A Nazi soldier opens the hatch to his Panzer tank.
He scans the horizon for enemy Soviet forces.
Suddenly, a single soldier pops out from behind a kitchen tent.
He holds a rifle in one hand and an ax in the other.
The Soviet has a crazed look in his eyes as he runs towards the Nazi tank screaming at
the top of his lungs.
He swings his ax back and forth, ready to decapitate anyone who gets in his way.
Shocked, the Nazi soldier slams the hatch shut and peers through the viewport.
The Soviet soldier leaps into the air and lands on the tank.
The man who would later take down this and other Nazi tanks using his ax and deception
was Ivan Pavlovich Sereda.
The craziest part is he was only a cook.
That’s right, this Soviet war hero who would go on to destroy tanks and successfully fight
off countless Nazi soldiers during World War II started out as a cook in the Red Army.
Ivan was drafted into the 91st Tank Regiment in 1939, just after Nazi Germany launched
their invasion into Poland and started World War II.
At the time, Germany and the Soviet Union had a non-aggression pact, but Stalin and
the rest of the Soviet leaders did not trust Adolf Hitler to keep his word.
This would turn out to be a smart decision.
The Soviet Union started amassing tanks and troops along their western border just in
case Hitler decided to break his pact.
Ivan Pavlovich Sereda wanted to serve his country and asked his superior officers to
transfer him to the front lines.
They looked at him and thought for a moment.
Then his C.O.
shook his head.
He told Ivan that anyone could shoot a gun, but not everyone could cook as well as him.
His talents were needed in the kitchen to keep the troops fed, which was just as important
as being stationed at the border.
Ivan disagreed but followed his orders.
Then in February of 1941, Nazi Germany started amassing troops along the Romanian-Soviet
border near where Ivan and his tank platoon were stationed.
The Soviets had been keeping close tabs on the war in Europe.
Hitler and his Axis Powers seemed to be decimating the continent.
However, Great Britain was still a thorn in their side.
The Soviets didn’t think Hitler would be bold enough to launch an offensive on a second
front, but he was a psychopath, so anything was possible.
Ivan’s regiment was repositioned and stationed in a small forest near Dvinsk, which is now
Daugavpils in current day Latvia.
For several months there was no action.
It just seemed like both sides were at a standoff, and Hitler might actually keep the non-aggression
pact.
But then, on June 22, 1941, Ivan and his regiment heard a crackling voice come over their radios.
The Soviet communications network was not very reliable, and it was difficult to make
out exactly what was being said, but between the static, the words everyone was dreading
were heard.
The Nazis had launched an invasion into the Soviet Union.
The attack was called Operation Barbarosa and consisted of over three million soldiers
and approximately 3,000 tanks, 7,000 pieces of artillery, and 2,500 aircraft.
Ivan was only a cook, but he couldn’t help but feel a sense of duty.
He wanted nothing more than to be promoted so that he could fight on the front lines,
but it was not to be for the moment.
The Nazis began bombing cities along the border as they pushed through the Red Army.
Their forces decimated Soviet resistance and advanced further and further into the motherland.
Ivan and the 91st Tank Regiment had seen little action, but in August 1941, that was all about
to change.
Word had reached them that the Germans were moving closer to their position.
The tank battalion was sent out on a scouting mission to see if they could intercept the
incoming Nazis.
Ivan was left all alone at the camp to prepare dinner for later that evening.
Ivan was cutting up potatoes and other vegetables to put into a hot stew that would keep his
comrades warm and their bellies full.
It was a quiet afternoon.
The wind blew gently across the field where Ivan whistled to himself as he cooked.
As he took a break from stirring and stepped out of the tent that served as his kitchen,
he heard the sounds of engines in the distance.
He thought that his regiment must be returning from patrolling the area, so he continued
to cook.
The sound of the tanks started getting closer and closer.
The pots and pans in the kitchen began to clang against one another as the ground shook
from the approaching tanks.
They didn’t seem to be slowing, which made Ivan nervous.
The area where the supplies were kept and the tanks were parked was a decent way away
from the kitchen.
But these tanks seemed to be rolling right up to the tent.
Ivan poked his head out to see what was happening.
From where he was, he couldn’t see over the embankment on the other side of the road.
He stepped out from inside the tent and walked towards the road.
He slowly climbed up the small hill and peered over the side; what he saw was startling.
Two German tanks from the 8th German Tank Division were heading towards him.
He ducked back down behind the ridge and paused for a moment.
He could hear the tanks continuing straight towards him.
Ivan had wanted so badly to be on the frontlines, and now he was.
The only problem was he was all alone, and he was up against heavily armored Panzer 38(t)
tanks.
In an ideal situation, he would be with a platoon of men or at least in his own tank,
but that was not what fate had in store for him.
As he peered back over the embankment, he saw one of the tanks peel away and head in
a different direction.
However, the other Panzer was still moving straight towards him.
Ivan slid down the hill and ran behind his cooking tent.
Just as he disappeared from sight, the Nazi tank crested the hill and approached the road.
The roar of the engines began to slow as the tank came to a stop.
The hatch of the German Panzer 38(t) creaked open, and a Nazi soldier stuck his head out.
He scanned the area for any Soviets, as this appeared to be their encampment but didn’t
see anyone.
Ivan was panting behind the tent.
He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.
The air was cold; his breath rose like steam coming off a hot pot.
Ivan looked to his left and saw his rifle leaning against a crate.
He grabbed the rifle and a grenade resting on top of the box.
Ivan knew that the Germans would roll over him if he didn’t do something quickly.
Or even worse, they could lie in wait for his comrades to return and launch a surprise
attack.
Ivan decided that he would need to take out the tank himself.
He moved around to the side of the tent.
His foot bumped into something resting on the ground.
He looked down to see his ax impaled in a log that he was chopping.
Ivan looked at the ax for a moment and then smiled.
He had an idea.
Ivan picked up the ax, peered out from behind the tent, and prepared to do something crazy.
When the Nazi looked the other way, Ivan ran towards the tank, screaming like a mad man.
He fired his rifle with one hand while swinging the ax wildly with the other.
This surprised the Nazi, who quickly retreated back into the tank and shut the hatch.
He screamed to the tank crew that they were under attack.
The machine gunner swiveled the 7.92 mm ZB-53 machine gun towards the crazed Soviet running
at the tank.
He pulled the trigger; bullets started whizzing by Ivan’s head.
They ripped through the tent behind him, but Ivan managed to dodge back and forth to stay
out of the direct line of fire.
Miraculously, he made it to the side of the tank without being hit by a single bullet.
Ivan launched himself off the ground and scrambled up onto the Panzer’s hull.
He moved towards the front of the vehicle and brought his ax down on the machine gun.
He hit the barrel of the gun over and over again until it bent and jammed.
Ivan had disabled the tank's close-range weapon, and now he needed to deal with the crew inside
the metal behemoth.
The Nazis began to yell.
The tank’s engines roared to life.
It started to move with Ivan on top of it.
He looked around for some way to stop the Nazis from getting away.
He used his ax to cut off a piece of a tarp that was holding down supplies on the hull
of the tank.
Ivan grabbed the tarp and stuck it over the viewports so that the crew inside could no
longer see where they were going.
The tank began to swivel back and forth.
Now Ivan had to think of a way to get the Nazis to come out of the tank.
He began shouting at the top of his lungs for his comrades to start setting grenades
under the tank in order to blow it up.
This was a bluff as there were no other Soviet soldiers around, but the Germans didn’t
know that.
Ivan continued to shout orders and bang on the hull of the tank with his ax.
This confused the Nazis inside, who now thought there was a whole platoon of angry Soviet
soldiers outside of their vehicle.
Ivan continued to shout at the Germans to give up, or their tank would be blown up with
them inside it.
He even used different voices to make it seem as if there were more people than just him
banging on the tank.
The Nazis tried desperately to escape, but since they couldn’t see, they had no idea
that there was only one man outside their tank holding them hostage.
After several minutes of this charade, the Nazis shouted from within the bowels of the
tank that they wanted to surrender.
Ivan smiled to himself as he agreed to their surrender and told them to come out one at
a time.
The first Nazi crew member turned the locking mechanism on the tank’s hatch and exited
the armored vehicle.
He was greeted by Ivan, holding his rifle up and instructing the German soldier to line
up along the tank.
The rest of the tank crew followed.
Ivan had captured four Nazis and a Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) tank single-handedly.
When the Germans realized they had been duped, they were likely extremely ashamed.
And at that point, they didn’t even know that Ivan was only a cook.
That evening the rest of the tank regiment returned to their camp.
They found a Nazi tank with its crew tied up waiting for them.
The Soviet soldiers got out of their vehicles and looked on in astonishment as their cook,
Ivan Pavlovich Sereda, exited the kitchen tent with hot food in his hands.
His superior officers asked him what had happened, and Ivan gladly recounted the events of the
day to them.
The Soviets examined the vehicle, interrogated the Nazis, and found that Ivan was telling
the truth.
He really had captured the Nazi tank using nothing but his rifle and an ax.
That night as the Soviets all ate the meal that Ivan had prepared, they listened to his
daring story of how he had managed to trick the Germans and take them all prisoner.
They were all astonished by his tale.
His commanding officers immediately took him off kitchen duty and promoted Ivan to scout.
He had finally gotten what he wanted.
Ivan was sent on missions to scout Nazi positions in the area and bring information back.
The story of how he used his ax to destroy a machine gun on a German tank and then capture
the crew spread like wildfire across the Soviet Union.
It was used in propaganda posters and to bolster the morale of troops.
Ivan Pavlovich Sereda was now a war hero, but he didn’t let it go to his head.
Only a few weeks after taking out the Nazi Panzer with his ax and becoming a scout, Ivan
captured another tank and demolished a unit of Nazi soldiers.
This time he was better equipped, but what he did was no less miraculous than his first
battle with a tank.
Ivan and a group of scouts were conducting reconnaissance on an area that was reported
to have German soldiers patrolling it.
As they made their way through the forest, the birds were singing, and the sun warmed
the air.
They reached the treeline and sighted a group of Soviet soldiers running down a dirt road.
Ivan was going to make his presence known when suddenly a Nazi tank broke through the
trees.
The tank fired its cannon at the retreating Soviet soldiers causing the trunks of trees
to explode into shards of splintered wood.
The debris went flying everywhere as the machine gun aboard the German tank opened fire.
The bullets slammed into the ground all around the retreating Soviet force.
As the tank laid down covering fire, a group of Nazi foot soldiers appeared from behind
the armored vehicle.
They started to pursue the Soviets down the road while the tank followed.
The Nazis shouted at the Soviets to halt.
However, if they were caught, they’d be tortured for information.
So, rather than surrendering, the Soviets dove behind fallen logs and returned fire.
But the support of the tank was too much, and the members of the Red Army appeared to
be doomed.
Ivan fell back into the tree line and stealthily worked his way behind the tank.
The Soviets fired at the tank, but the armor was too thick, and the bullets bounced off
harmlessly.
The Nazis continued to advance forward.
While the tank and Nazi soldiers were focused on the trapped Soviets, Ivan climbed up the
back of the vehicle.
He carefully stepped over the gear strapped to the tank’s hull and made sure his footsteps
made as little noise as possible.
Since the machine gunner was firing at his comrades, they couldn’t hear Ivan scurry
across the top of the tank and unlock the commander’s hatch.
Ivan armed a grenade, opened the hatch, and peered down into the opening for a moment.
He locked eyes with the Nazi commander sitting in the middle of the tank.
The German yelled to warn the others, but it was too late.
Ivan dropped the grenade into the tank, slammed the hatch shut, and jumped off the moving
vehicle.
The grenade detonated, killing everyone inside.
He had done it again.
Ivan Pavlovich Sereda had single-handedly captured another tank.
Without missing a beat, Ivan jumped back on the tank and ran to the hatch.
Even though he had killed the tank crew, the Nazi soldiers were still advancing on his
comrades.
Ivan threw the hatch open and climbed into the smoldering inside of the tank.
The bodies of the crew were covered in shrapnel and blood.
Ivan moved the gunner’s body out of the seat and took his position.
He turned the turret and aimed it directly at the advancing German force.
Taking a deep breath, Ivan peered through the sighting tube and made sure everything
was lined up.
He squeezed the trigger.
The tank buckled as the shell was ejected from the barrel.
It flew through the air and slammed into the middle of the Nazi unit.
The detonation threw bodies everywhere.
Around a dozen of the German soldiers were instantly killed or seriously injured.
The rest laid down their guns and immediately surrendered.
They were now sandwiched between their own tank, which was controlled by the former cook
turned war hero and a squad of angry Soviet soldiers.
Confused as to what was going on, the Soviet troops cautiously approached the Nazi tank.
Its barrel was still smoking.
They asked whoever was inside to come out slowly.
Ivan popped the hatch and poked his head through the hole with a smile on his face.
The entire unit let out a cheer.
When Ivan returned to base after his impromptu rescue mission, he was greeted with even more
accolades.
On August 31, 1941, he received the Presidium of the USSR “for exemplary performance of
the combat tasks of the command on the front of the fight against the German invaders and
showing courage and heroism.”
He also received the title of Hero of the USSR, the Order of Lenin, and the Gold Star
medal.
He would soon be transferred to another unit, but one of his former comrades said that the
91st Tank Regiment kept his ax as a battle relic and as a reminder of Ivan Pavlovich
Sereda’s heroism.
There was no time for Ivan to celebrate his awards, however, as the worst fighting of
the war was yet to come.
Ivan was made a platoon leader in the 4th Infantry Regiment and gained command of the
46th Infantry Division of the 1st Shock Army.
He saw some combat during this time, but it was when he was promoted to company commander
of the 7th Infantry Regiment that things got really intense.
This unit was sent to Leningrad during the siege of the city, which would become one
of the bloodiest and most brutal blockades the world had ever seen.
In fact, many historians believe that the Siege of Leningrad was actually a form of
genocide because of the Nazi’s systematic starvation and murder of civilians who were
stuck in the city.
Things got so bad during the Siege of Leningrad that there are accounts of Soviet civilians
cutting off their own flesh and eating it for sustenance.
The siege began on September 8, 1941, when the Nazis secured the last road into or out
of the city and didn’t end until January 27, 1944, 872 days from when the blockade
started.
It was at this point that the Red Army was able to overcome the Nazi forces and push
them back toward Germany.
Ivan joined the fight to hold Leningrad at the beginning of the siege as it was pummeled
by Nazi artillery.
He would not stay for the duration of the battle as his skills were required in Moscow
only a few months after the Siege of Leningrad had begun.
While in Leningrad, Ivan was likely deployed for reconnaissance and saboteur missions.
With his ability to take out tanks in unconventional ways, he may have been ordered to disrupt
enemy artillery encampments to try and break the siege.
During these missions, Ivan and his unit would use the forests surrounding the city of Leningrad
to hide from German forces.
Using the cover of night, they could place bombs near ammunition stores and do their
best to hinder enemy operations.
We don’t know the exact role that Ivan played in the Defense of Leningrad, but it may have
been just as crazy as his two other major run-ins with the Nazis.
Ivan and his squad watched from a ditch as a Nazi guard smoked a cigarette on his break.
The German artillery crew loaded another round into a cannon.
Parked nearby were a group of Panzer tanks.
This was nothing that Ivan hadn’t dealt with before.
Ivan reached down to his belt and drew his newly sharpened ax.
Using the deafening shots fired by the artillery guns as cover, he snuck up on the Nazi guard.
He waited for the next round to be released before using his ax to take down the guard.
Then he snuck his way into the German camp.
He hid behind crates and remained out of sight until he reached the ammunition supply cache
holding shells for the tanks and artillery guns.
Ivan scanned the area to make sure he wouldn’t be seen.
He pulled the strap of the bag slung across his back over his shoulder and took out several
explosives that would be used to sabotage the Nazi position.
Ivan set the timer and shoved the bag of explosives between the artillery shells.
He started to move back towards cover, but in his haste to get away from the bomb, he
was spotted by the Nazis.
They immediately sounded the alarm and opened fire on Ivan and his men.
The Soviets sprinted back towards the forest, providing covering fire for one another so
that the squad could escape.
Ivan dove into a crater just as the bomb went off, blowing up the enemy's ammunition and
damaging their tanks and artillery guns.
Missions like this would be conducted throughout the Siege of Leningrad to try and break the
Nazi’s blockade, but very few would be successful.
The Germans would use airplanes, tanks, soldiers, and siege weapons such as the Schwerer Gustav,
which was rumored to have been deployed to Leningrad after the Battle of Sevastopol,
to completely level the city.
After a few months of fighting at Leningrad, Ivan Pavlovich Sereda was made company commander
of the 185th Infantry Division of the 30th Army and sent to the Battle of Moscow.
On November 27, 1941, Ivan and his unit met up with other Soviet forces near the city.
The brutally cold temperatures of the Soviet winter were quickly approaching.
Although the Red Army didn’t have the supplies and equipment they needed, all of the soldiers,
including Ivan, had survived decades of winters in their country.
It would not be enjoyable, but the Soviets knew how to handle the brutal weather.
The Nazis, on the other hand, were worn down from months of battling Soviet forces to get
to Moscow.
Ivan and his men were set up along the outskirts of the city to stop the advancing German forces.
They would send tank regiments to try and break through the Soviet defenses, but units
like Ivans had laid down mines and set up kill zones where they would ambush any Nazi
forces that came through.
With each day that went by, the weather got colder and colder.
The Germans were beginning to freeze to death.
Although Ivan was now in charge of his own company, he may have also helped out in the
kitchens where his career in the military had begun.
He carried his ax with him as it was a valuable tool not just for defeating Nazi tanks but
also for chopping wood to keep his soldier.
By December, Ivan and the rest of the Soviet forces had held off wave after wave of Nazi
advancement towards Moscow.
The Germans could not break the line.
Their army was starving and freezing to death when on December 5, 1941, the Soviets launched
a counter-offensive that would push the enemy away from Moscow and back towards Germany.
By January, the Nazis could no longer fight back.
Temperatures were recorded as low as –42 °C or –44 °F. The German Luftwaffe couldn’t
fly their planes as their wings and propellers were frozen in place.
Ivan and the Soviet forces at Moscow pushed forward and destroyed any German force that
was unable to escape the harsh landscape and climate of the Soviet Union.
But the weather and continuous fighting also took their toll on the Red Army, and a stalemate
developed.
Ivan continued to fight the Nazi invaders for the duration of the war.
His expertise and heroism allowed him to move up in the ranks of the Red Army.
Ivan was a lieutenant when the war came to an end in 1945.
He retired but still had a desire to serve the people of the Soviet Union.
He became chairman of his village council to help rebuild after the devastation of World
War II.
Unfortunately, the toll of war does not end when the fighting stops.
Due to breathing in harmful fumes from tanks, spending countless nights in below-freezing
weather, and harmful chemicals that were ingested while fighting the Nazis, Ivan's health began
to decline rapidly in 1950.
He passed away at the age of 31.
From the time he could join the military to the day he died, Ivan Pavlovich Sereda served
his country and gave his life to the Soviet Union.
He died a highly decorated war hero and remains the only known chef to take out a tank using
an ax.
Now watch “LADY DEATH - World's Deadliest Female Sniper.”
Or check out “The One Man WW2 Tank Killer.”