How a cook defeated Nazi tankers and other unusual feats of Soviet people during the war

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Over the years of heroic opposition to fascism, an incredible number of unique feats have gathered on the account of the Soviet people. Examples include capturing tanks without weapons, capturing enemy units with only an ax, defeating superior forces in hand-to-hand combat, and successful attacks by wounded soldiers. Sometimes the cases are so incredible that they are seen as scripts of modern cinema about superheroes. But those who made history were completely ordinary people, led an ordinary life, until the war forced them to go to defend their country.

How a cook neutralized a tank crew with his bare hands

In August 1941, the cook of a tank regiment, Ivan Sereda, was preparing dinner in a forest belt near the Latvian Dvinsky. Hearing the roar of an approaching Nazi tank, the Red Army man crept up to the stopped car, jumped onto the armor and with a swing gave the machine gun barrel with an ax, preventing the Germans from opening aimed fire. Throwing a tarpaulin over the viewing slot, Sereda began to drum on the armor with his butt and loudly gave his imaginary colleagues to prepare grenades for battle. While the Nazis, being in confusion, made a situational decision, fighters came to the chef to help and captured the tank crew. For his entrepreneurial spirit and courage, the chef Sereda was awarded the Hero's Star.

How 20-year-old sergeant Masha disarmed a group of fascists

When, after many hours of battle near Sevastopol, the 20-year-old Art. Sergeant of the reconnaissance company Masha came to her senses, she was lying on the ground, and her right hand ached mercilessly. The shell-shocked girl found the strength to raise her head and was horrified to find the Germans standing nearby armed with machine guns. Instantly assessing the situation, Maria grabbed a nearby weapon and opened lead fire at the unsuspecting Fritz. Jumping to her feet in a furious impulse, she broke several confused German heads of the officer and privates with the butt. After this attack, until the end of the war, Masha was wounded 5 more times. She was involved in intelligence work, was taken prisoner, bravely endured concentration camps and months in an ice Gestapo cell.

The old sniper of the tsarist academics

In one month of the so-called front-line trip, the 87-year-old academician Nikolai Morozov sent about a dozen Nazis to the next world. The old man successfully crawled between rifle sniper positions on the front line, sometimes lying for several hours even in the snow. A well-worn sniper was held in high esteem at the front, people came to look at him from neighboring units. The tsarist noble scientist volunteered for the recruiting office. In view of his more than advanced age, he was repeatedly refused the call. But Morozov was persistent and cunning achieved his goal. At the end of the war, he had two Leninist orders on his account. After waiting for the victory, in 1946, Nikolai Alexandrovich died.

How a commander "in a skirt" captivated a German general

During the Budapest offensive operation, platoon commander Evdokia Zavaliy was instructed to take the headquarters of the Hitlerite command. We decided to enter through the sewer canal. The exit from the sewer manhole filled with sewage turned out to be right next to the German tank, so the Zavaliy reconnaissance group managed to quickly destroy the headquarters guard. Having burst into the bunker, the soldiers did not meet the resistance of the enemies caught by surprise. Capturing valuable operational maps, the guys opened fire right from the bunker. The fascists, who did not understand anything, shot each other in panic. The units that came to the rescue quickly established themselves in the bunker and adjacent quarters. And the German general who was captured by Russia admitted that the capture operation carried out under the command of a young girl was a shame and an insult to him.

Youngest Knight of the Order of Honor

Ivan Kuznetsov received his first award "For Courage" at the age of 15. And to the military from the unit located not far from the house, Vanya nailed the year before. In 1943, the boy's father was killed by the Nazis, and his mother was taken to Germany. Lonely, he was accepted by the son of the regiment into the artillery guards unit. And no one has ever regretted it. The teenager has become a reliable assistant to seasoned fighters. He helped to exterminate the fascist evil spirits and at home near Rostov, and on attacks to Kherson, and in Poland. There are many feats on his account.

Vanya took part in the destruction of the "Tiger" as part of a gun crew, distinguished himself in operations to eliminate a cannon, a mortar battery, and an enemy observation post. Having quickly learned marksmanship, in one of the clashes he successfully repulsed four German counterattacks in a row, destroying a total of up to a hundred Nazis, at least five bunkers and a tank. Even after a shrapnel hit him, the bleeding Vanya continued to shoot, suppressing the enemy machine guns. By the victorious 1945 Kuznetsov became the youngest holder of the Order of Glory at all levels. At that time, he was barely 17.

Tanker Sasha, who turned out to be a former tractor driver

In February 1945, clashes escalated near the Polish Bunzlau. Direct fire of the enemy "Tiger" immobilized our "thirty-four", controlled by an experienced driver-mechanic. When the wounded soldier, overcoming the pain, got out of the tank, his colleagues rushed to provide first aid. Imagine their surprise when, when bandaging the thigh, they realized that Sashka, who had been fighting shoulder to shoulder for the third year, was actually a girl! And it was like this. Tractor driver Alexandra did not want to hear anything about the refusals of the recruiting officers who did not give her a ticket to the front. Posing as a guy, she managed to negotiate with the doctor of the medical board. A specific physique and acting talent helped the girl easily play a male role for more than one year. And she overturned the People's Commissars without frowning.

After the unfortunate wound and the revelation that followed, Zhukov himself learned about Sashka. The commander ordered her to be expelled from the army for a scam. But the authoritative commander Chuikov stood up for the tanker. The war was coming to an end, and Alexandra Rashchupkina held out at the front until Victory, after which she deservedly became a holder of medals and orders for outstanding service.

But even the heroes on the front line need to eat. At the front, this was not always the case. Exactly the soldiers of the red army ate these products, marveling at the German rations.