Hello my dear friends! Today we keep on
reading the diary of German Oberleutnant Martin Shteglich. Remember to rate this video,
and also leave your opinion about this story, and we are going to start!
September 7, 1941. It is already the 13th Sunday of war!
It's autumnal cool, occasional rains, sometimes with hail, and sunshine. Today
we marched about 18 kilometers with weapons and equipment on our backs. We are pursuing
the Russians on their heels. Now we are in the village of Leokhnovo. The Reds have
been kicked out of here only two hours ago. They run whenever we come any closer!
That's something new. They have abandoned their positions here, quite cleverly
equipped with barbed wire and stuff. About 10 kilometers east of here
there's the source of the Volga. The aircraft activities of both sides are
quite vigorous. Since yesterday our heavy fighters have been permanently in the sky. Our
convoys are always very late. Though we are constantly losing our horses on these goddamn
roads, yet we are keeping up with the enemy. Yesterday we stayed overnight at Bolshoi
Bohot, where our 1st Battalion had driven the Russians out about an hour before. We
set up a strong combat guard. The wagons arrived only at 2 a.m. And today since
7:15 a.m. we've been on the move again. It's evening, about 7:00 p.m., and our
field kitchen has just arrived. So, I'm gonna eat something first. So far
today I've only eaten some carrots. September 8. Today we set out only at 1:00 p.m.
with bright sunshine and along a good, eventually dry road. This is
the result: 12 km in just 2 and a half hours! Could it be compared to
the previous days of continuous rain? My wagons last night arrived as late
as at 04:00 a.m. The nights are already noticeably cold. We are now in Luga.
It's a big village. The Valdai Hills are very picturesque. It has to be admitted,
regardless of all my prejudice to this "USSR"! My 2nd platoon has been ordered
to guard the regiment today. Today I moved on foot, because I sent my stableman
K., together with another soldier who could ride, down the road we passed to the convoy
to take the letters, which have been there for six days. We have been on the way
since 9:00 a.m. today, it is now 4:00 p.m. September 10. An order was given yesterday, "The battalion
shall not move anywhere for now." So, we were given a day's rest unexpectedly.
We hurried to get ourselves cleaned up. I bathed myself clean from top to bottom. I call it
"ablution with a bucket", because the containers used are not much bigger. In the afternoon at
about 2:00 p.m. I set out on horseback and by 8:00 p.m. I was back from reconnaissance
of the area 10 kilometers west of us. There are as many as five Red divisions
surrounded to the east of Holm. The 1st Battalion has already marched out
tonight. We have to be here for the time being in full combat readiness,
so that we can engage, if necessary, in the area where it is needed. The tanks
have broken through and move toward Valdai. September 11. The order to march came at 12:30 p.m.
The battalion immediately moved out. Now (since 6:00 p.m. of yesterday) we
are taking up the defense and standing on guard at Polenovshchina. As there is nothing
happening yet, the company units settle in huts, constantly replacing each other. Last
night there were the first frosts. And now the sun shines bright. Right
now, literally in front of our eyes, our anti-aircraft gunners shot down three Soviet
bombers. How great it was to have them shot down! September 14. It's 1:30 p.m. We just got
orders to march. We have to move out at 2:00 p.m., well, that's "kharasho." There is much to write about the events of the
previous days! For the sake of visualizing the situation, I will just say that I washed for
the first time in three full days and shaved for the first time in six days! These details
alone would indicate that we were on a roll. On the night of September 12th, the battalion
was ordered to fight. At 1:30 a.m. a liaison officer arrived and there was no time
to sleep anymore. We had to set up and organize everything. At 4:00 a.m. we marched
with weapons and equipment on our backs from Polenovshchina to Dubrovki. There was the
initial position of the whole Regiment. The mission was to sweep the river valley with
an attack. The 1st Battalion marched ahead on both banks of the river, followed by the
2nd Battalion echeloned deeply to the left, protecting the flank. We were intensively
bombarded by artillery, in an effort to break through the locked "cauldron", because
the Reds knew that they were surrounded. Upon reaching the target of the attack
- Dolmatovo-Borok, my Company engaged, supported by a heavy machine gun platoon, a light
machine gun platoon and a battery of 15-cm guns. The rain continued to pour down all
day. We were soaked to the skin. We became aware from the testimony of
the captives that there must be several hundred trucks, uncountable numbers of guns,
etc., in the woods into which I had cut in. I moved deeper into the woods for about
1,800 meters. Before reaching a large glade, I sent out a reconnaissance, which reported that
there were three lines of defense there, with tanks and three batteries placed directly behind
them. And then the artillery fireworks broke out. The Russians were directly firing with eight
15-cm guns, four 7.5-cm guns and three tanks. I returned fire. The entire arsenal was engaged
- anti-tank gun, heavy and light mortars, as well as heavy and light machine guns. All
of this was from a distance of 400 meters. We overwhelmed them with our gunfire, destroying
one tank and shutting up their artillery battery. All this mess lasted from 2:00 p.m.
to 11:00 p.m. We spent the night in readiness, and by morning the Russians had pulled
out. What trophies we got! That's insane! In the woods the strike group of our
company was accompanied by a Latvian, who had been forcibly drafted into the
army by the Russians. The group returned after counting the trophies and bringing
many captives. We drove the Reds out of the encirclement with fire straight into the
hands of our other units on the exterior guard. There were numerous vehicles on the road,
which the Reds desperately cut through the forest, for 8 kilometers in large meadows,
scattered and abandoned in a terrible mess: 487 trucks,
20 armored vehicles, 6 armored reconnaissance vehicles,
6 armored automobiles, 35 transportable field kitchens,
15 8.8-cm caliber anti-aircraft guns, 23 15-cm caliber guns,
3 long guns of 15-cm caliber, 7 7.5-cm caliber guns,
2 12.62-cm caliber guns, 2 mobile radios,
8 anti-tank guns, 25 automobiles,
18 motorcycles and uncountable light and heavy weaponry!
The trophies are absolutely incredible! In the afternoon I was informed that I
was promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant as of September 1, 1941. I was very
happy. Everyone congratulated me. The last two bottles of authentic French
cognac were emptied in an anti-tank hole in the middle of a Russian forest
in 1300 kilometers from the homeland! In the middle of the night there
was another telephone call: at 4:00 a.m. the battalion should
be ready to march. We have to break another encirclement. In other words,
we have to march for 25 kilometers. Now we're in Nikolayevskoye. So far
there are only two attack groups here, with no contact with the enemy, but from all
directions around the circle - from the north, north-west and east - other attack groups
are pulling up here. Somewhere in here we're going to get them. It looks like these
woods hide their high commanding officers. The weather is marvelous today with
clouds and occasional sunshine. September 15. Our hunting on Sunday had no success. However, the Russians were met by our other units to
the northeast of us, on which we drove them. In the evening, we spent the evening with
our platoon officers and had a bottle of Kummel. During the night it rained hard.
Today the weather improved. We listened to the trophy records on the Soviet gramophone,
including Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 performed by the USSR State Orchestra. What
a vivid contrast lies in this very phrase! Major Engel from the Führer's headquarters
sent me a letter with heartfelt and warm congratulations on the occasion of my first
star. The letter made me feel very happy. September 16. This morning, we will continue to
advance in the direction of Demyansk. Yesterday wounded Russians came out of
the woods. Some of them were even carried out in the arms of local citizens. It's
terrible! They had bandages on them that hadn't been changed for days. "Comrades"
left them to their fate in the woods! Yesterday, 12 of my soldiers were awarded
the Iron Crosses. Now we have a company with: - 2 Iron Crosses 1st class,
- 33 Iron Crosses 2nd class, - 74 Infantry Assault Badges. That is something to be proud of! September 18. Now I'm in the middle of nowhere called
Belyaevshchino. The SS division headquarters is based here, and three of us have been
ordered to report here: Chief of Staff Gläske, me, and we are also expecting the regimental
commander. Most likely, we are supposed to replace the SS in this position. Well,
we'll wait, things will be clear soon. This morning, setting out at 7:30 a.m., we
passed Demyansk, where a huge prisoner-of-war camp was built. There we managed to hop on
an armored tractor, which brought us here. All the days before we were barely getting
along the so-called "highway". And there was a hell of a downpour! The pace of
advancement is simply amazing: 5 km, 15 km! The whole road was jammed with
motorized and infantry divisions. The movement was irregular: in every few
hundred meters there were forced stops for several hours. Along the entire
road, soldiers were building fires. Yesterday morning we made a forced halt
behind Demyansk, as night had fallen. Besides, the bridge in Demyansk is not ready yet,
so everyone has to overcome a deep ford. Yesterday we were replenished
with 24 men. Everyone whispers, and sometimes even says openly that we will
have to take the defense here, while the key combat operations will unfold in the direction
of Moscow. Well, being on the defensive here is total crap. Especially in this kind of weather!
I can distinctly hear the artillery cannonade. September 19. Yesterday we were instructed by the 1st SS
Infantry Regiment on the section we took today. The rain kept falling all day. We had
to return from the SS Division Headquarters on foot initially. Later we managed to
ask for horses in the cavalry platoon, and further in the direction of the battalion we
rode on horseback. We reached Danilovo by 8:00 pm. During the night the order to take our current
section was delivered. We set off at 6:30 a.m., the first snow and rain fell. I
got terribly cold on horseback. I inspected our entire front
line and instructed the platoon commanders. The length of my section is
2300 meters!!! The left flank is in order, but the right flank goes through the
woods, which is quite bad. The Russian raids with Curtisses (Curtiss P-40's)
have been non-stop during the day. Currently I'm sitting in battalion
headquarters. When there is a rumbling, I step outside of the house. The hellhole
where we're quartered is called Khilkovo. Here, weirdly enough, there are a lot of stone
houses and even painted floors. However, there are plenty of insects there, like everywhere
else - it's "bed bombers" (Bed bugs) and others. That is all for today! You can
view other episodes of this diary by following the link in the pinned
comment. If you enjoyed this video, please like it and support the channel by
subscribing. Bye everyone, and see you soon!
