It’s the summer of 1943
and Maria Oktyabrskaya has been evacuated to the Russian city of Tomsk
as the German’s are ravaging her country.
Her husband who was sent to the front has been unheard of for two years.
But now, two years later Maria hears for the first time
that he is one of the many Russians that have fallen under the German offensive.
Filled with grief and rage, Maria swears revenge.
Unable to help directly
she decides to sell all her possessions
and donate the proceeds to the effort to defend the motherland.
But that’s not enough for Maria.
Writing a letter to the General Secretary of The Soviet Union,
she pleads for permission to join the war
in an active role.
She wrote that she wanted revenge for
“…my husband and for the Soviet people tortured by the barbarians”.
She requested that she be given a tank.
What’s more she said,
“I kindly ask to name the tank ‘Fighting Girlfriend’
and to send me to the front line as a driver of the said tank.”
Much to Maria’s surprise and perhaps sensing a propaganda opportunity,
The General Secretary reportedly wrote back,
“Your wish will be granted, Maria Vasilyevna."
Maria was formidable in training.
She passed after five months in tank school.
Finally the moment she was waiting for arrived
and she was introduced to her “Fighting Girlfriend”.
The Girlfriend was a T-34 medium tank.
She met her crew:
Machine-gunner Yasko, radio operator Misha and lieutenant commander Chebotko.
She was transferred to the 26th Guards Tank Brigade in September 1943.
Her comrades were not entirely happy with Maria.
They considered her a joke or propaganda.
Just there for the publicity.
At a meeting, her fellow soldiers made it clear that they didn’t take her seriously.
But Maria was not to be sidelined.
To make her motivations clear, she stood up before the Soviet soldiers and made a loud speech,
“My dear comrades!
I’m proud to be by your side.
We will reach the borders of Germany
and strike right into the heart of the beast.
The crew of Fighting Girlfriend will never stay behind you!
I will fight with all my heart when the battle comes.”
It must have been an incredibly difficult environment for Maria to work in.
But she was determined to prove all the doubters wrong.
Just as soon as she could get into action.
Which is exactly what happened when the Second battle of Smolensk was upon them.
On October the 21st in 1943 Maria’s Fighting Girlfriend entered the battle.
This was her moment to prove to everyone that she was a capable tanker.
The battle started well
and the Fighting Girlfirend rushed to the enemy forces and started shooting.
The tank crew destroyed a machine gun and over fifty enemy soldiers.
Maria and the crew fought hard and managed to push through the German enemy lines.
But all was not right.
Suddenly she felt a hit and she realized that the Fighting Girlfriend had been damaged.
Opening the hatch she quickly rushed out of the tank
and saw that one of the tracks had been hit and broken.
Despite the hail of fire flying around her,
she grabbed the spare tracks from the side of the tank.
And despite orders to the contrary she proceeded to replace the damaged tracks.
With her crew now covering her she courageously “patched up” the tank.
Despite the battle continuing around her
she somehow managed to successfully complete the necessary repairs.
The Fighting Girlfriend was back in business.
The Commander thanked Maria.
She had won the respect of her peers and was promoted to the rank of Sargent.
In the following battles, the reputation of Maria’s crew and their tank grew.
The Battalion commander addressing everyone on the radio said,
“You should strive to be as good as Fighting Girlfriend, comrades.
Today her crew eliminated a whole battalion of German goons.”
Of course, there was a propaganda element to this as the Soviet’s needed the morale boost.
Nevertheless she greatly inspired everyone around her with her sheer will and determination.
On the 17th of January 1944 Maria was fighting in a battle in Belarus.
The situation was dire.
Every tank was low on ammunition, and the enemy forces were advancing forward.
The Fighting Girlfriend managed to destroy three heavy machine guns and many German positions.
But suddenly the tank was hit at point blank range from an enemy cannon.
The crew rushed out.
Maria looked around and saw that the track was damaged again.
Without a second thought she grabbed the spare tracks from the tank
and proceeded to start the repairs.
While conducting repairs, Maria was hit by shrapnel.
By the time she was transferred to hospital in Smolensk
she had lost a lot of blood.
In hospital, she regained her consciousness and asked after her crew.
They had sent her a message,
“We wish you a speedy recovery, Maria Vasylievna!
We believe that our Fighting Girlfriend will reach Berlin.
For the wounds they inflicted on you, our mother, we will bring our wrath upon them.
We are to go to battle in an hour.
Our Fighting Girlfriend sends her best regards.”
Reportedly, Maria shed a tear.
She said,
"Please, thank my crew and send them my best wishes."
On the 15th of March in 1944 Maria succumbed to her injuries.
Maria Oktyabrskaya was declared a Hero of the Soviet Union.
An inspiration to many, her reputation has grown over the years.
There are rumors of various film projects as her story of human spirit resonates still today.
If you want to see a T-34 in action,
you can visit The Tank Museum in Bovington who we would like to thank for supplying us with this footage.
The Tank Museum do great work in preserving awesome machines like this T-34.
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