It so happened that the life of Natalia Kovshova turned out to be very short, but despite this, the girl lived it so that the whole country is still proud of the feat of an ordinary young girl.
Life before the war
November 26, 1920 in the capital of Bashkiria (Ufa), in a family of ordinary workers, a girl was born. Her father and mother could not even imagine that on this day, thanks to them, a real warrior was born who would not give mercy to the enemy. But so far it was the most ordinary child.
As soon as the girl grew up a little, the Kovshov family moved to Moscow, where Natasha went to school (secondary school No. 281, today No. 1284).
In the pre-war period, Soviet youth literally from the school bench prepared to defend their homeland. Natalya did not stand aside either: the girl entered Osoaviakhim, where she took a course in bullet shooting, as a result of which she was awarded the title of “Voroshilovsky shooter.”
Having received a graduation certificate at school, the girl got a job at the Orgaviaprom trust as a personnel department inspector, while preparing to enter the Aviation Institute (MAI). However, Natasha's plans were not destined to come true -the war began: Germany, despite the earlier non-aggression pact, invaded the territory of the USSR.
Start of war
From the first days of the war, Natalya Kovshova sought to help the country fight the enemy by joining the civilian air defense team. Their task was to put out incendiary bombs that fell on the roofs of houses. However, this was not enough for her: the girl wanted to go to the front. And some help in achieving the goal Natasha had previously acquired shooting experience.
July 26, 1941 a girl on a Komsomol ticket is sent to special courses, where she was supposed to undergo sniper training. And already here the girl distinguished herself, being among the best graduates. And in October of the same year, Natalya Kovshova was enlisted in the third rifle division, formed from the people's militia and stationed in Moscow.
Combat experience of a young sniper
Natalya fought her first battle in the fall of 1941, when her division defended the capital from the enemy. And in January 1942, the girl was sent to the North-Western Front, where she was enrolled as a sniper in the 528th regiment of the 130th rifle division, which is part of the First Army.
According to the information received from the award list for Natalya Venediktovna Kovshova, the girl took an active part in almost all the hostilities conducted by the regiment.
Thus, in the battles for the village of Novaya Rossa, Natasha destroyed eleven Germans within two days, most of whom were snipers or, as they were also called in military jargon, "cuckoos".
Another five Nazis died at her hands underthe village of Guchkovo. In this battle, Natasha saved the life of the seriously wounded commander of the third battalion of Art. Lieutenant Ivanov, pulling him out of the battlefield under heavy enemy fire. In addition, the girl combined her main job - a sniper - with the duties of a signalman.
During the battles for the village of Velikush, 12 Nazis were killed by Kovshova. In addition, Natalia, together with her friend, as young as herself, and also a sniper - Masha Polivanova - destroyed the machine gun crew of the Nazis, which made it possible for her unit to complete the attack.
In the battle for vil. Bolshoe Vragovo Natalya destroyed six more German soldiers, but was wounded by shell fragments: both arms and legs were injured, but she remained in the ranks until the end of the battle, refusing to leave the position.
The girl was discharged from the hospital without even waiting for her wounds to heal completely. Returning to the unit, sniper Natalya Kovshova continued her work. Soon, officially, 167 Nazis were already killed on her account, although according to the testimony of Georgy Balovnev (her fellow soldier), their real number reached two hundred.
Natalya Kovshova - Hero of the Soviet Union
On August 14, 1942, the regiment in which Natalya served fought north of the Ryabya River (Novgorod Region). Kovshova and Polivanova, as part of a sniper group, were sent to positions near the village of Sutoki-Byakovo, where they soon had to fight.
During the confrontation, the group lost its commander, and Natalya took over his functions. Constantly changing their positions, the snipers held back the advance of the Germans. During the next attack of the Nazis, the fighters waited until the Germans were no more than thirty meters from their location, after which they opened fire. The attack of the Germans "choked", but not for long, the superiority in manpower affected, and soon the Germans resumed the offensive. By that time, only three of the entire defending group had survived: Natasha, her friend Masha Polivanova, and the seriously wounded fighter Novikov, so only girls could return fire.
Having numerous wounds, the two girls fired back until the last bullet was sent towards the enemy. As a result, from the ammunition they had only four hand grenades left. Two of them flew towards the approaching Germans. The rest of the girls kept for themselves. Of course, they could have surrendered and possibly survived, but they preferred death to captivity. The girls blew themselves up when the Germans came close to their hideout, killing a dozen more Nazis.
For dedication and courage, both girls were posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
Tribute to the memory of heroes
N. Kovshova and M. Polivanova were buried in the village of Korovitchino, where an obelisk was erected in tribute to their feat.
Natalya Kovshova Ufa and Moscow rightly consider their "daughter". In this regard, one of the streets of the capital bears her name. Also in Ufa there is a street named after a sniper girl.
A memorial plaque hangs on the wall of the school in Moscow where Kovshova studied. In addition, in honorNatasha named streets in the cities of Chelyabinsk and Staraya Russa, as well as the villages of Zaluchye, Marevo and Mesyagutovo.
It should be noted that back in 1944, the USSR Post issued a special commemorative stamp in honor of the feat of two girls.
And in the seventies, the name of Natalia Kovshova was one of the ships.
Natasha and Masha, when they accomplished the feat, were a little over twenty years old, but the girls, without hesitation, gave their lives for their Motherland, becoming an example of true patriotism for their contemporaries and their descendants.
