Russian attack in the Caucasus in 1943 Pt 3 - A German soldier's diary of the retreat to the Crimea

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Episode 105

This footage from the summer of 1943 shows a Cossack commander involved in an anti partisan operation in the Caucasus. As the gradual withdrawal of the Wehrmacht out of the region continued, partisan activity from behind the lines and Soviet pressure at the front increased.

In part 1 and 2 of this series the writer of our diary, a German Corporal named Fritz, describes how his unit left their position at Krymskaja and began making their way West towards the Strait of Kerch. By chance he has turned out to be quite a good writer describing not only what he sees but also how the situation makes him feel and what he things about their Romanian allies, the locals, and the Cossacks who were fighting alongside the Germans.

We drive up a steep road that leads up to a grouping of houses overlooking a cliff. The road is quite muddy but taking a run at the incline we are able to make it. The small town at the top is gives a poor and primitive impression, that even in Russia we have seldom seen. The small houses are built out of clay, even the roofs are formed out of it. Many of the houses are falling apart.

There are neither roads nor even paths in this forgotten town, the residents have been all but cut off from the rest of the world here. There’s really nothing here. Even the water has to be brought from 1 km away. But the view from up top, again it is amazing. In front of us is the Black Sea, to the left is a lake and in the background are the Caucasian Mountains seemingly rising up out of the water to the heavens.

We continue journey to the north west through the night. As the roads curve their way through the dunes it feels as though we are actually making our way through the desert. Then suddenly the scenery changes and to the left and right we pass through wheat fields as far as the eye can see. At close inspection we realize that it’s all wheat from last year that was never harvested. What a valuable commodity that has gone completely to waste!

In the middle of one of these fields we consider stopping to sleep. It’s wintery and at night gets quite cold, so sleeping out in the open is not wise. Then comes the order that we will be staying here for the next 3 - 5 days so we’ll just have to make the best of it. Everyone jumps to action, some set up tents, others try to make their vehicles as comfortable as possible. Those that are traveling in trucks have it the easiest because of the extra space.

Our B.-Wagen gets completely unpacked. The boxes are positioned to form a platform to sleep on and in the middle an oven is set up that we fortunately were able to bring with us in the truck. But where are we going to find wood? The first thing that gets destroyed to be burned are the wooden boxes that held the maps. Then boxes that held the folders of regulations. The contents of both are packed in alternative locations. Quickly the inside of the truck warms up which is the most important thing. A little warmth and pleasant atmosphere and the soldiers quickly forget the stress and toil of the long day.

The cook pulls out bottles of sekt from his vehicle which gets drunk by candle light. In a boisterous atmosphere we talk about Russia and the Caucasus, wondering whether we’ll ever be back. At the time we didn’t even know for sure that we’d be leaving. We don’t talk much about the terrible experiences we’ve had, we concentrate on the wonderfully hot summer days and talk about how much we’ve each matured personally. We talk about the plentiful plums and mellons and that delicious sweet wine. When conversation turns to our lost comrades that will stay here in the Caucasus we’re somber. Recently we’ve seen how our soldiers have been ordered to remove all the grave markers from all the German cemeteries to make sure that the Russians can’t disturb their final resting place. None of this is a good omen of what’s to come.

We talk about home, everyone speaks about their family about their wives or girlfriends. Heinz our draftsman, proudly talks about his sone Hein-Volker, who is now already 4 months old and has never seen his father. Finally we get back to our usual topic of conversation, vacation. It’s been 8 months since any of us has gone on leave. We are entitled to leave every year so should be expecting it soon, shouldn’t we? Well, no, that will just remain a dream as we know that every soldier here in Russia is critical. Heinz and I play chess. I was doing so well but in the end he manages to beat me. Tomorrow I’ll get even! After a while everyone falls off to sleep and a symphony of loud snoring begins.