—— An Arduous Battle ——77paper from grenades rustled underfoot and soldiers were keenly
checking their personal weapons.
The company commander, Lieutenant Butorin, whom I notified
of my return, hastily gave the order: ‘Hurry to your platoon. Orders
have come down – we attack in one hour.’
‘As long as I’ve got time for a bite before the battle,’ was all
I could think about, not doubting at all that my platoon was
definitely battleready and thirsting to get into the forthcoming
operation. And indeed the section commanders were distributing
the remaining grenades, checking every soldier’s weapons and
equipment once again.
The Red Army troops were gathering up their humble
belongings and putting them away in kit bags which they slung on
their backs for convenience, writing quick letters to kith and kin
- brief, hurried, and, possibly, the last letters of their lives. I also
managed to pen a bit of a note back home.
Letter from the front to a mother in Tambov:
Dear Mum,
It’s still all quiet and peaceful here – as always. Today
we’re about to move to another area. That should be a
lot better than here. So I don’t have time to write now,
but, as soon as we move, I’ll write straight away. I can
also tell you that I’ve been presented with an award – an
engraved watch from the army commander.
Regards to all, keep well and don’t pine if there are
long gaps between letters. With the move and a new
postal service anything can happen.
Love and kisses once again.
Ye v g e n i
The unit commanders were already reporting on the readiness
of their personnel for battle. They had been ordered to check
that troops did not hang round the trenches for no reason, nor
excessively attract enemy attention, but rather relaxed in the
dugouts.