The history of the Great Patriotic War is full of examples of not only the monstrous deprivations and trials that millions of people have experienced during these terrible four years, but also examples of incomparable valor and courage.
At first glance, ordinary people, not flinching in the face of death, day after day brought closer victory, sometimes at the cost of their own lives. Their exploits continue to inspire descendants and be models of sacrificial love for their homeland and their people.
10. Leonid Golikov
The feat accomplished by this boy is a vivid example of heroism and great love for his homeland. The war began when Lena was barely 15 years old. Without hesitation, he went into a partisan detachment, where he performed combat missions on a par with adult soldiers.
In 1942, Lenya officially became a scout, and later joined the Komsomol there. This incredibly gifted boy had many victories: 27 military operations, 78 killed and captured German officers, several episodes of car bombings and enemy bridges.
In January 1943, 27 exhausted partisan pursuits heroically died to the last drop of blood while fighting the enemy forces that were several times superior. Among them was Lenya. A year later, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously ....
9. Marat Kazei
When an enemy came to our land, Marat’s mother began to help the Minsk partisans in every possible way, risking her own life every day. She sheltered in her home and looked after wounded soldiers. Having learned what she was doing, the Germans sentenced her to death and hanged her in 1942.
After the tragic death of his mother, Marat joins a partisan detachment and, despite his age, becomes a scout. Brave and resourceful, Marat more than once penetrated the very lair of the enemy and returned captivated with valuable information for the soldiers.
In the spring of 43, this courageous boy rescued a whole detachment of partisans. In the fight against the enemy, Marat did not coward in the face of death and showed unparalleled courage that delighted even his adult comrades.
The pioneer hero died tragically on May 11, 1944. When he returned with his comrade-in-arms from the next mission, the Germans surrounded them. Having lost a partner in a shootout, the hero himself blew himself up with a grenade, eliminating the possibility of being captured alive.
8. Victor Talalikhin
The heroic deed of this hero is described in many textbooks and it is simply impossible to call it random or episodic: a person must approach this all his life.
This brave pilot was the first in the Great Patriotic War to make the legendary “battering ram”. To do this, it was necessary to have incredible skill in controlling a combat vehicle and courage bordering recklessness.
The pilot brought his fighter as close as possible to the tail of the Xe-111 and slashed it with a screw, despite the fact that it was already wounded in the arm.
This legendary pilot gave his last battle on October 27, 1941. Then he had to fight with significantly superior enemy forces, and the hero was mortally wounded in this aerial battle.
7. Andrey Korzun
In 1943, Korzun served in the 12th Guards Artillery Regiment on the Leningrad Front. His military weapon repeatedly “packs” destroyed enemy batteries.
On November 5, 1943, when the gun crew was put into cover, Korzun alone continued to cover the enemy with continuous artillery fire.
Being mortally wounded, Andrey covered himself with a box with ignited charges. Thus, at the cost of his own life, he prevented the explosion of ammunition.
6. Efim Osipenko
Yefim Osipenko was the commander of a small partisan detachment. He had combat experience since the Civil War. Therefore, when the Germans attacked the Soviet Union, without thinking twice, he went into the partisan detachment, in which he and his comrades committed a series of sabotage against the Nazis.
During the next mission, it was decided to undermine the enemy’s train. But there was a shortage of ammunition in the unit. The bomb was made from an ordinary grenade. It should have been installed by Osipenko himself.
He crawled to the railway bridge and threw it in front of an approaching train. No explosion followed. Then the hero had to independently hit the explosives with a pole from the railway sign. The train was derailed, but the valiant partisans lost their sight forever.
For this feat, Osipenko was the first person in the Soviet Union to be awarded the Medal “Partisan of the Patriotic War”.
5. Alexander German
The war found him while studying at a military academy. German immediately began to ask to send him to the front. In July 1941, he went to serve as a scout on the Northwest Front.
A year later, he was appointed commander of the Third Leningrad partisan brigade, which amounted to about 100 people.
German became famous as an intelligent and courageous commander. He could at the right moment be military savvy. All operations developed by him were successful and caused significant damage to the enemy forces.
In early September 1943, the partisan brigade of German was attacked by the Nazis. Our forces won, but suffered serious losses, escaping from the environment. German heroically died in a terrible battle on September 6, 1943.
4. Konstantin Zaslonov
In October 1941, of his own free will, he was sent behind enemy lines as part of a group of railway workers. His partisan nickname was “Uncle Kostya”.
Acting in the very den of the enemy, he organized an underground group, whose members, through the use of “coal mines” (explosive devices disguised as coal), destroyed 93 enemy locomotives in three months.
In addition to active subversive activities, Zaslonov was able to organize a full-fledged partisan detachment, which conducted a number of victorious combat raids in the Vitebsk-Orsha-Smolensk region, destroying a large number of fascists and enemy equipment.
November 13, 1942 Konstantin Zaslonov heroically died in battle with a detachment of punishers.
3. Alexander Matrosov
This nineteen-year-old man became famous during the years of World War II by the fact that on February 27, 1943 he covered with his own chest the embrasure of the enemy bunker.
Matrosov’s name has since become a household name, and his feat has remained forever in the history of the glorious exploits of our people.
2. Vladislav Khrustitsky
During the war he commanded the 30th Separate Guards Tank Brigade on the Leningrad Front. Khrustitsky - one of the heroes of the battle of Leningrad, his exploits brought closer the lifting of the blockade.
The enemy forces did everything to occupy the northern capital. Acting on the rear and communications facilities of the Nazis, the tankers of Khrustitsky successfully opposed the enemy.
Thanks to the efforts of this fearless hero, the enemy suffered tremendous human losses. In these battles, Khrustitsky displayed rare stamina and heroism.
In 1944, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously.
1. Alexey Maresyev
Many of us in our school years read the famous novel “A Tale of a Real Man”. However, now not everyone remembers that the plot of this book is based on a real biography of an amazing person and a brave pilot Alexei Maresyev.
After a severe wound, both legs were amputated, but against all odds he refused to leave the reserve and say goodbye to the sky and continued combat flights.
Incredibly, as a disabled person, this hero destroyed almost twice as many enemy planes as before.
After the war, partly thanks to the “Tale of a Real Man”, he became widely known, he was invited to various celebrations dedicated to the memories of the war, often organized meetings with children: the personality of the legendary pilot became a role model for a whole generation, and his name became a household name and the personification of human courage, overcoming absolutely any test.
Maresyev went through the whole war and died in 2001.