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: “Hero” the Stalingrad battle cat
:
: For years, I had heard different
: stories about a cat being use by the
: soviets forces to move moving messages
: and ammo during the Stalingrad battle.
: As a cat owner and believing I
: understanding a cat’s behavior and
: psychology, I was very skeptical about
: these different claims. During my
: latest trip to the Panoramic
: “Stalingrad battle” archives in
: Volgograd I came across the file and
: picture of “Hero” the Stalingrad battle
: cat.
:
: Here is the true story:
:
: During the Stalingrad battle, soldiers
: of the Soviet 124th Rifle Brigade
: defending the villages of Spartanovka
: and Rynok, north of the Tractor factory
: started to feed a local male cat that
: was in their units sector. After some
: time they started to tie propaganda
: leaflets to the cat back and send it on
: its way. Often the cat would return (I
: am 100% sure he was looking for food)
: with the flyers gone and they would
: send it out again on another mission.
: After a time, the soldiers adopted him
: as a unit mascot and named him “Hero.”
:
: This is the only known photo of “Hero”
: and he was never issued any citations
: or awards for his actions during the
: Stalingrad battle.
:
:
:
: Russ
:
:
:
: www.fireonthevolga.com
:
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