To this day, when people think of Koreans in World War II, they may often think of the Northeast Anti-Japanese League, the Korean Volunteer Army, the Korean Restoration Army, and even Koreans who were forcibly recruited into the Service of the Japanese Army. When it comes to Koreans on the Battlefield in Europe, we have to mention a movie released in 2012, "The Day of the Landing", which is a war blockbuster starring Zhang Dongjian and Fan Bingbing, which tells a legendary story - the Korean Kim Joon-woo was forcibly recruited into the Japanese army, captured by the Soviet army in the Battle of Nomonhan and then served in the Soviet army, and after the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, he was captured by the German army, went to the Coast of Normandy, and then was captured by the Allies in the Battle of Normandy. The film is said to be based on the stories of real people, and this photo of the North Korean captives in Normandy and the story behind it has been widely circulated on the Chinese Internet. However, what I want to tell today is the story of another group of Koreans in the Soviet-German War.
As early as the end of the 19th century, between 1869 and 1870, Koreans began to emigrate to the Russian Far East and Northeast China. By the beginning of the 20th century, North Korean immigrants accounted for 1/3 of Vladivostok's foreign population.
By 1910, there were already more than 50,000 Koreans living in South Ussuri Krai, distributed in Amur and Transbaikal regions, Nikolisk, Ussurisk, Vladivostok, Nikolayevsk and Khabarovsk. By 1925, more than 120,000 Koreans living in Primorsky Krai had acquired Soviet citizenship and officially became a minority of the Soviet Union, the Koryo. After the Japanese occupation of northeast China, especially the Lugou Bridge Incident, the Soviet Union felt the threat of Japan in the Far East, and on August 21, 1937, the Soviet Union forcibly relocated all the Koryo tribes from the Far East to Central Asia to prevent them from being "used" by the Japanese. Among them, most of the Koryo were relocated to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, thus forming the Goryeo people who are concentrated in Central Asia today. After the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, many Goryeo tribes joined the Soviet army or worked in factories and collective farms in the rear, and made outstanding achievements. After the end of World War II, a group of Soviet Koryo returned to Korea and became a force to be reckoned with in the Political and Military Circles of Korea, leaving a strong mark in the history of Northeast Asia in the 20th century.
In 1915, Alexander Pavlovich Min was born into a Korean peasant family in the Shkotovo region near Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, and later the family relocated to Putiyatin Island near Peter the Great Bay, where Alexander Min worked as a Russian teacher at the local school. In 1937, Alexander Min was exiled to Kazakhstan with his family and then worked as an accountant at the General Directorate of Fisheries of the City of Aralsk, Kazakhstan, and then at the Saratov University of Finance and Economics.
On May 25, 1941, Alexander Min enlisted in the army, and from May to July 1941, Alexander Min served in the 511st Infrastructure Engineering Battalion of the Red Army. From July 1942 to August 1942, he entered the 150th Infrastructure Engineering Battalion, during which time he participated in the defense of Moscow. During a battle near Moscow, Alexander Min commanded his troops as a platoon leader to hold their positions, and they were attacked by German infantry and tanks. Min calmly commanded the fighters to prepare grenades and Molotov cocktails, and in the fierce battle of the morning, the Soviets repelled the German attack, and Lieutenant Min led his men to destroy 3 German tanks. And in the afternoon the Germans made a comeback again. Alexander Min led his troops to repel the German attack again, destroying 5 tanks, killing and wounding more than 100 German soldiers, and finally breaking the enemy's attempt to break through the position.
Due to his outstanding performance in the battle, from August to October 1942, Alexander Min was selected by the 13th Army of the Bryansk Front to study at the Ryazan Infantry School, after which he was awarded the rank of second lieutenant, and then entered the 1st Battalion of the 605th Regiment of the 132nd Infantry Division of the 65th Army as a deputy battalion commander. Alexander Min excelled in battle, having been awarded the Order of the Red Star (25 July 1943) and the Order of the Great Patriotic War II (20 September 1943). In a battle in the summer of 1943, Alexander Min's 1st Battalion was surrounded by Germans, and he assisted the battalion commander in directing the battle, and showed great courage by personally killing 7 German soldiers. Under the example of Alexander Min, the 1st Battalion finally broke through safely and retreated.
On 5 September 1943, the 1st Battalion was attacked by germans during the battle in the village of Zhneyaki. The commander of the 1st Company was wounded in the battle, and Alexander Min temporarily took command, stabilizing the position on the left flank of the battalion, repelling the enemy attack and killing and wounding more than forty enemy troops. On January 8, 1944, the superior commander wrote in his application for the award of the order to Alexander Min: "In the battle to break through the enemy line, Comrade Min properly coordinated the troops, maintained good communication between the various departments, and finally commanded the battalion to first break through the enemy defenses and successfully completed the tasks undertaken by the battalion." Alexander Min commanded his troops to kill and wound a total of 150 German troops in several battles, capture 2 people, and seize important positions, for which he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
Alexander Min was then promoted to battalion commander and joined the United Communist Party (Brazzaville). On July 3, 1944, Captain Min, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 605th Regiment, led his troops into the battle to liberate Minsk, breaking into the southwest corner of Minsk, and the 1st Battalion tore open an important position in the German position. During the battle, Lieutenant Min was unfortunately wounded, but due to the orders of the division commander, Captain Min had to continue to hold his command post.
After the liberation of Minsk, the 1st Belorussian Front continued its offensive towards the Warren region. The two sides then engaged in a bitter battle around the railway hub of Kovel. The 132nd Division was tasked with liberating Covelly, but was never successful in several days of tug-of-war. The Germans not only resisted but also launched several counterattacks, but Lieutenant Min remained stable, leading his troops to repel German attacks five times during the battle. On the night of July 9, Lieutenant Min even commanded his troops to launch a surprise attack at night, and the Germans were completely caught off guard and forced to abandon many corpses and weapons and equipment and flee. The 1st Battalion then broke the enemy's Yu Wei in the night battle and continued to directly attack the German second-line positions.
Early the next morning, Alexander Min commanded his troops to bypass the front of the German line and launch a pincer offensive against the enemy who was holding Parduby. The Soviets and Germans then engaged in a brutal close-quarters battle, with Alexander Min leading the way as always and commanding his troops to successfully break through the German defensive positions, but during the battle, Lieutenant Min was seriously wounded and eventually died.
On March 4, 1945, Alexander Pavlovich Min was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the only Koryo tribe to receive this honor. In 1952, Alexander Min was buried in the Soviet Martyrs' Cemetery in the Warren region of Ukraine. In Tashkent, Ryazan, Jambul, Primorsky Krai and other places there are streets or schools named after Alexander Pavlovich Min.
[There are still many stories to be unearthed about the Koreans in the Soviet-German War, so stay tuned for my follow-up articles]