Osprey Elite 111 : Heroes of the Soviet Union 1941-1945

The Great Patriotic War began on 22 June 1941, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Over 10 million Soviet soldiers took part in the war and of those about 12,600 earned the Soviet Union's highest military award - the Hero of the Soviet Union - for deeds of great daring and self sacrifice. This book covers the male recipients of the Hero of the Soviet Union award during the Great Patriotic War. Snipers, fighter pilots, partisans and spies are all included, together with the famous aces Pokryshkin and Kozhedub, who both gained the award an amazing three times. Text by Henry Sakaida with illustrations by Christa Hook.

Contents

• Introduction
• Biographies
• Aircrew
• Infantry
• Navy
• Partisans
• Tank Crews
• Snipers
• Table of Ethnic Breakdown of Recipients