Format:
Book
Title:
800 days on the Eastern Front : a Russian soldier remembers World War II
Other title(s):
Eight hundred days on the Eastern Front
Author:
ISBN:
9780700615179
9780700624430
Publication Information:
Lawrence : University Press of Kansas, ©2007.
Physical Description:
xv, 159 pages : illustrations, plans ; 24 cm.
Series title(s):
Contents:
Chapter 1: I become an Airborne soldier. The outbreak of war ; I volunteer for the Airborne ; The Northwestern front: Demiansk and Staraia Rusa -- Chapter 2: Kursk. Defensive preparations ; The battle begins and my wounding -- Chapter 3: Pursuit. Operation Kutuzov ; Drive to the Dnepr River ; Gaivoron ; Crossing the Dnepr River -- Chapter 4: I become a chauffeur. A close call ; The sudden death of a comrade ; At the repair station ; My second wounding and another transfer -- Chapter 5: Operation Bagration. My violation of duty and punishment ; Operation Bagration begins ; We lead the attack on Parichi ; Slaughter at Bobruisk -- Chapter 6: Into Poland with the 354th Rifle Division. An unwanted duty ; Transferred again ; Kleshcheli and Avgustinka ; The Narev bridgehead ; The counterattack on the Narev ; Major Chirkin intercedes ; With the 354th Rifle Division's commander, V.N. Dzhandzhgava -- Chapter 7: The final offensive. Forward! ; At the animal husbandry farm ; Graudenz and the Vistula ; At the Count's estate ; To Danzig ; Danzig ; The destruction of the East Prussian group ; To Stettin ; The final assault begins ; The war's end ; My arrest and postwar life.
Summary:
"During his 800 days of war, Nikolai Litvin fought on the front lines in the ferocious tank battles at Kursk, was wounded three times, and witnessed unspeakable brutalities against prisoners and civilians. But he survived to pen this brief but powerful memoir of his wartime experiences." "Barely out of his teens, Litvin served for three years in the Red Army on the killing fields of the Eastern Front. His memoir presents an unadorned, candid narrative of the common soldier's lot in Stalin's army. Unlike the memoirs of Russian officers - usually preoccupied with large military operations and political concerns - this narrative offers a true ground-level view of World War ll's deadliest theater. It puts a begrimed human face on the enormous toll of casualties and provides a rare perspective on battles that were instrumental in the defeat of the German army." "Litvin's varied roles, ranging from antitank gunner at Kursk to heavy machine gunner in a penal battalion to staff driver for the 352nd Rifle Division, . offer unique perspectives on the Red Army in World War II as it fought from the Ukraine deep into the German heartland. Litvin documents such significant battles as Operation Kutuzov, Operation Bagration, and the German counterattack on the Narev, while also providing unique personal observations on fording the Dnepr River under enemy fire, the rape of German women by Russian troops, and seeing his life pass before his eyes as he watched a Stuka's bomb fall directly on his position. And, because part of his duties involved chauffeuring Red Army generals, he also presents revealing glimpses into their personalities and behavior." "Originally written in 1962, Litvin's memoir lay unpublished and unseen until translator Stuart Britton and a Russian colleague approached him about publishing it in English. Britton interviewed Litvin to flesh out the details of his original recollection and annotated the resulting work to provide historical context for the campaigns and battles in which he participated. Remarkably free of Soviet-era propaganda, this gem of a memoir provides a view of the war never seen by western readers, including photographs from Litvin's personal collection."--Jacket.
Added Author: