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Dr. Leonid Rogozov
In 1961, Rogozov was stationed at a newly constructed Russian base in Antarctica. The 12 men inside were cut off from the outside world by the polar winter by March of that year. On the morning of 29 April 1961, Rogozov experienced general weakness, nausea, and moderate fever, and later pain in the lower right portion of the abdomen. His symptoms were classic: he had acute appendicitis. “He knew that if he was to survive he had to undergo an operation”, the British Medical Journal recounted. “But he was in the frontier conditions of a newly founded Antarctic colony on the brink of the polar night. Transportation was impossible. Flying was out of the question, because of the snowstorms. And there was one further problem: he was the only physician on the base”. Rogozov wrote in his diary:
“It seems that I have appendicitis. I am keeping quiet about it, even smiling. Why frighten my friends? Who could be of help? A polar explorer’s only encounter with medicine is likely to have been in a dentist’s chair”.
All the available conservative treatment was applied (antibiotics, local cooling), but the patient’s general condition was getting worse: his body temperature rose, vomiting became more frequent.
“I did not sleep at all last night. It hurts like the devil! A snowstorm whipping through my soul, wailing like a hundred jackals. Still no obvious symptoms that perforation is imminent, but an oppressive feeling of foreboding hangs over me… This is it… I have to think through the only possible way out: to operate on myself…It’s almost impossible…but I can’t just fold my arms and give up”.
Rogozov had no option but to perform the operation on himself. The operation started at 02:00 local time on the first day of May with the help of a driver and meteorologist, who were providing instruments and holding a mirror to observe areas not directly visible, while Rogozov was in a semi-reclining position, half-turned to his left side. After 30-40 minutes Rogozov started to take short breaks because of general weakness and vertigo. Finally he removed the severely affected appendix. He applied antibiotics in the peritoneal cavity and closed the wound. The operation itself lasted an hour and 45 minutes. Partway through, the helping team took photographs of the operation.
“I worked without gloves. It was hard to see. The mirror helps, but it also hinders—after all, it’s showing things backwards. I work mainly by touch. The bleeding is quite heavy, but I take my time—I try to work surely. Opening the peritoneum, I injured the blind gut and had to sew it up. Suddenly it flashed through my mind: there are more injuries here and I didn’t notice them… I grow weaker and weaker, my head starts to spin. Every 4-5 minutes I rest for 20-25 seconds. Finally, here it is, the cursed appendage! With horror I notice the dark stain at its base. That means just a day longer and it would have burst and… At the worst moment of removing the appendix I flagged: my heart seized up and noticeably slowed; my hands felt like rubber. Well, I thought, it’s going to end badly. And all that was left was removing the appendix… And then I realized that, basically, I was already saved”.
After the operation gradual improvement occurred in the signs of peritonitis and in the general condition of Rogozov. Body temperature returned to normal after five days, and the stitches were removed seven days after the operation. He resumed his regular duties in about two weeks.The self-surgery captured the imagination of the Soviet public at the time. In 1961 he was awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour.
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Bhanbhagta Gurung
Bhanbhagta Gurung was a Nepalese civilian whose bravery and general badassery during World War II garnered him the Victoria Cross – the highest honor available to British and Commonwealth soldiers. Gurung singlehandedly attacked enemy foxholes with bayonets and grenades, at times coming in point-blank range of machine guns. The account of his deeds encapsulated by the British press:
“Without waiting for orders Bhanbhagta dashed forward alone and attacked the first enemy foxhole and, hurling grenades, he killed the two occupants. He then ran at the next foxhole, killing two of the enemy with his bayonet. Nearby, two other enemy foxholes were inflicting casualties on his section. Showing raw courage he attacked both positions, clearing them with grenades and finishing off the enemy with his bayonet.
Throughout these attacks Bhanbhagta was fired on continuously from a machine-gun situated on the tip of the objective. Realising this was holding up the advance of two of the battalion’s platoons, Bhanbhagta again edged forward and – keeping low – he made the top of the bunker only to find he had run out of hand grenades, so he flung two No 72 smoke grenades into the bunker slit. Two of the Japanese ran out, blinded, with their clothes aflame. Bhanbhagta killed them with his kukri. One foolishly brave Japanese remained inside, still firing the machine gun. Bhanbhagta crawled inside the bunker and, prevented by the cramped space from using his bayonet or kukri, beat the gunner to death with a rock.
With most objectives now taken and the enemy driven off, Bhanbhagta ordered a Bren gunner and two riflemen to hold the captured bunker with him. Under Bhanbhagta’s command, the small party in the bunker repelled with heavy losses the enemy counter-attack. Bhanbhagta’s extraordinary courage was contagious and inspired his fellow Gurkhas to fight like tigers. Snowden was held.”
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Ching Shih
Ching Shih is today remembered as one of the most successful female pirates in the history of the world. During her active years as a pirate lord in early 19th century, she commanded over the famous Red Flag Fleet that consisted of over 1800 ships and 80 thousand male and female pirates. In comparison, the famed Blackbeard commanded four ships and 300 pirates within the same century.Under her rule, Chinese pirates became invincible, resisting attacks from every major naval power of her time.
Ching Shih was born in 1785 in an unknown location and has spent her youth and young adulthood as a prostitute in Chinese city Canton. Her lifestyle changed dramatically in 1801 when she married Zheng Yi, the famous pirate captain that came from the long and prosperous family of pirates. Before marrying her Zheng Yi managed to unite every major Chinese pirate organization into Red Flag Fleet, but after his death in 1807, Ching Shih managed to maneuver herself into a place of power and took control over the entire organization.
Ching Shih unified her enormous fleet of pirates using a code of laws. The code was strict, and stated that any pirate giving his own orders or disobeying those of a superior was to be beheaded on the spot. The code was particularly unusual in its laws regarding female captives. If a pirate raped a female captive, he would be put to death. If the sex between the two was consensual, both would be put to death.
There are further accounts of Ching Shih’s code that state that if a pirate took a captive as his wife, he was required to be faithful to her (although others say that captains would have multiple wives). “Whatever they thought about her, it does seem clear that the pirates respected and obeyed her authority,” says Murray.
The Red Flag Fleet under Ching Shih’s rule went undefeated, despite attempts by Qing dynasty officials, the Portuguese navy, and the East India Company to vanquish it. After three years of notoriety on the high seas, Ching Shih finally retired in 1810 by accepting an offer of amnesty from the Chinese government.
Ching Shih spent the remainder of her life operating her gambling house until her death in 1844, at the age of 69.
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Simo Hayha
Simo Häyhä, also known as “The White Death,” was a Finnish sniper who is credited with killing 505 enemy troops within 100 days during the Winter War against the Soviet Union from 1939 to 1940.
Simo Häyhä’s involvement in the Winter War was very extraordinary. With his Mosin-Nagant M91 rifle, he would dress in white winter camouflage, and carry with him only a day’s worth of supplies and ammunition. While hiding out in the snow, he would then take out any Russian who entered his killing zone.
He preferred iron sights over telescopic sights as to present a smaller target for the enemy (a sniper must raise his head higher when using a telescopic sight), to increase accuracy (a telescopic sight’s glass can fog up easily in cold weather), and to aid in concealment (sunlight glare in telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper’s position). As well as these tactics, he frequently packed dense mounds of snow in front of his position to conceal himself, provide padding for his rifle and reduce the characteristic puff of snow stirred up by the muzzle blast. He was also known to keep snow in his mouth whilst sniping, to prevent steamy breaths giving away his position in the cold air.
The Soviets’ efforts to kill Häyhä included counter-snipers and artillery strikes, and on March 6, 1940, Häyhä was hit by an explosive round in his lower left jaw by a counter Soviet sniper, blowing off his lower left cheek. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said “half his face was missing”, but he did not die, regaining consciousness on March 13, the day peace was declared. It took several years for Häyhä to recuperate from his wound. The bullet had crushed his jaw and blown off his left cheek.
Nonetheless, he made a full recovery and became a successful moose hunter and dog breeder after World War II. When asked in 1998 how he had become such a good shooter, Häyhä answered: “Practice”. When asked if he regretted killing so many people, he said, “I only did my duty, and what I was told to do, as well as I could”.
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Jack Churchill
World War II saw a plethora of weapon advancements. While most soldiers were concerned with engaging their enemies more effectively from a distance, one man stuck with time tested tools of war – the bow & arrow and sword. He regularly carried a basket-hilted Scottish broadsword in his hand while leading his men into battle. He is quoted as once saying, “Any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed.”
Lieutenant Colonel Jack “Mad Jack” Churchill of the British Army is regarded as one the greatest warriors of all time. During World War II he recorded what is thought to be the last confirmed bow and arrow kill in modern warfare, killing a Nazi NCO in France in 1940. The archery shot signaled the rest of his men to launch an attack on the Nazi patrol. Prior to his service in WW2, Churchill was the archery champion of Great Britain and represented his country in the world championships.
To signal the start of a raid on a German garrison in Norway in 1941, Churchill leapt out his position playing “March of the Cameron Men” on the bagpipes before tossing a grenade at the enemy position and getting into the fight.
Churchill’s bagpipe playing would come back to haunt him though. In 1944, Churchill was playing “Will Ye No Come Back Again?” for his men as German troops advanced on their position. A mortar shell struck nearby and killed or wounded everyone except Churchill. However, he was captured by German forces, interrogated in Berlin, then transferred to a concentration camp. Churchill managed to escape the camp by crawling under barbed wire and through a drainage pipe. He was then captured again.
As the war began to end, Churchill and his fellow prisoners feared they would be executed by the SS troops who were guarding them. However, a moral German commander forced the SS troops to back off and released the prisoners after reading the writing on the wall about the war’s end. Following his release, Churchill walked 93 miles to Verona before meeting up with a unit of American troops.
The post 5 People Who Deserve More Recognition For Being Genuine Bad Asses! appeared first on Caveman Circus.
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