Many Georgians defended the USSR with weapons in their hands, 136 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Many soldiers from Georgia were in the units that landed in Kerch at the end of 1941. In 1942, Georgian national divisions were created, which took part in the battles for the Crimea. In May 1942, Soviet troops were forced to leave the Kerch Peninsula. By the way, in the battles for Kerch, my grandfather, Ilya Nauyevich Ablotia, also disappeared.
The 224th Georgian Rifle Division (commander V. Dzabakhidze) covered the withdrawal of three Soviet armies. In these battles, most of the soldiers and commanders of the 224th division died. The soldiers of Georgia took part in the landing operations in November 1943 on the Kerch Peninsula, and then in the battles for the liberation of Sevastopol and the entire Crimea. Dozens of fascist soldiers were destroyed at Sapun-Gora by machine gunner, Hero of the Soviet Union G. Samkharadze. Moving his machine gun from one place to another, Samkharadze sowed panic in the ranks of the enemy troops, which enabled the soldiers of the regiment 414 of the Georgian rifle Anapa division to quickly move forward and attack the approaches to Sevastopol.
Fearlessly fought for the hero city of Sevastopol and Crimea, Rear Admirals M. Jincharadze and S. Kapanadze, Heroes of the USSR: V. Esebua, A. Kananadze, K. Kochiev, Z Khitalishvili, D. Jabidze, P. Tsikoridze, N. Beria, K. Khadzhiev, A. Chakriyan, V. Papidze and others. Two regiments of the 414th Anapa division were named "Sevastopol". Hundreds of brave men of this division fell in the Crimea, in particular, in the street battles for Sevastopol. A monument has been erected to the soldiers of the 414th Georgian division, who died a heroic death for Sevastopol, on the pedestal of which an eternal flame burns. In the spring of 2009, it was destroyed by vandals, but then rebuilt. The 242nd Mountain Rifle Division, manned in Georgia, operated in Crimea. The soldiers and officers of this glorious division, led by Major General V. Lisinov, fought valiantly until the final defeat of the German-Romanian invaders in the Crimea.
Tens of thousands of Georgian soldiers became famous in the battles for the liberation of Ukraine, many of whom were awarded high government awards. Of the 136 Heroes of the Soviet Union, soldiers of Georgia, the 62nd was awarded this title for heroism and courage shown in the battles for the Crimea, Dnieper, Kiev and Kharkov. In the Melitopol area, senior sergeant, Komsomol member Avaliani exterminated dozens of Nazis, destroyed 3 enemy tanks, and then, with a bunch of grenades, rushed under the fourth tank and blew it up. More than 30 soldiers from Georgia were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their participation in breaking the Dnieper enemy fortifications, crossing the Dnieper and occupying bridgeheads on its right bank. Many of these heroes rest on the banks of the Dnieper, among them: A. Tereladze, V. Chkhaidze, B. Sordia, L. Chubinidze, V. Beroshvili and others. In Kiev, in the "Park of Glory", in a mass grave rests Hero of the Soviet Union N. Gogichaishvili.
How not to remember the heroine of the Crimean underground - Zoya Rukhadze. As the Georgians themselves said at one time: "You had a Russian heroine - Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, and we also have Zoya, but Rukhadze …"
Yes, in March 1944, a schoolgirl from Simferopol repeated the feat of Kosmodemyanskaya. She also joined a partisan detachment operating in the city, where she participated in combat missions. On March 10, 1944, after the explosion of a German armory, she was seized by the Gestapo. They tortured her cruelly, demanding to give out the names of the partisans, their plans. They brutally beat me, broke both arms, gouged out my eyes. Not receiving a single answer to any question, the lifeless body was thrown into a car and taken to the outskirts of the city - to Dubki. Zoya Rukhadze was still alive when she was thrown into a deep well, where she died in unbearable agony.
Crimea and Georgia have not forgotten the heroic deeds of Zoya Rukhadze. Monuments were erected to her both in Simferopol and Tbilisi. A street in Simferopol, schools in Simferopol and Tbilisi were named after her. They dedicated a play and a poem to Zoya Rukhadze.
Georgians took part in battles not only on the territory of the USSR, but outside it and glorified their Georgia. The symbol of their contribution to the victory of mankind over Nazism is Pore Mosulishvili, who died heroically in Italy, where he fought as part of a partisan detachment.
One cannot fail to recall Irina Skhirtladze, who was of Georgian origin and lived in Poland. She was 15 years old and fought against the Nazis on the barricades of the Warsaw Uprising. The famous Georgian poet Dzhansug Charkviani dedicated the poem "Irinola" to her feat.
And most importantly, the banner of Victory over the Reichstag was hoisted by the Russian Mikhail Yegorov and the Georgian Meliton Kantaria.
Eternal glory to the heroes of the war!
