‘The Germans wanted to capture Uralsk’: Little-known facts about Kazakhstan during World War II

Tengrinews.kz - Kazakhstan made a significant contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War, but many pages of the wartime history still remain little known. Professor of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Doctor of Historical Sciences Laila Akhmetova, who has spent decades researching this topic, shared some of these facts with Tengrinews.kz.

Kazakhs on the frontlines of the Great Patriotic War

According to official data, 1,196,000 people were conscripted from the Kazakh SSR at the beginning of the war. However, Akhmetova said the real number is higher.

“From 1938 to June 1941, 178,000 Kazakhstanis joined the Red Army, including 40,600 ethnic Kazakhs. At the time, the population of the Kazakh SSR was 6.425 million. The total number mobilized was 1,366,000 people,” the historian said.

Among them were around 10,000 women, many of whom are still not included in official veteran lists. According to Akhmetova, little was said or written about the women.

Along with Aliya Moldagulova and Manshuk Mametova, one of the most prominent women to join the frontlines was Khiuaz Dospanova, the first Kazakh female pilot to receive the country’s highest national honor – the title “Khalyk Kaharmany” (“People’s Hero).

“She served in the 588th Night Bomber Regiment and carried out over 200 combat missions, dropping deadly cargo on enemy targets. It was a female aviation regiment, and the Germans called them ‘Night Witches’,” Akhmetova said.

The second woman in Kazakhstan to receive this high title for her contribution to victory was singer Roza Baglanova, who performed for soldiers at the front.

“Roza Baglanova served at the front as a soldier, received military orders and two ‘For Courage’ medals. One of them was awarded by Marshal Rokossovsky. She was part of a frontline concert brigade from Uzbekistan and met the war in Berlin. Baglanova not only performed, she also carried out wounded soldiers and applied bandages,” the historian noted.

‘About the heroes of past times...’

A total of 499 people from Kazakhstan were nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The last to receive the title in 1990 was Bauyrzhan Momyshuly.

“The first Hero of the Soviet Union from the Kazakh SSR was the son of a Pavlodar peasant, Major General of Tank Troops Kuzma Semenchenko. He was awarded the title on July 22, 1941, one month after the war began,” Akhmetova shared.

According to the historian, Kazakh soldiers repeatedly performed heroic deeds that became part of the most inspiring pages of the Great Patriotic War history.

“Imangali Baltabanov, Ivan Babin, Sundetkali Skaliyev, Buran Nysanbayev, and Agadil Sukhanbayev repeated the feat of Alexander Matrosov, using their bodies to block enemy machine-gun nests. Pilots Nurken Abdirov, Pyotr Teryayev, and Mikhail Yanko repeated the feat of Captain Gastello, directing their burning planes at the enemy,” said the professor.

Akhmetova said that 87 ethnic Kazakhs received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, though this number is incomplete since some were drafted from other Soviet republics. One example is General Sabyr Rakhimov, who was born in Tashkent.

“We still don’t know how many Kazakhs were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Research must continue,” said Laila Akhmetova.

Defenders of the Brest Fortress

As of today, the names of 701 defenders of the Brest Fortress from the Kazakh SSR are known, along with more than 200 others from Kazakhstan who fought in that direction. The total number remains unknown. According to the historian, at least five echelons of Kazakh conscripts were sent to the USSR’s western border regions two years before the war began. They were the first to face the Wehrmacht offensive.

Illustrative photo © Turar Kazangapov

“At least two echelons departed from Almaty, possibly more. One of them, sent from Petropavlovsk, included men not only from North Kazakhstan but also from the Aktobe region. Other echelons departed from Semipalatinsk, with conscripts from East Kazakhstan as well,” said the historian.

Video frame/ The Central State Archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The Germans wanted to capture Uralsk

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the western regions of Kazakhstan faced a real threat of occupation. The German command planned to capture Uralsk by September 1, 1942, Akhmetova said. In addition, civilians in West Kazakhstan suffered casualties.

“About 300 civilians were killed in air raids and machine-gun fire on the railway stations of Saykhin, Zhanibek, and Shungai in West Kazakhstan. This figure comes from reports by local anti-aircraft defense headquarters,” the historian specified.

How Kazakh students raised money for tanks

One of the most vivid and lesser-known stories from the Kazakh SSR during the war was the initiative by students of Kirov Kazakh State University (now Al-Farabi Kazakh National University) to raise money for a tank column.

The initiative received widespread support across the Soviet Union and turned into a mass movement. In 1943, a government telegram was sent to the university administration.

“Please convey to the university students, initiators of fundraising for the ‘Soviet Student’ tank column, my fraternal greetings and gratitude from the Red Army. – Joseph Stalin,” the document reads, as cited by Akhmetova.

In 1945, this tank column took part in the assault on Berlin.

Aid to liberated Soviet territories

Starting in 1943, the Kazakh SSR began providing aid to regions liberated from Nazi occupation.

“Archival evidence confirms Kazakhstan’s support to liberated regions of Stalingrad, Moscow, Leningrad, Kalinin, Smolensk, Kursk, and Oryol, as well as to Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and the Baltic states,” said the historian.

The first to meet Americans at the Elbe

The first Kazakh to meet American troops at the Elbe on April 25, 1945, was Aitkali Alibekov from the Aktobe region.

“At 11:30 a.m. on April 25, 1945, near the town of Torgau, private cavalryman Aitkali Alibekov was one of the first to meet American soldiers. Meanwhile, a native of Almaty, Mikhail Korobov, conducted radio negotiations with Hitler’s bunker about surrender terms for the surrounded German forces,” said Laila Akhmetova.

Laila Akhmetova is a well-known Kazakh historian, academic, and public figure. She is the author of more than 700 articles, brochures, and books on the history of Kazakhstan, image-building, conflictology, public relations, journalism, and other topics.

Akhmetova has identified 556 Kazakh defenders of the Brest Fortress and over 200 more from the Kazakh SSR who fought in that direction. For 48 years, the professor has been filling the gaps in the wartime history of Kazakhstan. On June 22, 2016, she published and presented the book “1941. Brest Fortress. Kazakhstan.”