Soviet Tank Soldiers World War II Memories: Hunting German Tanks -3

I opened the hatch and looked around. Company commanders and platoon commanders' self-propelled guns were wiping out enemy infantry, their tracks billowing, accompanied by thick smoke. Almost simultaneously, Levanov and Gorshkov's chariots opened fire, igniting one of the enemy's assault guns. Advancing behind tanks and self-propelled guns, our infantry rushed into enemy trenches and used rifles and submachine guns against the enemy who was already retreating. Some of the Germans tried to fight back, and our infantry countered them with bayonets and butts — most of them armed with Mosin-Nagan 1891/30 rifles with triangular bayonets.

After two hours of fighting, the barrel became hot. Although we often opened the hatch and the cooling fan was working at full capacity, the battle room was still stuffy and hot. At this point, because we had less and less ammunition, we were forced to reduce the number of shots. We still have about a quarter of our ammunition reserves, and we can't use it without the approval of the regimental commander, but there is little hope of getting approval soon.

I adjusted the radio and prepared to report the ammunition to the company commander, but at this point I distinctly heard The voice of Fedishov, who was begging the regimental commander to send him "cucumbers"—our code word for the shells. At this time, we heard the sound of the engine from far and near- a "Stebker" truck with ammunition boxes in it. On the truck were Boris Pushkov, the driver of the ammunition supply platoon, and Valia Volobevwa, a hygienist, who immediately jumped out of the car to treat the wounded. We can't help but admire this 18-year-old Shangvorochok lad and the 19-year-old Sverdlovsk girl, who actually accomplished a very dangerous task! There were dozens of bullet marks on their trucks. Both were later awarded the Order of Bravery.

We restocked our ammunition and received another 15 minutes of barrage shelling support, and we set off again, this time with the main force. The enemy retreated after a decisive attack on the front and flanks of Glazunovka.

Comrades hug each other and congratulate each other! This was our first big victory in Operation Kutuzov. Each of us is dirty and can only identify each other by our eyes and manners.

We cleaned up our chariots as soon as we were used, and cared for our weapons as we loved our eyes. It's our rules – replenish fuel in time, commission and clean the vehicle, and check all the wires. We also want to make sure that the engine is clean and can't have dirt or dust. We often check the oil surface. If the oil leaks, it must be cleaned up, and we must find out where the leak is, or confirm whether it is a splash when replenishing fuel.

We also have to maintain the main gun. After each battle, try to clean the main gun as much as possible. We used a durable special wooden stick tied with a rag at one end to clean the inside of the main gun. This was a daunting task, and all the crew members had to work together to clear the gun chamber. When the clean-up was complete, we meticulously covered the muzzles. Do not allow gunpowder to remain in the bore, otherwise the barrel will explode violently when the next shell is fired.

We also want to make sure that the captured machine guns can be used properly, usually with loaders to maintain the machine guns. We always remember collecting machine gun ammunition from discarded weapons from the Germans. I remember as if our crew still had two Bobosa submachine guns, and everyone had their own weapon, and I had a pistol, and the others had a Nagant revolver, and the comrades remembered to check the gun and wipe the gun frequently. Then we started dealing with personal hygiene, everyone shook off the dust from their uniforms and helmets, and then washed away the dust and sweat.

The 9th Tank Army continued to advance, liberating hundreds of military and civilian points in Oryol, Bryansk and Kursk, and on August 19 our army rested for a long time in the woods 3 km southwest of the Ivanovskaya settlement, preparing for future fighting, first of all, we dug the fortifications and camouflaged ourselves. The next day we took a shower and dealt with personal hygiene issues.

We've been fighting for two months now, and bathing is a luxury. It's summer and it's very hot! There are lice everywhere. Unlike our infantry, these tankers and self-propelled artillerymen, the lice problem is not so serious. We took the approach: we regularly discarded our underwear and then changed into captured German underwear. However, the German underwear was made of French silk with mesh on it, and lice would crawl in through the mesh and bite the muscles to suck blood. I feel sick in retrospect now. Therefore, we still prefer the underwear produced by the Soviet Union itself.

If we could rest for a few days, the chief secretary would organize a bath for everyone. Usually a tent was set up for everyone to bathe, but if a wooden house could be found, a stone stove was built in the wooden house, and the fire was made to burn hot water, and then the soldiers began to take a bath, and at the same time changed their underwear, and thankfully, the director did not have much captured materials there, and usually the Soviet standard underwear was distributed to us.

Tank soldiers and self-propelled artillerymen are a luxury compared to other branches of the army. Why? Because you can often get captured supplies! Infantry comrades had to carry their own leggings, waterproof jackets, rifles, helmets, gas masks and ammunition bags, so they could not bring much extra supplies. And we will install an iron stove in the rear of the self-propelled gun, installed between two exhaust pipes, fixed with 4 nuts, the space inside is quite large, and the furnace door can be covered tightly. We use it to store things that we can't put in our cars.