Zinaida Mareseva

Zinaida Ivanovna Mareseva (; 20 June 1923 – 6 August 1943) was a combat medic, a Senior Sergeant in the 214th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 73rd Guards Rifle Division during World War II. For her actions in battle she was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 22 February 1944.

Civilian life Mareseva was born on 20 June 1923 to a Russian family in Cherkaskoe village, located within present-day Volsky district of the Saratov Oblast; her father was a shepherd on a collective farm. After graduating from secondary school she attended medical courses until being transferred to work at a cement plant due to the start of the war.

Military career When Mareseva's father was sent to the front lines after the start of Soviet involvement in the war she repeatedly applied to join the ranks of the military after her medical training was ceased but was initially rejected. Eventually she entered military nursing courses, joining the Red Army in 1942 after graduating from her brief medical training. She was sent to the Eastern front in late November that same year as part of the 38th Rifle Division, which later received the Guards designation and became the 73rd Guards Rifle Division.

She fought on the Stalingrad, Voronezh and Steppe fronts as a medic, and for her actions in battle on 8 February 1943 she was awarded the Medal "For Battle Merit", and was awarded the Order of the Red Star after rescuing 38 injured soldiers in the Battle of Kursk. On 1 August 1943 her regiment was ordered to cross the Donets river to reach Southern Belgorod. The crossing, between the cities of Solomino and Toplinka, involved dodging heavy artillery fire and avoiding two Nazi infantry divisions worth of enemy troops; the right bank of the river contained large numbers of landmines and was fully controlled by the Axis. After a prolonged battle the Soviet Guardsmen were able to take control of a small portion of the bridgehead on the right bank, and despite heavy losses from shelling, bombings, and mortar attacks, the unit continued to proceed with the offensive. Throughout the battle, Mareseva treated wounded soldiers, and when the gunfire ceased upon nightfall she carried the wounded soldiers to the safety of the trenches on the left bank of the river.

Awards and recognition Envelope featuring Mareseva's portrait from a series of envelopes featuring various people awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Military awards Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin Order of the Red Star Medal "For Battle Merit" Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" Memorials and dedications An envelope featuring Mareseva's portrait was issued in 1977 as part of a series of envelopes featuring Heroes of the Soviet Union A medical school in her hometown of Volsk was named in her honor, and the cement factory where she was employed before the war was renamed in her honor. In 1953 a memorial honoring her military feat was constructed at the site of her burial in Pyatnitskaya, Belgorod.