Yevdokiya Nikolaevna Zavaly (, ; 28 May 1924 – 5 May 2010) was the only Soviet female commander of a platoon of marines during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

Zavaly was born on 28 May 1924 in the town of Novy Buh of the Mykolaiv district of the Odesa province.

World War II

In 1941, shortly after she turned 17, the invasion of the Soviet Union began. On July 25, 1941, fighting broke out in her hometown, Novy Buh. She bandaged wounded soldiers and commanders under bombardment. When the 96th Cavalry Regiment of the 5th Cavalry Division of the 2nd Cavalry Corps began to drop back, she persuaded the regiment commander to take her with him, saying she was soon 18 years old. On 13 August 1941, German troops approached Novy Buh. Their offensive was restrained by units of the 169th Rifle Division of the 18th Army. At night, the Soviet units left the Novy Bug by order of the command, and on 14 August 1941, the Nazis occupied her native village. In the regiment, she served as a nurse. While crossing the Dnipro river near Khortytsia, she was wounded and sent to a hospital in

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...

. The doctors wanted to commission her, but she refused. After treatment, Zavaliy was sent to the reserve regiment, but when the soldiers were selected for the front line, she was mistaken for a man, especially since she was in a tunic and breeches, and in her documents was written "Zavaly Yevdok. Nik” which made it difficult to identify the sex correctly. Zavaliy was sent to the 6th Airborne Brigade. She managed to keep her gender secret for 8 months. After she captured a German officer, she was sent to the intelligence department, of which she soon became commander. In one of the battles, the platoon commander was killed and she persuaded everyone to attack. She was wounded in this battle and her secret was revealed in the hospital when it became apparent that "Yevdokim", who had been fighting with the paratroopers for 8 months, was actually a woman. In 1943, she was sent to a six-month course for junior commanders, and after graduating, as a junior lieutenant, she was sent to the 83rd Marine Brigade as a platoon commander. Commanding a platoon, she participated in the Siege of Sevastopol, stormed

Mount Sapun Mount Sapun or Sapun Ridge (russian: Сапун-Гора, uk, Сапун-гора, crh, Sapun dağı, Сапун дагъы) is a 240 m high ridge to the southeast of Sevastopol, situated on the disputed Crimean peninsula. It became the site ...

(for which she was awarded the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

1st class), participated in the battles for Balaklava, Tsukrova Holivka, and Kerch, crossed the

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

, participated in the re-occupation of

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

and fought in the battles of

Taman Taman may refer to: Places *Taman Peninsula, a peninsula in southern Russia **Taman Bay, an inlet of the Strait of Kerch off the peninsula **Taman, Russia, a rural locality located on the peninsula ** Port of Taman, a seaport on the Peninsula * ...

Tuapse Tuapse (russian: Туапсе́; ady, Тӏуапсэ ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population: Tuapse i ...

, and

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

. She participated in landings in

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

in Romania,

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

and Burgas in Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia. During the Budapest offensive, Zavaliy and her platoon seized the bunker of the German command through the city sewer with oxygen tanks. Among the prisoners was a general, for whom this captivity was a disgrace because the commander of the paratroopers was a woman. For this episode, she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. With her platoon, Zavaliy blocked the retreat of German tanks. Paratroopers under her command faced up to 7 tanks.

Postwar years

After the war, Zavaliy was to be sent to study at a military school, but she had received 4 wounds and 2 contusions during the war. In 1947 she was demobilized and went to Kyiv. In Kyiv, she met her future husband and got married. She had two children, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. As a civilian, she worked as director of a grocery store. She toured many cities, military units, ships, and submarines with stories about her platoon of Marines. In May 2009 she took part in the celebrations on the occasion of Victory Day and the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Sevastopol, and in autumn she visited Azerbaijan with a delegation of Ukrainian veterans. In total, in 2009 she held more than 130 meetings with various audiences in Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova. Zavaly died on 5 May 2010 in Kyiv. She was buried with military honors in Baikove Cemetery.

Awards

Soviet Union

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

1st and 2nd class * Medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus" * Medal "For the Defense of Sevastopol" *

Medal "For the Capture of Budapest" The Medal "For the Capture of Budapest" (russian: Медаль «За взятие Будапешта») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on 9 June 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR ...

Medal "For the capture of Vienna" The Medal "For the Capture of Vienna" (russian: Медаль «За взятие Вены») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on June 9, 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to satisfy ...

* Medal "For the Liberation of Belgrade"

Ukraine

Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky The Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky ( uk, Орден Богдана Хмельницького, Orden Bohdana Khmelʹnytsʹkoho) is a Ukrainian military award named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks. The award was establi ...

III class * Order of the Golden Fortune III class

Honorary titles

Zavaly is an honorary citizen of eight cities, including

Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi ( uk, Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, Bílhorod-Dnistróvskyy, ; ro, Cetatea Albă), historically known as Akkerman ( tr, Akkerman) or under different names, is a city, municipality and port situated on ...

(Ukraine), Burgas (Bulgaria), Novy Buh (Ukraine), and Varna (Bulgaria).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zavaliy, Evdokia 1924 births 2010 deaths Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Burials at Baikove Cemetery Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Ukrainian military officers Women in the Russian and Soviet military