2. Fazal Din
A mere flesh wound wasn’t going to take down Din before he finished his task.
Fighting with the 7th Battalion of the British Indian Army, Din was on duty in Burma when he got caught under fire from Japanese troops, whose position Din and his crew were going after. Lining up against a bunker in what Din presumed would be a safe place, their unit was abruptly interrupted by six Japanese soldiers and two officers with swords.
Din, seeing one of his men get slashed, charged the officer and ended up on the bad end of it as well. But when others would quickly panic and retreat with their bleeding wound, Din kept fighting, using the same sword that impaled his body to attack and kill the officer and another soldier. Din’s impeccable strength carried him back to his camp, but he succumbed to his wound and died shortly thereafter – but not before reporting what had happened to his fellow soldiers.
1. Leo Major
Leo Major, a Canadian soldier, wasn’t happy just putting in the bare minimum of effort. Major wanted to make a name for himself, and that he did – by taking it upon himself to save an entire town.
In April 1945, Major and one fellow soldier decided to liberate the city of Zwolle, Holland (where they were based) from bombardment, all on their own. While they were successfully on their way, Major’s partner was killed by machine gun fire from a German soldier driving past as they approached. Not daunted by this, he carried on anyway, taking control of the vehicle and heading into town.
Major fooled the Germans by running through the streets, shooting bullets into the air and tossing grenades, making them believe they were under a full attack from the Canadians. While the Germans were distracted, Major took down each position one by one, and helped numerous groups of prisoners escape to the outskirts of the city, where his fellow Canadian soldiers were waiting.
Finally coming across the Gestapo headquarters, Major not only set the place on fire, but he managed to eliminate four Nazi officers, while the remaining four simply ran away.
By the brink of dawn, the Germans had evacuated and Zwolle was spared. Major had become a hero over the course of one evening, carrying out a brilliant sneak attack in spectacular fashion.