Natalya Kovshova was a sniper with the Red Army who fought in the Second World War and had 167 confirmed kills. Natalya Kovshova was born on 26 November 1920 in Ufa, Russia. Shortly after her birth, her family moved to Moscow. She was educated at a high school in Moscow. After graduating from high school, Kovshova began work at a Moscow research institute while waiting to be accepted into a university of aviation, where she met her friend and spotter Mariya Polivanova. In 1941 Natalya joined a Narodnoe Opolcheniye (self-defense) unit in Moscow with Polivanova at age 21. Kovshova was put in charge of the observation and communication department. She spent many nights in the control tower. After her experience at the self-defense group, Kovshova attended sniper training in the 528th Rifle Regiment, and she was one of 2,000 female snipers in the Red Army. After her training had been completed, she was sent to the front with the 528th Rifle Regiment. Natalya and Maria fought as a sniper-spotter team in the Battle of Moscow when the 528th Rifle Regiment were sent to help defend Russia's capital . During the battle, Kovshova proved to be an expert sniper, killing many German soldiers. She also dug numerous anti-tank emplacements, machine gun nests, and infantry trenches during the defense. Natalya also trained new soldiers in how to use their rifles, teaching her best students to become snipers . For her actions at Moscow, Kovshova was awarded the Order of the Red Star. On 14 August 1942, Kovshova's regiment was committed to the fighting near the village of Sutoki-Byakovo in the Novgorod Oblast. The German forces killed all of her regiment, leaving only Kovshova and Polivanova who were both wounded. Seeing capture as a non-option Kovshova decided to pull the pin of her grenade, and wait to blow the German soldiers up when they reached the trench. When the Germans finally reached the trench, Kovshova detonated the grenades, killing herself, Polivanova and many German soldiers. She was posthumously awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union shortly after, in recognition of her sacrifice.