"On the night of 26 September, he crossed the river with a small detachment at the village of Voyskovoye in Solone Raion.
The group captured a bridgehead. In the morning German troops
counterattacks and during one attack Safarov ran out of ammunition for
his machine gun. When a German machine gunner reportedly approached the
Soviet trench, Safarov shot him and turned the machine gun around. To
relieve Safarov's group, a rifle company was sent over the Dnieper. When
the whole company had been landed, a stray bullet struck its commander.
Safarov reportedly took command of the company itself and asked for
reinforcements. The reinforcements encircled the German troops, who
committed tanks in an effort to break out. Safarov's company reportedly
destroyed five tanks. In this action, he was wounded but reportedly did
not leave the battlefield. On 19 March 1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin."
Another hard-chargin' honored ally,
Brian
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