—— Shoot the Firefighters! ——39it provided a superb view of the enemy defences. There was no
particular need for camouflage; the snowdrifts did it for me better
than anyone could.
It was quiet and peaceful all around. I lay patiently in the snow,
staring attentively into the darkness. From time to time flares
soared up with a hiss from the enemy’s side and observers on both
sides casually let off bursts of machinegun fire. Now and again
a machinegun bullet whistled through the nocturnal gloom. It
was the usual frontline scene. My ear picked up the slightest stir –
every sound coming from enemy territory.
I whiled away the time, mentally calculating my comrades’
supposed route down to the minute. But all the deadlines passed
and nothing could be heard ‘from over there’. On the one hand it
seemed that everything was happening ‘as rehearsed’; however, a
silence like that puts you on your guard. What if they’ve got lost
and I need to wait for them somewhere else? Or maybe they are
lying there waiting for a convenient moment to make a quick dash
through the enemy front line, and would turn up where we agreed?
Or perhaps something’s happened?
In the meantime, it had begun to get light, everything around
was turning grey, and the silence had become wearisome. The
outlines of the Nazi front line were showing up more distinctly.
The second line of the Nazi trenches was becoming visible; one
could see the smoke from the stoves in their dugouts, while our
own scouts were showing no signs of life...
I was already becoming seriously concerned when, suddenly,
I heard far away some feverish grenade explosions, and then some
hurried bursts of machinegun fire echoing right in the area where,
according to my calculations, they ought to be. What’s that? Seems
they really have got lost! How could that happen? The lads in the
group were all experienced, wellseasoned, had an excellent sense
of direction in the dark, and were very familiar with the enemy
defences. And the officer in command of them was no novice,
I reassured myself, but it was all the more incomprehensible what
was happening ‘over there’.