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Роман Алымов
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Skipper
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Дата
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27.07.2000 17:03:26
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Рубрики
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WWII;
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Сказка(-)
>Про такое кто-нибудь слыхал?
>***************************************
>In the Summer of 1943, the German and Russian Armies had faced each
>other for two years. While the most famous battles raged in places like
>Moscow and Stalingrad, the Wehrrmacht had also invaded from Finland,
>then a German ally. Their objective was at first Leningrad, then later
>to interfere with the flow of supplies from Murmansk. In the end they
>ultimately failed, but the entire Eastern Front was legendary for its
>harshness and lethality, and this sector was no exception. The war was
>closely fought.
>It was at this time and place that one of the most remarkable and
>under-reported events in the modern history of warfare took place, an
>event so ugly that the images of it remain burned in my brain years
>after reading about it. My source material is long gone, and I am
>working strictly from memory. Yet I am sure that I am correct, at least
>in the broad strokes.
>By some evil coincidence, German and Russian forces of roughly equal
>combat strength were simultaneously sent to occupy the same objective, a
>fairly low and anonymous piece of ground. There were as best I recall
>about 1500 Russians, and about 900 Germans, who were better trained and
>equipped thus compensating for their lack of numbers. All the men
>involved were from ordinary infantry units- these were not elite or
>specially indoctrinated men. They arrived at the same moment, and a
>sharp battle erupted.
>Then something truly hideous happened. To this day, no one knows
>exactly what. But the battle, though really purposeless strategically,
>became incredibly fierce. Both sides seemed to go utterly mad and lose
>all sense of humanity. Screaming Germans shot Russian medics trying to
>treat them, while Russians pulled pistols on Germans and killed them in
>the act of binding their wounds. Men trying to surrender were burned
>down where they stood by flame throwers. A terrible bloody rage arose,
>and the battle, though small, became arguably the most intense in modern
>history. No one seemingly cared if they survived, as long as the enemy
>was utterly wiped out to the last man. It was the most pure display of
>aggression I have ever read of. The men literally screamed in rage as
>they fought, ignoring cover and everything else but their raw hatred and
>the most animal of instincts. The soldiers of both nations were utterly
>reckless of their lives, and utterly merciless. I question wether they
>were really human for that time, but I fear they were.
>Both sides pretty much got their wish. There were a total of three
>shocked and shaken survivors (all German) out of 2400 men. (Russian
>records confirmed their unit was wiped out.) Other battles have seen one
>side or the other wiped out with considerable frequency, but only in
>this one case that I (or the author of the article) know of have two
>units ever came so close to annhilating each other in modern times.
>Thank God, the human race has known nothing like it since. That we are
>capable of such anger is terrifying to me.
>******************************