"The Lady of Death" and the two battles against the Nazis during the War...

When mentioning female sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, people often know her by the nickname "Lady Death" for her achievement of shooting down hundreds of Nazis, but she also participated in another front: encouraging the US and its allies to open a second front against the Nazis through receptions in the US.

"I decided to prove that girls can become sharpshooters too."

“My first combat assignment was sniping . In the summer, we would go out together at 3:30 in the morning. One pair would lie down in one spot, and another pair would lie down 300-400 meters away. You couldn’t talk to each other, you couldn’t whistle, you couldn’t move, you couldn’t smoke, and you couldn’t do anything at all. This continued until 9-10 p.m. During this time, a sniper could kill five Nazis. Maybe three. Or maybe none. It all depended on the mobility of the enemy. We didn’t shoot at the first people we encountered, only focusing on targets of high tactical value,” Lyudmila’s memoirs.

Sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko of the 25th Chapayev Rifle Division. Photo: Rian

Lyudmila Pavlichenko was born in 1916 in the city of Bila Tserkva near Kyiv. From a young age, she stood out for her strong physique and fighting spirit, always striving to be as good as a boy at everything. When Lyudmila was in the 10th grade, she began working at the local arms factory. There, she developed a passion for shooting and even took a short sniper course.

Lyudmila shared with American journalists: "When I heard the boy next door boasting about his shooting achievements, I decided to prove that girls could shoot well too, and I started training hard and for a long time."

In 1937, Lyudmila entered the History Department of Kyiv University with the hope of becoming a teacher or scientist . However, she was unable to complete her studies – war broke out while she was doing her pre-graduation internship in Odessa. When Hitler's army invaded the Soviet Union, Lyudmila decided to volunteer for the front lines. She was not accepted as a soldier and was advised to become a nurse. “They wouldn't accept girls into the army, and I had to resort to all sorts of tricks to become a soldier,” Lyudmila recalled.

Gunner Lyudmila Pavlichenkov participates in combat mission. Photo: Getty.

One of the most dangerous female sharpshooters on the Eastern Front.

To join the Red Army, Lyudmila had to prove her marksmanship and pass an impromptu test. They gave her a rifle and pointed it at two Romanian officers working with the Nazis. Only by taking down these targets could she prove she was ready to fight on equal footing with the male soldiers. She successfully neutralized the targets, and Private Lyudmila was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division of the Red Army named after Vasily Chapayev.

During the early months of the Great Patriotic War, Lyudmila fought in Moldova and Odessa. She killed over 100 Nazi soldiers and officers. Later, her regiment was transferred to Crimea, and she participated in the heroic defense of Sevastopol.

With her exceptional marksmanship, Lyudmila eliminated 257 Nazis by February 1942 and received praise from the Southern Front Red Army Military Council. Notably, among her targets were 36 enemy snipers who had been sent to stop "Lady Death," a nickname later given to Lyudmila by the American press.

With her achievements, Lyudmila was promoted to Lieutenant and put in charge of a rifle platoon that she had formed from new recruits. Another remarkable event was that the Red Army sniper found the true love of her life on the battlefield. During a battle near Sevastopol, Lyudmila met Lieutenant Leonid Kitsenko, also a sniper. The couple began fighting together, which further strengthened their relationship. Soon after, Lyudmila and Leonid reported their intention to marry to their superiors, but the war prevented them from officially becoming husband and wife.

However, in March 1942, during a combat mission, the couple's sniper position was discovered, and the Nazi forces concentrated their firepower to eliminate the Soviet snipers. Thanks to Leonid's self-defense, Lyudmila was not injured. However, Lieutenant Leonid died from his severe wounds.

Lieutenant Kitsenko's sacrifice only strengthened Lyudmila's fighting spirit. "It turned out that by eliminating the German fascists, I was saving lives," Lyudmila wrote in her memoirs.

But in June 1942, Lyudmila was seriously wounded by mortar fire after killing 309 Nazi fighters, according to official statistics. She was evacuated from the besieged Sevastopol and taken to the Caucasus for treatment. Her next assignment was to travel to America.

The "battle" for the second front on American soil.

In the United States, Lyudmila was given a crucial diplomatic mission: to convince the Americans of the necessity of opening a second front. This would force Nazi Germany to withdraw its forces from the Eastern Front, allowing the Soviet Union to counterattack.

Lyudmila arrived in the United States in late August 1942 with Nikolai Krasavchenko, Secretary of the Moscow City Committee, and sniper Vladimir Pchelintsev. In the US, the Soviet delegation was warmly welcomed. “We were surprised to see the train station packed with students. They came from all over the world to welcome the Red Army within us. A fighting force that came alongside the fascists,” Lyudmila recounted.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko during a meeting with U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in Washington. Photo: Rian

"The 'Lady of Death' instantly became a star in American newspapers, but journalists often spoke of her in terms of probing questions about her private life. Lyudmila responded cleverly: 'I wear my uniform with pride! The Lenin Order on my chest has been washed with blood. Clearly, for American women, the presence of silk lingerie under their uniform is far more important than the uniform itself, and its true purpose. They seem to have yet to discover that.'"

Lyudmila spent three months in the United States, and during her tour of the country, she had many conversations with the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. It seems the First Lady gave the young Soviet woman some useful advice on how to communicate with the press. The American public nicknamed Lyudmila "Lady Death."

Lyudmila never forgot the main purpose of her visit to America and continued to emphasize that Americans had a duty to help Europe and the Soviet Union in their fight against Hitler. At one of the press conferences, weary of a barrage of questions about the life of a female sniper, Lyudmila uttered her famous words: "I am 25 years old, and I have been on the front. I have killed 309 Nazi invaders. Don't you gentlemen think you've been hiding behind me for too long?" The audience greeted these words with applause, and American society realized the need to help the Eastern Front. However, it wasn't until 1944 that the Allies opened a second front, when the Red Army had already gained the upper hand on the battlefield.

Sniper Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko at the Ring of Glory monument in the village of Dachnoye (Odessa) in 1971. Photo: Rian

In 1943, the Soviet state awarded Lyudmila the highest honor – the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war, she graduated from Kyiv University and became a senior researcher at the General Staff of the Soviet Navy.

Later, Lyudmila remained in contact with Eleanor Roosevelt, and the two friends continued to exchange letters until the First Lady's death. They met again in 1957 when Eleanor Roosevelt came to Moscow on business.

TUAN SON (compiled)

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Source: https://baodaknong.vn/quy-co-tu-than-and-2-cuoc-chien-chong-lai-quan-phat-xit-trong-chien-tranh-ve-quoc-vi-dai-247743.html