In January 1944, Oktyabrskaya was thrown into the fighting near the small village of Shvedy. The tide of the war had already begun to shift against the Nazis at the Battle of Kursk. Kursk was, and remains to this day, the largest tank battle in history. Over 6,000 tanks and millions of men engaged each other as the Nazis made a final effort to break the Soviet lines. The Soviets held and launched a counter-attack. And from that moment, the Nazis lost the initiative. It was now up to the Soviets to finally drive them out of the country.
It was the dream that Oktyabrskaya had held since the start of the war. And now, at Svedy, she had the chance to help see it through. The Germans were dug in near the village, holding up the Soviet advance. And in her typical style, Oktyabrskaya launched her tank straight at the German lines. Once again, Fighting Girlfriend rolled over the German positions, taking out artillery positions and machine gun nests. As the tank rolled over the German trenches, Soviet soldiers poured into the gaps. The desperate Germans then launched their self-propelled anti-tank guns at Oktyabrskaya.
These massive machines were heavily armored fighting vehicles. They were similar to tanks, but they had larger barrels and less armor. This made them perfectly designed to puncture the thick armor of enemy tanks. They weren’t tanks, but they were tank-killers. And now, they came rolling toward Oktyabrskaya. With a combination of skill, expert gunners, and luck, the Fighting Girlfriend managed to destroy any of these tank-killers that came in range. But then, one of the German anti-tank guns got a lucky shot and a round slammed into the Fighting Girlfriend’s tracks. Once again, Oktyabrskaya ordered her gunners to cover her while she leaped out of the cockpit.
Once on the ground, she rushed to repair the tank as bullets pinged off the hull and artillery shells screamed overhead. Just as she managed to get the track functioning again, an artillery shell exploded at close range. Razor-sharp shrapnel from the shell whizzed around Oktyabrskaya, and one piece struck her in the skull. She was instantly knocked unconscious. The rest of her crew managed to finish the battle and evacuated Oktyabrskaya to a military hospital near Kiev. But Oktyabrskaya fell into a deep coma that lasted the next two months. Finally, in March, Mariya Oktyabrskaya died.
In recognition of her incredible courage and skill, she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It was highest possible honor the country could give. Heroes like Oktyabrskaya played an important role in inspiring the army to finish the fight against the Nazis. And her relentless determination and courage were a model for the rest of men and women in the country to emulate. And while the Soviet victory obviously only exchanged one tyrant for another in many parts of Europe, it’s hard not to admire women like Oktyabrskaya who gave everything for the people they loved.
Where did we get this stuff? Here are our sources:
Encyclopedia Brittanica: Battle of Kursk
Heroines of the Soviet Union, Osprey 2003
Biography: Rejected Princesses: Exploring the Historical Hellions Disney Won’t Touch