SỐ PHẬN TÙ BINH ĐỨC TẠI STALINGRAD

7/28/2019 S PHN T BINH C TI STALINGRAD

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S PHN T BINH C TI STALINGRAD

Ngy 22 thng Su 1941, nhm t chc mt h thng kim sot t binh chin tranh, cquan NKVD Lin X thit lp 8 khu tri c sc cha 40-45 ngn ngi, trong cha sn 27.435 t binh Ba Lan.

Ngay sau khi qun c xm lc Lin X, NKVD n lc t chc 30 im tp trung tbinh. Ti 22 thng By c 19 tri c lp xong. Tuy nhin, tnh hnh ngoi mt trn pht trin khc hn nhng kch bn c chun b t trc chin tranh. Qun i Xvit,chng tr dng cm kin cng, va rt lui va chin u, chu ng nhng tn thtkhng khip v ngi v v kh cng trang thit b. Binh lnh ch b bt lm t binhkhng nhiu v nhu cu cn c nhng tri t khng cn. Ti thng Tm 1941, ch c batri sau: Grayzovetzky, Suzdal v Starobelsk, vi sc cha thit k l 8-9 ngn ngi.

Cho ti khi trn Stalingrad din ra, t binh b bt rt t, cho ti 19 thng Mi Mt nm 1942trong cc tri ch c 19.787 t binh. Nhng sau Stalingrad, tt c t ngt thay i. Kt quca cuc phn cng thng li ca qun i Xvit v s tiu dit ci ti trong khu vcStalingrad l 151.246 t binh, trong ch thnh ph Stalingrad cha ti trn 90 ngnt binh. Trong thnh ph b chin tranh tiu hy ny khng ch khng ni cho h mc khng nhin liu si, qun o m v phng tin vn chuyn. V s ngi b gicng v kit sc. (Theo ti tnh cnh ca h chc gn ging cnh t binh trong hi c caNikolai Obrynba LTD). Trong tnh hnh y cuc vn chuyn c t chc km, thiuhiu qu, va i v lnh, phi i b nhng qung ng di ti 200-300 kilmt trongsut 7-10 ngy v thm ch di hn, thiu thn thuc men, t l bnh tt v t vong tngnhanh trong s cc t binh.

Ngy 25 thng Mi Mt 1942, NKVD Lin X, sau khi nhn c thng tin v lng t binhkhng l, b tr cho Ch huy iu hnh GULAG, i y Usievich trong vng 2 ngy chunb mi lng thc trang b v chuyn chng ti vng Stalingrad.

K t thng Mi Mt 1942, trong vng Stalingrad ngi ta khn trng thit lp cctrm tip nhn t binh. Nhng phng giam ny khng cht lng phc v mc chtrn. T binh Rumani v t binh c b nht chung vi nhau. Trong nhiu tri c lnhcho i x vi t binh Rumani tt hn hn vi t binh c. T binh Rumani c t thitlp bp n v trong cc nh kho. Cc i lao ng t nhn cng u tin tuyn chn trong

cc t binh Rumani. Do h c nhn nhiu thc phm v c cp iu kin sinh hottt hn. V iu ny xy ra tnh trng th ch gia t binh Rumani v t binh c.ng thi, cc s quan v h s quan u b nht chung vi nhau.

Ngy 2 thng Ging 1943, B trng Quc phng, i tng Khrulev k mnh lnh s001, trong cng b tnh hnh nghim trng trong cng tc vn chuyn t binh t mttrn v xut cch thc ci thin tnh hnh ny. Sau , ngy 12 thng Ging Mnh lnhS 0049 ca NKVD Lin X c ban hnh theo cc c phi vin c gi ti ccPhng din qun Ty Nam, Nam v n t chc nhng im tip nhn t binh v vnchuyn h, t chc vic cung cp thc phm v thuc men, t chc cng tc iu phi vic

vn chuyn ti cc im tp trung t binh.

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tip nhn v thu gom t binh t cc mt trn, NKVD ngy 20 thng GIng ra lnh tchc cc tri t trong khu vc Stalingrad.

Di Mnh lnh S 00345 ca NKVD, t 18 thng Hai 1943, di s iu phi ca lclung NKVD hu phng, ngi ta t chc vic vn chuyn cc t binh. ng thi cng

t chc cc im tp trung t binh, t chc cng tc duy tr lin lc vi s ch huy ccphng din qun v tp on qun, t chc iu hnh v phn phi t binh ti cc tri.

N lc chuyn t binh t Stalingrad i bt u trong thng Ging 1943. Tuy nhin do hthng ng st b h hi, do thiu toa tu v u my hi nc (tt c b huy ng chocuc tin cng Rostov) cn tr vic thc hin. c nhiu trng hp t binh c bcht ln toa xe v ng ch trn sn ga trong sut mt tun ch cho u my xe la ti.Khi u tu ti ni th tt c s t binh ny u cht.

Lo lng v t l t vong cao ca t binh, ngy 1 thng Ba Beria k Mnh lnh S 00396V vic vn chuyn t binh t cc tri v im tp kt dc mt trn, trong vic vnchuyn v su trong ni a ca 78.500 t binh t Stalingrad c tnh ton vi nhp mt chuyn tu c bit (2.500 ngi) mt ngy. Tuy nhin mnh lnh ny chm mthn mt thng. Ti thi im ny rt nhiu t binh cht, s cn li trong tnh trng rtkhn qun. Tuy mnh lnh trn c thc hin vi n lc cao, ch cn 27.295 t binhc chuyn i. Trong khu vc ca Phng din qun Nam v Ty Nam cn t hn trongs 32.063 ngi ch cn 6732 ngi.

Tuy nhin iu kin trn cc chuyn tu c bit ny kh ti t, ti tri t binh PokrovskyS 127 (thuc tnh Saratov) t 4 thng Ba ti 13 thng Ba tip nhn ba chuyn tu cbit t Stalingrad cha tng cng 8007 ngi, trong c 1526 ngi cht trn ng vnchuyn. Sau tnh trng t vong vn tip din v thiu n (4326 ngi), b gi cng (162ngi), tiu chy (54 ngi), do vt thng (23 ngi), v cc l do khc (98 ngi). Tingy 1 thng Nm, s cn sng ch cn l 1818! M ta thy , tri ny nm ngay gnStalingrad.

Khu tri ln nht c t chc ti Beketovka (tri t Beketovka S 108). Trc kia niy l mt trng hc vi cc dy nh gch. Trng b ph hu mt phn, khng cnca s v mi. T binh ng trn sn nh, di ci lnh m 20o C. Sau cc t binh xy

dng mt tri mi v chuyn tt c ti . Tri c canh gc cu th (do thng Tm1943 tri trng tri ny b cch chc). Rt nhiu t binh trn thot t tri ny.

Thng tin v cc v o thot ch c ghi li k t thng Nm 1943. Trc chngkhng h c lu li.

Cc v nm 1943 - 50 ngi (ch bt li c 42)Cc v nm 1944 - 10 (bt li 0)Cc v nm 1945 - 6 (bt li 0)

Rt nhiu ngi khi b bt lm t binh ang b thng, b gi cng v ch c s cp cu.

S7 cp cu cho t binh c cc bc s c v cc nhn vin y t b bt lm t binh thchin. Ch huy tri cung cp cho h thuc men, nhng vi s lng rt gii hn, do s ln

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thuc vn cn ang trn ng vn chuyn. (iu ny d hiu, ngay vic phn phi choHng qun cng rt kh khn LTD). Do c rt nhiu t binh thit mng.

Theo cc s liu chnh thc t thng Hai ti 15 thng T nm 1943, ti tri Beketovka S108 c 24.346 ngi cht. Cc s liu v thi gian trc nm 1943 u khng thy c, do

gi y tht kh c th xc nh c bao nhiu t binh cht trong nm 1943, nhng tac th xc nh rng t l t vong l rt cao.

S liu v t l t vong ti tri Beketovka:

1944 - 738 ngi1945 - 788 ngi1946 - 59 ngi1947 - 42 ngi1948 - 4 ngi1949 - 5 ngi

Thng Ba nm 1943 bt u vi vic phn phi t binh v nhiu tri khc nhau ri khpt nc. Cc s quan b a v cc tri di y:

1) Tri Oransky S 74 (tnh Gorky) - tri cho s quan c2) Tri Elabuga S 97 (Nc Cng ha Tatar ASSR) - tri cho s quan c3) Tri Suzdal S 160 (tnh Vladimir) - tri cho s quan Rumani4) Tri Krasnogorsk S 27 - Tri cho s quan cao cp (tng t c, trong c Thng chPaulus) (Xin ni thm, Thng ch Paulus v sau gia nhp ng Cng sn v ging dyv l lun chin tranh ti Maskva, c th v l do chnh tr. V cui i ng mi c tr vqu hng. LTD)

Cc h s quan v lnh thng c chuyn ti cc tri sau:

1) Astrakhan S 602) Kapustin Yar S 893) Frolov S 504) Khrenovsky S 815) Novorhopersky S 626) Beketovka S 1087) Urupinsk S 123

9) Bereznayki S 241 (tnh Molotov)10) Spasozavodsky S 99 (Karaganda)11) Raybovsky S 75 (Udmurtiyas)12) Pokrovsky S 125 (tnh Saratov)13) Tyumen S 93 (tnh Omsk)14) Farhkatsky S 86 (Cng ha Uzbek ASSR)

Trong cc tri t binh, t nhn c a i lao ng trong lnh vc cng nghip vxy dng. Nhiu ngi tham gia vic ti kin thit nn kinh t Lin X b chin tranhph hu.

C khong 10.000 t binh c (thuc tri Bekotovka S 108) tham gia ti thitthnh ph Stalingrad cho ti nm 1950. Khu trung tm Stalingrad, nh ga "Stalingrad I"l do ngi c xy dng.

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Sau khi chin tranh kt thc, Chnh ph Lin X bt u tin hnh cho php tbinh c hi hng. Nhm h s quan v binh lnh u tin c hi hng l ngy 15thng Su 1945. l nhm ngi b thng tt, b bnh hay suy dinh dng nng. Banu h c chuyn t tri c ti Tri t trung chuyn S 68 vng Frankfurt bn sngOder. Ri t h c th v nh. Trong lin tip nhng nm tip theo cc nhm t binhkhc cng c php hi hng.

Nm 1947 - ch cc t binh b bnh.Nm 1948 - ch cc t binh b bnh.

Ngy 19 thng Hai 1949 ngi ta ban hnh Lnh S 751 v vic cho php hi hng ttc cc binh lnh m khng cn ngoi l. Ch duy nhng t binh phm ti c chin tranh bgi li xt x trc Chnh ph Xvit.

Nm 1949 l t hi hng vi s lng ng o nht. Gn 80 % t binh c l cu qunnhn thuc Tp on qun s 6 (tham chin ti Stalingrad LTD) c th trong nm1949.

Ngy 5 thng Ba 1950, Chnh ph Xvit tuyn b kt thc vic hi hng. Nhng trongcc tri t vn cn rt nhiu ngi c. Trong phn ln l nhng qun nhn c b ktti c chin tranh hay cc ti nng khc.

Cu t lnh Tp on qun 6 c Friedrich Paulus cng c hi hng nm 1950.V ri Mnh lnh s 00201 ca MVD (tin thn l NKVD LTD) c ban hnh theo vic tha v cc vin tng "Stalingrad". Nhng tng sau b kt n:

1) Alexander Edler von Daniels - cu S trng S on B binh 376

2) Max Pfeffer - cu L on trng L on b binh IV

3) Arthur Schmidt- cu Tham mu trng Tp on qun s 6

4) Karl Strecker - cu l on trng l on b binh XI

5) Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach- cu L on trng L on b binh LI

6) Erik Magnus - cu S trng S on b binh 389

7) Otto Rinoldi- cu t lnh qun y Tp on qun s 6

8) Ulrich Vassoll- cu t lnh pho binh Tp on qun 6

Nm 1953, sau khi Stalin cht, Chnh ph Lin X tuyn b tr t do cho tt c t binhc. Cho ti cui nm 1955, vic hi hng t binh trong thc t hon ton kt thc.Ngi cui cng c th v nh l cu L on trng L on b binh LI, Walther vonSeydlitz-Kurzbach. ng ta c th v thng Ging, 1956.

Khu phn hng ngy ca t binh chin tranh (gram)

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Loi thc phm Khu phn binh nht v hs quan

Khu phn s quan

Bnh m 400 600Bt la mch (pha tp cht) 70 80

M ng 10 20Tht 30 50C 50 50B 10 10

ng 10 20Tr - 0,1

Mui 10 12Khoai ty 300 360

Ci bp 100 150C rt 30 30Hnh 10 10

X phng (mt thng) 200 200

X g - 15 iuThuc l (gram) 10 -

Dim (mt thng) 3 hp 3 hp

CHIN LI PHM STALINGRAD

Gm tt c chin li phm c cc n v Hng qun chim c trong t phn cng tiStalingrad t 19 thng Mi Mt 1942 cho ti 2 thng Hai1943. S liu ly t h s lu capha Xvit.

Bt lm t binh:1 Thng ch (Paulus)24 tng91.000 binh lnh v s quan

Trang thit b:156.897 sng trng10.000 - tiu lin

12.000 sng my5.762 pho cc c3.000 - ci1666 xe tng744 my bay261 xe bc thp10.000 m t3 on tu bc thp80.438 xe ti240 my ko571- xe bnh xch

58 - u tu hi nc1.403 toa tu13.787 xe nga

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696 - trm thu pht v tuyn933 - in thoi337 kho qun trang

Ngun:

http://www.stalingrad.by.ru/arms.html

'General' Winter

Both in Soviet and Western sources I've read many times that the main case of the German defeat in1941 (at Moscow) was because of to terrible Russian winter, like a 'General' Winter, who could defeat thebrilliant German generals and the mysterous Russians who could fight successfully in the suchconditions. Of course, they told us, weak and disposable Red Army could not stop mighty German troops,but that terrible 'General' Winter happened suddenly and caused defeat for the European conquerors.However, in favour of truth lets agree that these puny attempts undertaken only to hold prestige of the

beaten German 'warriors'. Many of those 'writers' thought that the Soviet Army was disposable, indeed.Well, lets agree with their opinion and try to listen what our forefathers says:"It is little honour for a strong army in a victory over a weak enemy, but it's a great glory when weak armydefeat it's mighty enemy" - said Jelal-ed-Din.Yes, we should not forget who won the war. So, what happened? Why the best European army has beendefeated?

This is well known fact, that the Germanarmy was absolutely unprepared forRussian conditions. Why? May be theGerman Generals simply didn't knowabout Russian conditions? Many peoplethink there were poor weather

conditions. No. There were poorGerman generals who didn't preparetheir armies for the realistic war. Thereare many remarks in memoirs of theGerman officers who learned theNapoleonic campaign in Russia andmajor the reasons of inglorious defeat ofso called "Invincible" Army. As all youknow, one of the main reason wasextremely poor supply of the FrenchArmy during a frosty winter and the vast

Russian territories with small and bad roads. Napoleon could take Moscow, but so what? Where are hisbenefits? He naively thought the Moscow is a key of Russia. He was mistaken and history proved it.

Well, in the middle of the 20'th century another individual made the same mistake: he also naively thoughtthat Russia may be conquered by simple capture the Moscow. And another big mistake wasunderestimation his enemy. I think that 130 years have be quite enough to understand why Napoleonfailed, but the Germans did the same mistake. The German winter catastrophe adversely affected on awhole German campaign in the East.

German generals thought that their enemies are stupid and disposable. So, those generals made anotherserious mistake - they underestimated their enemy. As a result - Germany has been defeated. Thatinfamous Winter wasn't a Russian General. It disturbed the Russians as well as the Germans. Snowwasn't falling on the German side only, avoiding the Russian trenches, and Soviet troops had to deal withthe same difficulties during mud periods. Russian soldiers also froze to death, Russian vehicles hadtrouble starting too, and some other equipment also didn't function. And what about encircled Leningrad?Several million peoples died due to starvation but nobody surrended. Read memoirs of participants and

citizens of the blockaded Leningrad, read children memoirs. Here you are dairy of eight-year girl:

"26 November. Uncle Vanya didn't come back. Mother said he died.14 December. Today my grandmother Lena died."

German panzers stuck in Russian mud. Autumn 1941.

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And the last record in her short dairy:"30 December. Today morning my mother did not wakeup. She died today night."

That girl was still alive when she was discovered alone with the corpse of her mother. Her organizm hasbeen heavily damaged by long emaciation and she died too... It is terrible to read such a memoirs.Anyway, nobody surrended.

The infamous Soviet action during the Wither War has been discussed and analyzed by Soviet Generals(Stalin's speech devoted to lamentable results of Winter War proves my words). And some necessarychanges in Red Army have been undertaken. As a result - two successful offensive operations (at Moscowand Stalingrad) of the Red Army and two inglorious defeats for the German Army.

We may still hold the German Army as the best army, we may still treat the Red Army as disposable andweak, but we should not forget who won the war and who was defeated. When anybody says "GermanArmy was the best army, German generals were the best generals" I may say only that "there is a littleglory when a mighty army is victorious over a weak army, but it's a GREAT glory when a weak armydefeat a strong enemy". Isn't it?

TR GIP QUN S CHO LIN X

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Inside the blockaded Leningrad. Winter1941.


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Ngy 11 thng Ba 1941 Quc hi nc M thng qua o lut Lend-Lease, theo cho phpChnh ph M cho cc quc gia khc vay hoc thu cc loi hng ho v thit b khc nhau cnthit cho vic phng th ca h, m theo c lin quan ti an ninh nc M.

Vin tr qun s cho Lin X bt u t thng Mi Mt nm 1941, nhng ngay t trc thiim ny din ra nhng hot ng trao i vng ly trang thit b v v kh t M, Anh v

thm ch t nc c pht xt. Ngy 28 thng Su 1941, sau cuc m phn vng u vi Phion Qun s v Kinh t Anh, Lin X nu ngh vi h v vic cung cp v kh. Trong c c ngh mua cc my bay ca M nh mt phn ca Hip c Lend-Lease. Theo Hip cThus law on Lend-Lease was distributed "informally" on the USSR even before decision of USGovernment.

The first tank models that were achieve USSR were BritishMk II "Matilda II", Mk III and Mk IV "Valentine". Theyarrived just before the Russian winter counter-offensive near

Moscow. The Red Army was highly luck in tanks, so thismilitary aid was opportunely. Mostly good for Russians was"Matilda II". It was nearly undefeated for any German tanksand AT-guns, but still was good with their 2-pound gun(about 42 mm).

Later, the Mk III "Churchill" has been accepted to the Red Army service. This tank hasn't madethe quite impression on tankers because archaic design and weak armament (its "classmate" KV-1 had much better armament) and its good protection was brought to nothing by a poormaneuverability and slow speed, but most exotic "foreigner" in the Red Army was British lighttankMk VII "Tetrarch". Only 20 tanks were lended to the Soviet Union while only 177 were

build. This tank weren't use in real battles but only for a green crew training.

During the winter 1941-42 the deliveries from USA has begun. For the first time this tanks tookpart in battles in the spring 1942. Unfortunately although on excellent conditions for the crewand quite enough firepower this tank wasn't match to the Eastern Front conditions. On responsesof Russian tankers it was rather mediocre SP-gun then good tank. Nevertheless one thousand

three hundred M3A3 and A5 tanks was lended to the USSR.

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The more pleasant impression was left with M4 "GeneralSherman", which deliveries have begun in the end 1943.In USSR used only diesel variant M4A2 in severalmodifications. These machines have passed whole secondhalf of war and have finished war in Europe. Some of

them were used even in Berlin operation. The second,most mass machine of the American production, theM3A1 "General Stuart" light tank, did not matched for theEast Front conditions and was quickly removed.

The Red Army received 2007 M4A2s(Sherman) with 75 mm gun and 2095M4A2 Shermans with 76 mm gun.There were attempts to rearm them with

Russian F-34 76.2 mm gun, resulting inso called M4M, but sense there was noshortage of 75 mm ammo only smallnumbers were so modified. SeveralSoviet tankers in Shermans won theHero of Soviet Union. V.A. Galkin ofthe 7th Guard Cavalry Corp's 31st TankRegiment. He was in M4A2.

October 1941 to June 1942

Aircraft 1285

Tanks 2249

Machine-guns 81287

Explosives, pounds 59455620

Trucks 36825

Field telephones 56445

Telephone wire, km 600000

1942 and 1943

Aircraft 3052

Tanks 4084

Vehicles 520000

Fighter Aircraft

P-39 5707 (4719 reached the USSR)

P-40 2397

P-47 195

P-63 2397 (21 lost in transfer)

Hurricane 2952

Spitfire 1331

Total: 14982

Bomber and Attack Aircraft

A-20 2908

B-25 862

B-24 1

Hampden 23

Albemarle 14

Mosquito 1

Total 3809

Total Aircraft Delivered - 18,791

Total USSR Aircraft Production- 139,748

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Besides the tanks, Allies delivered a plenty of APCs. Before war the Red Army did not have anygood APC model. In the summer 1943 the deliveries of tracked "Universal" (Great Britain),wheeled M3A1 (USA), halftracked M3, M5 (USA) have begun.

In general, military aid to the Soviet Union offeref a great help in the 1941-43 but becomesinsignificant at the end of war with the Soviet industry growing.

Women in Air War:

The Eastern Front of World War II

Editor/Translator Kazimiera J. (Jean) Cottam, PhD

Women in Air War:The Eastern Front of World War II

Multiple Soviet Authors.Ed. and trans. by Kazimiera J. Cottam.

Nepean, ON:New Military Publishing, 1997-1998,

xviii, 313pp. Illustrations$29.95 CAN / $20.95 US Paper

ISBN 0-9682702-1-2

"My superiors made no distinction between male and female regiments of which the girlswere very proud. I must admit, however, I sometimes wished they remembered that our

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regiment consisted of women, and would not send them into the very hell. Every pilot,every crew member became dear to me. I loved them all, was proud of them, and dreaded

the possibility that any one of them might not return...,"wrote Major Valentin Markov, themale commander of the women's dive bomber wing, in this unique collection of WWIImemoirs that tell, in a simple, unaffected style, the story of the three women's wings whichowed their existence to Marina Raskova, a remarkable pioneer woman navigator-pilot.

Of the three women's wings, the night bomber regiment was awarded an unprecedentednumber of Gold Stars of Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest Soviet decoration, and its

aircrews at times flew as many as eighteen short-range missions per night. The unit wasstaffed exclusively by women. In contrast, the dive bomber and fighter wings included somemale personnel, mainly in ground support roles. As well, the fighter wing eventuallyacquired one male squadron, in part as replacement of a female squadron previously sent toStalingrad. Alexander Gridnev, the unit's second permanent wing commander, recentlypresented his controversial memoirs to Reina Pennington, Russian history professor andretired U.S. Air Force captain, for translation into English. The excerpt cited below describesa successful landing in a crippled Pe-2 bomber carried out by Aleksandra (Sasha)

Krivonogova, flight commander of the 125th Dive Bomber Regiment:

"They were fully aware of the gravity of their situation. Their aircraft was uncontrollable.With throttle control alone it was possible to fly straight only, albeit with difficulty, but onecould not fly straight indefinitely.

"...Instead of proceeding home in a joint formation, Krivonogova had to fly along the frontline for some time in the dense explosions of anti-aircraft shells. Ably manoeuvring her

engines' power settings, she slowlyon the verge of stallingturned her crippled machineand headed toward home airfield. The forty minutes of flying seemed like an eternity.Finally, the airfield appeared below them. Here, aircraft that had just landed were quicklytaxiing away, clearing the runway. An ambulance and a tractor sped to the scene. On theground, all knew that Krivonogova was attempting to land. Her landing approach had to beabsolutely faultless, with no misses or errors of any kind, since the control wheel of the

machine was dead. The pilot had but the engines and trim tabs at her disposal.

"The nerves of the observers on the ground were strained to the utmost. Krivonogova's

ground support personnel were incapable of looking at the field. Then the bomber smoothlytouched down and sped along the runway. Finally, the pilot switched off the engine, the

propellers stopped, and a collective sigh of relief rolled over the airfield. Flight, groundsupport, and command personnelall ran to the aircraft to congratulate the pilot.

"She certainly deserved to be congratulated! She had manifested an unusual skill, self-possession, and presence of mind. Then a messenger ran out from the HQ, carrying atelegram from the command element of the ground troops which the bomber group hadsupportedthanking us for a job exceptionally well done. Soon the aircraft of the corps

commander himself touched down on the airfield; the general came to congratulateKrivonogova in person and to announce that she would be awarded the Order of Patriotic

War I Class for her valour and skill. We counted fifty-seven shot-holes in her aircraft!"

Defending Leningrad: Women Behind EnemyLines

Editor/Translator Kazimiera J. (Jean) Cottam, PhD

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Defending Leningrad: Women Behind Enemy LinesMultiple Soviet Authors.

Ed. and trans. by Kazimiera J. Cottam.With substantial endnotes intended primarily for the scholarly reader.

Nepean, ON:New Military Publishing, 1998,

xii, 160pp. Illustrations

$19.95 CAN / $14.95 US PaperISBN 0-9682702-3-9.

This book [the second revised edition of a collection entitled The Girl from Kashin: SovietWomen in Resistance in World War II. Manhattan, KS: MA/AH Publishing,1984] includes aremarkable diary of an ordinary Soviet middle-class teenager named Ina Konstantinova,who was transformed by the outbreak of the war and death of her boyfriend. Unlike AnneFrank, the most famous teenage author of a WWII diary, Ina was to die fighting, after sheran away from home to become a partisan and avenge her boyfriend's death. At times Ina

served alongside her father; his poignant "Story of a Daughter" complements her diary.Ina's parents were both teachers and members of Soviet intelligentsia. Her comrade-in-

arms Masha Poryvayeva, caught and executed by the enemy, was of a working classbackground. A similar fate befell Zoya Kruglova-Baiger, a former farm girl whose German

was fluent and who scandalized the population of Ostrov, an ancient north-western Russiantown, by socializing with German officers. Why then, in the end, was she imprisoned,tortured and executed? It took many years to unravel the mystery.

In an excerpt cited below an old man named Ivan Yerofeyevich tells the true story ofpartisan Zoya (Masha) Poryvayeva to Nikolay Masolov, one of the authors of this collection:

"We sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the noise of the forest. 'It's moaning likethe Krasnoye birch-trees,' the old man broke the silence.

"'Tell me, about them, Ivan Yerofeyevich.'

"'These birch-trees were washed with a young girl's blood, my son. It happened almosttwenty years ago. The Nazis went on a rampage in our area in 1942. They spared neither

young nor old. The people became melancholy. Just then this very girl appeared in ourPustoshka woods. Her name was Zoya. The peasant women were saying that she was

beautiful and had big eyes that were as crystal clear as the springs shooting up at thesource of Velikaya River. She was supposedly sent from Moscow. She went from village tovillage and told the people about the fighting at the front, and she noted everything aboutthe Nazi troops advancing toward Leningrad. She was followed by her detachment; itconsisted partly of Red Army men and partly of partisans. And the boys and girls were all

very young and reckless. The Germans called the detachment Red Airborne Assault Force....

"'In the early morning, she was led through Krasnoye, her hands tied behind her back,smiling at the sun and the people. And beside the Krasnoye birch-trees, which grow by the

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lake on a slope, she shook her shoulders, threw off her fetters, grabbed an officer'ssubmachine gun, and shot the monster. But the brave bird was not allowed to fly away; the

enemy wounded her. The thrice-accursed, vile creatures tortured her in Opochka for a longtime. They kept asking her all about her comrades and Moscow. But she stayed silent or

sang a song. And then Kreser killed the girl, and threw her body into a God-forsakenswamp. Since that time, peasant women consider our Krasnoye birches a kind of Zoya's

grave. Believe it or not, my son, but the birch-trees are moaning in bad weather. The

women keep saying then: Zoya is summoning her friends to her grave!'

"Tired out by his tale, Ivan Yerofeyevich silently fingered his fishing tackle beside the dyingcampfire. I quietly got up from the pile of pine branches on which I was sitting, and went tothe lake, to a spot from which the Velikaya ran out. Many years ago, Zoya the scout crossedthe river in this area and walked toward Krasnoye.

"Beyond the lake, with the first rays of yet invisible sun, the sky was turning pink. It wasthen that I decided to follow in the tracks of this young girl who had become a legend, in

order to find her former comrades-in-arms and her loved ones, and to bring them all to thecherished birch-trees."

On the Road to Stalingrad:Memoirs of a Woman Machine Gunner

By Zoya Smirnova-MedvedevaEditor/Translator Kazimiera J. (Jean) Cottam, PhD

On the Road to Stalingrad:

Memoirs of a Woman Machine GunnerBy Zoya Smirnova-Medvedeva.

Ed. and trans. by Kazimiera J. Cottam.Nepean, ON:

New Military Publishing, 1997,ix, 131pp. Illustrations

$14.95 CAN / $11.95 US PaperISBN 0-9682702-0-4

Zoya Medvedeva (married name Smirnova), the author and principal heroine of this book, acreative documentary, fought with the famous 25th Chapayev Infantry Division. She hasprovided an authentic, eyewitness account of the desperate fighting in the trenches forOdessa and Sevastopol, as promised to her role model, mentor and friend Nina Onilova, a

legendary machine gunner, before the latter died from her wounds in March 1942. Thoughhalf-blinded, eventually Medvedeva became a machine-gun company commander. Too

modest to dwell on her own exploits, instead she writes about her former comrades-in-arms, many of whom were killed or hospitalized and some, like Medvedeva herself, had to

wander across the enemy-occupied Stavropol Territory, after their release from variousmilitary hospitals, in order to break through to Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kizlyar to the

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south-east of Stalingrad. The excerpt cited below was extracted from Chapter IV, entitled"Breaking out of Encirclement":

"By daybreak, a sentry usually becomes less vigilant. He needs to relax after the tension ofa nerve-wracking night, when each rustle, each shadow inspires fear in him and might

become a harbinger of danger. The coolness of the morning forces him to shiver with thecold, so he has the urge to hide his head as deep as he can in his raised collar; he craves

warmth and becomes sleepy. Whats more, if at some point earlier he had been scolded forraising a false alarm, he is not inclined to become overly vigilant.

"Such was apparently the frame of mind of the sentry who guarded the German tank atdawn on the day we attacked it. During the night the highway was deserted, but then came

the first truck, slowing down at the turn by the crossroads. It appeared to stop momentarilyand continued on its way. Soon afterwards two 'German' soldiers emerged from the

shelterbelt into the steppe, crunching dry branches underfoot. Initially ignoring both thetank and the sentry, the soldiers sat down to have something to eat and drink. Then one of

the soldiers noticed that the sentry was very interested in their food and bottle. Swallowinghoarsely with his dry throat, the sentry took several steps to one side. The soldier observingthe sentry got up, moved away a few paces, and stopped, standing with his legs spread

wide apart and a submachine gun slung over his right shoulder. The sentry took a few stepsforward, in the direction of the two soldiers, and then and there he stopped, stamping inone spot. Then the soldier who was standing waved at the sentry with a benefactors

gesture, calling him: 'Schnell, Kamrad!' The sentry came running. In a moment, the soldiersdragged his body, still twitching, into the nearest bushes.

"Afterwards, the two men, Volodya Zarya and Aleksey Plotnikov, set off for the tank,barefooted. ...Plotnikov had a couple of hand grenades attached to his belt, while Zarya wasarmed with a Schmeisser and carried a German helmet, full of water. Silently striding onthe soft, dew-covered grass, the men made their way right up to the target. They listenedcarefully; it was quiet all around. So Plotnikov climbed onto the tank and Zarya handed himan unusual master-key, a mess tin filled with water. Then Zarya followed Plotnikov onto the

tank with his submachine gun at the ready.

"Slowly, carefully, and trying to aim exactly into the groove of the closed hatch, Plotnikov

began to pour the water Zarya had brought in the helmet. The little stream made abubbling sound as it penetrated through the hatch. Those in the turret stirred and someone

asked a question in German. So Plotnikovs hand shook; a little stream of water missed itstarget, but it made no difference.

"The silence made the click of the bolt seem loud; the cover moved and was raised.... Inthat instant, Plotnikov... tore with both hands into the rim of the cover, and gave it a violent

pull; then and there Zarya opened up with his submachine gun. Having inserted the barrelinto the black hole of the hatch, he didnt take his finger off the trigger until he used up the

entire clip. Again there was silence."

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