They fought for their homeland

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The fascists' ideas about the people of Soviet Russia, into whose territory they invaded on June 22, 1941, were determined by an ideology that portrayed the Slavs as “subhuman”. However, the very first battles forced the invaders to change a lot in these views.

We provide documentary evidence of soldiers, officers and generals of the German Wehrmacht about how Soviet soldiers appeared before them from the first days of the war, who did not want to retreat or surrender …

“My commander was twice my age, and he already had to fight the Russians near Narva in 1917, when he was in the rank of lieutenant. "Here, in these endless expanses, we will find our death, like Napoleon," - he did not hide his pessimism … - Mende, remember this hour, it marks the end of the former Germany "" a conversation held in the last peace minutes on June 22, 1941).

“When we entered the first battle with the Russians, they obviously did not expect us, but they could not be called unprepared either. There was no trace of enthusiasm [for us]! Rather, everyone was seized by a sense of the immensity of the upcoming campaign. And then the question arose: where, at which settlement this campaign will end? " (Alfred Dürwanger, lieutenant, commander of the anti-tank company of the 28th Infantry Division, advancing from East Prussia through Suwalki)

“On the very first day, as soon as we went on the attack, as one of ours shot himself from his own weapon. Clutching the rifle between his knees, he inserted the barrel into his mouth and pulled the trigger. This is how the war and all the horrors associated with it ended for him”(anti-tank gunner Johann Danzer, Brest, June 22, 1941).

“The behavior of the Russians, even in the first battle, was strikingly different from the behavior of the Poles and allies who were defeated on the Western Front. Even when they found themselves in a circle of encirclement, the Russians staunchly defended themselves (General Gunther Blumentritt, Chief of Staff of the 4th Army).

“The battle for the capture of the fortress is fierce - numerous losses … Where the Russians were knocked out or smoked out, new forces soon appeared. They crawled out of basements, houses, sewer pipes and other temporary shelters, fired aimed fire, and our losses grew steadily "" composition against the 8-thousandth garrison of the fortress taken by surprise; in the first day of fighting in Russia alone, the division lost almost as many soldiers and officers as in all 6 weeks of the campaign in France). “These meters turned for us into a continuous fierce battle that did not subside from the first day. Everything around had already been destroyed almost to the ground, no stone remained from the buildings … The sappers of the assault group climbed onto the roof of the building just opposite us. They had explosive charges on long poles, they thrust them into the windows of the upper floor - they suppressed the machine-gun nests of the enemy. But almost to no avail - the Russians did not give up. Most of them settled in strong basements, and the fire of our artillery did not harm them. You look, there is another explosion, everything is quiet for a minute, and then they open fire again”(Schneiderbauer, lieutenant, platoon commander of 50-mm anti-tank guns of the 45th Infantry Division on the battles on the South Island of the Brest Fortress).

“It can be said with almost certainty that no cultured Westerner will ever understand the character and soul of the Russians. Knowledge of the Russian character can serve as the key to understanding the fighting qualities of the Russian soldier, his advantages and methods of his struggle on the battlefield. Fortitude and mental makeup of a soldier have always been the primary factors in a war and are often more important than the number and armament of troops … His nature is as unusual and complex as this huge and incomprehensible country itself … Sometimes the Russian infantry battalions were confused after the very first shots, and the next day the same units fought with fanatical fortitude … Russian as a whole is certainly an excellent soldier and with skilful leadership, he is a dangerous adversary”(Mellenthin Friedrich von Wilhelm, Major General of Tank Forces, Chief of Staff of the 48th Panzer Corps, later Chief of Staff of the 4th Panzer Army).

“On the Eastern Front, I met people who could be called a special race. The very first attack turned into a life-and-death battle”(Hans Becker, tanker of the 12th Panzer Division).

“During the attack, we stumbled upon a light Russian T-26 tank, we immediately snapped it right out of 37-millimeter paper. When we began to approach, a Russian leaned out of the hatch of the tower and opened fire at us with a pistol. It soon became clear that he was without legs, they were torn off to him when the tank was knocked out. And, in spite of this, he fired at us with a pistol! (from the memoirs of an anti-tank gunner about the first hours of the war).

"The quality level of Soviet pilots is much higher than expected … Fierce resistance, its massive nature do not correspond to our initial assumptions" (Hoffmann von Waldau, Major General, Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe Command, diary entry dated June 31, 1941).

“We hardly took any prisoners, because the Russians always fought to the last soldier. They didn't give up. Their hardening cannot be compared to ours … (from an interview with the war correspondent Curizio Malaparte (Zukkert) of an officer of a tank unit of Army Group Center).

“… Inside the tank lay the bodies of the brave crew, who had only been wounded before. Deeply shocked by this heroism, we buried them with all military honors. They fought to their last breath, but this was only one small drama of the great war. After the only heavy tank blocked the road for 2 days, it began to operate …”(Erhard Raus, colonel, commander of the Kampfgroup“Raus”about the KV-1 tank that shot and crushed a column of trucks and tanks and an artillery battery of the Germans; In total, the tank's crew (4 Soviet soldiers) held back the advance of the Raus battle group (about half the division) for two days, June 24 and 25).

“July 17, 1941. Sokolniki, near Krichev. In the evening, an unknown Russian soldier was buried [we are talking about 19-year-old senior artillery sergeant Nikolai SIROTININ. - NM]. He alone stood at the cannon, shot a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone was amazed at his courage … Oberst before the grave said that if all the soldiers of the Fuehrer fought like this Russian, we would have conquered the whole world. Three times they fired volleys from rifles. After all, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary? " (from the diary of the chief lieutenant of the 4th Panzer Division Henfeld)

“The losses are terrible, they cannot be compared with those that were in France … Today the road is ours, tomorrow the Russians will take it, then again we and so on … I have never seen anyone more angry than these Russians. Real chain dogs! You never know what to expect from them. And where do they get their tanks and everything else from ?! (From the diary of a soldier of Army Group Center, August 20, 1941; after such an experience, the saying “Better three French campaigns than one Russian” quickly came into use in the German troops.).

“I didn’t expect anything like this. This is sheer suicide to attack the forces of the battalion with five fighters "(from the confession of Major Neuhof, the commander of the 3rd battalion of the 18th Infantry Regiment of Army Group Center" fighters).

“You just can't believe it until you see it with your own eyes. The soldiers of the Red Army, even burning alive, continued to shoot from the blazing houses (from a letter from an infantry officer of the 7th Panzer Division about battles in a village near the Lama River, mid-November 1941).

“Russians have always been famous for their contempt for death; the communist regime has further developed this quality, and now massive Russian attacks are more effective than ever before. The twice undertaken attack will be repeated for the third and fourth time, regardless of the losses incurred, and the third and fourth attacks will be carried out with the same stubbornness and composure … They did not retreat, but irresistibly rushed forward. Reflecting this kind of attack depends not so much on the availability of technology as on whether the nerves can withstand it. Only soldiers hardened in battle were able to overcome the fear that gripped everyone (Mellenthin Friedrich von Wilhelm, Major General of Tank Forces, Chief of Staff of the 48th Panzer Corps, later Chief of Staff of the 4th Panzer Army, participant in the Stalingrad and Kursk battles) …

“My God, what are these Russians planning to do with us? It would be nice if they at the top would at least listen to us, otherwise all of us here will have to die”(Fritz Siegel, corporal, from a letter home dated December 6, 1941).

From the diary of a German soldier:

“October 1. Our assault battalion went to the Volga. More precisely, another 500 meters to the Volga. Tomorrow we will be on the other side and the war is over.

October 3rd. Very strong fire resistance, we cannot overcome these 500 meters. We are standing on the border of some kind of grain elevator.

October 6. Damn elevator. It is impossible to approach him. Our losses have exceeded 30%.

October 10th. Where do these Russians come from? The elevator is no longer there, but every time we approach it, fire is heard from under the ground.

October 15th. Hurray, we passed the elevator. 100 people remained from our battalion. It turned out that the elevator was defended by 18 Russians, we found 18 corpses (the Nazi battalion that stormed these heroes for 2 weeks numbered about 800 people).

“Courage is courage inspired by spirituality. The stubbornness with which the Bolsheviks defended themselves in their pillboxes in Sevastopol is akin to some animal instinct, and it would be a deep mistake to consider it the result of Bolshevik convictions or education. Russians have always been this way and, most likely, they will always remain that way. (Joseph Goebbels)

“They fought to the last, even the wounded and they did not let us near them. One Russian sergeant, unarmed, with a terrible wound in his shoulder, rushed at ours with a sapper shovel, but he was immediately shot. Madness, the most real madness. They fought like animals - and died in dozens (Hubert Korala, corporal of the sanitary unit of the 17th tank division, on the battles along the Minsk-Moscow highway).

From a letter from his mother to a Wehrmacht soldier: “My dear son! Maybe you can still find a piece of paper to make yourself known. Yesterday I received a letter from Joz. He is fine. He writes: "Before, I really wanted to take part in the attack on Moscow, but now I would be glad to get out of all this hell."