The military feat of Orsha residents during the Great Patriotic War is marked by a pennant

August 24, Orsha / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Orsha was presented with the pennant "For Courage and Resilience during the Great Patriotic War" and a certificate of honor to the pennant today, BELTA correspondent reports. "The awarding of Orsha with the pennant is a recognition of the merits, exceptional valor, and resilience of the military feat of Orsha residents during the Great Patriotic War, and truly colossal diligence and selfless love for their native city," said Vladimir Novatsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, at the ceremony. In its almost thousand-year history, the Orsha land has been the scene of numerous battles, repeatedly devastated and reborn. The Great Patriotic War became the greatest trial for it. From the very first days of the war, Orsha found itself in the zone of military operations. From June 23, 1941, the city was regularly subjected to raids by enemy bombers. It was near Orsha that an event occurred that became a landmark for the history of Soviet weapons: on July 14, at 3:17 PM, the first salvo from the legendary BM-13 "Katyusha" rocket launcher was fired at German trains with equipment and soldiers. The enemy suffered significant losses. Despite the courage of the defenders of Orsha, on July 16, the city was occupied by the German-fascist invaders. Within the first year of occupation alone, about 2,000 civilians were hanged and shot in Orsha. Despite the occupation regime, a powerful patriotic underground operated in the city: 50 underground groups, the most famous of which was the group of Konstantin Zaslonov. Zaslonov's group destroyed about 8,000 enemy soldiers and officers, blew up over 12,000 rails, 40 bridges, and derailed over 200 military trains. The occupation of Orsha lasted for three years. On the morning of July 27, 1944, during the Bagration strategic offensive operation, Orsha was liberated from the German-fascist invaders by the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front under the command of Colonel General Ivan Chernyakhovsky. On the fronts of the war, Orsha lost 11,000 of its sons and daughters. Ten natives of the city were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In the Vitebsk region, five settlements - Vitebsk, Polotsk, Orsha, Begoml, Ushachi - have been awarded the pennant "For Courage and Resilience during the Great Patriotic War." -0-