Bravery of Kazakhs in World War II

The annual celebrations of the Victory Day will be taking place on the 9th of May. The holiday is dedicated to remembering the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in 1945 in the Great Patriotic War as the WWII is known in the former Soviet states. The surrender documents were signed in the late of night on 8 May 1945. it was already May 9 Moscow time. Celebrating this day has become a tradition in Kazakhstan.

During the War, along with all other 15 Soviet republics the Kazakh Soviet Republic was wholeheartedly engaged in the war effort. More than 1 million 200 thousand soldiers were mobilized from the republic. They formed 12 rifle and 4 cavalry divisions, 7 rifle brigades, and about 50 separate regiments and battalions.

In the beginning of the War the Soviets suffered defeat after defeat. The loss of lives reached millions. In this situation, the Kazakhstanis were sent to the most dangerous parts of the front line.

The first major victory for the Soviet was the pushback of the German forces in the defense of Moscow. The Panfilov’s Men took part in the defense of Moscow at the critical point of the World War II. The bravery of Panfilov division is remembered far beyond Kazakhstan and one of its officers’ words became legendary. He was a political officer named Klochkov who declared: "Russia is great, yet there is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind us!" His words resonated all across the Soviet Union. The other group of soldiers who fought with bravery for Moscow was the battalion under the command of Lieutenant Baurzhan Momyshuly. The legendary commander was awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Another Kazakh, Tolegen Toktarov, fought his way into the headquarters of the German command in the village of Borodino and killed five officers during the battle for Moscow. All in all, he killed 115 enemy soldiers and officers.

The list of Kazakh heroes also includes defenders of Leningrad. One of them, Sultan Baimagambetov closed the embrasure of the enemy bunker with his own body to allow his comrades to cross the opening intact. Pilot Sergey Morozov blew a column of enemy tanks with his burning plane.

Many other Kazakhstani pilots showed themselves true heroes of the war. Captain Gastello’s feat was repeated by a Kazakh pilot Nurken Abdirov who sent his burning plane into the German tank column. Legends were made about a Kazakh virtuoso Talgat Bigeldinov who destroyed enemies in the air. He was awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union twice. Pilot Sergei Lugansk also won this title twice: he personally destroyed 36 enemy planes, and 6 more in group battles.

The Stalingrad Battle was yet another critical milestone in the course of the WWII. In this battle the 38th Division under the command of Colonel Ghani Safiullin performed the feats of bravery that cannot be overestimated. The soldiers destroyed the 297th Infantry Division of the Nazis and captured its commander Brebber along with his staff. Moving forward, the 38th forced the 14th Panzer Corps to surrender. For its accomplishments the 38th was awarded the name of 73rd Guards Divison.

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