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Heroes from History People Really Don’t Appreciate Enough

Khalid Elhassan November 10, 2020 32 min

William Colby - William J. Donovan — William Colby (oak leaves on cap) with OSS personnel and Norwegian Resistance members in Norway. Special Operations

3. After Chopping Off a German Officer’s Head, Ovcharenko Went on a Bloody Ax and Grenade Rampage

Dmitry Ovcharenko’s skill with an ax came in handy during WWII. Free Pik

Ovcharenko’s beheading of a German officer was followed by a moment of stunned silence. As the other shocked Germans tried to process what had just happened, Ovcharenko dove into the cart, pulled out some hand grenades, and began lobbing them at the enemy soldiers. Within a few seconds, the ground was covered with 21 dead and dying Germans, while the rest scattered.

Hefting his bloody ax, Ovcharenko gave chase. He caught up with another enemy officer from behind, and lopped off his head as well with an ax. The now thoroughly demoralized and terrified Germans – most likely reach echelon troops rather than front line soldiers – had no thoughts of fighting back. Instead, they gave in to blind panic and fled in terror from our hero.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.