Alexandra Samusenko
| Aleksandra Grigoryevna Samusenko | |
|---|---|
Aleksandra Samusenko in 1943
|
|
| Born | 1922 Chita, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 3 March 1945 (aged 22–23) Zülzefirz, Province of Pomerania, Nazi Germany (now Poland) |
| Allegiance |
 Soviet Union
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| Service/branch |
 Red Army
|
| Years of service | 1934–1945 |
| Rank | Guards Captain |
| Unit | 1st Guards Tank Army |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
 Order of the Patriotic War 1st class Order of the Red Star
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Aleksandra Grigoryevna Samusenko (Russian: Александра Григорьевна Самусенко, Ukrainian: Олександра Григорівна Самусенко; 1922, Chita – 3 March 1945) was a Soviet commander of the T-34 tank and a liaison officer during World War II. She was the only female tankman in the 1st Guards Tank Army.
Samusenko was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class and the Order of the Red Star, which she received for bravery in the Battle of Kursk.
Samusenko began her tour of duty as a private in an infantry platoon. Later she successfully finished the tank academy. Samusenko received her Order of the Red Star when her tank crew defeated three German Tiger I tanks. Later Samusenko participated in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive.
World War II veteran and writer Fabian Garin, in his book Tsvety na tankakh (The Flowers on Tanks), mentions an episode from Samusenko's personal life, when a certain Mindlin, who fell in love with her, asked her "not to smoke and drink". Samusenko parried with "Maybe you have fallen in love?", kissed him on the head and stopped smoking and drinking thereafter.
US Army Sergeant Joseph Beyrle, who had escaped from Stalag III-C POW camp in Alt Drewitz in early January 1945, encountered Samusenko's tank brigade in the middle of January. Beyrle, one of only a few American soldiers known to have served with both the United States Army and the Soviet Army in World War II, was eventually able to persuade her to allow him to fight alongside the unit on its way to Berlin, thus beginning a month-long stint in a Soviet tank battalion where his demolitions expertise was appreciated. Beyrle, who said that Samusenko lost both her husband and entire family during the war, cited Samusenko as a symbol of the fortitude and courage displayed by the Soviet people during that period.
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