Before the war, they were the most ordinary boys and girls. They studied, helped the elders, played, bred pigeons, sometimes even took part in fights. But the hour of hard trials has come and they proved how huge an ordinary little child's heart can become when a sacred love for the Motherland, pain for the fate of its people and hatred of enemies flares up in it. And no one expected that it was these boys and girls who were able to accomplish a great feat for the glory of the freedom and independence of their Motherland!

Children who remained in the destroyed cities and villages became homeless, doomed to starvation. It was terrible and difficult to stay in the territory occupied by the enemy. Children could be sent to a concentration camp, taken to work in Germany, turned into slaves, made donors for German soldiers, etc.

Here are the names of some of them: Volodya Kazmin, Yura Zhdanko, Lenya Golikov, Marat Kazei, Lara Mikheenko, Valya Kotik, Tanya Morozova, Vitya Korobkov, Zina Portnova. Many of them fought so hard that they earned military orders and medals, and four: Marat Kazei, Valya Kotik, Zina Portnova, Lenya Golikov, became Heroes Soviet Union.

From the first days of the occupation, the boys and girls began to act at their own peril and risk, which was really deadly.

"Fedya Samodurov. Fedya is 14 years old, he is a graduate of the motorized rifle unit, commanded by the guard captain A. Chernavin. Fedya was picked up in his homeland, in the ruined village of the Voronezh region. Together with a unit, he took part in the battles for Ternopil, with a machine-gun crew he kicked the Germans out of the city. When almost the entire crew died, the teenager, together with the surviving soldier, took up the machine gun, firing long and hard, and detained the enemy. Fedya was awarded the medal "For Courage".

Vanya Kozlov, 13 years old,he was left without relatives and has been in a motorized rifle unit for the second year. At the front, he delivers food, newspapers and letters to soldiers in the most difficult conditions.

Petya Zub. Petya Zub chose a no less difficult specialty. He had long ago decided to become a scout. His parents were killed, and he knows how to pay off the accursed German. Together with experienced scouts, he gets to the enemy, reports his location on the radio, and artillery fires at their orders, crushing the Nazis. "(Arguments and Facts, No. 25, 2010, p. 42).

A sixteen year old schoolgirl Olya Demesh with her younger sister Lida at the Orsha station in Belarus, on the instructions of the commander of the partisan brigade S. Zhulin, tanks with fuel were blown up using magnetic mines. Of course, the girls attracted much less attention of the German guards and policemen than teenage boys or adult men. But after all, it was just right for the girls to play with dolls, and they fought with Wehrmacht soldiers!

Thirteen-year-old Lida often took a basket or a bag and went to railways collect coal, extracting intelligence on German military echelons. If she was stopped by sentries, she explained that she was collecting coal to heat the room in which the Germans lived. The Nazis seized and shot Olya's mother and younger sister Lida, and Olya continued to fearlessly carry out the tasks of the partisans.

For the head of the young partisan Olya Demes, the Nazis promised a generous reward - land, a cow and 10,000 marks. Copies of her photograph were distributed and sent to all patrol services, policemen, elders and secret agents. Capture and deliver her alive - that was the order! But the girl could not be caught. Olga destroyed 20 German soldiers and officers, derailed 7 enemy echelons, conducted reconnaissance, participated in the "rail war", in the destruction of German punitive units.

Children of the Great Patriotic War

What happened to the children during this terrible time? During the war?

The guys worked for days at factories, factories and industries, standing behind the machines instead of the brothers and fathers who had gone to the front. Children also worked at defense enterprises: they made fuses for mines, fuses for hand grenades, smoke bombs, colored signal flares, and collected gas masks. Worked in agriculture, grew vegetables for hospitals.

In the school sewing workshops, the pioneers sewed underwear and tunics for the army. Girls knitted warm clothes for the front: mittens, socks, scarves, sewed pouches for tobacco. The guys helped the wounded in hospitals, wrote letters to their relatives under their dictation, put on performances for the wounded, arranged concerts, evoking a smile from war-torn adult men.

A number of objective reasons: the departure of teachers to the army, the evacuation of the population from western to eastern regions, the inclusion of students in labor activities in connection with the departure of family breadwinners for the war, the transfer of many schools to hospitals, etc., prevented the deployment in the USSR during the war of a universal seven-year compulsory education started in the 1930s. In the remaining educational institutions training was conducted in two or three, and sometimes four shifts.

At the same time, the children themselves were forced to store firewood for boiler houses. There were no textbooks, and because of the lack of paper, they wrote on old newspapers between the lines. Nevertheless, new schools were opened and additional classes were created. Boarding schools were created for evacuated children. For those young people who left school at the beginning of the war and were employed in industry or agriculture, schools for working and rural youth were organized in 1943.

In the annals of the Great Patriotic War there are still many little-known pages, for example, the fate of kindergartens. "It turns out that in December 1941 in besieged Moscowkindergartens worked in bomb shelters. When the enemy was driven back, they resumed their work faster than many universities. By the autumn of 1942, 258 kindergartens had opened in Moscow!

From the memories of the military childhood of Lydia Ivanovna Kostyleva:

“After the death of my grandmother, I was assigned to Kindergarten, older sister at school, mother at work. I went to kindergarten alone, by tram, when I was less than five years old. Once I became seriously ill with mumps, I was lying at home alone with high temperature, there were no medicines, in delirium I fancied a pig running under the table, but everything worked out.
I saw my mother in the evenings and on rare weekends. Children were brought up by the street, we were friendly and always hungry. From early spring, they ran to the mosses, the benefit of the forest and swamps nearby, picked berries, mushrooms, and various early grass. The bombings gradually stopped, allied residences were placed in our Arkhangelsk, this brought a certain color to life - we, the children, sometimes got warm clothes, some food. Basically, we ate black shangi, potatoes, seal meat, fish and fish oil, on holidays - seaweed marmalade, tinted with beets.

More than five hundred teachers and nannies in the fall of 1941 were digging trenches on the outskirts of the capital. Hundreds worked in logging. The teachers, who only yesterday led a round dance with the children, fought in the Moscow militia. Natasha Yanovskaya, a kindergarten teacher in the Bauman district, heroically died near Mozhaisk. The teachers who remained with the children did not perform feats. They just saved the kids, whose fathers fought, and their mothers stood at the machines.

Most of the kindergartens during the war became boarding schools, the children were there day and night. And in order to feed the children in the half-starved time, to protect them from the cold, to give them at least a modicum of comfort, to keep them occupied for the benefit of the mind and soul - such work required great love for children, deep decency and boundless patience. "(D. Shevarov " World of News”, No. 27, 2010, p. 27).

Children's games have changed, "... a new game has appeared - in the hospital. They played in the hospital before, but not like that. Now the wounded are for them - real people. But they play war less often, because no one wants to be a fascist. This role is played by trees. They shoot snowballs at them. We learned to help the injured - the fallen, the bruised."

From a letter from a boy to a front-line soldier: “We also often played war before, but now much less often - we are tired of the war, it would sooner end so that we could live well again ...” (Ibid.).

In connection with the death of parents, many homeless children appeared in the country. The Soviet state, despite the difficult war time, nevertheless fulfilled its obligations to children left without parents. To combat neglect, a network of children's reception centers and orphanages was organized and opened, and employment for adolescents was organized.

Many families of Soviet citizens began to take in orphans to raisewhere they found new parents. Unfortunately, not all educators and heads of children's institutions were distinguished by honesty and decency. Here are some examples.

“In the autumn of 1942, in the Pochinkovsky district of the Gorky region, children dressed in rags were caught stealing potatoes and grain from collective farm fields. investigations, local police officers uncovered a criminal group, and, in fact, a gang consisting of employees of this institution.

In total, seven people were arrested in the case, including the director of the orphanage Novoseltsev, the accountant Sdobnov, the storekeeper Mukhina and others. During the searches, 14 children's coats, seven suits, 30 meters of cloth, 350 meters of manufactory and other misappropriated property, allocated by the state with great difficulty during this harsh wartime, were seized from them.

The investigation found that by not giving the due norm of bread and products, these criminals only during 1942 stole seven tons of bread, half a ton of meat, 380 kg of sugar, 180 kg of biscuits, 106 kg of fish, 121 kg of honey, etc. The orphanage workers sold all these scarce products in the market or simply ate them up themselves.

Only one comrade Novoseltsev received fifteen portions of breakfasts and lunches daily for himself and his family members. At the expense of the pupils, the rest of the staff also ate well. Children were fed "dishes" made from rot and vegetables, referring to the poor supply.

For the whole of 1942, they were only once given one candy for the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution ... And what is most surprising, the director of the orphanage Novoseltsev in the same 1942 received from the People's Commissariat of Education certificate of honor for excellent educational work. All these fascists were deservedly sentenced to long terms of imprisonment."

At such a time, the whole essence of a person is manifested .. Every day to face a choice - how to act .. And the war showed us examples of great mercy, great heroism and great cruelty, great meanness .. We must remember this !! For the sake of the future!!

And no time can heal the wounds of the war, especially those of children. “These years that were once, the bitterness of childhood does not allow to forget ...”

Heroes of the Great Patriotic War

1. Ivan Timofeevich Lyubushkin (1918-1942)

In the autumn of 1941, fierce battles were going on in the area of ​​​​the city of Orel. Soviet tankers fought off the fierce attacks of the Nazis. At the beginning of the battle, Senior Sergeant Lyubushkin's tank was damaged by an enemy shell and could not move. The crew accepted an unequal battle with fascist tanks advancing from all sides. Courageous tankers destroyed five enemy vehicles! During the battle, another shell hit Lyubushkin's car, the crew was wounded.

The tank commander continued to fire on the advancing Nazis, ordered the driver to repair the damage. Soon Lyubushkin's tank was able to move and joined his column.

For courage and courage, I. T. Lyuboshkin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on October 10, 1941.

In one of the battles in June 1942, Lyubushkin died a heroic death.

2. Alexander Matveevich Matrosov (1924-1943)

On February 23, 1943, fierce battles unfolded in one of the sections of the Kalinin Front near the village of Chernushki, north of the city of Velikie Luki. The enemy turned the village into a heavily fortified stronghold. Several times the fighters attacked the Nazi fortifications, but the destructive fire from the bunker blocked their path. Then the private of the Matrosov guard, having made his way to the bunker, closed the embrasure with his body. Inspired by the feat of Matrosov, the soldiers went on the attack and drove the Germans out of the village.

For the feat, A. M. Matrosov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Today, the regiment in which Matrosov served bears the name of a hero forever enrolled in the lists of the unit.

3. Nelson Georgievich Stepanyan (1913-1944)

During the Great Patriotic War, the commander of the assault regiment Stepanyan made 293 successful sorties to attack and bombard enemy ships.

Stepanyan became famous for his high skill, suddenness and audacity of strikes against the enemy. One day, Colonel Stepanyan led a group of planes to bombard an enemy airfield. The stormtroopers dropped their bombs and began to leave. But Stepanyan saw that several fascist planes remained intact. Then he sent his plane back, and approaching the enemy airfield, released the landing gear. The enemy anti-aircraft artillery ceased fire, thinking that a Soviet plane was voluntarily landing on their airfield. At that moment, Stepanyan gave gas, retracted the landing gear and dropped the bombs. All three aircraft that survived the first raid blazed with torches. And Stepanyan's plane landed safely at its airfield.

On October 23, 1942, for the excellent performance of command assignments, the glorious son of the Armenian people was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was posthumously awarded the second Gold Star medal on March 6, 1945.

4. Vasily Georgievich Klochkov (1911-1941)

November 1941. Moscow is declared under a state of siege. In the Volokolamsk direction, in the area of ​​​​the Dubosekovo junction, 28 soldiers of the rifle division, Major General I.V. Panfilov, led by political instructor Klochkov, stood to death.

On November 16, the Nazis threw a company of submachine gunners against them. But all enemy attacks were repulsed. On the battlefield, the Nazis left about 70 corpses. After some time, the Nazis moved 50 tanks against 28 brave men. The fighters led by the political commissar courageously entered into an unequal battle. One after another, valiant warriors fell to the ground, slain by fascist bullets. When the cartridges ran out, and the grenades were running out, political instructor Klochkov gathered around him the surviving fighters and, with grenades in his hands, went to the enemy.

at the cost own life The Panfilovites did not let the enemy tanks rushing towards Moscow. 18 wrecked and burned cars were left by the Nazis on the battlefield.

For unparalleled heroism, courage and courage, political instructor V. G. Klochkov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

After the war, a monument was erected to the Panfilov heroes at the Dubosekovo junction.

5. Alexander Mikhailovich Roditelev (1916-1966)

During the battles for Koenigsberg in April 1945, the commander of a sapper platoon, junior lieutenant Roditelev, with eight sappers, acted as part of an assault group.

With a swift throw, the assault group went to the artillery positions of the enemy. Wasting no time, Parents ordered to attack the gunners. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, he himself destroyed six fascists. Unable to withstand the onslaught of Soviet soldiers, 25 German soldiers surrendered, the rest fled, leaving behind 15 heavy guns. A few minutes later, the Nazis made an attempt to return the abandoned guns. The sappers repelled three counterattacks and held the artillery positions until the main forces marched. In this battle, a group of sappers under the command of Roditelev exterminated up to 40 Nazis and captured 15 serviceable heavy guns. The next day, April 8, Parents with twelve sappers blew up the enemy's bunker, cleared 6 blocks of the city from the Nazis and captured up to 200 soldiers and officers.

For courage and courage shown in battles with the German fascists, A. M. Roditelev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

6. Vladimir Dmitrievich Lavrinenkov (Born 1919)

Fighter pilot Lavrinenkov spent his first battle near Stalingrad. Soon on his account there were already 16 destroyed enemy aircraft. With each flight, his skill grew and strengthened. In battle, he acted decisively and boldly. The number of enemy planes shot down increased. Together with his comrades, he covered attack aircraft and bombers, repelled enemy air raids, conducting air battles - lightning battles with the enemy, from which he always emerged victorious.

By the end of the war, the communist Lavrinenkov had 448 sorties, 134 air battles, in which he personally shot down 35 enemy planes and 11 as part of a group.

The motherland twice awarded V. D. Lavrinenkov with the Gold Star medals of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

7. Viktor Dmitrievich Kuskov (1924-1983)

The mechanic of the torpedo boat Kuskov fought throughout the war on the ships of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. The boat on which he served participated in 42 combat operations, sank 3 enemy ships.

In one of the battles, a direct hit by an enemy shell in the engine compartment smashed the left engine and damaged the oil pipe of the second engine. Kuskov himself was severely shell-shocked. Overcoming the pain, he reached the motor and covered the hole in the oil line with his hands. Hot oil burned his hands, but he opened them only when the boat left the battle and broke away from the enemy.

In another battle, in June 1944, a fire broke out in the engine room from a direct hit by an enemy shell. Kuskov was seriously wounded, but continued to remain at his post, fighting the fire and the water that flooded the engine compartment. However, the ship could not be saved. Kuskov, together with foreman Matyukhin, on life belts, lowered the crew members into the water, and the seriously wounded boat commander and officer were held in the water for two hours until our ships approached.

For fearlessness and selflessness, a high understanding of military duty and saving the life of the ship's commander, communist VD Kuskov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on July 22, 1944.

8. Rufina Sergeevna Gasheva (Born 1921)

A school, a pioneer detachment, three years of studies at Moscow State University - this ordinary biography was drastically changed by the war. 848 sorties are recorded in the summer book of Rufina Gasheva, navigator of the squadron of the 46th Guards Taman Light Bomber Regiment. More than once she had to get into the most difficult situations. In one of the battles in the Kuban, Gesheva's plane was shot down by a fascist fighter and fell behind the front line. For several days, the girl made her way through the enemy rear to her regiment, where she was already considered dead. Near Warsaw, jumping out of a burning plane with a parachute, she landed on a minefield.

In 1956, Rufina Sergeevna Gasheva was demobilized with the rank of major. taught English language at the Academy of Armored Forces named after R. Ya. Malinovsky, worked in the Military Publishing House. She has been retired in Moscow since 1972. For courage shown in battles with the enemy, Rufina Sergeevna Gasheva was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on February 23, 1945.

10. Evgenia Maksimovna Rudneva (1921-1944)

In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Zhenya Rudneva, a student at Moscow State University, volunteered for the front. On the courses, she mastered the art of navigation. And then there were successful bombardments of concentrations of enemy troops, enemy equipment in the Kuban, the North Caucasus, and in the Crimea. 645 sorties were made by the navigator of the Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment, Senior Lieutenant Rudneva. In April 1944, while performing another combat mission in the Kerch region, E. M. Rudneva died heroically. On October 26, 1944, the navigator of the Guards Bomber Regiment Evgenia Maksimovna Rudneva was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

12. Manshuk Zhiengalievna Mametova (1922-1943)

The best machine gunner of the 21st Guards Rifle Division was considered a Kazakh girl Manshuk Mametova. She was an example of valor and fearlessness, the pride of the fighters of the division.

On October 15, 1943, there was a fierce battle for the city of Nevel. Manshuk supported the offensive of her unit with machine-gun fire. She was wounded in the head. Gathering the last of her strength, the girl pulled out a machine gun to an open position and began to shoot the Nazis point-blank, clearing the way for her comrades. Even dead, Manshuk clutched the handles of the machine gun...

From all over our Motherland, letters were sent to Alma-Ata, where she lived, from where Manshuk left for a great feat. And in Nevel, near the walls of which the heroine died, there is a street named after her. The courageous machine gunner was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on March 1, 1944.

13. Elena Fedorovna Kolesova (1921-1942)

On a frosty November night in 1941, near Moscow, a detachment of scout girls, headed by a twenty-year-old Muscovite Komsomol member Elena Kolesova, left behind enemy lines. For the exemplary performance of this task, Lelya Kolesova was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Since April 1942, the Kolesova group has been operating in one of the districts of the Minsk region. Under the leadership of its brave commander, the group collected and transmitted information about the location of the Nazis, the transfer of troops and military equipment of the enemy, passed the highway and railways, blew up enemy trains, bridges. On September 11, 1942, in an unequal battle with punishers near the village of Vydritsa, Minsk Region, Elena Kolesova died. The name of the heroine was carried by the pioneer team of the Moscow school No. 47, where she worked as a pioneer leader and teacher. The glorious intelligence officer, who gave her life for the freedom and independence of our Motherland, was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on February 21, 1944.

14. Anatoly Konstantinovich Avdeev, gunner fighter anti-tank artillery regiment, born in 1925.

On July 5, 1944, Avdeev's gun crew was ordered to prevent the breakthrough of fascist troops from the encirclement in the Volma region (Belarus). Having taken an open firing position, the fighters shot the Nazis point-blank. The battle lasted 13 hours. During this time, the gun crew repulsed 7 attacks. Almost all the shells ran out, and 5 people of the gun crew died with the death of the brave. The enemy is attacking again. With a direct hit by a projectile, Avdeev's gun breaks down, and the last soldier from the calculation dies. Left alone, Avdeev does not leave the battlefield, but continues to fight with a machine gun and grenades. But now all the cartridges and the last grenade have been used up. The Komsomol member grabs an ax lying nearby and destroys four more fascists.

Mission accomplished. Enemy I failed, leaving up to 180 corpses of soldiers and officers, 2 self-propelled guns, a machine gun and 4 vehicles on the battlefield in front of Avdeev's gun.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the glorious son of the Russian people Avdeev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

15. Vladimir Avramovich Alekseenko, deputy commander of an aviation regiment, born in 1923, Russian.

Attack aircraft pilot Alekseenko made 292 successful sorties during the war years. He stormed enemy batteries shelling Leningrad, smashed the enemy on the Karelian Isthmus, in the Baltic states and in East Prussia. Dozens of aircraft shot down and destroyed at airfields, 33 tanks, 118 vehicles, 53 railway cars, 85 wagons, 15 armored personnel carriers, 10 ammunition depots, 27 artillery pieces, 54 anti-aircraft guns, 12 mortars and hundreds of enemy soldiers and officers killed - such is the combat account of captain Alekseenko.

For 230 successful sorties for assault strikes on concentrations of troops and equipment of the enemy, for courage and courage, communist V. A. Alekseenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on April 19, 1945. On June 29, 1945, for new military exploits at the front, he was awarded the second Gold Star medal.

16. Andrey Egorovich Borovykh, aviation squadron commander, born in 1921, Russian.

During the Great Patriotic War, fighter pilot Andrei Borovoykh fought on the Kalinin Front. His combat path ran through Orel and Kursk, Gomel and Brest, Lvov and Warsaw and ended near Berlin. He flew to intercept enemy aircraft, escorted our bombers behind enemy lines, and conducted aerial reconnaissance. Only in the first two years of the war, Major Borovoy made 328 successful sorties, participated in 55 air battles, in which he personally shot down 12 enemy aircraft.

In August 1943, the communist Borovoy was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the second Gold Star medal on February 23, 1945 for another 20 enemy aircraft shot down in the next 49 air battles.

In total, during the war years, Borovoy made about 600 successful sorties.

After the Great Patriotic War, A.E. Borovoykh was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR and a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

17. Boris Aleksandrovich Vladimirov , commander of a rifle division, born in 1905, Russian.

General Vladimirov especially distinguished himself in January 1945 in the Vistula-Oder operation. As a result of a well-thought-out and skillfully organized battle, on January 14-15, his division successfully broke through the German defense in depth at the turn of the Vistula River. Pursuing the enemy, the division fought from January 16 to January 28 about 400 km, having insignificant losses in personnel and military equipment. The soldiers under the leadership of General Vladimirov were among the first to enter the territory of Nazi Germany and, having made a complex maneuver in a wooded area, with the fierce resistance of the Nazis, pushed them back from the border and defeated the five thousandth garrison of the city of Schneidemuhl. In the area of ​​​​the city of Schneidemuhl, the soldiers of the division captured huge trophies, including 30 echelons with military equipment, food and military equipment.

For the skillful leadership of the division in difficult battle conditions and the personal courage and heroism shown at the same time, communist B.A. Vladimirov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

18. Alexander Borisovich Kazaev , commander of a rifle regiment, born in 1919, Ossetian.

On April 13, 1945, the rifle regiment under the command of Major Kazaev, conducting offensive battles against the fascist group on the Zemland Peninsula, approached the heavily fortified line of defense of the enemy. All attempts to break through the defenses from the front were unsuccessful. The offensive of the division was suspended. Then Major Kazaev, with a daring and unexpected maneuver, blocked the enemy's main stronghold with small forces, and with his main forces broke through the defenses from the flanks and ensured the successful offensive of the entire division.

During the offensive battles from April 13 to April 17, 1945, the regiment of Major Kazaev exterminated more than 400 and captured 600 Nazi soldiers and officers, captured 20 guns and freed 1,500 prisoners languishing in concentration camps.

For the skillful leadership of the regiment's combat operations and the shown courage, A.V. Kazaev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

21. Ermalai Grigorievich Koberidze, rifle division commander, born in 1904, Georgian, communist.

Personnel soldier, Major General E. G. Koberidze on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War - since June 1941. He especially distinguished himself in battles in July 1944. On July 27, 1944, the division commander, General Koberidze, personally with the forward detachment of the division, went to the eastern bank of the Vistula and organized its forcing. Under heavy enemy fire, the fighters, inspired by the division commander, crossed to the western coast and seized a bridgehead there. Following the forward detachment, the entire division, fighting hard, within two days completely crossed to the western bank of the river and began to consolidate and expand the bridgehead.

For the skillful management of the division in the battles for the Vistula and the personal heroism and courage shown at the same time, E. G. Koberidze was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

22. Caesar Lvovich Kunikov , commander of the landing detachment of sailors of the Novorossiysk Naval Base Black Sea Fleet, Russian.

On the night of February 3-4, 1943, a landing detachment of sailors under the command of Major Kunikov landed on the enemy-occupied and heavily fortified coast near Novorossiysk. With a swift blow, the landing detachment knocked the Nazis out of their stronghold and firmly entrenched themselves in the captured bridgehead. At dawn a fierce battle broke out. The paratroopers repelled 18 enemy attacks during the day. By the end of the day, the ammunition was running out. The situation seemed hopeless. Then a detachment of Major Kunikov made a sudden raid on an enemy artillery battery. Having destroyed the gun crew and seized the guns, they opened fire from them on the attacking enemy soldiers.

For seven days, the paratroopers fought off the fierce attacks of the enemy and held the bridgehead until the main forces approached. During this period, the detachment destroyed over 200 Nazis. In one of the battles, Kunikov was mortally wounded.

For courage and courage, communist Ts. L. Kunikov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

24. Kafur Nasyrovich Mammadov . On October 18, 1942, the battalion of the marines of the Black Sea Fleet, in which the sailor Mamedov also fought, fought a hard battle with superior enemy forces. The Nazi troops managed to break through and surround the command post of the company commander. Sailor Mammadov rushed to the rescue of the commander and covered him with his chest from the enemy zeros. The brave warrior saved the commander at the cost of his own life.

For courage, courage and self-sacrifice in the battle against the fascist invaders, the son of the Azerbaijani people, Komsomol member K. N. Mammadov, was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

29. Maguba Huseynovna Syrtlanova , deputy commander of a squadron of night bombers, born in 1912, Tatar, communist.

Guards senior lieutenant Syrtlanova fought in the North Caucasus, the Taman Peninsula, the Crimea, Belarus, Poland and East Prussia during the Great Patriotic War. In battles, she showed exceptional courage, courage and courage, made 780 sorties. In the most difficult meteorological conditions Syrtlanova led groups of aircraft to the specified areas with great accuracy.

For the courage and courage of the Guards, Senior Lieutenant M. G. Syrtlanova was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

During the Great Patriotic War, many Soviet citizens (not only soldiers) committed heroic deeds, saving other people's lives and bringing closer the victory of the USSR over the German invaders. These people are rightfully considered heroes. In our article, we recall some of them.

Heroes men

The list of heroes of the Soviet Union who became famous during the Great Patriotic War is quite extensive, therefore Let's name the most famous:

• Nikolai Gastello (1907-1941): Hero of the Union posthumously, squadron commander. After being bombed by German heavy equipment, Gastello's plane was hit. On a burning bomber, the pilot rammed an enemy column;
• Viktor Talalikhin (1918-1941): Hero of the USSR, deputy squadron commander, participated in the battle for Moscow. One of the first Soviet pilots who rammed the enemy in a night air battle;
• Alexander Matrosov (1924-1943): Hero of the Union posthumously, private, shooter. In a battle near the village of Chernushki (Pskov region), he closed the embrasure of a German firing point;
• Alexander Pokryshkin (1913-1985): three times Hero of the USSR, fighter pilot (recognized as an ace), improved combat techniques (about 60 victories), went through the entire war (about 650 sorties), air marshal (since 1972);
• Ivan Kozhedub (1920-1991): thrice Hero, fighter pilot (ace), squadron leader, participant Battle of Kursk, made about 330 sorties (64 victories). He became famous for his effective shooting technique (200-300 m before the enemy) and the absence of cases when the plane was shot down;
• Alexey Maresyev (1916-2001): Hero, deputy squadron commander, fighter pilot. He is famous for the fact that after the amputation of both legs, using prostheses, he was able to return to combat flights.

Rice. 1. Nikolai Gastello.

In 2010, an extensive Russian electronic database "The Feat of the People" was created, containing reliable information from official documents about the participants in the war, their exploits and awards.

Women's heroes

Separately, it is worth highlighting the women heroes of the Great Patriotic War.
Some of them:

• Valentina Grizodubova (1909-1993): the first female pilot - Hero of the Soviet Union, instructor pilot (5 world air records), commander of an air regiment, made about 200 sorties (of which 132 were night);
• Lyudmila Pavlichenko (1916-1974): Hero of the Union, world famous sniper, instructor at the sniper school, participated in the defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. Destroyed about 309 opponents, including 36 snipers;
• Lydia Litvyak (1921-1943): Hero posthumously, fighter pilot (ace), squadron flight commander, participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, battles in the Donbass (168 sorties, 12 victories in air battles);
• Ekaterina Budanova (1916-1943): Hero Russian Federation posthumously (listed as missing in the USSR), fighter pilot (ace), repeatedly fought against superior enemy forces, including going into a frontal attack (11 victories);
• Ekaterina Zelenko (1916-1941): Hero of the Union posthumously, deputy squadron commander. The only Soviet female pilot who participated in the Soviet-Finnish war. The only woman in the world who rammed an enemy aircraft (in Belarus);
• Evdokia Bershanskaya (1913-1982): the only woman awarded the Order of Suvorov. Pilot, commander of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (1941-1945). The regiment was exclusively female. For the skill of performing combat missions, he received the nickname "night witches". Particularly distinguished himself in the liberation of the Taman Peninsula, Feodosia, Belarus.

Rice. 2. Pilots of the 46th Guards Aviation Regiment.

05/09/2012 in Tomsk, the modern movement "Immortal Regiment" was born, designed to honor the memory of the heroes of the Second World War. Through the streets of the city, residents carried about two thousand portraits of their relatives who participated in the war. The movement became massive. Every year the number of participating cities increases, covering even other countries. In 2015, the Immortal Regiment action received official permission and took place in Moscow immediately after the Victory Parade.

Modern action movie heroes seem to be the coolest. But we forget the real incredible feats of the participants in the Second World War. They didn't play, they fought to the death, they were tougher.

The war demanded courage from people, and heroism was massive. 5 impressive battle stories in which you can appreciate the resilience and courage of the heroes of the Second World War.

On July 13, 1941, in the battles near the city of Balti, when delivering ammunition to his company near the town of Arctic fox, the riding machine-gun company of the 389th rifle regiment of the 176th rifle division of the 9th army of the Southern Front, the Red Army soldier D. R. Ovcharenko was surrounded by a detachment of soldiers and enemy officers numbering 50 people. At the same time, the enemy managed to take possession of his rifle. However, D. R. Ovcharenko did not lose his head and, snatching an ax from the wagon, cut off the head of the officer interrogating him, threw 3 grenades at the enemy soldiers, destroying 21 soldiers. The rest fled in panic. Then he caught up with the second officer and cut off his head as well. The third officer managed to escape. After that, he collected documents and maps from the dead and, together with the cargo, arrived at the company. (A copy of the document confirming the feat of Ovcharenko is on wikipedia.org)

Unfortunately, the hero did not live to see the Victory. In the battles for the liberation of Hungary in the area of ​​​​the Sheregeyesh station, the machine gunner of the 3rd tank brigade, Private D. R. Ovcharenko, was seriously wounded. He died in hospital from wounds on January 28, 1945. Awarded the Order of Lenin.

Under the pressure of the 4th tank division Heinz Guderian, commanded by von Langermann, units of the 13th Army retreated, and with them the regiment of Sirotinin. On July 17, 1941, the battery commander decided to leave one gun with a crew of two and an ammunition load of 60 shells at the bridge over the Dobrost River on the 476th kilometer of the Moscow-Warsaw highway to cover the retreat with the task of delaying the tank column. One of the calculation numbers was the battalion commander himself; Nikolai Sirotinin volunteered second.

The gun was camouflaged on a hill in dense rye; the position allowed a good view of the highway and the bridge. When a column of German armored vehicles appeared at dawn, Nikolai knocked out the lead tank that had entered the bridge with the first shot, and the armored personnel carrier closing the column with the second, thereby creating a traffic jam on the road. The battery commander was wounded and, since the combat mission was completed, he retreated towards the Soviet positions. However, Sirotinin refused to retreat, since the cannon still had a significant amount of unused shells.

The Germans made an attempt to clear the blockage by pulling the wrecked tank off the bridge with two other tanks, but they were also knocked out. The armored car, which tried to ford the river, got bogged down in the swampy bank, where it was destroyed. For a long time the Germans failed to determine the location of the well-camouflaged gun; they believed that a whole battery was fighting them. The battle lasted two and a half hours, during which time 11 tanks, 6 armored vehicles, 57 soldiers and officers were destroyed.

By the time Nikolai's position was discovered, he had only three shells left. Sirotinin refused the offer to surrender and fired from a carbine to the last.

Awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class (posthumously). N. V. Sirotinin was never presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. According to the relatives, a photograph was needed to complete the documents, but the only photograph that the relatives had was lost during the evacuation.

July 7, 1941. Sokolnichi, near Krichev. In the evening they buried an unknown Russian soldier. He alone stood at the cannon, shot a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone marveled at his courage... Oberst before the grave said that if all the Fuhrer's soldiers fought like this Russian, they would conquer the whole world. Three times they fired volleys from rifles ... ”From the diary of Lieutenant of the 4th Panzer Division Friedrich Hoenfeld

One of the beautiful legends of the Second World War tells about a Red Army soldier named Vataman from such an assault unit, who in 1944 killed 10 Nazi soldiers with a faulty faustpatron in hand-to-hand combat. According to one of the versions - 10, according to another - 9, according to the third - 8, according to the fourth - so in general 13. Be that as it may, in the article "Engineering assault units of the RVGK" I. Mshchansky speaks of 10 Nazis.

Of course, like any legend, the Vataman phenomenon has its critics who argue that the faustpatron is too heavy to fight effectively, and the warhead would simply fall off from blows. There are several thoughts in the discussion on WarHistory that seem rational.

The first - in hand-to-hand combat, the fighter used the faustpatron after firing from it. That is, he actually used only a pipe that weighs several kg. Launch tube "Panzerfaust" has a diameter of 15 cm and a length of 1 m, the projectile weighs 3 kg. For hand-to-hand combat, this is a very good weapon.

And for a photograph after the battle, he picked up a whole faustpatron. In addition, dr_guillotin also notices that the grenade in the tube is held by the pin by the ears, so it won't fall out in hand-to-hand combat either. In general, faustpatrons were stored separately from fuses. They were invested shortly before use, and without a fuse, you can even throw it from the third floor ...

The second thought is that the whole event did not take place in one fell swoop, as in action movies, where they scatter a bunch of enemies at once, but sequentially during the battle. After all, the fighter Vataman fought "half of Europe", and his opponents, mobilized into the militia in an emergency order, took up arms only a few days ago. And in the stupor of the first battle, they were not very formidable opponents.

But in any case, this is an impressive combat story. Yes, and Vataman himself looks like a real epic hero - his wide palms give out a natural strongman in him. In my opinion, this case can also, in principle, be classified as “one at the gun” ... In the end, the faustpatron is, although not a cannon, but a small anti-tank gun.

Yes, by the way, I can add that although the name of the daredevil remained unknown, the name of our hero speaks of his Moldovan roots.

Here we will talk not so much about an individual, but about a team - the crew of the KV-1 tank, led by Senior Lieutenant Zinovy ​​Grigorievich Kolobanov. In addition to the commander, the crew included the driver foreman N. Nikiforov, the commander of the gun, senior sergeant A. Usov, the machine gunner, senior sergeant P. Kiselnikov, and the junior driver, Red Army soldier N. Rodnikov.

So, this heroic crew destroyed as many as 22 enemy tanks in just three hours of battle, on August 19, 1941! This is an absolute record throughout the Great Patriotic War, and subsequent wars. No one was able to destroy 22 tanks in three hours. After the "debriefing" it turned out that the battle was carried out in accordance with all the then accepted rules of military art.

The tankers acted very cleverly: on the nearest road tank column they shot the “head” and “tail”, after which they began methodically, as in a shooting range, to shoot the stuck “iron beasts” of the enemy. Note that the tank of our heroes received 135 hits from German shells. At the same time, the tank continued to fight, and nothing in its design failed.

The crew of the KV-1 senior lieutenant Z. Kolobanov (center) near their combat vehicle. August 1941 (CMVS)

On October 16, 1943, the battalion in which Manshuk Mametova served was ordered to repulse the enemy's counterattack. As soon as the Nazis tried to repulse the attack, the machine gun of Senior Sergeant Mametova started working. The Nazis rolled back, leaving hundreds of corpses. Several violent attacks of the Nazis have already choked at the foot of the hill. Suddenly, the girl noticed that two neighboring machine guns fell silent - the machine gunners were killed. Then Manshuk, quickly crawling from one firing point to another, began to fire at the pressing enemies from three machine guns.

The enemy transferred mortar fire to the positions of the resourceful girl. A close explosion of a heavy mine overturned a machine gun, behind which lay Manshuk. Wounded in the head, the machine gunner lost consciousness for a while, but the triumphant cries of the approaching Nazis forced her to wake up. Instantly moving to a nearby machine gun, Manshuk lashed the chains of fascist warriors with a lead shower. And again the enemy attack choked. This ensured the successful advance of our units, but the girl from distant Urda remained lying on the hillside. Her fingers froze on the trigger of the Maxim.

On March 1, 1944, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Senior Sergeant Manshuk Zhiengaliyevna Mametova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in the battles for the freedom and independence of our Motherland...

Introduction

This short article contains only a drop of information about the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. In fact, there are a huge number of heroes and collecting all the information about these people and their exploits is a titanic work and it is already a little beyond the scope of our project. Nevertheless, we decided to start with 5 heroes - many of them have heard about some of them, there is a little less information about others and few people know about them, especially the younger generation.

The victory in the Great Patriotic War was achieved by the Soviet people thanks to their incredible efforts, dedication, ingenuity and self-sacrifice. This is especially vividly revealed in the heroes of the war, who performed incredible feats on and behind the battlefield. These great people should be known to everyone who is grateful to their fathers and grandfathers for the opportunity to live in peace and tranquility.

Viktor Vasilievich Talalikhin

The history of Viktor Vasilievich begins with the small village of Teplovka, located in the Saratov province. Here he was born in the autumn of 1918. His parents were simple workers. He himself, after graduating from a school that specialized in the production of workers for factories and factories, worked at a meat processing plant and at the same time attended an flying club. After he graduated from one of the few pilot schools in Borisoglebsk. He took part in the conflict between our country and Finland, where he received a baptism of fire. During the period of confrontation between the USSR and Finland, Talalikhin made about five dozen sorties, while destroying several enemy aircraft, as a result of which he special successes and the fulfillment of the assigned tasks, they were awarded the honorary Order of the Red Star in the fortieth year.

Viktor Vasilievich distinguished himself by heroic deeds already during the battles in the great war for our people. Although he has about sixty sorties, the main battle took place on August 6, 1941 in the sky over Moscow. As part of a small air group, Viktor took off on an I-16 to repel an enemy air attack on the capital of the USSR. At an altitude of several kilometers, he met a German He-111 bomber. Talalikhin fired several machine-gun bursts at him, but the German plane skillfully dodged them. Then Viktor Vasilievich, through a cunning maneuver and regular shots from a machine gun, hit one of the bomber's engines, but this did not help stop the "German". To the chagrin of the Russian pilot, after unsuccessful attempts to stop the bomber, there were no live cartridges left, and Talalikhin decides to ram. For this ram, he was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

During the war there were many such cases, but by the will of fate, Talalikhin became the first who decided to ram, neglecting his own safety, in our sky. He died in October of the forty-first year in the rank of squadron commander, performing another sortie.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub

In the village of Obrazhievka, a future hero, Ivan Kozhedub, was born in a family of simple peasants. After graduating from school in 1934, he entered the Chemical Technology College. The Shostka flying club was the first place where Kozhedub received flying skills. Then in the fortieth year he entered the army. In the same year, he successfully entered and graduated from the military aviation school in the city of Chuguev.

Ivan Nikitovich took a direct part in the Great Patriotic War. On his account there are more than a hundred air battles, during which he shot down 62 aircraft. Of the large number of sorties, two main ones can be distinguished - the battle with the Me-262 fighter, which has jet engine, and an attack on a group of FW-190 bombers.

Battle with jet fighter Me-262 happened in mid-February 1945. On this day, Ivan Nikitovich, together with his partner Dmitry Tatarenko, flew out on La-7 planes to hunt. After a short search, they came across a low-flying aircraft. He flew along the river from the direction of Frankfupt an der Oder. Approaching closer, the pilots discovered that this was a new generation Me-262 aircraft. But this did not discourage the pilots from attacking an enemy aircraft. Then Kozhedub decided to attack on the opposite course, since this was the only way to destroy the enemy. During the attack, the wingman fired a short burst from a machine gun ahead of schedule, which could confuse all the cards. But to the surprise of Ivan Nikitovich, such an outburst of Dmitry Tatarenko had a positive effect. The German pilot turned around in such a way that he eventually fell into the sight of Kozhedub. He had to pull the trigger and destroy the enemy. Which he did.

The second heroic feat Ivan Nikitovich accomplished in mid-April of the forty-fifth year in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe capital of Germany. Again, together with Titarenko, performing another sortie, they found a group of FW-190 bombers with full combat kits. Kozhedub immediately reported this to the command post, but without waiting for reinforcements, he began an attacking maneuver. German pilots saw two Soviet aircraft, having risen, disappeared into the clouds, but they did not attach any importance to this. Then the Russian pilots decided to attack. Kozhedub descended to the height of the Germans and began to shoot them, and Titarenko fired in short bursts in different directions from a higher altitude, trying to give the enemy the impression of the presence of a large number of Soviet fighters. The German pilots believed at first, but after a few minutes of battle, their doubts dissipated, and they proceeded to take active steps to destroy the enemy. Kozhedub was on the verge of death in this battle, but his friend saved him. When Ivan Nikitovich tried to get away from the German fighter, who was chasing him and being in the position of shooting the Soviet fighter, Titarenko was ahead of the German pilot in a short burst and destroyed the enemy machine. Soon a support group arrived in time, and the German group of aircraft was destroyed.

During the war, Kozhedub was twice recognized as a Hero of the Soviet Union and was elevated to the rank of Marshal of Soviet Aviation.

Dmitry Romanovich Ovcharenko

The homeland of the soldier is the village with the speaking name Ovcharovo of the Kharkov province. He was born into the family of a carpenter in 1919. His father taught him all the intricacies of his craft, which later played an important role in the fate of the hero. Ovcharenko studied at school for only five years, then went to work on a collective farm. He was drafted into the army in 1939. The first days of the war, as befits a soldier, met on the front lines. After a short service, he received minor damage, which, unfortunately for the soldier, caused him to move from the main unit to serve at the ammunition depot. It was this position that became the key for Dmitry Romanovich, in which he accomplished his feat.

It all happened in the middle of the summer of 1941 in the area of ​​the village of Arctic fox. Ovcharenko carried out the order of his superiors to deliver ammunition and food to a military unit located a few kilometers from the village. He came across two trucks with fifty German soldiers and three officers. They surrounded him, took away the rifle and began to interrogate him. But the Soviet soldier did not lose his head and, taking an ax lying next to him, cut off the head of one of the officers. While the Germans were discouraged, he took three grenades from a dead officer and threw them towards the German cars. These throws were extremely successful: 21 soldiers were killed on the spot, and Ovcharenko finished off the rest with an ax, including the second officer who tried to escape. The third officer still managed to escape. But even here the Soviet soldier did not lose his head. He collected all the documents, maps, records and machine guns and took them to the General Staff, while bringing ammunition and food at the exact time. At first, they did not believe him that he single-handedly dealt with a whole platoon of the enemy, but after a detailed study of the battlefield, all doubts were dispelled.

Thanks to the heroic act of the soldier, Ovcharenko was recognized as the Hero of the Soviet Union, and he also received one of the most significant orders - the Order of Lenin, along with the Gold Star medal. He did not live to win just three months. The wound received in the battles for Hungary in January became fatal for the fighter. At that time he was a machine gunner of the 389th Infantry Regiment. He went down in history as a soldier with an axe.

Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya

Homeland for Zoya Anatolyevna is the village of Osina-Gai, located in the Tambov region. She was born on September 8, 1923 in a Christian family. By the will of fate, Zoya spent her childhood in gloomy wanderings around the country. So, in 1925, the family was forced to move to Siberia in order to avoid persecution by the state. A year later they moved to Moscow, where her father died in 1933. The orphaned Zoya begins to have health problems that prevent her from studying. In the fall of 1941, Kosmodemyanskaya joined the ranks of intelligence officers and saboteurs of the Western Front. In a short time, Zoya underwent combat training and began to fulfill her tasks.

She accomplished her heroic deed in the village of Petrishchevo. By order of Zoya and a group of fighters, they were instructed to burn a dozen settlements, which included the village of Petrishchevo. On the night of November 28, Zoya and her comrades made their way to the village and came under fire, as a result of which the group broke up and Kosmodemyanskaya had to act alone. After spending the night in the forest, early in the morning she went to carry out the task. Zoya managed to set fire to three houses and escape unnoticed. But when she decided to return again and finish what she had begun, the villagers were already waiting for her, who, seeing the saboteur, immediately reported German soldiers. Kosmodemyanskaya was seized and tortured for a long time. They tried to find out from her information about the unit in which she served, and her name. Zoya refused and did not tell anything, but when asked what her name was, she called herself Tanya. The Germans considered that they could not get more information and hung it in public. Zoya met her death with dignity, and her last words went down in history forever. Dying, she said that our people numbered one hundred and seventy million people, and all of them could not be outweighed. So, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya died heroically.

Mentions of Zoya are associated primarily with the name "Tanya", under which she went down in history. She is also a Hero of the Soviet Union. Her distinguishing feature- the first woman to receive it honorary title posthumously.

Alexey Tikhonovich Sevastyanov

This hero was the son of a simple cavalryman, a native of the Tver region, was born in the winter of the seventeenth year in the small village of Kholm. After graduating from a technical school in Kalinin, he entered a school military aviation. Sevastyanov finished her with success in the thirty-ninth. For more than a hundred sorties, he destroyed four enemy aircraft, of which two individually and in a group, as well as one balloon.

He received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. The most important sorties for Aleksey Tikhonovich were fights in the sky over the Leningrad region. So, on November 4, 1941, Sevastyanov, on his IL-153 aircraft, patrolled the sky over northern capital. And just during his watch, the Germans made a raid. Artillery could not cope with the onslaught and Alexei Tikhonovich had to join the battle. German aircraft The He-111 managed to keep the Soviet fighter away for a long time. After two unsuccessful attacks, Sevastyanov made a third attempt, but when it was time to pull the trigger and destroy the enemy in a short burst, Soviet pilot discovered the lack of ammunition. Without thinking twice, he decides to go to the ram. The Soviet plane pierced the tail of an enemy bomber with its propeller. For Sevastyanov, this maneuver was successful, but for the Germans it all ended in captivity.

The second significant flight and the last for the hero was an air battle in the sky over Ladoga. Alexei Tikhonovich died in an unequal battle with the enemy on April 23, 1942.

Conclusion

As we have already said, not all the heroes of the war are collected in this article, there are about eleven thousand of them in total (according to official figures). Among them are Russians, and Kazakhs, and Ukrainians, and Belarusians, and all other nations of our multinational state. There are those who did not receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, having committed an equally important act, but by coincidence, information about them was lost. There was a lot in the war: the desertion of soldiers, and betrayal, and death, and much more, but the most great importance had feats - these are the heroes. Thanks to them, victory was won in the Great Patriotic War.