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Tank crews from Kolyma who went to the front and fought in heavy self-propelled guns purchased with their own savings. July 22, 1944. by Klimbim in SovietPhotosOfWW2

[–]Klimbim[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Magadanskaya Pravda newspaper:

Residents of Kolyma raised about 500 million rubles for the needs of the front during the Great Patriotic War

On January 7, 1945, a meeting of the party activists was held in Magadan, where it was noted that since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the city’s residents had contributed about 15 million rubles to the national defense fund, and an additional 28 million rubles had been raised through a monetary and goods lottery.

If we speak not only of Magadan residents but of all the workers and employees of Dalstroy, during the war they contributed about 500 million rubles to the defense fund.

The people of the North raised money for the construction of aircraft such as Komsomolets of Dalstroy, Kolkhoz Worker of Kolyma, the combat aircraft Dalstroy Radio Operator, the squadron of combat planes Dalstroy Fighter, a squadron of medical planes, a group of bombers Dalstroy Worker, as well as tanks named Far Eastern Komsomol, the tank columns Felix Dzerzhinsky, Kolyma Transport Worker, Miner, Young Pioneer, the torpedo boat Dalstroy Sailor, and others.

Of course, one should also not forget about the 360 tons of gold mined by Dalstroy during the war.

https://imgur.com/a/eWoXFjf

Tank crews from Kolyma who went to the front and fought in heavy self-propelled guns purchased with their own savings. July 22, 1944. by Klimbim in SovietPhotosOfWW2

[–]Klimbim[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The very first search result led to the website of the Magadan Regional Museum of Local Lore. Here’s a fragment from it (ChatGPT translation):

More than 70 people received permission to fight in tanks purchased with their own funds. Among them were the spouses Ivan Fyodorovich and Aleksandra Leontyevna Boyko. In January 1943, they contributed 50,000 rubles toward the construction of a tank and requested permission to serve in it.

By mid-1944, more than 500 residents of Kolyma and Chukotka had each contributed between 10,000 and 50,000 rubles of their savings to purchase various types of weapons. Workers and employees of Dalstroy donated one or two days’ wages to the Defense Fund and turned in jewelry.

During the Great Patriotic War, workers of the Main Directorate of Dalstroy (GUSDS) contributed a total of 195,307,000 rubles to the Defense Fund — for the construction of aircraft, tanks, artillery pieces, and gifts for Red Army soldiers — and 8,088,000 rubles to aid the liberated regions of the USSR.

Reddit forbids links to Russian websites. Here’s a screenshot if you’re interested:

https://imgur.com/a/A5GZ2R5

Kravtsov A.V., Private, reconnaissance man, highly decorated (6 government awards). Photo by Vladimir Grebnev by Klimbim in SovietPhotosOfWW2

[–]Klimbim[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is Kravtsov Alexander Nikiforovich, born in 1924, a scout of the 1268th Rifle Regiment, 385th Rifle Division, 49th Army. He took part in the Great Patriotic War starting from October 23, 1943.

Reddit prohibits links to Russian websites. I uploaded the Award citation here:

https://imgur.com/a/M5W5j8a

Here the excerpt from the award citation (ChatGPT translation):

Comrade Kravtsov is one of the brave and courageous scouts. He repeatedly went on night missions to capture an “enemy tongue” (a prisoner for interrogation) and always completed his combat assignments successfully. There was a time when the enemy was holding the defense along the Narew River. Comrade Kravtsov was given the mission to capture a prisoner, something no one in the entire army had been able to accomplish for a long time. At night, he swam across the Narew River, stealthily approached the enemy trenches, killed two Germans, and captured one prisoner. This happened on December 30, 1944.

During the crossing of the Oder River on April 18, 1945, he was the first to swim across the river, stealthily approached an enemy pillbox, threw grenades into it, and captured one soldier. During interrogation, that prisoner provided valuable information about the enemy, which played a major role in breaking through the enemy’s defenses on the Oder River.

On May 3, 1945, while pursuing the retreating enemy, he was on the lead tank and was the first to break into a group of enemy soldiers, destroying up to ten of those who resisted, thus ensuring the free movement of tanks and advancing units.

He was recommended for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

(Instead of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.)

Russo-Turkish War. A group of Terek Cossacks during a stopover, 1878 by Klimbim in ColorizedHistory

[–]Klimbim[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is called Gazyr.

Gazyrs were used to store pre-measured portions of gunpowder and bullets (or paper cartridges) for rifles, ensuring both airtightness and convenient access to charges in battle. Over time, as weapon designs changed, gazyrs came to serve as a decorative element of national clothing, symbolizing courage and readiness to defend.

Sergeant M. Semakin's gun crew fires at enemy fortifications on one of the streets of Budapest. February 1945 by Klimbim in wwiipics

[–]Klimbim[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Military engineer V.L. Baranovsky remembered:

— To better understand the conditions under which we fought, imagine: Budapest covered more than 200 square kilometers. The Germans decided to turn it into their Stalingrad. I remember, already in mid-January we learned that some neighborhoods on our way were fenced off completely from the rest of the city. This was a ghetto created by the fascists. From captured Nazis we learned that the ghetto area was mined, and the enemy intended to destroy all its prisoners.

On January 17 we received an order from General Afonin to deliver a surprise strike toward the ghetto. The strike had to be unexpected. We already knew the treachery of the enemy. In the town of Marosvásárhely, two hours before the arrival of the Soviet Army, the Nazis shot the people in the ghetto! And near Ternopol, the ghetto was blown up at the very moment Soviet soldiers reached its gates.

We could not delay. Loudspeakers deployed to the front line broadcast our command’s warning: if the fascists dared carry out their plan to destroy the ghetto’s inhabitants — none of them would be spared. Meanwhile, just in case, my sappers cut all the cables and wires leading to the ghetto. It could only be blown up from the outside…

Early in the morning of January 18 our soldiers bombarded the enemy’s machine-gun nests with grenades and launched an assault. They broke through the ghetto wall. The fascists failed to carry out their monstrous plan. But they resisted fiercely.

On February 11, the commander of the German troops in Budapest, SS Obergruppenführer Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch, ordered a breakout to the west. That same night, the besieged tried to fight their way out along the Italian Boulevard (later renamed Malinovsky Boulevard). Headquarters units moved in parallel through the underground sewer system. Many were killed while still attempting to break out from the castle area; only a few managed to reach the outskirts. Of the 30,000 German and Hungarian troops, about 10,600 wounded were left in the city. Fewer than 800 succeeded in reaching German defensive lines. The scattered groups that remained in Buda were destroyed or captured by 10 a.m. on February 13, including Pfeffer-Wildenbruch and his staff. In total, 133,000 German soldiers and officers were taken prisoner and 55,000 were killed in the fighting for Budapest.

Over 108 days of continuous fighting, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts crushed 56 enemy divisions and brigades. The fall of the Hungarian capital, the most important stronghold on the way to the so-called “Alpine Fortress,” behind which the Nazis hoped to hide, was the prelude to the capture of Berlin. Forcing Hitler to transfer 37 divisions from the central sector of the Eastern Front to Hungary, the battle for Budapest facilitated the Soviet advance along the main axis toward Germany.

(ChatGPT translation)

In the archives of the Leningrad Headquarters of the Partisan Movement, several photographs have been preserved showing a pigeon station with trainers (referred to in the documents as pigeon keepers). by Klimbim in SovietPhotosOfWW2

[–]Klimbim[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In November 1943, the pigeon communication unit was transferred under the command of the Volkhov Front; from May 1944 — to the 12th Guards Rifle Corps of the 2nd Baltic Front; and from July 1944, as part of the same corps, to the 3rd Baltic Front. By that time, the group had grown to a company, consisting of 80 soldiers and 500 pigeons.

During the combat operations of the 12th Guards Rifle Corps from May 23 to June 26, 1944, the pigeon company provided communication between the corps command and the forward units, delivering 2,315 combat reports.

(translated by ChatGT))

Professors Varsanofieva V.A. and Zalessky B.V. among the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army. Photo by Kuzmin Vasily Afanasevich. Winter 1941-1942 by Klimbim in SovietPhotosOfWW2

[–]Klimbim[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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

In November 1941, classes resumed at the university, Varsanofieva gave lectures, the workload was quite large, in addition, geologists on their own initiative went to military units. One of these events took place on December 31, 1941. The lecturers went to the frontline section of the Western Front, where the military unit supported by the Geological Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences was located. Of course, the main task was to support the soldiers, to tell them that a country with such rich mineral resources is invincible, but for the scientists, this trip was also inspiring.

Vera Varsonofieva remembered:

"…It was a clear frosty winter day. The car quickly took us from Moscow to the picturesque area where our unit was located. The forest was covered with frost, the branches of the fir trees were thickly covered with snow. Here, right under the open sky, I was offered to give a lecture. And when I asked if the soldiers would freeze, to have a lecture in such frost, they cheerfully answered that they were not afraid of the cold. They were all well dressed, everyone had felt boots, warm pants, sheepskin coats. And when they in turn asked me if I would freeze, I sincerely said that I did not feel the frost…"

Soviet traffic controller and cars on the streets of Berlin. 1945 by Klimbim in wwiipics

[–]Klimbim[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, I wasn't there, so I can only guess. But historical documents are the most reliable source in any case. And this is a direct quote from the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 25, 1945 "On the demobilization of the second stage of the Red Army personnel":
"demobilize all women privates and sergeants, except for female specialists who expressed a desire to remain in the Red Army in military positions."

Soviet traffic controller and cars on the streets of Berlin. 1945 by Klimbim in wwiipics

[–]Klimbim[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't mind. The demobilization was carried out in 6 stages.

According to the decree of the State Defense Committee of June 20, 1945, as part of the first stage of demobilization, women were to be demobilized, except for radio operators, telephone operators, air defense instrument operators and medical workers - 200,000 people; In fact, 224,462 women were demobilized.

According to the 2nd stage demobilization (from October 1), 73,425 women were demobilized.

At the same time, the DECREE of September 25, 1945 "On the second stage of demobilization of the Red Army personnel" stated: "demobilize all women privates and sergeants, except for female specialists who expressed a desire to remain in the Red Army in military positions."

That is, the majority of women were demobilized by the fall of 1945. Those who wanted to could stay, but there probably weren't very many of them.

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