Yevdokiya Zavaly
Evdokia Zavaliy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Evdokia Mykolaivna Zavaliy 28 May 1924 Novy Bug, Ukraine |
| Died | 5 May 2010 (aged 85) Kyiv, Ukraine |
Evdokia Mykolaivna Zavaliy (28 May 1924 – 5 May 2010) was the only Ukrainian and Soviet female commander of a platoon of marines during the Second World War, Colonel of the Guards.[1]
Early life
Evdokia Zavaliy was born on 28 May 1924 in the town of Novy Buh of the Mykolaiv district of the Odesa province.[2]
World War II
In 1941, shortly after Zavaliy turned 17, the invasion of the Soviet Union began. On July 25, 1941, fighting broke out in her hometown, Novy Buh. Zavaliy bandaged wounded soldiers and commanders under bombardment.[3] When the 96th Cavalry Regiment of the 5th Cavalry Division of the 2nd Cavalry Corps began to drop back, she persuaded the regiment commander to take her with him, saying she was soon 18 years old.
On 13 August 1941, German troops approached Novy Buh. Their offensive was restrained by units of the 169th Rifle Division of the 18th Army. At night, the Soviet units left the Novy Bug by order of the command, and on 14 August 1941, the Germans occupied the native town of Zavaliy.[3]
In the regiment, Zavaliy served as a nurse.[4] While crossing the Dnipro river near Khortytsia, she was wounded and sent to a hospital in Krasnodar.[3] The doctors wanted to commission her, but she refused. After treatment, Zavaliy was sent to the reserve regiment, but when the soldiers were selected for the front line, she was taken for a man, especially since she was in a tunic and breeches, and in her documents was written "Zavaliy Evdok. Myk” which made it difficult to identify the sex correctly.[2]
Zavaliy was sent to the 6th Airborne Brigade. She managed to keep her gender secret for 8 months.[2] After she captured a German officer, she was sent to the intelligence department, of which she soon became commander.[2] In one of the battles, the platoon commander was killed and she persuaded everyone to attack. Zavaliy was wounded in this battle and a secret was revealed in the hospital that Evdokim, who had been fighting with the paratroopers for 8 months, was actually a girl.
In 1943, Zavaliy was sent to a six-month course for junior commanders, and after graduating, as a junior lieutenant, she was sent to the 83rd Marine Brigade as a platoon commander.[5]
Commanding a platoon, Zavaliy participated in the Siege of Sevastopol, stormed Sapun Mountain (for this episode she was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War I degree ), participated in the battles for Balaklava, Tsukrova Holivka, and Kerch, crossed the Dniester, participated in the re-occupation of Bessarabia and fought in the battles of Taman, Tuapse, and Novorossiysk. Zavaliy landed in Constanța in Romania, Varna and Burgas in Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia.[2][6]
During the Budapest offensive, Zavaliy and her platoon seized the bunker of the German command through the city sewer with oxygen tanks.[4] Among the prisoners was a general, for whom this captivity was a disgrace because the commander of the paratroopers was a woman. For this episode, she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.[3]
With her platoon, Zavaliy blocked the retreat of German tanks. Paratroopers under Zavaliy's command faced up to 7 tanks.
Postwar years
After the war, Zavaliy was to be sent to study at a military school, but she had received 4 wounds and 2 contusions during the war. In 1947 she was demobilized and went to Kyiv.[1]
In Kyiv, Zavaliy met her future husband and got married. She had 2 children, 4 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. Zavaliy worked as a director of a food store.[3]
Zavaliy toured many cities, military units, ships, and submarines with stories about her platoon of Marines. In May 2009 she took part in the celebrations on the occasion of Victory Day and the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Sevastopol, and in autumn she visited Azerbaijan with a delegation of Ukrainian veterans. In total, in 2009 she held more than 130 meetings with various audiences in Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova.
Evdokia Zavaliy died on 5 May 2010 in Kyiv. She was buried with military honors in Baikove Cemetery.[5]
Awards
Soviet Union
Knight of four military orders and about 40 medals:
- Order of the October Revolution
- Order of the Red Banner
- Order of the Red Star
- Order of the Patriotic War I and II degrees
- Medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus"[7]
- Medal "For the Defense of Sevastopol"[7]
- Medal "For the Capture of Budapest"
- Medal "For the capture of Vienna"
- Medal "For the Liberation of Belgrade"[1]
Ukraine
- Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III class
- Order of the Golden Fortune III class
Zavaliy was a member of the Council of Veterans of Ukraine.
Honorary titles
Evdokia Zavaliy is an honorary citizen of eight cities, including Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky (Ukraine), Burgas (Bulgaria), Novy Buh (Ukraine), and Varna (Bulgaria).
References
- ^ a b c "Вечерний Николаев газета Николаев Украина ПОБЕДИТЕЛИ - Ровесники". 10 March 2018. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d e ""Фрау Черная смерть": чтобы попасть на фронт, стала мужчиной - 9 мая: помним Подвиг! | KP.UA". web.archive.org. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d e ""Взвод, слухай мою команду!". Воєнна доля і пам'ять про війну Євдокії Завалій". Історична правда. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Завалій Євдокія Миколаївна — Енциклопедія Сучасної України". esu.com.ua. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Євдокія Миколаївна Завалій – гвардії полковник, єдина жінка – командир взводу морської піхоти в роки німецько-радянської війни". Новинний портал "Північ". Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Завалий Евдокия Николаевна". memory-book.ua. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Легендарна жінка". Рідне Прибужжя (in Russian). 10 May 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
