When the Great Patriotic War began many women volunteered for the armed forces, but most of them were rejected. They were steered towards nursing or other supportive roles. Many determined women managed to enter combat by first volunteering as field medics and nurses, then simply picking up a gun during the battle, and charging boldly into the line of fire. In the area of aviation, women also contributed greatly to the war effort. In rickety biplanes, they flew bombing missions at night, without parachutes; their only protection was the darkness. This book tells the stories of the brave women that were awarded the Soviet Union's most prestigious title Hero of the Soviet Union for their bravery in protecting their homeland.

When the Great Patriotic War began many women volunteered for the armed forces, but most of them were rejected. They were steered towards nursing or other supportive roles. Many determined women managed to enter combat by first volunteering as field medics and nurses, then simply picking up a gun during the battle, and charging boldly into the line of fire. In the area of aviation, women also contributed greatly to the war effort. In rickety biplanes, they flew bombing missions at night, without parachutes; their only protection was the darkness. This book tells the stories of the brave women that were awarded the Soviet Union's most prestigious title Hero of the Soviet Union for their bravery in protecting their homeland.

The Great Patriotic War began on 22 June 1941, when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union. Over 10 million Soviet soldiers took part in the war and of those about 12,600 earned the Soviet Union's highest military award the Hero of the Soviet Union for deeds of great daring and self sacrifice. This book covers the male recipients of the Hero of the Soviet Union award during the Great Patriotic War. Snipers, fighter pilots, partisans and spies are all included, together with the famous aces Pokryshkin and Kozhedub, who both gained the award an amazing three times.

The Great Patriotic War began on 22 June 1941, when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union. Over 10 million Soviet soldiers took part in the war and of those about 12,600 earned the Soviet Union's highest military award the Hero of the Soviet Union for deeds of great daring and self sacrifice. This book covers the male recipients of the Hero of the Soviet Union award during the Great Patriotic War. Snipers, fighter pilots, partisans and spies are all included, together with the famous aces Pokryshkin and Kozhedub, who both gained the award an amazing three times.

With Hitler's invasion of Russia on 22 June 1941, the Eastern front opened and politicians and generals around the world predicted the swift destruction of the Soviet armies. Nazi Germany threw its might against Russia: 5,000,000 men took part in the blitz attack along the Russian frontier. From interviews and primary evidence, much of it never previously published, unfolds the story of the Eastern Front, interweaving accounts of the men and women who served with the progress of the war itself. A tale of unbelievable heroism.

With Hitler's invasion of Russia on Sunday 22 June 1941, the Eastern Front opened in World War II and politicians and generals around the world predicted the swift destruction of the Soviet armies. Nazi Germany threw men and equipment against Russia in unprecedented numbers: a total of five million men took part in the Blitz attack along the entire Russian frontier. Using interviews and primary evidence collected in Russia, Albert Axell tells the story of the Eastern Front as it unfolded, interweaving his accounts of the ordinary and extraordinary men and women soldiers of Russia with the progress of the war itself. The volume is both a history and a tale of courage and endurance; unbelievable heroism combined with an implacable refusal to admit defeat - whatever the odds.

Beginning in 1942, with the Eastern Front having claimed the lives of several million Soviet soldiers, Stalin's Red Army began drafting tens of thousands of women, most of them in their teens or early twenties, to defend against the Nazi invasion. Some volunteered, but most were given no choice, in particular about whether to become a sniper or to fill some other combat role. After a few months of brutal training, the female snipers were issued with high-powered rifles and sent to the front. Almost without exception, their first kill came as a great shock, and changed them forever. But as the number of kills grew, many snipers became addicted to their new profession, some to the point of becoming depressed if a "hunt" proved fruitless. Accounts from the veterans of the female sniper corps include vivid descriptions of the close bonds they formed with their fellow soldiers, but also the many hardships and deprivations they faced: days and days in a trench without enough food, water, or rest, their lives constantly at risk from the enemy and from the cold; burying their friends, most of them yet to leave their teenage years; or the frequent sexual harassment by male officers. Although many of these young women were killed, often on their first day of combat, the majority returned from the front, only to face the usual constellation of trials with which every war veteran is familiar. Some continued their studies, but most were forced to work, even as they also started families or struggled to adjust to life as single parents. Nearly all of them were still in their early twenties, and despite the physical and mental scars left by the war, they had no time for complaints as the Soviet Union rebuilt following the war. Drawing on original interviews, diaries, and previously unpublished archival material, historian Lyuba Vinogradova has produced an unparalleled quilt of first-person narratives about these women's lives. This fascinating document brings the realities and hardships faced by the Red Army's female sniper corps to life, shedding light on a little-known aspect of the Soviet Union's struggles against Hitler's war machine.