In 1941, Mariya Bayda joined the Red Army and was assigned as a nurse in the 3rd Battalion of 514th Rifle Regiment, 172nd Rifle Division of the Red Army of the North Caucasian front; she held the rank of senior sergeant and was deployed to the front lines that same year.
On June 7, 1942, the Germans advanced to yet another attack on Sevastopol, Crimea. Maria, together with her scout company, took part in repelling the attack. Ammo was in short supply, but this did not bother her: when there was nothing to shoot, Masha climbed out of the trench, took some rifles from the dead Nazis and came back. When Baida once again set off to such a journey, a grenade exploded nearby: the girl has been injured in the head and right arm, was concussed, and lost consciousness. She woke up in the evening, when it was already dark. The Germans by that time managed to break through the defense in several areas, the remnants of her company (nine people, mostly wounded) were taken prisoners. The Nazis were just checking the documents of the Russian soldiers. Masha made her decision without hesitation, with lightning speed: realizing that all the Nazis were standing together, in the same place, she picked a submachine gun up from the ground, quickly took aim and opened fire.
Most Germans were taken by surprise: ten Nazis were killed on the spot. The wounded Russian soldiers immediately attacked the Nazis and entered into melee with them. As soon as she ran out of ammo, Masha, grabbing the weapon with both hands, like a club, fell upon the enemies with bestial fury. The Red Army soldiers, testifying to her feat, later told: before their eyes, the girl broke the skull of a German officer with a few blows of the stock, then switched to the next Nazi, and the next… Do not forget that Masha Bayda was seriously injured and concussed, but this did not stop her. It was all over in the blink of an eye. The soldiers counted the corpses of the dead and were stunned: Maria sent 15 German soldiers and one officer to the better world, four of them scored to death in hand-to-hand combat with the stock of her rifle. And at the time of the feat, Masha was only 20 years old, and she was a girl, although physically developed, but still absolutely nothing comparable to Schwarzenegger’s physique.
For her actions that day she was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 20 June 1942.
On 12 July 1942, after being severely wounded in battle, Bayda was taken prisoner and sent to Slavuta concentration camp in Ukraine and later Ravensbruck after she was held in Simferopol. She was released from captivity by the American forces on 8 May 1945.