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The scent of diesel and the thunderous cacophony of warfare enshrouded the battlefield near Leningrad in January of 1944. The Leningrad-Novgorod offensive had begun and the fire of cannons, small arms, and mortars were the guiding lights of the bloody slaughter it would become. Today’s story ends here on the 17th of January 1944. An unlikely conclusion for an unlikely story about a unique woman who went against the grain of her time and made a mark on one of the world’s greatest armed conflicts. Her name was Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya (Мария Васильевна Октябрьская). As the battle raged around her an explosive knocked the track off of her tank, “Fighting Girlfriend.” Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya and members of her tank team jumped out of the tank and sprang into action. Hustling to and fro within the roar of warfare and the dazzling lights of shots fired in hate they frantically worked to repair their tank’s track. No doubt a sigh of relief flooded over Mariya as stood next to the completed project. Her comrades’ cover fire erupting mere feet away applauding their effort only interrupted by the enemy’s angry retorts. Unbeknownst to her death was already raining down from the sky. The mortar shell of an enemy collided with the scorched earth nearby-hurtling shrapnel into her head-leaving her unconscious.



Life before War

Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya’s story begins years before in the then sleepy Crimean Peninsula. Mariya was one of ten children living the life of rural peasants of the soon to be Soviet Union. The English and Russian sources differ on her exact date of birth, placing it sometime between 1902 and 1905. There is little known about her early years other than she completed the equivalent of high school and post high school work. In the early 1920s she concluded schooling and began first working at a cannery in Simferopol. Later as a telephone operator at a city telephone exchange. Life seemed to be moving forward at a leisurely pace for Mariya. In 1925 she found love in the form of a handsome calvary school cadet, Ilya Fedotovich Ryadnenko.



The Arts of Love and War

Soon after meeting they got married and took the family name of Oktyabrsky (Note: that the name will change slightly depending on the husband or wife variant of the Russian language). The life of Mariya began the fast track toward becoming a legendary figure of the Soviet Union. After their wedding they were stationed in several different settlements of Ukraine. As her husband trained and became more adept at his warrior craft Mariya became active in women’s councils and volunteer work. Among other wives of the command staff she was envied for her abilities in needlework, fashion, and homemaking. Although this was impressive Mariya also took a keen interest into the workings of her husband’s life. She graduated from medical care courses, learned the basics of driving a tank and mastered machine gun shooting. Overall she became one bad ass woman. Mariya was quoted as stating:



“Marry a serviceman, and you serve in the army: an officer’s wife is not only a proud woman, but also a responsible title.”

In 1940 they joined the USSR and her husband became the commissar of the 134th howitzer artillery regiment. It was a relatively peaceful time until the outbreak of war between the USSR and Nazi Germany. The day after the declaration of war ( June 23, 1941) , MV Oktyabrskaya, along with her sister and other members of the families of USSR officers, were evacuated to Siberia. Hoping to do her part to help she soon became a telephone operator once again aiding an artillery school that had recently been evacuated from Leningrad. During this time her husband fought valiantly in Kyiv (formerly read as Kiev). As the fading scent of summer lingered before the long, cold, dark, winter Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya received word that her husband had died in battle. The death notification read as follows:



“regimental commissar Ilya Fedotovich Oktyabrsky died the death of the brave on August 9, 1941 in one of the battles in Ukraine. The commissar I.F. Oktyabrsky, commissar of the 206th Infantry Division, was hit by a machine gun burst, leading his men to attack in one of the battles near Kiev”

Upon receipt of the notification Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya stormed into the enlistment office and demanded to be sent to the front (perhaps as a nurse). Time and time again she was turned down due to her age (36 years old) and past illness (tuberculosis). It was here at this moment-when most people would simply throw in the towel-that she derived a plan that would separate her from the rest of the pack and solidify her position as a USSR hero.



Getting “Fighting Girlfriend”

Another way to support the war effort was through donation. Although adhering to the principles of communism there was still a little money, particularly for officers in the military, in circulation. Mariya devised a plan to sell all of her belongings and make and sell her needlework creations to earn 50,000 rubles; the exact cost of a T-34 tank. After several months Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya had saved up enough to telegram the Kremlin with the following message:



Dear Joseph [Stalin]! In the battles for the homeland, my husband died – the regimental commissar Oktyabrsky Ilya Fedotovich. For his death, for the death of all Soviet people tortured by fascist barbarians, I want to take revenge on the fascist dogs, for which I have contributed all my personal savings to the state bank for the building a tank – 50,000 rubles. I ask you to call the tank “Fighting Girlfriend” and send me to the front as the driver of this tank. I have a specialty as a driver, I have a good command of machine guns, and I am an [excellent] shooter. I send you warm greetings and wish you long, long years to fear the enemies and the glory of our country. Oktyabrskaya Maria Vasilievna

After some debate the Defense Department, seeing the tenacity and public relations opportunity, gave in and allowed Mariya’s plan to evolve into a reality. She was sent to a five month tank training school at the Omsk Tank School. Most new tank drivers were quickly trained and sent to the front. This may be due to the propaganda opportunities she offered to the USSR. In September of 1943 she finished training and became the country’s first female tank driver and mechanic; a magnificent feat in and of itself. In October, a month later, she was sent to the front with her new tank crew: commander junior lieutenant Pyotr Chebotko, tower gunner sergeant Gennady Yasko, and gunner-gunner Mikhail Galkin. Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya was given her new tank and across its side they painted “Боевая подруга” [Fighting Girlfriend]. A mere month later she was sent to the Eastern Front and one step closer to the legend she would become.

Fighting on the Front

On October 21, 1943 in the city of Smolensk “Fighting Girlfriend” joined the fray in some particularly intense fighting. Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya drove her tank through the battlefield destroying Nazi machine-gun nests, artillery guns, and foot soldiers. During the fighting her tank was hammered by gunfire. Mariya knew they would be sitting ducks without a quick fix. Going against orders she jumped out of her tank and fixed a broken hydraulic system, returned to the pilots seat and kept kicking ass. For her heroic actions she was promoted to sergeant and her legend grew bigger within the USSR.

The next notable battle took place in the village of Novoye Selo on November 18, 1943. During the fighting Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya and her tank broke through the enemies defenses destroying artillery and massacring nearly 50 soldiers. Artillery and small arms fire disabled her tank and although they were immobile they continued fighting. Mariya and members of her tank crew were wounded. For two days they repelled one enemy attack after another. Finally they were evacuated and sent to receive medical help. Afterward the tank battalions commander praised their efforts stating, “Fight like the tankers of the ‘fighting girlfriend’ fight. Only today, the crew of a glorious machine destroyed a platoon of Nazi bandits.”

In a letter to her sister she wrote:

“I’ve had my baptism by fire. I beat the bastards. Sometimes I’m so angry I can’t even breathe.”

The Final Showdown

The thunderous cacophony of warfare enshrouded the battlefield near Leningrad in January of 1944. The Leningrad-Novgorod offensive had begun and the fire of cannons, small arms, and mortars were the guiding lights of the bloody slaughter it would become. Today’s story ends here on the 17th of January 1944. As she stood successful in her endeavor death was already raining down from the sky. The mortar shell of an enemy collided with the earth nearby hurtling shrapnel into her head, leaving her unconscious. After the battle she was sent to a Soviet hospital in a coma. Two months later she died on March 15, 1944. After her death she was hailed as a hero of the Soviet Union and was buried in one of the most sacred cemeteries of the USSR.

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Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariya_Oktyabrskaya

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Октябрьская,МарияВасильевна

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Т-34

https://vk.com/@zvezdamodels-mariya-vasilevnaoktyabrskaya

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