6. Dezember 1943
| GEO INFO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frunse[1] | 
| |||
Over the last few days, I’ve been constantly on the move to get to know my men and gain an overview of the position. There are two villages close together here. The larger one, where we are located, is Mikhailovka. The smaller one[2] adjoins in the north-east as a row village. The front runs along the northern and north-eastern edge of both villages and then, running diagonally backwards in a westerly direction away from the village, loses itself in the endless, snow-covered plain. On the eastern side, too, the front gradually bends diagonally backwards. The two villages we hold are therefore at the very tip of a wedge that juts out into the Russian front. Captain Gust is in the right place here. He is an iron soldier who does not give up ground so easily. Because of their vulnerable position, the two villages form the point of main effort of our battalion front. That’s why the bulk of my heavy weapons is concentrated here. The positions of my heavy machine guns are located on the north-eastern edge of the village, and the houses there are also the quarters for the operators.
When I visit the positions there, I meet the leader of the rifle company deployed here. He is Lieutenant von Arnim. While we are still chatting, suddenly shells explode around the house. A fire attack. Window panes clatter and shatter, and the smoke from the crashed grenades drifts in thin clouds through the smashed window. A soldier cries out. He squeals like a pig. We turn to him. He has a harmless scratch on his ear. His face is still pale. The shock was greater than the pain. After the attack, I say goodbye to Lieutenant Arnim, saying that it’s too uncomfortable at his place.[3] As I leave, I realise that the terrain here is quite easy to see. Maybe Ivan saw me coming and peppered a few rounds over here. So I try to get out of here as unseen as possible, cross a small hollow and reach Frunse, where another of my heavy machine guns is still in position. The firing position is in a stable. Some of the crew are drivers because we don’t have enough men left. But they faithfully do their unaccustomed duty and are surprisingly cheerful and in good spirits.
Today I inspected my mortar positions. The mortar teams have it better than the machine gun operators. Their positions are in the centre of the village and they can move around unhindered during the day, unseen by the enemy. They are less at risk from direct fire. When alarmed, they jump out of the houses into the round holes in the firing positions dug in the gardens behind the houses.
The only member of the company I don’t like at all is the leader of the mortar platoon. Within the first few minutes of our meeting, I realise that I am dealing with an unreliable and unbearably stubborn man. I soon hear from his comrades that he has got hold of the post of mortar platoon leader, which is the most pleasant one at the moment, through ruthless intrigues. During a dispute about some of the firing positions he has chosen, it becomes clear that he was more focussed on retreat options than the most effective use of fire.
Today the Ivan is firing into the village heavier than usual. We receive a report that the Bolsheviks are attacking the open field positions on the western flank of our village. Their intention is unmistakable: they want to cut off the tip of our front wedge - our two villages. But the endeavour was not going well for them. A counter-attack led by a young lieutenant threw them back with vigour.
The messenger of the 4th platoon (mortar) comes to me. They’ve been looking for their platoon leader for hours. I set off myself and search house after house. I finally find him in one of the infantry gun platoon’s quarters, sitting comfortably among the infantry gun men. He had left his observation position because it was under too much fire. It was a detached house that he had chosen himself as his platoon command post at the time. My patience is now at an end, but at the moment I have no means of disciplining him. I have seen many a coward in war, but this sergeant is the most shameless shirker I have ever met. Especially despicable because with casual audacity he didn’t even try to hide it. Characterless and unfit to be a subordinate commander. The only consequence would be demotion. But unfeasible with our alarming shortage of manpower.
I don’t mean that anyone who backs down once should be demoted straight away. We front-line warriors in particular know how much bravery it takes to persevere in battle and that you have to overcome your “weaker self” every time, i.e. the instinct for self-preservation, fear and the desire to get to safety and let the others carry on alone. Even the bravest person has a weak moment and gets scared, quite ordinarily scared. He loses his nerve and panics. Nobody should be condemned for a one-off failure.
We therefore have all the more respect for those brave and decent soldiers who do not consider their own lives more precious than those of their comrades and who risk their lives to protect those of others. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” These are words of the LORD. Truly, there are higher values than our petty lives.
|
Editorial 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Epilog Anhang |
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December Eine Art Bilanz Gedankensplitter und Betrachtungen Personen Orte Abkürzungen Stichwort-Index Organigramme Literatur Galerie:Fotos,Karten,Dokumente |
|
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. Erfahrungen i.d.Gefangenschaft Bemerkungen z.russ.Mentalität Träume i.d.Gefangenschaft Personen-Index Namen,Anschriften Personal I.R.477 1940–44 Übersichtskarte (Orte,Wege) Orts-Index Vormarsch-Weg Codenamen der Operationen im Sommer 1942 Mil.Rangordnung 257.Inf.Div. MG-Komp.eines Inf.Batl. Kgf.-Lagerorganisation Kriegstagebücher Allgemeines Zu einzelnen Zeitabschnitten Linkliste Rotkreuzkarte Originalmanuskript Briefe von Kompanie-Angehörigen |