455. Day-to-Day Life on the Front Line
When subunits were replaced on the sector where we were located,
one or two snipers who had made themselves thoroughly familiar
with the enemy defences were left behind as ‘overtimers’. Their job
was to help the fresh subunit to adjust to the new location and
come to terms with the environment. But, as a rule, we stayed on as
part of this new company or battalion until the next shift arrived.
And this was all repeated with the following shift. The troops went
on leave, but the snipers continued working without a day off.
The constant bombing raids, the continuous artillery fire,
the pursuit of enemy snipers, the possibility that any second you
could become a target yourself for an equally experienced German
marksman, or perish from a stray bullet or an enemy shell or
mortar fragment – all this made for constant tension.
However, none of us whined or complained because we
realised that this was what the cause demanded. What is more, we
remained on this sector – voluntarily and quite consciously – and
continued to strike at the Nazis, sometimes forgetting which sub
unit we were attached to.