—— Day-to-Day Life on the Front Line ——47We got to the front line and, indeed, on top of a German
dugout stood a plywood sign on narrow poles thrust into the snow.
Inscribed on it with charcoal in big letters was:
‘Greetings, citizens! Come over to our side!’ in ungrammatical
Russian.
‘Well, SergeantMajor,’ I told Dudin, ‘fill your magazine and
fire. You take the righthand side and I’ll take the left.’
After six of my shots the screen was leaning to the left; the pole
had been broken. Vlad’s, righthand pole was still holding. I had
managed to get one shot at it, but Dudin’s last bullet did its job –
the plywood sign fell facedown on our side.
‘That’s better! But what were the bastards thinking of? Showing
something like that to NKVD troops! And in gratitude to you for
your vigilance, Kozyrev, I’ll let you into a secret; they want to take
you on as a driver again. True, it’s just in an ambulance for the
time being.’
And in fact Vladimir Kozyrev was soon taken into our medical
battalion. We, his friends, were pleased for him; he loved driving
and he was excellent at it. And he was a fearless fellow. The number
of wounded Vlad had taken to Leningrad! The number of lives he
had saved! He drove competently in any weather, dodging artillery
fire and bombing attacks. Kozyrev died in Tambov in 1973 while
working for the city ambulance service. He had been desperately ill.
‘Listen, Vlad,’ I said to Dudin,’ I’ve found a good place to sit
tomorrow. You know the wrecked tram in no man’s land? I’ve been
pottering around there, getting my firing position ready. Today it’ll
be finished. It’s convenient – just a handshake from the Germans,
and everything’s visible like, as clear as day. I won’t cop a single
bullet. I’ve set myself up almost under the tram.’
‘Mind you don’t slip up,’ replied Dudin. ‘It’s also a good marker
for the Germans.’
‘I’ve thought about that, but I’m not planning to sit there more
than a couple of days – I’ll change my position.’
‘Well, good luck,’ said Vlad, ladling out the hot soup we had
made from the freshly frozen cabbage. I had been sent one day as