The turning point in the Great Patriotic War began in 1943. On January 10, Soviet forces began to eliminate the encircled enemy forces near Stalingrad. On February 2, this operation, which had no equal in the history of warfare, was completed.

In mid-January, the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts, with the assistance of the Baltic Fleet, broke through the siege of Leningrad, and at the same time, Soviet troops launched an offensive in the North Caucasus. By mid-February, they had inflicted significant losses on the enemy and advanced 100 to 60 kilometers, clearing most of the North Caucasus and Rostov Oblast of the Nazis.

The troops of the Voronezh and Bryansk fronts successfully carried out the Ostrogozhsk-Rossoshanskaya operation, pushing back the enemy by 140 km and liberating Kursk, Belgorod, and Kharkov. However, later, the Nazis launched a counteroffensive and captured Kharkov, Belgorod, and the northeastern regions of the Donbas.

In this article, we will introduce readers to the letters of frontline soldiers who died in the first half of 1943.

"Hello, Yulenka! Just two days ago, after one of the fiercest battles, I went to my sector to check my work, the work of the artillerymen, which I was assigned to process. There is no structure, fortification, or line that has not been destroyed. Countless guns, machine guns, mortars, and mountains of dead soldiers and officers have been destroyed, their bones scattered by crows. This is what they are getting at our Stalingrad...

This is how we live now... I kiss you all hard... Hello to the parents. Vanya.

]'4.01.43"

The author of this letter, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Vasilyevich Bulatov, commander of a battery in the 657th Artillery Regiment, arrived at the front in the summer of 1942, when the enemy was advancing towards Stalingrad. He had to take an active part in the Battle of Stalingrad. However, he was unable to provide his family with a detailed account of the events. In late January 1943, Senior Lieutenant Bulatov was killed.

On January 30, 1943, during the breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad, Sergeant Anatoly Napoleonovich Skokovsky, a gunner from the 690th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment, was mortally wounded. His letter, addressed to his friend Konstantin Dovator, was sent by his fellow soldiers.

"Good afternoon, my friend Kostya! I've been at the front for about seven months now. During this time, I've thoroughly studied the complexities of being an artilleryman, and I'm currently working as a gunner. It's a fascinating job, and I'm putting all my skills and effort into ensuring that every shell is put to good use. I'm proud to say that my shells can make the Germans and their allies feel the heat, even in the freezing temperatures of 25 to 30 degrees below zero.

As you probably know, in August, during a battle for a certain locality, I was shell-shocked and wounded... I was treated in a hospital in Leningrad... After I recovered and rested, I returned to my unit, where I have been ever since. Since the summer battle, we haven't participated in any more battles, but that doesn't mean we're sitting idly by and not fighting. We often bring our artillery to the front lines and engage enemy positions directly. This is how I'm currently living and fighting...

I'm shaking your hand. Greetings, Anatoly.

29.01.43"

"My dear, lovely Zoya and Rufochka, hello! My life is now spent on the road, in battles and campaigns, moving forward, westward.

You, Zoya, have already heard on the radio and read in the newspapers about our military operations. We took part in the offensive battles to liberate the Voronezh region.

I received Rufina's letter, and I'm overjoyed. Tell her that her father is fighting the fascists for mistreating our comrades and young children. Let Rufonka follow her treatment regimen and take care of herself for a better future.

Hello to everyone who hasn't forgotten me yet!

2.02.43"

Yes, the 96th Separate Tank Brigade named after the Chelyabinsk Komsomol, where the battalion's party organizer was the author of this letter, Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Fedorovich Kolsanov, took an active part in the Ostrogozhsk-Rossoshansk Offensive. Many soldiers were awarded state decorations. Senior Lieutenant Kolsanov was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class.

Chelyabinsk residents fought for several days near the village of Puzachi in the Manturovsky District of the Kursk Region. Vladimir Fedorovich Kolsanov was killed there.

"Hello, family! I send you my fiery commander's greetings... I am alive and well, and I wish you the same. Katya, I am currently in the Rostov steppes, far from the steppes of Kazakhstan. Although I am thousands of kilometers away from you, I am still cheerful and joyful, because I am inspired by our victory. The enemy is fleeing in panic... But we will not allow the enemy to escape; we will destroy them like rabid dogs. The time for reckoning has come!

23.02.43, 3 a.m."

At three o'clock in the morning on February 23, Dmitry Filippovich Muravyov, the commander of a platoon in the 8th Separate Guards Machine-Gun and Artillery Battalion, wrote one of his last letters to his wife. In the summer of 1942, after graduating from military school, he fought in the Battle of Stalingrad. Later, he fought in the battles near Rostov and in the Donbas region. In early October 1943, Dmitry Filippovich lost his life during the Melitopol Offensive.

"Greetings, mother and father! I wish you a good life, good health, and all the best...

As you know, I'm a commander in the anti-aircraft artillery. Our mission is to shoot down enemy planes. When enemy aircraft attack us, bombs rain down like wheat from a man's hand. Recently, our platoon was attacked by... fascist planes... My platoon only had two cannons. However, my comrades and I successfully repelled the attack, shooting down three enemy planes. Our military newspaper "For Victory" wrote about this on March 15, 1943. For this battle, he was awarded a government medal...

Be happy. Your son Misha.

30.03.43"

The parents of Lieutenant Mikhail Alfezovich Alavidze, commander of the 2nd Battery of the 1181st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, were delighted to read an article in the newspaper Za Pobedu, which he had sent:

"More than two dozen enemy planes appeared over the city of Graivoron. They were first spotted by the anti-aircraft gunners of Lieutenant Alavidze's 2nd Battery platoon, who opened heavy fire on them.

German planes began swooping down on our anti-aircraft guns, throwing bombs at them. Crews of Junkers flew over the heads of our fighters, deafening them with sirens and firing machine guns. But not a single anti-aircraft gunner flinched and continued to repel the Nazi air raid.

Soon, Sergeant Suvorov's accurate fire caused the lead enemy plane to burst into flames and crash to the ground. The remaining bombers made a second pass to destroy our battery. Once again, the anti-aircraft gunners of Lieutenant Alavidze's platoon met the enemy planes with a barrage of fire. Two Junkers planes, shot down by the gunners of Junior Sergeant Dmitriev, flew 200 meters away and crashed near our anti-aircraft position. The rest of the Ju-87s went west."

25 days later, his parents received a death notice. Lieutenant M.A. Alavidze was killed in the Kharkiv region.

"It's hard not to remember all the experiences we've had over the past twenty-three years. At first, it was a fun and joyful life, where we could find happiness, the happiness of life, blooming, joyful, and vast...

Then came the parting with home, the Navy. Service in Sevastopol. It was the first time I really saw the sea: it was formidable, but pleasant, dangerous, but good, big, and beloved.

Then came the war... Yes, the war was brought to us by Hitler's цепные псы. They marched through Ukraine, approached Stalingrad, and were joined by Romanian mums, Finnish beggars, and Italian sausage makers. They had forgotten their shame and did not know what it meant.

Yes, I've seen a lot of them. I've fought with a cannon, a machine gun, a rifle, an assault rifle, I've fought with a pistol, a grenade, and my hands. And these scoundrels, these bandits, these robbers, these jailers, have fallen many times, struck down by the power of my weapons. I've encountered many of them near Armyansk, Simferopol, Yalta, Feodosia, Sevastopol, and Novorossiysk. I've faced them with fire, lead, steel, and metal.

Of course, the question that arises is: what saved me in these fierce battles? Happiness? Yes, happiness. Happiness that comes from a combination of skills, endurance, precision, and dedication. Even now, I am still fighting, fighting with all my might...

I miss my mother very much... I give you a big kiss. Hello to your friends. Vanya.

15.04.43"

This letter was addressed to Ivan Ivanovich Drukov's aunt, Evdokia Ivanovna, who worked in a frontline hospital and was the only person with whom he could correspond. Ivan Ivanovich's family was under occupation.

In the letter, the young man describes his difficult military career.

On April 24, 1943, Red Sailor Ivan Drukov was killed.

The decisive turning point in the Great Patriotic War took place in the summer and autumn of 1943. The Soviet Armed Forces defeated the enemy in the Battle of Kursk, liberated the Left-Bank Ukraine and the Donbas, crossed the Dnieper River, completed the liberation of the North Caucasus, and began the expulsion of the Nazis from Belarus. We will discuss these events in the next issue of the magazine and provide readers with the last letters of fallen soldiers.