Katusha: Girl Soldier of the Great Patriotic War

Katusha

by Wayne Vansant

On Sunday, June 22, 1941, the morning after Katusha's graduation, the Germans invade the Soviet Union. As enemy forces occupy Kiev, Ukraine, Katusha and her family learn the Nazis are not there to liberate them from harsh communist rule, but to conquer. They discover there is a special danger for the Jews, and in saving her friend Zhenya Gersteinfeld, Katusha finds her whole family in danger.

During the next four years, Katusha experiences the war on the Eastern Front with all its ferocity and first as a partisan, then as a Red Army tank driver and commander. From Barbarossa to Babi Yar, from Stalingrad to Kursk, from the Dnipro to Berlin, follow the footprints and tanks tracks of Katusha's journey through a time of death, hopelessness, victory, glory, and even love.

Seen through the eyes of a Ukrainian teenager, Katusha is both a coming-of-age story and a carefully researched account of one of the most turbulent and important periods of the twentieth century, where women served in the hundreds of thousands, and Russians died by the millions.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, World War II, Military Fiction, War

584 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

I was born and raised near Atlanta, GA, and served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. I graduated from the Atlanta College of Art in 1975 and have had many jobs, including being a salesman, security guard, milk delivery man, and the Director of Security for a large art museum.

I began my writing and illustration career in 1986 with Marvel Comics' "Savage Tales" and "The 'Nam." Since then I have written and/or illustrated many books and comics on historical/military subjects such as Battle Group Peiper, Days of Darkness, Antietam: The Fiery Trial (commissioned by the National Park Service), Blockade: The Civil War at Sea, The War in Korea, The Hammer and the Anvil (profiling Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass), Normandy (profiling D-Day and the entire Normandy Campaign), Gettysburg (profiling the Battle of Gettysburg), and many others.

I am currently working on graphic histories of the Battle of the Bulge, Manfred von Richthofen, aka the Red Baron, and and am finishing up my Russian Front trilogy entitled Katusha: Girl Soldier of the Patriotic War, which is currently available as an eBook on Comics Plus, a leading comics book app.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely enthralling. The story of a young Ukranian girl coming of age during World War II. She's 16 as Germany invades Russia. She and her family must flee their home, becoming partisans living in the woods while fighting Germans guerilla style. Eventually, she enlists in the Russian army becoming part of a tank crew with her sister.

I was fully enveloped with her story. Not only do you get a great picture of the unfolding of the War from the Russian front, but you feel how torn Katusha is as she fights against fascists while also seeing the atrocities committed against her people by the NKVD (The Russian secret police). You feel the immense pressure Russians were under as citizens were declared traitors if they didn't fight to the death against the Germans. Anyone who surrendered was to be put to death. It's an amazing story that anyone who loves 20th century history should read.

Received a review copy from Dead Reckoning and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A teenage girl's family is torn apart by the Nazi invasion of Ukraine and Russia in this big, thick chunk of historical fiction (over 500 pages!). Katusha and her adopted sister find themselves evading the Nazis, joining a resistance movement, and eventually becoming tank crew members in the Red Army. And yes, there really were a few dozen women who did serve on Soviet tanks during World War II, including tank commander Aleksandra Samusenko, whose life was probably a source of inspiration for this work.

Wayne Vansant's writing doesn't have the humor, drama, or visceral energy of Garth Ennis' tales of Russian female snipers and bomber pilots (see the excellent Sara and The Night Witches), but his dedication to the subject and commitment to authenticity shine through. Even when the narration gets bogged down in a bit too much detail or from veering off to visit minor cast members, it's easy to stay enthused about following the doe-eyed heroine through hell and back.

And war is indeed hell here, with soldiers and civilians dying often and brutally, frequently at the hands of their own comrades and countrymen, as people find themselves stuck between factions, between armies, and between nations, branded traitors to some cause no matter what choice they make.

The only things I found really objectionable though were the romance between the teenage sister and her fortysomething "uncle" and the world's most inappropriate hook-up as a young woman with a cleft lip has a meet-cute with a soldier who is moping around disappointed that the gang rape in which he hoped to lose his virginity was stopped. And then the story doubles down on that by having Katusha promise to introduce the woman to a blind man she knows after the war. Thankfully, these missteps are small parts of this epic adventure.

This omnibus collects the first two volumes in the series from 2013 as well as the previously unpublished concluding volume.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This masterpiece of graphic storytelling follows a Ukrainian Jewish girl who, in the four years following Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, experiences the war on the Eastern Front with all its ferocity and horror: first as a partisan, then as a Red Army tank driver and commander. Vansant's gripping narrative and outstanding art offers thorough military and historical details, and large cast of compelling, memorable characters.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this early in the calendar year 2022 and just reread in 2024.
Katusha remains a favorite of this or any year, by a great comics artist from Georgia, Wayne Vansant. It's sometimes difficult for those who weren't there to comprehend the scope of WW2 in Russia and Eastern Europe. Here, the Ukraine and the give and take in one woman warrior's story make for a long, great graphic novel, historical and human and captivating in every way.
I follow Vansant's comics from publisher to publisher, but it's easy to miss or overlook a publication emphasizing human interest in war when the publishing market is all about superhero comics. This is certainly a coming-of-age story, but the violence of the time and place balance but don't overwhelm the fascinating protagonist, tank commander Katusha.
Thanks to the Dead Reckoning imprint of Naval Institute Press for publishing the saga from beginning to end in one volume. I will continue to reread Katusha.
Highest recommendation.

[Marquise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel does have a few small inaccuracies and mistakes, such as that the author doesn't know how to use the proper gendered Russian naming convention (he uses the feminine of surnames for men & the masculine of patronymics for women, for example), but the storyilne is excellent, and presents a rather unique perspective: that of an Ukrainian girl forced by the German invasion of the Soviet Union to flee her farm to first fight as a partisan and then as a trained tank radio operator & commander.

The perspective in itself makes this worth a read, because there's not that many novels showing the war on the Eastern Front from the Soviet side, and from the POV of a female soldier even less. The usual choices are usually the Night Witches or the female snipers, and I appreciate the new POV all the more for that. I wonder if Vansant ever read, or got inspired by, the story of famous tanker Ekaterina Petlyuk for the character of Ekaterina Tymoshenko, a. k. a. Katusha, because there's a few reminiscences. Whatever the case, I liked its fairly balanced plot that doesn't shy away from atrocities committed by and against the Soviets during what they call the Great Patriotic War, which is another point in favour. And Vansant's art is carefully researched as to the military equipment, not merely nice for the visuals.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 5 out of 5]

The war experiences of a young Ukrainian woman fighting for the Soviets in World War II, told from her point of view.

Packed with lots of history and information, this graphic novel is an exciting and engaging treatment of this topic (WWII from the viewpoint of a young Ukranian woman who drives tanks in battle) - from start to finish. VanSant pulls no punches in this story. The reader sees and reads about the despicable mistreatment of citizens caught up in the war zone, the casualties to soldiers in explosions and gunfire, the intimacy of upper level officers (who often took on "camp wives"), and the hatred for others because of their ethnicity or religion. None of this is gratuitous, rather these serve to pull the story along. He very carefully explains technical jargon and strategies in terms that are understandable for the layman within the story. Katusha begins as an empathetic, naive young woman and is transformed into a hardened soldier, willing to follow orders yet maintains her humanity. It is amazing to see this strong woman grow in self-confidence as her family is separated during the war, reunited at times, and ultimately move on with her life after the war. After the family is separated, VanSant brings readers up to speed on each by weaving in a few pages about her mother, her brother Vasily, and her friend Zhenya in "meanwhile" updates through the second half of the book. This reader wished you had not included the flashforward on p. 542; it was jarring and serves as a spoiler about Katusha's future (she lives) and could have been inserted between the raising of the Soviet flag on p.599 and before we learn about the futures of people Katusha fought beside on p. 560.

VanSant's artwork is outstanding. I was able to identify characters not only through the text, but visually. Incredibly, several frames are photo-realistic. I felt visually transported to a different time and place -- like a fly on the wall. The inclusion of maps of the areas described in the story was helpful to see relationships in direction and distance between cities and rivers. Also, by including some Russian and German words within the text (often with translations), a sense of "place" was reinforced.

I hope when this is reprinted, a few errors are corrected. First, the city of Kharkov in the story is identified as "Kharkiv" on maps; while both spellings are correct, they should match in the book. Also, on the first map (opposite the title page), shouldn't the country be labeled "Soviet Union" or "USSR" -- not Russia -- since these events are taking place in the 1940's? It is correctly labeled on p. 2. On p. 188, the name of Stalingrad is incorrectly written on the sign; the 4th letter should be an "L", not a lower case English "n", as in Сталинград​ - disregarding that there is a mix of upper and lower case letters on the sign. On p. 304, there is a typo in the text box at the bottom of the page; it should read "pride was restrained" (not "restrined"). On p. 348, wouldn't Milla have called the German soldier an idiot/moron/dumb ass in Russian or Ukrainian - "ідіот" or "дурна дупа" -, rather than using the German "dumbkauft"? If you meant it as an insult to the German spoken in German, it is misspelled and should be "dummkopf".

I celebrate this book's publication, as there is precious little available in the U.S. on this topic, much less written for readers young adult - adult. This would be an outstanding title for a book discussion.

Highly recommended for grades 10-adult. Librarians should note a few illustrations show naked backs, bottoms and breasts of characters and includes some swearing in context.

[Ofelia Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art is beautiful and I enjoyed learning about the politics and lives of people on the eastern front pre and during the war. While I loved a female main POV, she is clearly written by a man, though A for effort (funny spoiler eye-roll moment: she manages to kill two armed soldiers with her poop shovel because she is on her period and in a "terrible mood" which somehow made her fiercer I guess was the point?). The writing can get a bit cheesy, and I felt Stalingrad was glossed over a bit, but I get there's only so much that could fit in the story. Overall great read.

[Carol Chapin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a real winner for me. It’s not because I like graphic novels portraying battles - I actually get inpatient with those scenes. But it added a perspective to World War II, and the current aftereffects, that I hadn’t read before.

This is about a young woman who becomes a tank driver for the Russian army in this war. I take it on faith that there were women tank crews, because this book seems to be well-researched, and it makes sense.

The catch here is that the woman is Ukrainian. In those years, Ukraine had been part of the USSR and had suffered greatly under Stalin’s reign in the 1930’s (the Holodomor, where so many Ukrainians perished from a famine created by Stalin’s policies, is not mentioned by that name here, but is referred to obliquely at times.) The novel often refers to Stalin’s perfidies and to the draconian policies of the Russian NKDV. Some Ukrainians supported Germany in their invasion and in persecution of Jews. But it went both ways – many fought against Germany, and some joined the Red army to do so.

While Katusha is a brave and loyal soldier for the Red Army, contradictions exist.
These become most pointed after the turning point of the war, where Russian troops are following the retreating German front. In Ukraine, they encounter the Galicia division of the Germany army, composed of Ukrainians fighting with the Nazi’s. Katusha comments, “They fought for their convictions—and as I, they fought for Ukraine. They fought against Communism, and I can’t argue with that.”

When reaching Poland, the Reds found that Ukrainian and Polish nationalists had been fighting against each other. For this part, Stalin halted the advance of Red troops when Warsaw was to be liberated. “The message was clear...Stalin considered Poland not a country to be liberated but territory to be conquered.” The retreated Germans wreaked huge destruction on Warsaw.

Young Katusha concludes, “Right and wrong can sometimes be very difficult to define. Did I fight against evil? Most assuredly! Did I fight for evil? I must confess that in a way I did. But don’t judge me until you walk those many miles in my shoes...”

It’s not a short book – almost 600 pages, and it has a lot of content for a graphic novel. It covers four years of the war, from 1941 to 1945. But I loved the maps and explanations of military strategy. I also loved the characters, who were portrayed with some depth. Karusha is a sweet, but ultimately savvy young woman, and we’re rewarded by seeing her romance with Captain Kolya unfold. The ending, at least on a personal level, for Katusha, is quite satisfying.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is brilliant. Even if you don’t love war stories, read it! I learned and felt so much.

Katusha, as the protagonist is nicknamed, is a Ukrainian girl who is in her late teens when the Second World War hits her home. This brilliantly illustrated graphic novel (actually an omnibus of three smaller books) charts her journey into becoming a decorated tank soldier of the Red Army. Through this lens, the reader follows the major developments of the war on the Eastern Front and some of the history of the Ukraine and surrounding areas.

The illustrations are vivid, full colour, and realistic. I often struggle to keep characters straight in graphic novels but had little difficulty in this one. The details are impeccable - I’m no expert to verify accuracy, but the author clearly put in a great deal of work to detail campaigns and guns and tanks. All the details which bring this alive and make me trust the accuracy! Despite including a ton of historical information, it rarely bogs down in being didactic; instead it all reads as relevant to the protagonist’s story. Normally I strongly dislike reading about military tactics but Katusha made them make sense and seem relevant and interesting.

I most appreciated how sensitively the painful history of Ukraine, Poland, and the Jewish people was dealt with. Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia are both shown to have deep problems, yet we sympathize for why the Ukrainian people may have joined one side or another for the sake of survival or fear.

There is blood and gore, adult themes, loss, murder, suicide, and love. This is NOT a book for young teens! I was compelled and finished this tome in 24 hours. I will be seeking out more of the author’s work!

[Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)]

MWSA Review

Wayne Vansant’s Katusha: Girl Soldier of the Great Patriotic War is as well written and exhaustively researched a graphic novel as you will find.

Ekaterina Andreaevna Tymoshenko, better known as Katusha, is a Ukrainian teenager just graduating secondary school as the Germans invade Russia. Her education has not prepared her for what she must do for her family and her country. Thankfully, her Uncle Taras is familiar with the ways of war and trains Katusha, her brother Vasily, and her adopted sister Milla to survive in the woods, first as refugees, then as partisans. As her skills grow and Russia recovers from the attack, Katusha and her sister are enlisted as tank crewmen in the Red Army, where they will fight in the huge tank clash of Kursk as well as make the drive to Berlin. Along the way, Katusha finds love, but is it enough to cover all that she has lost?

This book is a wonderful introduction to graphic novels if you are not familiar with the genre. Well-researched, the military illustrations, technology, and nomenclature are spot on, as is the history of the Eastern Front. I particularly liked how the author showed the human side of so many great battles; it is easy to research the strategy of a battle, but harder at times to grasp the feelings and emotions of the people that fought it. Vansant does an excellent job of developing characters, especially since compared to a novel he has limited text in which to do so. There are also a few actual photographs worked into the story, which are used to great impact.

If you enjoy military graphic novels, you will love this; if you are not familiar with graphic novels, this is a great place to start!

Review by Rob Ballister (May 2020)

[Paul Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wayne Vansant combines thorough military and historical detail with unforgettable characters in his epic masterwork Katusha.

Vansant has long specialized in telling stories of war, from Marvel’s comic series The ’Nam to his many graphic novel histories. Katusha differs from these others, first in its length—originally published in three parts, this edition collects the entire story, including the never-before-published last third, under one cover—and second, in its expert use of fictional characters to elevate dramatic tension while informing the reader about events in Ukraine and its surroundings during World War II.

Katusha is the nickname of the book’s central character, a young Ukrainian girl who sees her life irreparably transformed by the war. She’s drawn into the fighting, and in a long, continual battle for survival, she eventually becomes a tank operator for the Russian army, bearing witness to the war’s most significant battles.

Katusha grows in many ways throughout the book: from a naïve young telephone operator to a seasoned warrior and from a child to a full-grown woman, hardened but capable of love. Vansant develops Katusha, her family, and her friends well, resulting in multiple viewpoints as characters are separated by the war’s events.

Vansant’s art is outstanding, demonstrating a great commitment to getting it right with uniforms, landscapes, and armaments, while also showing a knack for facial details that keeps every character in his large cast easily identifiable. Vansant captures the massive scale and significance of the war, but the strength of this book is that it is seen from a personal viewpoint. First, last, and always, this is Katusha’s story.

[Tee Cee · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a Pleasant Surprise

I did not have high expectations for this book, but the description sounded promising, and the cover nabbed me (so much for "don't judge a book by its cover." I got really lucky with this one). I was "gobsmacked!" The narrative is riveting and the art stunning. I was captivated by the characters, and the horrors of war affected me deeply. I also felt like I got a more genuine picture of the life of a 1940s Ukrainian. I can not recommend this work highly enough, and I suspect I will soon be an outcast in my social circles as I talk about and push everyone I know to read it.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a massive tome but this tale of a young Ukrainian woman who becomes a tank commander during WW2 is well worth reading all the way through! It took me a long time to finish it because I kept stopping to read more about the historical events Vansant includes/refers to along the way. I've always appreciated his attention to detail, both in art and story-this might be his masterpiece. Highly recommended, especially for history/war tech buffs. It provides a facts and a perspective you may not have considered before, wrapped in an engaging and tragic narrative.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful reading of a very dark time in history from a viewpoint not often seen in the west. I had to set this down and leave for a few days before returning to pick it up again. WWII in the east was as ugly as it gets.

[Michael Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing read with a lot of little known history.

[Rob Ballister]

Reviewed and scored as part of the MWSA 2020 awards program.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[John Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really 4.5, lots of information in this one.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent storytelling and artwork! Despite some clear historical inaccuracies, Vansant's good intentions are obvious and earn them plenty of grace for mistakes.

[Michael P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a meticulously-researched history of the Eastern Front and Ukraine, cleverly disguised as a comic.