Mariya Oktyabrskaya: The Woman Who Bought A Tank For Her Revenge From Nazis
Mariya Oktyabrskaya, born on August 16, 1905, was one of the first female tank drivers to receive the title of Soviet Union Hero. Maria, a child with 9 more siblings, married a Soviet officer in 1925. The moment the news of the murder of her husband by the Nazi Army was heard, Mariya decided to sell everything she owned and buy a tank for the sake of revenge on the Nazis.
Let's get to know the 'bad-ass girl' Mariya.
Mariya didn't just do nursing, she also learned to use weapons and tools.
'Being married to an army officer requires not only to be proud but to take responsibility at the same time,' she thought.
The moment she received the news of her husband's death, she took an oath for revenge.
When the Second World War began to spread eastward, Mariya lived in Tomsk in Siberia. In August 1941, it was two years after she would receive the news that her husband was killed by the Nazis near Kiev. The news was late in the day, but the sensation of revenge was just getting fired.
Mariya took the first step to realizing the vows of revenge.
Mariya was so ambitious to take revenge on the Nazis after her husband's death that she even sold all her possessions and even her stuffed teeth, bought a tank and donated it to the Red Army, but she only had one condition.
She wanted to actively take part in the war provided she used the tank herself.
The Red Army officials who learned this special condition were surprised by this request, but they allowed Mariya to use the tank she donated because it seemed a good way to raise the spirit of the citizens.
Mariya was 38 years old when she started training for five months of tank usage.
After five months of training, Mariya was sent to the 26th Tank Brigade as an engineer and driver.
She gave the T-34 medium size tank the name of Боевая подруга (Fighting Girlfriend)
She wrote the name of the tank on its body ''The Fighting Girlfriend'' and joined her first battle on October 21, 1943, in Smolensk.
Mariya, the soldier who surprises men with her courage.
When the tank was hit during the war, she went against orders, got out of the tank, repaired it and continued the battle. Due to this courageous movement, she was given the 'sergeant' rank.
It was easy for Mariya to arrange night raids on the Nazis.
On November 17, the chains of Mariya's tank attacking the Nazi headquarters near Noveoye Selo were shot with catapults, but Mariya and her friend came out of the tanks and repaired the chains of the tank, while the other friends protected them by shooting at Nazis.
January 17, 1944 was her last attack.
Mariya, who attacked the Nazis again near Vitebsk, destroyed their ditches and ammunition, but the Fighting Girlfriend was shot by an anti-tank gun bullet. Mariya again wanted to get out of the tank and repair it, but a shrapnel hit her head.
The last days of Mariya ...
After the war, Mariya was transferred to a military field hospital near Kiev where she lived in a coma for two months and lost her life on March 15th.
The following August, She became the first of the few female tank drivers to be awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award; the Soviet Union's highest award for bravery during combat.
The crazy things love makes people do...
Mariya Oktyabrskaya is a good example of what a woman can do for a man she loves and how she can show a strong stance ...
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