In the summer of 1943, Maria Oktyabrskaya was been evacuated
to the Russian city of Tomsk as the Germans devastated her country. Her husband
that was sent to the front was never been heard for two years. But two years
later, Maria finally heard the news that her husband was killed in action. Filled
with great anger, Maria swears revenge. But she was unable to help directly, so
she decided to sell all her possessions and donate the proceeds to defend the
motherland.
But that was not enough for Maria, so she wrote a letter to
the general secretary of the Soviet Union, she pleads for permission to join
the war in an active role. What she wrote was a letter for revenge and she said
“My husband and for the Soviet people tortured by the barbarians”. She requested she wanted a tank and ones more she said that she kindly name the tank “Fighting
Girlfriend” and to send her to the frontlines as the driver of the said tank. The
general secretary wrote back and said “Your wish will be granted Maria Vasilyevna”. She was very formidable in the training, she
passed the 4 months of tank school training and she was introduced to her
Fighting Girlfriend.
The tank was a T 34/75; she met her crew machine gunner Yasko,
radio operator Misha, and Lieutenant commander Chebotko. In September 1943, she
was transferred to the 26th Guards Tank Brigade, her comrades were
not entirely happy with Maria and they considered her a joke or propaganda just
there for the publicity. At a meeting, her fellow soldiers made it clear that
they didn’t take her seriously. To make Maria's motivations clear, she stood up
and made a loud speech “My dear comrades, I’m proud to be by your side.
We will reach the borders of Germany and strike right to the
heart of the beast. The crew of Fighting Girlfriend will never stay behind you;
I will fight with all my heart when the battle comes.” It must have been a difficult
environment for Maria to work in, but she was determined to prove the doubters
wrong. Just as soon as she would go to a battle and saw action, which is
exactly what happens when the second battle of Smolensk was upon them.
On October the 21sth in 1943 Marias Fighting Girlfriend finally
entered the battle, it was her moment to prove to everyone that she is a good and capable
tanker. The battle started well, and the Fighting Girlfriend rushed into the
enemy forces and starts shooting. The tank destroyed a machine gun and over 50 enemy
soldiers, Maria and her crew fought hard and manage to push through the German
lines.
But she was suddenly hit and realized that the Fighting girlfriend is immobilized, she opened the hatch and climbed down to see that
one of the tracks have been damaged. Without a second thought, Maria grabbed a
spare track from the side of the tank and replaces the damaged one. Despite the
furious barrage of fire, she bravely fixed the tank with her crew covering her.
She successfully fixed the tracks and manages to get Fighting Girlfriend back
in business. The commander thanked Maria, she had won the respect of her peers
and she was promoted to the rank of sergeant. In the following battles, Maria
and his crew of Fighting Girlfriend’s reputation grew. The Battalion commander
addressing everyone on the radio said “You should strive to be as good as
Fighting Girlfriend comrades; today her crew had eliminated a whole battalion
of German goons.” She has greatly inspired everyone around her with her sheer
will and determination.
On the 17th of January 1944, Maria and her Fighting
Girlfriend participates in the battle in Belarus. Their situation was dire, every
tank was low on ammunition and the German forces were quickly advancing forward.
The Fighting Girlfriend manages to destroy 3 heavy machine gun points and many
German positions, but suddenly the tank was hit in close range by an enemy
anti-tank gun. The crew was unharmed and rushed out from the tank; Maria looked
around and saw the tracks were hit and broken again. She again repairs the
broken tracks without a single thought.
But while she was doing the repair she was hit by shrapnel,
she was transferred to the hospital of Smolensk because she had lost a lot of
blood. And by that time, Maria’s crew wrote a letter for her “We wish you a
speedy recovery Maria Vasilyevna; we believe that our Fighting Girlfriend will
reach berlin. For the wounds they inflicted on you, our motherland, we will
bring our wrath upon them. We are to go to battle in an hour; our Fighting
Girlfriend sends her best regards.” Maria shed a tear and she said “Please,
thank my crew and send them my best wishes.” On the 15th of March In 1944, Maria succumbed to her injuries. She was declared a hero of the Soviet
Union.
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