Heroes of the War

Short biographies of soldiers, airmen and resistance fighters of the Second World War: who they were, where they fought and what they did. Every page lists its sources.

Soviet soldiers and airmen

Sniper Vasily Zaitsev of the 1047th Rifle Regiment receives a party candidate card, Stalingrad 1942Vasily ZaitsevThe sniper of Stalingrad and teacher of a generation of snipers.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Soviet sniper, 1943Lyudmila PavlichenkoSniper at Odessa and Sevastopol.
Sniper Roza Shanina, 1944Roza ShaninaSniper, platoon commander, killed in East Prussia at twenty.
Sergeant Yakov PavlovYakov PavlovThe sergeant of “Pavlov’s House” in Stalingrad.
Memorial to Zinoviy Kolobanov and his crew near Voyskovitsy with an IS-2 tankZinoviy KolobanovThe KV-1 tank ambush near Leningrad, August 1941 (memorial shown).
Alexander MatrosovAlexander MatrosovThe private who gave his life to open the way for his company.
Alexander Pokryshkin, summer 1943Alexander PokryshkinFighter ace, the first three-time Hero of the Soviet Union.
Ivan Kozhedub, Soviet fighter ace, 1944Ivan KozhedubThe top-scoring Allied fighter ace.
Fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak, 1943Lydia LitvyakThe most successful woman fighter pilot in history.
Soviet fighter pilot Alexey MaresyevAlexei MaresyevThe pilot who flew again after losing both legs.

Allied soldiers and the resistance

Audie Murphy in uniform with his decorations, 1948Audie MurphyThe most decorated American combat soldier of the war.
Desmond Doss, 1945Desmond DossThe medic without a rifle on Hacksaw Ridge, Okinawa.
Witold PileckiWitold PileckiThe Polish officer who volunteered for Auschwitz.

All photographs are historical images in the public domain or under free licences, credited on each biography page. No free-licence portrait of Zinoviy Kolobanov is available, so his card shows the memorial to his crew.

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