German stories about Russian soldiers. How Wehrmacht soldiers spoke about Soviet soldiers. Germans about Russian sacrifice

October 12th, 2015

Original taken from oper_1974 in Russian soldiers of the First World War through the eyes of the Germans.

The German officer Heino von Basedow, who visited Russia more than once, wrote in 1911: “Russians, by their nature, are essentially not warlike and, on the contrary, are completely peace-loving...”.

“The Russian soldier endures losses and holds on even when death is inevitable for him,” wrote S. Steiner, an eyewitness to the death of the 20th Corps of the Russian Army in the Augustow Forests, in the newspaper “Local Anzeiger.”

The soldiers and officers of the XX Corps, having shot almost all their ammunition, launched a final bayonet attack on February 15 and were shot almost point-blank by German artillery and machine guns. More than 7 thousand of them died in one day, the rest were captured.

German war correspondent R. Brandt wrote: “The attempt to break through was complete madness, but holy madness is heroism, which showed the Russian warrior as we know him from the time of Skobelev, the storming of Plevna, the battles in the Caucasus and the storming of Warsaw! The Russian soldier knows how to fight very well, he endures all sorts of hardships and is able to be persistent, even if he inevitably faces certain death!

“The Russian soldier is undoubtedly distinguished by great courage... the entire social life has taught him to see solidarity as the only means of salvation... There is no way to disperse Russian battalions: the more menacing the danger, the more tightly the soldiers hold on to each other...”, noted F. Engels in his fundamental work “Can Europe Disarm”.

A military observer for the Austrian newspaper “Pester Loyd” wrote in the issue of October 27, 1915: “It would be ridiculous to speak with disrespect about Russian pilots. Russian pilots are more dangerous enemies than French ones.

Russian pilots are cold-blooded. The Russian attacks may lack systematicity, just like the French, but in the air the Russian pilots are unshakable and can endure heavy losses without any panic. The Russian pilot is and remains a terrible adversary."

The German military historian General von Poseck noted in his work “German Cavalry in Lithuania and Courland”: “The Russian cavalry was a worthy adversary. The personnel were excellent... The Russian cavalry never shied away from battle on horseback or on foot.

The Russians often attacked our machine guns and artillery, even when their attack was doomed to failure. They paid no attention either to the strength of our fire or to their losses."

An officer of the Austro-Hungarian army, von Chodkiewicz, wrote: “The Russians are a stubborn, valiant and extremely dangerous enemy... The Russian cavalry is magnificent in its valor, training and horsepower, but, like us, it is prone to overly arrogant actions...

The Russian infantryman is unpretentious, hardy, and, as a rule, with good command, extremely resilient. On the offensive, Russian infantry is extremely insensitive to losses.

Near Dziwulki, the attack of the Siberian riflemen made an indelible impression on me. Looking at how they held up under our fire, I wanted to applaud them: “Bravo, gentlemen!”... Russian artillerymen are generally beyond praise. I remembered how they pinned our regiment to the ground near Limanov."

Walter Beckmann, a volunteer of the 2nd Horse-Jäger Regiment of the Guards Cavalry Rifle Division of the German Army, wrote in his book “The Germans about the Russian Army”: “The regiments that visited the east were preserved for a long time, in all theaters of military operations, wherever they were thrown fate, a lasting memory of hardships and heavy battles on this front and of the extraordinary tenacity of the Russian soldier."

An excerpt from a secret analytical note of the German General Staff, compiled on the eve of the First World War.

"...The originality of the Russian people. This rise in military affairs in Russia after the Russo-Japanese War is limited by the shortcomings of the Russian people, which cannot be eliminated either with the help of money or through organizational work.

These shortcomings are a reluctance to engage in any methodical work and a love of convenience, an insufficient sense of duty, fear of responsibility, lack of initiative and a complete inability to correctly determine and use time.

It must be admitted that along with these shortcomings, the Russian people also have good military qualities. First of all, these qualities are explained by the fact that nine-tenths of the Russian people are peasant people.

Human material. Human material should, in general, be considered good. The Russian soldier is strong, unpretentious and brave, but clumsy, dependent and mentally inflexible.

He easily loses his qualities under a boss who is personally unfamiliar to him, and connections to which he is not accustomed. Therefore, the good qualities of the Russian infantry, with the previous method of fighting in close formations, could be demonstrated better than now.

The Russian soldier is relatively little susceptible to external impressions. Even after setbacks, Russian troops will quickly recover and be capable of stubborn defense.

The combat suitability of the Cossacks has decreased significantly compared to past times. The Cossacks allow the state to create cheaply a large mass of cavalry, the military qualities of which, however, lag behind those of regular cavalry; Cossacks in particular are unsuitable for fighting in close formations. In particular, this applies to the Cossacks of the second and third militia.

IN last years Revolutionary aspirations had significant success in the army, especially in the technical troops. But in general, the Russian soldier is still faithful to the Tsar and reliable...

The advantages of Russian officers are composure and strong nerves that do not give up even in the most difficult situations..."

The tenacity of Russian soldiers in defense, insensitivity to artillery fire, and dashing impulse in the offensive were noted as German soldiers in 1914, and by their descendants in 1941.

Among Russian soldiers, Siberians have always stood out and stand out. This is what General A.V. wrote about them, for example. Turkul is a veteran of the First World War and Civil War: “I remember how these sharp-eyed and proud bearded men went on the attack with icons on top of their greatcoats, and the icons were large, blackened, grandfatherly...

From the trenches, another strives to bang more often, encouraging himself, but he doesn’t watch where he’s banging. The Siberian shooter rarely shoots, but accurately. He always strives to shoot at sight... The destructive accuracy of their fire and combat endurance are noted, as you know, by many military men, and among them General Ludendorff.”

The Russian military historian Kernsnovsky wrote: “The reputation of the Siberian riflemen, already established on the hills of Shahe and on the hills of Port Arthur, was confirmed with bloody brilliance in the storms of the World War.”

"He who is in Great War fought against the Russians,” wrote Major Kurt Hesse, “will forever retain in his soul deep respect for this enemy.

Without those big ones technical means, which we had at our disposal, only weakly supported by our artillery, the sons of the Siberian steppes had to withstand the fight with us for weeks and months. Bleeding, they courageously performed their duty..."

One of the German soldiers of the 341st Infantry Regiment recalled: “... While we were gathering and preparing for defense, groups of horses suddenly appeared from behind the Kobylin farm, as if without riders... two, four, eight... in more and more numbers...

Then I suddenly remembered East Prussia, where I had already encountered Cossacks, and I shouted: “Shoot! Cossacks! Cossacks! Horse attack!”

At this time, shouts were heard: “They are hanging on the sides of the horses! Fire! Hold on at all costs!” Anyone who could hold a rifle, without waiting for a command, opened fire. Some standing, some kneeling, some lying down. The wounded also shot... Machine guns also opened fire, showering the attackers with a hail of bullets...

Everywhere - hellish noise... Now we could see the enemy more clearly. To the right and left of Kobylin, horsemen appeared in closed formations, scattered like an untied sheaf, and rushed towards us. In the first line there were Cossacks hanging on the sides of the horses, with pikes in their hands...

Horsemen rushed towards us at a field gallop. One could already see their wild, dark, Sarmatian faces and the tips of terrible lances. Horror took possession of us; my hair literally stood on end. The despair that gripped us suggested one thing: to shoot to the last opportunity and sell our lives as dearly as possible.

In vain did the officers give the command “get down!” The immediate proximity of the formidable danger forced everyone who could to jump to their feet and prepare for the last battle.

A few steps from me, a Cossack pierced my comrade with a pike; the point that pierced his forearm dragged him until the Russian rider, struck by several bullets, fell from his horse..."

“It often happened,” said General von Manstein, commander of the 56th Panzer Corps, “that Soviet soldiers raised their hands to show that they were surrendering to us, and after our infantrymen approached them, they again resorted to weapons; or the wounded man feigned death, and then shot at our soldiers from the rear.” {158} .

“It is worth noting the tenacity of individual Russian formations in battle,” Colonel General Halder, Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces, wrote in his diary on June 24, not without surprise. “There have been cases when garrisons of pillboxes blew themselves up along with the pillboxes, not wanting to surrender.” {159} Five days later, Halder corrects himself: these are not isolated cases. “Information from the front confirms that the Russians are fighting everywhere to the last man... It is striking that when capturing artillery batteries, etc. Few surrender. Some Russians fight until they are killed, others flee, throw off their uniforms and try to get out of the encirclement under the guise of peasants.” {160} .

July 4th new entry: “The battles with the Russians are extremely stubborn. Only a small number of prisoners were captured." {161} .

After a month of fighting, Halder writes down the final and extremely unpleasant conclusion for the German command made by Field Marshal Brauchitsch: “The uniqueness of the country and the unique character of the Russians gives the campaign a special specificity. The first serious opponent" {162} .

The command of Army Group South comes to the same conclusion: “The forces that oppose us are, for the most part, a determined mass, which in the tenacity of waging war represents something completely new compared to our former opponents. We are forced to admit that the Red Army is a very serious adversary... The Russian infantry showed unprecedented tenacity, primarily in the defense of stationary fortified structures. Even in the event of the fall of all neighboring structures, some pillboxes, called upon to surrender, held out until the last man.” {163} .

Propaganda Minister Goebbels, who before the invasion believed that “Bolshevism would collapse like a house of cards,” already wrote in his diary on July 2: “On the Eastern Front: fighting continue. Strengthened and desperate enemy resistance... The enemy has many killed, few wounded and prisoners... In general, very difficult battles are taking place. There can be no talk of a “walk”. The Red regime mobilized the people. Added to this is the fabulous stubbornness of the Russians. Our soldiers can barely cope. But so far everything is going according to plan. The situation is not critical, but serious and requires every effort.” {164} .

"Red Army 1941-1945." was a much stronger opponent than the tsarist army, because it selflessly fought for the idea,” Blumentritt concluded. “This strengthened the resilience of Soviet soldiers. Discipline in the Red Army was also observed more clearly than in the tsarist army. They know how to defend themselves and fight to the death. Attempts to defeat them cost a lot of blood." {165} .

And in Hitler’s speeches to a narrow circle of comrades, already at the end of September, literally defeatist notes began to sound: “We must pursue two goals. The first is to maintain our positions on the Eastern Front at any cost. The second is to keep the war as far away from our borders as possible." {166} . This is what they began to think about in Berlin long before our offensive near Moscow! This is how the Nazis came to respect the Red Army, which, according to Solzhenitsyn and his comrades, scattered in front of German tanks and surrendered in hundreds of thousands!

The truth about how the Russians fought gradually reached the Reich, forcing the Germans to think.

"Before today persistence in battle was explained by fear of the pistol of the commissar and political instructor, SD analysts wrote in an internal memo. — Sometimes complete indifference to life was interpreted based on the animal traits inherent in people in the East. However, again and again the suspicion arose that naked violence was not enough to cause actions reaching the level of disregard for life in battle... Bolshevism... instilled an unyielding determination in the majority of the Russian population.”

Russians have qualities that even foreigners never question. They were formed over centuries, defensive battles and the heroism of soldiers on the fields of fierce battles.

History has created from the Russian man a clear, full-fledged and realistic image of a dangerous enemy, an image that can no longer be destroyed.

Russia's stunning military success in the past must be consolidated by its armed forces in the present. Therefore, for more than ten years, our country has been actively increasing, modernizing and improving its defensive force.

Of course, our country also had defeats. But even then, as for example during the period Russo-Japanese War, the enemy always noted the excellent qualities and absolute heroism of the majority of Russian troops.

The Twentieth Corps, on the fields of the First World War, managed in an unimaginable way to hold off the advance of 2 German armies at once. Thanks to perseverance, perseverance and consistency domestic victories, the Germans failed to carry out their plan to encircle the “Eastern” Front. The entire strategic Blitzkrieg of 1915 ended on this day.

S. Steiner, an eyewitness to the death of the 20th Corps of the Russian Army in the Augustow Forests, literally wrote the following in the German newspaper “Local Anzeiger”:

“The Russian soldier endures losses and holds on even when death is clear and inevitable for him.”

The German officer Heino von Basedow, who visited Russia more than once in 1911, said that:

“Russians by their nature are not warlike, but on the contrary, they are quite peace-loving...”

But after just a few years, he already agreed with the war correspondent Brandt, who often and firmly said:

“...Russia’s love of peace concerns only peaceful days and friendly surroundings. When the country faces an attacking aggressor, you will not recognize any of these “peaceful” people.”

Later, R. Brandt will describe the series of events that took place:

“The attempt to break through for the 10th Army was pure “madness”! The soldiers and officers of the XX Corps, having shot almost all the ammunition, did not retreat on February 15, but launched a final bayonet attack, being shot by German artillery and machine guns from our side. More than 7 thousand people died that day, but is this crazy? Holy “madness” is already heroism. It showed the Russian warrior as we know him from the time of Skobelev, the storming of Plevna, the battles in the Caucasus and the storming of Warsaw! The Russian soldier knows how to fight extremely well, he endures all sorts of hardships and is able to be persistent, even if he is inevitably threatened with certain death!

F. Engels, in his fundamental work “Can Europe Disarm,” in turn noted in detail:

“The Russian soldier is undoubtedly distinguished by great courage... the entire social life has taught him to see solidarity as the only means of salvation... There is no way to disperse Russian battalions, forget about it: the more dangerous the enemy, the more tightly Russian soldiers hold on to each other”...

We often talk about the aces of the Great Patriotic War, but more than thirty years earlier, in 1915, a military columnist for the Austrian newspaper Pester Loyd already quite specifically stated:

“It would be simply ridiculous to speak with disrespect about Russian pilots. Of course, the Russians are more dangerous enemies than the French. Russian pilots are cold-blooded. Their attacks may lack any order, just like the French, but in the air they are unshakable and can endure heavy losses without panic or unnecessary fuss. The Russian pilot is and remains a terrible adversary.”

All this has been preserved to this day.

“Why did we have such problems advancing the Eastern Front?” the German military historian General von Poseck once asked:

“Because the Russian cavalry has always been magnificent. She never shied away from battle on horseback or on foot. She often attacked our machine guns and artillery, and did this even when their attack was doomed to certain death.

The Russians did not pay attention either to the strength of our fire or to their losses. They fought for every inch of land. And if this is not the answer to your question, then what more?

The descendants of German soldiers who fought in World War II were fully able to convince themselves of the faithfulness of the behests of their distant ancestors:

“Whoever fought against the Russians in the Great War,” wrote German Army Major Kurt Hesse, “will forever retain in his soul deep respect for this enemy. Without the large technical means that we had at our disposal, only weakly supported by our own artillery, they had to withstand unequal competition with us for weeks and months. Bleeding, they still fought bravely. They held the flank and heroically fulfilled their duty...”

Often liberals and representatives of the Russian “opposition” ridicule the grandiose victory of all Soviet families. They see it as ridiculous that mounted Russians in World War II rushed at machine guns and long-range shots from an armed enemy. “It makes no sense,” they prove to us. And here’s what the German soldiers themselves thought about it:

“341st Infantry Regiment. We stood in position, taking positions and preparing for defense. Suddenly, from behind the farm, a group of unknown horses became noticeable. It was as if there were no riders on them at all... Two, four, eight... More and more in number and quantity... Then I remembered East Prussia, where I had to deal with Russian Cossacks more than once... I understood everything and shouted:

“Shoot! Cossacks! Cossacks! Horse attack!”...And at the same time I heard from the side:

“They hang on the sides of horses! Fire! Hold on at all costs!”...

Whoever could hold a rifle, without waiting for a command, opened fire. Some standing, some kneeling, some lying down. Even the wounded fired... Machine guns also opened fire, showering the attackers with a hail of bullets...

There was a hellish noise everywhere, nothing should have remained from the attackers... And suddenly, on the right and on the left, the horsemen in the previously closed ranks incredibly dissolved and scattered. Everything looked as if a sheaf had been untied. They were rushing towards us. In the first line were the Cossacks, hanging on the sides of the horses, and holding on to them as if they were clinging to them with their teeth... One could already see their Sarmatian faces and the tips of terrible pikes.

Horror took possession of us as never before; my hair literally stood on end. The despair that gripped us suggested only one thing: shoot!.. Shoot to the last opportunity and sell your lives as dearly as possible!

In vain did the officers give the command “get down!” The immediate proximity of the formidable danger forced everyone who could to jump to their feet and prepare for the last battle... A second... And a few steps from me, a Cossack pierces my comrade with a pike; I personally saw how a Russian on horseback, struck by several bullets, stubbornly galloped and dragged him until he fell dead from his own horse!..."

This is how the “uselessness” of the attacks and the “unnecessary heroism” preached by our liberals was assessed by German contemporaries who saw it live. They saw the same thing as the absurd idea of ​​“the peaceful surrender of the siege of Stalingrad”...

On the eve of Germany's invasion of the USSR, Hitler's propaganda created an unflattering image of Russians, portraying them as backward, devoid of spirituality, intelligence, and even unable to stand up for their Fatherland. Having entered Soviet soil, the Germans were amazed that reality did not at all correspond to the ideas imposed on them.

And one warrior in the field

The first thing the German troops encountered was the fierce resistance of the Soviet soldier on literally every patch of their land. They were especially shocked that the “crazy Russians” were not afraid to engage in battle with forces several times greater than their own. One of the battalions of Army Group Center, consisting of at least 800 people, having overcome the first line of defense, was already confidently moving deep into Soviet territory, when it was suddenly fired upon by a detachment of five people. “I didn’t expect anything like this! It’s pure suicide to attack a battalion with five fighters!” – Major Neuhof commented on the situation.

British historian Robert Kershaw in his book “1941 through the Eyes of the Germans” cites a case of how Wehrmacht soldiers, having shot a Soviet T-26 light tank from a 37-mm gun, approached it without fear. But suddenly its hatch suddenly swung open and the tankman, leaning out waist-deep, began to shoot the enemy with a pistol. Later, a shocking circumstance was revealed: the Soviet soldier was without legs (they were torn off when a tank exploded), but this did not stop him from fighting to the last.

An even more striking case was described by Chief Lieutenant Hensfald, who ended his life at Stalingrad. It happened not far from the Belarusian town of Krichev, where on July 17, 1941, senior sergeant Nikolai Sirotinin alone held back the advance of a column of German armored vehicles and infantry for two and a half hours with the help of an artillery gun. As a result, the sergeant managed to fire almost 60 shells, which destroyed 10 German tanks and armored personnel carriers. Having killed the hero, the Germans nevertheless buried him with honors.

Heroism is in the blood

German officers admitted more than once that they took prisoners extremely rarely, since the Russians preferred to fight to the last. “Even while they were burning alive, they continued to fire back.” “Sacrifice is in their blood”; “The hardening of the Russians cannot be compared with ours,” German generals never tired of repeating.

During one of the reconnaissance flights Soviet pilot discovered that there was no one on the way of the German column moving towards Moscow for tens of kilometers. It was decided to throw the fully equipped Siberian regiment that had arrived at the airfield the day before into battle. The German military recalled how suddenly low-flying planes appeared in front of the column, from which “white figures fell in clusters” onto the snow-covered field. These were Siberians who became a human shield in front of the German tank brigades; they fearlessly threw themselves under the tracks of tanks with grenades. When the first batch of troops perished, the second one followed. It later turned out that about 12% of the fighters crashed during the landing, the rest died after entering into an unequal battle with the enemy. But the Germans were still stopped.

Mysterious Russian soul

The Russian character remained a mystery to the German soldiers. They could not understand why the peasants, who should have hated them, greeted them with bread and milk. One of the Wehrmacht fighters recalled how in December 1941, during a retreat in a village near Borisov, an old woman brought him a loaf of bread and a jug of milk, crying in tears: “War, war.”

Moreover, civilians often treated both the advancing Germans and the defeated ones with the same good nature. Major Kühner noted that he often witnessed Russian peasant women wailing over wounded or killed German soldiers as if they were their own children.

War veteran, doctor historical sciences Boris Sapunov said that when passing through the outskirts of Berlin they often came across empty houses. The whole point is that local residents under the influence of German propaganda, which depicted the horrors allegedly perpetrated by the advancing Red Army, they fled to nearby forests. However, those who remained were surprised that the Russians were not trying to rape women or carry out property, but, on the contrary, offered their help.

They even pray

The Germans who came to Russian soil were ready to meet crowds of militant atheists, as they were convinced that Bolshevism was extremely intolerant of the manifestation of religiosity. Therefore, they were greatly amazed that icons hang in Russian huts, and the population wears miniature crucifixes on their chests. German civilians who met Soviet Ostarbeiters faced the same thing. They were sincerely surprised by the stories of Russians who came to work in Germany, who told how many old churches and monasteries there are in the Soviet Union, and how carefully they preserve their faith by performing religious rituals. “I thought that Russians had no religion, but they even pray,” said one of the German workers.

As staff doctor von Grevenitz noted, during medical examinations it turned out that the overwhelming number of Soviet girls were virgins. “The brilliance of purity” and “active virtue” radiated from their faces, and I felt the great power of this light, the doctor recalled.

No less than the Germans were amazed by the Russians' loyalty to family duty. So, in the town of Zentenberg, 9 newborns were born and another 50 were waiting in the wings. All of them, except two, belonged to the Soviet married couples. And although 6-8 couples huddled in one room, no promiscuity was observed in their behavior, the Germans recorded.

Russian craftsmen are cooler than Europeans

The propaganda of the Third Reich assured that, having exterminated the entire intelligentsia, the Bolsheviks left in the country a faceless mass capable of doing only primitive work. However, employees of German enterprises where ostarbeiters worked were convinced of the opposite over and over again. In their memos, German craftsmen often pointed out that the technical knowledge of the Russians baffled them. One of the engineers of the city of Bayreuth remarked: “Our propaganda always presents the Russians as stupid and stupid. But here I have established the opposite. While working, Russians think and don’t look so stupid at all. For me it’s better to have 2 Russians at work than 5 Italians.”

In their reports, the Germans stated that a Russian worker could troubleshoot any mechanism using the most primitive means. For example, at one of the enterprises in Frankfurt-on-Oder, a Soviet prisoner of war in a short time managed to find the cause of an engine breakdown, repair it and start it up, and this despite the fact that German specialists were unable to do anything for many days.

Here, in Stalingrad, it was before Christmas 1942. On November 19 - 20 we were surrounded and the cauldron closed. The first two days we laughed about it: “The Russians surrounded us, ha ha!” But it became clear to us very quickly that this was very serious.

I was standing guard when it got light, around six or seven in the morning, one comrade came in and said: “throw down your weapons and come out, we surrender to the Russians.” We went outside, there were three or four Russians standing there, we threw down our carbines and unfastened our bags with cartridges. We didn't try to resist. So we ended up in captivity. The Russians on Red Square gathered 400 or 500 prisoners.

The first thing the Russian soldiers asked was “Uri est”? Uri est"?" (Uhr - watch) I had a pocket watch, and a Russian soldier gave me a loaf of German soldier's black bread for it. A whole loaf that I haven't seen in weeks! And I, with my youthful frivolity, told him that the watch was more expensive. Then he jumped into a German truck, jumped out, and gave me another piece of bacon. Then they lined us up, a Mongol soldier came up to me and took away my bread and lard. We were warned that anyone who stepped out of line would be shot immediately. And then, ten meters from me, I saw that Russian soldier who gave me bread and lard. I broke ranks and rushed towards him. The convoy shouted: “back, back” and I had to return to duty. This Russian came up to me, and I explained to him that this Mongolian thief took my bread and lard. He went to this Mongol, took his bread and lard, slapped him, and brought the food back to me

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The first six months of captivity were hell, which was worse than being in a cauldron. Then many of the 100 thousand Stalingrad prisoners died. On January 31st, the first day of captivity, we marched from southern Stalingrad to Beketovka. About 30 thousand prisoners were collected there. There we were loaded into freight cars, one hundred people per car. On right side the carriage had bunks for 50 people, in the center of the carriage there was a hole instead of a toilet, there were also bunks on the left. We were transported for 23 days, from February 9th to April 2nd. Six of us got out of the carriage. The rest died. Some carriages died out completely, some were left with ten to twenty people. What was the cause of death? We weren't starving - we didn't have water. Everyone died of thirst. This was the planned extermination of German prisoners of war. The head of our transport was a Jew, what could we expect from him? It was the most terrible thing I have experienced in my life.

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From there, from Uzbekistan, the sick were sent to the infirmary, and the so-called healthy ones were sent to a labor camp. We were in Uzbekistan in rice and cotton fields, the norm was not very high, it was possible to live. After that, they began to treat us like human beings, I would say so. Some people died there too, but overall we were treated humanely.

Once in Orsk we were taken to a banja, in an open truck in 30-degree frost. I had old shoes and handkerchiefs instead of socks. Three Russian mothers were sitting at the bathhouse, one of them walked past me and dropped something. These were German soldiers' socks, washed and mended. Do you understand what she did for me?

One day they started giving us a tetanus vaccination. In the Wehrmacht, vaccinations were done in the front, and in Russia, under the shoulder blade. The doctor had two 20-cc syringes, which he filled one by one, and one needle, with which he injected all 1,700 people. The doctor gave all of us, 1,700 people, vaccinations. He had two syringes, which he filled one by one, 20 cc, and one needle with which he injected us all. I was one of the three whose injection became inflamed. Such things cannot be forgotten!

On August 23, 1945, I was at home - the first to return home from Russia. I weighed 44 kilograms - I had dystrophy. Here in Germany we have become criminals. In all countries, in Russia, in France, soldiers are heroes, and only we, in Germany, are criminals. When we were in Russia in 2006, Russian veterans hugged us. They said: “There was a war, we fought, but today we drink together, and that’s good!” But in Germany we are still criminals... In the GDR, I did not have the right to write my memoirs. I was worked through three times at the enterprise and asked to think about what I was talking about about captivity. They said: “You can’t say such things about Soviet Union, our friend."

All my photos were burned. I took photographs during the war, sent the films home, and developed them there. They were at my house. Our village was on neutral territory between the Americans, Russians and hordes of SS-Soviet and Germans. On April 19, 1945, two Americans were killed at the entrance to the village. The Americans burned the entire village, 26 houses, along with the residents, with incendiary shells. The house burned down, the photographs also burned down, I didn’t have a single photograph left from the war.

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Russian soldiers were having lunch. They ate pasta from huge bowls. Apparently, we looked with such hungry eyes that they offered us to eat what was left. I could not believe it! Some of them also gave us their spoons! From that moment on, I was never beaten, never scolded, I never spent the night under open air, I always had a roof over my head. The first evening we were placed in an empty warehouse. We were sitting at the table when a Russian soldier came and brought sausage rings, some bread and beef on his hand. But I had no appetite, and I ate almost nothing, because I thought that in the morning we would definitely be shot. Propaganda instilled this in me! If I live any longer, I will describe this time, because I hear again and again about how terrible it was for the Russians, what Russian pigs, and what great guys the Americans were. It was hard in captivity. There were different camps. There were also those in which 30 percent of the prisoners died... On the day the war ended, I was in a camp on the Polish border, in Landsberg. It was an exemplary camp: very good premises, toilets, bathrooms, a red corner. Only the cabaret was missing! Transport to the east was assembled in the camp. On May 8th we were supposed to be loaded onto a train, but we remained in the camp until May 10th because the camp commandant did not let anyone out. After all, on May 9, the Russians celebrated Victory Day and could have shot us all in their drunken joy! There is a nursing home nearby, there lives one person who was in American captivity on the Rhine, he sat in the open air from May to October. One of their comrades had pneumonia, so they simply gave him a board on which he could sleep in the open air. When the war ended, drunken Americans shot at him with machine guns, killing dozens of people. One comrade who was in Russian captivity told me that they wanted to cut off his leg because he had inflammation. The doctor told him: “Alfred, when the commission comes, I will lock you in the pantry. We will restore the leg folk remedies"And he still has a leg! The doctor addressed him by name! Can you imagine a German doctor addressing a Russian prisoner by name? In 1941, approximately one million Russian prisoners of war died in German captivity from hunger and thirst... I always say that we were treated differently from how we treated Russian prisoners. Of course, we were told "faschist" and "Hitler kaput", but this does not count. The Russian administration, it is absolutely obvious, made efforts to save the lives of prisoners.

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There was a camp commandant, there was a guard who guarded us at work, and there was camp security. There were camps where the German administration mistreated their comrades. But I was lucky, I didn’t have that. In Izhevsk, the Russian administration was normal, and the German one too. There was a Russian senior lieutenant there, and when the prisoner greeted him, he also saluted him. Can you imagine a German chief lieutenant saluting a Russian prisoner? I spoke a little Russian and was one of the most intelligent - I was always trying to find a common language with the master. This made life much easier. In the fall of 1946, a large batch of prisoners was transported to a camp in the Urals, in Karinsk. This was the best camp. It was inhabited only in October; before that it stood empty and there were food supplies there: cabbage and potatoes. There was a house of culture, a theater, and Russian soldiers and their wives went there. The doctor stood at the gate in the morning and carefully ensured that the prisoners were dressed in winter clothes.

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At the end of November 1949. On my birthday, I turned 23, a train came. Boom! We are already sitting on the train home, but the train has not moved. Do you know why? A Russian officer came to check that everything was in order, food, heating, and noticed that we were only wearing thin work trousers, although it was already November, and from the first of October we were supposed to receive wadded trousers. And so we waited until the truck brought 600 pairs of cotton trousers from the warehouse. I must say that this was a very anxious expectation. For the last two days, we have been checking the lists of those sent and crossing some off. When we were already sitting on the train, one of my friends was called out of the train. He just said: “Oh God!”, deciding that he had been crossed out. He went to the commandant’s office and 10 minutes later returned jubilant, raised his hand and showed a gold wedding ring, and said that the administration returned the ring to him, which he handed over as a valuable item. In Germany, no one believes this; it does not fit the stereotype of Russian captivity.

Bismarck wrote: “Never fight the Russians.” And Bismarck never did this. What did those who fought with them say about the Russians? It is interesting to read their memories and impressions of meetings with the Russian army.

Patriotic War of 1812

The arrival of Napoleon's army in Russia in 1812 ended in complete collapse for it. According to historian V.M. Bezotosny, Napoleon “expected that the entire campaign would fit within the framework of the summer - at most the beginning of the autumn of 1812.” The French emperor planned to spend the winter of 1812 in Paris. Napoleon in Russia hoped for a general battle, which he himself called a grand coup, but it was inexorably postponed.
At Smolensk, the Russian armies united and drew Napoleon further into the depths of the vast country. The once victorious army entered empty cities, finishing off their last supplies and panicking.

Let's turn to the memories.
One of Napoleon’s adjutants, General Rapp, wrote in his memoirs:

“Infantry and cavalry fiercely attacked each other from one end of the battle line to the other. I have never seen such a massacre before.”

French captain Francois:

“I have participated in more than one campaign, but never before have I participated in such a bloody affair and with such hardy soldiers as the Russians.”

Crimean War

In terms of its scale, theater of military operations, and the number of participants in the conflict, the Crimean War can be considered a world war. Russia defended itself on several fronts - in Crimea, Georgia, the Caucasus, Sveaborg, Kronstadt, Solovki and Kamchatka.

Russia fought almost alone, with insignificant Bulgarian forces (3,000 soldiers) and the Greek legion (800 people) on our side. An international coalition consisting of Great Britain, France, Ottoman Empire and Sardinia, with a total population of more than 750 thousand.

20 years after the end of the Crimean War, in 1877, a book by a participant in the Crimean expedition was published in Paris Charles Bose "Crimean Letters".

“The Russians are significantly superior to us. We have neglected their strength too much. We probably hoped to see the walls of Sevastopol fall, like the walls of Gericault, to the roar of our fanfare. A city equipped with eight hundred gun barrels piled on top of each other, with fifty thousand undaunted defenders under brave command, cannot be taken so easily.”

“Unfortunately, in this world not everything goes according to our desires. Now you need to abandon the direct attack. There is a combination that should ensure a happy outcome to the campaign; but we need the arrival of large military reinforcements, which we are expecting. The Russians, it must be admitted, are conducting an excellent defense. With them, a siege operation is not an easy task.”

Russo-Japanese War

Russia lost the Russo-Japanese War. However, the heroism of Russian sailors and soldiers was repeatedly noticed by the Japanese, who knew how to value military fighting spirit.
The story of private Vasily Ryabov, who was detained by the Japanese during a reconnaissance mission, became famous. The Russian private withstood interrogation and did not reveal military secrets. Before the execution he behaved with dignity.

The Japanese were so admired by the courage of the Russian private that they sent a note to our command.

“Our army cannot fail to express our sincere wishes to the respected army, so that the latter raises more such truly wonderful warriors worthy of full respect.”

Regarding the defense of Port Arthur, Japanese lieutenant Tadeuchi Sakurai, a participant in the assault, wrote:

“...Despite all our bitterness against the Russians, we still recognize their courage and bravery, and their stubborn defense for 58 hours deserves deep respect and praise... Among those killed in the trenches, we found one Russian soldier with a bandaged head: obviously already wounded in the head, after bandaging him, he again joined the ranks of his comrades and continued to fight until a new bullet killed him...”

First World War

First World War It is considered lost by Russia, but our troops showed considerable heroism there. Russian victories in the First World War include the capture of Przemysl, the Battle of Galicia, the Sarykamysh operation, the Erzemrum and Trebizond operations. The Brusilov breakthrough gained great fame. Troops of the Southwestern Front under the command of a general. Brusilov, having broken into the Austrian defenses, re-occupied almost all of Galicia and Bukovina. The enemy lost up to 1.5 million people killed, wounded and captured.

Even before the start of hostilities, the German General Staff drew up an analytical note that described the Russians as warriors:

“Human material should, in general, be considered good. The Russian soldier is strong, unpretentious and brave, but clumsy, dependent and mentally inflexible. He easily loses his qualities under a boss who is personally unfamiliar to him, and connections to which he is not accustomed. The Russian soldier is relatively little susceptible to external impressions. Even after failures, Russian troops will quickly recover and will be capable of stubborn defense.”

The German historian General von Poseck also noted in his work “German Cavalry in Lithuania and Courland”:

“The Russian cavalry was a worthy opponent. The personnel were magnificent... The Russian cavalry never shied away from battle on horseback or on foot. The Russians often attacked our machine guns and artillery, even when their attack was doomed to failure. They paid no attention either to the strength of our fire or to their losses.”

World War II

World War II was the deadliest conflict in world history. It was attended by 62 states out of 73 that existed at that time, that is, 80% of the world's population.
The original plan for a lightning-fast German blitzkrieg in the USSR failed. If Napoleon was waiting for a general battle in Russia, but never got it, then the Wehrmacht in the Soviet Union faced the other extreme: the Red Army perceived each battle as its last. Many memories of the Germans about the war and their letters from the front have been preserved.

German Field Marshal Ludwig von Kleist wrote:

“The Russians showed themselves to be first-class warriors from the very beginning, and our successes in the first months of the war were simply due to better preparation. Having gained combat experience, they became first-class soldiers. They fought with exceptional tenacity and had amazing endurance.”

Otto Skorzeny:

“The Reich’s war strategy was better, our generals had a stronger imagination. However, from the ordinary soldier to the company commander, the Russians were equal to us - courageous, resourceful, gifted camouflages. They resisted fiercely and were always ready to sacrifice their lives... Russian officers, from the division commander and below, were younger and more decisive than ours.”

German general, chief of staff of the 4th Army Gunther Blumentritt:

“The Russian soldier prefers hand-to-hand combat. His ability to endure hardship without flinching is truly amazing. This is the Russian soldier whom we came to know and respect a quarter of a century ago.”