On February 27, 1943, Alexander Matrosov performed an immortal feat, which became known and will always be remembered as Matrosov’s feat – he sacrificed his life for his Motherland and his comrades in arms.
On that day, Matrosov’s battalion was ordered to attack an enemy stronghold near the village of Chernushki. As the Red Army soldiers crossed a wooded area and reached a clearing, they came under massive fire, with three enemy machine guns targeting them from their dug-in firing positions and blocking approaches to the village.
An assault team of riflemen and anti-tank gunners suppressed one machine gun, and another team of anti-tank gunners destroyed the second firing position. But they failed to destroy the third one.
It was then that privates Pyotr Ogurtsov and Alexander Matrosov started crawling towards the remaining gun emplacement. Soon, Ogurtsov was badly wounded, leaving Matrosov alone on his approach to the gun port.
He threw in two grenades, and the machine gun went silent. But as soon as the fighters stood up to continue their assault, the machine gunner started firing again. So the 19-year-old hero rose to his feet and rushed to the gun port to block the firing slit with his body. He won his comrades several seconds, and this was enough for them to come closer and destroy the enemy.
The USSR Supreme Council Presidium posthumously awarded Alexander Matrosov the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union for “exemplary performance of his combat missions on the front when fighting German invaders and for his courage and heroism.”
Alexander Matrosov’s feat became a symbol of courage and military valour, fearlessness and love for his Motherland, generating extensive media coverage, as well as abundant literary and cinematic depictions. This is how the expression “to throw oneself against the firing slit” entered the Russian language.
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