Victory in the Great Patriotic War was achieved as a result of a fierce, bloody struggle. Millions of Soviet servicemen, officers and privates perished on the fronts. As a result of fascist aggression, peaceful citizens fell victim. Many defenders became heroes of the war. S. D. Nomokonov - a sniper who destroyed enemy soldiers and officers in the west and east. During the war years in the USSR, much attention was paid to the training of precision shot specialists. In the difficult struggle against fascism, the outcome of any confrontation depended not only on the experience and correct tactics of combat by the command staff of the army, company, battalion, but also on a single soldier. In a real battle, the command issued special tasks that only a sniper could complete. The rifle was the main military weapon of precision shot specialists.
Outstanding wartime snipers
Snipers of the Great Patriotic War made an invaluable contribution to the overall victory over Nazi Germany. The skill of sniper work was subject only to the best of the best. It was important to be able not only to shoot accurately at the target, but also to withstand many hours of waiting, frost,blizzards, rains, heat, be able to observe, provide camouflage at the ambush site. The outcome of the entire operation and the lives of dozens, hundreds of Soviet soldiers and officers depended on the outcome of each sniper duel.
Snipers of the Great Patriotic War had different nationality and religion, but each of them sought to destroy the German invaders as much as possible. Often, snipers from cover managed to destroy a significant number of enemy soldiers in one battle. According to official statistics, the top ten snipers in terms of the number of enemy units destroyed killed more than 4,200 people, and the top 20 - more than 7,500 officers and soldiers.
Famous Evenki during the war
Representatives of the small and indigenous peoples of the USSR took a direct part in the fighting on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Well-known Evenki, who particularly distinguished themselves in battles, were also snipers: Kulbertinov Ivan Nikolaevich, Nomokonov Semyon Danilovich, Sazhiev Togon Sanzhievich and others. Many of them repeatedly proved their devotion to the Motherland, desperately fighting the enemy.
Childhood and family of S. D. Nomokonov
Semyon Danilovich Nomokonov – sniper legend of the Great Patriotic War. Born in 1900, on August 12, in the village of Delyun (Trans-Baikal Territory, Sretensky District). He was baptized at the age of 15, after which he received the name Semyon. Evenk by nationality. From an early age he lived in the conditions of taiga and forests. He was a hereditary hunter, skillfully owned a gun from the age of nine andeven then he received the nickname "Kite Eye".
Married at the age of 19, settled with his wife on the banks of the Urulga River in a birch bark. Six children were born. In order to feed and support everyone, Nomokonov was engaged in hunting. However, a great misfortune came to the family: one after another, four sons and an only daughter died from an epidemic of scarlet fever. Unable to cope with the loss, the wife of Semyon Danilovich soon died. The tragedy happened when Semyon Danilovich was in the field, which he learned about only after returning home. Only his son Vladimir survived, who was still young and required care, so in 1928 Semyon married a second time. The wife bore Nomokonov two daughters and six sons. His chosen one was a lonely girl Marfa Vasilievna. She insisted on settling in the commune "Dawn of a New Life". Since that time, Nomokonov began working as a carpenter in the taiga village of Nizhny Stan, from where in 1941 he was mobilized into the ranks of the Red Army by the Shilkinsky district military enlistment office.
Mobilization to the Red Army
When the Great Patriotic War began, Semyon Danilovich was 41 years old. In the Chita region, he was enlisted in the evacuation platoon of the 348th rifle regiment. According to the documents - the book of a Red Army soldier - he was listed as an illiterate carpenter, and in the column "nationality" it was noted: "Tungus-hamnegan". By this time he managed to live a difficult life. But at the front, the service was not easy. The reason for this was the national origin of the fighter. Due to linguisticbarrier Nomokonov did not always understand the orders correctly, so the commanders did not want to send him into battle along with the rest of the soldiers. He was transferred to the field kitchen, but soon the cook sent Semyon away because he cut the bread incorrectly. After that, Nomokonov received another reprimand from the commander due to the fact that he constantly confused sizes when packing uniforms.
In one of the battles in early August 1941, Semyon Danilovich was wounded, but after a few days he was able to get on his feet, although he still did not hear well. By order of the chief surgeon, an "Evenk" of a non-heroic type from Siberia was sent to make crutches. Russian colleagues let out mocking phrases that Nomokonov understands only the command "for lunch" and sleeps on the go.
The unit under the command of Sergeant Smirnov, to which the Red Army soldier Nomokonov was transferred, took his first battle on August 16, 1941, easily repulsed the attack of the fascist infantry. Behind the torn stumps, Semyon Danilovich took a good position and destroyed several enemy soldiers. After the first losses, the enemy immediately retreated. But after a short time heavy tanks arrived. Tungus and the sergeant are the only ones from the unit who survived. However, this time they did not have to leave the encirclement. The beginning of the counterattack of the Red Army threw the enemy and the front line to the west. And again Nomokonov was transferred to the auxiliary service - to the funeral team. From that moment on, he was a sapper of the 539th Infantry Regiment.
In the autumn of 1941, helping one of the wounded on the battlefield, Semyon Danilovich noticed thatthe German took aim in their direction. In response, there was an instant reaction of the Siberian hunter - he raised his rifle and fired a shot, hitting the enemy exactly. Already in the evening of the same day, the rumor about a well-aimed shot reached the entire unit, including the command. Semyon Danilovich was transferred to a sniper platoon. From that moment began the path of Nomokonov to the glory of a sniper. Semyon Danilovich's first combat weapon was a three-line Mosin rifle, which he discovered in the forest. The weapon was without an optical sight, but this did not prevent the sniper from successfully coping with combat missions.
Soon the enemy troops broke through the front. The hospital to which S. D. Nomokonov was attached turned out to be behind enemy lines, almost all the soldiers died, and those who survived headed west to surrender to the Germans. Only Nomokonov was not in a depressed state, did not succumb to panic and, as an experienced hunter, easily found his way to his own. On this line of the North-Western Front, the 11th Army fought steadfastly and the 34th Army was formed, which included commanders and soldiers who had left the encirclement. The new units were ordered to hold back enemy forces at any cost in the area near Staraya Russa. During this period, Nomokonov received an entry in the book of a Red Army soldier that he was armed with a “Tula rifle No. 2753.”
The appearance of the legend
Great fame about him passed at the end of 1941, when he shot eight German scouts on the Valdai Heights, which saved the wounded commander.
It was thanks to this occasion that Semyon Danilovich was enlisted in the platoonsnipers of Lieutenant Repin Ivan. The newspaper of the North-Western Front "For the Motherland" in December 1941 published a message that S. D. Nomokonov from Transbaikalia liquidated 76 Germans. But these were only official data. The Tunguska sniper was a rather modest person. The story of his feat was listened to with prejudice, not too trusting the testimony of a short sniper fighter. Distrust deeply hurt his soul. This forced him to destroy enemy soldiers and officers without resorting to strict accountability. Nomokonov decided to report only reliable cases. According to Captain Boldyrev, Chief of Staff of the 695th Infantry Regiment, S. D. Nomokonov killed 360 Nazi soldiers during the war years. The Nazis, who conducted a constant mortar and artillery hunt for Semyon Danilovich, also learned about his accuracy. However, the Soviet sniper chose his positions carefully. Nomokonov always adhered to the rule that the target could appear at any moment. You always need to be ready to take cover and freeze in place, gather in a ball. In such a situation, the head should be kept low and “tossing” only with the eyes. A sniper could hit a target from 300–500 meters, and the record distance from which he destroyed a target was 1,000 meters. During the war years, Nomokonov wore hunting equipment, so on assignment he often used various laces, ropes, mirror fragments, flyers. For silent movement at the right time, the shooter used brodni woven from horsehair. In 1942, a sniper entered combat positions with a rifle with an optical sight.
In April 1942, she arrived at the frontthe Chita delegation headed by the Secretary of the Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks G. I. Voronov. They presented a nominal watch as a gift to the famous countryman.
According to official information, during the war years, Semyon Danilovich Nomokonov eliminated 367 enemies, including both the Germans and the Japanese. On his pipe, he marked the killed opponents with dots (soldiers) and crosses (officers). He passed on his skill of an accurate shot to the younger generation, working as a shooting instructor, he taught more than 150 soldiers the art of sniping. An outstanding student of S. D. Nomokonov was his countryman T. S. Sanzhiev, who was able to destroy 186 enemy officers and soldiers. During his service, Nomokonov was repeatedly wounded, but escaped German captivity. He was shell-shocked twice and suffered injuries 8 times, but did not leave the service. Repeatedly, enemy artillery opened heavy fire, mortar shelling of the territory where the Soviet shooter could supposedly be was undertaken. The Nazis thus tried to destroy Nomokonov.
Becoming a sniper, Semyon Danilovich had to keep records of the destroyed enemy officers and soldiers. The pipe, which was always with him, became a kind of evidence of his military success.
The famous sniper fought his way from the Valdai Heights and the Karelian Isthmus to East Prussia. They also had to fight in Ukraine, Lithuania, and during the Soviet-Japanese war - in Manchuria. He served on 5 fronts, 2 divisions and 6 regiments. He instilled fear and horror in the enemy invaders, which is why he received the nickname "Taiga Shaman".
An experienced hunter announced to the Nazis"dain-tuluguy", which in translation from his native language meant "merciless war". He emerged victorious from all sniper duels. Many years later, the achievements of the outstanding shooter will inspire the directors to create the film "Sniper 2. Tungus".
Participation in hostilities against Japan
The battle path of Nomokonov Semyon Danilovich ended at the spurs of the Greater Khingan in the Far East. In the area of the village of Khodatun of the Trans-Baikal Front, the sniper destroyed 15 servicemen of the Kwantung Army, and the group of snipers he led killed about 70 enemies. For this battle, the Soviet shooter was awarded the last award - the Order of the Red Star. Also, by order of the front commander, Nomokonov received a horse, binoculars and a personalized sniper rifle.
Battle awards
For military merit, Semyon Danilovich was repeatedly awarded state awards: orders and medals, as well as valuable items.
The first award - the order to them. V. I. Lenin - for the destruction of 151 Nazis and the training of 16 snipers S. D. Nomokonov, who was in the rank of senior sergeant, received in June 1942. For the elimination of more than 250 enemy soldiers and officers in December 1943, the Soviet sniper was awarded the Order of the Red Star.
The 221st Rifle Division of the 34th Rifle Corps of the 34th Army became Nomokonov S. D.'s last duty station. In March 1945, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for training 99 snipers and eliminating 294 German soldiers and officers.
Life in the postwar years
Semyon Danilovich Nomokonov was a very popular person in the post-war period. Articles about his exploits were repeatedly published in newspapers and books. He received many letters from ordinary people from all over the Soviet Union. One day they wrote to him from Hamburg. One German woman was very worried about the question, was there a mark on his pipe about the death of her son Gustav Ehrlich? Did he, as a man of such great merit, pray for his victims? This letter was read to Nomokonov, the answer to which was recorded by one of his sons from his words. The famous sniper admitted the possibility that on his pipe, with which he spent the entire war, there could be a mark about the destruction of the son of a respected woman. But Nomokonov could not remember all the German murderers and robbers. In addition, he considered it important to point out to the woman how cruel the Nazi invaders were in their actions: "If you German women saw with your own eyes what your sons did in Leningrad…"
After the end of the war, sniper Nomokonov continued to work at the state farm. In the mid-1960s, having retired, he moved the Mogoytuysky district to the village of Zagulay (Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug), where he was hired by the collective farm named after. V. I. Lenin. Semyon Danilovich Nomokonov died in 1973, on July 15.
Facts about the legendary sniper
Until 1931, the name "Tungus" was used, after which "Evenki" became the generally accepted ethnonym. According to official documents, Nomokonov S. D.was listed as "Tungus from the Khamnegans clan", therefore both Buryats and Evenks consider him a fellow countryman. "Hamnegan" is translated into Russian as "forest man".
Semyon Danilovich started learning to read at the age of 32, together with his son Vladimir.
During the war Nomokonov Vladimir was also a sniper, he destroyed about 50 Nazis. Father and son fought in neighboring sectors of the front, but their meeting took place only after the end of the war.
The famous rifle of Semyon Danilovich is in the Museum of the History of the Troops of the Order. V. I. Lenin of the Siberian Military District.
The exploits of the participants of the Great Patriotic War continue to attract the attention of researchers. Many of them were the prototypes of the heroes of military films. Nomokonov Semyon Danilovich was no exception. His biography was the basis of the film "Sniper 2. Tungus". The events also unfold during the Great Patriotic War, in 1943, and tell about the everyday life of wartime, the difficulties of completing combat missions and self-sacrifice.
Nomokonov often received pipes as a gift. For example, the front commander, who became aware of Nomokonov's sniper duels, personally presented him with a pipe made of ivory. Currently, one of them has been transferred to the Moscow museum for storage, the other to Chita, and the third to Achinsk.
Memory of descendants about S. D. Nomokonov
Grateful descendants cherish and increase the memory of the famous countryman and compatriot.
About the legendary sniper, the writer Zarubin Sergey wrote the book “Pipesniper.”
In the post-war period, S. D. Nomokonov was awarded the title of Honorary Soldier of the Trans-Baikal Military District (now Siberian).
In honor of the great countryman, shooting competitions are held in his homeland.
S. D. Nomokonov's candidacy in January 2010 won first place in the competition "Great people of Transbaikalia", which was organized under the patronage of the Administration of the Trans-Baikal Territory.
S. D. Nomokonov was not awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during his lifetime. In commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the Victory in the war of 1941-1945, volunteers and organizers sent an idea to the Ministry of Defense to award the sniper to the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, but the department did not find any good reasons for conferring this title.
