The Battle of Caucuses

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Serafima Amosova, the deputy commander of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, gives a combat mission

Pilot Evdokia Bershanskaya

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment near a dugout

Marina Chechneva and Serafima Amosova, pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot Lydia Litvyak

Zharova, a dispatcher at the headquarters of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portraits of Khiuaz (Katya) Dospanova and Evgenia Zhigulenko, pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the 46th Guards Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the 46th Guards Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment before the Victory Parade in Moscow

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Enjoying a little free time. Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portraits of pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portrait of Natalya Meklin, a pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portraits of pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portraits of pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portraits of pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. Novorossiysk

The all-female 46th Aviation Regiment receives the Guards banner

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. Novorossiysk

Portrait of Evdokia Rachkevich, the deputy commander and commissar of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portrait of Valentina Grizodubova, a pilot

Portrait of Evdokia Nikulina, a pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portrait of Natalya Meklin, a pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union title

Portrait of Vera Belik, a pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portrait of Natalya Meklin, a pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Navigator Elena Salikova and pilot Anna Vysotskaya. Novorossiysk

Navigator Glafira (Irina) Kashirina and pilot Maria Nikitina (left to right). Novorossiysk

After liberation. Novorossiysk

Submarines. Batumi

Paratrooper with a squeezebox. Novorossiysk. 1943

Fighting to liberate Novorossiysk

Red Army soldiers defending the Caucasian passes listen to a Moscow radio broadcast

Tuapse Defensive Operation. Reconnaissance scouts are moving into the enemy’s rear

Guard Red Army soldiers, reconnaissance scouts of the 9th Infantry Brigade K.A. Kaditch and Yu. G. Dolubekov

Группа восхождения на Эльбрус воинов-альпинистов для снятия немецких флагов и водружения советских

A.I. Gryaznov, L.G. Korotaev and N.P. Persiyaninov, participants of the Battle for Elbrus, removing the flag of Nazi Germany and planting Soviet flag

Lieutenants A.V. Bagrov and N.N. Persiyaninov climbing Elbrus

Lieutenant A.V. Bagrov and Lieutenant A. A. Nemchinov with the flag of the USSR on the summit of Elbrus

Штурмовая группа Закавказского фронта по установке советских флагов вместо немецких на Эльбрусе

Members of the mountaineering group before climbing to the peaks of Elbrus to install the flags of the USSR

Boris Grachev, Senior Lieutenant, participant of the operation for removing the flags of Nazi Germany from the peaks of the Caucasus and planting Soviet flags

Georgy (Jury) Odnoblyudov, climber, participant of the operation for planting Soviet flags on summit of Mount Elbrus

A. Gusev and L. Kels, climbers, participants of the operation for planting Soviet flags on summit of Mount Elbrus

Members of the team which tore down the flags of Nazi Germany from the summit of Mount Elbrus, A. Griasnov, L. Korotaev, N. Persiyanov

Lieutenant Nicolay Gusak, chief of the team that removed the German and installed the Soviet flags on the Western top of Elbrus

Soviet flag on the Western summit of Elbrus (5633 m)

Captured weapons by Mount Elbrus (Hotu-Tau pass)

The Battle for Elbrus has begun (A group of climbers on a snowy slope)

The grave of a fascist huntsman on the saddle of Elbrus (5320 m)

Братья Габриэль и Бекну Хергиани, партизаны, участники операции по снятию фашистских и установке советских флагов на Эльбрусе

Николай Моренец, участник операции «Эльбрус 1943» по снятию немецких и установке советских флагов на Эльбрусе

Yevgeny Beletsky, Honored Master of Sports, participant of the operation for removing the flags of Nazi Germany from the summit of Mount Elbrus and planting Soviet flags

Vladislav Lubenets, Senior Lieutenant, participant of the operation for removing the flags of Nazi Germany from the summit of Mount Elbrus and planting Soviet flags

A group of soldiers and commanders of the 414 Anapa Infantry Division who made a mark in the battles for the liberation of Taman: from left to right - Sergeant Gaygadze, Lieutenant Liagawa, Captain Tsulukadze and Lieutenant A.S. Kvaratskhelia, 1943. State Archive (RGAKFD).

Anti-tank rifle teams under Lieutenant Junior Egelsky’s command move to a firing position in a North Caucasian region

Automatic riflemen taking a firing position in North Caucasian mountain passes.

The anti-tank gun team under Sergeant Yurkov’s command at a firing position in a North Caucasian region

Infantry units are deployed at the front line of the North Caucasian Front

Red Army soldiers Tkhemaladze and Tamraziye as members of an anti-tank rifle team at a firing position in a North Caucasian mountain pass

Scouts of the N-unit petty officer class II V.A.Sunyaykin and Sergeant I.S. Muromtsev reporting to captain A.I. Pogorelov on the results of scouting in the area of Novorossiysk, 1943. State Archive (RGAKFD).

A machine gun crew at a firing position in North Caucasian mountain passes

A group of machine gunners moving along the assault bridge through the flooded areas. Kuban, 1943. State Archive (RGAKFD).

Komsomolets anti-aircraft gunner Sergeant V.I. Fomichev at his anti-aircraft gun. Southern Front, 1943. State Archive (RGAKFD).

German motor vehicles abandoned during battles near Vladikavkaz

Red Army soldiers on the road outside Vladikavkaz

Red Army troops conduct topographical surveying of the front line in the Caucasus Mountains

Red Army troops during a battle in a pass in the Caucasus Mountains

Polikarpov U-2 biplanes of an air unit near the Caucasian Mountains

Wounded evacuated from Caucasian mountain passes

Бойцы Красной Армии проходят по кубанским плавням

Anti-tank riflemen taking new positions during fighting in the North Caucasian Mountains

Komsomol youth V. Tkemaladze and S. Martirosyan as anti-tank riflemen during a battle in the North Caucasus

The mortar crew under Sergeant Tikhonenko’s command at a firing position while fighting for the North Caucasus

Гвардии сержант А.Попов у зенитного пулемёта во время боя

A cossack patrol in the Caucasian foothills

A group of Soviet anti-tank riflemen on the move in a North Caucasian mountain pass

American and British tanks from the Soviet inventory on a march in the North Caucasus

Soviet tank-borne infantry fighting in a battle for a North Caucasian settlement

Авиамеханик 46-го гвардейского авиаполка ночных бомбардировщиков гвардии старшина Г.А. Каширина

Regiment commander E.D. Bershanskaya and commander of the 218th air division D.D. Popov with the personnel

In battles in the North Caucasus, serviceable German tanks were captured. German trophy tank preparing for battle

Partisans in ambush

Partisans of the North Caucasus make their way along the mountain trail

Pilots of the 46th Guards Taman Aviation Regiment upon getting a mission before the flight

Вооруженцы 46-го гвардейского Таманского ночного бомбардировочного авиаполка Л. Ермакова, А. Шерстнева и Н. Бузина

Major E.D. Bershanskaya, commander of the 46th Guards Taman Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Commander of the 46th Guards Taman Night Bomber Aviation Regiment Major E.D Bershanskaya accepts the guards banner of the regiment

The personnel of the 588th night bomber regiment (in 1943 it was renamed into the 46th Tamansky Guards)

The commander of the 588th night bomber regiment (in 1943 it was renamed the 46th Tamansky Guards) E.D. Bershanskaya

Commander of the 46th Guards Taman Night Bomber Aviation Regiment E.D. Bershanskaya kisses the banner of the regiment

Хомутов Яков Васильевич

Хоменко Василий Сидорович

Хенкин Михаил Григорьевич

Хаустов Алексей Константинович

Харитонов Александр Дмитриевич

Фоминых Иван Зиновьевич

Федорцев Федор Меркурьевич

Фаворский Борис Павлович

Тюрин Александр Николаевич

Тыщенко Иван Емельянович

Группа бойцов 261-й стрелковой дивизии

Советский партизан на Кавказе

A Georgian fighter, 1943. Photo by Max Alpert/TASS

7622-КП Азовский музей заповедник

«Комбат». Младший политрук 220-го стрелкового полка 4-й стрелковой дивизии 18-й армии Алексей Еременко, 1942 г.

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Enjoying a little rest. Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Sniper Yelizaveta “Liza” Mironova, 19 years old

Sniper Yelizaveta “Liza” Mironova, 19 years old

Serafima Amosova, the deputy commander of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, gives a combat mission

Pilot Evdokia Bershanskaya

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment near a dugout

Marina Chechneva and Serafima Amosova, pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot Lydia Litvyak

Zharova, a dispatcher at the headquarters of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portraits of Khiuaz (Katya) Dospanova and Evgenia Zhigulenko, pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the 46th Guards Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the 46th Guards Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment before the Victory Parade in Moscow

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Enjoying a little free time. Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portraits of pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portrait of Natalya Meklin, a pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portraits of pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portraits of pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portraits of pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. Novorossiysk

The all-female 46th Aviation Regiment receives the Guards banner

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. Novorossiysk

Portrait of Evdokia Rachkevich, the deputy commander and commissar of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portrait of Valentina Grizodubova, a pilot

Portrait of Evdokia Nikulina, a pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portrait of Natalya Meklin, a pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union title

Portrait of Vera Belik, a pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Portrait of Natalya Meklin, a pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Navigator Elena Salikova and pilot Anna Vysotskaya. Novorossiysk

Navigator Glafira (Irina) Kashirina and pilot Maria Nikitina (left to right). Novorossiysk

After liberation. Novorossiysk

Submarines. Batumi

Paratrooper with a squeezebox. Novorossiysk. 1943

Fighting to liberate Novorossiysk

Red Army soldiers defending the Caucasian passes listen to a Moscow radio broadcast

Tuapse Defensive Operation. Reconnaissance scouts are moving into the enemy’s rear

Guard Red Army soldiers, reconnaissance scouts of the 9th Infantry Brigade K.A. Kaditch and Yu. G. Dolubekov

Группа восхождения на Эльбрус воинов-альпинистов для снятия немецких флагов и водружения советских

A.I. Gryaznov, L.G. Korotaev and N.P. Persiyaninov, participants of the Battle for Elbrus, removing the flag of Nazi Germany and planting Soviet flag

Lieutenants A.V. Bagrov and N.N. Persiyaninov climbing Elbrus

Lieutenant A.V. Bagrov and Lieutenant A. A. Nemchinov with the flag of the USSR on the summit of Elbrus

Штурмовая группа Закавказского фронта по установке советских флагов вместо немецких на Эльбрусе

Members of the mountaineering group before climbing to the peaks of Elbrus to install the flags of the USSR

Boris Grachev, Senior Lieutenant, participant of the operation for removing the flags of Nazi Germany from the peaks of the Caucasus and planting Soviet flags

Georgy (Jury) Odnoblyudov, climber, participant of the operation for planting Soviet flags on summit of Mount Elbrus

A. Gusev and L. Kels, climbers, participants of the operation for planting Soviet flags on summit of Mount Elbrus

Members of the team which tore down the flags of Nazi Germany from the summit of Mount Elbrus, A. Griasnov, L. Korotaev, N. Persiyanov

Lieutenant Nicolay Gusak, chief of the team that removed the German and installed the Soviet flags on the Western top of Elbrus

Soviet flag on the Western summit of Elbrus (5633 m)

Captured weapons by Mount Elbrus (Hotu-Tau pass)

The Battle for Elbrus has begun (A group of climbers on a snowy slope)

The grave of a fascist huntsman on the saddle of Elbrus (5320 m)

Братья Габриэль и Бекну Хергиани, партизаны, участники операции по снятию фашистских и установке советских флагов на Эльбрусе

Николай Моренец, участник операции «Эльбрус 1943» по снятию немецких и установке советских флагов на Эльбрусе

Yevgeny Beletsky, Honored Master of Sports, participant of the operation for removing the flags of Nazi Germany from the summit of Mount Elbrus and planting Soviet flags

Vladislav Lubenets, Senior Lieutenant, participant of the operation for removing the flags of Nazi Germany from the summit of Mount Elbrus and planting Soviet flags

A group of soldiers and commanders of the 414 Anapa Infantry Division who made a mark in the battles for the liberation of Taman: from left to right - Sergeant Gaygadze, Lieutenant Liagawa, Captain Tsulukadze and Lieutenant A.S. Kvaratskhelia, 1943. State Archive (RGAKFD).

Anti-tank rifle teams under Lieutenant Junior Egelsky’s command move to a firing position in a North Caucasian region

Automatic riflemen taking a firing position in North Caucasian mountain passes.

The anti-tank gun team under Sergeant Yurkov’s command at a firing position in a North Caucasian region

Infantry units are deployed at the front line of the North Caucasian Front

Red Army soldiers Tkhemaladze and Tamraziye as members of an anti-tank rifle team at a firing position in a North Caucasian mountain pass

Scouts of the N-unit petty officer class II V.A.Sunyaykin and Sergeant I.S. Muromtsev reporting to captain A.I. Pogorelov on the results of scouting in the area of Novorossiysk, 1943. State Archive (RGAKFD).

A machine gun crew at a firing position in North Caucasian mountain passes

A group of machine gunners moving along the assault bridge through the flooded areas. Kuban, 1943. State Archive (RGAKFD).

Komsomolets anti-aircraft gunner Sergeant V.I. Fomichev at his anti-aircraft gun. Southern Front, 1943. State Archive (RGAKFD).

German motor vehicles abandoned during battles near Vladikavkaz

Red Army soldiers on the road outside Vladikavkaz

Red Army troops conduct topographical surveying of the front line in the Caucasus Mountains

Red Army troops during a battle in a pass in the Caucasus Mountains

Polikarpov U-2 biplanes of an air unit near the Caucasian Mountains

Wounded evacuated from Caucasian mountain passes

Бойцы Красной Армии проходят по кубанским плавням

Anti-tank riflemen taking new positions during fighting in the North Caucasian Mountains

Komsomol youth V. Tkemaladze and S. Martirosyan as anti-tank riflemen during a battle in the North Caucasus

The mortar crew under Sergeant Tikhonenko’s command at a firing position while fighting for the North Caucasus

Гвардии сержант А.Попов у зенитного пулемёта во время боя

A cossack patrol in the Caucasian foothills

A group of Soviet anti-tank riflemen on the move in a North Caucasian mountain pass

American and British tanks from the Soviet inventory on a march in the North Caucasus

Soviet tank-borne infantry fighting in a battle for a North Caucasian settlement

Авиамеханик 46-го гвардейского авиаполка ночных бомбардировщиков гвардии старшина Г.А. Каширина

Regiment commander E.D. Bershanskaya and commander of the 218th air division D.D. Popov with the personnel

In battles in the North Caucasus, serviceable German tanks were captured. German trophy tank preparing for battle

Partisans in ambush

Partisans of the North Caucasus make their way along the mountain trail

Pilots of the 46th Guards Taman Aviation Regiment upon getting a mission before the flight

Вооруженцы 46-го гвардейского Таманского ночного бомбардировочного авиаполка Л. Ермакова, А. Шерстнева и Н. Бузина

Major E.D. Bershanskaya, commander of the 46th Guards Taman Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Commander of the 46th Guards Taman Night Bomber Aviation Regiment Major E.D Bershanskaya accepts the guards banner of the regiment

The personnel of the 588th night bomber regiment (in 1943 it was renamed into the 46th Tamansky Guards)

The commander of the 588th night bomber regiment (in 1943 it was renamed the 46th Tamansky Guards) E.D. Bershanskaya

Commander of the 46th Guards Taman Night Bomber Aviation Regiment E.D. Bershanskaya kisses the banner of the regiment

Хомутов Яков Васильевич

Хоменко Василий Сидорович

Хенкин Михаил Григорьевич

Хаустов Алексей Константинович

Харитонов Александр Дмитриевич

Фоминых Иван Зиновьевич

Федорцев Федор Меркурьевич

Фаворский Борис Павлович

Тюрин Александр Николаевич

Тыщенко Иван Емельянович

Группа бойцов 261-й стрелковой дивизии

Советский партизан на Кавказе

A Georgian fighter, 1943. Photo by Max Alpert/TASS

7622-КП Азовский музей заповедник

«Комбат». Младший политрук 220-го стрелкового полка 4-й стрелковой дивизии 18-й армии Алексей Еременко, 1942 г.

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Pilot of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Enjoying a little rest. Pilots of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment

Sniper Yelizaveta “Liza” Mironova, 19 years old

Sniper Yelizaveta “Liza” Mironova, 19 years old

Serafima Amosova, the deputy commander of the all-female 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, gives a combat mission

Заместитель командира 46-го женского авиационного полка Таманской дивизии Серафима Амосова ставит боевую задачу

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