Table of Contents
List of Illustrations and Maps vii
Editor's Preface ix
1 My Journey to the Front 1
2 Stalingrad 7
In the Bend of the Don River 7
Hoth's Panzer Army is Stopped! 12
From a Tanker to a Self-propelled Gunner 15
3 Kursk 1943 18
We Prepare a Defence 18
Day One 19
The Redeployment 25
The Fight for Ponyri 27
4 Operation Kutuzov 46
The Battle for Glazunovka 46
Between Battles 51
5 To the Dnieper River, August-September 1943 55
The Death of Battery Commander Shevchenko 55
A Flank Attack 60
The Capture of Glukhov 63
In the Vanguard: The Liberation of Konotop 67
On Night Watch 68
The Night Massacre in Golenki 70
6 Reorganization near Moscow, September-October 1943 75
7 The Liberation of Kiev, November 1943 77
Crossing the Dnieper 77
The Offensive Begins 79
On the Approaches to Kiev! 82
The Battle for Svyatoshino 83
8 The Pursuit to Fastov 86
On My Own in the Village of Khotovo 86
The Death of the Regiment Commander 91
The Night March 93
Destruction of the Motor Vehicle Column 95
Breaking Through to Our Lines 107
9 Von Manstein Attempts Another 'Backhand Blow' 110
Brusilov: 'Thank You, Brothers, for Such a Battle!' 110
In Ambush near Yastreben'ka 114
The First Enemy Attack 116
The Second Attack 118
The Germans Take Yastreben'ka 121
The Night Counter-attack 123
10 Rest and Refitting 128
11 The December Zhitomir-Berdichev Offensive 130
12 From the Front to a Hospital and Back Again 134
On Defence near Kovel 138
13 The July 1944 Offensive on the Kovel Axis 140
The Fateful Hill 197.2: Day One 140
'Hill 197.2 Must be Taken!': Day Two 147
Through Enemy Lines 151
We Go Over on the Defence 156
'With all Due Military Honours' 157
14 From the Western Bug to Siedlce, Poland 160
We Prepare for a River Crossing 160
Crossing the Western Bug 161
The Battle for the Village of Stulno 165
Massacre in a Polish Forest 169
From Line to Line 175
At Regiment Headquarters 177
The Vlasovites 181
The Recklessness of the Battalion Commander 184
The Tank Attack near Siedlce 187
15 In East Prussia 191
New Appointment 191
From Endkunden to Stalluponen 193
The Final Offensive 196
Back to Tanks from the Self-propelled Guns 197
Königsberg 198
The Days of Peace 202
Notes 206
Index 210
