This year marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. As our President K. K. Tokayev noted, May 9 holds a special place in our history. This is a day of selfless worship of the spirits of our grandfathers and fathers, grandparents who defended the country. This is the day when we remember the heroic feat of the people who defeated fascism. In a fierce war, our people made efforts and suffered huge losses. We won thanks to the heroism and dedication of the front-line soldiers, the dedication of the home front workers. It is our sacred duty to perpetuate the memory of our troubles, who made their lives for the liberation of the country and the bright future of the generation [1].

The first stage of the war was very difficult. In such circumstances, the role of Kazakhstan has increased somewhat. The war required a large output of ferrous, rare and non-ferrous metallurgy, coal and oil industries. Kazakhstan has accepted the evacuated institutions. In 1941-1942, more than 220 factories, workshops and artels were relocated to the republic. In addition, 240 industrial enterprises were built in Kazakhstan in 1941-1945. Kazakhstan supplied 85% of lead, 35% of tin, 75% of polymetallic ores. During the war years, Karaganda miners extracted 34 million tons of coal. Oil production increased by 39% [2].

Agriculture has also adapted to the need of war. Despite the fact that two thirds of the conscripts for the war were agricultural workers, in many collective farms 80% of the workers were women. The needlewomen showed courage in their work. Agricultural producers of Kazakhstan not only transferred bread, meat, and raw materials to the front, but also saved about 370,000 evacuated cattle. Thus, a large amount of meat, milk, wool, and leather were sent to the front.

Residents of Kazakhstan raised funds for the assembly of tanks, airplanes, as well as an entire squadron. The funds voluntarily provided by Kazakhstanis for the needs of the front will amount to 4,700 million rubles. In addition, about 2.5 million warm clothes and 1,600 wagons of gifts were sent to the front.

In addition, scientific and creative teams have been evacuated to Kazakhstan. Academic scientists such as the Moscow and Leningrad Film Studios, about 20 scientific institutions and world-famous names I. P. Vernadsky, V. A. Obruchev, A.M. Pankratova, A. A. Skochinsky and others were transferred to Almaty. As a spiritual weapon, literature served as a great cause. Such masters of poetry and prose as Zhambyl Zhabaev, Mukhtar Auezov, Sabit Mukanov, Dmitry Snegin, and young writers as Zhuban Moldagaliev, Syrbai Maulenov, Sagyngali Seyitov, and Zhumagali Sain wrote their works about the heroes of the front and rear. 90 Kazakhstani poets and writers fought on the war fronts [3].

From the first days of the war, military formations and units were formed on the territory of Kazakhstan. The 316th Infantry Division was one of the first to be established in Kazakhstan. The personnel was based on the workers of Almaty, Zhambyl and South Kazakhstan regions. Major General I. V. Panfilov, who participated in the Civil War and fought in the ranks of the glorious 25th Chapaev Division, was appointed division commander. In total, 12 rifle divisions, 4 cavalry divisions, 7 rifle brigades, about 50 separate regiments and battalions, and various military formations have been formed in Kazakhstan. During the war, 1,196,164 Kazakhstanis were drafted into the army. The formed military formations and units were multinational in composition. 670,000 people have been mobilized to work at industrial enterprises.

The glorious 316th Infantry Division under the command of Major General I. V. Panfilov played a decisive role in the battles near Moscow. He managed to stubbornly resist the enemy tanks. The immortal feat of 28 soldiers of the 1075th Infantry regiment, who destroyed 18 Nazi tanks at the Dubosekovo junction on November 16, 1941 and did not send the enemy to Moscow, is known all over the world. Political instructor V. G. Klochkov, who was part of this group, said: “Russia is huge, but there is nowhere to retreat to! Follow Us, Moscow!”catchphrases spread all over the front. All twenty-eight Panfilov members were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. General I.V. Panfilov died heroically on November 18, 1941. In the battle for Moscow, having received the title of Hero only in 1990, the battalion under the command of senior Lieutenant Bauyrzhan Momyshuly showed resilience. In the same battle, Tolegen Tokhtarov, Malik Gabdullin, and others were Heroes of the Soviet Union. P. B. Vikhrev was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union after his heroic death. In addition, the Heroes of the Soviet Union were Karaganda pilot N.Abdirov, mortar man K. Metataev, Lieutenant G. Ramaev, who died heroically for their Homeland.

Other divisions, brigades and regiments formed in Kazakhstan were deployed to the fronts of the Great Patriotic War in 1942. At that time, the 312th Division, formed in Aktobe, fought one seven-fold defensive battle against three or four enemy divisions near Maloyaroslavl. The 102nd Division, formed in Shymkent, held a defensive line in northeastern Ukraine.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Battle of Stalingrad became a turning point. Among the formations involved in this fierce battle was the 38th Infantry Division, formed in Kazakhstan. He fought each time as part of the 62nd Army / Commander V. I. Chuikov /, the 57th Army / columnist F. I. Tolbukhin /, as well as the commander of the 64th Army / Commander M. S. Shumilov /, who bore the brunt of the battle for Stalingrad. The 81st Infantry Division, formed in the city of Zhambyl during the battles near Stalingrad, made a significant contribution to the defeat of the enemy. In late November and early November 1942, this division participated in battles against Nazi troops who attempted to capture the city of Kotelnikovo and, thus, liberate the besieged army of Paulus in the city of Stalingrad. Also, the battalions of the 152nd Rifle brigade, formed in Uralsk, blocked the road to German and Romanian military units trying to break through Elista-Astrakhan to the lower mouth of the Volga River. The German fascist troops, who suffered numerous losses in battles with Red Army units, abandoned their attempts to attack Astrakhan.

Kazakhstani soldiers selflessly fought not only at Stalingrad, but also on the Kursk Shoulder, in the battles for the Dnieper and Leningrad. Among the soldiers who served in the military units of besieged Leningrad, the names of D. Shynybekov, the commander of the S. Zhylkishiev balloon, attached to a long-range cannon, were proudly mentioned. In one of the battles of 1942, Arystan Akhmetov, a graduate of the Zhangalinsky district of the West Kazakhstan region, called his name an immortal dunk. He fought with 19 soldiers until he left one hill of military importance, leaving the last man. The enemy soldiers tried to get military information from him, who fell into the hands of a wounded enemy. He broke his teeth and cut his ears. In such agony, A. Akhmetov, who spat in the face of an enemy officer and showed an example of perseverance and heroism, was burned by killers filled with fuel. The hero passed away, not allowing Cecilia to face the enemy. The news of his feat reached the country through the essays of the veteran writer Pavel Kuznetsov.

After being hit by an enemy tank with a powerful explosive mine, Karsybai Sypataev, defender of Leningrad Sultan Baymagambetov, who covered the mouth of the enemy bunker with machine-gun fire, inspired the Kazakh soldiers to a feat. Until recent years, in historical textbooks, the Kazakh pilot wrote about the feat of Hero of the Soviet Union Nurken Abdirov, as a man who repeated the eyeless feat of the famous pilot Captain N. Gastello, who shot down a fireproof plane over an enemy tank column. Nurken also died on December 19, 1942 in the Bokovsko-Ponamarevsky district of the Rostov region, sending his Il-12 aircraft into the concentration center of German tanks, inflicting heavy losses on them. This feat was accomplished in the first 5 days of the war as part of Captain Maslov’s crew (shortly before Captain Gastello’s crew) by Baktyoraz Beisekbayev, a Kazakh pilot and graduate of the Balkhash district of the Almaty region. This historical justice happened 56 years later, when B. Beisekbayev was awarded the title of Hero of Russia and National Hero of Kazakhstan. After the victory at Stalingrad in the summer of 1943, the Red Army units advanced several hundred kilometers and reached the Belgorod-Oryol line. Here, in July of the same year, a great battle unfolded on the Kursk Shoulder. The Kazakh 72nd and 8th Rifle Divisions were among the military units that participated in the Battle of Kursk. Soldiers of the 72nd Division operated in the south-east of Belgorod on the line of defense against the advance of German troops in the region.

At the same time, the Kazakh 8th Infantry Division was engaged in devastating battles with enemy troops on the ORLO-Kursk Shoulder. Thus, nothing came of the Nazis’ attempt to attack this front line. On August 5, 1943, troops from the Western and Bryansk fronts, with the participation of soldiers from the 72nd and 8th divisions, liberated Oryol and Belgorod from the Germans. In the autumn of the same year, the 100th Kazakh National Rifle Brigade, as part of the 3rd Shock Army on the Kalinin Front, took part in the operation to liberate the city of Nevel. From September 17 to October 10, 1943, the 101st Kazakh National Rifle Brigade, as part of the 4th Shock Army, broke through the enemy fortress near the city of Demidovo and cleared 158 villages and villages of the Smolensk and Vityovo regions from the enemy. The Kazakh 30th Guards and 8th Infantry Divisions were also part of the Western Front troops.

During a large-scale attack by Red Army units after the victory on the Kursk Shoulder, the Dnieper River broke through and the native Ukrainian land was liberated. 123 Kazakhstani soldiers were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for their selfless feat while crossing the great river of the Ukran. In early 1944, the Kazakh 314th Rifle Division and the 219th Rifle Regiment took an active part in the liberation of the northwestern regions of the Russian Federation as part of the Leningrad Front troops. Acting together with other formations of the Volkhov Front, the Kazakh 31st Infantry Division liberated Novgorod from the enemy, for which he was awarded the honorary title of “Novgorod Division”. The 319th Rifle, 8th and 30th Guards Rifle Divisions and the 756th Rifle Regiment also participated in the counterattack against the enemy as part of the 2nd Baltic Front.

In the autumn of 1944-spring of 1945, Kazakhstanis made a great contribution to the cause of the liberation of European peoples from German oppression. Among the units and formations of the Red Army that distinguished themselves in the campaign to liberate the countries of Central and Southeastern Europe, the 72nd and 73rd Guards Rifle Divisions fought heroically. As part of the 1st Belorussian Front in the Warsaw-Berlin direction, the 27th Red Banner Novgorod Guards Rifle Division went on the offensive and liberated the city of Poznan on February 23, 1945. The Kazakh 456th and 209th rifle regiments, 173rd artillery regiments fought in Pomerania, the inviolable castle of Nazi Germany. The 310th Novgorod Rifle Division, formed in Kazakhstan, made a significant contribution to the success of the military operation here. From April 16 to May 2, 1945, Kazakhstani soldiers took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Lieutenant Rakhimzhan Koshkarbayev, along with Private Bulatov, was one of the first to put a red flag on the wall of the Reichstag.

Summing up, we can say that in the Great War, our Kazakh soldiers demonstrated examples of true heroism. The famous Russian writer Ilya Ehrenburg cited the following fact in October 1941 in the article “Kazakhs” in the newspaper Pravda in relation to the soldiers of the 316th Kazakh Division who heroically defended Moscow. In his reply, one Fritz, who was captured, said: “The Asians ran up to us, despite the fact that they were dead and alive, our snow forests. Now I know that they are a nation of Kazakhs.” And the writer continues this answer with his thought: “Kazakhs are a people accustomed to riding shameless racehorses in the steppe, which, if necessary, will walk through swampy terrain with clay beloirs” [3].

The outstanding military commander, Colonel-General P. I. Romashko, noted in his memoirs: “The Kazakhs have shown in this war that they are a good-natured, good-natured, brave, heroic people. If my military personnel consisted only of Kazakhs, I would be happy with my fate.” However, some of the Kazakhs’ exploits did not receive a timely and fair assessment. In 1941, during Panfilov’s lifetime, Bauyrzhan Momyshevich was presented with the Order of Lenin, and General I. Serebryakov in 1942 proposed that he be awarded the title “Hero of the Soviet Union.” Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, none of these awards earned Bauck. The writer Alexander Beck became the main character of the novel “The Volokolamsk Highway”, which was first written on the theme of war. Unfortunately, he is awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union only posthumously.

As we have already said, Rakhimzhan Koshkarbayev was among the first to display the Victory Banner on the Reichstag on the eve of the end of the war. While appreciating the feat of the heroes of the Soviet Union, soldiers Mikhail Egorov and Meliton Kantaria, who waved the Victory Banner on the central dome of the Reichstag, in fact, how do we forget that for the first time this heroic feat was performed on the night of May 1, April 30, 1945 by other reconnaissance fighters, including our Rakhimzhan Koshkarbayev and Grigory Bolatov.

They made their way 300 meters to the Reichstag for 7.5 hours. Because the fascists, without raising their heads, fired into the snow. When Rakhimzhan successfully sewed the Victory Banner, the division commander congratulated him. He immediately informs the front commander Zhukov, G. K., about this. Upon hearing who they were, the commander provoked anger and asked if they had found Russian flag bearers on the entire front, why the Asians were released. And again, the Banner of Victory orders that one be a Russian and the other a countryman of our great leader Stalin. This was heard by the commander of the communications unit of this division, Senior Lieutenant A. Tashkent. The next day, Russian Egorov and Georgian Kantaria set up the Victory flag for the second time. And the feat of the Kazakhs remained nameless [4].

All 12 Kazakhstani divisions, preserved during the end of the war, received an honorary military rank. Five of them were awarded the Order of the Soviet Union once, four-twice, two-three times. Five divisions were awarded the title of Guards Division, the highest military badge of honor of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstanis took an active part in the guerrilla movement. According to incomplete data, there are 1,500 in Ukrainian partisan formations and detachments, 220 in the Leningrad Region, and more than 270 Kazakh children in the Smolensk region. 65 partisan brigades and detachments operating in different regions of Belarus numbered more than 1,500 Kazakhstanis. The names of the glorious Kazakh boys G. Akhmedyarov, K. Omarov, A. Zhumagaliev, 3.Khusainov, B. Orazbayev, K. Kaisenov, A. Shoripov, T. Zhangeldin, J. Sain and others who take part in the partisan movement are highly respected today.

The fighters of Kazakhstan also took an active part in the elimination of the last hotbed of war in the Far East. On August 9, 1945, Captain G. A. Golubev’s Baskargan group of the 52nd Shekharin detachment killed 20 Japanese soldiers, captured 4 soldiers, and opened the way for army units in a battle on the banks of the Argun River. The next day, a soldier of the 150th machine gun battalion, L. G. Kravchenko, covered the mouth of the enemy bunker at the Lesnaya site with a corps, ensuring the salvation of the lives of his comrades. Commander of the 165th Infantry regiment N. D. Kurmanov organized the defeat of the Japanese in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and created the conditions for the capture of 7 bunkers and 198 firing nests in the Kharamitoga district. Thus, the heroism of the soldiers of Kazakhstan as part of the Soviet troops played a crucial role in ensuring the defeat and rout of the Kwantung Army of Japan within 15-20 days [5].

With Japan falling to its knees in early September 1945 The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union and the Second World War are over. Humanity has been preserved from the domination of the belligerent fascist dictatorship over the world. In total, 11,649 people, including 500 Kazakhstani soldiers, were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War. However, according to the final data revealed in recent years, 615 Kazakhstani soldiers and officers were named heroes of the Soviet Union, including 109 soldiers (including those who received the title “Halyk Kharmany”) were Kazakhs [2]. Among these brave heroes are the swallows of the Soviet East, heroic kyzys – Aliya Moldagulova, Manshuk Mametova and Hiuaz Dospanova. Pilots T. Begeldinov, L. I. Bede, I. F. Pavlov, and S. D. Lugansky were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union twice. As a result of recent research, three more Kazakhstanis have joined the number of two-time holders of this title. These are residents of the Pavlodar region, Grigory Panteleevich Kravchenko and Ivan Alekseevich Vorobyov, the third is the commander of the 38th Infantry Division formed in Kazakhstan, Colonel Semyon Antonovich Kozak. 142 Kazakhstanis were awarded three degrees of the Order of Glory.

The war cost Kazakhstan dearly. About 603,000 citizens of Kazakhstan died heroically in the Great Patriotic War. Kazakhstanis have also been active in military operations against Japan in the Far East. The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 was the most serious criticism of the peoples of the Soviet Union. 27 million people died in this war, and almost half a million were court-martialed. They were accused of betraying the Motherland and refusing protection. Every 4th inhabitant of the republic was involved in military and industrial work. Many of them did not return to their homeland. In addition, the leaders of Kazakhstan, such as N.A.Skvortsov J. Shayakhmetov, N.Ondasynov, A. Kazakhbayev and others, during the war years, showed high organizational skills in this difficult period, military mobilization work, management of economic and other sectors of the republic. The Great Patriotic War will forever remain in the memory of generations.

Literature:

1. K. K. Tokaev. We must remember the exploits of the participants of the Great Patriotic War. Akorda’s website. 09.05.2022

2. The history of Kazakhstan. An encyclopedic reference book. Almaty, Aruna Publishing house, 2006

3. E. Kuandyk, history of Kazakhstan. Almaty, 2009

4. Zhylkyshybayeva K., heroic deeds of Kazakhstanis. “Kazakh history”. 2005, №5

5. B. Sailan, Kazakhstani youth in the Soviet-German war. “Kazakh history”. 2005, №2