HISTORY: When the war started, his father, Trofim Zaitsev, went to the front. Vasiliy also asked to be sent, but his specialty as an engine fitter was scarce. However, the stubborn guy continued to write a statement after statement, so that the reservation would be removed from him. In 1942, when the order to evacuate the plant came, Vasiliy refused to go to a new place. He was threatened by a court martial for this daring act, but the young man felt sorry for by the plant management. He was allowed to go to the troops. On the Eastern Front, Vasiliy Zaitsev rushed to the German front, to the front line, and instead found himself in the Far East in the Siberian division, which stood at the border waiting for the Japanese to attack. Here, he had to serve until the spring of 1943. After the Battle of Stalingrad, the frontier units were reshaped. Vasiliy was offered to stay in the Far East - 'You be the newsbringer, as before. You're a young guy, don't be a fool - why do you need battles?'. But soldier Zaitsev did not listen to "good advice". With great joy he accepted the assignment to the German front - to the Kursk Bulge. After the defeat at Stalingrad, Hitler decided to take revenge in the summer campaign. It was the Kursk Bulge that was chosen by the German command to strike the main blow. Soviet commanders also pulled all forces and reserves near Kursk. In the spring of 1943, Vasiliy Zaitsev was riding in one of the echelons. By that time he had already mastered the new army "specialty": artillery intelligence. Zaitsev's first battle took place near Prokhorovka, part of the 93rd Guards Howitzer Brigade of the 20th Artillery Division. On the night of July 5, a group of scouts with Vasiliy Zaitsev moved into position. They found a suitable place, chose a trench and disguised themselves. At dawn, German tanks appeared, which were firing. Visibility was zero. But Vasiliy was able to find a suitable birch and from its top began to correct the shooting of our artillery. Now, the shells of our battery were accurately hitting the target. The Germans guessed that the spotter of the Russians hid on top of one of the trees and began to hit all the high places. The birch also got the hatch, but it's an amazing fact! - Zaitsev did not even get hurt. When the fight ended, it turned out that all who were in his reconnaissance group, were killed - except Vasiliy! Although on top of the birch, the risk of being killed was much higher than in the trench. Zaitsev was awarded the Medal "For Combat Merit" for his ingenuity. Vasiliy Zaitsev's first fight ended with a reward, but there were still many battles ahead. 20th Artillery Division was thrown on all fronts, sent to the heat. Vasiliy Zaitsev managed to visit the 2nd and 3rd Baltic, Bryansk, Belorussian, Ukrainian and Leningrad fronts. He participated in the hardest battles for Siauliai and Orsha. He finished the war by taking Koenigsberg. An "invisible" warrior. The most surprising thing is that, just like on the birch near Prohorovka, in the hottest battles Vasiliy Zaitsev did not get a single wound during the war. And this is despite the fact that only three of his division survived until May 9. His friends even nicknamed Vasiliy - for invulnerability! - "the invisible artillerist”. By the end of the war, division intelligence officer Zaitsev was awarded the Medals of Merit, the Order of Courage and the Order of the Red Star and the Order of the Patriotic War. As a combat veteran with numerous awards, Vasily Zaitsev was included in the Victory Parade. After several months of training in Yasnaya Polyana, the combined regiment of the 1st Baltic and Leningrad fronts marched victoriously across Red Square. After the parade, Vasily Zaitsev was sent to the unit in Leningrad - with the prospect of obtaining the officer rank. But the foreman had already fought enough - he had seen a lot of blood, he wanted to go to his homeland, to Jendovishche. Moreover, in Leningrad, Vasiliy met his future wife Nina. In 1945 they got married, and a year later his eldest son was born. When the young family returned to Semiluki, Vasiliy Zaitsev found a job as a locksmith at a refractory plant. He managed to work as both a foreman and a master. He worked like everyone else, and few of his colleagues knew that Vasiliy Trofimovich was a man with an extraordinary fate. Vasiliy Zaitsev's son Gennadiy, a student of the Nakhimov College, also took part in the parade in honor of the great victory - he walked through the Red Square, minted a step, like his father 30 years before...