—— Our Zhenya ——145‘Russky zoldat! Rezcue zhour offitser!’ shouted the Nazis,
well aware that it was the law of the Red Army not to abandon a
comrade in distress. Two scouts had already paid with their lives
for attempting to get through to their commander. We looked at
one another: what was to be done? There was no way out. The only
hope was nightfall and that was almost a whole day away.
‘Everybody to their posts and maintain observation! The Nazis
must not be allowed near Pilipchuk, or to raise their heads!’ The
battalion commander, Major Morozov made a decision. ‘They
won’t drop mortars on their own trenches! As long as he can
survive till nightfall.’
And suddenly, amidst the silence that had ensured, a girl’s
voice rang out: ‘Comrades, are we going to let the lieutenant die,
or what? Some heroes! To hell with you!’ A figure in a grey military
overcoat had risen up, leapt out of the trench, jumped up onto
the parapet and, casting off her forage cap, headed towards the
German trenches.
The Germans were taken aback. Disdaining death, a girl was
walking at full height to rescue her commander.
‘Oh! Good woman! Come to us as prisoner!’ the Nazis shouted
in bad Russian, ceasing their machinegun fire.
Now we could hear Zhenya spraying the Nazis with the foulest
language and see her purposefully continuing to get nearer to the
lieutenant. She went right up to him, bent down, grasped him with
her arms and lifted him onto her back. And just as calmly, as if
nothing was the matter, she carried him towards our trenches.
Except that she was stooping ever lower under a load that was
beyond her strength to bear.
‘Any minute now! Any minute now the Nazis will kill her!’
We froze in expectation of an unavoidable shot. But the Germans
had somehow frozen at the sight of her audacity. They could not
understand what had only just happened before their eyes. They
had not expected such coolheaded courage from a Russian girl.
And Zhenya, barely able to put one foot in front of the other, was
already almost at our trenches.