Counter-attack on Kursk salient turned into total advancement. The battle for liberation of Ukraine burst out.
Kiev strategic offensive operation was performed on the 13th of November by the 1st Ukrainian front. The Germans were massively retreating in 1943-1944 and used a scorched earth policy destroying everything on their way.
Warriors from Bashkiria made their contribution in the liberation of Crimea as well. Musa Gareev made a number of raids on Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft to liberate Sevastopol.
Maguba Syrtlanova fought as a deputy commander of a squadron. The squadron made 782 combat flights and dropped 140 tons of payload onto the enemy. The unit was awarded with 2 orders of Lenin and Gold Star medal, two orders of Red Banner, orders of Patriotic War and Red Star.
Lieutenant Tazetdin Gilyazetdinov, commander of the artillery battery firing platoon. On the 7-9th of April 1944 the battle took place for Tarkhan village of Dzhankoiskiy district (currently Vishnevka village of Krasnoperekopskiy district). He destroyed 3 enemy’s earth-and-timber emplacements, 2 batteries of heavy mortars and 3 antitank guns with direct fire.
Lieutenant Minnigali Gubaidullin, the commander of the machine-gun platoon made his deed in the battle for the Dnipro river right bank and for Berislav and Kherson cities, threw himself on the earth-and-timber emplacement pill-box and allowed his regiment to retake the mound.
One of the largest offensives of the II World War was Belorussian Strategic Offensive Operation.
The offensive in summer 1944 allowed the Soviet Army to advance West by 500-600 kilometres and liberated Ukraine, Belarus and major part of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. They successfully crossed the Neman river and came close to German boundaries. The way to Poland, Baltic and Eastern Prussia was now clear open for the Red Army.
