Ambushed
Prelude
I joined the ranks of the Red Army in 1940 when I was only 18, just one year before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. My family was from Byelorussia, and immigrated to Russia in the 1800’s and settled down in Stalingrad, where I lived before I joined the army. My grandmother used to tell me stories of how my grandpa fought in the Russian Civil War, against the Tsarist White Army in the Saratov region. He served as a Senior Lieutenant, commanding his own motorised rifle platoon. He was probably the most decorated soldier of my entire family, and I looked up to him very much. He earned the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of the Red Star. Almost everyone in my family was involved in the army. My great-grandfather …show more content…
We could hear the leaves of the trees rustling in the wind, the occasional explosion in the distance, and the roars of our vehicle’s engine. We were on a GAZ-AAA, the best mechanised vehicle of its kind in the Soviet Union. It was only seven days since the Germans invaded, and they had already made substantial territorial gains and were now advancing on Kiev. We were driving east to repel the German advance on the city after our platoon, the 6th Rifle Regiment as well as other regiments, were reassigned from being a part of a reserve army to the frontline 12th Army after the Germans began their advance on Kiev. I commanded the six squad members in the vehicle (Stanislav, Ivanov, Pyotr, Leonid, Sergey, Alexei) since I was the rank of Senior Sergeant, the highest rank in the regiment. Junior Sergeant Stanislav Emelyanov, or “Stan” as I called him, was my second-in-command and a dear friend to me during my time in the Red Army. Sergey and Alexei were both Corporals and were amazing marksmen when I watched them training back at the Voronezh Front Headquarters. The rest of the soldiers in the platoon were freshly trained recruits, eager to fight for the motherland. How young and lucky I was back then. To be able to command a rifle regiment at the age of 19. The ride to Kiev was long and boring, and driving through the …show more content…
They were advancing from the west, aren’t they?” I whispered to what was left of my regiment.
“The Germans must be doing a pincer movement. They could be moving in from the north-west as well as west where their main attack is suspected to be.” Stan responded. “Precisely. We cannot afford to lose any more supplies and men. I agree with Sergeant Baronkov. We should head to the division headquarters right away.” Sergey said as we took cover behind a boulder in the forest. I peered out from where we were hiding and saw Pyotr, who was surprisingly still alive but was being taken away by the fascists. They pulled Pyotr out of the vehicle and kicked him to the ground. The commanding officer stepped out of his vehicle and drew his pistol and pointed it towards Pyotr.
“They’re going to kill him.” I thought to myself. Bang! Pyotr collapsed to the ground as the officer shot him in the head. The commanding officer walked up to one of his subordinates and whispered something in his ear and gestured towards our direction. I tapped Stanislav on the shoulder and
Prelude
I joined the ranks of the Red Army in 1940 when I was only 18, just one year before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. My family was from Byelorussia, and immigrated to Russia in the 1800’s and settled down in Stalingrad, where I lived before I joined the army. My grandmother used to tell me stories of how my grandpa fought in the Russian Civil War, against the Tsarist White Army in the Saratov region. He served as a Senior Lieutenant, commanding his own motorised rifle platoon. He was probably the most decorated soldier of my entire family, and I looked up to him very much. He earned the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of the Red Star. Almost everyone in my family was involved in the army. My great-grandfather …show more content…
We could hear the leaves of the trees rustling in the wind, the occasional explosion in the distance, and the roars of our vehicle’s engine. We were on a GAZ-AAA, the best mechanised vehicle of its kind in the Soviet Union. It was only seven days since the Germans invaded, and they had already made substantial territorial gains and were now advancing on Kiev. We were driving east to repel the German advance on the city after our platoon, the 6th Rifle Regiment as well as other regiments, were reassigned from being a part of a reserve army to the frontline 12th Army after the Germans began their advance on Kiev. I commanded the six squad members in the vehicle (Stanislav, Ivanov, Pyotr, Leonid, Sergey, Alexei) since I was the rank of Senior Sergeant, the highest rank in the regiment. Junior Sergeant Stanislav Emelyanov, or “Stan” as I called him, was my second-in-command and a dear friend to me during my time in the Red Army. Sergey and Alexei were both Corporals and were amazing marksmen when I watched them training back at the Voronezh Front Headquarters. The rest of the soldiers in the platoon were freshly trained recruits, eager to fight for the motherland. How young and lucky I was back then. To be able to command a rifle regiment at the age of 19. The ride to Kiev was long and boring, and driving through the …show more content…
They were advancing from the west, aren’t they?” I whispered to what was left of my regiment.
“The Germans must be doing a pincer movement. They could be moving in from the north-west as well as west where their main attack is suspected to be.” Stan responded. “Precisely. We cannot afford to lose any more supplies and men. I agree with Sergeant Baronkov. We should head to the division headquarters right away.” Sergey said as we took cover behind a boulder in the forest. I peered out from where we were hiding and saw Pyotr, who was surprisingly still alive but was being taken away by the fascists. They pulled Pyotr out of the vehicle and kicked him to the ground. The commanding officer stepped out of his vehicle and drew his pistol and pointed it towards Pyotr.
“They’re going to kill him.” I thought to myself. Bang! Pyotr collapsed to the ground as the officer shot him in the head. The commanding officer walked up to one of his subordinates and whispered something in his ear and gestured towards our direction. I tapped Stanislav on the shoulder and