Stalin ordered everyone to fight to the death rather than surrender. He fell afoul of the authorities in 1947.īeing a prisoner of war was not an option for Soviet soldiers. He survived the horrors of Nazi captivity, and escaped, joined a pro-Nazi police force in Ukraine, then deserted and re-enlisted in the Red Army. He had been captured by the Germans, or surrendered. The Soviet military prosecutor set up a historical commission to investigate the incident after one of the famous soldiers turned up alive. However, according to an official Soviet military investigation in 1948, the details about the 28 men were entirely a work of fiction. Panfilov himself was killed two days later, but the division was nicknamed “Panfilov’s Men” throughout the war.

A Soviet division had about 10,000 men, and anyone who took part in that battle probably deserves the name hero. Ivan Panfilov - did fight the Germans to a standstill on the day in question. Their unit - the 316th Rifle Division, led by Gen.

The men are real, but their story still isn't. Their sacrifice is probably as iconic for Russians as the image of the Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima is for Americans. A quote from their commander became one of the mantras of the war effort: 'Russia is vast but there is nowhere to retreat. There was no surrender.Īll 28 men were posthumously made Heroes of the Soviet Union - that’s something like getting the Congressional Medal of Honor. It was a sacrifice comparable to Leonidas and his 300 Spartans, the story goes.

It was a time when the Nazis seemed unstoppable. Twenty-eight men, armed only with light weapons, heroically stopped a massed German tank attack on the very outskirts of Moscow in the darkest days of the war, on Nov. This is a tale known to pretty much everyone who grew up in the old Soviet Union. It’s the story of one of the best-known and most iconic episodes of World War II (for the Soviets): The sacrifice made by “ Panfilov’s 28 Men' to save Moscow from the Germans. A massive blockbuster looks set to take Russia by storm.

Famous ww2 tank battle russia