Panfilov’s 28 Men

In the bleak days of late November 1941, within the heart of Soviet Russia, an extraordinary band of brothers emerged. This is the story of Panifilov's Twenty-Eight, a courageous group of twenty-eight Red Army soldiers who formed under General Ivan Panfilov's command. Amidst the chaos of World War II, they demonstrated extraordinary valor as they battled against all odds to halt the relentless advance of the Nazi forces towards Moscow.Armed with nothing more than Mosin-Nagant infantry rifles and DP and PM-M1910 machine guns - weapons entirely useless against tanks - these brave soldiers found themselves pitted against an army of fifty-four formidable Nazi tanks belonging to the 11th Panzer Division. With meager resources that included inadequate RPG-40 anti-tank grenades and PTRD-41 anti-tank rifles, they nevertheless fought with unrelenting tenacity and ferocious determination.This true tale, as reported by Vasiliy Koroteev for the Red Army's newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda shortly after the battle, is a testament to the indomitable human spirit and our capacity for heroism in the face of overwhelming adversity. It captures the gritty reality of warfare while honoring the self-sacrifice of these soldiers who fought tirelessly to defend their homeland from invasion.