Berlin area. Immediately after crossing the front line north of Berlin, the hunters discovered large group FW-190 with suspended bombs. Kozhedub began to gain altitude for the attack and reported to the command post that contact had been made with a group of forty Focke-Wolwofs with suspended bombs. The German pilots clearly saw a pair of Soviet fighters go into the clouds and did not imagine that they would appear again. However, the hunters appeared.

From behind, from above, Kozhedub in the first attack shot down the leading four Fokkers at the back of the group. The hunters sought to give the enemy the impression that there were a significant number of Soviet fighters in the air. Kozhedub threw his La-7 right into the thick of the enemy planes, turning Lavochkin left and right, the ace fired in short bursts from his cannons. The Germans succumbed to the trick - the Focke-Wulfs began to free them from bombs that were interfering with air combat. However, the Luftwaffe pilots soon established the presence of only two La-7s in the air and, taking advantage of the numerical advantage, took advantage of the guardsmen. One FW-190 managed to get behind Kozhedub’s fighter, but Titarenko opened fire before the German pilot - the Focke-Wulf exploded in the air.

By this time, help arrived - the La-7 group from the 176th regiment, Titarenko and Kozhedub were able to leave the battle with the last remaining fuel. On the way back, Kozhedub saw a single FW-190 trying to drop bombs on Soviet troops. The ace dived and shot down an enemy plane. This was the last, 62nd, German plane shot down by the best Allied fighter pilot.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub also distinguished himself in the battle on Kursk Bulge.

Kozhedub's total account does not include at least two aircraft - American P-51 Mustang fighters. In one of the battles in April, Kozhedub tried to drive away German fighters from the American “Flying Fortress” with cannon fire. The US Air Force escort fighters misunderstood the La-7 pilot's intentions and opened barrage fire from a long distance. Kozhedub, apparently, also mistook the Mustangs for Messers, escaped from under fire in a coup and, in turn, attacked the “enemy.”

He damaged one Mustang (the plane, smoking, left the battle and, having flown a little, fell, the pilot jumped out with a parachute), the second P-51 exploded in the air. Only after the successful attack did Kozhedub notice the white stars of the US Air Force on the wings and fuselages of the planes he had shot down. After landing, the regiment commander, Colonel Chupikov, advised Kozhedub to keep quiet about the incident and gave him the developed film of the photographic machine gun. The existence of a film with footage of burning Mustangs became known only after the death of the legendary pilot. A detailed biography of the hero on the website: www.warheroes.ru "Unknown Heroes"

Alexey Petrovich Maresyev

Born on May 20, 1916 in the city of Kamyshin Volgograd region in a working-class family. Russian. At the age of three he was left without a father, who died shortly after returning from the First World War. After graduating from the 8th grade of high school, Alexey entered the federal educational institution, where he received a specialty as a mechanic. Then he applied to the Moscow Aviation Institute, but instead of the institute, he went on a Komsomol voucher to build Komsomolsk-on-Amur. There he sawed wood in the taiga, built barracks, and then the first residential areas. At the same time he studied at the flying club. He was drafted into the Soviet army in 1937. Served in the 12th aviation border detachment. But, according to Maresyev himself, he did not fly, but “took up the tails” of the planes. He really took to the air already at the Bataysk Military Aviation School of Pilots, from which he graduated in 1940. He served as a pilot instructor there.

He made his first combat mission on August 23, 1941 in the Krivoy Rog area. Lieutenant Maresyev opened his combat account at the beginning of 1942 - he shot down a Ju-52. By the end of March 1942, he brought the count of downed fascist planes to four. On April 4, in an air battle over the Demyansk bridgehead (Novgorod region), Maresyev’s fighter was shot down. He attempted to land on the ice of a frozen lake, but released his landing gear early. The plane began to quickly lose altitude and fell into the forest.

Maresyev crawled to his side. His feet were frostbitten and they had to be amputated. However, the pilot decided not to give up. When he received prosthetics, he trained long and hard and got permission to return to duty. I learned to fly again in the 11th reserve air brigade in Ivanovo.

In June 1943, Maresyev returned to duty. He fought on the Kursk Bulge as part of the 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and was deputy squadron commander. In August 1943, during one battle, Alexey Maresyev shot down three enemy FW-190 fighters at once.

On August 24, 1943, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Guard Senior Lieutenant Maresyev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Later he fought in the Baltic states and became a regiment navigator. In 1944 he joined the CPSU. In total, he made 86 combat missions, shot down 11 enemy aircraft: 4 before being wounded and seven with amputated legs. In June 1944, Guard Major Maresyev became an inspector-pilot of the Air Force Higher Educational Institutions Directorate. Boris Polevoy's book "The Tale of a Real Man" is dedicated to the legendary fate of Alexei Petrovich Maresyev.

In July 1946, Maresyev was honorably discharged from the Air Force. In 1952 he graduated from the Higher Party School under the CPSU Central Committee, in 1956 he graduated from graduate school at the Academy social sciences under the Central Committee of the CPSU, received the title of Candidate of Historical Sciences. In the same year, he became the executive secretary of the Soviet War Veterans Committee, and in 1983, first deputy chairman of the committee. He worked in this position until last day own life.

Retired Colonel A.P. Maresyev was awarded two Orders of Lenin, orders October revolution, Red Banner, Patriotic War 1st degree, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, Orders of Friendship of Peoples, Red Star, Badge of Honor, "For Services to the Fatherland" 3rd degree, medals, foreign orders. He was an honorary soldier of a military unit, an honorary citizen of the cities of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Kamyshin, and Orel. A minor planet of the solar system, a public foundation, and youth patriotic clubs are named after him. He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Author of the book "On the Kursk Bulge" (M., 1960).

Even during the war, Boris Polevoy’s book “The Tale of a Real Man” was published, the prototype of which was Maresyev (the author changed only one letter in his last name). In 1948, based on the book at Mosfilm, director Alexander Stolper made a film of the same name. Maresyev was even offered to play the main role himself, but he refused and this role was played by professional actor Pavel Kadochnikov.

Died suddenly on May 18, 2001. He was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery. On May 18, 2001, a gala evening was planned at the Russian Army Theater to mark Maresyev’s 85th birthday, but an hour before the start, Alexei Petrovich suffered a heart attack. He was taken to the intensive care unit of one of the Moscow clinics, where he died without regaining consciousness. The gala evening still took place, but it began with a minute of silence.

Krasnoperov Sergey Leonidovich

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded on February 4, 1944. Killed in action on June 24, 1944. "March 14, 1943. Attack pilot Sergei Krasnoperov makes two sorties one after another to attack the port of Temrkzh. Leading six "silts", he set fire to a boat at the pier of the port. On the second flight, an enemy shell hit the engine. A bright flame for a moment, like it seemed to Krasnoperov, the sun eclipsed and immediately disappeared in thick black smoke. Krasnoperov turned off the ignition, turned off the gas and tried to fly the plane to the front line. However, after a few minutes it became clear that it would not be possible to save the plane. And under the wing there was a complete swamp. There was only one way out. : to land. As soon as the burning car touched the marsh hummocks with its fuselage, barely had the pilot time to jump out of it and run slightly to the side, an explosion roared.

A few days later, Krasnoperov was again in the air, and in the combat log of the flight commander of the 502nd assault aviation regiment, junior lieutenant Sergei Leonidovich Krasnoperov, a short entry appeared: “03.23.43.” In two sorties he destroyed a convoy in the area of ​​the station. Crimean. Destroyed 1 vehicles, created 2 fires." On April 4, Krasnoperov stormed manpower and firepower in the area of ​​204.3 meters. In the next flight, he stormed artillery and firing points in the area of ​​Krymskaya station. At the same time, he destroyed two tanks and one gun and a mortar.

One day, a junior lieutenant received an assignment for a free flight in pairs. He was the leader. Secretly, in a low-level flight, a pair of “silts” penetrated deep into the enemy’s rear. They noticed cars on the road and attacked them. They discovered a concentration of troops - and suddenly brought down destructive fire on the heads of the Nazis. The Germans unloaded ammunition and weapons from a self-propelled barge. Combat approach - the barge flew into the air. The regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov, wrote about Sergei Krasnoperov: “Such heroic deeds of Comrade Krasnoperov are repeated in every combat mission. The pilots of his flight became masters of assault. The flight is united and occupies a leading position. The command always entrusts him with the most difficult and responsible tasks. With his heroic exploits, he created military glory for himself and enjoys well-deserved military authority among the regiment’s personnel.” Indeed. Sergei was only 19 years old, and for his exploits he had already been awarded the Order of the Red Star. He was only 20, and his chest was decorated with the Golden Star of the Hero.

Sergei Krasnoperov made seventy-four combat missions during the days of fighting on the Taman Peninsula. As one of the best, he was trusted to lead groups of “silts” on assault 20 times, and he always carried out a combat mission. He personally destroyed 6 tanks, 70 vehicles, 35 carts with cargo, 10 guns, 3 mortars, 5 anti-aircraft artillery points, 7 machine guns, 3 tractors, 5 bunkers, an ammunition depot, sunk a boat, a self-propelled barge, and destroyed two crossings across the Kuban.

Matrosov Alexander Matveevich

Sailors Alexander Matveevich - rifleman of the 2nd battalion of the 91st separate rifle brigade (22nd Army, Kalinin Front), private. Born on February 5, 1924 in the city of Ekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk). Russian. Member of the Komsomol. Lost his parents early. He was raised for 5 years in the Ivanovo orphanage (Ulyanovsk region). Then he was brought up in the Ufa children's labor colony. After finishing 7th grade, he remained to work in the colony as an assistant teacher. In the Red Army since September 1942. In October 1942 he entered the Krasnokholmsky Infantry School, but soon most of the cadets were sent to the Kalinin Front.

On February 27, 1943, the 2nd battalion received the task of attacking a strong point in the area of ​​the village of Chernushki (Loknyansky district of the Pskov region). As soon as our soldiers passed through the forest and reached the edge, they came under heavy enemy machine-gun fire - three enemy machine guns in bunkers covered the approaches to the village. One machine gun was suppressed by an assault group of machine gunners and armor-piercers. The second bunker was destroyed by another group of armor-piercing soldiers. But the machine gun from the third bunker continued to fire at the entire ravine in front of the village. Attempts to silence him were unsuccessful. Then Private A.M. Sailors crawled towards the bunker. He approached the embrasure from the flank and threw two grenades. The machine gun fell silent. But as soon as the fighters went on the attack, the machine gun came to life again. Then Matrosov stood up, rushed to the bunker and closed the embrasure with his body. At the cost of his life, he contributed to the accomplishment of the unit’s combat mission.

A few days later, the name of Matrosov became known throughout the country. Matrosov’s feat was used by a journalist who happened to be with the unit for a patriotic article. At the same time, the regiment commander learned about the feat from the newspapers. Moreover, the date of the hero’s death was moved to February 23, timing the feat to coincide with Soviet Army Day. Despite the fact that Matrosov was not the first to commit such an act of self-sacrifice, it was his name that was used to glorify the heroism of Soviet soldiers. Subsequently, over 300 people accomplished the same feat, but this was no longer widely publicized. His feat became a symbol of courage and military valor, fearlessness and love for the Motherland.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was posthumously awarded to Alexander Matveevich Matrosov on June 19, 1943. He was buried in the city of Velikiye Luki. On September 8, 1943, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, the name of Matrosov was assigned to the 254th Guards Rifle Regiment, and he himself was forever included (one of the first in the Soviet Army) in the lists of the 1st company of this unit. Monuments to the Hero were erected in Ufa, Velikiye Luki, Ulyanovsk, etc. The museum of Komsomol glory of the city of Velikiye Luki, streets, schools, pioneer squads, motor ships, collective farms and state farms were named after him.

Ivan Vasilievich Panfilov

In the battles near Volokolamsk, the 316th Infantry Division of General I.V. especially distinguished itself. Panfilova. Reflecting continuous enemy attacks for 6 days, they knocked out 80 tanks and killed several hundred soldiers and officers. The enemy's attempts to capture the Volokolamsk region and open the way to Moscow from the west failed. For heroic actions, this formation was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and transformed into the 8th Guards, and its commander, General I.V. Panfilov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was not lucky enough to witness the complete defeat of the enemy near Moscow: on November 18, near the village of Gusenevo, he died a brave death.

Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov, Guard Major General, commander of the 8th Guards Rifle Red Banner (formerly 316th) Division, was born on January 1, 1893 in the city of Petrovsk, Saratov Region. Russian. Member of the CPSU since 1920. From the age of 12 he worked for hire, and in 1915 he was drafted into the tsarist army. In the same year he was sent to the Russian-German front. He joined the Red Army voluntarily in 1918. He was enlisted in the 1st Saratov Infantry Regiment of the 25th Chapaev Division. He took part in the civil war, fought against Dutov, Kolchak, Denikin and the White Poles. After the war, he graduated from the two-year Kyiv United Infantry School and was assigned to the Central Asian Military District. He took part in the fight against the Basmachi.

The Great Patriotic War found Major General Panfilov at the post of military commissar of the Kyrgyz Republic. Having formed the 316th Infantry Division, he went to the front with it and fought near Moscow in October - November 1941. For military distinctions he was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner (1921, 1929) and the medal "XX Years of the Red Army".

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded posthumously to Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov on April 12, 1942 for his skillful leadership of division units in battles on the outskirts of Moscow and his personal courage and heroism.

In the first half of October 1941, the 316th Division arrived as part of the 16th Army and took up defense on a wide front on the outskirts of Volokolamsk. General Panfilov was the first to widely use a system of deeply layered artillery anti-tank defense, created and skillfully used mobile barrage detachments in battle. Thanks to this, the resilience of our troops increased significantly, and all attempts of the 5th German Army Corps to break through the defenses were unsuccessful. For seven days, the division, together with the cadet regiment S.I. Mladentseva and dedicated anti-tank artillery units successfully repelled enemy attacks.

Attaching great importance to the capture of Volokolamsk, the Nazi command sent another motorized corps to this area. Only under pressure from superior enemy forces were units of the division forced to leave Volokolamsk at the end of October and take up defense east of the city.

On November 16, fascist troops launched a second “general” attack on Moscow. A fierce battle began again near Volokolamsk. On this day, at the Dubosekovo crossing, there were 28 Panfilov soldiers under the command of political instructor V.G. Klochkov repelled the attack of enemy tanks and held the occupied line. Enemy tanks were also unable to penetrate in the direction of the villages of Mykanino and Strokovo. General Panfilov's division firmly held its positions, its soldiers fought to the death.

For the exemplary performance of the command's combat missions and the massive heroism of its personnel, the 316th Division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on November 17, 1941, and the next day it was reorganized into the 8th Guards Rifle Division.

Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello

Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya (“Tanya”)

Zoya Anatolyevna ["Tanya" (09/13/1923 - 11/29/1941)] - Soviet partisan, Hero of the Soviet Union was born in Osino-Gai, Gavrilovsky district, Tambov region in the family of an employee. In 1930 the family moved to Moscow. She graduated from the 9th grade of school No. 201. In October 1941, Komsomol member Kosmodemyanskaya voluntarily joined a special partisan detachment, acting on instructions from the headquarters of the Western Front in the Mozhaisk direction.

Twice she was sent behind enemy lines. At the end of November 1941, while performing a second combat mission near the village of Petrishchevo (Russian district of the Moscow region), she was captured by the Nazis. Despite cruel torture, she did not reveal military secrets and did not give her name.

On November 29, she was hanged by the Nazis. Her devotion to the Motherland, courage and dedication became an inspiring example in the fight against the enemy. On February 6, 1942, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Manshuk Zhiengalievna Mametova

Manshuk Mametova was born in 1922 in the Urdinsky district of the West Kazakhstan region. Manshuk’s parents died early, and the five-year-old girl was adopted by her aunt Amina Mametova. Manshuk spent her childhood in Almaty.

When the Great Patriotic War began, Manshuk was studying at a medical institute and at the same time working in the secretariat of the Council of People's Commissars of the Republic. In August 1942, she voluntarily joined the Red Army and went to the front. In the unit where Manshuk arrived, she was left as a clerk at the headquarters. But the young patriot decided to become a front-line fighter, and a month later Senior Sergeant Mametova was transferred to the rifle battalion of the 21st Guards Rifle Division.

Her life was short, but bright, like a flashing star. Manshuk died in battle for the honor and freedom of her native country when she was twenty-one and had just joined the party. The short military journey of the glorious daughter of the Kazakh people ended with an immortal feat she performed near the walls of the ancient Russian city of Nevel.

On October 16, 1943, the battalion in which Manshuk Mametova served received an order to repel an enemy counterattack. As soon as the Nazis tried to repel the attack, Senior Sergeant Mametova’s machine gun started working. The Nazis rolled back, leaving hundreds of corpses. Several fierce attacks of the Nazis had already been drowned out at the foot of the hill. Suddenly the girl noticed that two neighboring machine guns had fallen silent - the machine gunners had been killed. Then Manshuk, quickly crawling from one firing point to another, began to fire at the advancing enemies from three machine guns.

The enemy transferred mortar fire to the position of the resourceful girl. A nearby explosion of a heavy mine knocked over the machine gun behind which Manshuk lay. Wounded in the head, the machine gunner lost consciousness for some time, but the triumphant cries of the approaching Nazis forced her to wake up. Instantly moving to a nearby machine gun, Manshuk lashed out with a shower of lead at the chains of the fascist warriors. And again the enemy’s attack failed. This ensured the successful advancement of our units, but the girl from distant Urda remained lying on the hillside. Her fingers froze on the Maxima trigger.

On March 1, 1944, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, senior sergeant Manshuk Zhiengalievna Mametova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Aliya Moldagulova

By the beginning of October, Aliya Moldagulova had 32 killed fascists.

In December 1943, Moiseev’s battalion received an order to drive the enemy out of the village of Kazachikha. By capturing this settlement, the Soviet command hoped to cut the railway line along which the Nazis were transporting reinforcements. The Nazis resisted fiercely, skillfully taking advantage of the terrain. The slightest advance of our companies came at a high price, and yet slowly but steadily our fighters approached the enemy’s fortifications. Suddenly a lone figure appeared in front of the advancing chains.

Suddenly a lone figure appeared in front of the advancing chains. The Nazis noticed the brave warrior and opened fire with machine guns. Seizing the moment when the fire weakened, the fighter rose to his full height and carried the entire battalion with him.

After a fierce battle, our fighters took possession of the heights. The daredevil lingered in the trench for some time. Traces of pain appeared on his pale face, and strands of black hair came out from under his earflap hat. It was Aliya Moldagulova. She destroyed 10 fascists in this battle. The wound turned out to be minor, and the girl remained in service.

In an effort to restore the situation, the enemy launched counterattacks. On January 14, 1944, a group of enemy soldiers managed to break into our trenches. Hand-to-hand combat ensued. Aliya mowed down the fascists with well-aimed bursts from her machine gun. Suddenly she instinctively felt danger behind her. She turned sharply, but it was too late: the German officer fired first. Gathering her last strength, Aliya raised her machine gun and the Nazi officer fell to the cold ground...

The wounded Aliya was carried out by her comrades from the battlefield. The fighters wanted to believe in a miracle, and vying with each other to save the girl, they offered blood. But the wound was fatal.

On June 4, 1944, Corporal Aliya Moldagulova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Sevastyanov Alexey Tikhonovich

Aleksey Tikhonovich Sevastyanov, flight commander of the 26th Fighter Aviation Regiment (7th Fighter Aviation Corps, Leningrad Air Defense Zone), junior lieutenant. Born on February 16, 1917 in the village of Kholm, now Likhoslavl district, Tver (Kalinin) region. Russian. Graduated from the Kalinin Freight Car Building College. In the Red Army since 1936. In 1939 he graduated from the Kachin Military Aviation School.

Participant of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. In total, during the war years, junior lieutenant Sevastyanov A.T. made more than 100 combat missions, shot down 2 enemy aircraft personally (one of them with a ram), 2 in a group and an observation balloon.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded posthumously to Alexei Tikhonovich Sevastyanov on June 6, 1942.

On November 4, 1941, junior lieutenant Sevastyanov was on patrol on the outskirts of Leningrad in an Il-153 aircraft. At about 10 p.m., an enemy air raid on the city began. Despite anti-aircraft fire, one He-111 bomber managed to break through to Leningrad. Sevastyanov attacked the enemy, but missed. He went on the attack a second time and opened fire at close range, but again missed. Sevastyanov attacked for the third time. Having come close, he pressed the trigger, but no shots were fired - the cartridges had run out. In order not to miss the enemy, he decided to ram. Approaching the Heinkel from behind, he cut off its tail unit with a propeller. Then he left the damaged fighter and landed by parachute. The bomber crashed near the Tauride Garden. The crew members who parachuted out were taken prisoner. Sevastyanov’s fallen fighter was found in Baskov Lane and restored by specialists from the 1st repair base.

April 23, 1942 Sevastyanov A.T. died in an unequal air battle, defending the “Road of Life” through Ladoga (shot down 2.5 km from the village of Rakhya, Vsevolozhsk region; a monument was erected in this place). He was buried in Leningrad at the Chesme Cemetery. Enlisted forever in the lists of the military unit. A street in St. Petersburg and a House of Culture in the village of Pervitino, Likhoslavl district, are named after him. The documentary "Heroes Don't Die" is dedicated to his feat.

Matveev Vladimir Ivanovich

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War at the front. Captain Matveev V.I. On July 8, 1941, when repelling an enemy air raid on Leningrad, having used up all the ammunition, he used a ram: with the end of the plane of his MiG-3 he cut off the tail of the fascist aircraft. An enemy plane crashed near the village of Malyutino. He landed safely at his airfield. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal was awarded to Vladimir Ivanovich Matveev on July 22, 1941.

He died in an air battle on January 1, 1942, covering the “Road of Life” along Ladoga. He was buried in Leningrad.

Polyakov Sergey Nikolaevich

On December 23, 1941, he died while performing another combat mission. On February 10, 1943, for the courage and courage shown in battles with enemies, Sergei Nikolaevich Polyakov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). During his service, he was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner (twice), the Red Star, and medals. He was buried in the village of Agalatovo, Vsevolozhsk district, Leningrad region.

Muravitsky Luka Zakharovich

Luka Muravitsky was born on December 31, 1916 in the village of Dolgoe, now Soligorsk district of the Minsk region, into a peasant family. He graduated from 6 classes and the FZU school. Worked on the Moscow metro. Graduated from the Aeroclub. In the Soviet Army since 1937. Graduated from the Borisoglebsk military pilot school in 1939.B.ZYu

Participant of the Great Patriotic War since July 1941. Junior Lieutenant Muravitsky began his combat activities as part of the 29th IAP of the Moscow Military District. This regiment met the war on outdated I-153 fighters. Quite maneuverable, they were inferior to enemy aircraft in speed and firepower. Analyzing the first air battles, the pilots came to the conclusion that they needed to abandon the pattern of straightforward attacks, and fight on turns, in a dive, on a “slide” when their “Seagull” gained additional speed. At the same time, it was decided to switch to flights in “twos”, abandoning the officially established flight of three aircraft.

The very first flights of the twos showed their clear advantage. So, at the end of July, Alexander Popov, together with Luka Muravitsky, returning from escorting the bombers, met with six “Messers”. Our pilots were the first to rush into the attack and shot down the leader of the enemy group. Stunned by the sudden blow, the Nazis hastened to get away.

On each of his planes, Luka Muravitsky painted the inscription “For Anya” on the fuselage with white paint. At first the pilots laughed at him, and the authorities ordered the inscription to be erased. But before each new flight, “For Anya” appeared again on the starboard side of the plane’s fuselage... No one knew who Anya was, whom Luka remembered, even going into battle...

Once, before a combat mission, the regiment commander ordered Muravitsky to immediately erase the inscription and more so that it would not be repeated! Then Luka told the commander that this was his beloved girl, who worked with him at Metrostroy, studied at the flying club, that she loved him, they were going to get married, but... She crashed while jumping from a plane. The parachute did not open... She may not have died in battle, Luka continued, but she was preparing to become an air fighter, to defend her Motherland. The commander resigned himself.

Participating in the defense of Moscow, Flight Commander of the 29th IAP Luka Muravitsky achieved brilliant results. He was distinguished not only by sober calculation and courage, but also by his willingness to do anything to defeat the enemy. So on September 3, 1941, while operating on the Western Front, he rammed an enemy He-111 reconnaissance aircraft and made a safe landing on the damaged aircraft. At the beginning of the war, we had few planes and that day Muravitsky had to fly alone - to cover the railway station where the train with ammunition was being unloaded. Fighters, as a rule, flew in pairs, but here there was one...

At first everything went calmly. The lieutenant vigilantly monitored the air in the area of ​​the station, but as you can see, if there are multilayer clouds overhead, it’s raining. When Muravitsky made a U-turn over the outskirts of the station, in the gap between the tiers of clouds he saw a German reconnaissance plane. Luka sharply increased the engine speed and rushed across the Heinkel-111. The Lieutenant’s attack was unexpected; the Heinkel had not yet had time to open fire when a machine-gun burst pierced the enemy and he, descending steeply, began to run away. Muravitsky caught up with the Heinkel, opened fire on it again, and suddenly the machine gun fell silent. The pilot reloaded, but apparently ran out of ammunition. And then Muravitsky decided to ram the enemy.

He increased the speed of the plane - the Heinkel was getting closer and closer. The Nazis are already visible in the cockpit... Without reducing speed, Muravitsky approaches almost closely to the fascist plane and hits the tail with the propeller. The jerk and propeller of the fighter cut the metal of the tail unit of the He-111... The enemy plane crashed into the ground behind the railway track in a vacant lot. Luka also hit his head hard on the dashboard, the sight and lost consciousness. I woke up and the plane was falling to the ground in a tailspin. Gathering all his strength, the pilot hardly stopped the rotation of the machine and brought it out of a steep dive. He could not fly further and had to land the car at the station...

Having received medical treatment, Muravitsky returned to his regiment. And again there are fights. The flight commander flew into battle several times a day. He was eager to fight and again, as before his injury, the words “For Anya” were carefully written on the fuselage of his fighter. By the end of September, the brave pilot already had about 40 aerial victories, won personally and as part of a group.

Soon, one of the squadrons of the 29th IAP, which included Luka Muravitsky, was transferred to the Leningrad Front to reinforce the 127th IAP. The main task of this regiment was to escort transport aircraft along the Ladoga highway, covering their landing, loading and unloading. Operating as part of the 127th IAP, Senior Lieutenant Muravitsky shot down 3 more enemy aircraft. On October 22, 1941, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, for the courage and courage shown in battles, Muravitsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By this time, his personal account already included 14 downed enemy aircraft.

On November 30, 1941, flight commander of the 127th IAP, Senior Lieutenant Maravitsky, died in an unequal air battle, defending Leningrad... The overall result of his combat activity, in various sources, is assessed differently. The most common number is 47 (10 victories won personally and 37 as part of a group), less often - 49 (12 personally and 37 in a group). However, all these figures do not fit in with the number of personal victories – 14, given above. Moreover, one of the publications generally states that Luka Muravitsky won his last victory in May 1945, over Berlin. Unfortunately, there is no exact data yet.

Luka Zakharovich Muravitsky was buried in the village of Kapitolovo, Vsevolozhsk district, Leningrad region. A street in the village of Dolgoye is named after him.

During the Great Patriotic War, heroism was the norm of behavior of Soviet people; the war revealed the fortitude and courage of Soviet people. Thousands of soldiers and officers sacrificed their lives in the battles of Moscow, Kursk and Stalingrad, in the defense of Leningrad and Sevastopol, in the North Caucasus and the Dnieper, during the storming of Berlin and in other battles - and immortalized their names. Women and children fought alongside men. Home front workers played a big role. People who worked, exhausting themselves, to provide the soldiers with food, clothing and, at the same time, a bayonet and a shell.
We will talk about those who gave their lives, strength and savings for the sake of Victory. These are the great people of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Doctors are heroes. Zinaida Samsonova

During the war, more than two hundred thousand doctors and half a million paramedical personnel worked at the front and in the rear. And half of them were women.
The working day of doctors and nurses in medical battalions and front-line hospitals often lasted several days. Sleepless nights medical workers stood relentlessly near the operating tables, and some of them pulled the dead and wounded out of the battlefield on their backs. Among the doctors there were many of their “sailors” who, saving the wounded, covered them with their bodies from bullets and shell fragments.
Without sparing, as they say, their belly, they raised the spirit of the soldiers, raised the wounded from their hospital beds and sent them back into battle to defend their country, their homeland, their people, their home from the enemy. Among the large army of doctors, I would like to mention the name of Hero of the Soviet Union Zinaida Aleksandrovna Samsonova, who went to the front when she was only seventeen years old. Zinaida, or, as her fellow soldiers sweetly called her, Zinochka, was born in the village of Bobkovo, Yegoryevsky district, Moscow region.
Just before the war, she entered the Yegoryevsk Medical School to study. When the enemy entered her native land, and the country was in danger, Zina decided that she must definitely go to the front. And she rushed there.
She has been in the active army since 1942 and immediately finds herself on the front line. Zina was a sanitary instructor for a rifle battalion. The soldiers loved her for her smile, for her selfless assistance to the wounded. With her fighters, Zina went through the most terrible battles, this is the Battle of Stalingrad. She fought on the Voronezh Front and on other fronts.

Zinaida Samsonova

In the fall of 1943, she participated in the landing operation to capture a bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper near the village of Sushki, Kanevsky district, now Cherkasy region. Here she, together with her fellow soldiers, managed to capture this bridgehead.
Zina carried more than thirty wounded from the battlefield and transported them to the other side of the Dnieper. There were legends about this fragile nineteen-year-old girl. Zinochka was distinguished by her courage and bravery.
When the commander died near the village of Kholm in 1944, Zina, without hesitation, took command of the battle and raised the soldiers to attack. In this battle, the last time her fellow soldiers heard her amazing, slightly hoarse voice: “Eagles, follow me!”
Zinochka Samsonova died in this battle on January 27, 1944 for the village of Kholm in Belarus. She was buried in a mass grave in Ozarichi, Kalinkovsky district, Gomel region.
For her perseverance, courage and bravery, Zinaida Aleksandrovna Samsonova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The school where Zina Samsonova once studied was named after her.

A special period of activity for Soviet foreign intelligence officers was associated with the Great Patriotic War. Already at the end of June 1941, the newly created State Committee Defense of the USSR considered the issue of the work of foreign intelligence and clarified its tasks. They were subordinated to one goal - the speedy defeat of the enemy. For exemplary performance of special tasks behind enemy lines, nine career foreign intelligence officers were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. This is S.A. Vaupshasov, I.D. Kudrya, N.I. Kuznetsov, V.A. Lyagin, D.N. Medvedev, V.A. Molodtsov, K.P. Orlovsky, N.A. Prokopyuk, A.M. Rabtsevich. Here we will talk about one of the scout-heroes - Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov.

From the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he was enrolled in the fourth directorate of the NKVD, whose main task was to organize reconnaissance and sabotage activities behind enemy lines. After numerous trainings and studying the morals and life of the Germans in a prisoner of war camp, under the name of Paul Wilhelm Siebert, Nikolai Kuznetsov was sent behind enemy lines along the line of terror. At first, the special agent conducted his secret activities in the Ukrainian city of Rivne, where the Reich Commissariat of Ukraine was located. Kuznetsov communicated closely with enemy intelligence officers and the Wehrmacht, as well as local officials. All information obtained was transferred to the partisan detachment. One of the remarkable exploits of the USSR secret agent was the capture of the Reichskommissariat courier, Major Gahan, who was carrying a secret map in his briefcase. After interrogating Gahan and studying the map, it turned out that a bunker for Hitler was built eight kilometers from the Ukrainian Vinnitsa.
In November 1943, Kuznetsov managed to organize the kidnapping of German Major General M. Ilgen, who was sent to Rivne to destroy partisan formations.
The last operation of intelligence officer Siebert in this post was the liquidation in November 1943 of the head of the legal department of the Reichskommissariat of Ukraine, Oberführer Alfred Funk. After interrogating Funk, the brilliant intelligence officer managed to obtain information about the preparations for the assassination of the heads of the “Big Three” of the Tehran Conference, as well as information about the enemy’s offensive on the Kursk Bulge. In January 1944, Kuznetsov was ordered to go to Lviv along with the retreating fascist troops to continue his sabotage activities. Scouts Jan Kaminsky and Ivan Belov were sent to help Agent Siebert. Under the leadership of Nikolai Kuznetsov, several occupiers were destroyed in Lviv, for example, the head of the government chancellery Heinrich Schneider and Otto Bauer.

From the first days of the occupation, boys and girls began to act decisively, and a secret organization “Young Avengers” was created. The guys fought against the fascist occupiers. They blew up a water pumping station, which delayed the sending of ten fascist trains to the front. While distracting the enemy, the Avengers destroyed bridges and highways, blew up a local power plant, and burned down a factory. Having obtained information about the actions of the Germans, they immediately passed it on to the partisans.
Zina Portnova was assigned increasingly complex tasks. According to one of them, the girl managed to get a job in a German canteen. After working there for a while, she carried out an effective operation - she poisoned food for German soldiers. More than 100 fascists suffered from her lunch. The Germans began to blame Zina. Wanting to prove her innocence, the girl tried the poisoned soup and only miraculously survived.

In 1943, traitors appeared who revealed secret information and handed our guys over to the Nazis. Many were arrested and shot. Then the command of the partisan detachment instructed Portnova to establish contact with those who survived. The Nazis captured the young partisan when she was returning from a mission. Zina was terribly tortured. But the answer to the enemy was only her silence, contempt and hatred. The interrogations did not stop.
“The Gestapo man came to the window. And Zina, rushing to the table, grabbed the pistol. Apparently catching the rustle, the officer turned around impulsively, but the weapon was already in her hand. She pulled the trigger. For some reason I didn’t hear the shot. I just saw how the German, clutching his chest with his hands, fell to the floor, and the second one, sitting at the side table, jumped up from his chair and hastily unfastened the holster of his revolver. She pointed the gun at him too. Again, almost without aiming, she pulled the trigger. Rushing to the exit, Zina pulled the door open, jumped out into the next room and from there onto the porch. There she shot at the sentry almost point-blank. Running out of the commandant’s office building, Portnova rushed like a whirlwind down the path.
“If only I could run to the river,” the girl thought. But from behind there was the sound of a chase... “Why don’t they shoot?” The surface of the water already seemed very close. And beyond the river the forest turned black. She heard the sound of machine gun fire and something spiky pierced her leg. Zina fell on the river sand. She still had enough strength to rise slightly and shoot... She saved the last bullet for herself.
When the Germans got very close, she decided it was all over and pointed the gun at her chest and pulled the trigger. But there was no shot: it misfired. The fascist knocked the pistol out of her weakening hands.”
Zina was sent to prison. The Germans brutally tortured the girl for more than a month; they wanted her to betray her comrades. But having taken an oath of allegiance to the Motherland, Zina kept it.
On the morning of January 13, 1944, a gray-haired and blind girl was taken out to be executed. She walked, stumbling with her bare feet in the snow.
The girl withstood all the torture. She truly loved our Motherland and died for it, firmly believing in our victory.
Zinaida Portnova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet people, realizing that the front needed their help, made every effort. Engineering geniuses simplified and improved production. Women who had recently sent their husbands, brothers and sons to the front took their place at the machine, mastering professions unfamiliar to them. “Everything for the front, everything for victory!” Children, old people and women gave all their strength, gave themselves for the sake of victory.

This is how the collective farmers’ call sounded in one of the regional newspapers: “... we must give the army and the working people more bread, meat, milk, vegetables and agricultural raw materials for industry. We, the state farm workers, must hand over this together with the collective farm peasantry.” Only from these lines can one judge how obsessed the home front workers were with thoughts of victory, and what sacrifices they were willing to make to bring this long-awaited day closer. Even when they received a funeral, they did not stop working, knowing that it was The best way to take revenge on the hated fascists for the death of their relatives and friends.

On December 15, 1942, Ferapont Golovaty gave all his savings - 100 thousand rubles - to purchase an aircraft for the Red Army, and asked to transfer the aircraft to a pilot of the Stalingrad Front. In a letter addressed to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, he wrote that, having escorted his two sons to the front, he himself wanted to contribute to the cause of victory. Stalin responded: “Thank you, Ferapont Petrovich, for your concern for the Red Army and its Air Force. The Red Army will not forget that you gave all your savings to build a combat aircraft. Please accept my greetings." The initiative was given serious attention. The decision about who exactly would get the plane was made by the Military Council of the Stalingrad Front. The combat vehicle was awarded to one of the best - the commander of the 31st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Major Boris Nikolaevich Eremin. The fact that Eremin and Golovaty were fellow countrymen also played a role.

Victory in the Great Patriotic War was achieved through superhuman efforts of both front-line soldiers and home front workers. And we need to remember this. Today's generation should not forget their feat.

1. Introduction. ………………………………………………………………………………….. 2

2. Heroes-border guards……………………………………………………. 5

3. The feat of Viktor Talalikhin………………………………………………………5

4. The feat of Alexander Pankratov……………………………………….. 9

5. The heroism of the defenders of Sevastopol…………………………………………………….. 11

6. The feat of the submarine “Shch-408”………………………………………………………. eleven

7. Defense of Moscow…………………………………………………….. 12

8. Partisan movement………………………………………………... 14

9. Defense of Stalingrad……………………………………………………………... 18

10. The exploits of Soviet patriots…………………………………………. 19

11. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………… 23

12. List of references…………………………………….. 24

Introduction.

Russia with Russian bayonets

She saved herself and saved us

Guys! Isn't Moscow behind us?

No, much more than Moscow...

I always listened with great interest to my dad’s stories about my grandfather, who went through the Great Patriotic War. Unfortunately, my grandfather himself died long ago. I listened and wondered if I or my friends could do the same as those who defended our Motherland in that war. Maybe those youth thought differently, or maybe they had something that we lack. Unfortunately, in school the topic of war was limited to the start date and end date of the war and the study of the main battles. But it was not clear what motivated them, the young ones, because they were not promised anything, they were not paid money, they themselves were eager to go to the front: they took credit for their years, if they were not taken into the army, they fought in the rear, at the machine tool, in partisan detachments. Maybe, having written this report, I will be able to understand at least a little how we differ from them or whether we are still the same.

On June 22, 1941, at about 4 o'clock in the morning, when millions of Soviet citizens were still sleeping peacefully, Nazi Germany, without presenting any claims, treacherously attacked the Soviet Union. Thousands of bombs and shells began exploding almost all along the western state border of the USSR; the pre-dawn silence was filled with the roar of German planes and the roar of tank engines.

The Nazis concentrated 82% of the total number of active forces on the western borders of the USSR ground army. Together with the troops of the satellite countries, 190 fully equipped divisions were deployed here. The invading army consisted of 5.5 million soldiers and officers, about 4,300 tanks, 4,980 combat aircraft, 47,200 guns and mortars.

Taking advantage of three-fold, and in some areas five-fold superiority, the Nazi hordes rushed into the depths of our country. In the main directions: southern - to Kyiv, northern - to Leningrad and central - to Moscow - a difficult military situation was created.

A mortal danger looms over our Motherland - to be free or to fall into dependence on the fascist invaders.

The Communist Party and Soviet government immediately took the necessary measures to protect the Motherland from fascist enslavement and to mobilize human and material resources to defeat the enemy.

The leadership of the country's Armed Forces was headed by the Supreme Command Headquarters created on July 10 (since August 8, 1941 - the Supreme High Command Headquarters), the chairman of which was appointed I.V. Stalin.

In order to unite the efforts of the front and rear, on June 30, the State Defense Committee was formed under the chairmanship of I.V. Stalin, who concentrated all power in his hands. The State Defense Committee led the restructuring of the economy, the mobilization of the country's forces and resources.

On July 3, J.V. Stalin gave a speech in which he outlined a detailed program of the party and the Soviet government, aimed at ensuring victory over the enemy. J.V. Stalin explained to the people the just nature of the Great Patriotic War, the sacred duty of every Soviet person to defend the Motherland, defend the gains of socialism, called for courage and heroism at the front and selfless work in the rear. The Chairman of the State Defense Committee addressed the working class, collective farm peasantry and intelligentsia with the call “Everything for the front!” Everything for victory! The Red Army was given the task of defending every inch of land, fighting to the last drop of blood for its cities and villages, exhausting and bleeding Nazi troops in defensive battles, defeating and expelling them from Soviet soil, and helping the peoples of Europe throw off the fascist yoke.

On the first day of the Patriotic War, a resolution of the Komsomol Central Committee was prepared, published on June 23. “In connection with the treacherous, predatory attack of the German fascists on our country,” the document said, “the Central Committee of the Komsomol demands tenfold vigilance, cohesion, discipline, and organization from all Komsomol organizations.” The Komsomol Central Committee demanded that “every Komsomol member be ready to fight with arms in hand against the attacking, arrogant enemy for the Motherland, for honor, for freedom.”

The Komsomol quickly responded to the call of its leadership to defend the Motherland. Young patriots of the capital, leaving for the front, wrote this in an appeal to Moscow youth: “We grew up, received an education and a profession under Soviet power, on Soviet soil, under the Soviet sun. What could be more honorable for us than to defend our beloved Motherland against the invasion of Hitler’s gangs! We are obliged, and therefore we rightfully demand that we be sent to the front. We will take revenge on our enemies with full consciousness of duty to our Motherland.” In total, 50 thousand applications for voluntary departure to the front were submitted in Moscow during the three days of the war. “All Komsomol members of the Leningrad organization submitted applications to be sent as volunteers to the front,” reported the Leningrad City Committee of the Komsomol Central Committee.

The unprecedented impulse of Soviet youth, first of all, was manifested in the fact that every boy and girl in the district Komsomol committee, in the military registration and enlistment office or at the enterprise declared their desire to immediately go into battle against fascism. More than 100 thousand Komsomol members of Moscow and the Moscow region, most of them voluntarily, joined the ranks of the Soviet Army already in the first months of the war.

From the very first days of the war, showing massive heroism, infantrymen, artillerymen, tank crews, sailors, pilots - warriors of all branches of the Soviet Armed Forces - bravely fought against the invaders.

Border Guard Heroes.

The Soviet border guard heroes were the first to engage in battle with the enemy.

At one of the border outposts, said Lieutenant I.S. Rubanik, a fierce battle took place with superior enemy forces. “The enemy paid for those killed in the unequal battle with black fascist blood, leaving up to 1,000 killed and wounded soldiers and officers on the battlefield.” The losses of the border guards amounted to 40 people killed and wounded.

On the western border, near the Ukrainian village of Paripsy, 136 border guards died a brave death. For an hour and a half they held back the onslaught of 16 fascist tanks. One of the heroes, junior lieutenant N.D. Sinokop, wrote on a piece of paper: “I will die for my Motherland, but I will not surrender to the enemy alive.”

The garrison of the Brest Fortress, consisting of a small part of the combat border forces, delayed the advance of two enemy infantry divisions for almost a month and inflicted heavy losses on them.

The front-line soldiers, without lying, spoke truthfully about heavy losses and retreat, especially in 1941. This is evidenced, in particular, by a letter from Red Army soldier Yegor Zlobin, sent to his relatives on July 20, 1941. Let us refer to a short excerpt from it: “... Dad and Mom, you know that the Germans attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, and I have already been in battle since June 22: from 5 o’clock at night the Germans crossed, and we were no more than 20 kilometers from him in the camps, and from these days, dad and mom, I saw the country. As from the first days the Germans began to beat us, we couldn’t find a place. We were surrounded by him. He beat us up. About 50 people remained from the regiment, or they died or were taken into military service. Well, I forcibly jumped out of his hot clutches and ran... And the Germans were met by new units of the Red Army. As soon as they started to beat him, only feathers flew ... "

It wasn’t just Yegor Zlobin who was given such lines. And yet he decided to write the truth. One detail: there are no complaints or whining in the letter. And in the words “they started to beat him, only feathers fly” - the confidence that the enemy will be defeated, no matter what.

During the terrible days, the Pravda newspaper wrote: “The Soviet border guards fought like lions, having taken the first sudden blow of the vile enemy... They fought hand-to-hand, and only through their dead bodies was the enemy able to advance.”

The feat of Viktor Talalikhin.

But the Soviet pilots especially distinguished themselves in battles with the enemy. On the night of July 22, 1941, there was the first enemy air raid on Moscow, and on July - August German air raids became more frequent. On July 25, the regiment pilots opened the scoring, captain Ivan Samsonov shot down a Junkers 88. In the last days of July 1941, Viktor Talalikhin was appointed deputy commander of the first squadron, and then he began to serve as acting commander.

Viktor Talalikhin shot down the first bomber on the night of August 5-6 - it was a German Junkers-88 bomber.

Near Moscow, August 1941 was a restless, alarming and menacing wartime. Endless night bombing by German planes of Moscow and all its suburbs. I, who lived through those difficult summer and autumn months of the first year of the war, who experienced bombings and machine gun fire, remember a heightened sense of danger, and the victory of Soviet pilots and anti-aircraft gunners in the Moscow sky gave me hope.

We learned about the night ramming of a German Heinkel-111 aircraft by fighter pilot Viktor Talalikhin on August 8, 1941.

From the very early morning of August 6, aviation technicians and aircraft mechanics Sergei Borzov, Philip Usatyuk and Vladimir Tsvetkov prepared the fighters for flight.

Talalikhin's "Hawk" was prepared for flight. Borzov reported to the regimental engineer A.M. Menshov about the completion of the task: the engine was tested, gas tanks were filled, a preliminary inspection of the aircraft was carried out.

V. Talalikhin had to fly out for night duty, he approached the plane. Victor in a leather raglan, cap and chrome boots, with a tablet. He checked everything thoroughly and asked to rearrange the foot control pedals, shortening them. Victor Talalikhinsel into the cockpit and prepared for combat duty. The night from August 6 to 7 was warm, quiet, starry. Searchlights started working in the Moscow sky. Many bright rays pierced the dark sky, searching for enemy aircraft.

The fighters stood in shelter on the edge of a small forest, near the village, waiting for a combat signal. The planes of Viktor Talalikhin, Pyotr Funtov, Alexander Pechenevsky, Ivan Tyapin, Alexander Bogdanov, Grigory Finogenov received the message: “Enemy planes appeared in square 82 at an altitude of 4 thousand meters.” The regiment commander called the 1st squadron at 22:55. Talalikhin heard the command: “Air!” Talalikhin’s “Hawk” rose into the sky and gained altitude. Below are the Lvovskaya and Stolbovaya railway stations. Talalikhin noticed a shiny point from which green-red flashes were coming. This is from the engines of an enemy aircraft.

Talalikhin quickly led the "hawk" towards the target - the Heinkel-111 bomber. He walked at an altitude of 4.5 km. The bomber is armed with seven machine guns and one cannon. Talalikhin walked behind the bomber, began to catch the Heinkel in his sight, and pressed the trigger. The right engine of the fascist bomber began to smoke, and the Heinkel 111 shuddered. Talalikhin attacked again, aiming for the cockpit. The German plane changed course, turning west. Talalikhin attacks again and again, releasing several bursts of fire. Having increased its speed, the Heinkel-111 began to descend, but the Hawk pursued it.

The air night duel continued. The fascist bomber, shot down but not finished, continued to fly, again the attack was the sixth. Talalikhin presses the trigger, but the machine gun is silent, the cartridges are out,

Heinkel 111 goes into the darkness of the night. Talalikhin instantly makes a decision - to go for a ram, informs the ground - the ammunition has run out. Talalikhin catches up with the Heinkel-111, approaches it, masterfully aligns himself with the tail of the plane, a machine-gun burst flashes from the Heinkel-111, Talalikhin’s right hand is burned - his hand is shot through. But the “hawk” is at the target - 10 meters left. Talalikhin rammed the bomber with his entire vehicle, the “hawk” turned over in the air, the pilot left the plane and flew for about a thousand meters in a long jump, and then opened the parachute.

A fascist Heinkel-111 bomber crashes near a birch grove between the villages of Dobrynikha and Shcheglyatyevo.

This was the first night ram in the history of the war, a heroic feat of Viktor Talalikhin. Ramming is the highest degree of heroism , when the life of a pilot is in the balance, when the unknown lies ahead: is it possible to jump out of a crumpled and damaged plane? Ramming is a special courage of the pilot. Ramming is on the verge of self-sacrifice. Soviet pilots made a daytime ram on the first day of the war near Leningrad, and during the war years, Soviet pilots made hundreds of rams. There were pilots who rammed twice and three times. German pilots did not go to war to ram.

Having thrown himself out of the plane, Talalikhin landed on the bottom of a shallow river. Severki near the outskirts of the village of Mansurovo. Having climbed ashore, Viktor Talalikhin felt pain in his legs and lower back, and the wound on his arm was especially bothersome.

Talalikhin's watch stopped at 23:28 (it was at this moment that the ramming occurred). The pilot was in flight for 33 minutes. The Mansurites found the pilot on the bank of the Severka River. They treated him cautiously - they didn’t know who he was. I.M. were the first to see Talalikhin and approached him. Buralkin , V.D. Zaelkin and V.G. Larionov, collective farmers from Mansurov.

The pilot said: “I belong,” and, overcoming the pain, stood up. The collective farmers carefully led the wounded Viktor Talalikhin to the last house in the village, where E.I. lived. Larionov. Marfa Ivanovna Larinova immediately bandaged Victor’s hand, brought him linen, gave him milk and put him to rest.

Victor, waking up at dawn, looked out of the window; not far away he could see the edge of the forest. In the morning, Victor was given tea, and Yegor Ivanovich Larionov escorted Talalikhin to the place where the plane crashed. After examining the remains of the plane, they returned to the house. The Larionovs already had a cart at home by order of the collective farm chairman N.I. Zaelkina. All Mansurites. escorted Viktor Talalikhin to the village of Stepygino.

That August night they were waiting for the pilot V. Talalikhin at the airfield, but he still wasn’t there. Everyone asked: “Where is Talalikhin, what happened to him?” Victor’s friend, pilot Alexander Pechenevsky, was worried; it was already three o’clock, but his comrade was still not there...

Morning: 9 hours 45 minutes... A U-2 plane appeared over Podolsk, flying to the airfield... Talalikhin got out of the plane with a bandaged hand. Victor is surrounded by fellow soldiers.

Regiment commander Korolev urgently reported to the air unit headquarters about Talalikhin’s feat. Air Corps Commander I.D. Klimov gave instructions to Major Korolev to personally go to the site of the fall of the fascist bomber and present materials for conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on pilot Viktor Talalikhin. Major Korolev went to the downed Heinkel-111 plane together with Talalikhin. Four fascists lay motionless ten meters away. While at the downed plane, MI. Korolev and V.V. Talalikhin was seen by correspondents and a photojournalist who had arrived from Moscow. In the photo, Viktor Talalikhin stands next to the fascist bomber he rammed in a long raincoat. Talalikhin's right hand is in a sling.

His parents learned about Victor’s heroic deed from a radio message. On the same day in the evening, Viktor Talalikhin will arrive in Moscow.

On August 8, 1941, all central newspapers reported on the military feat of fighter pilot V. Talalikhin, publishing a “decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR,” which stated: “...for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against German fascism and the courage and heroism shown at the same time, award the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal to fighter pilot junior lieutenant Viktor Vasilyevich Talalikhin.”

Early morning of October 27, cold and clear. By the middle of the day clouds appeared and a piercing blow blew cold wind. The Nazis are rushing towards Moscow, columns of tanks are moving along the Warsaw Highway, bombers are flying into the suburbs in waves.

A squadron of “hawks” under the command of Viktor Talalikhin on the morning of October 27 flew towards the village of Kamenki, flying at low level. Kamenki is located on the 85th km of Warsaw Highway. Fascist scouts fly here day and night. The squadron flew up to Kamenka at 11 o'clock in the morning. In the continuous clouds, six Hawks discovered six Messerschmitts.

- “Messers” on the left! They're attacking! Act boldly and decisively!” - Talalikhin ordered over the radio.

And he was the first to rush into battle. Followers are behind him. From the fire of V. Talalikhin and A. Bogdanov, one Messerschmitt fell down. The rest left. The combat mission of Talalikhin's squadron was to discover an enemy field airfield, from where Junkers and Heinkels flew to bomb our combat positions. But suddenly a large squadron of Messerschmitts emerged from the clouds and directed fire at Talalikhin’s plane. One Messerschmitt was shot down, but at the same moment Talalikhin’s plane began to descend. “Comrade commander!” cried the wingmen, but Viktor Talalikhin remained silent. Talalikhin's "Hawk" was riddled with bullets from three "Mssserschmitts". The squadron commander died a heroic death. The plane crashed into a dense forest, Viktor Talalikhin did not deviate from the battle, he boldly walked towards the enemy in those difficult October days of 1941 hanging over the country. It was necessary to win, it was necessary to save Russia, but heroes also die. The chief of staff of the regiment flew to the scene of death on a U-2 plane. In the thicket of the forest, the remains of the plane and the deceased Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Talalikhin were found. Victor's funeral took place in Moscow at the meat-packing plant club.

The feat of Alexander Pankratov.

During the Great Patriotic War, the first feat of a heroic warrior, who covered the embrasure of an enemy bunker with his body, was performed by the political commissar of a tank company, Alexander Konstantinovich Pankratov, from the 125th tank regiment of the 28th tank division, commanded by Colonel I.D. Chernyakhovsky. A turner at the Vologda plant "Northern Communar", Komsomol member Alexander Pankratov, volunteered to serve in the army in October 1938. He was sent to the 21st Tank Brigade. There he graduated from the school for junior commanders, learned to drive a tank, and fire a tank cannon.

The command sent him to the Smolensk Military-Political School, from which he graduated in January 1941 with the rank of junior political instructor. And soon the war broke out.

Having a hard time experiencing the failure of the first days of the war, Alexander wrote home: “Don’t worry, mom! We will defeat the Nazis anyway, and if I have to die, I will die a hero.” This was Pankratov’s real oath, given to his homeland and his own mother, that he was ready for a feat, which he accomplished in the battles for Novgorod on August 24, 1941.

Leaving Novgorod, our units retreated to the east and took up defense on the eastern banks of the Volkhov and Maly Volkhovets rivers. Here stood the Kirillov Monastery, which the Nazis used as an artillery observation post.

On the night of August 24-25, the 125th Tank Regiment was given the task of secretly crossing Maly Volkhovets and capturing the Kirillov Monastery. This task was entrusted to a company in which Pankratov was the political instructor. The company crossed unnoticed, without firing a single shot, and began to make its way to the monastery. The Nazis noticed our fighters and opened machine-gun fire. The company lay down. Pankratov with a group of daredevils crawled towards the monastery. The Nazis discovered them too and began pouring lead on them from the pillbox. The political instructor pulled ahead a little and found himself in “dead” space. Squeezing the last lemon grenade, Pankratov crawled closer to the embrasure and threw the grenade inside. There was an explosion in the bunker. Then Pankratov made a sharp jerk towards the embrasure with the exclamation: “Attack, forward!” and covered the barrel of the enemy’s machine gun with his body. And his company, shouting “hurray,” broke through to the monastery.

The homeland highly appreciated the hero's feat. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 16, 1942, junior political instructor Alexander Konstantinovich Pankratov was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

A similar feat was accomplished on February 23, 1943 by Alexander Matrosov. All those who accomplished such feats before and after Matrosov began to be called sailors, and Pankratov was the first sailor. We couldn't think of anything worse, but it's a fact. If we were to call such heroes something, we should call them Pankratovites. After all, Alexander Pankratov was the first in the history of war to perform a feat of self-sacrifice, covering the enemy’s machine gun with his chest.

The heroism of the defenders of Sevastopol.

The defenders of Sevastopol showed unprecedented courage and resilience. October 30, 1941 The fighting was unprecedentedly fierce. The defenders of Sevastopol fought to the death, but did not surrender to the enemy: “Fight the enemy the Sevastopol way, to the last drop of blood!”

In the note of the sailor-machine gunner “My Motherland! Russian land! I, the son of Lenin’s Komsomol, his pupil, fought as my heart dictated, destroyed the reptiles while my heart beat in my chest. I'm dying, but I know that we will win. The enemy should not be in Sevastopol! Black Sea sailors! Hold on tight! Destroy the fascist mad dogs!”

During a difficult battle for one of the heights, many sailors were shell-shocked or wounded. And although the paratroopers arrived and brought ammunition, some food and water, the forces were clearly unequal. But only on December 20, when only three wounded sailors remained alive, the Nazis managed to capture the bunker and take possession of the heights. Courageous Black Sea residents destroyed several German tanks with bottles of flammable liquid. And when the supply of bottles with a combustible mixture was used up, they were tied with grenades and thrown under the tanks.

At the end of 1941, German troops broke through to Leningrad. All Leningraders capable of holding weapons in their hands joined the army. Seven hundred thousand young people built a belt of defensive structures around the city.

The feat of the submarine "Shch-408".

Not only infantrymen, but also sailors fought heroically for Leningrad. Of the submarines that tried to break into the Baltic in the spring of 1943, some died. The fate of the submarine "Shch-408" under the command of Lieutenant Commander P.S. Kuzmin is known. On May 25, 1943, the submarine Shch-408, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Pavel Kuzmin, tried for three days to overcome German nets and mines placed in the area of ​​Vaindlo Island on the way from the Gulf of Finland to the Baltic Sea. The battery ran out, air supplies ran out, people began to suffocate and lose consciousness. From fuel tanks damaged by mine explosions, diesel bubbles floated to the surface and burst. Based on these spots, the submarine was discovered by enemy aircraft and boats.

The ship's commander, Pavel Kuzmin, a native of the city of Grozny, reported the difficult situation to the fleet command post. After which he ordered the main ballast tanks to be blown out and to ascend. The submarine was immediately surrounded by enemy torpedo boats and opened fire on it. Pavel Kuzmin climbed onto the bridge and called the artillery crew onto the deck. The boat, being on the surface, entered into an unequal battle. And a radiogram went ashore with a request to urgently send planes. Three aviation groups of the 71st Regiment flew from naval airfields to help the submariners; four of our planes were shot down, but the efforts were in vain - the pilots were late.

"Shch-408" was able to hit two enemy boats with artillery fire. And when the shells ran out, she went under the water without lowering the flag.

Defense of Moscow.

The heroic defense of Kyiv, Leningrad, Odessa, Sevastopol and Smolensk was of great importance for disrupting the fascist plan of the “blitzkrieg” and for the defense of Moscow.

In preparation for the capture of Moscow, Hitler gave an ominous, barbaric directive: “The city must be surrounded so that not a single Russian soldier, not a single resident - be it a man, a woman, or a child - can leave it. Any attempt to suppress by force. Make the necessary preparations so that Moscow and its surroundings are flooded with water using huge structures. Where Moscow stands today, a sea must appear that will forever hide the capital of the Russian people from the civilized world.”

In the historical battle for Moscow, the main blow was taken by the rifle divisions of I.V. Panfilov, the group of troops of General L.M. Dovator, and the 1st Guards Tank Brigade of M.E. Katukov.

316th Rifle Division under the command of General Panfilov was the force that was supposed to not let the enemy pass in the Volokolamsk direction. The last echelon of fighters from the Kresttsy and Borovichi area arrived at the Volokolamsk station on October 11, 1941. There was no prepared defense, just as there were no other troops.

The division took up defensive positions on the 41st kilometer front from Ruza to Lotoshino and immediately began to create centers of resistance in the likely directions of enemy attack. Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov was sure that the enemy would rely on tanks as the main striking force. But... “The brave and skillful tank is not afraid,” said Panfilov.

“We will not surrender Moscow to the enemy,” wrote I.V. Panfilov to his wife Maria Ivanovna, “we will destroy the reptile in the thousands, hundreds of his tanks. The division is fighting well...” From October 20 to October 27 alone, the 316th Rifle Division knocked out and burned 80 tanks, killing more than nine thousand enemy soldiers and officers.

The exhausting battles did not stop; by the end of October, the division's front was already 20 kilometers - from the Dubosekovo junction to the village of Teryaevo. Having brought up new forces, replacing broken divisions with new ones and concentrating more than 350 tanks against Panfilov’s division, by mid-November the enemy was ready for a general offensive. “We will have breakfast in Volokolamsk, and dinner in Moscow,” the Nazis hoped.

On the right flank the 1077th regiment of the rifle division held the defense, in the center there were two battalions of the 1073rd regiment of Major Elin, on the left flank, on the most critical section of Dubosekovo - Nelidovo, seven kilometers southeast of Volokolamsk, there was the 1075th regiment of Colonel Ilya Vasilyevich Kaprov. It was against him that the main forces of the enemy were concentrated, trying to break through to the Volokolamsk highway and the railway.

On November 16, 1941, the enemy offensive began. The battle that was fought at night near Dubosekovo by a group of tank destroyers of the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th regiment, led by political instructor Vasily Georgievich Klochkov, was included in all history textbooks. For four hours, Panfilov’s men held back enemy tanks and infantry. They repelled several enemy attacks and destroyed 18 tanks. Most of the legendary warriors who accomplished this unparalleled feat, including Vasily Klochkov, died a brave death that night. The rest (D.F. Timofeev, G.M. Shemyakin, I.D. Shadrin, D.A. Kozhubergenov and I.R. Vasiliev) were seriously wounded. The battle of Dubosekovo went down in history as a feat of 28 Panfilov men; in 1942, all its participants were awarded the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union by the Soviet command...

Panfilov’s men became a terrible curse for the Nazis; there were legends about the strength and courage of the heroes. On November 17, 1941, the 316th Rifle Division was renamed the 8th Guards Rifle Division and awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Hundreds of guardsmen were awarded orders and medals.

On November 19, the division lost its commander... For 36 days it fought under the command of General I.V. Panfilov 316th Rifle Division, defending the capital on the main direction. During his lifetime, the division's soldiers in fierce battles destroyed over 30 thousand fascist soldiers and officers and more than 150 tanks.

Having failed to achieve decisive successes in the Volokolamsk direction, the main enemy forces turned to Solnechnogorsk, where they intended to break through first to Leningradskoye, then to Dmitrovskoye Highway and enter Moscow from the north-west.

Partisan movement.

The partisans operating behind enemy lines provided serious assistance to the Soviet Army.

During combat operations, partisan detachments of Mozhaisk, Volokolamsk, Lotoshinsky, Ruzsky and other districts of the Moscow region distinguished themselves.

Performed an immortal feat heroine Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya . On November 29, 1941, in the village of Petrishchevo near Moscow, the Germans hanged partisan Tanya, who set fire to a stable with German horses. Under the name Tanya was hiding the Moscow schoolgirl Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for her feat. The Germans did not catch the partisan themselves, she was betrayed by her comrade and peer, who walked with her on the fateful night of November 26, who at the same time had to throw his incendiary bottle. He chickened out at the last minute, he was afraid of being hanged by the Germans, but was shot by the Russians.
Vasily Klubkov chickened out and was caught. Zoya did not chicken out, she did her job and went to the appointed place. She could have gone further into the forest, but she did not want to leave her comrade in danger. Zoya trustingly waited for Klubkov, but instead of him, the German soldiers sent by him came to the edge of the forest.
Zoya was interrogated in the presence of Klubkov. She refused to identify herself, refused to answer where she came from and why. She said that she did not know Klubkov and was seeing him for the first time.
Then the officer looked at Klubkov. Klubkov said: “She’s lying, we’re from the same detachment. We carried out a task together. Her name is Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya...”
The story with Klubkov not only explained how the Germans established the true name of the partisan Tanya, but also made her interrogation by the Germans pointless. After all, the enemies had already learned the name from the traitor and real biography heroine, and the location of the partisan detachment. And Zoya’s feat was measured not by the damage inflicted on the enemy, but by her moral superiority over him, expressed in her refusal to buy her life or at least an easy death at the cost of betrayal.
Klubkov, sent as a German agent to Moscow, either confessed himself or was exposed as an enemy spy. He was shot according to martial law. Obviously, before his death, the traitor told about Zoya’s last hours.
Here are excerpts from the essay by Peter Lidov:
"...And then they brought Zoya in, pointed to the bunk. She sat down. On the table opposite her were telephones, a typewriter, a radio, and staff papers were laid out.
The officers began to converge. The owners of the house (Voronin) were ordered to leave. The old woman hesitated, and the officer shouted: “Uterus, fuck!” - and pushed her in the back.
The commander of the 332nd Infantry Regiment of the 197th Division, Lieutenant Colonel Rüderer, himself interrogated Zoya.
Sitting in the kitchen, the Voronins could still hear what was happening in the room. The officer asked questions, and Zoya (here she called herself Tanya) answered them without hesitation, loudly and boldly.
- Who you are? - asked the lieutenant colonel.
- I will not say.
- Did you set the stable on fire?
- Yes I.
- Your aim?
- Destroy you.
Pause.
- When did you cross the front line?
- On Friday.
- You got there too quickly.
- Well, yawn, or what?
Zoya was asked about who sent her and who was with her. They demanded that she give up her friends. The answers were heard through the door: “no,” “I don’t know,” “I won’t tell,” “no.” Then the belts whistled in the air, and you could hear them lashing your body. A few minutes later, the young officer rushed out of the room into the kitchen, buried his head in his hands and sat there until the end of the interrogation, closing his eyes and plugging his ears. Even the fascist’s nerves couldn’t stand it... Four hefty men, taking off their belts, beat the girl. The owners of the house counted two hundred blows, but Zoya did not make a single sound. And then she answered again: “no,” “I won’t tell”; only her voice sounded muffled than before...
Non-commissioned officer Karl Bauerlein (later captured) was present at the torture inflicted on Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya by Lieutenant Colonel Rüderer. In his testimony he wrote:
“The little heroine of your people remained firm. She did not know what betrayal was... She turned blue from the cold, her wounds were bleeding, but she did not say anything.”
Zoya spent two hours in the Voronins’ hut. After interrogation, she was taken to Vasily Kulik’s hut. She walked under escort, still undressed, walking barefoot in the snow.
When she was brought into Kulik’s hut, she had a large bluish-black spot on her forehead and abrasions on her legs and arms. She was breathing heavily, her hair was disheveled, and black strands stuck together on her high forehead, covered with drops of sweat. The girl’s hands were tied behind her with a rope, her lips were bitten and bloody and swollen. She probably bit them when they tried to torture them out of a confession.
She sat down on the bench. A German sentry stood at the door. She sat calmly and motionless, then asked for a drink. Vasily Kulik approached the tub of water, but the sentry beat him to it, grabbed the lamp from the table and brought it to Zoya’s mouth. He wanted to say that he should be given kerosene to drink, not water.
Kulik began to ask for the girl. The sentry snapped, but then reluctantly gave in and allowed Zoya to get a drink. She greedily drank two large mugs.
The soldiers who lived in the hut surrounded the girl and laughed loudly. Some stabbed her with their fists, others held lit matches to their chins, and someone ran a saw across her back.
Having had enough fun, the soldiers went to bed. Then the sentry raised his rifle at the ready and ordered Zoya to get up and leave the house. He walked down the street from behind, placing his bayonet almost close to her back. Then he shouted: “Tsuryuk!” - and took the girl to reverse side. Barefoot, in only her underwear, she walked through the snow until the tormentor himself was chilled and decided that it was time to return to a warm shelter.
This sentry watched Zoya from ten o'clock in the evening until two o'clock in the morning and every hour took her outside for fifteen to twenty minutes...
Finally a new sentry took up post. The unfortunate woman was allowed to lie down on a bench. Taking a moment, Praskovya Kulik spoke to Zoya.
-Whose will you be? - she asked.
- Why do you need this?
- Where are you from?
- I am from Moscow.
- Are there any parents?
The girl didn't answer. She lay there until the morning without moving, saying nothing more and not even groaning, although her legs were frostbitten and, apparently, were in great pain.
In the morning, the soldiers began to build a gallows in the middle of the village.
Praskovya spoke to the girl again:
- The day before yesterday - was it you?
- I... Did the Germans burn out?
- No.
- It's a pity. What burned?
- Their horses were burned. They say the weapon burned...
At ten o'clock in the morning the officers arrived. One of them asked Zoya again:
- Tell me: who are you?
Zoya didn't answer...
The owners of the house did not hear the continuation of the interrogation: they were pushed out of the house and let in when the interrogation was already over.
They brought Zoya's things: a blouse, trousers, stockings. There was also her duffel bag, and in it were matches and salt. The hat, fur jacket, downy knitted sweatshirt and boots were gone. The non-commissioned officers managed to divide them among themselves, and the mittens went to the red-haired cook from the officer's kitchen.
Zoya was dressed, and the owners helped her pull stockings onto her blackened legs. They hung bottles of gasoline taken from her and a board with the inscription: “Arsonist” on her chest. So they took him to the square where the gallows stood.
The execution site was surrounded by ten horsemen with drawn sabers, more than a hundred German soldiers and several officers. Local residents were ordered to gather and be present at the execution, but few of them came, and some, having come and stood, quietly went home so as not to witness the terrible spectacle.
Under a loop lowered from the crossbar, two boxes were placed one on top of the other. They lifted the girl, placed her on a box and put a noose around her neck. One of the officers began pointing the lens of his Kodak at the gallows. The commandant made a sign to the soldiers performing the duty of executioners to wait.
Zoya took advantage of this and, turning to the collective farmers and collective farm women, shouted in a loud and clear voice:
- Hey, comrades! Why are you looking sad? Be brave, fight, beat the fascists, burn, poison!
The fascist standing next to him swung his hand and wanted to either hit her or cover her mouth, but she pushed his hand away and continued:
- I'm not afraid to die, comrades! It is happiness to die for your people!
The photographer had photographed the gallows from a distance and close up and was now positioning himself to photograph it from the side. The executioners looked restlessly at the commandant, and he shouted to the photographer:
- Aber doh schneller! (Hurry up!)
Then Zoya turned towards the commandant and shouted to him and the German soldiers:
- You'll hang me now, but I'm not alone. There are two hundred million of us, you can’t outweigh them all. You will be avenged for me. Soldiers! Before it's too late, surrender: victory will still be ours!
The executioner pulled the rope, and the noose squeezed Zoya’s throat. But she spread the noose with both hands, rose up on her toes and shouted, straining all her strength:
- Farewell, comrades! Fight, don't be afraid...
The executioner rested his forged shoe on the box, which creaked on the slippery, trampled snow. The top drawer fell down and hit the ground with a loud sound. The crowd recoiled. Someone's scream rang out and died away, and the echo repeated it at the edge of the forest..."

Defense of Stalingrad.

In 1942, German troops broke through to North Caucasus and led an offensive in the Stalingrad direction.

The defense of Stalingrad was entrusted to the 62nd Army of General V.I. Chuikov. The whole world knows the words of the legendary hero, uttered by him when he was appointed commander of the army: “I understand the task very well, I will carry out the task, but in general I will either die or Stalingrad will be lost.”

Every great battle gives birth to its heroes. The Battle of Stalingrad has no equal in history.

Soviet pilots fought valiantly in continuous air battles with the enemy. Pilot crew N. Divichenko , who made three combat sorties every day, went on a solo hunt on December 21, 1942. Having dropped bombs on an enemy airfield in the Morozovskaya area, the plane was damaged and was returning on one engine. Then the second engine was damaged by anti-aircraft fire and caught fire. There was a strong explosion in the car. The navigator's cabin was torn off, and he bailed out. Divichenko and the shooters died.

Former student of GITIS Natasha Kachuevskaya , who voluntarily went to the front, to Stalingrad front as a nurse she accomplished what seemed like an incredible feat. After a long battle, 20 people were wounded. Kachuevskaya carried them out along with their weapons, provided first aid and, by order of the commander, took several seriously wounded to the medical battalion. Suddenly she noticed a group of German machine gunners who had infiltrated our rear. They were chasing the car. Natasha carried the wounded to the dugout, and she, armed with rifles and grenades, took cover nearby. The Nazis surrounded the dugout. With well-aimed shots she disabled two Nazis, but she herself was mortally wounded. Gathering her last strength, Natasha inserted fuses into the grenades and detonated them at the moment when at least a dozen fascists came close to her. Some of them were killed, others were wounded. Natasha Kachuevskaya also died, but the wounded were saved. They were taken to the hospital by soldiers from a neighboring company.

On February 2, 1943, the grandiose battle of Stalingrad ended. With this major battle, a turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War began; from that moment on, the strategic initiative passed to the side of the Soviet command.

The largest battle of World War II was the Battle of Kursk.

Feats of Soviet patriots.

The chronicles of the Great Patriotic War record hundreds of thousands of remarkable feats of Soviet patriots.

Komsomolskaya Pravda Galina Kyiv in the winter of 1942 she found herself at the front near Staraya Russa as a company political instructor. In the battle she was seriously wounded, and the medical commission declared her unfit for life. military service. But, having recovered from her wound, the patriot was again eager to go to the front. And with the help of the Komsomol Central Committee, she received permission. At the beginning of May 1943, G. Kievskaya was appointed Komsomol organizer of the battalion of the 125th Infantry Division. During this battle, the attack of our Red Army soldiers failed. And at this critical moment the girl stood up to her full height and shouted “For the Motherland!” rushed forward. The soldiers, carried away by the heroic example of the Komsomol member, stood up, but the enemy could not withstand such an onslaught and abandoned the heights.

2nd year student of the Chuvash Pedagogical Institute Ivan Alekseev , drafted into the Red Army, participated in battles as an anti-aircraft gunner. After the first wound, he wrote to his sister: “Now I’m stronger, I don’t complain about my health. And don’t forget your older brother - he shot down many enemy planes with his cannons... Soon, having defeated the enemy, he will return home.” In another letter he gives advice: “Study, read, help the front in any way you can.” Having received the news of the death of brother Vasily, he answered sparingly: “There is no hope to wait. I will avenge him!”

June 13, 1944 Death tore Ivan Alekseev from the ranks of Soviet soldiers. In his suicide note, he asked to convey the following words to the “gray-haired father”: “Your son Vanya fulfilled your father’s advice and orders, sparing neither his strength nor his life.”

Lyudmila Pavlinchenko fought near Odessa and Sevastopol. Army newspapers and leaflets called for learning the art of marksmanship from snipers. Lyudmila accounted for 309 killed Nazis. At the front she was wounded, shell-shocked, and frostbitten, but she didn’t even want to hear about being sent to the rear. For her accomplished feat of arms, L. Pavlinchko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The news of the exploits spread throughout the vast country "Young Guard" in Krasnodar. True to their oath, the Young Guards carried out a great deal of mass political work among the population. In total, during the occupation they issued more than 30 leaflet titles, which ended with the words: “Death to the German occupiers!” On the night of November 7, 1942, Komsomol members strengthened red flags on a number of buildings in the city. Immediately after the November holidays, the underground organized the escape of 20 prisoners of war from the Pervomaiskaya hospital and freed more than 70 soldiers and commanders from the camp on the Volchanok farm.

All Young Guards became a symbol of perseverance, greatness of spirit, love for the Motherland and hatred of its enemies.

On January 1, 1943, failure unexpectedly occurred - due to the fault of a traitor. Arrests and torture began. Underground workers were hung by the neck from a window frame, their fingers were crushed by the door and needles were driven under their nails, they were beaten with sticks and whips. The investigator's office, in which the Komsomol members were tortured, looked more like a slaughterhouse, as it was spattered with blood.

On the walls of the prison cells they left farewell inscriptions that testify to the steadfastness and courage of the Young Guards.

I.A. Zemnukhov wrote: “Dear mom and dad! We need to endure everything steadfastly! Greetings from the loving son of Zemnukhov.” L. Shevtsova’s inscription was laconic and tragic: “Farewell mother, your daughter Lyubka is leaving for the damp earth.”

January 30, 1945 Soviet submarine "S-13" under the command of captain 3rd rank A.I.Marinesko accomplished a truly heroic feat. She tracked down the German liner Wilhelm Gustow, which was transporting more than 6 thousand Nazis from Danzig to Kiel. Despite the raging storm, an hour before midnight our submarine attacked an enemy ship. Several torpedoes, one after another, quickly rushed towards the target. After a strong explosion, the liner was blown up.

Young communist pilot A.K. Horovets near the village of Zasorinye, he entered into battle with 20 enemy bombers, shooting down 9 of them. The rest, throwing bombs, turned back. It has never happened in aviation before that a pilot shot down nine enemy planes in one air battle! Communist A.K. Gorovets, who died in this unequal battle, was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Komsomol guard junior lieutenant A.A.Derevianko wrote to his mother: I will die, only heroically.” And he remained true to his oath. In the battle near Belgorod, Derevianko knocked out three Tiger tanks. A few minutes later, new tanks attacked his anti-aircraft gun. With the exclamation “We are Russians!” We will not retreat! Derevianko knocked out another tank. Without having time to load the gun, the Soviet patriot was crushed by the tank tracks. The courageous artilleryman was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 1939 Sr. lieutenantA. I. Pokryshkin graduates from aviation school with excellent grades and leaves for Kirovograd, to the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment. This is where his flying biography began. Pokryshkin met the war in Moldova. And already on June 23 he opens the account - he shoots down the first Me -109. On July 3, already having several victories in the air, he was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over the Prut River. The plane was destroyed during landing at the edge of the forest. The pilot, despite his leg injury, managed to reach the regiment's location on the fourth day.

On October 5, 1941, in the Zaporozhye region, Pokryshkin was shot down for the second time. For several days he emerges from encirclement and fights at the head of a group of soldiers.

At the end of 1941, Pokryshkin's main combat job was as a reconnaissance officer, capable of providing reliable information to the command of the Southern Front. In November, when the lower edge of the clouds dropped to 30 meters, on a low-level flight, Pokryshkin alone (before that, two I-16 fighters flew out on the same mission and did not return) finds the main group of the general’s tank army in the Rostov-on-Don area von Kleist - more than 200 cars. For this feat he was awarded the Order of Lenin.

The air battle began in Kuban. The 16th Guards Regiment, whose first squadron was commanded by Alexander Pokryshkin, gained particular fame. On April 12, in one of the very first battles upon arrival in Kuban, in front of the front air force commander, Lieutenant General K. A. Vershinin, he shot down four Messerschmitts. For this success, the innovative pilot was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. A few weeks later, Pokryshkin’s name was already thundering in the front-line and central press. On May 24, 1943, A.I. Pokryshkin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The legendary battle of April 29, 1943, in which he shot down 5 bombers, is widely known. In the essay “Master of the Sky - Alexander Pokryshkin,” front-line correspondents A. Malyshko and A. Verkholetov wrote: “Does he shoot?” friends say about him. “He comes down with all his fire, burns like a blast furnace.” All firing points on Pokryshkin’s vehicle were transferred to one trigger. Four against 50, three against 23, alone against 8 Pokryshkin entered the battle. And I never knew defeat. Possessing a clear style, A. I. Pokryshkin himself appears with articles in the military press, where he writes about the famous “thunderstorm formula” he created: “Altitude - speed - maneuver - fire!”, about the “Kuban whatnot”, about the “falcon strike” , about a new method of patrolling at high speeds based on the principle of movement of a clock pendulum and other tactical innovations. “Feat requires thought, skill and risk” - this was the credo of the legendary pilot, whom the Hero of the Soviet Union famous pilot

and the writer M. L. Gallai accurately called him “a thinker in our business.”

In February 1944, a call to high authorities followed. The renowned ace is offered the general position of head of the combat training department of the Air Force fighter aircraft. Pokryshkin without hesitation refuses the promotion and returns to the front. In March 1944, Pokryshkin became commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (4th Ukrainian Front).

On July 8, 1944, he received the rank of colonel and was appointed commander of the 9th Guards Fighter Air Division.

On August 9, 1944, for 550 combat missions and 53 downed aircraft, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the third time. A.I. Pokryshkin became the first to be awarded this title, and remained the only three times Hero until the day of Victory over Germany.

Officially, Pokryshkin has 650 combat missions and 59 personally shot down aircraft.

Conclusion.

On May 9, 1945, the Soviet people, all progressive humanity, celebrated a great holiday - Victory Day, which announced the end of the bloodiest war.

The rejoicing of our people on this “holiday with tears in our eyes” knew no bounds. The terrible bloodshed ended and a new, peaceful life began.

In the front ranks of the warriors who fought on land, sea and in the air were young people. The famous Soviet commander G.K. Zhukov speaks with unusual warmth about the heroism and courage of young soldiers: “I have seen many times how soldiers rise to attack. It is not easy to rise to your height when the air is permeated with deadly metal. But they got up! But many of them barely knew the taste of life: 19-20 years old is the best age for a person - everything is ahead! And for them very often there was only a German dugout ahead, spewing machine-gun fire!

We also won because there were those at the guns, in the tanks, on the planes whose energy and unquenchable passion for heroism in the name of saving the Motherland worked miracles.

During the war years, 7 thousand students of the Youth Union became Heroes of the Soviet Union, 60 Komsomol members were awarded this title twice. 9 million young men and women who joined the Komsomol during the war made an invaluable contribution to the achievement of Victory with their military and labor feats.

Let us bow to those great years,

Theme to glorious commanders and soldiers.

And the country's marshals and privates,

Let us bow to both the dead and the living, -

To all those who must not be forgotten,

Let's bow, bow, friends.

The whole world, all the people, the whole Earth -

Let us bow down for that great battle.

. Alexander Vert. Russia in the war of 1941-1945. Progress Publishing House.

Moscow 1967

Bibliography:

Heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and their exploits

The fighting has long since died down. Veterans are leaving one by one. But the heroes of the Second World War of 1941-1945 and their exploits will forever remain in the memory of grateful descendants. About the most bright personalities This article will tell about those years and their immortal deeds. Some were still very young, while others were no longer young. Each of the heroes has their own character and their own destiny. But all of them were united by love for the Motherland and a willingness to sacrifice themselves for its good.

Alexander Matrosov

Orphanage student Sasha Matrosov went to war at the age of 18. Immediately after the infantry school he was sent to the front. February 1943 turned out to be “hot”. Alexander’s battalion went on the attack, and at some point the guy, along with several comrades, was surrounded. There was no way to break through to our own people - the enemy machine guns were firing too densely.

Soon Sailors was the only one left alive. His comrades died under bullets. The young man had only a few seconds to make a decision. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the last in his life. Wanting to bring at least some benefit to his native battalion, Alexander Matrosov rushed to the embrasure, covering it with his body. The fire went silent. The Red Army attack was ultimately successful - the Nazis retreated. And Sasha went to heaven as a young and handsome 19-year-old guy...

Marat Kazei

When the Great Patriotic War began, Marat Kazei was only twelve. He lived in the village of Stankovo ​​with his sister and parents. In 1941 he found himself under occupation. Marat's mother helped the partisans, providing them with her shelter and feeding them. One day the Germans found out about this and shot the woman. Left alone, the children, without hesitation, went into the forest and joined the partisans.

Marat, who managed to complete only four classes before the war, helped his older comrades as best he could. He was even taken on reconnaissance missions; and he also took part in undermining German trains. In 1943, the boy was awarded the medal “For Courage” for the heroism shown during the breakthrough of the encirclement. The boy was wounded in that terrible battle.

And in 1944, Kazei was returning from reconnaissance with an adult partisan. The Germans noticed them and began to fire. The senior comrade died. Marat fired back to the last bullet. And when he had only one grenade left, the teenager let the Germans get closer and blew himself up along with them. He was 15 years old.

Alexey Maresyev

The name of this man is known to every resident of the former Soviet Union. After all, we are talking about a legendary pilot. Alexey Maresyev was born in 1916 and dreamed of the sky since childhood. Even the rheumatism suffered did not become an obstacle to my dream. Despite the doctors' prohibitions, Alexey entered the flying class - they accepted him after several futile attempts.

In 1941, the stubborn young man went to the front. The sky turned out to be not what he dreamed of. But it was necessary to defend the Motherland, and Maresyev did everything for this. One day his plane was shot down. Wounded in both legs, Alexei managed to land the car in territory captured by the Germans and even somehow made his way to his own.

But time was lost. The legs were “devoured” by gangrene, and they had to be amputated. Where can a soldier go without both limbs? After all, she’s completely crippled... But Alexey Maresyev was not one of those. He remained in service and continued to fight the enemy.

As many as 86 times the winged machine with the hero on board managed to take to the sky. Maresyev shot down 11 German planes. The pilot was lucky to survive in that terrible war and feel the heady taste of victory. He died in 2001. “The Tale of a Real Man” by Boris Polevoy is a work about him. It was Maresyev’s feat that inspired the author to write it.

Zinaida Portnova

Born in 1926, Zina Portnova faced the war as a teenager. At that time, the native Leningrad resident was visiting relatives in Belarus. Once in the occupied territory, she did not sit on the sidelines, but joined the partisan movement. I pasted leaflets, established contacts with the underground...

In 1943, the Germans grabbed the girl and dragged her to their lair. During the interrogation, Zina somehow managed to take a pistol from the table. She shot her tormentors - two soldiers and an investigator.

It was heroic deed, which made the Germans’ attitude towards Zina even more brutal. It is impossible to convey in words the torment that the girl experienced during the terrible torture. But she was silent. The Nazis could not squeeze a word out of her. As a result, the Germans shot their captive without achieving anything from the heroine Zina Portnova.

Andrey Korzun

Andrei Korzun turned thirty in 1941. He was called to the front immediately, being sent to become an artilleryman. Korzun took part in terrible battles near Leningrad, during one of which he was seriously wounded. It was November 5, 1943.

While falling, Korzun noticed that the ammunition warehouse had started to catch fire. It was urgent to put out the fire, otherwise a huge explosion threatened to take many lives. Somehow, bleeding and suffering from pain, the artilleryman crawled to the warehouse. The artilleryman had no strength left to take off his overcoat and throw it into the flames. Then he covered the fire with his body. There was no explosion. Andrei Korzun did not survive.

Leonid Golikov

Another young hero- Lenya Golikov. Born in 1926. Lived in the Novgorod region. When the war began, he left to become a partisan. This teenager had plenty of courage and determination. Leonid destroyed 78 fascists, a dozen enemy trains and even a couple of bridges.

The explosion that went down in history and carried away the German general Richard von Wirtz was his doing. The car of an important rank went up in the air, and Golikov took possession of valuable documents, for which he received the Hero’s star.

The brave partisan died in 1943 near the village of Ostray Luka during a German attack. The enemy significantly outnumbered our fighters, and they had no chance. Golikov fought until his last breath.

These are just six stories out of a great many that permeate the entire war. Everyone who has completed it, who has brought victory even one moment closer, is already a hero. Thanks to people like Maresyev, Golikov, Korzun, Matrosov, Kazei, Portnova and millions of other Soviet soldiers, the world got rid of the brown plague of the 20th century. And the reward for their exploits was eternal life!

Introduction

History does not know a more large-scale, fierce, destructive and bloody confrontation than the one that our people had to wage against the fascist aggressors. In the war of 1941-1945. The fate of not only the Fatherland, but also many other peoples and countries - essentially all of humanity - was being decided. Military personnel of the internal troops fought shoulder to shoulder with the Red Army against the invaders. Eternal and holy is the feat of our compatriots who overcame fascism and won Great Victory.

The Great Patriotic War will forever remain in the memory of the descendants and successors of the great people great country. About thirty million of our compatriots died heroically for the freedom of our Motherland. At times it seemed to the enemy that the collapse of the USSR was inevitable: the Germans were near Moscow and Leningrad, breaking through near Stalingrad. But the fascists simply forgot that for centuries Genghis Khan, Batu, Mamai, Napoleon and others tried unsuccessfully to conquer our country. The Russian people were always ready to defend their Motherland and fight until their last breath. There was no limit to the patriotism of our soldiers. Only a Russian soldier saved a wounded comrade from under heavy fire from enemy machine guns. Only the Russian soldier mercilessly beat the enemies, but spared the prisoners. Only the Russian soldier died, but did not give up.

At times, German commanders were horrified by the rage and tenacity, courage and heroism of ordinary Russian soldiers. One of the German officers said: “When my tanks go on the attack, the earth trembles under their weight. When the Russians go into battle, the earth trembles from fear of them.” One of the captured German officers looked into the faces of the Russian soldiers for a long time and, in the end, sighed and said: “Now I see that Russian spirit that we were told about many times.” Our soldiers performed many feats during the Great Patriotic War. The young guys sacrificed themselves for this long-awaited Victory. Many of them did not return home, disappeared or were killed on the battlefields. And each of them can be considered a hero. After all, it was they who, at the cost of their lives, led our Motherland to the Great Victory. The soldiers died, knowing full well that they were giving their lives in the name of happiness, in the name of freedom, in the name of clear skies and clear suns, in the name of future happy generations.

Yes, they accomplished a feat, they died, but did not give up. The consciousness of his duty to the Motherland drowned out the feeling of fear, pain, and thoughts of death. This means that this action is not an unconscious action - a feat, but a conviction in the rightness and greatness of the cause for which a person consciously gives his life.

Victory in the Great Patriotic War is a feat and glory of our people. No matter how the assessments and facts of our history have changed in recent years, May 9, Victory Day, remains a sacred holiday for our people. Eternal glory to the soldiers of war! Their feat will forever remain in the hearts of millions of people who value peace, happiness, and freedom.

feat hero soldier war

1. The exploits of Soviet soldiers and officers during the Great Patriotic War

The war between the USSR and Nazi Germany was not an ordinary war between two states, between two armies. It was the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against Nazi invaders. From the very first days of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet people had to deal with a very serious enemy who knew how to wage a major modern war. Hitler's mechanized hordes, regardless of losses, rushed forward and put to fire and sword everything that came along the way. Thanks to iron discipline, military skill and dedication, millions of Soviet people, who looked death in the face, won and remained alive. Feats Soviet heroes became a beacon to which other warrior heroes looked up.

Viktor Vasilievich Talalikhin

Born on September 18, 1918 in the village. Teplovka, Volsky district, Saratov region. Graduated from the Borisoglebok Military Aviation School for Pilots. He took part in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939 - 1940. He made 47 combat missions, shot down 4 Finnish aircraft, for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Star (1940).

In the battles of the Great Patriotic War from June 1941. Made more than 60 combat missions. In the summer and autumn of 1941, he fought near Moscow<#"justify">. Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub

(1920-1991), Air Marshal (1985), Hero of the Soviet Union (1944 - twice; 1945). During the Great Patriotic War in fighter aviation, squadron commander, deputy regiment commander, conducted 120 air battles; shot down 62 planes.

Three times Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub shot down 17 enemy aircraft on the La-7 (including the Me-262 jet fighter<#"justify">. Alexey Petrovich Maresyev

Maresyev Alexey Petrovich fighter pilot, deputy squadron commander of the 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, guard senior lieutenant.

Born on May 20, 1916 in the city of Kamyshin, Volgograd Region, into a working-class family. He was drafted into the Soviet army in 1937. Served in the 12th aviation border detachment. He made his first combat mission on August 23, 1941 in the Krivoo Rog area. Lieutenant Maresyev opened his combat account at the beginning of 1942 - he shot down a Ju-52. By the end of March 1942, he brought the count of downed fascist planes to four

In June 1943, Maresyev returned to duty. He fought on the Kursk Bulge as part of the 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and was deputy squadron commander. In August 1943, during one battle, Alexey Maresyev shot down three enemy FW-190 fighters at once.

On August 1943, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Guard Senior Lieutenant Maresyev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Later he fought in the Baltic states and became a regiment navigator. In 1944 he joined the CPSU. In total, he made 86 combat missions, shot down 11 enemy aircraft: 4 before being wounded and seven with amputated legs. In June 1944, Guard Major Maresyev became an inspector-pilot of the Air Force Higher Educational Institutions Directorate. Boris Polevoy's book "The Tale of a Real Man" is dedicated to the legendary fate of Alexei Petrovich Maresyev.

Retired Colonel A.P. Maresyev was awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, the Red Banner, the Patriotic War, 1st degree, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of People's Friendship, the Red Star, the Badge of Honor, "For Services to the Fatherland" 3rd degree, medals, and foreign orders. He was an honorary soldier of a military unit, an honorary citizen of the cities of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Kamyshin, and Orel. A minor planet of the solar system, a public foundation, and youth patriotic clubs are named after him. He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Author of the book "On the Kursk Bulge" (M., 1960).

Even during the war, Boris Polevoy’s book “The Tale of a Real Man” was published, the prototype of the main character of which was Maresyev.

Krasnoperov Sergey Leonidovich

Krasnoperov Sergei Leonidovich was born on July 23, 1923 in the village of Pokrovka, Chernushinsky district. In May 1941, he volunteered to join the Soviet Army. I studied at the Balashov Aviation Pilot School for a year. In November 1942, attack pilot Sergei Krasnoperov arrived at the 765th attack air regiment, and in January 1943 he was appointed deputy squadron commander of the 502nd attack air regiment of the 214th attack air division of the North Caucasus Front. For military distinctions he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Red Star, and the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree.

The regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov, wrote about Sergei Krasnoperov: “Such heroic deeds of Comrade Krasnoperov are repeated in every combat mission. The pilots of his flight became masters of assault. The flight is united and occupies a leading position. The command always entrusts him with the most difficult and responsible tasks. With his heroic exploits, he created military glory for himself and enjoys well-deserved military authority among the regiment’s personnel.” Indeed. Sergei was only 19 years old, and for his exploits he had already been awarded the Order of the Red Star. He was only 20, and his chest was decorated with the Golden Star of the Hero.

Sergei Krasnoperov made seventy-four combat missions during the days of fighting on the Taman Peninsula. As one of the best, he was trusted to lead groups of “silts” on assault 20 times, and he always carried out a combat mission. He personally destroyed 6 tanks, 70 vehicles, 35 carts with cargo, 10 guns, 3 mortars, 5 anti-aircraft artillery points, 7 machine guns, 3 tractors, 5 bunkers, an ammunition depot, sunk a boat, a self-propelled barge, and destroyed two crossings across the Kuban.

Matrosov Alexander Matveevich

Matrosov Alexander Matveevich - rifleman of the 2nd battalion of the 91st separate rifle brigade (22nd Army, Kalinin Front), private. Born on February 5, 1924 in the city of Ekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk). In October 1942 he entered the Krasnokholmsky Infantry School, but soon most of the cadets were sent to the Kalinin Front. In the active army since November 1942. On February 27, 1943, the 2nd battalion received the task of attacking a strong point in the area of ​​the village of Chernushki (Loknyansky district of the Pskov region). As soon as our soldiers passed through the forest and reached the edge, they came under heavy enemy machine-gun fire. Two machine guns were destroyed, but the machine gun from the third bunker continued to fire at the entire ravine in front of the village. Then Matrosov stood up, rushed to the bunker and closed the embrasure with his body. At the cost of his life, he contributed to the accomplishment of the unit’s combat mission.

A few days later, the name of Matrosov became known throughout the country. Matrosov’s feat was used by a journalist who happened to be with the unit for a patriotic article. Despite the fact that Matrosov was not the first to commit such an act of self-sacrifice, it was his name that was used to glorify the heroism of Soviet soldiers. Subsequently, over 200 people accomplished the same feat, but this was no longer widely publicized. His feat became a symbol of courage and military valor, fearlessness and love for the Motherland.

“It is known that Alexander Matrosov was far from the first in the history of the Great Patriotic War to accomplish such a feat. More precisely, he had 44 predecessors (5 in 1941, 31 in 1942 and 8 before February 27, 1943). And the very first to cover the enemy machine gun with his body was political instructor A.V. Pankratov. Subsequently, many more commanders and soldiers of the Red Army performed the self-sacrificing feat. Until the end of 1943, 38 soldiers followed Matrosov’s example, in 1944 - 87, in Last year war - 46. The last one in the Great Patriotic War to close the machine gun embrasure with his body was Guard Sergeant Arkhip Manita. This happened in Berlin 17 days before the Victory...

Of the 215 who accomplished the “feat of Matrosov,” the heroes were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Some exploits were appreciated only many years after the war. For example, Red Army soldier of the 679th Infantry Regiment Abram Levin, who covered the bunker embrasure with his body in the battle for the village of Kholmets on February 22, 1942, was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, only in 1967. There are also documented cases where brave men who performed the “sailor’s” feat remained alive. This is Udodov A.A., Rise R.Kh., Maiborsky V.P. and Kondratyev L.V.” (V. Bondarenko “One Hundred Great Feats of Russia”, M., “Veche”, 2011, p. 283).

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was posthumously awarded to Alexander Matveevich Matrosov on June 19, 1943. He was buried in the city of Velikiye Luki. On September 8, 1943, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, the name of Matrosov was assigned to the 254th Guards Rifle Regiment, and he himself was forever included (one of the first in the Soviet Army) in the lists of the 1st company of this unit. Monuments to the Hero were erected in St. Petersburg, Tolyatti, Velikiye Luki, Ulyanovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Ufa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, and streets and squares of Alexander Matrosov in cities and villages former USSR there are at least several hundred.

Ivan Vasilievich Panfilov

In the battles near Volokolamsk, the 316th Infantry Division of General I.V. especially distinguished itself. Panfilova. Reflecting continuous enemy attacks for 6 days, they knocked out 80 tanks and killed several hundred soldiers and officers. Enemy attempts to capture the Volokolamsk area and open the way to Moscow<#"justify">. Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello

Nikolai Frantsevich was born on May 6, 1908 in Moscow, into a working-class family. Graduated from 5th grade. He worked as a mechanic at the Murom Steam Locomotive Construction Machinery Plant. In the Soviet Army in May 1932. In 1933 he graduated from the Lugansk military pilot school in bomber units. In 1939 he took part in the battles on the river. Khalkhin - Gol and the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940. In the active army since June 1941, the squadron commander of the 207th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment (42nd Bomber Aviation Division, 3rd Bomber Aviation Corps DBA), Captain Gastello, carried out another mission flight on June 26, 1941. His bomber was hit and caught fire. He flew the burning plane into a concentration of enemy troops. The enemy suffered heavy losses from the explosion of the bomber. For the accomplished feat, on July 26, 1941, he was posthumously awarded the Title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Gastello's name is forever included in the lists of military units. At the site of the feat on the Minsk-Vilnius highway, a memorial monument was erected in Moscow.

9. Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya (“Tanya”)

Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was born on September 8, 1923 in the village of Osino-Gai (now Tambov region). On October 31, 1941, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya voluntarily became a fighter in the reconnaissance and sabotage unit No. 9903 of the Western Front headquarters. The training was very short - already on November 4, Zoya was transferred to Volokolamsk, where she successfully completed the task of mining the road. On November 17, 1941, Order No. 0428 of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command appeared, ordering “to destroy and burn to the ground all populated areas in the rear of German troops at a distance of 40-60 km in depth from the front line and 20-30 km to the right and left of the roads. To destroy populated areas within the specified radius of action, immediately deploy aviation, make extensive use of artillery and mortar fire, reconnaissance teams, skiers and partisan sabotage groups equipped with Molotov cocktails, grenades and demolition means.”

And the very next day, the leadership of unit No. 9903 received a combat mission - to destroy 10 settlements, including the village of Petrishchevo, Ruza district, Moscow region. Zoya also went on a mission as part of one of the groups. She was armed with three Molotov cocktails and a revolver. Near the village of Golovkovo, the group with which Zoya was walking came under fire, suffered losses and disbanded. On the night of November 27, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya reached Petrishchev and managed to set fire to three houses there. After that, she spent the night in the forest and returned to Petrishchevo again in order to fully carry out the combat order - to destroy this settlement.

But within a day the situation in the village changed. The occupiers gathered local residents for a meeting and ordered them to guard their houses. It was a local resident named Sviridov who noticed Zoya at the moment when she tried to set fire to his barn with hay. Sviridov ran after the Germans, and Kosmodemyanskaya was captured. They bullied Zoya terribly. They flogged me with belts, held a burning kerosene lamp to my lips, walked me barefoot through the snow, and tore out my fingernails. Kosmodemyanskaya was beaten not only by the Germans, but also by local residents, whose houses she burned. But Zoya held on with amazing courage. She never gave her real name during the interrogation; she said that her name was Tanya.

November 1941 Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was hanged by the occupiers. Before her death, she uttered a proud phrase, which later became famous: “There are 170 million of us, you can’t outweigh them all!” On January 27, 1942, the first publication in the press appeared about the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya - an article by P. Lidov “Tanya” (it was published by Pravda.) Soon it was possible to establish the identity of the heroine, and on February 18 a second article appeared - “Who was Tanya.” Two days before this, a decree was issued on awarding Kosmodemyanskaya the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. She became the first woman awarded this title during the Great Patriotic War. The heroine was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

About the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, a feature film was made about it already in 1944, monuments to the heroine decorated the streets of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Kharkov, Tambov, Saratov, Volgograd, Chelyabinsk, Rybinsk, poems and stories were written about Zoya, and the streets named in her honor, there are several hundred in the cities and villages of the former USSR.

Aliya Moldagulova

Aliya Moldagulova was born on April 20, 1924 in the village of Bulak, Khobdinsky district, Aktobe region. After the death of her parents, she was raised by her uncle Aubakir Moldagulov. I moved with his family from city to city. She studied at the 9th secondary school in Leningrad. In the fall of 1942, Aliya Moldagulova joined the army and was sent to sniper school. In May 1943, Aliya submitted a report to the school command with a request to send her to the front. Aliya ended up in the 3rd company of the 4th battalion of the 54th Rifle Brigade under the command of Major Moiseev. By the beginning of October, Aliya Moldagulova had 32 killed fascists.

In December 1943, Moiseev’s battalion received an order to drive the enemy out of the village of Kazachikha. By capturing this settlement, the Soviet command hoped to cut the railway line along which the Nazis were transporting reinforcements. The Nazis resisted fiercely, skillfully taking advantage of the terrain. The slightest advance of our companies came at a high price, and yet slowly but steadily our fighters approached the enemy’s fortifications. Suddenly a lone figure appeared in front of the advancing chains.

Suddenly a lone figure appeared in front of the advancing chains. The Nazis noticed the brave warrior and opened fire with machine guns. Seizing the moment when the fire weakened, the fighter rose to his full height and carried the entire battalion with him.

After a fierce battle, our fighters took possession of the heights. The daredevil lingered in the trench for some time. Traces of pain appeared on his pale face, and strands of black hair came out from under his earflap hat. It was Aliya Moldagulova. She destroyed 10 fascists in this battle. The wound turned out to be minor, and the girl remained in service.

In an effort to restore the situation, the enemy launched counterattacks. On January 14, 1944, a group of enemy soldiers managed to break into our trenches. Hand-to-hand combat ensued. Aliya mowed down the fascists with well-aimed bursts from her machine gun. Suddenly she instinctively sensed danger behind her. She turned sharply, but it was too late: the German officer fired first. Gathering her last strength, Aliya raised her machine gun and the Nazi officer fell to the cold ground...

The wounded Aliya was carried out by her comrades from the battlefield. The fighters wanted to believe in a miracle, and vying with each other to save the girl, they offered blood. But the wound was fatal.

June 1944, Corporal Aliya Moldagulova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Conclusion

From the very first days of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet people had to deal with a very serious enemy. The Soviet people spared neither strength nor life in order to bring the hour of victory over the enemy closer. Women also forged victory over the enemy shoulder to shoulder with men. They bravely endured the incredible hardships of wartime, they were unparalleled workers in factories, on collective farms, in hospitals and schools.

Win or die - this was the question in the war against German fascism, and our soldiers understood this. They consciously gave their lives for their Motherland when the situation demanded it.

What strength of spirit was demonstrated by those who did not hesitate to cover with their bodies the embrasure of the enemy bunker that was spewing deadly fire!

The soldiers and officers of Nazi Germany did not perform such feats, and could not have accomplished them. The spiritual motives for their actions were reactionary ideas of racial superiority and motives, and later - fear of fair retribution for crimes committed and automatic, blind discipline.

The people glorify those who fought bravely and died, with the death of a hero, having brought closer the hour of our victory, glorify the survivors who managed to defeat the enemy. Heroes do not die, their glory is immortal, their names are forever included not only in the lists of personnel of the Armed Forces, but also in people's memory. People make up legends about heroes, erect beautiful monuments to them, and name the best streets of their cities and villages after them. More than 100 thousand soldiers, sergeants and military officers were awarded orders and medals of the Soviet Union, and almost 200 military graduates were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. More than 50 monuments and obelisks were built in honor of the soldiers of the internal troops, about 60 streets and more than 200 schools were named. The exploits of those who defended the life and independence of our Motherland will forever remain in the people's memory.

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