Post #29611

#FacesOfVictory 🌟 On April 30, 1945, just ten days before Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender, soldiers of the 674th Rifle Regiment of the 150th Rifle Division of the 1st Byelorussian Front, GrigoryBulatov and RakhimzhanKoshkarbayev, raised the first Red Banner on the facade of the Reichstag during the battle for the key Nazi citadel. The distance between Himmler’s house, where Bulatov and Koshkarbayev had been braking through to the Reichstag, was less than 500 metres. The fighting was so intense and fierce that it took our forces seven hours to reach the Reichstag walls. The Red Army soldiers pushed the Nazis back under barrage fire — they had to overcome numerous trenches and anti-tank fortifications. 💬 Excerpt from private RakhimzhanKoshkarbayev’s account of the battle for the Reichstag: Preliminary shelling commenced. As the first shots were fired, Bulatov and I ran to the Reichstag. I hoisted Bulatov up, supporting his legs, and we installed a flag right there, at the first-floor level. 🖋 The 150th Division’s military report: On April 30, 1945, at 2:25 pm, Koshkarbayev and Bulatov crawled to the building lobby and attached a red flag to the main staircase. The red flag installed by Bulatov and Koshkarbayev — the legendary makeshift flagpole — was the first of the banners raised on the Reichstag building by Soviet soldiers-liberators, marking the long-awaited and upcoming Victory in #WW2. 🎖 For their courage and heroism during the battle of the Reichstag, GrigoryBulatov and RakhimzhanKoshkarbayev were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Subsequently, the memorials were dedicated to the Heroes in their home regions: to GigoryBulatov in Kirov and to RakhimzhanKoshkarbayev in the Akmola Region of Kazakhstan and in the Republic’s capital, Astana. #Victory81#OurHeroes#WeAreProud