On February 27^th, 1943, private Aleksandr Matrosov and his comrades of the 2^nd Battalion of the 91^st Separate Rifle Brigade of the 22^nd Army of the Kalinin Front received an order to engage an enemy base near the village of Chernushki in Pskov Oblast. As soon as the comrades emerged on an edge of a forest, they were caught up in heavy submachine gunfire – three enemy earth-and-timber emplaced submachine guns were covering the avenues of approach to the village. One submachine gun was put out by a soviet assault rifle group. The second submachine gun was destroyed by an armour-piercing group. The third gun, however, continued to control the whole glen in front of the village. All attempts to silence it were futile. Then private Matrosov approached the enemy emplacement and threw two hand grenades in it. The gun went dead, but as soon as his comrades rose to charge, it resumed fire. On impulse, Matrosov sprang up and covered the gun-port with his body. He gave his life to accomplish the unit’s mission.

A few days later the name of Aleksandr Matrosov spread around the Soviet Union. The unit’s journalist patriotically covered his heroic deed. The unit’s commander learned about it only from the newspapers; the date of Matrosov’s death was moved to February 23^rd in order to coincide with the Day of the Soviet Army. Despite the fact that Aleksandr Matrosov was not the first soviet comrade to commit such a self-sacrificial deed, his name was later used to glorify the heroism of the soviet soldiers. Although over three hundred comrades repeated his feat later on during the war, their effort did not receive such an extensive coverage. Matrosov’s heroic deed became the symbol of courage and military valour, of fearless devotion to Motherland.

On June 19^th, 1943, Aleksandr was posthumously awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. He was buried in the town of Velikie Luki. By the order of the People’s Commissar for Defense of the Soviet Union as of September 8^th, 1943, the 254^th Guard Rifle Regiment was named after Matrosov, the latter being permanently enlisted in its first company. Monuments dedicated to the hero were erected in Ufa, Velikie Luki, Ulyanovsk, and other towns. His name was also given to the Young Commumists' Glory Museum of Velikie Luki, as well as to many streets, schools, pioneer squads, and even motor ships.

For more information on war heroes visit Our Victory social project official website.

Monument to Alexander Matrosov