Who are the orderlies and who were called night witches: 11 facts about the war

The Great Patriotic War and World War II as a whole became one of the most terrible catastrophes of the 20th century, which erupted through the fault of man. But it was our grandfathers who liberated the countries of the Soviet Union and Europe from fascism, they did not allow the Germans to establish world domination. The USSR deprived the Wehrmacht and its allies of almost all military units and defeated most of the divisions. And this victory should live in our hearts forever, we must pass it on to our children and grandchildren, as our loved ones once passed on to us. Everyone who participated in these bloody actions became heroes for us. Today is the best day to remember the heroes of the past and terrible facts that we probably have already forgotten from the time of school.

Fact No. 1. The blockade of Leningrad lasted a long 872 two days.

Fact No. 2. Not only men fought, more than 800,000 women went to the front. And more than 90 representatives of the fair sex received the Hero of the Soviet Union. Several female regiments were formed. So, participants of the 46th aviation regiment were nicknamed "night witches."

Fact No. 3. On August 24, 1941, the 24-year-old Alexander Pankratov closed the enemy's machine gun with himself, thanks to which his comrades managed to win the battle. He became the first hero in the history of this terrible war, who decided on such a feat.

Fact No. 4. Everyone knows another similar feat: 19-year-old Alexander Matrosov closed the embrasure of the firing point of the Germans. But there were many such heroes as these two soldiers, more than four hundred people.

Fact No. 5. At the front were not only people, but also dogs. Among them were signal dogs, which delivered combat messages, sapper dogs, which cleared more than four million mines. There were also dog-orderlies: they were able to distinguish a living person from a dead person, and if the wounded man was unconscious, the dog began to lick his face, trying to bring him to his senses. A bag of medicines was fastened on the back of the orderly, the dog patiently waited for the soldier to bandage the wound, and crawled on to the next victim. In total, about 60 thousand dogs served at the front.

Fact No. 6. After the outbreak of war, the Moscow government decided to disguise the Kremlin. Roofs, walls and facades were repainted, and from a height the center of the capital became like a residential quarter.

Fact No. 7. Until now, historians disagree on how many people died in the war. In the post-war years, it was said about seven million dead, and for a long time the victims were not counted. Today, it is officially believed that more than 26 million people died. But there are other data, according to which there were about 46 million victims throughout the USSR.

Fact No. 8. The Third Reich suffered much smaller losses: 7.1 million people.

Fact No. 9. In Belarus, the Nazis burned 9,200 settlements, and more than half of them with villagers.

Fact No. 10. The USSR signed a peace treaty with Germany only in 1955, so formally for another ten years the states were at war.

Fact No. 11. Victory Day was not such a great holiday right away. The first two years after the war, May 9 was inactive, then the day off was decided to be postponed to New Year, and May 9 became a normal day. Of course, the memory of the Great Victory always lived in the hearts of people, and everyone celebrated this day in the circle of their loved ones. Officially, May 9 was again a weekend only under Brezhnev, in 1965. Then the first parade took place on Red Square, and over time, Victory Day began to grow into new traditions that we were accustomed to: laying flowers, a festive procession, fireworks.

Watch the video: Have Your Say October 9, 2019. Vote 2019 (May 2024).