Maria the Nazi killer
QUESTION Did a young woman buy her own tank in World War II and attack the Nazis?
WHAT were the chances of anyone taking any notice when a young Soviet telephone operator — after finding out the love of her life had been killed in the German Blitzkrieg sweeping across Russia — wrote in anger to dictator Joseph Stalin with a very strange demand?
Maria (often spelt Mariya) Vasilyevna had enclosed her life savings in the letter, enough to buy a new T-34 tank. She asked not only to buy one, but to drive it herself to take revenge on the Nazis.
With a world war raging, the letter should have had a snowflake’s chance in hell of being taken seriously. But Stalin was always open to a great propaganda idea.
Maria was born on August 16, 1905, one of ten serf children living in a Crimean hovel. After the 1917 Revolution, she got a job as a telephone operator and, in 1925, met and wed a Red Army officer, Ilya Oktyabrskaya. Maria joined the Military Wives’ Council, trained as a volunteer nurse, learned how to drive Army vehicles and even how to use weapons.
When, in 1941, Hitler unleashed the largest invasion in history, Operation Barbarossa — with 3.8million German troops, 3,350 tanks, 2,770 warplanes and 7,200 pieces of artillery — Maria was sent east, ending up at Tomsk in Siberia.
Two years passed before she learned Ilya’s fate. He had been killed by the Germans fighting outside Kiev in August 1941. Maria went into a fury when she heard the news.
Then she sold everything and wrote this letter to Stalin: ‘My husband was killed in action defending the motherland. I want revenge on the fascist dogs for his death and for the death of Soviet people tortured by the fascist barbarians.
‘For this purpose, I’ve deposited all my personal savings — 50,000 roubles — to the National Bank in order to build a tank. I kindly ask to name the tank “Fighting Girlfriend” and to send me to the frontline as a driver of said tank.’
Against all the odds, she got it, and joined the 26th Guards Tank Brigade as a driver/mechanic in September 1943. She was laughed at by the regular troops. A woman driving a tank called Fighting Girlfriend? The whole idea was mocked. But they could not have been more wrong. On October 21, 1943, in Smolensk, Maria opened the throttle on Fighting Girlfriend and charged — taking out antitank guns and machine gun nests, before herself getting hit by a shell.
Against orders, she jumped out and, despite heavy enemy fire, fixed the damage, before continuing the fight. Her fellow troops gave her new respect and called her ‘mother’ after that.
On November 17, the Red Army recaptured the town of Novoye Selo. Maria attacked German positions till an artillery shell damaged her tracks. Under covering fire, she again jumped out and fixed it. It was as if she had a charmed life.
But it could not last. On January 17, 1944, near Shvedy, Maria attacked German trenches, machine gun nests and artillery, when again, her tank was crippled by a German anti-tank shell.
As before, she fearlessly hopped out to fix it. But another shell burst, and she was hit in the head by shrapnel. She was taken to a hospital near Kiev and died on March 15, 1944, aged 38. Benedict le Vay, author of Madcap Military Mayhem: The Bizarre, Barmy And Brilliant.
QUESTION What is the meaning of Woolloongabba, the Ashes cricket venue?
WOOllOONGABBA is thought to be based on a Turrbal word — the Turrbal being an Australian Aboriginal nation, descendants of the original owners and custodians of the region of present-day Brisbane, Queensland.
The famous Australian gold-miner and protector of Aborigines Tom Petrie claimed that, if the original Aboriginal word had been retained, it would have been Wulonkoppa, meaning ‘whirling water’, named for a series of swirling waterholes in the area.
Others hold that it is derived from the words ‘Wooloon’, fight talk, and ‘Gabba’, a place. Thus it was a ceremonial fighting place favoured by the tribes south of Brisbane. This latter has an appropriate feel to it, with regards to the combative way Australians play cricket.
land for the Gabba cricket ground was acquired in around 1893. In 1896, the first game was played between the Press and a parliamentary team. The game was a tie — both teams scoring 61 runs.
In 1932, the first Test was played there against a touring South African team.
Tom Davies, Sydney.
QUESTION A Rachel is a hairstyle named after Jennifer Aniston’s character in Friends. What other haircuts are named after people?
FURTHeR to the earlier answer, there are many examples of eponymous cuts: A LA BRUMMEL: A high mass of hair on top of the head and over the temples, a Regency male fashion emulating the style of Beau Brummel. A LA MADONNA: Hair parted in the middle with ringlets or curls on either side of the face, a female fashion popular in the mid-19th century. ALEXANDRA CURLS: Named after the beautiful wife of edward VII. It featured a small, tightly curled fringe with the hair bound and curled at the back. It was popular in the late-1880s. CLEOPATRA STYLE: Hair cut in a similar manner to the wigs worn in Ancient egypt, consisting of a heavy fringe and the rest shoulder-length, either hanging straight or turned under. Popular in the Sixties due to elizabeth Taylor’s starring role in the film Cleopatra. JULIETTE GRECO CUT: The Forties singer who first set a fashion for long, straight hair worn with a long fringe. THE POMPADOUR: Named after Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of King louis XV of France. The hair was brushed back in a puff and twisted into a topknot at the back, slightly towards the crown. A popular style of the 1890s. THE VIDAL BOB: An early Sixties style named after the english hairdresser Vidal Sassoon. The hair was short all over and raised slightly at the back, with a short fringe and side pieces in front of the ear. BRIGITTE BARDOT: The ‘sex kitten’ of the Fifties set the fashion for long, wavy hair with a fringe. It looked dishevelled, but actually needed careful arranging.
Anthea Hall, Stourbridge, W. Mids.
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