User:Dr.Pinsky/sandbox1

Matvei Gershman was a Sergeant Major who served in the red army during second world war.

Early life
He was born in Gomel, Belarus, into a Jewish family.

Career
Garshman volunteered for the Soviet Red Army in 1941 and was initially assigned to the Army. He later joined air force and graduated from the Aircraft Machinery School in the rank of senior sergeant. Initially, he was assigned to the Bryansk Front Aircraft Regiment to protect the Voronezh area. During the German summer strategic attack of 1942, he was pressured to retreat east with the remnants of the regiment. After the war, he attended an infantry school. He became a gunner specializing in the use of machine guns and anti-tank weapons. In 1943 he usually fought as an anti-tank gunner in Ukraine. He was seriously injured in the war and was transferred to a naval hospital where he spent four months. For his achievements, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War. After a while, Gershman became avant-garde again in 1944. He fought in western Ukraine, Poland and Germany. In July of the same year, he participated in the liberation of Maidanek near Lublin, Poland.