—— From the Soviet Information Bureau... ——173thoughts about the enemy – the 1st Battalion was interested in
your sector in particular. They’re waiting for reports.’
The troops stood tensely at their posts; observers tracked the
enemy defences more closely than before. They listened to what was
happening now beyond the railway embankment, which ran along
no man’s land, dividing the gully between our trenches in two.
Apparently the Nazis were gathering there for a decisive assault;
curt, barking commands resounded and the noise of engines and
clang of weapons could be heard.
All became clear the following day, 22 July 1942. It was here, in
our battalion’s sector, that the Nazis decided to break through to
Leningrad whatever the cost. At exactly 1000 hours their air force
thoroughly bombed our entire defences and then their artillery
and mortar bombers ‘worked over’ the front line for around thirty
minutes. The din was unbelievable and for some time everything
around went dark. Earth flew up in the air. In a few minutes what
had been a flat, green and peaceful gully was transformed beyond
recognition – everything around was smoking, with a revolting
stench of sulphur.
Standing in the close confines of a rifleman’s lair with my
sniper’s weapon in my hands, I distinctly heard the earth in the
trenches cave in from the explosion of shells. During the first
minutes of artillery fire our trenches were damaged in many places
and some of our dugouts were destroyed.
It was a tough day for the troops, who were stationed 10–15
metres from one another. Some were killed or wounded. Our already
diminished ranks thinned noticeably after this bombardment – in
my company there were only twentythree men, including officers,
to defend a 500metre line...
Those who remained alive hurriedly prepared to repel the
enemy attack, which was to be expected any minute. The troops
dug their comrades out, and recovered weapons and ammunition.
Where possible they fixed them up and repaired the wrecked firing
positions, dugouts and the collapsed trenches. Medical orderlies
offered first aid to the wounded and then dealt with the dead.