Postcard from Bishkek

Cholponbayev Tuleberdiev was born on 13th April, 1922, into a peasant family in the village of Chymgent in the Talas region of Kyrgyzstan.  Don’t bother looking for Chymgent on a map, however, because it is now called Cholponbayev … in his honour,

This was just one of the honours that was to be bestowed on Tuleberdiev for his actions on 6th August, 1942, for his role in capturing a strategic enemy position … but costing him his life.

Another such honour was the title Hero of the Soviet Union – which was granted on 4th February the following year.

The young Cholponbayev finished school after the seventh class, (usually children study to the ninth – or the eleventh – class), before going to work on a farm.

In 1941, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the young Cholponbayev joined the Red Army as a Komsomolets soldier.  In December, having completed his basic training, he was dispatched to the front.

In August 1942, the troops of the Soviet Union’s Sixth Army were engaged in heavy fighting around the Don River in the Voronezh region.

Tulerdiev’s regiment was given the task of crossing the river and establ;ishing a bridgehead for further attacks, which involved taking a strategic hill that gave a commanding view of the battlefield … and which was encrusted with bunkers. During the night, a small force of 11 soldiers launched a boat and swimming after it, crossed the River. They came under heavy machine gun and mortar fire.

On landing on the far side climbed the steep slope of the Chalk hill, probably his experience in the mountains at home will have stood him in good stead – one account says that he climbed “like a mountain goat”.

However, a flare was fired from the bunker into the night sky, lighting up the approaching Soviet soldiers and the advance came to a halt some 15-20 meters short of their target, still under the intense fire coming from the defenders.

Tuleberdiev volunteered to approach the bunker and crawled over the open ground, getting to within about 4 or 5 meters of the bunker. He had been wounded in the right shoulder and threw both of his grenades, and finally he stood and charged at the bunker – first to the right and then swerving direct for the aperture through which the deadly machine gun fire was coming … covering it with his body.

This action was enough to silence the machine gun inside the bunker for a few seconds … but it was enough for his fellows to follow up and capture the strategic position. Unfortunately, they were too late to save their comrade, but the way was now clear for the bulk of the force to cross the river.

Tuleberdiev was buried, with military honours, on the hill near the village of Selyavnoe, where he died. He is still remembered there where there are a couple of monuments and both schools and streets named in his honour – just as there are here in his homeland.

In 1952 his story was the subject of a book.

Here’s a news report fron the Russian station NTV from 2010 containing footage showing a reconstruction of the event – it’s in Russian, but those who don’t know Russian, I think you’ll still find it interesting … if only to see the terrain.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdDypp-Dp9I

Tags: For_the_Record, History, People