—— Red Army Sniper ——28that visibility was completely lost. Even only some fifty metres
away from us nothing could be seen. It began to grow dark; the
weather had completely packed up.
After lying there for about another halfhour we decided to
go back. Disappointed, Ivan trudged behind me along the trench,
hanging his head. I tried to cheer him up, predicting a better
‘hunting trophy’ for the following day. But within ten minutes we
were already sitting in our dugout.
Thus, thanks to Lieutenant Butorin, a sniper force was born
within our 21st Division. The exterminators of the Nazi plague
had begun their sacred war. Late in the evening, when all the
snipers had returned from their observation points, the results
of the day were analysed. ‘The first step is the hardest!’ said the
lieutenant:
The result of our exam is twentysix Nazis wiped out.
Not bad! But don’t forget, comrades, the field of battle
is not a shooting range! A sniper has to have a bold
heart and strong nerves. He must always be calm, cool
and composed, patient and hardy. Whoever is keener
of eye, firmer of hand and stronger in stamina emerges
as the victor. The Soviet sniper knows what he’s facing
and defeats the enemy through his bravery, quick wits
and rapid reactions. I’m telling you this for the last
time. Tomorrow you’ll be operating independently and
there’ll be nobody to teach you. But now it’s time for
sleep. May you all sleep through till morning!
After bidding us goodbye, the lieutenant left the dugout. But we
tossed and turned for a long time, and could not drop off owing
to the impact of what we had experienced. Then one of the lads
suggested:
‘Listen, tomorrow we should see who can score the most. Like
a competition. What d’ye think?’
Within half an hour we were all sound asleep. I was the only
one who couldn’t sleep, for some reason. Perched on the edge