Samsonova joined the Red Army in October 1942 after completing medical school and leaving her construction job. She was assigned to the 667th Infantry Regiment as part of the medical service. In her career she fought on the Stalingrad and Voronezh Fronts and in the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk. She was well-known among her peers for her bravery after the advance to the Bukrin bridgehead in the Battle of the Dnieper, on 24 September 1943, in which she was one of the first to cross and maintain a bridgehead. In that battle she part of the first landing group, and during the seizure she killed three German soldiers. Between 26–27 September, under heavy enemy fire she evacuated over 30 wounded soldiers to the left bank. In a firefight on September 27 during the night she joined the rest of the troops in a counterattack on German forces, operating an automatic rifle and hand grenades in the battle.