It was a captain by the name of Mikhail Naumov, commander of a partisan unit, who experienced such a crazy career growth. In February 1943, he led six hundred men on a raid of the enemy rear in Ukraine.
In several months, the partisan unit passed almost 2,400 km, killed 2,700 enemy soldiers, destroyed three tanks, 97 cars, seven trains and even two planes.
This so-called “Steppe Raid” delighted the Soviet command. After learning that it had been led by a mere captain, Stalin exclaimed: “Captain…? No, not good enough - a general!” On his personal order, on April 9, 1943, Naumov was promoted to the rank of major-general.
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