David Robbins - War of the Rats - A Novel of Stalingrad

Many of the men feared Lebedev and the other politrooks, and with good reason. Stalin had given these political officers—all loyal idealists—the fiat to maintain the order of the Party throughout the army, from the highest general to the newest private. Their power came from Stalin’s Order No. 227, called the “Iron Hand Rule.” Not only had Stalin charged the commissars with keeping the Red soldiers politically focused during battle, even during the worst of it, they were also to judge on the field of battle each man’s performance. The commissars shared responsibility with the Soviet officers for the troops’ dedication to fighting until the last vessel of blood was emptied. If a man showed himself reluctant to fight, the commissar was to support, encourage, exhort, even threaten. But if a soldier displayed cowardice or retreated without orders, the politrook was to act with an iron hand. Zaitsev, like the rest of the men, knew that, too often, the “iron hand” meant a loaded pistol held to your head. Lebedev handed a scrap of newspaper to Zaitsev. “This was printed in Pravda last week. I show it to you, tovarich, because the men look up to you. They will follow you.”

“We’re Siberians, comrade commissar. We’ll all fight without articles from Pravda.”

Lebedev put his palm on Zaitsev’s shoulder. He shook it once gently and smiled with his gap.

“Read. We have some time before we cross.” The article was entitled “They Know at Home How You Are Fighting.” Zaitsev squinted to read in the shifting light:

Whether your home is near or far, it doesn’t matter. At home, they will always learn how you are fighting. If you don’t write yourself, your comrades will write, or your political instructor. If the letter does not reach them, they will learn about you from the newspaper. Your mother will read the communiqué, will shake her head and say: “My dear boy, you should do better than this.” You are quite wrong if you imagine that the one thing they want at home is to see you come home alive. What they want you to do is kill the Germans. They do not want any more shame and terror. If you die while stopping the Germans from advancing any farther, they will honor your memory forever. Your heroic death will brighten and warm the lives of your children and grandchildren. If you let the Germans pass, your own mother will curse you.

Zaitsev returned the sheet to Lebedev. “Thank you, comrade commissar. It takes courage to be so direct.”

Lebedev patted Zaitsev again on the shoulder. “Yes, it does. I’ll see you on the other side, Comrade Chief Master Sergeant.”

Well past midnight, the Siberians lay on the beach, watching and listening to Stalingrad scream to them. A flotilla of battered fishing boats, barges, steamers, and tugs appeared. A barge dropped anchor in the shallows in front of them. Zaitsev saw the holes in the ship’s timbers. Two men forward and four aft bailed buckets of water over the gunwales as fast as they could. Supplies were loaded quickly into the barge’s hold. Wooden crates of ammo were shouldered up the plank and lowered belowdecks. Several dozen cardboard boxes were stored; from them came the friendly sound of clanging, ringing vodka bottles. Crates of canned ham from America were carried up the gangway. The Red Army soldiers jokingly called this ham the “second front.” For a year Stalin had begged England and the United States to attack the Germans in the west to ease the pressure on Russia. The Allies always responded with their many reasons for being slow and considered in their actions. For the Russian foot soldier, these tins of sweet, wet, red ham from places such as Georgia and Virginia were to be the only help they would get from the States. The ham alone would have to suffice as the second front.

The boats chugged onto the Volga. Flares split the glittering night sky. The men stared overhead, trying to pierce the coils of smoke and search for the first hint of a diving Luftwaffe warplane. The dancing light from the city scorched like a fever across their brows, making them blink and sweat.

Halfway across the river a Stuka whistled past. The men braced, but no bombs or bullets fell. The fighter banked hard and climbed to avoid flying over the flames of the city. The men waited; was there another plane behind this one? When the Stuka was not followed, they let out a sigh as if from a single giant bellows.

The leaking flotilla pushed to the central landing stage. No more aircraft shot out of the night. Zaitsev read the Luftwaffe’s neglect to attack the reinforcements to be a bad sign; it showed the Germans’ confidence in their taking of the city.

Ashore, the company huddled against the cool limestone cliffs. Above them, the city teetered and crackled. The river lapped at the stones under their feet, murmuring of tranquility in the darkness, telling the soldiers a thin lie of calm and peace.

With the dawn came a renewed spirit; none of the men was willing to be seen with fear staining his face. Each set his jaw and shoulders for action. The bravado in their voices climbed with the sun and the sounds of battle filtering down from the cliffs.

A sooty runner delivered orders to Lieutenant Bolshoshapov. The Siberians were to move three kilometers north along the river to reinforce another company pinned down at the Lazur chemical plant. Their landmark would be a bank of crumpled fuel tanks.

After a half hour of jogging over the sand, Bolshoshapov spotted the fuel tanks overhead. The pop of gunfire, punctuated by the thump of grenades, leaped over the cliff. The Siberians clambered up the slope and took positions in the rubble. Two hundred meters away a Russian company hunkered down under fire from mortars and machine guns.

Zaitsev’s unit moved up on the German right flank. The Nazis, surprised by the reinforcements, deployed their machine guns to cover the new threat.

The Siberians drew fire, and for the first time Zaitsev heard the ripping hiss of bullets fired at him. This was the moment he’d waited for in a confusion of fear and eagerness. Here at last was the ultimate hunt. The rounds whizzing past whispered to him in the hushed voice of his grandfather kneeling beside him in the forest: Get moving, Vasha. Quick. Careful. Silent. Go.

Without waiting for orders, he slid through the rubble of the first fuel tank. He wanted to get an open shot before the enemy could scramble for cover from his angle.

At 150 meters Zaitsev opened up. He knocked down three machine gunners with his first three rounds. Once these guns were silenced, his company leaped from cover and charged the Germans, firing and shouting.

A whistling yowl dropped through the smoke. Before Zaitsev could move, an artillery shell exploded behind him in the middle of his mates, knocking men off their feet and dropping others onto their faces to burrow for cover. Zaitsev looked back and realized with alarm that one of the three fuel tanks, though badly dented, had somehow not been punctured during the previous bombings. His question whether it still contained fuel was answered by the next salvo.

The tank blew apart in a thunderous explosion, sending a fireball up and over the Siberians. Flaring fuel rained out of the mushroom cloud. Zaitsev’s clothes dripped with small, hungry flames.

He tore off his tunic, navy undershirt, pants, and ammo belt. His skin was singed, but his head was clear. He pounded on his crown to make sure his hair had not caught fire.

Around him, his friends lay dead. Their corpses were wrapped in sheets of smoke; yellow hornets of fire swarmed about their death poses. Through it all the Germans continued shooting.

Zaitsev fought down his horror. He stared across the smoldering battleground. The Germans had moved and were rearming their machine guns, swiveling their lines of fire. With his eyes moist from the smoke, he dropped and raised his rifle, drawing aim on a Nazi holding binoculars, perhaps an officer directing the attack. Zaitsev’s blackened hands shook; he could not wait for his pounding heart to let the gun sight settle in his hands. This might be his last clear shot before the Germans opened fire or called in more artillery.