S PHN T BINH C TI STALINGRAD

Ngy 22 thng Su 1941, nhm t chc mt h thng kim sot t binh chin tranh, c quan 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 t binh. 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 tht khng khip v ngi v v kh cng trang thit b. Binh lnh ch b bt lm t binh khng nhiu v nhu cu cn c nhng tri t khng cn. Ti thng Tm 1941, ch c ba tri 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 1942 trong cc tri ch c 19.787 t binh. Nhng sau Stalingrad, tt c t ngt thay i. Kt qu ca cuc phn cng thng li ca qun i Xvit v s tiu dit ci ti trong khu vc Stalingrad l 151.246 t binh, trong ch thnh ph Stalingrad cha ti trn 90 ngn t binh. Trong thnh ph b chin tranh tiu hy ny khng ch khng ni cho h m c khng nhin liu si, qun o m v phng tin vn chuyn. V s ngi b gi cng v kit sc. (Theo ti tnh cnh ca h chc gn ging cnh t binh trong hi c ca Nikolai Obrynba LTD). Trong tnh hnh y cuc vn chuyn c t chc km, thiu hiu qu, va i v lnh, phi i b nhng qung ng di ti 200-300 kilmt trong sut 7-10 ngy v thm ch di hn, thiu thn thuc men, t l bnh tt v t vong tng nhanh trong s cc t binh. Ngy 25 thng Mi Mt 1942, NKVD Lin X, sau khi nhn c thng tin v lng t binh khng l, b tr cho Ch huy iu hnh GULAG, i y Usievich trong vng 2 ngy chun b 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 cc trm tip nhn t binh. Nhng phng giam ny khng cht lng phc v mc ch trn. T binh Rumani v t binh c b nht chung vi nhau. Trong nhiu tri c lnh cho i x vi t binh Rumani tt hn hn vi t binh c. T binh Rumani c t thit lp 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 hot tt 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 s 001, trong cng b tnh hnh nghim trng trong cng tc vn chuyn t binh t mt trn v xut cch thc ci thin tnh hnh ny. Sau , ngy 12 thng Ging Mnh lnh S 0049 ca NKVD Lin X c ban hnh theo cc c phi vin c gi ti cc Phng din qun Ty Nam, Nam v n t chc nhng im tip nhn t binh v vn chuyn 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.

 tip nhn v thu gom t binh t cc mt trn, NKVD ngy 20 thng GIng ra lnh t chc cc tri t trong khu vc Stalingrad. Di Mnh lnh S 00345 ca NKVD, t 18 thng Hai 1943, di s iu phi ca lc lung 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 cc phng 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 h thng ng st b h hi, do thiu toa tu v u my hi nc (tt c b huy ng cho cuc tin cng Rostov) cn tr vic thc hin. c nhiu trng hp t binh c b cht 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 00396 V vic vn chuyn t binh t cc tri v im tp kt dc mt trn, trong vic vn chuyn 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 mt hn mt thng. Ti thi im ny rt nhiu t binh cht, s cn li trong tnh trng rt khn qun. Tuy mnh lnh trn c thc hin vi n lc cao, ch cn 27.295 t binh c chuyn i. Trong khu vc ca Phng din qun Nam v Ty Nam cn t hn trong s 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 Pokrovsky S 127 (thuc tnh Saratov) t 4 thng Ba ti 13 thng Ba tip nhn ba chuyn tu c bit t Stalingrad cha tng cng 8007 ngi, trong c 1526 ngi cht trn ng vn chuyn. Sau tnh trng t vong vn tip din v thiu n (4326 ngi), b gi cng (162 ngi), tiu chy (54 ngi), do vt thng (23 ngi), v cc l do khc (98 ngi). Ti ngy 1 thng Nm, s cn sng ch cn l 1818! M ta thy , tri ny nm ngay gn Stalingrad. Khu tri ln nht c t chc ti Beketovka (tri t Beketovka S 108). Trc kia ni y l mt trng hc vi cc dy nh gch. Trng b ph hu mt phn, khng cn ca s v mi. T binh ng trn sn nh, di ci lnh m 20 o C. Sau cc t binh xy dng mt tri mi v chuyn tt c ti . Tri c canh gc cu th (do thng Tm 1943 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 chng khng 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 thc hin. Ch huy tri cung cp cho h thuc men, nhng vi s lng rt gii hn, do s ln

thuc vn cn ang trn ng vn chuyn. (iu ny d hiu, ngay vic phn phi cho Hng 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 S 108 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 ta c th xc nh rng t l t vong l rt cao. S liu v t l t vong ti tri Beketovka: 1944 - 738 ngi 1945 - 788 ngi 1946 - 59 ngi 1947 - 42 ngi 1948 - 4 ngi 1949 - 5 ngi Thng Ba nm 1943 bt u vi vic phn phi t binh v nhiu tri khc nhau ri khp t nc. Cc s quan b a v cc tri di y: 1) Tri Oransky S 74 (tnh Gorky) - tri cho s quan c 2) Tri Elabuga S 97 (Nc Cng ha Tatar ASSR) - tri cho s quan c 3) Tri Suzdal S 160 (tnh Vladimir) - tri cho s quan Rumani 4) Tri Krasnogorsk S 27 - Tri cho s quan cao cp (tng t c, trong c Thng ch Paulus) (Xin ni thm, Thng ch Paulus v sau gia nhp ng Cng sn v ging dy v l lun chin tranh ti Maskva, c th v l do chnh tr. V cui i ng mi c tr v qu hng. LTD) Cc h s quan v lnh thng c chuyn ti cc tri sau: 1) Astrakhan S 60 2) Kapustin Yar S 89 3) Frolov S 50 4) Khrenovsky S 81 5) Novorhopersky S 62 6) Beketovka S 108 7) 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 v xy dng. Nhiu ngi tham gia vic ti kin thit nn kinh t Lin X b chin tranh ph hu. C khong 10.000 t binh c (thuc tri Bekotovka S 108) tham gia ti thit thnh ph Stalingrad cho ti nm 1950. Khu trung tm Stalingrad, nh ga "Stalingrad I" l do ngi c xy dng. 3

Sau khi chin tranh kt thc, Chnh ph Lin X bt u tin hnh cho php t binh c hi hng. Nhm h s quan v binh lnh u tin c hi hng l ngy 15 thng Su 1945. l nhm ngi b thng tt, b bnh hay suy dinh dng nng. Ban u h c chuyn t tri c ti Tri t trung chuyn S 68 vng Frankfurt bn sng Oder. Ri t h c th v nh. Trong lin tip nhng nm tip theo cc nhm t binh khc 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 tt c cc binh lnh m khng cn ngoi l. Ch duy nhng t binh phm ti c chin tranh b gi 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 qun nhn thuc Tp on qun s 6 (tham chin ti Stalingrad LTD) c th trong nm 1949. Ngy 5 thng Ba 1950, Chnh ph Xvit tuyn b kt thc vic hi hng. Nhng trong cc tri t vn cn rt nhiu ngi c. Trong phn ln l nhng qun nhn c b kt ti 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 binh c. 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 von Seydlitz-Kurzbach. ng ta c th v thng Ging, 1956.

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

Loi thc phm Bnh m Bt la mch (pha tp cht) M ng Tht C B ng Tr Mui Khoai ty Ci bp C rt Hnh X phng (mt thng) X g Thuc l (gram) Dim (mt thng)

Khu phn binh nht v h s quan 400 70 10 30 50 10 10 10 300 100 30 10 200 10 3 hp

Khu phn s quan 600 80 20 50 50 10 20 0,1 12 360 150 30 10 200 15 iu 3 hp

CHIN LI PHM STALINGRAD

Gm tt c chin li phm c cc n v Hng qun chim c trong t phn cng ti Stalingrad t 19 thng Mi Mt 1942 cho ti 2 thng Hai1943. S liu ly t h s lu ca pha Xvit. Bt lm t binh: 1 Thng ch (Paulus) 24 tng 91.000 binh lnh v s quan Trang thit b: 156.897 sng trng 10.000 - tiu lin 12.000 sng my 5.762 pho cc c 3.000 - ci 1666 xe tng 744 my bay 261 xe bc thp 10.000 m t 3 on tu bc thp 80.438 xe ti 240 my ko 571- xe bnh xch 58 - u tu hi nc 1.403 toa tu 13.787 xe nga 5

696 - trm thu pht v tuyn 933 - in thoi 337 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 in 1941 (at Moscow) was because of to terrible Russian winter, like a 'General' Winter, who could defeat the brilliant German generals and the mysterous Russians who could fight successfully in the such conditions. 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 army defeat 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 been defeated? This is well known fact, that the German army was absolutely unprepared for Russian conditions. Why? May be the German Generals simply didn't know about Russian conditions? Many people think there were poor weather conditions. No. There were poor German generals who didn't prepare their armies for the realistic war. There are many remarks in memoirs of the German officers who learned the Napoleonic campaign in Russia and major the reasons of inglorious defeat of so called "Invincible" Army. As all you know, one of the main reason was German panzers stuck in Russian mud. Autumn 1941. extremely poor supply of the French Army during a frosty winter and the vast Russian territories with small and bad roads. Napoleon could take Moscow, but so what? Where are his benefits? 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 thought that Russia may be conquered by simple capture the Moscow. And another big mistake was underestimation his enemy. I think that 130 years have be quite enough to understand why Napoleon failed, but the Germans did the same mistake. The German winter catastrophe adversely affected on a whole German campaign in the East. German generals thought that their enemies are stupid and disposable. So, those generals made another serious mistake - they underestimated their enemy. As a result - Germany has been defeated. That infamous Winter wasn't a Russian General. It disturbed the Russians as well as the Germans. Snow wasn't falling on the German side only, avoiding the Russian trenches, and Soviet troops had to deal with the same difficulties during mud periods. Russian soldiers also froze to death, Russian vehicles had trouble 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 14 November. Uncle December. Vanya Today didn't come my back. Mother grandmother said Lena he died. died."

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

Inside the blockaded Leningrad. Winter 1941.

That girl was still alive when she was discovered alone with the corpse of her mother. Her organizm has been 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 necessary changes in Red Army have been undertaken. As a result - two successful offensive operations (at Moscow and 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 and weak, but we should not forget who won the war and who was defeated. When anybody says "German Army was the best army, German generals were the best generals" I may say only that "there is a little glory when a mighty army is victorious over a weak army, but it's a GREAT glory when a weak army defeat a strong enemy". Isn't it?

TR GIP QUN S CHO LIN X

Ngy 11 thng Ba 1941 Quc hi nc M thng qua o lut Lend-Lease, theo cho php Chnh ph M cho cc quc gia khc vay hoc thu cc loi hng ho v thit b khc nhau cn thit 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 thi im 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 Phi on 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 c Thus law on Lend-Lease was distributed "informally" on the USSR even before decision of US Government.

The first tank models that were achieve USSR were British Mk II "Matilda II", Mk III and Mk IV "Valentine". They arrived just before the Russian winter counter-offensive near Moscow. The Red Army was highly luck in tanks, so this military aid was opportunely. Mostly good for Russians was "Matilda II". It was nearly undefeated for any German tanks and 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 made the quite impression on tankers because archaic design and weak armament (its "classmate" KV1 had much better armament) and its good protection was brought to nothing by a poor maneuverability and slow speed, but most exotic "foreigner" in the Red Army was British light tank Mk 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 took part in battles in the spring 1942. Unfortunately although on excellent conditions for the crew and quite enough firepower this tank wasn't match to the Eastern Front conditions. On responses of 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.

The more pleasant impression was left with M4 "General Sherman", which deliveries have begun in the end 1943. In USSR used only diesel variant M4A2 in several modifications. These machines have passed whole second half 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, the M3A1 "General Stuart" light tank, did not matched for the East Front conditions and was quickly removed.

The Red Army received 2007 M4A2s (Sherman) with 75 mm gun and 2095 M4A2 Shermans with 76 mm gun. There were attempts to rearm them with Russian F-34 76.2 mm gun, resulting in so called M4M, but sense there was no shortage of 75 mm ammo only small numbers were so modified. Several Soviet tankers in Shermans won the Hero of Soviet Union. V.A. Galkin of the 7th Guard Cavalry Corp's 31st Tank Regiment. He was in M4A2.

October 1941 to June 1942 Aircraft Tanks Machine-guns 1285 2249 81287 P-39 P-40 P-47 P-63

Fighter Aircraft 5707 (4719 reached the USSR) 2397 195 2397 (21 lost in transfer)

Explosives, pounds 59455620 Trucks Field telephones 36825 56445

Hurricane 2952 Spitfire 1331

Telephone wire, km 600000 1942 and 1943 Aircraft Tanks Vehicles 3052 4084 520000

Total: 14982 Bomber and Attack Aircraft A-20 B-25 B-24 2908 862 1

Hampden 23 Albemarle 14 Mosquito Total 1 3809

Total Aircraft Delivered - 18,791 Total USSR Aircraft Production- 139,748

Besides the tanks, Allies delivered a plenty of APCs. Before war the Red Army did not have any good 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 becomes insignificant 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 girls were 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, the male commander of the women's dive bomber wing, in this unique collection of WWII memoirs that tell, in a simple, unaffected style, the story of the three women's wings which owed their existence to Marina Raskova, a remarkable pioneer woman navigator-pilot. Of the three women's wings, the night bomber regiment was awarded an unprecedented number 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 was staffed exclusively by women. In contrast, the dive bomber and fighter wings included some male personnel, mainly in ground support roles. As well, the fighter wing eventually acquired one male squadron, in part as replacement of a female squadron previously sent to Stalingrad. Alexander Gridnev, the unit's second permanent wing commander, recently presented his controversial memoirs to Reina Pennington, Russian history professor and retired U.S. Air Force captain, for translation into English. The excerpt cited below describes a 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 one could not fly straight indefinitely. "...Instead of proceeding home in a joint formation, Krivonogova had to fly along the front line 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 machine and 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 quickly taxiing away, clearing the runway. An ambulance and a tractor sped to the scene. On the ground, all knew that Krivonogova was attempting to land. Her landing approach had to be absolutely 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 smoothly touched 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, ground support, and command personnelall ran to the aircraft to congratulate the pilot. "She certainly deserved to be congratulated! She had manifested an unusual skill, selfpossession, and presence of mind. Then a messenger ran out from the HQ, carrying a telegram from the command element of the ground troops which the bomber group had supportedthanking us for a job exceptionally well done. Soon the aircraft of the corps commander himself touched down on the airfield; the general came to congratulate Krivonogova 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 Enemy Lines

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

11

Defending Leningrad: Women Behind Enemy Lines Multiple 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 Paper ISBN 0-9682702-3-9. This book [the second revised edition of a collection entitled The Girl from Kashin: Soviet Women in Resistance in World War II. Manhattan, KS: MA/AH Publishing,1984] includes a remarkable 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 Anne Frank, the most famous teenage author of a WWII diary, Ina was to die fighting, after she ran 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-inarms Masha Poryvayeva, caught and executed by the enemy, was of a working class background. 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 Russian town, 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 of partisan 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 like the 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 almost twenty 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 our Pustoshka 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 the source of Velikaya River. She was supposedly sent from Moscow. She went from village to village and told the people about the fighting at the front, and she noted everything about the Nazi troops advancing toward Leningrad. She was followed by her detachment; it consisted 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's submachine 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 long time. 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-forsaken swamp. 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 dying campfire. I quietly got up from the pile of pine branches on which I was sitting, and went to the lake, to a spot from which the Velikaya ran out. Many years ago, Zoya the scout crossed the 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 was then 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 the cherished birch-trees."

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

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

On the Road to Stalingrad: Memoirs of a Woman Machine Gunner By 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 Paper ISBN 0-9682702-0-4 Zoya Medvedeva (married name Smirnova), the author and principal heroine of this book, a creative documentary, fought with the famous 25th Chapayev Infantry Division. She has provided an authentic, eyewitness account of the desperate fighting in the trenches for Odessa 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. Though half-blinded, eventually Medvedeva became a machine-gun company commander. Too modest to dwell on her own exploits, instead she writes about her former comrades-inarms, 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 various military 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 of a 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 the cold, 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 for raising 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 at dawn 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 momentarily and continued on its way. Soon afterwards two 'German' soldiers emerged from the shelterbelt into the steppe, crunching dry branches underfoot. Initially ignoring both the tank 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. Swallowing hoarsely with his dry throat, the sentry took several steps to one side. The soldier observing the 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 steps forward, in the direction of the two soldiers, and then and there he stopped, stamping in one 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 soldiers dragged 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 was armed with a Schmeisser and carried a German helmet, full of water. Silently striding on the soft, dew-covered grass, the men made their way right up to the target. They listened carefully; it was quiet all around. So Plotnikov climbed onto the tank and Zarya handed him an 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 a bubbling 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 its target, but it made no difference. "The silence made the click of the bolt seem loud; the cover moved and was raised.... In that 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 barrel into 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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