I was 💀 murdered near Moscow. German Lieutenant's diary about Eastern Front.

[Applause] dear friends welcome to the Eastern Front Channel today we will dive into the memories of the killed Lieutenant Gerhard Link in the area of the unknown Smolensk Village of ashepkobo in this video I will show on the Google Map the advance and Retreat of the German Army in accordance with the diary of the murdered Lieutenant we will Trace his path near Moscow to his last destination or he found Eternal rest in Mother Russia in his diary he willingly shared his thoughts about why there was such a difficult situation near Moscow Perhaps it is the memories of Lieutenant link that will shed light on the reasons for the defeat of the Germans near Moscow in the winter of 1941. the 87th Infantry Division which included the 185th Infantry Regiment belonged to the second wave divisions of the weremont formed according to the mobilization plan of 1939-1940. they had a large number of career officers with World War One experience who had served in the reichswear for many years in terms of their Staffing and Equipment they almost did not differ from the very first info infantry divisions of the wheremot the regiments of the division participated in the 1940 campaign in the west they had serious combat experience despite the serious losses suffered in the winter campaign of 1941-1942 about which link writes in detail in his diary the division retained its combat potential and fought on the Eastern Front throughout the war capitulating only in The korland Cauldron after the fall of Berlin it should be clarified that during the November German offensive on Moscow the 87th Infantry Division fought at the junction of the Soviet 16th and fifth armies and penetrated into the depths of the Soviet defense in this venegara direction perhaps the furthest reaching the bank of the Moscow River East of zvenegarod there is almost no mention of civilians in the diary although its author constantly wrote something down about Villages where the regiment's headquarters were located they just didn't seem to exist for him recording his impressions of the battles link treated the Red Army soldiers more than critically not appreciating their fighting qualities even when his regiment was retreating he writes much more about the shortcomings of his own Army but where Mock's unpreparedness for frosts the collapse of supplies Russian tanks coupled with the Stalin's organ they arouse his sincere respect well let's get down to Lieutenant Link's diary November 15 1941. this morning Colonel Carson of the 461st Infantry Regiment took command of our sector of the front we are moving to new apartments we will rest until the offensive resumes the whole regiment has gathered in the village we are terribly cramped November 16 1941 a beautiful sunny day the snowy landscape is fascinating however there is no need to think about complete rest it is necessary to put up a combat guard so that in this area rich in forests we are not taken by surprise during the day the frost is still tolerable but at night it is terribly cold and each Soldier carefully wraps himself in his blanket before lying down on a bed of straw none of us has undressed since August Twilight in this region descends by four o'clock and it gets light only at half past six in the morning this morning the enemy launched an artillery strike on the village of Red Keno shells fell on the outskirts of the village one of them entered the house killed two soldiers and wounded many soldiers after a two-month break we received the long-awaited mail it is a great joy to receive the first greetings from the motherland since we left the defense line near Smolensk and took part in the big operation of the viasma encirclement we are preparing for an offensive we are somewhat worried about the upcoming days if the enemy burns down a few Villages our troops will have nowhere to stay and warm up a few Frosty days were enough to cause diseases and cases of frostbite our fighting forces are noticeably decreasing winter uniforms are also a big problem the first batch of winter uniforms arrived late and was distributed only last week we are waiting for a new delivery November 17 1941 it's a fabulous beautiful morning again the thermometer shows -9 Celsius it's still not quite calm in red Kino the fierce Roar of guns all the time from gorbovo November 18 1941 the last quiet night before the offensive the whole day passes in a continuous bustle we go to bed for a few hours to sleep what awaits us tomorrow how will the unusual frost affect our progress the day has come we must take part in the encirclement of Moscow it is possible that after that everything will end for us we have high hopes for the beginning of the battle the 3rd Battalion quickly breaks the enemy resistance at the edge of the forest we are moving along a very bad road to petrovo there according to the testimony of prisoners field fortifications should be located we hear the noise of the battle from the left soon we see German soldiers approaching the village immediately our Battalion joins the offensive and penetrates into Village petrobo the maps are so inaccurate that they are almost impossible to use we captured many prisoners destroyed one tank and captured many machine guns and other weapons we got into the hands of two anti-tank guns of a new type which we did not know about yet we captured them along with ammunition along the way there are annoying congestion and traffic jams due to the fact that the neighboring regiment did not occupy the lane assigned to it on the way you have to overcome difficulties all the time the roads are broken by Vehicles heavy carts slide down the smooth slopes artillery guns overcome difficult places with difficulty very slowly despite additional harnesses with horses both the lack of forage and the cold effect in Winter all the animals stand in the open air November 20th 1941 due to the bad Road our wagons are far behind us first of all we have to pull up parts of the Infantry column however the order came to continue the movement so precious hours of daylight pass we remain with our Command Post in gornevo a regiment with a battalion manages to occupy the Villages of the glovo and via zolvo with a sudden attack due to the unexpected opening of fire the enemy suffered huge losses the heavy guns of the regiment hidden at the edge of the forest opened fire on the advancing Red Army soldiers who intended to occupy these positions in a small area there were more than 30 killed and six machine guns disabled the Russians have heavy losses in the trenches and shelters about 250 people were captured our losses are too wounded it's hard to believe I was uneasy all day I think a cold was creeping up on me the temperature outside reached -10 yesterday and -7 Celsius today gray clouds covered the sky and the sun it is strange that so far Russian Artillery has not fired from either the oreshki area or the viscenki probably the enemy has few guns and concentrates them on the main blow area at the same time the activity of the volley gun which in the Soldier's language is called the Stalin's organ is increasing we ourselves have not experienced its effects yet but we often hear from afar the continuous Roar of closed captioning not available for the first time Soviet artillery opened disturbing fire unfortunately we lost several men horses and other military supplies during a conversation with Major General loot rocket shells flew in our Direction many of them exploded in the middle of the village everyone in the room lay down on the floor the windows trembled from the airwave of exploding shells nearby the window frame is broken dirt and Smoke Rise in a column senior Lieutenant tooler Lieutenant canis and Lieutenant Muller were wounded in the house groans in screens of the seriously wounded can be heard on the Street the losses of the headquarters company are large progress through the forest is slow first it was necessary to clear the road senior Sergeant Berthold my former Chief Sergeant during the campaign to the west and a Spanish Soldier died the death of Heroes from shrapnel the command is heard watch out Soviet tanks a heavy KV tank has already appeared on the road which was mentioned in one of the last Soviet leaflets our assault Cannon located in front will not be able to do much damage to him fortunately the sappers managed to blow up the tank suddenly from the side in the bushes the same tank appeared the brave sappers destroyed it with a thermite mine when we reached the edge of the forest we saw that we had lost our way the Russian Artillery hits the command post of the 3rd Battalion very accurately there are direct hits along with many people from the Battalion headquarters wildhagen from artillery Communications team was killed I caught him in the last moments of his life we released the sasuniha village and occupy it the middle regiment on on the right occupy settlements at the same height we are going back to torcovo tired we settle down in the house where the frame flew out today the holes were plugged with boards in Hay at night a barn caught fire in which 85 horses of the eighth transport column were standing the cause of the fire remained unknown obviously sabotage took place most of the horses were burned one blow and the transport column belonging to the regiment disappeared I do not know which loss could be harder it is impossible to get horses without damage to other parts you can't get the precious harness at all we demand that an anti-aircraft Squad be attached to fight tanks since anti-tank guns are powerless against heavy tanks and medium anti-tank guns attached can only conditionally have an effect at dawn the anti-aircraft Squad arrives with 188 millimeters and 220 millimeters anti-aircraft guns I accompany him to the front line to sasuniha Village and equipping a new regiment command post the enemy is attacking the 173rd Infantry Regiment sometimes the noise of battle is heard the second and third battalions are advancing on cermino the second Battalion moves from Village zabia zovo to sasunia and arrives there just at the time when a message arrives about the enemy occupying the initial position near the village a quick strike of a rifle company and assault guns and the enemy is defeated 60 Russians killed remain on the battlefield 100 captured around noon the second Battalion joins the rest of the battalions ready to attack sermino in the area that we captured it comes to skirmishes with enemy units thrown back to the north several tanks are shelling German positions anti-aircraft gun knocks out the t-34 the tank burst into flames the offensive presents an inspiring picture the whole regiment is marching in an open field from the forest to the Village assault artillery anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns help with their fire aptly dropped shells of assault artillery disable several anti-aircraft guns on the outskirts of the village suddenly a t-34 appears from behind the houses in turns spewing fire at the chain of our Shooters he is taken Under Fire by anti-tank guns of all calibers and anti-aircraft guns standing a little apart this crazy tank turns between the soldiers and tries to crush them with his caterpillars you can only be saved by a dexterous leap to the side one or two soldiers die a terrible death the steel monsters Tower was apparently jammed in any case he shoots only from his machine gun the projectile of a light anti-tank gun hits the exhaust pipe fire bursts out of the tank the engine is smoking but the tank rushes forward at high speed in the end one chain jumps off the running gear the tank is spinning in place the next Shell smashes the second caterpillar the t-34 stops meanwhile the first companies are already in the village and are pursuing the fleeing enemy with fire sermino is in our hands the yistras vinegar Rod Highway has been cut lieutenants travel he stayed in sasuniha survived terrible hours strong formation nations of Russian infantry flooded the road connecting both battalions and threatened The Village telephone wiring is cut in places those who tried to fix it are shot shortly after this incident I along with the lieutenant from first division of the 187th artillery regiment were returning back in one ditch we found a burning motorcycle sidecar two soldiers are lying in the blood red snow separate disturbing artillery fire and blows of the Stalin's organ fell inaccurately far from the village in the field one third of the t-34s were destroyed from 50 millimeters anti-tank guns on the Eastern outskirts of sermino in the evening we always warm up and rest tired these are hours of Unforgettable refreshing Slumber it is necessary that one of the staff officers should always be awake sitting by a dim lamp November 23 1941 today is Sunday we're staying put but Sunday peace is not felt in our headquarters the phone rings too often come on are sent back constantly someone comes and goes to the Battalion minor disturbing artillery fire is observed in the field our sappers are working on the road a group of Scouts was captured November 24 1941 the offensive continues but soon the company was forced to stop in front of the enemy's fortified positions in the forest we are suffering huge losses there is no way out the head of the company Lieutenant Richter died on this vinegar Rod istra Road I am looking in desperation for the sixth company sent to help and I meet the 11th company left without a commander and Scattered it took me a lot of work to put it in order and put it back into operation the Stalin's organs spews its deadly song continuously over us releasing one burst after another one of the volleys forced us to lie down gradually we get used to it as soon as we hear the rumble of volleys from afar we immediately hear attention Stalin's organ everyone is looking for shelter the last turn hits the target many houses Catch Fire of all the nearby wagons only a few were saved I managed to save a horse from a burning Barn I could not untie the second horse and left it to its fate because at that moment the burning thatched roof fell heavy losses were caused by enemy actions and diseases but calm that power of our troops is weakening every day if 14 days ago there were 70 people in the company today there are only 40 tomorrow there will be only 35. some start counting the days when it's their turn to die all this in no way adds to the fighting Spirit some of the best commanders who tried to lead people forward by personal example are the first to die in their company this fact shows how numerous losses among officers and non-commissioned officers today about 40 people which is 50 percent of all losses for the day the new commanders who arrived as Replacements do not know the business well and have not grown up to perform such important tasks some people are stupid and indifferent they have no conscience and they leave their bosses in the Lurch they use every opportunity to step back a favorite excuse for this is to carry the wounded the fight is still going on in the forest I'm going back to the sixth company to deliver the order meanwhile the first Battalion under the command of senior Lieutenant zech captured the settlement of swatovo located in the rear behind the Russian Forest positions Lieutenant Friedrich undertakes distracting attacks from the rear with insignificant forces the sixth company which I finally reached is pushing the enemy from the West at dusk the enemy Retreats communication with swatovo is restored by Lieutenant Friedrich who simultaneously delivers forward two tractors with anti-tank guns strong guards are placed on Forest positions liberated from the enemy at night we climb into the barn the strong walls of which serve us as a good protection from shrapnel the next day persistent fighting continues unfortunately our losses are very high especially among the commanders our people who have been in continuous fighting since the beginning of August are tired and overworked the moral burden is excessive The Cry of orderly runs through the chain of soldiers like a wander ring fire and on the contrary The Cry of forward remains unheard all these unpleasant phenomena which were previously unknown in our regiment are now openly manifested and cause a lot of trouble to the Command Staff we cannot answer the question why the reserves were delivered untimely which will replace the unit that left the battle for a while my regimental Commander made it clear to the high command already in bishanki that the soldiers were already at the limit of their strength Lieutenant Richter was killed today Lieutenant fig Lieutenant Seidel and Senior Lieutenant diutera were wounded a brave non-commissioned officer meddler Old Reliable people are disappearing November 25th to 29 1941 we are on a line captured from the enemy the neighboring parts are located at an equal height with us on the contrary the right flank is lagging behind we failed to break the enemy's resistance formations of the Waffen SS in tanks have occupied Astra and are moving forward to the east by doing this they temporarily take away from us the glory of being closer to Moscow we bury the dead of our regiment at cermino the weather is clearing up this makes it possible for Aviation to strengthen its activities the attached anti-aircraft combat group of Lieutenant Geck shoots down one single seat fighter neighboring anti-aircraft guns shot down several enemy aircraft we are generally calm and conducting reconnaissance I have established contact with the 7th and 187th infantry regiments we are forming two battalions from the regiment each with two rifle and one Machine Gun Company there is no point in continuing to fight with such insignificant forces new patients are sent to the infirmary every day of these soldiers we do not see anyone else later despite the fact that there are mild diseases also Lieutenant zech had to go to the rear I do not know what it will eventually lead to our hope is guderian's tank units that penetrated from the southwest against Moscow when the circle closes we will also move on to creating a strong line of defense for the winter if only it wouldn't snowfall the advance of motorized transport in this case will be difficult and the Infantry will become less mobile in general we Germans are not used to Waging War in Winter and our weapons do not meet such harsh conditions everyone who hears about the successes of the troops should have all the more respect for the Affairs of people dressed in Gray cloth Untold tension and hardships accompany all our conquests November 30th 1941 Sunday cloudy day slight Frost snowflakes Are Falling Slowly the offensive should be continued in the morning the commanders of the attached units spend the whole day in discussions clever drivers will have a festive wreath for half an hour by candlelight we indulge in the Christmas mood with the dancing Candlelight the rough wooden walls are not visible and the windows that have flown out plugged with hay are invisible a cup of tea is steaming in front of us a round cookies sent by my mother just in time these little things from the past peaceful life find a lot of Praise among us we haven't eaten anything like this for a long time December 1st 1941. with the onset of the day progress continues the advanced Battalion occupies a position on the edge of the forest from spatovo to casnino fortifications are camouflaged in the bushes they were taken with a fight visibility is extremely poor due to dense thickets I'm looking at the broken trenches in almost every one the Twisted figure of a Soviet soldiers are visible I stick a wooden pole into the trenches and throw heavy clods of Frozen Earth no one is moving everyone is dead the separas of our regiment are busy collecting and destroying Russian weapons at the same time they took many prisoners meanwhile the advanced Third Battalion made its way to the edge of the forest machine guns are viciously scribbling through the branches in some places we assume the presence of Minds The Battalion took its intended starting position the next second Battalion was ordered to bypass the neighboring Village of casmino by the forest and acts from the flank the clearing marked on the map does not exist in reality there are no telephone operators in place in the ranks we go through the snow-covered Forest I as a liaison officer accompany the battalion suddenly a shootout begins in the forest with a guard Outpost which unfortunately we could not catch them by surprise they noticed us when we were 30 Paces away our artillery shells are flying almost over us the locality should now be nearby soon we see him lying around the bend of the river Machine Gun and Rifle fire from the side of the schleipers Battalion which is also attacking the enemy interspersed with this are the assault guns quickly rearranging the order of battle schlegel's Battalion broke into the village enemy machine guns mounted in the bushes on the edge of the village are still scribbling on it my telephone operators are in place but there is no connection it just makes me sick walking through an open area the Third Battalion approaches they took up positions the Bolsheviks are holding the Village Under light artillery fire regrouped again the Third Battalion under the command of senior Lieutenant Mage is advancing on lipkey but he only goes a few hundred meters and stops as Darkness Falls the tractor of a heavy anti-aircraft gun ran into a mine and failed a non-commissioned officer of an anti-aircraft platoon was killed at his gun Lieutenant gotchling was hit in the chest by a machine gun burst he died a heroic death Lieutenant felborg was already wounded at noon several shells hit the assault artillery gun then the panoramic psych was broken both are now unusable our losses are also significant it was cold all day especially noticeable when you go into the house to warm up outside everything calmed down we're going to sleep I pull out a frozen slice of bread from my pocket and destroy it with an enviable appetite at night the Third Battalion pushes the enemy back reconnaissance detachments make their way through the forest and find the village of lipkey our Target not occupied they enter it at night set up posts after a restless night we move further forward December 2nd 1941 the main forces of the regiment arrive in the lipkey occupied at night the goal of the day to take the Polizzi has been achieved schlegel's Battalion must fight its way through the forest in battles with the Bolshevik rear guards and comb the area on both sides of the village meanwhile the 10th company cleans the position occupied by the enemy without losses for itself I'm back with the second Battalion the edge of the forest is under mortar fire The Village should be at the foot of a gentle Hill that lies ahead of us the terrain is open only in the distance on the horizon you can see the forest to our left far ahead stretches the forest not far from the edge of the village there should be a Birch Grove it takes a considerable number of hours before everything is prepared we impatiently step from one foot to the other my feet are freezing I observe the carelessness of our people they gather in groups on the edge of the Forest right in a prominent place I vigorously chastised several officers I am very surprised by the order of the cars they follow in large groups not paying attention to the disguise my comments are wasted the Battalion is moving towards the settlement the company crawls from the edge of the forest to the Birch Grove the place is under artillery fire there are no Russians in front of us is the Valley of the Moscow river behind the stacks the outlines of the next Village movement is visible there heavy guns quickly approach the positions heavy machine guns anti-tank guns light regimental guns open fire with direct fire the Polizzi Village lie on a hill on the other side of the Moscow River are forested Hills this position will not be very pleasant for the Russians one impatient machine gunner also wants to open fire stupidly the first machine gun burst hits our own comrades Lieutenant schreiterer is seriously wounded and will bleed out soon after the regimental commander who arrived at that time outlined the line of main resistance I returned back to lipkey to the command post we settled down at the school in the evening a pleasant surprise the general calls the colonel to him and informs him that the fuhrer Awards him the night's order of the Iron Cross this proud award is a worthy recognition of all that this man has done his successes the weather is clear and cold all day long intensive activity of Russian Aviation at night our doctor discovers a whole colony of bed bugs in the wall he wears out almost the entire battery of his pocket flashlight watching them December 3rd 1941 about 20 hours three low-flying biplanes dropped leaflets but this outrage did not cause us any harm they also appear above the Polizzi Village the guard guarding the headquarters grabs a carbine and shoots down one of the cars with three shots it lights up cold clear Starry Sky the snow Creek's underfoot December 4th 1941 we are experiencing heavy hours again the enemy is attacking Polizzi village with large forces it was recaptured from the Southern and Eastern sides but he made his way into the forest north of the village and threatens to break through between our strong points senior Lieutenant Mage from the 3rd Battalion is assigned the task of clearing the area from the enemy I'm called there Fierce fighting ensues in the forest the shots don't stop for a minute repeated Echoes reinforce the impression of shots heavy machine guns of the Russians are ironing bushes shells are whistling around the fire subsides for a while then the shell Hoots heavily and the whole damn thing starts again they shoot in my opinion more blindly only at the intended target bullets whistling here and there are confusing since no one can distinguish between their own and the enemies after the first unexpected Clash the Russians are no longer visible their undirected fire keeps our people at a distance it is a thankless task to grope not knowing where through a dense bush from time to time a cry is heard it's someone caught by a bullet poor wounded blue-faced lying on the cold snow it is almost impossible to alleviate the situation of helpless people in these conditions I am called in to watch the Left Flank and inform walking along with one lightly wounded man all the time carefully watching the terrain after a while I meet a reconnaissance Squad that has been sent to reinforce I acquaint the commander with the situation suddenly we notice at a short distance from us near the village of palizzi several dark figures lying in the snow from time to time they move cautiously there are about 15 to 20 of them there is no doubt they are Russians crawling they want to get back to their own I raced the carbine to my shoulder the reconnaissance Squad finished them off and captured four heavy machine guns meanwhile the Third Battalion managed to take several machine gun nests and destroyed the enemy entrenched in the forest with the onset of Darkness the situation changed in our favor we captured 15 heavy machine guns and put them into disrepair 43 prisoners are in our hands but we also shed a lot of blood the regiment lost 31 soldiers killed and 55 wounded which significantly reduced its combat capability the senior Lieutenant from the first company of the 187th sapper Battalion died the next day from a severe chest wound December 5th 1941 at night the temperature dropped to minus 26 Celsius we feel the enemy's merciless fire on us and intend to move the main line of defense to the edge of the forest since the village of palitzi is unfavorable for leading the resistance around midnight the enemy's disturbing fire reaches the Polizzi Village heavy Russian Artillery sends a hurricane of destructive Fire To The Village in the intervals between shots the terrain is illuminated by Rockets all this without a doubt means preparation for the offensive as always at such crucial moments the telephone cable turns out to be damaged and the radio cannot be used due to severe frosts the situation is depressing uncertain I'm heading to the edge of the forest to find out the details a heavy smoke cloud rises above the Polizzi Flames are shooting out of many houses heavy mines continuously crumble The Village into splinters it seems the tanks are also taking part in this case the bursts of falling mines are so close that my eardrums feel the pressure of the airwave our artillery suppresses the enemy's explored firing points with concentrated fire there is such a noise in the air as if a flock of geese flew by that's why I remember the song Wild Geese Russell in the night the cues go to the Target while the Infantry remains inactive several heavy tanks are approaching the village we with our medium tanks are powerless against these monsters but the enemy infantry is scattered the Mage Battalion which arrived in time replaces schlegel's battalion a lot of cars and horses burn down Lieutenant Wenzel is slightly wounded by shrapnel the whole day cost us 11 killed 34 wounded 19 soldiers suffered severe frostbite the loss of officers is significant Lieutenant Georgie died a heroic death the first Battalion of the 187th artillery regiment lost many officers wounded it is a desperate pity that none of them who got sick or were wounded and sent to the rear did not return to the front line again there is no need to think about a full-fledged replenishment it is not clear when we will be replaced we are starting to calculate when the last people will be out of action then there will be no one to hold a weapon in their hands the presence of people capable of servicing heavy machine guns or heavy mortars is so insignificant that with further loss these types of weapons will not be able to be used in addition some of them along with vehicles were left there due to the lack of personnel when they entered the Rosa on November 1st the icy wind throws prickly needles of snow in the face a hard crust settles on the balaclava from breathing some parts of the face quickly turn white and after a few minutes of being in the cold you return frostbitten numerous guard posts and guards are trying to warm at least the feet most sensitive to cold at the miserable campfires our uniforms do not stand comparison with the Russian the opponent has cotton pants and jackets he is dressed in felt boots and fur hats recently a small batch of fur coats has arrived they are issued to soldiers who have to be in the cold more time shoes are not enough especially in the current state of boots and socks December 6 1941 having failed to achieve success in our Direction the Reds rushed to their nearest Neighbors here and there heavy local battles lead to success the right flank of the core is still lagging behind therefore an order was given to straighten the line the reconnaissance will be carried out early in the morning on the site of our regiment this line is extremely unprofitable it passes mostly through the forest it takes me hard to think whether I can complete the position with my small forces and hold it in the morning I went first to casnino and then to spotobo to prepare command posts the road was crowded with cars of every part imaginable with great difficulty with other formations I was able to place a command post in a kindergarten a massive Stone building December 7 1941 Christmas post we are aware of the impossibility of holding the line of defense further withdrawal of forces to the sermino lukino area is expected together with the commander we inspect the area for a new position sappers begin immediately the construction of dugouts and barriers there is a dressing station in the orphanage one morning at reception hours about 30 soldiers from a recently transferred rifle company appear here in general about 80 people were brought 40 of them with frostbite of the second and third degree who should be transferred to the Infirmary swollen legs are covered with blisters and these are no longer legs but some kind of shapeless mass in some cases already blackened those who have passed and scathed through the reign of fragments until now become disabled here a few surviving houses cannot give shelter for the night to everyone huddled closely together people lie down to the very vestibule they heat up bone hard bread in an open oven how bad these people look they are tired and unshaven and their clothes are shabby from fatigue people fall right where they are standing what to do next not a single fresh person who could take the place of the one who will fail today is there really no division that could replace us the headquarters of the Supreme High command carefully analyzed the situation on the Soviet German front in December 1941. the command came to the conclusion that it was necessary to take decisive measures to take away the Strategic initiative from the enemy it was decided to strike the main blow in the western Direction it is here that the high command has concentrated most of its Reserves planning a counter-offensive the Soviet command sought to exploit the difficulties of the German fascist troops who did not have time to regroup for defense and were forced to resist the attacks of the Red Army in unprepared positions however this was a risk for the Soviet Union since it was necessary to launch an offensive operation immediately without any pause after defensive battles according to intelligence data the command established that there were no troops in the rear of the Germans all reserves were exhausted and drawn into the battle the enemy soldiers were very tired their morale was falling from the Lieutenant's diary we see that the Germans had a very hard time since December 5th it was on the fifth that the Moscow strategic offensive operation began contrary to all the predictions of field Marshal vonbach about the impossibility of the Soviet troops going on a counter-refensive on a broad front at dawn on December 5th 1941 the Moscow strategic offensive operation began with strikes by the armies of the Colleen in front a day later the troops of the Western Front and the task force of the southwestern front went on the offensive Soviet troops inflicted a serious defeat on selected enemy formations as a result of the red Army's December counter-offensive the direct threat to Moscow was eliminated the combat capabilities of the German troops have significantly decreased under the blows of the Soviet troops the German fascist formations at first slowly and then more and more actively moved to the West they abandoned military equipment transport remaining warehouses with ammunition equipment and food along the roads along which the German Army retreated from Moscow more and more enemy Graves appeared at the beginning of 1942 the Soviet counter-offensive ended the enemy was driven back from the walls of the capital Germans suffered heavy losses 38 of his divisions were defeated during the Battle of Moscow the German Army lost up to half a million people killed and captured 1.3 000 tanks 2.5 000 guns and mortars more than fifteen thousand cars the fields of the Moscow region were littered with broken and burned military equipment December 8 1941. Japan declared war on England and the United States thus it is finally on the axis side it is still difficult to judge the significance of what is happening I still think that this will be the beginning of open hostilities between Germany and America the first actions of the Japanese seem to be successful since noon disturbing enemy fire on the village kasmino the telephone connection is out of order again at 17 o'clock out of breath a messenger comes running he brings the news of the death of Auber liptonite Mage the adjutant of the regiment Commander a shell directly hit the house where the Battalion headquarters was located killed several people from the headquarters the Third Battalion is unlucky I am required to go to the front line and at the same time take the new commander of the 3rd Battalion Oberlin wolf 187th artillery division everyone is there waiting for an enemy attack as soon as this assumption is made the attack begins I'm running through the village and noticeable it's flying between my knees Tracer bullets fly across the sky like red Sparks I don't feel cold anymore an hour passed and the firefight in the forest ended it's done there are only a few Russians left on the main line of defense who need to be smoked out of there returning back I found out about the renewed attack again I am taking the ammunition urgently needed there to the front line the Russians on the one hand broke into the village several houses are burning the remnants of the second Battalion do not let the enemy to the edge which is east of the village I see the Russians through the wavering Flames the situation is uncertain the Third Battalion is stuck somewhere on the way back I pick up the wounded in the truck it is not an easy task to take pain warn soldiers away from the battlefield meanwhile midnight had arrived it works beneficially for several hours I can hear all the conversations through my drowsiness December 9 1941 at one hour and 30 minutes together with Lieutenant Weinstein I'm going to the front line again we found the Third Battalion still in the village they cut off a part of the village in the hands of the enemy units of the 187th infantry and 187th artillery regiments sent to the rescue are preparing a counter-attack I'm coming back with a report and can finally rest for a few hours the situation is restored again the second Battalion is no longer combat ready or reconnaissance Detachment and separate Battalion companies remain on the front line the enemies renewed attempts to attack US during the day and the following night were repulsed December 10 1941 I'm going to Boris kovo to prepare a new command post the withdrawal of the Battalion goes unnoticed at night the rear units remain near the enemy sappers blow up tanks and anti-aircraft guns December 11 1941 all units are busy building a new position there is no material there is not enough trench tool it's a Pity to see how hard people work without tools in The Frozen Ground there is no need to think about the delivery of much needed equipment in the near future the rear units withdraw according to the order and set fire to the abandoned Villages the flame of the fire illuminates the night sky at 15 o'clock we listened attentively to the Furious speech in the German reichstag we were pleased to learn about the declaration of war to the United States we've been waiting for this our Naval forces will be able to respond to Roosevelt's Brazen challenge December 12 1941 the construction of positions despite all the difficulties is moving forward the enemy has not yet approached his guard is its vitilvo at the right 7th Army Corps the enemy managed to break through threateningly deep into the rear the bitter cold was replaced by wet weather the consequences of this are icy conditions December 13 1941 a sad celebration the burial of the Fallen comrades at casmino took place in the evening the regimental headquarters moved to a Dugout equipped for him the small stove is filled to overflowing with firewood and is Ablaze but still does not warm the Frozen walls in any way December 14 1941 everything is covered with frost the sun shines brightly in the crystals of snow we are concerned about the enemy attacking the neighboring regiment on the left almost all day the enemy broke through to our rear but they could not destroy it the threat has grown a new Retreat is assumed for this purpose the evening of December 15th is scheduled there is no need to think about the Christmas fast separate enemy units should be located at obarkovo on the road along which the delivery takes place order to leave positions tomorrow morning it's all very bitter it cost us Untold labor to dig the ground without the necessary tools for this we literally dug it with our nails our Chevy room is ready at the same time the last construction materials were spent the sappers no longer have a single nail not a single end of The Wire and so we have to give up leave to the mercy of Faith the land that we have conquered in our Victorious movement forward oh my God what have we been guilty of that this has fallen to our lot our situation is critical there is a danger of being cut off we need to retreat 20 hours is the shortest time we must hurry we can have another bowl of rice soup it's good that everything is already prepared we go all night long we may have to withdraw with battles internally we are ready for this the situation is unknown most of the telephone wires are cut and the connection does not work did the enemy cut them there is still an intermediate station in sorakino a slippery Road makes you suffer with difficulty we descended by car from a steep slope the assault guns will no longer rise one of them was blown up nothing is known about the fate of the second one meetings with retreating regiments create the first traffic jams we have to go around the road with great difficulties we break through with the column in the village of recover we stopped the further path must first be explored in a crowded room sitting on a chair I dose for one hour Lieutenant Strobel is lying under me when the flame in the small stove goes out it gets cold and we freeze the room has bad damp air December 15 1941 as soon as it starts to get light we continue on our way bad roads and snow create a lot of difficulties cars often get stuck in the snow slowly moving forward the vehicles of the regiment's headquarters are dragging with difficulty one of them should be taken in towup to the place of rest Village zagary I arrived there around noon to the South not far away the noise of battle was heard with an appetite I destroy several pieces of stale bread you don't have to think about sleep I'm staying at the telephone which has not been removed here yet danger of being surrounded it seems is no longer there a long column of all kinds of vehicles and soldiers continues its way in the dark it's not easy to take patience with you I want to go ahead with the carts but the highway is filled with cars I haven't had time to get out of this Inferno yet as the cart turns over again into a snow-covered pit while we are trying to get her out the column passes it is impossible to overtake it the truck put in order yesterday morning deteriorated again the axle broke nothing can be done the last parts of the regiment pass by I have to leave the car we're loading three crates of hand grenades into the cockpit everything that cannot be takenly destroyed it should not fall into the hands of the Bolsheviks several guns of the first division of the 187th artillery regiment remain on the road exhausted horses can no longer pull carts and freeze the anti-tank company lost several guns and baggage wagons some cars had to be abandoned due to lack of fuel at the turn a heavily loaded cart turns over once more and delays our way as soon as we are about to set off again a platoon of heavy infantry guns catches up with us poor people they spend so much effort to save these tools on the last steep slope the gun falls into a deep hole it can no longer be saved we blow it up at 9pm in the village of denisika we get into a terrible mess my regiment is long gone what joyless pictures appear before my eyes boxes of ammunition boxes of shells are lying here and there on the road I'm going further there are already mountains of ammunitions I also find items of equipment all these things belong to someone else not my regiment we leave behind all these unwisely abandoned things again we are forced to join one column it's stalled neither back nor forth a few kilometers away from us is a difficult section of the road the cold penetrates everywhere I try to protect myself with a blanket and two overcoats but my feet are stiff from the cold it's blowing hard the snow covers all around December 16 1941 the front column is moving slowly the traffic jam ahead has already been resolved and we are moving relatively well what amazing pictures stand before us I think I have seen this only in the campaign to the West during the retreat of the French troops broken cars scattered cartridges in many cases they hurried to reset it is very bad that we do not have enough hidden storage rooms in which we could hide at least the most valuable morale and discipline suffered heavy blows during this Retreat how much valuable property has been wasted they didn't even bother to destroy it all we can be afraid that these Munitions will fall on our heads with small obstacles I get safely to the regiment we pass through the shinki village the former location of the regiment's headquarters then of course no one thought that we would see this Village again although the situation was not good then in that Autumn slush now it has become even worse the numerous losses suffered during this time weakened our troop even more meanwhile we received 200 reinforcements which we somehow managed to get in the rear units the combat capability of these soldiers is terrible many do not even own their own rifle I thought that such a thing was possible only in hastily assembled Russian brigades at the pesigno Crossing we rested only once for several hours we have to move on tonight our goal is toshino also well known from the offensive period we have to stand there for the next few days covering the movement I passed through Rosa abandoned almost completely deserted wooden houses are burning in some places these torches illuminate the city it's as bright as day we're moving into Colonel raid's old apartment at night the order comes prepare for defense finally the fuhrer's authoritative word it is impossible to retreat further keep the Russian line of defense to the last the city of rusa itself should be turned into a springboard December 17 1941 the defense organization immediately identified a number of difficult tasks every now and then losses in ammunition and Equipment are revealed the last battery of Captain rake was left in Rosa the city is overflowing with wagons and units of every division imaginable these groups break up and disperse every now and then the clueless management of some parts only makes you shrug your shoulders these divisions should be given an example of the leadership of the retreat in my regiment incredible pictures are presented completely degraded figures wander everywhere in an undignified form like trams like the last bastard I interfere every time I meet such a loose guy for the most part they are short-term soldiers without thorough drill in the 267th division it even came to a bloody brawl the new line of defense runs through our section of forest on this side of the river this line is undoubtedly better than it was in casnino but worse than in boriscovo the plot is very wide for us December 18 1941 a light anti-aircraft gun has been sent to support us with the help of sappers we create positions the torment with the sapper tool began again first of all with picks and shovels again the work was slowed down by the absence of wire and mines there is absolutely nothing available finally we managed to get some equipment I immediately take off from my place to bring some mines and coils of barbed wire from the specified Warehouse into cars it was a bad trip on a dilapidated Bridge the car failed and got stuck among the protruding logs then we saw that we had lost our way the second car went downhill after many efforts the cars could continue on their way again it was only when we reached the detour that we were able to get closer to a road suitable for traffic but we did not leave for it soon then it became clear that it was impossible to drive along this road a heavy car could not take a slippery climb I had to leave the car until tomorrow we went on without it on the way two cameras in the wheels burst in the dark no one would find the specified Warehouse December 19 1941 since we are in dire need of protective equipment I'm on my way again to find a mine Depot this time I'm taking an armored car with me we had to rush through the area being shelled by the enemy everything went well we load our wagons to capacity with long-awaited mines and wire when leaving we were caught by Machine Gun fire in one place but even in such conditions we managed to safely carry heavily loaded wagons today 27 people left the infirmary I ordered to hide all kinds of weapons equipment and ammunition lying around unattended and I take some of the things that may be useful then take with me December 20th 1941. we are feverishly working on creating positions we are moving to vachalino there is such a terrifying tightness in the toshino village that we have to find a place for the Battalion where the units withdrawn from the front lines could warm up and rest at least one night December 21st 1941 for several days disturbing enemy fire has been observed on the regiment site we lost a few soldiers the enemy wants to rush to our position but the exposed Minds Inspire him in All likelihood respect a local battle ensues which leads to further losses several soldiers were apparently captured by the Russians the demand for replenishment of personnel became more and more insistent on our part replenishment was promised and we received it in the amount of 40 people among the minus two officers of the marching battalion but it did not make significant changes to our situation since on the same day about the same number of people were sent to the infirmary fresh units must be dropped on planes the first replenishment arrived in other units the next day the plane could not take to the air due to unfavorable meteorological conditions there is no need to count on a new delivery now what will all this bring us to first good combat ready units are formed then nothing is done to refresh them people have a feeling as if they were put on duty and then forget to change are we abandoned we got the impression that all the events are not being held on time and that now not everything has been done that is necessary all the barracks there are overcrowded but here at the front every person is dear to us first of all Specialists and officers some Authority with incomprehensible persistence keeps people in the rear units it is sad we were amazed to hear in the morning the news about the change of command of the army the fuhrer himself took command a brief order introduces officers to this changes I assume that the shift is connected with our Retreat which were the more prudent organization of the case timely delivery of reserves could be eliminated we understand that our transport is doing a tremendous job the network of Railways and highways on these endless planes is so small that they are loaded to capacity now the cold weather affects the work of Transport you won't find coal for thousands of kilometers but all these difficulties must be overcome therefore it is not surprising that we lack a lot I would say we have almost nothing at first we could get a lot in the captured areas there were enough supplies for cattle and horses during all the bad months when we were left to ourselves now we are in the same area our paltry remnants will soon run out potatoes are added to food only in the smallest quantities the cattle are completely cut out forage in the district is running out oats were difficult to get before it is also good that food and ammunition have been received so far in sufficient quantities all the other things we really need I have already mentioned here the protective means as well as lighting equipment tools building materials all this is rare December 22nd 1941 after a thorough search I found some good weapons and equipment among the broken abandoned cars were hiding everything we'll try to put it into action soon a heavy snowstorm causes a lot of trouble a strong gust of wind is enough to make the newly cleared roads impassable again even on a sleigh it is difficult to get through we are overwhelmed with worries about Transportation a few days are enough to stop all movement December 23 1941 it is worth a lot of work to ensure that we are left with a light anti-aircraft gun located on the front line every now and then this question comes up again all the time there is no Clarity on who should dispose of it at night the Russians managed to get through the minefields and make their way to our defense line the enemy company was pushed back by a counter-attack the food train was stuck somewhere in the snow drifts it's still snowing heavily a Gusty icy wind is whistling over the plains I'm going to investigate the winter Forest stands untouched like an enchanted one there wasn't a soul here before me there is a deep silence branches of trees and bushes Bend under the weight of snow December 24 1941 Christmas evening Christmas starts at 18 o'clock at noon intensive enemy Aviation activity began I watched as a Russian fighter was shot down the commander together with Lieutenant Strobel went to the front line and to the neighboring Division I am making brief entries in this diary they don't have to be brilliant stylistically Immaculate summaries no they are as merciless as reality itself these notes should contain what is really happening after dark the commander accompanied by Lieutenant Strobel searches for several vacant houses on his return officers and orderlies of the regimental headquarters gather near a small Christmas tree the colonel says a few words about the military Christmas of 1941 candles illuminate a spacious Hut and everyone thinks of course about Christmas at home about dear people they've got some little things you can get a shaving device toothpaste Combs writing paper insoles powder Etc I chose a lighter a notebook handkerchiefs it's a Pity that the Christmas mail didn't derive the joyful unpacking of parcels was canceled our guys managed despite all the difficulties to save the goose intended for today Goose managed to change several owners during this time but he was returning to the old one again are people masterfully prepared a festive dinner two flasks of French champagne arrived in time the existence of which no one suspected the milk and pudding sent by the mother was a delicious dessert the Commander's big Christmas box contains something else one little book brought me joy today tobacco and a little chocolate have been obtained in large quantities for the parts candles are flickering each of us is busy writing letters home then we drink tea and cookies again so to the sounds of the radio we spend Christmas evening he is full of sadness memories and hopes that evening we were waiting for the Russians to speak the alarm was announced but there was calmness on our entire site when you go outside you see a silver glowing ball Rising above the dark Treetops it illuminates the ground for a few seconds then goes out and the landscape is plunged Into Darkness again December 25th 1941 the first day of Christmas the first day of the holiday is held in complete Harmony field mail arrives unfortunately it was the case that the tightly stuffed bags with letters were almost all without exception intended for the dead wounded or sick I'm writing a diary and some letters again December 26 1941 in the morning I drove a truck to the place of ammunition distribution the motors refused to work because of the extreme cold a car with a burnt out valve does not go further the second truck called to take the first one in tow also has a cylinder malfunction on the way he never got to the goal I spend half a day on the road getting angry and finally come back without doing anything December 28 1941 clear star evening Sky I'm heading to the front line the Moon is standing in the snow-covered Treetops even in the forest it's as bright as day the area is under disturbing enemy fire a tree fell by shard's lies across the road I crawl into the company Commander's dugout the conversation is about what worries the people on the front line first of all it is a passionate desire to be replaced with fresh forces every day there are fewer and fewer of our comrades after the anti-aircraft gun was removed we no longer feel safe the second issue is lighting the living dugouts are dark and the soldiers can't do anything insects torment people they can't find relief anywhere people are terribly worried about the lack of mail unfortunately the portion of bread should be reduced the removal of the anti-aircraft gun puts us in front of the need to strengthen the units regular withdrawal of soldiers to rest in the future is no longer possible people should sit patiently in musty dark holes December 29 1941 when visiting a position under construction I once again saw the difficulties that people face when trying to dig frozen bone hard Earth the poor sappers are almost desperate a strong swing of the shovel and a small piece of Earth flies into the air I do not understand why in the autumn in the slush they did not provide for this it was known that the uniforms needed for further movement due to untimely delivery would not be enough the march to the east showed that the claims about the strength of the Red Army were deceptive the Reds have only heavy mortars and tanks and nothing else not even enough food for the population the red command may not succumb to false hopes and not think that it will achieve a brilliant victory his fleeting success is explained by the mistakes we have just outlined there is no doubt that the Bolsheviks will feel our power again in the summer the Kremlin rulers will have to see that they're fresh but hastily assembled brigades will not be able to resist us the other day we received dubious messages from North Africa the British seem to have managed to pull up forces and with them they go on the offensive there are not enough troops in Libya since they are intended for this section of the front they are put into battle in the east I'm thinking for example about the fifth Panzer Division we pin all our hopes on Rommel in the early days of the offensive operation of the Russians the Germans were sure that this was a local operation which they could easily cope with however the next day parts of the western and Southwestern fronts began their offensive actions a couple of days later the Germans admitted that they were facing a crisis that they had not experienced during the entire War period Hitler's directive on the transition to defense in all sectors of the front did not fundamentally change the picture the weremont rolled back from Moscow this is exactly what the lieutenant describes in his diary and here's what Soviet veterans remembered about the Battle of Moscow kazlenko log Vince to panovic through the Optics I saw what the famous Russian general Frost is capable of the vaunted German technology was inactive while General Frost continued to freeze the Germans another General by the name of zhukov arrived at the front line I saw this stocky Stern man when he was preparing the Army for a comprehensive fresh forces were already arriving to us well-dressed Siberian units in Winter armed with machine guns the Cavalry helped a lot then Cavalry detachments constantly attacked German Sledge wagons preventing them from carrying out shells and food back Nikolai ajevich Tank Man I started fighting in September of the 1941. we then drove the Germans away from Moscow liberating our villages most often they were empty people were either taken captive or they hid in the woods in dugouts I remember how we ended up in the village of yumuga we drive along the road and around the mangled German cars and the bodies of dead soldiers we were forbidden to get out of the tank but my comrade Victor Pavlov a fighting kid who regularly went AWOL for young ladies violated the order I jumped out and followed him we go then and we saw a picture a young German is lying his face is twisted his arms are spread out dead as if Victor took the bayonet and poked him in the Palm he immediately came to life and screened pretending you bastard unfortunately Victor did not survive the war his tank was bombed and burned down and he was with him everyone lived one day because we saw only Horrors if they don't kill you today you'll die tomorrow if you don't burn in a tank you'll go under the ice during the crossing if they had told me in 1941 that I would return from the front without a single injury I would never have believed it it's a miracle that we survived in such a meat grinder Petrov Ivan Nicole evic border battalion I served as part of the 10th motorized rifle regiment our border Battalion occupied the defense of Moscow near the galatsuno station of the Moscow mince Direction the Germans were standing 27 kilometers from Moscow there was panic in Moscow people did not know about Stalin's whereabouts many sought to leave the city and go to the east of the country at the beginning of November when there was a slight respite in hostilities Stalin decided to hold a military parade we were removed from our positions to participate in the military parade on Red Square a week of training and on November 7 1941 at seven o'clock in the morning our Battalion arrived at Red Square to this day I remember this distant but Unforgettable parade I felt the feelings of Pride delight and confidence that gripped me then holding a parade on Red Square caused unpleasant surprise among the Germans in confidence calmness among Soviet citizens from Red Square we were sent straight to the front and our Battalion was again sent to galicino on the night of December 5th to 6 1941 there was a strong Frost minus 40 Celsius we were sitting in the trenches and there was a red glow over Moscow and suddenly like a big cloud covered this glow our Soviet planes were flying from Moscow in a dense formation a huge spot the ground was shaking but we had no fear only a feeling of great exaltation for the Germans who considered Moscow already defeated it was a complete surprise German troops were driven back from the capital during these difficult December days I will never forget the feat of senior sergeant cytarov and how can I forget that the senior Sergeant left alone and unarmed rushed at a German tank smashed a machine gun with a hatchet he shoved his hat into the barrel which exploded when fired the enemy tank exploded and our comrade died with it December 30th 1941. the population that has left Villages and Villages comes back in droves to get some food but we must be merciless we cannot spend our small stocks threats drive people away let hunger do what bullets could not do December 31st 1941 evening of the old year the end of the year still brought us a little Joy I met a replenishment at the mosais train station two non-commissioned officers and 104 soldiers it is especially valuable that these soldiers are from those who were wounded and returned after treatment many of them belong to this regiment before and were wounded in the first battles in the summer How great is the difference between these soldiers and those who arrive for the first time in a warm room the Christmas tree is lit with candles for the last time the sky is clear again Starry very cold I am sitting with the officers of the regimental staff over a cup of tea with rum we listen to the sounds of the radio and talk about what we are concerned about at the moment the incoming replenishment gave rise to a conversation about the reserve troops the difference between the reserve and active Parts seems to be becoming more and more noticeable a short description is enough to confirm the previous opinion about the reserve battalions of course the methods of training soldiers should also be revised you need to practice shooting or hand to hand more gentleman officers responsible for the training of soldiers should not puzzle over where they will spend the evening in the cafe Palace or in the New World their thoughts should be occupied with the education of the people entrusted to them they should besiege their superiors every day seek a transfer to the parade ground in order to gain Frontline experience there the passage of the exercises in the barracks is below any criticism only continuous drill in units in peacetime can make reserves really suitable with a glass of champagne and hope for success in the future I celebrate the new year January 1st 1942. New Year's Day -32 Celsius when I look back on last year I can say that it brought a lot of New Impressions and experiences it would take several more years to fully realize everything many judgments will still change when you look at events from a different point of view I still think that this year I have become more experienced and mature in many ways and this will benefit me the year began with a separation from his girlfriend there was a time in France in the regiment in the Border Garrison about which the best memories will remain in my memory I recall the fruitful period of study the beauty of the Landscapes of Versailles where spring soon began tours in montrechid I willingly recall cozy evenings in a club room with deep armchairs over a glass of sparkling champagne or bottles with famous labels and inscriptions Martel Hennessy and man Musso Mr Peter's cozy establishment is skater do or pops up in front of my eyes there is a whole battery of emptied bottles on the table with the appointment to the officers the long-standing dream of my youth was fulfilled the next outstanding event was a visit to Paris the intoxicating Brilliance of which I happened to see then the trains rattled and rumbled and here I found myself on a train that took me East grunfeld received us the officers of the forming company hospitably spring greeted us here for the second time and the beauty of East Prussia captivated me we were all preparing with enthusiasm for a campaign to the southeast but the appointment deceived all our expectations and we ended up going on a campaign to the Russian border the regiment met the morning of June 22nd on the front lines at 305 am the first minds of our unit flew across the border ten minutes later the Infantry attacked numerous border fortifications the location of which I helped to establish the intelligence headquarters here my platoon took the first fight my good old friend Lieutenant Behringer a brave courageous fellow died when I was under the rusa we lost a lot while we took the yasabet's Fortress for me the name of this Fortress Is forever associated with deep sand stretching for kilometers ready to suck in swamps every minute the scorching June sun and thick all pervading dust after the first battles in which we participated up to the bialwa stock area I stopped to rest in Sidra where I received the Iron Cross of the two degree this was followed by a period of continuous movement and transferred to the rear units if at that time this activity seemed boring and tedious now you remember with pleasure about Carefree days in the former polish regions about various dishes of field cuisine at that time I received the amazing news about the heroic death of my brother Hans we had to fight again after a long trip by rail we arrived in Smolensk I will always remember the most brutal defensive battles that brought heavy losses to both sides September found me in dukoshina in the reserve of the Command Staff by the beginning of the great October offensive the command sent me to the regimental headquarters an inspiring brilliantly conducted offensive brought glory to my regiment October 13 skapana and papaka the hardest days will remain Unforgettable for me the large environment in which we took part will go down in history under the name the Battle of bryansk and biasma nothing could detain us we quickly overcame minefields and blown up Bridges on October 18th my commander awarded me the Iron Cross of the first degree now I had to go through a season of impassable mud during which time I learned to ride we were walking through the borodino field where Napoleon fought which is still recalled by numerous obelisks of monuments we crossed the mosqueba river through the Ford then overcame the march to vashenki repelling the enemy's attack the first acquaintance with the Siberian divisions the onslaught on Moscow fraught with many the events begins which I described on the first pages of this diary hardships and inhuman tension accompanied us throughout 1941 more than once death stood before us stretching out his bony hand and here I am standing in front of an Open Door through which I must pass not knowing where the road will lead me but I have enough courage to cross this threshold I am convinced that it will be no less difficult and harsh because fate led me through the battlefields in 1941. I am sure that the new year will lead us to Victory January 2nd 1942 from -33 to -37 Celsius it is freezing cold I got myself a pair of local felt boots my feet are amazingly warm little by little our part acquires them unfortunately the amount that can be obtained is much lower than the need the most severe torments from the frost seem to have been experienced by us since soldiers in insulated dugouts do not suffer so much from the cold fur coats have been obtained for centuries which protect well from frost fortunately frostbitten people recover safely a few days ago they started collecting warm clothes at home it turned out really funny when the Reich Minister appealed to hand over warm clothes a newsreel depicting the issuance of fur coats was already shown in the cinema and it was announced on the radio that the soldiers of the Eastern Front were beautifully dressed a deplorable game it could be of course not bad if we ourselves were not suffering characters in it before winter things come to the East Easter will come January 3rd 1942-28 degrees Celsius we have been preparing for a new campaign for several days now the General State of things makes it necessary this destroys everything that has been done so far the worst thing is of course the cold it makes you feel with renewed vigor our position in terms of the location of the position is improving but the question is won't this Advantage have its drawbacks Sunday January 4th 1942 only minus 19 degrees Celsius when I go outside I want spring to come sooner the summary reported a few days ago about the fighting in the central sector of the front and in the Crimea since we have no Reserves at our disposal every sudden local offensive can lead to Serious consequences a gross mistake was made in the manual the heads of those responsible for this are rolling and our general must also surrender his leadership over the corps we ask ourselves what will happen if the enemy goes on the attack it's bad that tank Specialists are used in hand-to-hand combat that is unusual for them if tanks are thrown up later there will be no people who could serve them if there is no shift in the near future are battered exhausted divisions will not be able to fight in the summer morale and discipline point to phenomena that were previously alien to the regiment at the same time I found that in other parts such things protrude even more convex and brighter than in our country it starts with a careless attitude to the storage of military property and ends with thefts from each other and in general the word friendship is now written with a small letter it is better to see that there is no longer a collective imbued with the spirit of struggle and the will to resist many old officers who took part in the world war declare with one voice that the spirit of the troops was much better than in phenomena like the current ones did not take place in 1918 it's worth thinking about the reason for this can be found in the fact that for most soldiers of short-term service the concepts of performance of military duty and soldiers honor have not yet entered into the blood and flesh it is a Pity that many do not act decisively where it is necessary January 5th 1942 the month of snow begins with minor frosts in January snowfall should begin which will cover the roofs with a meter thick layer of snow the sky is covered with gray clouds the Moon is not visible otherwise it would illuminate the snow-covered Earth and the night would be bright does the march on Moscow launched at such a late time of the year have sufficient political ground we proceed from the assumption that this operation will untie the hands of Japan which thanks to the transfer of powerful Russian forces from Vladivostok to the Bolshevik Capital which is under threat will be able to fight with redoubled Force against England and the United States the first great successes of the Brave Japanese are also our successes it was our entry into the war that finally made it possible to put a limit on the supply of military equipment from America Japan and its Fleet are pulling British and American Naval forces from the Atlantic American Aid to England is entering a period of crisis January 6 1942 I visited the dressing station of one battalion today what I've seen is truly amazing many of the body was completely covered with boils this is the result of a lice bite underwear was dirty to the point of horror it can no longer be used such phenomena when the point is working at full load are inevitable people have not had the opportunity to change their underwear for several months dirty underwear has been in the Satchel since the summer there is no way to wash it to do this only water and soap are not enough you also need to be sure that there is enough time to dry one soldier's entire calf was mutilated by open wounds the size of a 10 infinitecoin long johns lie right on the wound and rub and under the present conditions such a patient remains in the ranks January 11 1942 Sunday -19 the last days have passed I would say with a measured pace there is nothing new on the front lines sometimes in some areas a barrage of heavy mortars hits our positions just to remind us that the Ivans are still here in the second Battalion sector isolated Russian snipers have advanced and are trying to exhaust our forces yesterday we received the depressing news that Captain Muller was wounded while bypassing the position the doctor's message worried us a through wound in the shoulder an inlet on the right an outlet under the left shoulder blade in the evening a new message was received from the main dressing station Captain Muller died of injury we are all shocked with the death of Mueller the life of a warrior who showed great promise ended we know very little about the general situation resev and Kaluga turned into places of fierce battles apparently the Bolsheviks managed to build on the success of local breakthroughs the reds are trying to use the winter entirely by throwing forward detachments of skiers they are trying to break into poorly defended points and create confusion in the rear of our troops we are building a defense in vachalino there will be no retreat for the 185th Infantry Regiment resist or perish there can be no third in this Russian winter if the village Goes Up in Flames then this Pillar of Fire in pursuance of the fuhrer's order will show the pilots and our neighbors the German soldiers fought here to the last cartridge it is still unknown whether we will stay here or continue moving forward the day before yesterday and yesterday a strong wind swept all the roads the shovel is now valued more than a gun we build Shields from felt fur trees all available forces are thrown into this work for us the question of life is to keep the roads in a condition suitable for transport until the last week I could consider myself as a happy exception I certainly did not have lice I speak in the past tense because I am now busy trying to keep the Sioux in a tight framework so far I have succeeded often The Hunt is in vain every day my prey is two to three pieces most soldiers regardless of rank count these tormentors in fabulous numbers hundreds January 14 1924 minus 21 degrees Celsius we still don't know what will happen to us next whether we stay or keep moving no one can tell us that we lack Clarity and a definite solution this is extremely difficult for us questions yesterday questions today questions tomorrow yesterday one today another order the orders given are soon canceled by new ones it seems that many of our commanders are not yet clear that in winter at a temperature of minus 30.5 degrees Celsius it is impossible to occupy lines of positions remote from populated areas without any possibility for troops to be heated the quiet time in vachalino seemed to be over two just now at 12 50 PM the first Heavy Artillery shells landed at the Eastern edge of the village in recent weeks the radio has broad news of an unprecedented number of Iron Cross recipients finally apparently the Army gave a proper assessment to the brave I hope that thanks to the change in the leadership of the troops outstanding people in the Army as it was in aviation will take their due place Lieutenant Wenzel who was wounded in the mace returns from the infirmary he like all the lightly wounded was taken to the Deep rear end like everyone else tells in detail about the terrible path drunkenness and lack of discipline flourish there you have to endure a whole struggle if you want to return to your unit in most cases the wounded are sent to their Homeland to the infirmaries and from there after recovery to the reserve troops thus people do not return to their part back of course they would prefer to be treated in a field hospital somehow just to stay among their own an iron broom is what we all dream of we've done almost all the trips by sleigh and I do great sleigh rides all the time of course at the same time there is not enough cheerful company which is so appropriate in such cases and in the end a welcoming hotel and a cozy vacation are not waiting for me such a trip with your girlfriend would be much nicer and more attractive I received a nice letter from her yesterday she asks if I will kiss her on my return whoever I am at the same time I could only answer of course after such a long separation such a modesty is quite accessible isn't it changing the order we have to move to iliance a miserable Village consisting of seven houses and one stone Soviet Barracks the Third Battalion occupies the resistance line at prudney toparovo no one really got enough sleep a hard bench served as a resting place for me for a few hours Sunday January 18 1942 fire this cry brings us out of a heavy sleep early in the morning at about five o'clock smoke penetrates through the cracks in the ceiling dry beans lit up from the red hot stove engulfed in flames the smoke in the corridor is suffocating my eyes are watering we have brought snow and are trying to extinguish the fire but to no avail as the snow falls through the beams it's still dark the clock shows the sixth hour of the morning the headquarters and the headquarters company are moving to the neighboring Village of gorshkovo it's the beginning of Sunday morning my master is obnoxious today nothing has really been done I often find it difficult to restrain myself the air is clear but it's very cold again we have sent all the cars that are unnecessary now forward thanks to this The Columns will not be so infinitely long congestion will be eliminated in the evening the windows of the barracks will burn down the ceilings have caved in we are spared from work January 19 1942 we quickly drove by car to galavino where I have to prepare the room I had sad thoughts when I moved to the front line saw tank ditches wire fences stretching far why all this it's a Pity to leave the area to this dirty ragged people yesterday the sky turned blood red in many places The Villages that were set on fire were Ablaze this is done in order to take away from the Reds climbing forward any opportunity to warm up and find any supplies greedily Devour the Flames of dirty houses the war is merciless it means lesser them January 20th 1942-40 the temperature dropped to minus minus 40 Celsius it is impossible to convey how the face stiffens from the cold the frost penetrates even through coats and mittens our rear guard has returned back they all returned with the exception of the two missing most of the regiments of our division are retreating again a few frostbitten January 21st 1942 I'm going ahead of everyone to Baron off you again I like this way of preparing apartments at least you get independence for the whole day difficulties in the transfer of troops are unlikely to be everyone is in a hurry to step back the headquarters company had the opportunity to take a few cows with them I would like to keep this valuable cargo for myself January 22nd 1942 with horror I drive through krisjafka which was once drowning in mud and get to the highway there are a lot of abandoned trucks parked here they have been standing along the road for several weeks now no one even bothered to remove this property or set it in motion again on one car I found a satchel and a carbine this driver should be hanged in many places roadside pools have already been blown up in large unusable houses have been burned Villages that were under heavy shelling it's a Pity there are eight to ten houses left in them it's hard for me to write everything I've seen at night the battalions Frozen through came up the platoon stray horses are completely exhausted due to poor roads and lack of forage we are in katarinki the few roads cleared of snow have to be bypassed a messenger arrives at four o'clock he brings the news that the Battalion has not yet arrived at its intended location with such a cold he has been on the road for 12 hours I'm going there right away it's a good 10 kilometers on foot the road is bad full of potholes I Stumble a few times in the dark I passed the place where the position should be wire fences in freshly cut trees give a sense of security the terrible cold penetrates everywhere the breath immediately settles in the form of frost on the balaclava collar and hat the pocket flashlight refuses to burn when I come to sorokino after many hours of travel it is already light and everything of course has been in order for a long time nothing is going well with us at all today motor transport is not moving forward fast enough I arrive in the village at the same time as the units after walking for some time almost the whole village is occupied by Foreign parts we don't find a suitable room January 24 1942-35 degrees Celsius again an urgent order on the construction of Physicians and their Improvement the phone rings incessantly endless conversations are conducted important and unimportant things are discussed orders are planned and written the house looks like a dovecot January 28 1942 during the night the 10th company repulsed several strong enemy counter-attacks the reports arriving in the morning are unclear incomprehensible that's why I'm going to the front line dark bodies loom in the snow in front of the dugouts these are the dead only I counted 10 there are still similar spots moving around in some places the at a distance of less than 100 meters a blood-soaked head rises from the Snell and falls powerlessly into the snow I am able to see what the simple light and unashamed enemy I see his Sentry guards changing posts I'm sending some bees to the other side young Lieutenant hini was killed last night while knocking the retreating enemy out of the spruce Forest on the right flank the Bolsheviks tried to arrange Piggery but they were repulsed with heavy losses the dead remained on the battlefield at noon they were no longer visible the wind swept everything destroyed the traces of the night battle January 29 1942-15 degrees Celsius sweep says before all roads and paths are swept where there are snowdrifts there is no passage people get stuck horses get stuck up to their bellies January 30th 1942-19 degrees Celsius we are taking a new position new dugouts should be built communication should be established in the snow and dense bushes approach paths and roads are late for the delivery of food at night Brave sappers built wire barriers on January 30th the fuhrer spoke his words awakened our confidence in the future summer most of all we were touched by the statements against the erroneous opinion that is widespread at home that it is possible to fight in Winter as easily as in summer the fuhrer left no doubt that everyone on the Eastern Front is strained to the extreme and that the hardships are monstrous we are supported by the belief in our superiority and ultimate victory we noted this date with satisfaction the beginning of Spring is not so far away now and in the summer the offensive will continue the task of the motherland is to forge weapons for us tirelessly until then we must hold on hold on under all circumstances January 31st 1942 although the situation in general can be corrected we do not have particularly Rosy prospects after the fuhrer's inspiring speech we received a cooling shower while the enemy is surrounded near resev his mounted detachments managed to break through and break further to the highway west of biasma a group of paratroopers was parachuted to help these cavalrymen the highway and the railway are cut by these enemy detachments we have to give up one rifle company it goes on foot to help straighten the situation there in the South the Breakthrough at Berea has not yet been completely eliminated one regiment managed to advance quite close to the road along which we were bringing supplies for this reason alone we are forced to release our forces and remove people from our already weekly protected positions there is no need to think about changing now since there are no people the regiment now has no reserves for the necessary counter-attack due to traffic violations on the motorway and Railway the delivery stopped for several days we don't have enough ammunition for artillery and we have to save the tank compound somehow cobbled together from parts of several divisions is equipped with a minimum amount of fuel with the help of the u-52 tanks are moving forward to attack the Russians from the rear it is extremely sad that in this way it was necessary to weaken the divisions already put into battle February 1st 1942 a blizzard has been raging for several days gigantic snow clouds are rushing over the Earth everywhere there are huge snow drifts it is impossible to drive by car or ski the road can be found only by the hangars people and horses are stuck in the snow up to their necks one of our companies which is on the way traveled the distance from black mud to vorabayobo in more than 12 hours and came to XZ only the next day in the evening at 20 o'clock tired and exhausted to the extreme February 2nd 1942 depressing News until now we have always managed to deliver the baggage train in a timely manner and put it in a safe place it's all the sadder that this time they didn't look after things during one false alarm a soldier pushed a tank of gasoline to the stove in an instant Flames engulfed the entire house the things stacked in it became the prey of Fire the size of the loss is still unknown for sure I'm afraid that my officer's suitcase burned down along with everything I only have what I was wearing left a uniform a raincoat and many other things are no longer available at all things that are dear as a memory have also disappeared February 3rd 1942 during a business trip I had to drive through a wonderful area small Shaggy horses are rushing nimbly the sled is flying on a shiny snow cover February 4th 1942 It's a Wonderful sunny day again I can't sit in the room I want to go outside the beautiful flying weather also lured Soviet rats they look like bees that flew out with the first spring Ray in search of flowers in small groups of five to six pieces they sweep across the sky while I'm still standing on the edge of the village and watching a Soviet fighter dive and pour machine gun fire on the streets a hundred meters away from me there is a crack it repeats once twice three times at first it seems to me that this is artillery but quite unexpectedly a single seat fighter sweeps overhead in these places we have found for our horses the pitiful remains of dry fodder but even this paltry Supply is already running out it is not necessary to count on transportation from the Homeland under any circumstances the portion of Oats is terribly small horses that should be getting 10 pounds of boats a day get barely two pounds the work remains as hard as ever we are already opening sheds and stables and feeding the horses with straw from the roofs a lot of horses are falling the unfortunate animals are standing in the stable sniffing the floor and eating their manure the time is not far off when the last horse will die of hunger and weakness I hesitate to think about the consequences in this area the subsurface waters are very close to the surface in some dugouts the dampness breaks right out from under the floor according to the stories of residents this area is swamped and becomes completely impassable for a while the forest on the edge of which our positions are located is covered with water communication is Possible only by boat our dugouts and shelters should then float yes the prospect for the future is not brilliant for these reasons we put some of the ammunition in warehouses so that when there is no Supply we will not be left without anything we did the same with food we already know this period of impassable mud from last Autumn which is still fresh in our memories despite numerous misunderstandings and great difficulties with Transportation food has so far except for the bad months last winter always arrived although often late the bread ration was sometimes insufficient especially for a soldier on the front line who does not have the opportunity to add anything else to it for the first time during this trip we received chocolate along with a portion of tobacco chocolate gave us a lot of pleasure and brought a little variety to the usually monotonous field kitchen the post office is a sore spot in a soldier's life very often it happens that the most necessary things are delayed for the same reason we still haven't received the much anticipated Christmas packages and the letters go very slowly although the last ones are relatively recent dated mid January in the cities of warshot and Smolensk there are thousands of bags of mail at the train station since January 4th the delivery of parcels has been discontinued this explains the fact that some of the Christmas gifts that are already in orsha have been returned back this was not done particularly well even from a psychological point of view both for the front and for the motherland February 5th 1942 I'm home alone today the commander and Lieutenant stable left for the front line I'm guarding the house sitting at the table and writing a concert is being broadcast on the radio the sun is smiling and Shining again however its rays are not yet bright and it is too low to warm Colonel betcher's newspaper published by the fourth tank unit has recently appeared depicting the struggle at the gates of Moscow senior Lieutenant Gunther kazen describes the Breakthrough and the actions of the divisions participating in this breakthrough with breathtaking vividness this is an exciting page of our Glory each name can become a household name the Vivid presentation of the facts ends with the order of the general of the second artillery Corps who speaks of the suspension of the advance from December 5th 1941 in connection with the coming winter how much more need suffering and deprivation will we have to endure with what ferocity we fought in this harsh winter unusual for us I Remember December 2nd 1941 on this day our regiment numbered 12 officers seven non-commissioned officers and 362 soldiers despite the huge loss as a result of losses frostbite and illness the regiment bravely performed its Duty and continued to fight for some time our Lieutenant Colonel and I were the only representatives of the old command in the regiment then with the return of some of the sick and slightly wounded our situation improved a little but we really lack replenishment especially Specialists machine Gunners mortar men radio operators Gunners and loaders for infantry guns and anti-tank artillery telephone operators and sappers in addition there is a noticeable lack of well-trained non-commissioned officers therefore it is no longer possible for us to achieve the same impulse and combat capability in any case it takes a lot of time to carefully prepare the replenishment which unfortunately has not been prepared in the right size to date I think it is impossible for our unit to be thrown into new battles in such a state along with the lack of personnel there are shortcomings in the most necessary military equipment and in the harness for wagons as well as in trucks for bringing supplies it's very hard to work with my commander on the one hand I have no right to do anything without his consent on the other hand he demands independence from me extremely irritable he loses his temper over the most insignificant Trifles I take into account that we all have nerves strained to the extreme but that's why we have to restrain ourselves this situation is becoming unbearable after all an officer is something other than a clerk or a recruit I recently ordered a few books for myself I want to expand my small Library when circumstances allow when there will be a slightly different situation than now I will read more I will deepen my knowledge after the war I will undoubtedly continue my education an officer is required to have comprehensive knowledge in all fields of science a good education is already necessary from an educational point of view the war of course makes us forget all these requirements the more pressure we will need to work on Spiritual Development after the war February 12 1942 nothing significant has happened in our sector of the front the enemy except for the disturbing fire and the rate of the reconnaissance Squad which was repulsed left us alone last nights we went to the wire fences the walk did not bring any special results our neighboring division on the right has been giving us a lot of worries for several days now the soldiers did not repel the attack and did not hold their positions the Russians have broken deep into the rear very close to us and are continuously pulling up forces now we are in trouble too because we had to give our neighbors our reserves and remove our people from the front line supper companies were used as infantry for conservation I don't think it can fix anything it won't do anything you can't endlessly patch up these holes in the defense artillery fire and bombers alone are not enough here even the strong actions of artillery are not able to do this nor are the Stormtroopers able to do it February 17 1942. the fight against the enemy who broke through in the neighboring division is being prepared for several days a smokescreen assault aircraft and tanks are used but the enemy strongly fortified could not be destroyed the unexpected appearance of the t-34 reduces success to nothing Russians remain mobile even in deep snow at high speeds they go pushing the snow away with high shafts which are used by the enemy as shelters the Reds turned the village of vassal kovo into their stronghold despite all efforts it has not yet been possible to take a narrow breakthrough strip in the Pincers the enemy throws up all new forces the troops brought into battle have been in the open air for a whole week since attempts to cut off the enemy have still failed my regiment in the reinforced eighth motorized must be assembled and do this thing this is piggish the positions are just ready to some extent on Sunday at noon the enemy sent us his Latin greetings the enemy could observe an increase in movement yesterday the fire was repeated at the same time I was sent to a Dugout that was still under construction the mortar attack of the Russians this time forced our people to leave the kitchen I opened the door of the Dugout of the Flames Rumble dirt and smoke the projectile pierced the roof and hit over the door so it tore up the walls the ceiling of the kitchen collapsed the beds of the soldiers crumbled like a house of cards one soldier was standing at the door he was wounded it's good that I got off with only this but Commander was in the Next Room at that time I haven't been feeling well for a few days now tormented by severe headaches shivers I take quinine to support myself in the evening the fever stops this concludes the Diary of Lieutenant Gerhard link of the 185th Infantry Regiment of the 87th Infantry Division of the wehrmont for the period from November 15 1941 to February 17 1942 who was killed near the unknown Smolensk Village of ashepcobo the diary of the murdered Lieutenant was picked up by Soviet soldiers on the battlefield it is worth noting that by the beginning of February 1942 the troops of the Western Front were engaged in offensive battles with the enemy in the sychevsky skatsky and miasma directions The Fifth Army having liberated moss and yuvaraka and advancing along the Minsk Highway approached a powerful defensive line prepared in advance by the Germans the so-called vasilkovsky note of fascist resistance the weight of zetsk was blocked by our troops at the cost of huge losses the German defense in a narrow area was broken through when the shock group of the Fifth Army which included 32 50 and 144 rifle divisions in the 43rd rifle Brigade entered this breakthrough waging Fierce battles for its expansion and retention and so the territory was formed today called The Valley Of Glory or the valley of death the book the Moscow battle in the chronicle of facts and events says overcoming the huge resistance of the Germans by the end of February 8th our units had wedged into the enemy's defense in the direction of the Villages of padiyelki ashipkobo necrosobo zikarivo extremely Fierce were the battles of the shot group of the Fifth Army at the turn of the vorya river during the last week every day the Nazis made desperate attempts to cut off the wedge troops from the rest of the forces of the Fifth Army on the morning of February 14th with another counter-attack the enemy with large forces of infantry and tanks pushed our units on both flanks of the Breakthrough area and rushed to the rear of the strike group but he failed to close the encirclement ring there remained an isthmus a narrow three kilometer and long strip that ran along the picturesque Valley of the voori river and Its Right tributary through cornflowers and further to Ivan Nikki almost every meter of it was shot from both sides by the enemy however Soviet Fighters and commanders having quickly created strong points in both settlements and on the commanding Heights successfully repelled the enemy who broke through the murdered Lieutenant also writes about these strongholds in his diary although he does not call the Village corn flowers but vessel kovo this line of defense built by the Germans during the War was called the valley of death the village of ivaniki which was located here has long since disappeared as well as the village of the silky to the west of this Valley during the winter offensive near Moscow in January 1942 Soviet troops reached this line and held it at the cost of thousands of soldiers lives this was the only section of the Moscow region that was not liberated during the offensive near Moscow the Soviet troops could not overcome the vasilkovsky not of German resistance and went on the defensive this section was part of the general defensive system of the zgansky Fortified Area of the Germans the overcoming of which was completed only in 1943 dear friends that's all for today it was Tim and the Eastern Front Channel if you like this video please support it with like and write your opinion about the reasons why Germans were defeated near Moscow [Music]

Channel: WW2 HEROES

Views: 76,842

Keywords: ww2 documentary, world war 2 documentary, documentary history, military history, war stories, ww2 veteran, wwii veteran, memoirs of wwii, soldiers diary, eastern front, ww2, world war, world war ii, world war 2, world war two, second world war, waffen ss, german feldgendarmerie, wehrmacht, ss, nazi germany, ww2 history, battle of Moscow

Id: F2lmQznolwc

Length: 101min 40sec (6100 seconds)

Published: Mon May 08 2023