28/02/2021
📲 Born in #1916 Ukraine, Lyudmila Pavlichenko had a rep as a hoydenish little “tomboy.” Which in 1916 simply meant Lyudmila wasn’t into dolls and sewing. Lyudmila’s idea of fun was way more metal. Quite literally. At age 14 Lyudmila worked as a metal grinder in a munitions factory after her family relocated to .
📖 Lyudmila participated in OSOAVIAKhIM, a paramilitary sporting organization which taught youths weapons skills and etiquette. Well, that’s just summer fun in the 🙄. A little jag from down the street would NOT shut his mouth, boasting night and day about his shooting skills. According to the Smithsonian, Lyudmila had enough of the little neighbor boy stating, “I set out to show that a girl could do as well. So I practiced a lot.” And the understatement of c20 goes to Lyudmila Pavlichenko; her practice paid off.
📰 June 22, #1941, sees **er turn on and troops invade the . Lyudmila was all fired up to defend her homeland, but the army was having none of it, denying her entry based on . Lyudmila quote, “They wouldn’t take girls in the army, so I had to resort to all kinds of tricks to get in.”
📍Eventually, the gave her an "audition.” And what an audition. Lyudmila was handed a rifle and told rather unceremoniously to kill two enemy downrange if she could manage it. Lyudmila didn’t blink, dropped them both where they stood, and was accepted into the Red Army’s 25th Chapayev Rifle Division.
✏️ Lyudmila shipped out, killing 187 Germans in her first 75 days of fighting. at this time were constantly kicking it between enemy lines, which meant Lyudmila was often on her own far from her . The work was insanely dangerous, and one had to be more than just careful. Lyudmila had to sit perfectly still for hours to avoid being the victim of her German counterparts. After making a name for herself, Lyudmila was shipped off to the and the battle of .
(CONTINUES IN COMMENTS)