On the eve of Germany's invasion of the USSR, Hitler's propaganda created an impartial image of Russians, portraying them as backward, devoid of spirituality, intellect, and even incapable of standing up for their Fatherland. Joining on Soviet land, 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 that the German troops encountered was the fierce resistance of the Soviet soldier literally on every patch of their land. They were especially shocked that the "crazy Russians" are 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 did not expect anything like this! This is pure suicide, attacking a battalion with five fighters! Major Neuhof commented on the situation.

The British historian Robert Kershaw in the book “1941 through the eyes of the Germans” cites the case of how Wehrmacht soldiers, having shot the Soviet T-26 light tank from a 37-mm gun, approached him without fear. But suddenly his hatch suddenly opened up and a tanker leaning out to the waist began to shoot the enemy with a pistol. Later, a shocking circumstance was revealed: soviet soldier was without legs (they were torn off during the explosion of the tank), but this did not prevent him from fighting to the last.

An even more striking case was described by Lieutenant Hensfald, who ended his life near Stalingrad. The case was not far from the Belarusian town of Krichev, where on July 17, 1941, senior sergeant Nikolai Sirotinin for two and a half hours alone with the help of an artillery gun held back the advance of a column of German armored vehicles and infantry. 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 in the blood

German officers have repeatedly admitted that they took prisoners extremely rarely, since the Russians preferred to fight to the last. “Even burning alive, they continued to shoot back.” “Sacrifice is in their blood”; “The hardening of the Russians cannot be compared with ours,” the German generals did not get tired of repeating.

During one of the reconnaissance flights, the 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 into battle a completed Siberian regiment that had been at the airfield the day before. The German military recalled how suddenly low-flying aircraft appeared in front of the column, from which “white figures rained down in clusters” on a snowy 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. Later it turned out that about 12% of the fighters crashed during the landing, the rest died, having entered into an unequal battle with the enemy. But the Germans still managed to stop.

Mysterious Russian soul

The Russian character for the German soldiers remained a mystery. They could not understand why the peasants, who must have hated them, greeted them with bread and milk. One of the Wehrmacht soldiers 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, lamenting in tears: "War, war."

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

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

They even pray

The Germans who came to Russian soil were ready to meet with crowds of militant atheists, as they were convinced that Bolshevism was extremely intolerant of the manifestation of religiosity. Therefore, they were greatly struck by the fact that icons hang in Russian huts, and the population wears miniature crucifixes on their chests. The civilian Germans, who met the Soviet Ostarbeiters, also faced the same. 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 keep their faith, performing religious rites. “I thought Russians had no religion, but they even pray,” said one German worker.

As the staff doctor von Grevenitz noted, during medical examinations it turned out that the vast majority of Soviet girls were virgins. “Shine 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 struck by the fidelity of the Russians to family duty. So, in the town of Sentenberg, 9 newborns were born and another 50 were waiting in the wings. All but two belonged to Soviet couples. And although 6-8 couples huddled in one room, there was no licentiousness in their behavior, the Germans recorded.

Russian craftsmen are cooler than Europeans

The propaganda of the Third Reich assured that, having exterminated all the intelligentsia, the Bolsheviks left a faceless mass in the country, capable of performing only primitive work. However, employees of the German enterprises where the Ostarbeiters worked were convinced of the opposite over and over again. In their memos, the 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. Russians think while they work and don't look so stupid at all. It is better for me to have 2 Russians at work than 5 Italians.”

In their reports, the Germans stated that the Russian worker could eliminate the malfunction of any mechanism by the most primitive means. For example, at one of the Frankfurt-on-Oder enterprises, a Soviet prisoner of war in a short time managed to find the cause of an engine failure, repair and start it, and this despite the fact that German specialists could not do anything for many days.

From Robert Kershaw's 1941 Through the Eyes of the Germans:

“During the attack, we stumbled upon a light Russian T-26 tank, we immediately clicked it right from the 37-graph paper. When we began to approach, a Russian leaned out of the hatch of the tower to the waist and opened fire on us with a pistol. It soon became clear that he was without legs, they were torn off when the tank was hit. And despite this, he fired at us with a pistol! / Artilleryman of an anti-tank gun /

“We almost did not take prisoners, because the Russians always fought to the last soldier. They didn't give up. Their hardening cannot be compared with ours ... ” / Tanker of the Army Group Center /

After a successful breakthrough of the border defenses, the 3rd Battalion of the 18th Infantry Regiment of the Army Group "Center", numbering 800 people, was fired upon by a unit of 5 soldiers. “I did not expect anything like this,” the battalion commander, Major Neuhof, admitted to his battalion doctor. “It’s pure suicide to attack the forces of the battalion with five fighters.”

“On the Eastern Front, I met people who can be called a special race. Already the first attack turned into a battle not for life, but for death. / Tanker 12th tank division Hans Becker/

“You just won’t believe this until you see it with your own eyes. The soldiers of the Red Army, even burning alive, continued to shoot from the blazing houses. /Officer of the 7th Panzer Division/

"The quality level Soviet pilots much higher than expected ... Fierce resistance, its massive nature does not correspond to our initial assumptions ” / Major General Hoffmann von Waldau /

“I have never seen anyone angrier than these Russians. Real chain dogs! You never know what to expect from them. And where do they get tanks and everything else?!” / One of the soldiers of Army Group Center /

71 years ago, Nazi Germany attacked the USSR. What was our soldier like in the eyes of the enemy - German soldiers? What did the beginning of the war look like from other people's trenches? Very eloquent answers to these questions can be found in a book whose author can hardly be accused of distorting the facts. This is “1941 through the eyes of the Germans. Birch Crosses Instead of Iron Crosses” by the English historian Robert Kershaw, which was recently published in Russia. The book almost entirely consists of the memoirs of German soldiers and officers, their letters home and entries in personal diaries.

Non-commissioned officer Helmut Kolakowski recalls: “Late in the evening, our platoon was gathered in the sheds and announced: “Tomorrow we have to enter the battle with world Bolshevism.” Personally, I was simply amazed, it was like a bolt from the blue, but what about the non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia? I kept thinking of that issue of Deutsche Wochenschau that I saw at home and in which the contract was announced. I could not even imagine how we would go to war against the Soviet Union.” The Fuhrer's order caused surprise and bewilderment among the rank and file. “We can say that we were taken aback by what we heard,” admitted Lothar Fromm, a spotter officer. “We were all, I emphasize this, were amazed and in no way prepared for this.” But bewilderment was immediately replaced by relief from the incomprehensible and tedious waiting on the eastern borders of Germany. Experienced soldiers, who had already captured almost all of Europe, began to discuss when the campaign against the USSR would end. The words of Benno Zeiser, who was then studying to be a military driver, reflect the general mood: “All this will end in some three weeks, we were told, others were more careful in their forecasts - they believed that in 2-3 months. There was one who thought that it would last a whole year, but we laughed at him: “And how long did it take to get rid of the Poles? And with France? Have you forgotten?

But not everyone was so optimistic. Erich Mende, Oberleutnant of the 8th Silesian Infantry Division, recalls a conversation he had with his superior during those last moments of peace. “My commander was twice my age, and he had already had to fight the Russians near Narva in 1917, when he was in the rank of lieutenant. “Here, in these vast 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.

At 3 hours 15 minutes, the advanced German units crossed the border of the USSR. Johann Danzer, an anti-tank gunner, recalls: “On the very first day, as soon as we went on the attack, one of ours shot himself with his own weapon. Clutching the rifle between his knees, he inserted the barrel into his mouth and pulled the trigger. Thus ended the war and all the horrors associated with it.

capture Brest Fortress was entrusted to the 45th infantry division of the Wehrmacht, numbering 17 thousand personnel. The garrison of the fortress is about 8 thousand. In the first hours of the battle, reports were pouring in about the successful advance of the German troops and reports of the capture of bridges and fortress structures. At 4 hours 42 minutes "50 people were taken prisoners, all in the same underwear, the war found them in cots." But by 10:50 the tone of the combat documents had changed: "The battle for the capture of the fortress was fierce - numerous losses." 2 battalion commanders have already died, 1 company commander, the commander of one of the regiments was seriously injured.

“Soon, somewhere between 5.30 and 7.30 in the morning, it became completely clear that the Russians were fighting desperately in the rear of our forward units. Their infantry, with the support of 35-40 tanks and armored vehicles, found themselves on the territory of the fortress, formed several centers of defense. Enemy snipers fired accurately from behind trees, from roofs and basements, which caused heavy losses among officers and junior commanders.

“Where the Russians managed to be knocked out or smoked out, new forces soon appeared. They crawled out of basements, houses, from sewer pipes and other temporary shelters, conducted aimed fire, and our losses continuously grew.
The summary of the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) for June 22 reported: "It seems that the enemy, after the initial confusion, is beginning to offer more and more stubborn resistance." OKW Chief of Staff Halder agrees with this: “After the initial “tetanus” caused by the suddenness of the attack, the enemy moved on to active operations.”

For the soldiers of the 45th division of the Wehrmacht, the beginning of the war turned out to be completely bleak: 21 officers and 290 non-commissioned officers (sergeants), not counting the soldiers, died on its very first day. During the first day of fighting in Russia, the division lost almost as many soldiers and officers as during the entire six weeks of the French campaign.

The most successful actions of the Wehrmacht troops were the operation to encircle and defeat the Soviet divisions in the "cauldrons" of 1941. In the largest of them - Kiev, Minsk, Vyazemsky - Soviet troops lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers and officers. But what price did the Wehrmacht pay for this?

General Günther Blumentritt, Chief of Staff of the 4th Army: “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 Western front. Even being in the encirclement, the Russians staunchly defended themselves.

The author of the book writes: “The experience of the Polish and Western campaigns suggested that the success of the blitzkrieg strategy lies in gaining advantages by more skillful maneuvering. Even if we leave out the resources, the morale and the will to resist the enemy will inevitably be broken under the pressure of huge and senseless losses. From this logically follows the mass surrender of the demoralized soldiers who were surrounded. In Russia, these "primary" truths were turned upside down by the desperate resistance of Russians, sometimes reaching fanaticism, in seemingly hopeless situations. That is why half of the offensive potential of the Germans was spent not on advancing towards the goal, but on consolidating the successes that had already been achieved.

The commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, during the operation to destroy Soviet troops in the Smolensk "cauldron" wrote about their attempts to break out of the encirclement: "A very significant success for the enemy who received such a crushing blow!". The encirclement was not continuous. Two days later, von Bock lamented: "Until now, it has not been possible to close the gap in the eastern section of the Smolensk pocket." That night, about 5 Soviet divisions managed to get out of the encirclement. Three more divisions broke through the next day.

The level of German losses is evidenced by the message of the headquarters of the 7th Panzer Division that only 118 tanks remained in service. 166 vehicles were hit (although 96 were repairable). The 2nd company of the 1st battalion of the "Grossdeutschland" regiment in just 5 days of fighting to hold the line of the Smolensk "cauldron" lost 40 people with a regular company size of 176 soldiers and officers.

Gradually, the perception of the war with the Soviet Union among ordinary German soldiers also changed. The unbridled optimism of the first days of the fighting was replaced by the realization that "something is going wrong." Then came indifference and apathy. The opinion of one of the German officers: “These vast distances frighten and demoralize the soldiers. Plains, plains, there is no end to them and never will be. That's what drives me crazy."

The troops were also constantly worried by the actions of the partisans, whose number grew as the “boilers” were destroyed. If at first their number and activity were negligible, then after the end of the fighting in the Kiev "cauldron", the number of partisans in the sector of the Army Group "South" increased significantly. In the sector of Army Group Center, they took control of 45% of the territories occupied by the Germans.

The campaign, which dragged on for a long time to destroy the encircled Soviet troops, caused more and more associations with Napoleon's army and fears of the Russian winter. One of the soldiers of the Army Group "Center" on August 20 complained: "The losses are terrible, not to be compared with those that were in France." His company, starting from July 23, participated in the battles for the "tank highway No. 1". “Today the road is ours, tomorrow the Russians take it, then we again, and so on.” Victory no longer seemed so close. On the contrary, the enemy's desperate resistance undermined the morale and inspired by no means optimistic thoughts. “I have never seen anyone angrier than these Russians. Real chain dogs! You never know what to expect from them. And where do they get tanks and everything else?!”

During the first months of the campaign, the combat effectiveness of the tank units of Army Group Center was seriously undermined. By September 1941, 30% of the tanks were destroyed, and 23% of the vehicles were under repair. Almost half of all tank divisions intended for participation in Operation Typhoon had only a third of the initial number of combat vehicles. By September 15, 1941, Army Group Center had a total of 1346 combat-ready tanks, while at the beginning of the campaign in Russia this figure was 2609 units.

Personnel losses were no less heavy. By the beginning of the attack on Moscow, the German units had lost about a third of their officers. The total losses in manpower by this point reached about half a million people, which is equivalent to the loss of 30 divisions. If we take into account that only 64% of the total composition of the infantry division, that is, 10840 people, were directly "fighters", and the remaining 36% were in the rear and support services, it becomes clear that the combat effectiveness of the German troops decreased even more.

This is how one of the German soldiers assessed the situation on the Eastern Front: “Russia, only bad news comes from here, and we still don’t know anything about you. And in the meantime, you are absorbing us, dissolving in your inhospitable viscous expanses.

About Russian soldiers

The initial idea of ​​the population of Russia was determined by the German ideology of that time, which considered the Slavs "subhuman". However, the experience of the first battles made its own adjustments to these ideas.
Major General Hoffmann von Waldau, Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe Command, 9 days after the start of the war, wrote in his diary: “The quality level of Soviet pilots is much higher than expected ... Fierce resistance, its mass character does not correspond to our initial assumptions.” This was confirmed by the first air rams. Kershaw cites the words of a Luftwaffe colonel: "Soviet pilots are fatalists, they fight to the end without any hope of victory or even survival." It is worth noting that on the first day of the war with Soviet Union the Luftwaffe lost up to 300 aircraft. Never before had the German Air Force suffered such large one-time losses.

In Germany, the radio was shouting that the shells of "German tanks not only set fire to, but also pierced Russian vehicles through and through." But the soldiers told each other about Russian tanks, which could not be penetrated even with point-blank shots - the shells ricocheted off the armor. Lieutenant Helmut Ritgen from the 6th Panzer Division admitted that in a collision with new and unknown Russian tanks: “... the very concept of tank warfare changed radically, the KV vehicles marked a completely different level of armament, armor protection and tank weight. German tanks instantly moved into the category of exclusively anti-personnel weapons ... " Tankman of the 12th Panzer Division Hans Becker: "On the Eastern Front, I met people who can be called a special race. Already the first attack turned into a battle not for life, but for death.

An anti-tank gunner recalls the indelible impression on him and his comrades that the desperate resistance of the Russians made in the first hours of the war: “During the attack, we stumbled upon a light Russian T-26 tank, we immediately clicked it right from the 37-graph paper. When we began to approach, a Russian leaned out of the hatch of the tower to the waist and opened fire on us with a pistol. It soon became clear that he was without legs, they were torn off when the tank was hit. And despite this, he fired at us with a pistol!

The author of the book “1941 through the eyes of the Germans” cites the words of an officer who served in a tank unit in the sector of Army Group Center, who shared his opinion with war correspondent Curizio Malaparte: “He reasoned like a soldier, avoiding epithets and metaphors, limiting himself only to argumentation, directly related to the issues under discussion. “We almost did not take prisoners, because the Russians always fought to the last soldier. They didn't give up. Their hardening cannot be compared with ours ... "

The following episodes also made a depressing impression on the advancing troops: after a successful breakthrough of the border defense, the 3rd battalion of the 18th infantry regiment of the Army Group Center, numbering 800 people, was fired upon by a unit of 5 soldiers. “I did not expect anything like this,” Major Neuhof, the battalion commander, confessed to his battalion doctor. “It’s pure suicide to attack the forces of the battalion with five fighters.”

In mid-November 1941, an infantry officer of the 7th Panzer Division, when his unit broke into Russian-defended positions in a village near the Lama River, described the resistance of the Red Army. “You just won’t believe this until you see it with your own eyes. The soldiers of the Red Army, even burning alive, continued to shoot from the blazing houses.

Winter 41st

In the German troops, the saying "Better three French campaigns than one Russian" quickly came into use. “Here we lacked comfortable French beds and were struck by the monotony of the area.” "The prospect of being in Leningrad turned into an endless sitting in numbered trenches."

The high losses of the Wehrmacht, the lack of winter uniforms and the unpreparedness of German equipment for combat operations in the conditions of the Russian winter gradually made it possible to seize the initiative Soviet troops. During the three-week period from November 15 to December 5, 1941, the Russian Air Force made 15,840 sorties, while the Luftwaffe only 3,500, which further demoralized the enemy.

In the tank forces, the situation was similar: Lieutenant Colonel Grampe from the headquarters of the 1st Panzer Division reported that his tanks, due to low temperatures (minus 35 degrees), were sky-ready. “Even the turrets are jammed, optical instruments are covered with frost, and machine guns are only capable of firing single rounds ...” In some units, losses from frostbite reached 70%.

Josef Dec of the 71st Artillery Regiment recalls: “Loaves of bread had to be chopped with an axe. First aid packages petrified, gasoline froze, optics failed, and hands stuck to metal. In the cold, the wounded died a few minutes later. A few lucky ones managed to acquire Russian uniforms taken from the corpses they warmed.

Corporal Fritz Siegel, in his letter home on December 6, wrote: “My God, what are these Russians planning to do with us? It would be nice if they at least listened to us up there, otherwise we will all have to die here"

The material offered to readers is excerpts from diaries, letters and memoirs of German soldiers, officers and generals who first encountered the Russian people in the years Patriotic War 1941–1945 In essence, we have before us evidence of mass meetings of people with people, of Russia with the West, which do not lose their relevance today.

Germans about Russian character

It is unlikely that the Germans will emerge victorious from this struggle against the Russian land and against Russian nature. How many children, how many women, and all give birth, and all bear fruit, despite war and robbery, despite destruction and death! Here we are fighting not against people, but against nature. At the same time, I again have to admit to myself that this country is becoming dearer to me every day.

Lieutenant K. F. Brand

They think differently than we do. And don't bother - you'll never understand Russian anyway!

Officer Malapar

I know how risky it is to describe the sensational "Russian man", this is a vague vision of philosophizing and politicizing writers, which is very suitable for being hung like a clothes hanger with all the doubts that arise in a person from the West, the further he moves to the East . Yet this "Russian man" is not only a literary fiction, although here, as elsewhere, people are different and to common denominator are irreducible. Only with this reservation will we talk about the Russian people.

Pastor G. Gollwitzer

They are so versatile that almost each of them describes the full range of human qualities. Among them you can find everything from a cruel brute to St. Francis of Assisi. That is why they cannot be described in a few words. To describe Russians, one must use all the existing epithets. I can say about them that I like them, I don’t like them, I bow before them, I hate them, they touch me, they scare me, I admire them, they disgust me!

A less thoughtful person is pissed off by such a character and makes him exclaim: Unfinished, chaotic, incomprehensible people!

Major K. Kuehner

Germans about Russia

Russia lies between East and West - it's an old idea, but I can't say anything new about this country. The twilight of the East and the clarity of the West created this dual light, this crystal clarity of mind and the mysterious depth of the soul. They are between the spirit of Europe, strong in form and weak in deep contemplation, and the spirit of Asia, which is devoid of form and clear outline. I think their souls are drawn to Asia more, but fate and history - and even this war - bring them closer to Europe. And since here, in Russia, there are many uncountable forces everywhere, even in politics and economy, there can be no single opinion either about her people or about their life ... Russians measure everything by distance. They must always reckon with him. Here often relatives live far from each other, soldiers from Ukraine serve in Moscow, students from Odessa study in Kyiv. You can drive here for hours without getting anywhere. They live in space like stars in the night sky, like sailors on the sea; and just as space is boundless, so is man boundless - everything is in his hands, and he has nothing. The breadth and expanse of nature determine the fate of this country and these people. In larger spaces, history flows more slowly.

Major K.Küner

This opinion is confirmed by other sources. The German staff soldier, comparing Germany and Russia, draws attention to the incommensurability of these two quantities. The German offensive against Russia appeared to him as a contact between the limited and the limitless.

Stalin is the ruler of the Asian boundlessness - this is an enemy that the forces advancing from limited, dissected spaces cannot cope with ...

Soldier C. Mattis

We entered into battle with an enemy whom we, being in captivity of European life concepts, did not understand at all. In this rock of our strategy, it is, strictly speaking, completely random, like an adventure on Mars.

Soldier C. Mattis

Germans about the mercy of Russians

The inexplicability of the Russian character and behavior often baffled the Germans. Russians show hospitality not only in their homes, they go out to meet them with milk and bread. In December 1941, during the retreat from Borisov, in a village abandoned by the troops, an old woman brought out bread and a jug of milk. “War, war,” she repeated in tears. Russians with the same good nature treated both the victorious and the defeated Germans. Russian peasants are peace-loving and good-natured... When we feel thirsty during the crossings, we go into their huts, and they give us milk, as if they were pilgrims. For them, every person is in need. How often have I seen Russian peasant women wailing over wounded German soldiers as if they were their own sons...

Major K. Kuehner

It seems strange that a Russian woman does not have enmity towards the soldiers of the army her sons are fighting against: Old Alexandra from strong threads ... knits socks for me. In addition, a good-natured old woman boils potatoes for me. Today I even found a piece of salted meat in the lid of my pot. She probably has some hidden supplies somewhere. Otherwise, one cannot understand how these people live here. Alexandra has a goat in her barn. Many don't have cows. And with all that, these poor people share their last good with us. Do they do it out of fear, or do these people really have an innate sense of self-sacrifice? Or do they do it out of good nature or even out of love? Alexandra, she is 77 years old, as she told me, she is illiterate. She cannot read or write. After the death of her husband, she lives alone. Three children died, the other three left for Moscow. It is clear that both of her sons are in the army. She knows that we are fighting against them, and yet she knits socks for me. The feeling of enmity is probably unfamiliar to her.

Orderly Michels

In the first months of the war, village women ... hurried with food for prisoners of war. "Oh poor!" they said. They also brought food for the German guards who sat in the center of small squares on benches around the white statues of Lenin and Stalin thrown into the mud ...

Officer Malapart

Hatred for a long time ... is not in the Russian character. This is especially clear in the example of how quickly the psychosis of hatred in ordinary Soviet people towards the Germans disappeared during the Second World War. At the same time, ... sympathy, the maternal feeling of a Russian rural woman, as well as young girls in relation to the prisoners, played a role. A Western European woman who met with the Red Army in Hungary is surprised: “Isn’t it strange that most of them do not feel any hatred even for the Germans: where do they get this unshakable faith in human goodness, this inexhaustible patience, this selflessness and meek humility ...

Germans about Russian sacrifice

Sacrifice has been noted more than once by the Germans in the Russian people. From a people that officially does not recognize spiritual values, it is as if one cannot expect either nobility, or a Russian character, or sacrifice. However, a German officer is amazed during the interrogation of a captured partisan:

Is it really possible to demand from a person brought up in materialism so much sacrifice for the sake of ideals!

Major K. Kuehner

Probably, this exclamation can be attributed to the entire Russian people, which apparently retained these traits in themselves, despite the breaking of the internal Orthodox foundations of life, and, apparently, sacrifice, responsiveness, and similar qualities are characteristic of Russians to a high degree. They are partly emphasized by the attitude of the Russians themselves towards the Western peoples.

As soon as Russians come into contact with Western people, they briefly define them with the words "dry people" or "heartless people". All the egoism and materialism of the West lies in the definition of "dry people"

Endurance, mental strength and at the same time humility also attract the attention of foreigners.

The Russian people, especially the vast expanses, steppes, fields and villages, is one of the most healthy, joyful and wise on earth. He is able to resist the power of fear with his back bent. There is so much faith and antiquity in it that the most just order in the world can probably come out of it.

Soldier Matisse

An example of the duality of the Russian soul, which combines both pity and cruelty at the same time:

When soup and bread were already given to the prisoners in the camp, one Russian gave a piece of his portion. Many others did the same, so that we had so much bread in front of us that we could not eat it ... We just shook our heads. Who can understand them, these Russians? Some they shoot and can even laugh at it contemptuously, others they give plenty of soup and even share with them their own daily portion of bread.

German M. Gaertner

Looking closer at the Russians, the German will again note their sharp extremes, the impossibility of fully comprehending them:

Russian soul! It goes from the most gentle, soft sounds to wild fortissimo, it is only difficult to predict this music and especially the moments of its transition ... The words of one old consul remain symbolic: “I do not know the Russians enough - I have lived among them for only thirty years.

General Schweppenburg

Germans about the shortcomings of Russians

From the Germans themselves, we hear an explanation for the fact that Russians are often reproached for their tendency to steal.

Those who survived the post-war years in Germany, like us in the camps, became convinced that poverty destroys a strong sense of ownership even among people who have been alien to theft since childhood. An improvement in living conditions would quickly correct this shortcoming in the majority, and the same would happen in Russia, as it was before the Bolsheviks. It is not shaky concepts and insufficient respect for other people's property that has not appeared under the influence of socialism that make people steal, but need.

POW Gollwitzer

Most often you ask yourself helplessly: why is the truth not being told here? ... This could be explained by the fact that it is extremely difficult for Russians to say "no". Their “no”, however, has become famous all over the world, but this seems to be more Soviet than Russian feature. The Russian does his best to avoid the necessity of refusing any request. In any case, when sympathy stirs in him, and this often happens with him. Disappointing a needy person seems unfair to him; in order to avoid this, he is ready for any lie. And where sympathy is lacking, lying is at least a convenient way to save yourself from annoying requests.

In Eastern Europe, mother vodka has been performing a great service for centuries. It warms people when they are cold, dries their tears when they are sad, deceives their stomachs when they are hungry, and gives that drop of happiness that everyone needs in life and which is difficult to obtain in semi-civilized countries. In Eastern Europe, vodka is theater, cinema, concert and circus, it replaces books for the illiterate, makes heroes out of cowardly cowards and is the consolation that makes you forget all worries. Where in the world to find another such iota of happiness, and such a cheap one?

The people ... oh yes, the glorified Russian people! .. For several years I carried out the issuance of wages in one work camp and came into contact with Russians of all strata. There are fine people among them, but it is almost impossible to remain an impeccably honest person here. I was constantly amazed that under such pressure this people retained so much humanity in all respects and so much naturalness. In women this is noticeably more than in men, in the old, of course, more than in the young, among the peasants more than among the workers, but there is no stratum in which this is completely absent. They are a wonderful people and deserve to be loved.

POW Gollwitzer

On the way home from Russian captivity, impressions pop up in the memory of a German soldier-priest recent years in Russian captivity.

Military priest Franz

Germans about Russian women

A separate chapter can be written about the high morality and morality of a Russian woman. Foreign authors left a valuable monument to her in their memoirs of Russia. For a German doctor eirich the unexpected results of the examination made a deep impression: 99 percent of girls aged 18 to 35 turned out to be virgins ... He thinks that in Orel it would be impossible to find girls for a brothel.

The voices of women, especially girls, are actually non-melodious, but pleasant. There is some kind of strength and joy hidden in them. It seems that you hear some deep string of life ringing. It seems that constructive schematic changes in the world pass by these forces of nature without touching them...

Writer Jünger

By the way, the staff doctor von Grevenitz told me that during the medical examination, the vast majority of girls turned out to be virgins. This can also be seen from the physiognomies, but it is difficult to say whether it can be read from the forehead or from the eyes - this is the brilliance of purity that surrounds the face. His light does not have the glimmer of active virtue, but rather resembles a reflection moonlight. However, this is precisely why you feel the great power of this light…

Writer Jünger

About feminine Russian women (if I can put it that way) I got the impression that they are their special inner strength keep under moral control those Russians who can be considered barbarians.

Military priest Franz

The words of another German soldier sound like a conclusion to the topic of the morality and dignity of a Russian woman:

What did the propaganda tell us about the Russian woman? And how did we find it? I think it's unlikely to be German soldier who visited Russia, who would not have learned to appreciate and respect a Russian woman.

Soldier Michels

Describing a ninety-year old woman who never once left her village during her life and therefore did not know the world outside the village, the German officer says:

I even think that she is much happier than we are: she is full of the happiness of life, flowing in close proximity to nature; she is happy with the inexhaustible power of her simplicity.

Major K.Küner

We find about simple, integral feelings among Russians in the memoirs of another German.

I am talking to Anna, the eldest daughter, he writes. - She's not married yet. Why won't she leave this poor land? I ask her and show her photos from Germany. The girl points to her mother and sisters and explains that she is best among her relatives. It seems to me that these people have only one desire: to love each other and live for their fellow men.

Germans about Russian simplicity, intelligence and talent

German officers sometimes do not know how to answer the simple questions of ordinary Russian people.

The general with his retinue passes by a Russian prisoner grazing sheep destined for German cuisine. “That’s stupid,” the prisoner began to express his thoughts, “but peaceful, and people, sir? Why are people so unpeaceful? Why are they killing each other?!”… We couldn't answer his last question. His words came from the depths of the soul of a simple Russian person.

General Schweppenburg

The immediacy and simplicity of the Russians make the German exclaim:

Russians don't grow up. They remain children... If you look at the Russian masses from this point of view, you will understand them and forgive them a lot.

By proximity to a harmonious, pure, but also harsh nature, foreign eyewitnesses are trying to explain the courage, endurance, and undemandingness of Russians.

The courage of Russians is based on their undemanding to life, on their organic connection with nature. And this nature tells them about deprivation, struggle and death to which a person is subject.

Major K.Küner

Often the Germans noted the exceptional efficiency of the Russians, their ability to improvise, sharpness, adaptability, curiosity for everything, and especially for knowledge.

The purely physical performance of Soviet workers and Russian women is beyond any doubt.

General Schweppenburg

The art of improvisation among the Soviet people should be especially emphasized, no matter what it concerns.

General Fretter-Pico

On sharpness and the interest shown by Russians in everything:

Most of them show a much greater interest in everything than our workers or peasants; they all differ in speed of perception and practical mind.

Non-commissioned officer Gogoff

An overestimation of the knowledge acquired in school is often an obstacle for a European in his understanding of the “uneducated” Russian... As a teacher, the discovery was amazing and beneficial for me, that a person without any school education can understand the deepest problems of life in a truly philosophical way and at the same time he possesses such knowledge in which some academician of European fame can envy him ... First of all, Russians lack this typically European fatigue in front of the problems of life, which we often only overcome with difficulty. Their curiosity knows no bounds... The level of education of the real Russian intelligentsia reminds me of the ideal types of people of the Renaissance, whose lot was the universality of knowledge, which had nothing in common, “a little about everything.

Swiss Ucker, who lived in Russia for 16 years

Another German from the people is surprised by the acquaintance of the young Russian with domestic and foreign literature:

From a conversation with a 22-year-old Russian who had only graduated from a folk school, I learned that she knew Goethe and Schiller, not to mention that she was well versed in domestic literature. When I expressed my surprise about this to Dr. Heinrich W., who knew Russian and understood Russians better, he rightly remarked: “The difference between the German and Russian people is that we keep our classics in luxurious bindings in bookcases. and we don’t read them, while the Russians print their classics on newsprint and publish them in editions, but they take them to the people and read them.

Military priest Franz

Talents that can manifest themselves even in an unfavorable environment are evidenced by a lengthy description by a German soldier of a concert arranged in Pskov on July 25, 1942.

I sat at the back among the village girls in colorful cotton dresses ... The entertainer came out, read a long program, made an even longer explanation for it. Then two men, one on each side, parted the curtain, and a very poor stage set for Korsakov's opera appeared before the public. One piano replaced the orchestra... Mainly two singers sang... But something happened that would have been beyond the power of any European opera. Both singers, full and self-confident, even in tragic moments sang and played with great and clear simplicity ... movements and voice merged into one. They supported and complemented each other: in the end, even their faces sang, not to mention their eyes. Wretched furnishings, a solitary piano, and yet there was a fullness of impression. No glittery props, no hundred instruments could make a better impression. After that, the singer appeared in gray striped trousers, a velvet jacket and an old-fashioned stand-up collar. When, so dressed up, with a kind of touching helplessness, he went to the middle of the stage and bowed three times, laughter was heard in the hall among the officers and soldiers. He began a Ukrainian folk song, and as soon as his melodious and powerful voice was heard, the audience froze. A few simple gestures accompanied the song, and the singer's eyes made it visible. During the second song, the lights suddenly went out throughout the hall. It was dominated only by the voice. He sang in the dark for about an hour. At the end of one song, the Russian village girls who were sitting behind me, in front of me and next to me, jumped up and began to applaud and stamp their feet. A flurry of applause began for a long time, as if the dark stage was flooded with the light of fantastic, inconceivable landscapes. I didn't understand a word, but I saw everything.

Soldier Mattis

Folk songs, reflecting the character and history of the people, attract the attention of eyewitnesses most of all.

In a real Russian folk song, and not in sentimental romances, the whole Russian "wide" nature is reflected with its tenderness, wildness, depth, sincerity, closeness to nature, cheerful humor, endless search, sadness and radiant joy, as well as with their undying longing for beautiful and kind.

German songs are filled with mood, Russian songs are filled with a story. In its songs and choirs, Russia has great power.

Major K. Kuehner

Germans about Russian faith

A vivid example of such a state is provided for us by a rural teacher, whom a German officer knew well and who, apparently, maintained constant contact with the nearest partisan detachment.

Iya talked to me about Russian icons. The names of the great icon painters are unknown here. They devoted their art to a pious cause and remained in obscurity. Everything personal must yield to the demand of the saint. The figures on the icons are shapeless. They give the impression of the unknown. But they don't have to have beautiful bodies either. Next to the holy, the bodily has no meaning. In this art, it would be inconceivable that a beautiful woman should be the model of the Madonna, as was the case with the great Italians. Here it would be blasphemy, since this is a human body. Nothing can be known, everything must be believed. That is the secret of the icon. "Do you believe in the icon?" Iya didn't answer. “Why are you decorating it then?” She could, of course, reply, “I don't know. Sometimes I do it. I get scared when I don't. And sometimes I just want to do it.” How divided, how restless you must be, Oia. Attraction to God and resentment against Him in one and the same heart. "What do you believe in?" “Nothing.” She said it with such heaviness and depth that I was left with the impression that these people accept their unbelief as well as their faith. Backsliding man continues to carry the old legacy of humility and faith.

Major K. Kuehner

Russians are difficult to compare with other peoples. Mysticism in Russian man continues to question the vague concept of God and the remnants of Christian-religious feeling.

General Schweppenburg

We find other testimonies about young people who are looking for the meaning of life, who are not satisfied with schematic and dead materialism. Probably, the path of a Komsomol member who ended up in a concentration camp for spreading the Gospel became the path of some part of Russian youth. In the very poor material published by eyewitnesses in the West, we find three confirmations that the Orthodox faith was to some extent passed on to the older generations of the youth and that the few and undoubtedly lonely young people who have found the faith are sometimes ready to courageously defend it, fearing neither imprisonment nor penal servitude. Here is a rather detailed testimony of a German woman who returned home from a camp in Vorkuta:

I was very struck by the integral personalities of these believers. They were peasant girls, intellectuals different ages although the youth dominated. They preferred the Gospel of John. They knew him by heart. The students lived with them in great friendship, promised them that in future Russia there will be complete freedom in religious terms. The fact that many of the Russian youth who believed in God were waiting for arrest and a concentration camp is confirmed by the Germans who returned from Russia after the Second World War. They met believers in concentration camps and describe them as follows: We envied the believers. We considered them lucky. The believers were supported by their deep faith, which also helped them easily endure all the hardships of camp life. No one, for example, could force them to go to work on Sunday. In the dining room before dinner, they always pray ... They pray with all their free time… One cannot help but admire such a faith, one cannot but envy it… Every person, be it a Pole, a German, a Christian or a Jew, when he turned to a believer for help, always received it. The believer shared the last piece of bread….

Probably, in some cases, believers won respect and sympathy not only from the prisoners, but also from the camp authorities:

There were several women in their brigade who, being deeply religious, refused to work on major church holidays. The authorities and the guard put up with this and did not give them away.

The following impression of a German officer who accidentally entered a burned-out church can serve as a symbol of wartime Russia:

We enter, like tourists, for a few minutes into the church through open door. Burnt beams and fragments of stones lie on the floor. From tremors or from a fire, plaster crumbled from the walls. Paints appeared on the walls, plastered frescoes depicting saints, and ornaments. And in the middle of the ruins, on the charred beams, two peasant women stand and pray.

Major K. Kuehner

—————————

Text preparation - V. Drobyshev. According to the magazine " Slav»

Otto Carius(German Otto Carius, 05/27/1922 - 01/24/2015) - German tank ace during the Second World War. Destroyed more than 150 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns - one of the most high results World War II along with other German masters tank battle— Michael Wittmann and Kurt Knispel. He fought on tanks Pz.38, "Tiger", self-propelled guns "Jagdtigr". Book author " Tigers in the mud».
He began his career as a tanker on a light tank "Skoda" Pz.38, from 1942 he fought on a heavy tank Pz.VI "Tiger" on the Eastern Front. Along with Michael Wittmann, he became a Nazi military legend, and his name was widely used in Third Reich propaganda during the war. Fought on the Eastern Front. In 1944, he was seriously wounded, after recovering, he fought on the Western Front, then, by order of the command, he surrendered to the American occupying forces, spent some time in a prisoner of war camp, after which he was released.
After the war, he became a pharmacist, in June 1956 he acquired a pharmacy in the city of Herschweiler-Pettersheim, which he renamed Tiger Apotheke. He headed the pharmacy until February 2011.

Interesting excerpts from the book "Tigers in the Mud"
the book can be read in full here militera.lib.ru

On the offensive in the Baltics:

“It’s not bad at all to fight here,” Sergeant Dehler, the commander of our tank, said with a chuckle after once again pulling his head out of a tub of water. It seemed that this washing would never end. The year before, he had been in France. The thought of this gave me self-confidence, because I entered the fighting for the first time, excited, but also with some fear. We were greeted enthusiastically everywhere by the people of Lithuania. The people here saw us as liberators. We were shocked by the fact that before our arrival, Jewish shops were destroyed and destroyed everywhere..»

On the attack on Moscow and the arming of the Red Army:

“The attack on Moscow was given preference over the capture of Leningrad. The attack choked in the mud, when the capital of Russia, which opened before us, was a stone's throw away. What then happened in the infamous winter of 1941/42 cannot be conveyed in oral or written reports. The German soldier had to hold out in inhuman conditions against those accustomed to winter and extremely well-armed Russian divisions.»

About T-34 tanks:

“Another event hit us like a ton of bricks: Russian T-34 tanks appeared for the first time! The astonishment was complete. How could it happen that up there, they did not know about the existence of this excellent tank?»

The T-34, with its good armor, perfect shape and magnificent 76.2-mm long-barreled gun, made everyone in awe, and all German tanks were afraid of him until the end of the war. What were we to do with these monsters thrown against us in multitudes?

About heavy IS tanks:

“We examined the Joseph Stalin tank, which, to a certain extent, was still intact. The 122-mm long-barreled gun aroused our respect. The disadvantage was that unitary shots were not used in this tank. Instead, the projectile and powder charge had to be loaded separately. The armor and uniforms were better than those of our "Tiger", but we liked our weapons much more.
The Joseph Stalin tank played a cruel joke on me when it knocked out my right drive wheel. I did not notice this until I wanted to back away after an unexpected strong blow and explosion. Feldwebel Kerscher immediately recognized this shooter. He also hit him in the forehead, but our 88-mm gun could not penetrate the heavy armor of "Joseph Stalin" at such an angle and from such a distance.

About the Tiger tank:

“Outwardly, he looked handsome and pleasing to the eye. He was fat; almost all flat surfaces are horizontal, and only the front slope is welded almost vertically. The thicker armor made up for the lack of rounded shapes. Ironically, just before the war, we supplied the Russians with a huge hydraulic press with which they were able to produce their "T-34" with such elegantly rounded surfaces. Our armaments experts did not consider them valuable. In their opinion, such thick armor could never be needed. As a result, we had to put up with flat surfaces.”

“Even if our “tiger” was not handsome, his margin of safety inspired us. He really drove like a car. With just two fingers, we could control a 60-ton giant with 700 horsepower, drive at a speed of 45 kilometers per hour on the road and 20 kilometers per hour over rough terrain. However, taking into account additional equipment we could move on the road only at a speed of 20-25 kilometers per hour and, accordingly, at an even lower speed off-road. The 22 liter engine ran best at 2600 rpm. At 3000 rpm it quickly overheated.

On successful Russian operations:

« With envy, we watched how well equipped the Ivans were compared to us.. We experienced real happiness when several replenishment tanks finally arrived to us from the deep rear.

“We found the commander of the Luftwaffe field division at the command post in a state of complete despair. He did not know where his units were. Russian tanks crushed everything around before the anti-tank guns had time to fire even one shot. Ivans captured the latest equipment, and the division fled in all directions.

“The Russians attacked there and took the city. The attack followed so unexpectedly that some of our troops were caught on the move. Real panic set in. It was quite fair that the commandant of Nevel had to answer before a military court for a flagrant disregard for security measures.

About drunkenness in the Wehrmacht:

“Shortly after midnight, cars appeared from the west. We recognized them as ours in time. It was a motorized infantry battalion that did not have time to connect with the troops and advanced to the highway late. As I found out later, the commander was sitting in the only tank at the head of the column. He was completely drunk. The disaster happened with lightning speed. The whole unit had no idea what was happening, and moved openly through the space being shot through by the Russians. A terrible panic arose when machine guns and mortars began to speak. Many soldiers were hit by bullets. Left without a commander, everyone ran back to the road instead of looking for cover south of it. Any kind of mutual assistance is gone. The only thing that mattered was every man for himself. The cars drove right over the wounded, and the freeway was a picture of horror.

On Russian heroism:

“When it began to get light, our infantrymen approached the T-34 somewhat inadvertently. He was still standing next to von Schiller's tank. With the exception of a hole in the hull, no other damage was visible on it. Surprisingly, when they approached to open the hatch, he did not give way. Following this, a hand grenade flew out of the tank, and three soldiers were seriously wounded. Von Schiller again opened fire on the enemy. However, until the third shot, the commander of the Russian tank did not leave his car. Then he, seriously wounded, lost consciousness. The other Russians were dead. We brought a Soviet lieutenant to the division, but it was no longer possible to interrogate him. He died of his wounds on the way. This incident showed us how careful we must be. This Russian sent detailed reports to his unit about us. He only had to slowly turn his turret to shoot von Schiller point-blank. I remember how we resented the stubbornness of this Soviet lieutenant at that time. Today I have a different opinion about it ... "

Comparison of Russians and Americans (after being wounded in 1944, the author was transferred to the Western Front):

"Among blue sky they created a screen of fire that left no room for the imagination. It covered the entire front of our bridgehead. Only Ivans could arrange such a barrage of fire. Even the Americans, whom I later met in the West, could not compare with them. The Russians fired in layers with all types of weapons, from continuously firing light mortars to heavy artillery.

“Sappers were active everywhere. They even reversed the warning signs in the hope that the Russians would drive in the wrong direction! Such a ploy sometimes worked later on the Western Front against the Americans, but did not pass with the Russians.»

“If I had two or three tank commanders and crews from my company that fought in Russia with me, then this rumor could well turn out to be true. All my comrades would not fail to fire on those Yankees who were marching in "ceremonial formation". After all, five Russians were more dangerous than thirty Americans.. We have already noticed this in the last few days of fighting in the west.

« The Russians would never give us so much time! But how much it took the Americans to eliminate the "bag", in which there could be no talk of any serious resistance.

“... we decided one evening to replenish our fleet at the expense of the American one. It never occurred to anyone to consider this a heroic deed! The Yankees slept in the houses at night, as the "front-line soldiers" were supposed to. After all, who would want to disturb their peace! Outside, at best, there was one sentry, but only if the weather was good. The war began in the evenings only if our troops retreated, and they pursued them. If by chance a German machine gun suddenly opened fire, then they asked for support from air force but only the next day. Around midnight we set off with four soldiers and returned pretty soon with two jeeps. It was convenient that they did not require keys. One had only to turn on a small toggle switch, and the car was ready to go. It wasn't until we were back in our lines that the Yankees fired indiscriminately into the air, probably to calm their nerves. If the night were long enough, we could easily drive to Paris.”

"Stalingrad - good lesson for the German people, it is only a pity that those who have been trained are unlikely to be able to use the knowledge they have received in later life.

“Russians are not like people, they are made of iron, they do not know fatigue, they do not know fear. Sailors, in the bitter cold, go on the attack in vests. Physically and spiritually, one Russian soldier is stronger than our entire company.”

“Russian snipers and armor-piercers are undoubtedly disciples of God. They lie in wait for us day and night, and do not miss. For 58 days we stormed one - the only house. In vain they stormed ... None of us will return to Germany, unless a miracle happens. And I don't believe in miracles anymore. Time has gone over to the side of the Russians.”

“No, father, God does not exist, or only you have him, in your psalms and prayers, in the sermons of priests and pastors, in the ringing of bells, in the smell of incense, but he is not in Stalingrad. And now you’re sitting in the basement, drowning someone’s furniture, you’re only twenty-six, and it seems like your head is on your shoulders, until recently you were happy with shoulder straps and yelled “Heil Hitler!” with you, and now there are two ways: either to die, or to Siberia".

“I’m talking with Chief Warmaster V. He says that the struggle in France was more fierce than here, but more honest. The French capitulated when they realized that further resistance was futile. The Russians, even if this is unsuccessful, continue to fight ... In France or Poland, they would have surrendered long ago, says Sergeant G., but here the Russians continue to fanatically fight.

“My beloved Zilla. This, to be honest, is a strange letter, which, of course, no mail will send anywhere, and I decided to send it with my wounded fellow countryman, you know him - this is Fritz Sauber ... Every day brings us great sacrifices. We are losing our brothers, but the end of the war is not visible and, probably, I will not see it, I do not know what will happen to me tomorrow, I have already lost all hope of returning home and staying alive. I think that every German soldier will find his grave here. These blizzards and vast fields covered with snow terrify me to death. Russians cannot be defeated ... "

“I thought that the war would end by the end of this year, but, apparently, the situation is different ... I think that we miscalculated with regard to the Russians.”

“We are located 90 km from Moscow, and it cost us a lot of dead. The Russians still put up very strong resistance, defending Moscow ... Until we arrive in Moscow, there will be more fierce battles. Many who do not think about it yet will have to die ... In this campaign, many regretted that Russia is not Poland and not France, and there is no enemy stronger than the Russians. If another six months pass, we are gone ... ".

“We are on the highway Moscow - Smolensk, not far from Moscow ... Russians are fighting fiercely and furiously for every meter of land. Never before have battles been so cruel and difficult, and many of us will not see our relatives ... ".

“For more than three months I have been in Russia and have already experienced a lot. Yes, dear brother, sometimes your soul goes straight to your heels when you are only a hundred meters from the damned Russians ... ”

From the diary of the commander of the 25th Army, General Günther Blumentritt:

“Many of our leaders have grossly underestimated the new adversary. This happened partly because they did not know the Russian people, much less the Russian soldier. Some of our military leaders were on the Western Front during the entire First World War and never fought in the East, so they had no idea about geographical conditions Russia and the resilience of the Russian soldier, but at the same time they ignored the repeated warnings of prominent military experts on Russia ... The behavior of the Russian troops, even in this first battle (for Minsk), was strikingly different from the behavior of the Poles and the troops of the Western allies in the conditions of defeat. Even being surrounded, the Russians did not retreat from their lines.