Manshuk Zhiengalievna Mametova is a Soviet machine-gunner, who in her last fight alone destroyed 72 fascists. She became the first Kazakh woman to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The real name of the girl was Mansia, she was born October 23, 1922 in the village of Zhaskus, Urdinsky district of the Ural region of the Kazakh SSR.
In Soviet biographies, they wrote that her parents died early and her aunt took care of the girl. However, in reality everything was not quite like that. In the traditional types of Kazakh families at that time there was an ancient tribal custom - atalysts (from the Turkic "ata" - father, the elder person acting as a father), according to which the firstborn was given to be raised for grandfather and grandmother. With the education of the parents in the family, the child develops special personal qualities, which he then needs as a senior to perform the role of coordinator and allow an unbiased attitude to family members of his parents. After all, the elder child in the family is responsible for the upbringing and social support of his younger brothers and sisters.
Before the war, Mashuk Mametova graduated from the 2nd year of the Alma-Ata Medical Institute, then worked in the Council of People's Commissars of the Kazakh SSR, secretary of the Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars.
On August 13, 1942, she volunteered for the front as a member of the 100th Kazakh Independent Rifle Brigade (created on December 8, 1943 in Alma-Ata, the 1st Rifle Division). First, Mametov was identified as a clerk in the headquarters, then as a nurse in a field hospital. In my spare time I studied the design of the machine gun "Maxim" (it was able to shoot accurately at the institute) and achieved the transfer to the rifle unit.
October 15, 1943 troops of the Kalinin Front, which included fighting Manshuk Mametova, fought for the liberation of the city of Nevel, Pskov region. Fascists fiercely resisted, clinging to every height. They continuously turned into counterattacks, seeking to delay the offensive of our units. Having secured a favorable position, the calculation of the brave machine-gunner tore off enemy counterattacks on his site. Before our rifle division was the task to capture the height that dominated the terrain. This decided the outcome of the battle. The Nazis brought mortar fire on the position of Soviet soldiers, as a result of which the calculations of two machine guns were killed, only Manshuk remained alive. Fascists, seeing that Manshuk was alone, began to attack simultaneously from different directions. Manshuk had to shoot one of the three machine guns in order to control all the directions of the offensive. Then the Germans again began to shell her position from the mortars. Manshuk was seriously wounded in the head and lost consciousness, waking up only from the triumphant cries of the enemies approaching her. Manshuk found the strength to again open fire from the machine gun. In this battle, she perished, having destroyed 72 fascists before her death.
On March 1, 1944, Senior Sergeant Manshuk Zhiyengalievna Mametova was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).