Soviet Scouts Strike Behind Enemy Lines in Belarus, 1944
June 27, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes
Soviet scouts Mikhail Yeremin and Seitkasim Ashirov of the 331st Rifle Regiment, 96th Rifle Division. Their daring raid behind German lines in July 1944 helped secure a major Red Army breakthrough.
Belarus, July 1944.
Amid the swamps and pine forests of occupied Belarus, two Red Army scouts prepared for a daring operation. Private Mikhail Yeremin and Sergeant Seitkasim Ashirov, part of the 331st Rifle Regiment, were no strangers to risk — but this mission would earn them immortality.
As the 1st Belorussian Front advanced in Operation Bagration, Yeremin and Ashirov, along with a third comrade, infiltrated enemy lines near the village of Zabolotye in Baranovichi District. They crept 1.5 kilometers into fortified Nazi territory, targeting a deadly battery of Nebelwerfer 41 rocket launchers.
What followed was an audacious ambush. With grenades, bayonets, and sheer guts, they overran the launchers, killing or routing the German crew, capturing seven troops including an officer, and sending the rest fleeing in panic. Their success triggered a broader collapse in the German defense — Red Army infantry exploited the opening, advancing a full 10 kilometers past their original objective.
Even more impressively, the scouts turned the captured Nebelwerfers against their former owners, raining fire on German positions and amplifying the shock of the Soviet attack.
For this operation, both Yeremin and Ashirov were nominated for the Hero of the Soviet Union — the USSR’s highest military honor. Sadly, Yeremin was mortally wounded a month later and died on October 4, 1944, receiving the title posthumously.
Ashirov survived the war, honored for his valor and leadership, and lived until 2004. Their actions exemplified the lethal precision and bravery of Soviet reconnaissance troops — often overlooked, yet crucial to victory.
📷 Technical photo data:
📸 Photographer: Unknown war photographer
🌐 Source: pamyat-naroda.ru
📅 Date: July 1944
📍 Location: Belarus, USSR