Yevdokiya Zavaly

Zavaly died on 5 May 2010 in Kyiv. She was buried with military honors in Baikove Cemetery.

She toured many cities, military units, ships, and submarines with stories about her platoon of Marines. In May 2009 she took part in the celebrations on the occasion of Victory Day and the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Sevastopol, and in autumn she visited Azerbaijan with a delegation of Ukrainian veterans. In total, in 2009 she held more than 130 meetings with various audiences in Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova.

After the war, Zavaliy was to be sent to study at a military school, but she had received 4 wounds and 2 contusions during the war. In 1947 she was demobilized and went to Kyiv.

In 1943, she was sent to a six-month course for junior commanders, and after graduating, as a junior lieutenant, she was sent to the 83rd Marine Brigade as a platoon commander.

In 1941, shortly after she turned 17, the invasion of the Soviet Union began. On July 25, 1941, fighting broke out in her hometown, Novy Buh. She bandaged wounded soldiers and commanders under bombardment. When the 96th Cavalry Regiment of the 5th Cavalry Division of the 2nd Cavalry Corps began to drop back, she persuaded the regiment commander to take her with him, saying she was soon 18 years old.

On 13 August 1941, German troops approached Novy Buh. Their offensive was restrained by units of the 169th Rifle Division of the 18th Army. At night, the Soviet units left the Novy Bug by order of the command, and on 14 August 1941, the Nazis occupied her native village.

Yevdokiya Nikolaevna Zavaly (Russian: Евдокия Николаевна Завалий, Ukrainian: Євдокія Миколаївна Завалій; 28 May 1924 – 5 May 2010) was the only Soviet female commander of a platoon of marines during the Second World War.

Zavaly was born on 28 May 1924 in the town of Novy Buh of the Mykolaiv district of the Odesa province.