Before his feat, Alexander Sailors simply said. Matrosov Alexander Matveevich. An ordinary unusual biography
Alexander Matrosov - hero Soviet Union, who accomplished a great feat during the war against Nazi Germany.
During the fighting, Alexander helped his colleagues by shielding them from machine-gun fire, which suppressed the advance of the Red Army forces.
After his feat, he became famous in the ranks of the Red Army - he was called a hero and considered an example of courage. Alexander Matrosov received the highest award - Hero of the Soviet Union, but posthumously.
early years
Alexander was born on February 5, 1924 in the big city of Yekaterinoslavl and spent his entire childhood in an orphanage. Then Alexander was transferred to the Ufa children's labor colony, where, after finishing seven classes, he became an assistant teacher.
There is no detailed information about Matrosov’s entire childhood, since many documents and records were damaged during the fighting in 1941-1945.
Participation in hostilities
From an early age, Alexander loved his homeland and was a true patriot, so as soon as the war against the Germans began, he immediately began making attempts to go straight to the front, fight for his country and stop the invaders. He wrote numerous telegrams in which he asked to be drafted into the army.
In September 1942, Matrosov was called up as a volunteer and sent to the Krasnokholmsky Infantry School near Orenburg, where he mastered combat skills. At first next year went straight to the front line - to Kalinin Front. From 02/25/1943 he served in the 91st separate Siberian Volunteer Army in the 2nd rifle battalion.
Heroic death in battle
In one of the battles - on February 27, 1943, Alexander died heroically in battle. This happened near the small village of Chernushki, in the Pskov region. The Soviet army was advancing and as soon as it passed through a dense forest, it found itself at a well-exposed edge, where there was practically no cover. Thus, Alexander’s unit came under heavy enemy fire.
The Germans attacked from well-prepared bunkers with three machine guns, which did not allow the Red Army soldiers to take a single step. To destroy the bunkers, three groups of two fighters each were created. The soldiers managed to destroy two of the three bunkers, but the third still did not want to give in and continued to actively fire at the positions of the Red Army forces.
Died a large number of soldier, and then Alexander, together with his comrade P. Ogurtsov, decided to destroy the bunker. They crawled straight towards the enemy, where the machine gun was firing. Ogurtsov was wounded almost immediately, Sailors continued to approach the enemy position. Alexander managed to successfully approach the bunker from the flank and bombard the Germans inside the fortification with two grenades, after which the machine gun finally fell silent, which means it was possible to continue the offensive.
However, as soon as the soldiers Soviet army rose from the ground, powerful fire opened again from the bunker. Alexander, without thinking twice, immediately jumped straight to the machine gun and covered his comrades with his own body, after which the offensive was successfully continued and the bunker was soon destroyed. Similar feats were performed before 1943, but for some reason this incident attracted the attention of the country. At the time of his death, Alexander was only nineteen years old.
Heritage
After the heroic deed of Alexander Matrosov became known throughout the Red Army, his image became propaganda. Alexander's personality became a shining example of valor, courage and bravery, as well as love for his colleagues and the Motherland. Alexander was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in the summer of the same year - on June 19. Sailors also earned an honorary award for his bravery - the Order of Lenin.
After the end of the war, the memory of Matrosov’s feat did not subside at all, but on the contrary. The authorities built a memorial complex at the site of the death of the young soldier, where people could come and lay flowers in memory of the fallen hero. Also, dozens of monuments to Matrosov were erected throughout the country, and streets were named after him.
Matrosov’s feat was covered in literary works and, of course, in cinema. Among the films there were, like documentaries, and artistic.
- During the Great Patriotic War, other fighters performed similar feats. In total, during the fighting, similar feats were accomplished by about four hundred soldiers of the Red Army. Interestingly, one of these heroes even managed to survive after such a dangerous step - the rest sacrificed themselves;
- After the heroic death of Matrosov, the number of similar feats increased significantly; the soldiers were inspired by the feat of Alexander.
"No other army in the world"
During the war, 445 heroes accomplished a feat similar to the feat of Alexander Matrosov, who closed an enemy embrasure with his body and saved dozens of other lives at the cost of his own life. The world has never seen such self-sacrifice. However, few people know that 14 out of 445 heroes miraculously remained alive, and one of them is still alive!
Unfortunately, even now – more than 70 years after the Victory, the names of most of the heroes are unknown to the general public. An organization with the complex name “Committee for the Preservation of the Memory of Heroes of the Feat of Self-Sacrifice” bit by bit collects evidence of such feats and is engaged in perpetuating the names of the extraordinary people who performed them. The “Historian” met with the head of the Committee’s executive board Sergei ZVYAGIN.
“This is how to fight!”
– What is meant by the phrase “feat of self-sacrifice”: feats similar to what Alexander Matrosov accomplished, or not only?
– “Feat of self-sacrifice” is, of course, a fairly broad concept. In addition to throwing at an embrasure, such feats include air and ground rams, throwing under a tank with a grenade, blowing up oneself and enemies with a grenade. It happened that the soldiers shielded the commander and fellow soldiers. During hostilities, many heroes caused fire on themselves. A unique feat was accomplished by signalmen when, while restoring a communication cable, under critical circumstances they passed current through themselves. Already at the present time, submarine sailors, in case of emergencies, entered the compartment of a nuclear reactor in order to drown out its work. And the pilots, when the engine failed, faced certain death when they did not eject, pulling the plane out of the populated area.
On one of the bas-reliefs of the monument “City of Military Glory” in Veliky Novgorod, the feat of Alexander Pankratov, who was the first in the history of the war to close the embrasure of an enemy pillbox, is immortalized
– But the name “feat of self-sacrifice” was given by Alexander Matrosov. In February 1943, in a battle near the village of Chernushki, Loknyansky district, Kalinin (now Pskov) region, he covered the embrasure of an enemy bunker with his body, at the cost of own life ensuring the completion of the combat mission and saving the lives of their comrades. Why did the whole country know about him?
“It turned out that at that time, in the unit where Sailors served, there was a correspondent for the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper. It was he who, hot on the heels, wrote an essay about this feat that became widely known. Returning to Moscow, the correspondent handed over his material to the editor, who, having familiarized himself with it, hastened to draw up a report addressed to Stalin. And Stalin, having read the essay, uttered his historical phrase: “This is how to fight! Looking up to Alexander Matrosov!” Since then, the whole world has learned about Matrosov. Although before him, 106 people had already accomplished a similar feat, and many of them were awarded the Hero star. But we must understand: war is war. The media (and there was nothing else besides radio and newspapers) faced enormous difficulties in their work. After the 1943 essay, information gradually began to leak out about other such heroes, not just ordinary Matrosov, who had already become famous throughout the country. The paradox is that on the same day, February 27, 1943, in the same battle and in the same unit, just a kilometer from the place where Alexander Matrosov accomplished his feat, exactly the same feat was accomplished by lieutenant Mikhail Lukyanov. Only this hero was forgotten, but Matrosov was learned and remembered to this day...
With and without stars Hero
Bunker on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island in Leningrad
– Who was the first to accomplish a similar feat during the war?
– The first in the history of the Great Patriotic War to cover a pillbox embrasure with his body was a junior political instructor of a tank company Alexander Pankratov. This happened a year and a half before the famous battle near the village of Chernushki - August 24, 1941 - on the island of Nelezen, which is located on the Volkhov River. On the island, the Germans set up a bridgehead for directing fire on Veliky Novgorod...
– You managed to collect information about 445 heroes of the Great Patriotic War who accomplished the same feat. Did they all become Heroes of the Soviet Union?
– No, only 166 out of 445 fighters were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for such a feat.
It turned out differently. For example, a machine gunner of the 28th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 10th Guards rifle division Pavel Vasilyevich Streltsov fought gloriously and was awarded the Hero Star. And on October 26, 1944, near a small settlement near Kirkenes, Norway, he died, throwing himself into an embrasure, but he was not awarded for this feat of self-sacrifice.
You can name heroes who were left without any awards, and those who were remembered only decades later. Yes, private Leonty Yakovlevich Tupitsyn accomplished his feat on January 24, 1944 in the Tosno region Leningrad region. IN Soviet time the hero was never rewarded. Forgot! And only on May 6, 1994, thanks to a letter from his fellow soldier, Tupitsyn was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
– Have similar feats been performed in the armies of other warring countries?
- No, there were no such heroes in any other army in the world. Neither the Wehrmacht, nor the satellite forces of Hitler Germany, nor the Polish Home Army, nor the armies of our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition accomplished such feats.
-Have women performed feats of self-sacrifice?
– Yes, we know of three such feats. They were committed by a Georgian political instructor Alexandra Konstantinovna Nozadze, Belarusian Rimma Vasilievna Shershneva And Nina Aleksandrovna Bobyleva, Russian, native of the Ivanovo region.
The feat of the son of the regiment
– Whose feat made the strongest impression on you?
– For me, every fighter who has accomplished a feat is a real hero, and I cannot divide their feats in terms of significance. I can only say that the youngest of these heroes was the 13-year-old son of the regiment Petr Filonenko. He's still alive. This is a unique case!
Peter was a mischievous guy and, despite the prohibitions of his commanders, he constantly found himself in the most dangerous areas of battles. When, during the battle, one of the Red Army soldiers was shot at point-blank range in front of Peter’s eyes, he rushed towards the enemy embrasure, but sideways. As a result, he received 19 wounds. He was in a state of clinical death. They were already carrying him to burial, when suddenly wheezing began to be heard from the coffin. The soldiers opened the lid of the coffin and saw bloody pulsating foam at the mouth of the young soldier. Peter was immediately sent to the operating table, where he underwent his first operation. Then they were sent by plane to the rear, to the Tskaltuba hospital. There, the young fighter underwent nine operations, and I have a medical certificate from the hospital. Today Pyotr Alekseevich is the only survivor of those heroes who performed the feat of self-sacrifice during the war. He lives in Kyiv, he is 86 years old.
| THE 13-YEAR-OLD SON OF THE REGIMENT PETER FILONENKO COVERED THE ENEMY'S EMBRACE WITH HIS BODY, RECEIVING 19 WOUNDS. THEY ALREADY CARRIED HIM TO BURY, BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT HE IS ALIVE. HE IS 86 NOW... |
Destiny can be called unique Alexey Yakovlevich Ochkin. He accomplished his first feat during Battle of Stalingrad. In October 1942, while participating in the defense of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant, Ochkin received a terrible wound: a bullet entered the upper part of the neck and exited through the eye. Unable to transport him across the Volga, his comrades tied the almost lifeless body of the wounded man to a log with a crossbar and sent this cross down the river - in the hope that someone would see and pick it up. And there were good people. Ochkin was picked up and sent to the hospital. Without completing his treatment, he ran away from the doctors and returned to his regiment, which was located on the Kursk Bulge. And there the hero covered the bunker embrasure with himself. When the Red Army soldiers collected their dead and wounded after the battle, they saw a soldier lying on the embrasure of the bunker and wheezing. They realized that he was still alive, began filming and discovered that he had a grenade in his hands. As Ochkin, who miraculously survived, later said, in an extreme situation he was going to blow himself up along with the Nazis. However, he was lucky enough to survive. After the war, he graduated from VGIK and became a film director. This modest man lived a long life, although he carried a kilogram of metal inside him - the fragments were never removed from him. Alexey Yakovlevich left us in February 2003. He received the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, but was never awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
This is surprising, but not only people performed feats of self-sacrifice during the war. At the Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Pavlovich Kislyakov At the front there was a dog named Sever. In one of the battles, she rushed into a bunker through an embrasure and grabbed the hand of a Nazi who was firing a machine gun. It took the German some time to deal with the dog. Our fighters took advantage of the pause, made a rush and destroyed the enemy’s firing point...
– Were feats of self-sacrifice also performed during the short war with Japan?
– Yes, during the war with Japan, 25 people performed the feat of self-sacrifice. But there were such heroes later. Yes, junior sergeant Vladimir Ivanovich Andreev, a native of the Balashikha district of the Moscow region, a soldier of one of the machine gun units of the 1st department of the internal security of the USSR Ministry of State Security, committed a feat of self-sacrifice in Lithuania in the fight against Lithuanian terrorists - the so-called “forest brothers” . On the night of February 11-12, 1952, in a battle near Vilnius, his squad ran into an ambush. From the enemy side there was machine-gun fire from a bunker. It was not possible to destroy the bunker. And then Andreev rushed to the embrasure and covered it with himself. However, he was left without a reward. The fact is that Andreev accomplished his feat a year after the Soviet government, through the newspaper Pravda, informed the people of the victory over the “forest brothers.”
| OF THE 445 FIGHTERS WHO PERFORMED A FEAT SIMILAR TO THE FEAT OF ALEXANDER MATROSOV, ONLY 166 PEOPLE RECEIVED THE TITLE OF HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION |
In the battle on the Kursk Bulge, Alexey Ochkin repeated the feat of Alexander Matrosov - he rushed into the embrasure of a German bunker. In the photo: A.Ya. Ochkin (right) with Marshal A.I. Eremenko after the war
HEROES WHO SACRIFICED THEMSELVES
Vladimir Petrovich SHISHKIN
During the defense of Moscow on November 14, 1941, the feat of self-sacrifice was performed by a 17-year-old soldier of the 12th Infantry Regiment of the 53rd Infantry Division, Vladimir Shishkin. When his battalion entered the village of Teterinki, a machine gun was fired from the basement of the destroyed school. The young soldier crawled to the firing point and threw two grenades. The machine gun fell silent, but at the next attack of the Red Army soldiers it resumed firing. And then Shishkin covered the embrasure of the pillbox with his chest. In 2015, in the village of Teterinki, Rogovsky settlement of Moscow, a memorial was opened: on a red brick wall, two meters high and three meters long, there is a memorial plaque telling about the feat of a soldier who, at the cost of his life, saved dozens of lives of his comrades.
Vyacheslav Viktorovich VASYLKOVSKY
During the counteroffensive near Moscow on December 6, 1941, in the battle for the village of Ryabinki (west of the Moscow-Volga canal), sergeant of the 1319th Infantry Regiment of the 185th Infantry Division Vyacheslav Vasilkovsky closed the embrasure of the enemy bunker with his body, at the cost of his own life ensuring the completion of the combat mission. Was posthumously awarded the order Lenin.
Yakov Nikolaevich PADERIN
During the Battle of Moscow on December 27, 1941, a private of the 1186th Infantry Regiment of the 355th Infantry Division, Yakov Paderin, died heroically near the village of Ryabinikha, Torzhok District, obscuring the embrasure of a bunker. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 5, 1942, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Ivan Savvich GERASIMENKO, Alexander Semenovich KRASILOV, Leonty Osievich CHEREMNOV
On January 29, 1942, the first mass feat of self-sacrifice since the beginning of the war was performed. In the battle of Veliky Novgorod, a platoon of the 299th Infantry Regiment of the 225th Infantry Division fell into a bag of fire. Sergeant Ivan Gerasimenko and privates Alexander Krasilov and Leonty Cheremnov, who were closest to the bunkers, rushed to the embrasures. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated February 21, 1944, all three fighters were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Petr Lavrentievich GUTCHENKO, Alexander Antonovich POKALCHUK
At the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad, on August 18, 1942, the advance detachment of the 93rd Infantry Regiment of the 76th Infantry Division fought on the right bank of the Don to expand the bridgehead captured the day before. The Red Army soldiers were prevented from moving forward by heavy fire from a machine gun installed in the bunker. Deputy political instructor Pyotr Gutchenko and platoon commander junior lieutenant Alexander Pokalchuk volunteered to destroy the firing point. They quietly crawled to the bunker and threw grenades, but the machine gun did not shut up. Gutchenko was the first to rush to the embrasure, shielding it with his body. But when our soldiers went on the attack, the enemy machine gunners, using previously prepared poles, threw away the body of the deceased hero and continued firing. At this moment, Pokalchuk, who saw the death of his comrade, lay down on the same embrasure. The machine gun fell silent, and the Soviet soldiers took possession of the heights. For exceptionally high courage and heroism, natives of Ukraine Pyotr Gutchenko and Alexander Pokalchuk were posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin.
Nikolay Filippovich AVERYANOV
On the night of October 5, 1942, the 406th Infantry Regiment of the 124th Infantry Division went on the offensive. Assault groups were created to eliminate enemy firing points. Carrying out a combat mission, near the Khovansky farm, Serafimovichsky district, Stalingrad (now Volgograd) region, the Red Army soldiers destroyed several enemy bunkers. At dawn they again came under machine-gun fire. Private Nikolai Averyanov, who threw a bunch of grenades into the embrasure of the bunker, silenced the machine gun. But as soon as the infantry rose to attack, the fire resumed. And then the soldier closed the embrasure with his body. By order of the commander of the Don Front troops dated November 5, 1942, Nikolai Averyanov was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
Sergei Alexandrovich KUKUNIN
During the Battle of Kursk on July 12, 1943, a machine gunner of the 40th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 11th Guards Rifle Division, Sergei Kukunin, performed a feat of self-sacrifice. His battalion attempted to capture the village of Staritsa, Ulyanovsk district, Kaluga region. It was not possible to do this, and the initiative in the battle passed to the enemy. The Germans attacked twice but were repulsed. When the Red Army soldiers tried to break into the village “on the shoulders” of the retreating Nazis, they were met by machine-gun fire from the bunker. The firing point was damaged by an anti-tank grenade thrown by Kukunin, but the machine gun continued firing. And then Kukunin rushed to the embrasure and covered it with his body. The machine gun fell silent, the battalion captured Staritsa. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 4, 1944, guard private Sergei Kukunin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Georgy Vasilievich MAYSURADZE
On October 10, 1943, the 519th Infantry Regiment of the 81st Infantry Division fought a heavy battle on the territory of Belarus, in the vicinity of the village of Glushets, Loyevsky District, Gomel Region. At a critical moment, Private Georgiy Maisuradze blocked the enemy’s firing point with his body. The hero survived, but was demobilized for health reasons. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated January 15, 1944, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism displayed, Georgy Maisuradze was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He returned to his native village in Georgia and worked as a forester. He died in 1966 at the age of 58.
Saadul Isaevich MUSAYEV
On November 23, 1943, near the village of Glazovka on the Kerch Peninsula, the clerk of the 83rd separate rifle brigade of the Marine Corps, Sergeant Saadul Musaev, was seriously wounded by an enemy flamethrower. He rushed to the bunker with a burning torch... By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 16, 1944, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the German invaders and the courage and heroism shown, Saadul Musaev was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Stepan Ivanovich KOCHNEV
On December 31, 1943, a battalion of the 66th Infantry Regiment of the 61st Infantry Division of the 28th Army (4th Ukrainian Front) in the Kherson region fought for a height near the village of Novaya Ekaterinovka. In this battle, the platoon commander, junior lieutenant Stepan Kochnev, who attempted to blow up an enemy bunker with a grenade, was wounded and decided to cover the embrasure with his body. Kochnev was posthumously nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, which received support right up to the Military Council of the 28th Army, but by order to the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front No. 89 of February 11, 1944, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree. Meanwhile, Kochnev survived. He was captured, passed through German concentration camps and was liberated by Red Army units at the end of April 1945. After the war he worked as an accountant.
Alexander Abramovich UDODOV
Exactly one year before the end of the war, on May 9, 1944, during an assault on a height on the outskirts of Sevastopol, a private company of machine gunners of the 997th Infantry Regiment of the 263rd Infantry Division, Alexander Udodov, covered the bunker embrasure with his body. He was seriously injured, but survived. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 24, 1945, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the courage, bravery and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders. After the war, Alexander Udodov lived in Donetsk and worked in a mine. Died in 1985 at the age of 67.
Vladimir Petrovich MAIBORSKY
In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Vladimir Maiborsky enlisted in the people's militia, fought with the Germans near Nikolaev, Kherson and in the Crimea, where he was wounded and captured. On the third attempt, he escaped from a concentration camp in Poland, returned to Ukraine and fought in a partisan detachment. After the arrival of Soviet troops, he was drafted into the Red Army. On July 13, 1944, the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division, where he served, had to break through the enemy’s defenses near the village of Cheremkhov (now the village of Cheremkhov) in the Kolomyia district of the Stanislav (now Ivano-Frankivsk) region. The progress of our fighters was hampered by fire from the bunker. Sergeant Major Maiborsky managed to get closer to the firing point, but when he tried to throw a grenade, both his legs were broken by a machine-gun burst. Gathering his last strength, he crawled to the bunker, leaned his chest against the embrasure and stuck an anti-tank grenade inside the enemy fortification. The Red Army soldiers went on the attack, and the seriously wounded Maiborsky was picked up by orderlies. After 10 months of treatment in hospitals, he was discharged from the army due to disability. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 24, 1945, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war, he worked on a collective farm and was chairman of the village council. Died in 1987 at the age of 75.
Vasily Stepanovich KOLESNIK
On the territory of Manchuria (Northeast China) on August 10, 1945, the sapper of the 75th separate machine gun battalion, Corporal Vasily Kolesnik, performed a feat of self-sacrifice. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 8, 1945, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Japanese militarists and the courage and heroism shown, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Nikolai Aleksandrovich VILKOV, Pyotr Ivanovich ILYCHEV
On August 18, 1945, on the Kuril Island of Shumshu, the openings of a double-embrasure Japanese pillbox were closed with their bodies by First Class Petty Officer Nikolai Vilkov and sailor Pyotr Ilyichev. When the pillbox fell silent, their comrades went on the attack and, having captured the height, hoisted a red flag over it. Posthumously, Nikolai Vilkov and Pyotr Ilyichev were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Interviewed by Oleg Nazarov
Friends, in this article we will talk about one of, perhaps, the most famous heroes of the Great Patriotic War, Alexander Matrosov. This glorious fellow (at the time of his heroic death, Sasha was only 19 years old!) ensured the success of the offensive against enemy positions at the cost of his own life. For which he was subsequently awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. But let's talk about everything in order.
Beginning of 1943. The Great Patriotic War is in full swing. Soviet troops continue to suffer huge losses, but the enemy’s plan for the lightning-fast seizure of our Motherland has already been thwarted... Fighting is taking place throughout almost the entire European territory of the USSR.
Alexander Matrosov then served as a submachine gunner of the 2nd in a separate rifle battalion of the 91st separate Siberian volunteer brigade named after I.V. Stalin. On February 27, 1943, his battalion took part in battle near the village of Chernushki, Loknyansky district, Kalinin region.
It is known that upon reaching the edge of the village near the village, Soviet soldiers came under heavy fire from three German bunkers. Two of them were neutralized by the efforts of the assault groups, but attempts to destroy the third were unsuccessful - the stormtroopers sent to it were destroyed. The fire of the third German machine gun did not allow the entire battalion to continue moving forward, shooting through the entire ravine in front of the village.
Then two young Red Army soldiers - Pyotr Aleksandrovich Ogurtsov (born in 1920) and Alexander Matveevich Matrosov (born in 1924) - crawled to the ill-fated bunker. Peter was seriously wounded on the approaches to an enemy machine gun, and, assessing the current situation, Sasha decided to continue the task assigned to them alone.
Having reached the enemy embrasure, Sailors threw two grenades from the flank, and the machine gun fell silent. When his colleagues rose to continue moving, the deadly weapon suddenly began to ring again. And at that very moment, Sasha made a decision that would forever inscribe his name in the annals of the history of the Second World War, and Russian history in general. He closed the embrasure of the enemy bunker with his body, thereby allowing the battalion to continue moving! At the cost of his own life, this brave young man contributed to the accomplishment of the combat mission.
A few words about Sasha Matrosov’s childhood. The boy never knew either his father or his mother - he was an orphan. The guy was brought up in an orphanage in the Ulyanovsk region, and then in a labor colony in the city of Ufa. In October 1942, Matrosov was drafted into the army, and already in November of the same year he at will goes to the front. In February 1943, Sasha passed away...
This guy is an example of unshakable will and fearlessness. Not everyone can consciously (Matrosov managed to overcome even the basic instincts of self-preservation) throw himself with his chest into the embrasure of an enemy bunker so that your colleagues remain alive and complete the combat mission...
The feat of Alexander Matrosov is an excellent example of boundless courage and measured self-sacrifice, and that is why all people living in the vast expanses of our vast Motherland are obliged to know, honor and remember about it! Especially representatives of the younger generation.
| Monument in St. Petersburg | ||
| Monument in Ufa (in Lenin Park) | ||
| Monument in Ufa (in Victory Park) | ||
| Bust in Krasnoyarsk | ||
| Monument in Dnepropetrovsk | ||
| Monument in Ulyanovsk | ||
| Monument at the grave | ||
| Monument at the grave (fragment) | ||
| Annotation board in St. Petersburg | ||
| Bust in Armavir | ||
| Monument in Kurgan | ||
| Annotation board in Odessa | ||
| Bust in Kharkov | ||
| Annotation board in Dzerzhinsk | ||
| Monument in St. Petersburg (Moscow Victory Park) | ||
| Memorial sign in the village of Mikhailo-Kotsyubinskoe | ||
| Annotation board in Arkhangelsk | ||
| Annotation board in Chuguev | ||
| Annotation board in Donetsk | ||
| Spring of memory in Yerevan | ||
| Annotation board in Sovetsk | ||
| Street in Verkhnyaya Pyshma | ||
| Memorial sign near the village. High Kolok |
M Atrosov Alexander Matveevich - machine gunner of the 2nd separate battalion of the 91st separate Siberian volunteer brigade named after I.V. Stalin of the 6th Stalin Siberian Volunteer Rifle Corps of the 22nd Army of the Kalinin Front, Red Army soldier.
Born on February 5, 1924 in the city of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk - the administrative center of the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine). Russian. Lost his parents early. Since 1935, he was brought up in the Ivanovo regime orphanage (Ulyanovsk region), where he graduated from 7 classes. In 1939, he was sent to a car repair plant in the city of Kuibyshev (now Samara), but soon escaped from there. By the verdict of the people's court of the 3rd section of the Frunzensky district of the city of Saratov on October 8, 1940, Alexander Matrosov was sentenced under Article 192 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR to two years in prison for violating the passport regime (the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR on May 5, 1967 overturned this sentence) . He served time in the Ufa children's labor colony. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he repeatedly made written requests to be sent to the front... Member of the Komsomol.
He was drafted into the Red Army by the Kirov district military registration and enlistment office of the city of Ufa, Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in September 1942 and sent to the Krasnokholm Infantry School (October 1942), but soon most The cadets were sent to the Kalinin Front.
In the active army since November 1942. He served as part of the 2nd separate rifle battalion of the 91st separate Siberian volunteer brigade named after I.V. Stalin (later 254th Guards Rifle Regiment, 56th Guards Rifle Division, Kalinin Front). For some time the brigade was in reserve. Then she was transferred near Pskov to the area of Bolshoi Lomovatoy Bor. Straight from the march, the brigade entered the battle.
On February 27, 1943, the 2nd battalion received the task of attacking a strong point in the area of the village of Pleten, west 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 Red Army soldier Alexander Matrosov 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.
He was buried in the village of Chernushki, Loknyansky district, and in 1948 the ashes of A.M. Matrosov was reburied in the city of Velikiye Luki, Pskov region, on the left bank of the Lovat River at the intersection of Rosa Luxemburg Street and the Alexander Matrosov embankment.
A few days later, the name of Alexander 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 date of the Hero’s death was moved to February 23, coinciding the feat with the birthday of the Red Army. Despite the fact that Alexander 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 three hundred people performed a similar heroic act, but this was no longer widely publicized. The feat of Alexander Matrosov became a symbol of courage and military valor, fearlessness and love for the Motherland.
U by the Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on June 19, 1943, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism shown, Red Army soldier Alexander Matveevich Matrosov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
On September 8, 1943, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR I.V. Stalin name A.M. Matrosov was assigned to the 254th Guards Rifle Regiment, and he himself was forever included in the lists of the 1st company of this unit. This was the first order of the USSR NGO during the Great Patriotic War to enroll the fallen Hero forever in the lists of the military unit.
Awarded the Order of Lenin (09/08/1943, posthumously).
In the Victory Park of the capital of Bashkiria - the city of Ufa, a majestic monument was erected, dedicated to the immortal feat of Alexander Matrosov and Minnigali Gubaidullin, at the foot of which there is a fire Eternal flame. Monuments to the Hero were erected in Ufa, Velikiye Luki, Ulyanovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Dnepropetrovsk, St. Petersburg and other cities. A children's cinema in the city of Ufa and a street bear the name of Alexander Matrosov; a memorial museum to A.M. Matrosova in Ufimsky law school Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. His name was given to the Museum of Komsomol Glory of the city of Velikiye Luki, which since September 27, 2007 structural unit Velikoluksky Museum of Local Lore - "Center for Patriotic Initiatives named after Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Matrosov", streets, schools, ships, collective farms and state farms.
From award sheet A.M. Matrosova:
“During his service in the 2nd battalion of the 91st main brigade in a company of machine gunners since February 1943, he proved himself to be an honest, devoted son of the Motherland, politically literate, and decisive.
During the battles with the German invaders in the area of the village. Chernushki, Kalinin region, performed a heroic feat: when a company was advancing on a fortified enemy site (a bunker), the Red Army soldier Sailors, making his way to the bunker, covered the embrasure with his body, which made it possible to overcome the enemy’s defense point..."
ORDER
ABOUT THE AWARDING OF THE 254TH GUARDS RIFLE REGIMENT NAMED AFTER ALEXANDER MATROSOV AND THE ENROLLMENT OF ALEXANDER MATROSOV FOREVER IN THE LISTS OF THE REGIMENT
23 February 1943, guard private of the 254th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 56th Guards Rifle Division, Alexander Matveevich Matrosov, at the decisive moment of the battle with the Nazi invaders for the village. Chernushki, having broken through to the enemy bunker, covered the embrasure with his body, sacrificed himself and thereby ensured the success of the advancing unit.
U by the Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on June 19, 1943 to Guard Private Comrade. Matrosov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
IN The great feat of Comrade Matrosov should serve as an example of military valor and heroism for all soldiers of the Red Army.
D To perpetuate the memory of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Guard Private Alexander Matveevich Matrosov
I order:
1. The 254th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 56th Guards Rifle Division will be given the name:
"254th Guards Rifle Regiment named after Alexander Matrosov".
2. Hero of the Soviet Union Guard Private Alexander Matveevich Matrosov will be enlisted forever in the lists of the 1st company of the 254th Guards Regiment named after Alexander Matrosov.
P the rikaz should be read in all companies, batteries and squadrons.
People's Commissar of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union
Each generation has its own idols and heroes. Today, when movie and pop stars are placed on the podium, and scandalous representatives of bohemians are role models, it’s time to remember those who really deserved eternal memory in our . We will talk about Alexander Matrosov, with whose name Soviet soldiers went into the meat grinder of the Great Patriotic War, trying to repeat his heroic feat, sacrificing their lives in the name of the independence of the Fatherland. Over time, memory erases small details of events and makes the colors faded, making its own adjustments and explanations for what happened. Only many years later it became possible to reveal some mysterious and untold moments in the biography of this young man, who left such a significant mark in the glorious annals of our Motherland.
Anticipating the angry reactions of those who are inclined to leave the facts as they were presented by Soviet means mass media, it is necessary to immediately make a reservation that the research carried out by historians and memoirists in no way detracts from the merits of a man whose name has been borne on the streets of many cities for more than half a century. No one set out to denigrate him, but the Truth requires the establishment of justice and the disclosure of true facts and names that were at one time distorted or simply left unattended.
According to the official version, Alexander was from Dnepropetrovsk, having gone through the Ivanovo and Melekessky orphanages in the Ulyanovsk region and the Ufa labor colony for children. On February 23, 1943, his battalion received the task of destroying a Nazi stronghold near the village of Chernushki, in the Pskov region. However, the approaches to locality covered by three machine-gun crews hidden in bunkers. Special assault groups were sent to suppress them. Two machine guns were destroyed by the joint forces of submachine gunners and armor-piercers, but attempts to silence the third were unsuccessful. In the end, privates Pyotr Ogurtsov and Alexander Matrosov crawled towards him. Soon Ogurtsov was seriously wounded, and Sailors approached the embrasure alone. He threw a couple of grenades and the machine gun fell silent. But as soon as the Red Guards rose to attack, shooting rang out again. Saving his comrades, Sailors found himself at the bunker with one swift throw and covered the embrasure with his body. The moments gained were enough for the fighters to get closer and destroy the enemy. The feat of the Soviet soldier was described in newspapers, magazines and films, his name became a phraseological unit in the Russian language.
After a long search and research work For people who were studying the biography of Alexander Matrosov, it became obvious that only the date of birth of the future hero of the USSR, as well as the place of his death, deserves trust. All other information was quite contradictory, and therefore deserved a closer look.
The first questions arose when, in response to an official request for the place of birth indicated by the hero himself in the city of Dnepropetrovsk, a clear answer came that the birth of a child with that name and surname in 1924 was not registered by any registry office. Further searches in Soviet times by the main researcher of Matrosov's life, Rauf Khaevich Nasyrov, led to public censure of the writer and accusations of revisionism of the heroic pages of wartime. Only much later was he able to continue the investigation, which resulted in a number of interesting discoveries.
Following barely noticeable “breadcrumbs”, the bibliographer initially, based on eyewitness accounts, suggested and then practically proved that the hero’s real name is Shakiryan, and his true place of birth is the small village of Kunakbaevo, which is located in the Uchalinsky district of Bashkiria. A study of documents in the Uchalinsky City Council made it possible to find a record of the birth of a certain Mukhamedyanov Shakiryan Yunusovich on the very day indicated by the official biographical version of the life of Alexander Matrosov, February 5, 1924. Such a discrepancy in the data on the place of birth of the famous hero suggested the idea of checking the authenticity of the remaining biographical data.
None of Shahiryan’s close relatives were alive at that time. However, during further searches, childhood photographs of the boy were found, which were miraculously preserved by former fellow villagers. A detailed examination of these photographs and comparison of them with later photographs of Alexander Matrosov allowed scientists from the Forensic Research Institute in Moscow to give a final conclusion about the identity of the people depicted in them.
Few people know that there is another Alexander Matrosov, the namesake of the main person in the article, who also became a Hero of the Soviet Union. Born on June 22, 1918 in the city of Ivanovo, during the Great Patriotic War he rose to the rank of senior sergeant, platoon commander of a reconnaissance company. In the summer of 1944, Sailors, together with other intelligence officers, captured a bridge on the Belarusian Svisloch River, which was a tributary of the Berezina. For more than a day, a small group held it, repelling the attacks of the fascists, until the main forces of our troops arrived. Alexander survived that memorable battle, successfully ended the war and died in his native Ivanovo on February 5, 1992 at the age of seventy-three.
During conversations with Alexander Matrosov’s fellow soldiers, as well as residents of the village where he was born, and former pupils of orphanages, a picture of this life gradually began to emerge. famous person. Shakiryan Mukhamedyanov's father returned with Civil War disabled and could not find a permanent job. Due to this, his family experienced great financial difficulties. When the boy was only seven years old, his mother died. It became even more difficult to survive, and often the father and his little son begged for alms, wandering through the neighbors' yards. Very soon a stepmother appeared in the house, with whom young Shahiryan was never able to get along, having run away from home.
His short wanderings ended with the boy ending up in a reception center for children under the NKVD, and from there he was sent to modern Dimitrovgrad, which was then called Melekess. It was in this orphanage that he first appears as Alexander Matrosov. But in official documents he was recorded under this name when he entered the colony located in the village of Ivanovka on February 7, 1938. There, the boy named a fictitious place of birth and a city in which he, in his own words, had never been. Based on the documents issued to him, all sources subsequently indicated exactly this information about the place and date of birth of the boy.
Why was Shakiryan recorded under this name? His fellow villagers recalled that at the age of fifteen, in the summer of 1939, he came to his small homeland. The teenager was wearing a visor and a striped vest under his shirt. Even then he called himself Alexander Matrosov. Apparently, he did not want to indicate his real name in the colony because he knew about the general unkind attitude towards the national people. And given his liking for maritime symbols, it was not difficult to come up with a name he liked, as many street children did at that time. However, at the shelter they still remembered that Sashka was called not only Shurik the sailor, but also Shurik-Shakiryan, as well as “Bashkir” - because of the teenager’s dark skin, which again confirms the identity of the two personalities in question.
Both fellow villagers and orphanage students spoke of Sashka as a lively and cheerful guy who loved to strum the guitar and balalaika, knew how to tap dance, and was the best at playing “knucklebones.” They even remembered the words of his own mother, who at one time said that because of his dexterity and excessive activity, he would become either a capable young man or a criminal.
The generally accepted version of the hero’s biography says that Matrosov worked for some time as a carpenter at a furniture factory in Ufa, but how he ended up in the labor colony to which this enterprise was attached is not said anywhere. But this section of his biography contains colorful references to what a wonderful example Alexander was for his peers at the time he became one of the best boxers and skiers in the city, and what wonderful poetry he wrote. To create greater effect in the fictional story, a lot is said about active work Matrosov as a political informant, and also that the hero’s father, being a communist, died from a bullet from a fist.
An interesting fact related to the fighter who accomplished the feat is the presence of at least two almost identical Komsomol tickets in the name of Alexander Matrosov. Tickets are kept in different museums: one in Moscow, the other in Velikiye Luki. Which of the documents is genuine remains unclear.
In fact, in 1939, Matrosov was sent to work at the Kuibyshev Car Repair Plant. However, he soon fled from there due to unbearable working conditions. Later, Sasha and his friend were arrested for non-compliance with the regime. The next documentary evidence about the guy’s life appears almost a year later. For violating the terms of the subscription that he would leave Saratov within 24 hours, according to archival data, on October 8, 1940, Alexander Matrosov was sentenced by the Frunzensky District People's Court to two years in prison under Article 192 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. An interesting fact is that on May 5, 1967, the Supreme Court of the USSR returned to the cassation hearing of Matrosov’s case and overturned the verdict, apparently so as not to tarnish the name of the hero with unpleasant details of his life.
Actually, after the court’s decision, the young man ended up in a labor colony in Ufa, where he served his entire sentence. At the very beginning of the war, seventeen-year-old Alexander, like thousands of his peers, sent a letter to the People's Commissar of Defense with a request to be sent to the front, expressing his passionate desire to defend the Motherland. But he got to the front line only at the end of February 1943, together with other cadets of the Krasnokholmsky school, where Sailors was enrolled in October 1942 after the colony. Due to the difficult situation on all fronts, the graduating cadets, who had not been fired upon, were sent in full force as reinforcements to the Kalinin Front.
Here comes a new inconsistency real facts with an officially accepted biography of this person. In accordance with the documents, Alexander Matrosov was enlisted in the rifle battalion, part of the 91st separate Siberian volunteer brigade, named after Joseph Stalin, on February 25. But the Soviet press indicates that Alexander Matrosov accomplished his feat on February 23. Having read about this later in the newspapers, Matrosov’s fellow soldiers were extremely surprised by this information, because in fact, the memorable battle in the Pskov region, not far from the village of Chernushki, which the battalion, in accordance with the order of the command, was supposed to recapture from the Germans, took place on February 27, 1943 .
Why so important date was changed not only in newspapers, but also in many historical documents describing the great feat? Anyone who grew up in Soviet times is well aware of how the government and many other official bodies liked to mark various, even the most insignificant events, with memorable anniversaries and dates. This is what happened in this case. The approaching anniversary, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Red Army, required “real confirmation” to inspire and raise the morale of Soviet soldiers. Obviously, it was decided to coincide the feat of fighter Alexander Matrosov with a memorable date.
The details of exactly how events unfolded on that terrible February day when a courageous nineteen-year-old boy died are described in detail in many articles and textbooks. Without dwelling on this, it is only worth noting that the feat of Alexander Matrosov in the official interpretation clearly contradicts the laws of physics. Even one bullet fired from a rifle, hitting a person, will definitely knock him down. What can we say about a machine gun burst at point blank range? Moreover, the human body cannot serve as any serious barrier to machine gun bullets. Even the first notes of front-line newspapers said that Alexander’s corpse was found not in the embrasure, but in front of him in the snow. It is unlikely that Matrosov threw himself at her with his chest; this would have been the most absurd way to defeat an enemy bunker. Trying to reconstruct the events of that day, the researchers settled on the following version. Since there were eyewitnesses who saw Matrosov on the roof of the bunker, most likely he tried to shoot or throw grenades at the machine gun crew through the ventilation window. He was shot, and his body fell onto the vent, blocking the possibility of venting the powder gases. While dumping the corpse, the Germans hesitated and ceased fire, and Matrosov’s comrades were able to overcome the area under fire. Thus, the feat really took place; at the cost of the life of the Sailors, he ensured the success of the assault on his detachment.
There is also a misconception that Alexander's feat was the first of its kind. However, it is not. Many documented facts have been preserved of how, already in the first years of the war, Soviet soldiers rushed to enemy firing points. The very first of them were Alexander Pankratov, a political commissar of a tank company, who sacrificed himself on August 24, 1941 during the attack on the Kirillov Monastery near Novgorod, and Yakov Paderin, who died on December 27, 1941 near the village of Ryabinikha in the Tver region. And in “The Ballad of Three Communists” by Nikolai Semenovich Tikhonov (the author of the famous phrase: “I should make nails out of these people ...”), the battle near Novgorod on January 29, 1942 is described, in which three soldiers rushed to the enemy pillboxes at once - Gerasimenko, Cheremnov and Krasilov.
It also requires mentioning the fact that even before the end of March 1943, at least thirteen people - soldiers of the Red Army, inspired by the example of Alexander Matrosov, carried out a similar act. In total, more than four hundred people performed a similar feat during the war years. Many of them were posthumously awarded and received the title of Hero of the USSR, but their names are familiar only to meticulous historians, as well as fans of historical wartime articles. Most of the brave heroes remained unknown, and subsequently dropped out of the picture altogether. official chronicles. Among them were the dead soldiers of the assault groups, who fought that very day next to Matrosov and managed not only to suppress the enemy’s bunkers, but also, deploying fascist machine guns, to return fire on the enemy. In this context, it is very important to understand that the image of Alexander, in whose honor monuments were built and streets were named in cities throughout Russia, precisely personifies all the nameless soldiers, our ancestors, who gave their lives for the sake of victory.
Initially, the hero was buried where he fell, in the village of Chernushki, but in 1948 his remains were reburied in the cemetery of the city of Velikiye Luki, located on the banks of the Lovat River. The name of Alexander Matrosov was immortalized by Stalin’s order of September 8, 1943. In accordance with this document, it was for the first time forever included in the list of the first company of the 254th Guards Regiment, where Sasha served. Unfortunately, the leadership of the Red Army, creating an epic image of a fighter who despised death in the name of saving his comrades, pursued another rather unpleasant goal. Neglecting artillery preparation, the authorities encouraged the Red Army soldiers to launch deadly frontal attacks on enemy machine guns, justifying the senseless loss of life as an example of a brave soldier.
Even when finding out the real history of the hero, whom many generations of residents of our country know as Alexander Matrosov, after clarifying his personality, place of birth, individual pages of his biography and the essence of the heroic act itself, his feat is still undeniable and remains a rare example of unprecedented courage and valor! The feat of a very young youth who spent only three days at the front. We sing a song to the madness of the brave...
Information sources:
-http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=597
-http://izvestia.ru/news/286596
-http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/
-http://www.pulter.ru/docs/Alexander_Matrosov/Alexander_Matrosov
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