Manshuk Mametova is a heroine girl who died at the age of twenty, protecting her homeland from the Germans during World War II. The feat she accomplished gave her immortality; it is described in many historical textbooks.
However, few people know that the real name of the girl is Mansia.
Birth and childhood of a young heroine
Manshuk Mametova was born on the West Kazakhstan territory, in the Urdinsky district. She was born in 1922. When she was only 5 years old, she was adopted by close relatives. Her native aunt Amin Mametova and her husband Akhmet took her to her upbringing. The young couple at that time was well provided, but could not have their children.
Arriving to visit relatives, they saw little Manshuk and asked her parents to give them a girl. In the family of the future heroine there were three children - she and two brothers. Despite the fact that there was only one daughter, the parents agreed to the proposal of the relatives, since they sincerely believed that their daughter would be better with them than in their own poor village. Photo Manshuk Mametova presented below.
The girl was very sweet. She had expressive brown eyes, and everyone who remembered her in her youth said that she had a surprisingly light character, was very cheerful and lively. For this, relatives and relatives called her “Monshagyly” (which in Russian means “bead”). When asked to introduce herself, the future heroine always said that her name was Manshuk, and it was this name that was assigned to her.
The girl successfully graduated from local school No. 51 and decided to continue her studies at a medical institute. This decision was influenced by the positive example of her adoptive father, Ahmet. He was a famous doctor and with his interesting stories he managed to arouse his daughter's interest in medicine. As a student, Manshuk Mametova was engaged in public activities and worked in the secretariat at the local Council of People's Commissars.
Voluntary sending to the front
Manshuk Mametova, whose biography was studied in detail after she became famous for her feat, made a firm decision to go to the front immediately after she came of age. For almost a year, Mametova had been seeking from the draft board to be sent to the war. The desire of the persistent girl was finally satisfied.
Once in the Red Army, she was at the headquarters of the 100 Kazakh brigade. At first, Manshuk Zhiyengalievna Mametova worked there as a clerk, and then she began to serve as a nurse. But this did not suit the girl at all, and a month later, with the rank of senior sergeant, she was transferred to one of the rifle battalions of the Guards Rifle Division No. 21.
The hidden reasons for wanting to go to war
There is a version according to which Mametova was eager for the front and the war, not only for patriotic reasons. Her adoptive father was repressed in 1937 and shot. For a long time, the daughter did not know about Akhmet’s death and for many years she wrote letters and appeals to various authorities asking him to release him. When the Second World War began, someone began to spread rumors that if the children of the repressed "enemies of the people" voluntarily go to the front and show courage there, then their parents will be pardoned by the power of the Soviets. So it is likely that this moment fueled the desire of a young girl to get into the very epicenter of hostilities.
The fragile girl's solid character
Once at the front, Manshuk Mametova passed machine gunner courses and was assigned to the combat unit under the first number. They say that even the most experienced machine gunners envied her tenacity and perseverance, with which she learned to handle weapons.
During the pressures of World War II, local commanders tried to spare the women and girls who came to the front whenever possible. If the situation allowed, they were left at headquarters or by nurses at medical units. Each time, Mametova was also offered to stay at headquarters as a radio operator, telephone operator, and assistant. But in her letter to her relatives, she herself said that she insisted on being sent to the battlefield. And this despite the fact that machine gunners were secretly considered suicide bombers during the war - the attacking enemy first of all tried to destroy machine gun nests.
Military love
Those who knew the girl at that time said that at the front she was in love with her colleague Nurken Khusainov. Many people recall him as a very handsome, decent and kind guy. Nurken replied with Mametova reciprocity. But since it was a very difficult time around, young people thought that it would be inappropriate to show their feelings. When war is around, there is no room for love. They say that, despite the apparent mutual sympathy, young people have never admitted to each other their feelings. By fate, they died on the same day, October 15, 1943, during the defense of the Izochi station, which was located under the city of Nevel.
Heroic Death Day
On the day when the legendary feat of Manshuk Mametova was accomplished, her battalion received an order from the headquarters to repel an enemy attack near Nevel. The enemy immediately brought down heavy fire of mortars and artillery at the positions of the Soviet battalion. But, restrained by the fire of Russian machine guns, the Germans retreated. During her shooting, the girl did not immediately notice how the two neighboring machine guns subsided. She realized that her comrades were no longer alive, and began to alternately shoot from three guns herself, crawling from her machine gun to the neighboring ones.
After the Nazis were able to navigate, they pointed their mortars at the position of Manshuk. A mine that exploded nearby overturned the girl’s machine gun, and Mametova was wounded in the head. She passed out. When Manshuk regained consciousness, she realized that the joyful Germans went on the offensive. She crawled to the next machine gun and continued the attack. Being seriously wounded, she was able to eliminate more than 70 Nazis with her shooting, which ensured the successful further advance of our forces. From the wound, the heroine died on the battlefield.
The memory of the deed of Mametova
At first, she was posthumously assigned to the Order of the Patriotic War of the 2nd degree. Her story was published in a newspaper. At the request of Malik Gabdullin (Hero of the Soviet Union), 6 months after her death, Manshuk received the well-deserved title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The Manshuk Mametova Museum in Uralsk is a place that was created to preserve the memory of the exploit of this girl. He settled in the house where the heroine lived with her adoptive parents in the 30s. The museum contains many personal items Manshuk, which were preserved by her adoptive mother. There are also letters from the girl home from the front. The museum created the diorama "Immortal feat of Manshuk", which reminds visitors of the sacrifice made in the name of peace by Mametov.