Otakar Yarosh is the first foreign commander to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Otakar Frantsevich Yarosh was born on August 1, 1912. He participated in the liberation of the Czech Republic from the fascist invaders. In 1943, during the defense of the village of Sokolovo, he was hit by a burst of a tank machine gun. A month later he was awarded the title of Hero of the USSR.
Hero biography
Otakar Jaros was born and raised in the small Czech town of Lunech, located in the northwestern part of the country. His parents are ordinary workers. The father of the future hero, Franz Jarosch, worked as a train driver.
Otakar was the second child in the family. In total, the family of the future hero had 5 children.
When the boy was 11 years old, the Yarosh family moved to the city of Melnik. It was located 40 kilometers from the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague.
Otakar's mother, Anna, tried from early childhood to instill in her children a love of reading. And she did it. Otakar was a real book lover. He was well acquainted with the work of such great Russian poets and writers as A. S. Pushkin, A. P. Chekhov, L. N. Tolstoy. The young man loved to spend time reading historical and patriotic literature, and was also very fond of adventure.
Sports was another passion of the young man. He did boxing and gymnastics, was a good goalkeeper on the local football team, was a great swimmer. In addition, Otakar played chess very well. Perhaps it was these skills that helped the young man become successful in military affairs.
He received his education in Prague, graduating from the local electrotechnical college. In 1933, immediately after graduating from technical school, the young man decided to continue his education, choosing a military direction, and entered the Trnava School of Junior Officers, located in the west of Slovakia. After graduation, in 1937, he continued his military education, enrolling in a school in Hranice, a city located in North Moravia.
When in 1939 his homeland was captured by the troops of Nazi Germany, Otakar had to illegally emigrate to Poland. Later, when German troops occupied Poland, he was sent along with Czechoslovak soldiers to the Soviet Union.
Military career
The young man entered the army in 1934. By that time, he was already receiving military education at the school of non-commissioned officers. Otakar was assigned to the 17th Infantry Regiment. After graduating from the Trnava military school, Otakar was awarded the rank of lieutenant, and he was transferred to serve in the 4th communications battalion.
He was a true patriot, and when in 1938, as a result of the so-called "Munich Agreement", Czechoslovakia was surrendered to Germany, he was very worried about this. His comrades recalled, he spoke with bitterness that Czechoslovakia was surrendered to the Nazis without a single shot being fired.
Not wanting to put up with the plight of his homeland, Yarosh illegally crossed the Polish border. There he joined the Czechoslovak Legion of Poland, formed from Czechoslovak soldiers and volunteers who entered, which led an active struggle against the invading troops. In 1939, Poland was conquered by German troops, and the Czechoslovak Legion, under the leadership of Ludwig Svoboda (Czechoslovak military and statesman, Hero of the USSR, Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and People's Hero of Yugoslavia), crossed the USSR border.
In 1941, under an agreement between Czechoslovakia and the USSR, a Czechoslovak army was formed on Soviet territory, one of whose officers was Otakar Yarosh.
Hero feat
According to eyewitnesses, the company headed by Otakar Yarosh was considered one of the most prepared. Under the command of Lieutenant Yarosh, the servicemen learned to wield weapons, to overcome obstacles of various difficulty levels. At the same time, they did it in the snow, and in the rain, and in severe frosts.
So they were able to cross the Samara River and overcome the Ataman Mountains. It is known that during the assault there were severe frosts, and Otakar Yarosh froze his toes, which prevented him from moving.
In January 1943, the Czechoslovak battalion was sent by train to the West.
On March 8, 1943, a company of soldiers, under the command of Otakar Yarosh, took an unequal battle with the troops of Nazi Germany. The battle took place near the village of Sokolovo.
In the afternoon, at about 13 o'clock, 60 German tanks and several armored personnel carriers attacked the village. During a clash with enemy troops, the company of Otakar Yarosh managed to defeat 13 tanks and 6 armored personnel carriers. Otakar himself was twice wounded, but did not stop fighting.
According to eyewitnesses, while an enemy tank broke through to them, Yarosh grabbed a bunch of grenades and asked to see him. He was killed by a machine-gun burst, but managed to make the tank blown through.
After the battle, Otakara Yarosh was posthumously awarded the rank of captain.
On April 17, 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Otakar Yarosh was also awarded other awards: the Order of Lenin and the Order of the White Lion "For Victory" 1st degree in the Czech Republic.
Memory of the hero
Otkar Yarosh made a great contribution to the victory over the fascist army and the liberation of the countries. He gave his life to save the company. In honor of the hero in the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, the embankment of the Vltava River was named. In cities such as Kharkov, Buzuluk, Poltava, Dnepropetrovsk and Karlovy Vary, there are streets named after the Hero.
Two schools, in Sokolovo and Suzdal, are named after Otakar Yarosh. In the Czech city of the miller, a monument has been erected in his honor. And G. Tsitsalyuk in his honor created the symphonic poem "Otakar Yarosh", the score of which is in the Public Gallery in Kharkov.
