Having made several strong fire raids. Having made several heavy fire raids early in the morning, the Germans now conducted systematic mortar and gun fire

It was in the morning. The battalion commander Koshelev called Semyon Shkolenko to him and explained, as always, without long words:
- We need to get the “tongue”.
“I’ll get it,” Shkolenko said.

Composition

When I hear about the war, the first thing that pops up in my head is pride in my compatriots, who with their character alone were able to prove to the Germans that there is no one stronger than the Russian people. In his text, K. Simonov raises the problem of the courage of soldiers during the war years.

The narrator gives the example of a soldier who first captured a prisoner alone, and then, also without any help, with a gun, several grenades and a coil of copper wire, learned about the location of enemy mortars. The author focuses on the hero’s behavior, pointing out that “the feeling of loneliness and fear that every minute he could be shot in the back from behind any bush was not alien to him,” but at the same time Shkolenko continues without any confusion follow orders alone. Thanks to his courage, the soldier is not afraid to act immediately and directly, and thus rescues his compatriots from captivity, who by that time were already digging their own grave, and just as courageously leads them to his battalion.

The author is convinced that courage is an immortal concept that denotes fortitude, strength of character, demonstrated by a person in overcoming various kinds of dangerous situations. Courage during the Great Patriotic War was all that remained for many soldiers who were defeated and lost everything they had.
I completely agree with the thoughts of K. Simonov. Indeed, courage helped our soldiers, under any conditions, overcome various kinds of difficulties and complete their assigned tasks. They acted without fear or regret, driven only by one thought: to end this terrible, bloody event and show the Germans that there is no one stronger and more courageous than the Russian man defending his Fatherland.

Thus, in B. Polevoy’s story “The Tale of a Real Man,” the author tells us about the fate of a pilot who managed to live for several days without legs in the forest, get to help and then sit at the controls of the plane again. The story of Alexei Maresyev is difficult to believe, but this is how Soviet soldiers were: stopping at nothing, fighting to the last. The hero managed to find the strength to move on even with incredible pain in his legs, and, broken by hunger and fatigue, he did not lose the desire to fight the Germans. And, as soon as the opportunity arises to take the helm again, he, through incredible pain, spends several months in a retraining school and again continues the war.

The hero of A. Tvardovsky’s poem “Vasily Terkin” also serves as an example of a gallant, courageous soldier. Despite his cheerful disposition, he actually understands very well the seriousness of war. And so, today he lifts the spirits of his comrades and deliberately puts them in a cheerful mood, and tomorrow, together with his platoon, he breaks through the icy water under fire to the enemy shore, and then swims back alone. Then two entire platoons were killed, but Vasily Terkin, a young guy, managed alone. In the chapter “On the Offensive,” this courageous character takes command of the platoon altogether, thereby showing that with his courage and perseverance he can set an example to even the most avid military man.

Thus, we can conclude that there is nothing stronger than the masculinity, perseverance and patriotism of Russian soldiers. This, of course, is worth being proud of, but at the same time we must not forget that the Great Patriotic War was a terrible period of history, and no matter how proud we are of the victory, it is worth remembering that this is, first of all, a mournful event.

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This text for analysis raises the problem of the manifestation of heroism in war.

To attract the reader's attention to it, Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov shows the dedication of Russian soldiers who bravely fought for every inch of their native land.

I completely agree with K. M. Simonov that brave people are ready to sacrifice themselves to save others.

To prove the validity of my point of view, I will conduct the following literary example.

Let us remember B. Vasiliev’s story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet.” The action takes place during the Great Patriotic War. The female anti-aircraft gunners died while destroying a detachment of Germans that significantly outnumbered them.

In the story “Sotnikov” by Vasily Bykov, Fisherman and Sotnikov go to collect food for the partisans. In the village they were captured by the Germans. In order to save his comrade, the woman who is helping to hide, and her children, Sotnikov decided to take all the blame on himself. He also did not reveal the location of the Russian troops, despite attempts.

In conclusion, I want to say again: a person’s heroism is manifested in his willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of others.

according to Ekimov's text Early in the morning I got up in the darkness and walked to the train (Unified State Examination in Russian)

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The environment has a very strong influence on people. The monotony of gray everyday life and the fast pace of life lead to boredom and a lack of optimism for many. But what makes a person become cheerful and truly happy? This is the problem that the author of the proposed text is thinking about.

B.P. Ekimov tells us a story about a man who, under the influence of the environment, became a sad and despondent person: “I’m not happy about anything, even winter and snow.”

When he heard a young girl speak on the train, the desire to live and enjoy life returned to him, the world began to sparkle with new colors, and “his soul felt completely warm.” It would seem that the girl’s simple words about everyday worries and upcoming holidays, but what impact not only on the man, but also on all the people sitting in the carriage. The desire to make loved ones happy grew into the happiness of the people around me.

I completely agree with the opinion of B.P. Ekimov. Indeed, each of us can make another person happy, restore joy in life, and decorate the world with bright colors. Sometimes this happens even unconsciously, as in the story described in the proposed text.

Let us remember the well-known epic novel “War and Peace”. While visiting the Rostovs, sad and having lost hope of happiness, Andrei Bolkonsky hears Natasha’s words about the beauty of a moonlit night. In the soul, the hero is completely transformed: a desire appears to live not only for the benefit of himself, but also of those around him, hope for joy in life and a happy future is reborn. Even the dilapidated oak tree that the hero meets on the road suddenly blooms again.

Ordinary support and participation in life from loved ones can influence a person for the better. Let us turn to F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment.” Sonya, being next to Raskolnikov in difficult moments, giving the necessary advice, contributes to the spiritual rebirth of the hero and the acquisition of human happiness.

After reading the text, I come to the conclusion that people’s words and actions can bring joy to a person’s life and make him happy.

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We write a comment on the problem

1. The comment should be written based on the text read.

2. The commentary should reflect the train of thought of the author of the original text.

3. The commentary must connect the formulated problem with the author’s position.

1. You cannot comment on a problem without relying on the text you have read.

2. You cannot retell the text you read.

3. You cannot quote large fragments from the text you read.

1. To avoid a retelling, you need to generalize and write about what the author is doing (reasoning, emphasizing, paying attention, etc.).

2. If you indicate which examples the author uses to reveal the problem, write why the author does this. (For example: When revealing this problem, the author turns to history to remind readers about ...)

1. Own life experience, observations

2. Historical facts

3. Aphorisms, proverbs, sayings

5. Statistics

6. Literary sources, etc.

This text for analysis raises the problem of the manifestation of heroism in war.

To attract the reader's attention to it, Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov shows the dedication of Russian soldiers who bravely fought for every inch of their native land.

I completely agree with K. M. Simonov that brave people are ready to sacrifice themselves to save others.

To prove the validity of my point of view, I will conduct the following literary example.

Let us remember B. Vasiliev’s story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet.” The action takes place during the Great Patriotic War. The female anti-aircraft gunners died while destroying a detachment of Germans that significantly outnumbered them.

In the story “Sotnikov” by Vasily Bykov, Fisherman and Sotnikov go to collect food for the partisans. In the village they were captured by the Germans. In order to save his comrade, the woman who is helping to hide, and her children, Sotnikov decided to take all the blame on himself. He also did not reveal the location of the Russian troops, despite attempts.

In conclusion, I want to say again: a person’s heroism is manifested in his willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of others.

Updated: 2017-05-08

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Useful material on the topic

Vasilyev I. P., Gosteva Yu. N. Unified State Examination 2017. Russian language. Typical test tasks

OPTION 4

Part 1

The answers to tasks 1-24 are a figure (number) or a word (several words), a sequence of numbers (numbers). Write the answer in the answer field in the text of the work, and then transfer it to the ANSWER FORM No. 1 to the right of the assignment number, starting from the first cell, . Write each letter or number in a separate box in accordance with the samples given in the form.

Read the text and complete tasks 1-3.

1.

(1) Venus is the brightest of the planets and the third luminary in the sky after the Sun and the Moon, it revolves around the Sun in an orbit almost indistinguishable from a circle, the radius of which is close to 108 million kilometers, its year is shorter than the Earth’s: the planet completely completes its orbit around the Sun in 225 Earth days. (2) Since its orbit is entirely inside the Earth’s orbit, in the earth’s sky Venus is always visible near the Sun against the background of morning or evening dawns and never moves further than 48 degrees from the central luminary. (3) since time immemorial, the planet Venus has often been called by other names - “Evening Star” or “Morning Star”.

1. Indicate two sentences that correctly convey the MAIN information contained in the text. Write down the numbers of these sentences.

1) Venus is often called the “Evening Star” or “Morning Star”, because in the earth’s sky Venus is always visible near the Earth against the background of morning or evening dawns.

2) Venus - the brightest of the planets and the third luminary in the sky after the Sun and Moon - revolves around the Sun in an orbit almost indistinguishable from a circle, the radius of which is close to 108 million kilometers.

3) The Venusian year is shorter than the Earth’s: the planet completely completes its orbit around the Sun in 225 Earth days, Venus is the brightest of the planets and the third luminary in the sky after the Sun and Moon.

4) Venus - the brightest of the planets, whose orbit is entirely inside the Earth’s orbit and which in the earth’s sky is always visible near the Sun against the background of morning or evening dawns, is often called the “Evening Star” or “Morning Star”.

5) Since the orbit of Venus, the brightest of the planets, is entirely within the orbit of the Earth and in the earth’s sky Venus is always visible near the Sun against the background of morning or evening dawns, it is often called the “Evening Star” or “Morning Star”.

2. Which of the following words (combinations of words) should appear in the gap in the third (3) sentence of the text? Write down this word (combination of words).

The fact is that Despite this, That's why Therefore, That's exactly what

Answer:

3. Read a fragment of a dictionary entry that gives the meaning of the word CONTACT. Determine the meaning in which this word is used in the first (1) sentence of the text. Write down the number corresponding to this value in the given fragment of the dictionary entry.

ADDRESS, -I guess, -you think; nsv.

1) with whom. To behave towards someone, to behave towards someone. somehow way. You don't know how. with kids! How do you treat your elders? With animals it is necessary o. kindly.

2) To be in use, to be in circulation. New banknotes are circulating in our country.

3) Rotate, move in a circle. The Earth revolves around the Sun. / About blood circulation, about the movement of plant juices. Blood circulates faster in the veins.

4) with what. To use something, to use something. Be able to about. with a tool. Handle the microscope with care! Is it possible to do that? with books! Mathematics learned about. with infinitesimal quantities. He is fluent in musical terminology. You are too free with philosophical concepts.

Answer: _____________________________.

4. In one of the words below, an error was made in the placement of stress: the letter denoting the stressed vowel sound was highlighted incorrectly. Write this word down.

Accepted Clogging Started Reached for a short time

Answer: _____________________________.

5. One of the sentences below uses the highlighted word incorrectly. Correct the lexical error by choosing a paronym for the highlighted word. Write down the chosen word.

The need for PRACTICAL, reliable and hygienic packaging became obvious when supermarkets appeared - department stores with an established self-service system.

Shakespeare himself, being a conservative, is inclined to declare the source of all evil is EVADIATION from the once and for all established order.

RESPONSE and questions from the magazine's readers are usually related to previous and relatively recent publications.

Przhevalsky was faced with quicksand, mirages, snowstorms, severe cold and unbearable heat.

The first REMINDER of the existence of the Apothecary Garden in St. Petersburg dates back to 1713.

Answer: _____________________________.

6. In one of the words highlighted below, an error was made in the formation of the word form. Correct the mistake and write the word correctly.

SEVEN HUNDRED textbooks new DIRECTORS FASTEST of all no SHOES
the lamp has gone out

Answer: _____________________________.

7. Establish a correspondence between the sentences and the grammatical errors made in them: for each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

Write down the selected numbers in the table under the corresponding letters.

8. Identify the word in which the unstressed vowel of the root being tested is missing. Write out this word by inserting the missing letter.

university / campaign (election) / progressive / prob..rus / brilliant..stately

Answer: _____________________________.

9. Identify the row in which the same letter is missing in both words. Write out these words by inserting the missing letter.

under..drive, with..sore / with..cover, approached..came / pr..being, pr..gradil / r..shit, be..voice

o..given, on..sew

Answer: _____________________________.

10. E.

grow / trust / mesh / glossy / welcoming

Answer: _____________________________.

11. Write down the word in which a letter is written in place of the gap AND.

linger..stay / shave..shide / hide..shide / designated / recognizable..my

Answer: _____________________________.

12. Determine the sentence in which NOT is spelled together with the word. Open the brackets and write down this word.

In the middle of the room there were boxes with things and toys, (NOT) UNPACKED.

It was (NOT) FASTING, but a completely stable thought, although instantly matured.

And, making sure that you (NOT)TALK with your fellow traveler, Ivlev surrendered to calm and aimless observation, which goes so well with the harmony of hooves and the rattling of bells.

From early morning the whole sky was covered with rain clouds; it was quiet, it was a (NOT) HOT and boring day, the kind that happens in August, when clouds have long been hanging over the field, you are waiting for rain, but there is none.

Soon Raskolnikov fell into deep thought, even, or rather, into some kind of oblivion, and walked, no longer noticing his surroundings, and not wanting to notice him.

Answer: _____________________________.

13. Determine the sentence in which both highlighted words are written CONTINUOUSLY. Open the brackets and write down these two words.

The sun (DURING) the course of the day changes its position, (AT) INITIALLY describing an arc trajectory of approximately 60° in winter and 120° or more in summer.

Modern meteorological observations on oceanographic ships, as well as on special weather ships, confirmed the existence of a belt of westerly winds in subequatorial latitudes.

(And) SO, ninety years later, the meaning of the texts, coiled like a clock spring, on both sides of the Phaistos disc was understood.

Ordinary cubes, APPEARINGLY, are still more useful for a child’s development than electronic gadgets.

Genealogically, both words come from the same root, but for SOME reasons, one of them gained popularity and gained a foothold, while the other STILL retreated into the shadows.

Answer: _____________________________.

14. Indicate all the numbers in whose place it is written NN.

In numerous (1) sheds, built (2) on the sandy (3) shore, tarred (4) boats were stored in winter.

Answer: _____________________________.

15. Place punctuation marks. List two sentences that require ONE comma. Write down the numbers of these sentences.

1) The majesty of buildings depended on their proportionality to the harmonious proportions of the decorations of window frames, cartouches and bas-reliefs.

2) The writer must keep the reader in suspense, lead him along and not allow incomprehensible or irregular fragments in his text.

3) The highest and most captivating phenomenon in literature can only be the organic fusion of poetry and prose.

4) Through the gaps in the soft clouds the sun shone with broad rays and the steppe smoked and shone.

5) I fell in love with Central Russia: the freshness of its nature, the abundance of clean and cool waters, damp forest thickets, drizzling and cloudy rains.

16.

The most erased, completely “spoken” words by us (1) words (2) that have completely lost their figurative qualities for us (3) and (4) living only as a verbal shell (5) in poetry begin to sparkle, ring, and smell fragrant.

Answer: _____________________________.

17. Place punctuation marks: indicate all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentences.

The color of honey (1), according to experts, (2) depends solely on the plant from which the nectar is collected, and (3) can be (4) all shades of brown, yellow and even green.

Answer: _____________________________.

18. Place punctuation marks: indicate all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence.

Answer: _____________________________.

19. Place punctuation marks: indicate all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence.

In the Hermitage, I was dizzy from the abundance and density of colors on the canvases of the old masters (1) and (2) to relax (3) I went into the hall (4) where the sculpture was exhibited.

Answer: _____________________________.

Read the text and complete tasks 20-25.

(1) Having made several heavy fire raids early in the morning, the Germans now conducted systematic mortar and gun fire. (2) Here and there, high pillars of snow rose up among the trunks.

(3) Ahead, in the grove, as reconnaissance found out, there were two lines of deep longitudinal snow trenches with three to four dozen fortified dugouts. (4) The approaches to them were mined.

(5) It was exactly twelve. (b) The midday sun shone through the trunks, and if not for the dull explosions of mines flying over my head, the forest would have looked like a peaceful winter day.

(7) The assault groups were the first to slip forward. (8) They walked through the snow, led by sappers, clearing the way for the tanks.

(9) Fifty, sixty, eighty steps - the Germans were still silent. (10) But someone couldn’t stand it. (11) A machine-gun burst was heard from behind a high snowbank.

(12) The assault group lay down, it did its job. (13) Called fire on herself. (14) The tank following her turned its gun as it moved, made a short stop and hit the spotted machine-gun embrasure once, twice, three times. (15) Snow and fragments of logs flew into the air.

(16) The Germans fell silent. (17) The assault group rose and rushed forward another thirty steps.

(18) The same thing again. (19) Machine gun fire from the next dugout, a short dash of a tank, several shells - and snow and logs flying upward.

(20) In the grove, it seemed that the air itself was whistling, bullets crashed into trunks, ricocheted and fell powerlessly into the snow. (21) It was difficult to raise your head under this fire.

(22) By seven in the evening, units of the regiment, having fought through eight hundred snowy and bloody meters, reached the opposite edge. (23) Oak Grove was taken.

(24) The day turned out to be difficult, there were many wounded. (25) Now the grove is entirely ours, and the Germans opened hurricane mortar fire on it.

(26) It was already getting dark. (27) Not only snow pillars were visible between the trunks, but also flashes of explosions. (28) Tired people, breathing heavily, lay in broken trenches. (29) Many people closed their eyes from fatigue, despite the deafening fire.

(30) And along the ravine to the edge of the grove, bending down and running across in the intervals between gaps, the thermocarriers walked with lunch. (31) It was eight o’clock, the end of the day of battle. (32) At the division headquarters they wrote an operational report, in which, among other events of the day, the capture of Oak Grove was noted.

(33) It has become warmer, thawed craters are again visible on the roads; The gray turrets of destroyed German tanks begin to appear from under the snow again. (34) According to the calendar it is spring. (35) But as soon as you move five steps out of the way, the snow is chest-deep again, and you can only move by breaking through trenches, and you have to carry the guns on yourself.

(36) On the slope, from which white hills and blue copses are widely visible, there is a monument. (37) Tin star; with the caring but hasty hand of a man going into battle again, terse solemn words were written.

“(38)Selfless commanders - senior lieutenant Bondarenko and junior lieutenant Gavrish - died a brave death on March 27 in battles near the Kvadratnaya grove. (39) Farewell, our fighting friends. (40) Forward, to the west!

(41) The monument stands high. (42) From here the winter Russian nature is clearly visible. (43) Perhaps the comrades of the victims wanted them, even after death, to follow their regiment far away, now without them marching west across the wide, snowy Russian land.

(44) There are groves spread ahead: Kvadratnaya, in the battle under which Gavrish and Bondarenko died, and others - Berezovaya, Oak, Krivaya, Turtle, Noga.

(45) They were not called that before and will not be called that later. (46) These are small nameless copses and groves. (47) Their godfathers were the commanders of the regiments fighting here for every edge of the forest, for every clearing in the forest.

(48) These groves are the site of daily bloody battles. (49) Their new names appear every night in divisional reports, and are sometimes mentioned in army reports. (50) But in the Information Bureau report all that remains is a short phrase: “Nothing significant happened during the day.” (According to K.M. Simonov)

Konstantin (Kirill) Mikhailovich Simonov (1915-1979) - Russian Soviet prose writer, poet, screenwriter, journalist and public figure.

20. Which of the statements correspond to the content of the text? Please provide answer numbers.

1) Senior Lieutenant Bondarenko and Junior Lieutenant Gavrish died while performing military duty in the battle during the capture of the Oak Grove.

2) The Germans conducted systematic mortar and gun fire from the grove, where two lines of deep longitudinal trenches were made with three to four dozen fortified dugouts.

3) The battle for Oak Grove began at twelve o’clock in the afternoon, and only by eight o’clock in the evening was this territory recaptured from the enemy.

4) Although spring had come, there was a lot of snow in the forest, and it was difficult for the soldiers to advance; they were forced to manually move the guns and dig trenches in the snow.

5) The names of nameless groves and copses, where daily fierce battles took place, were given by regimental commanders.

Answer: _____________________________.

21. Which of the following statements are true? Please provide answer numbers.

1) Sentences 1-2 present the reasoning.

2) Sentence 6 includes a description.

3) Sentences 14,16-17 talk about sequential actions.

4) Propositions 20 and 21 are contrasted in content.

5) Sentence 43 presents a narrative.

22. From sentences 41-47, write down contextual antonyms.

Answer: _____________________________.

23. Among sentences 43-48, find one that is related to the previous one using a possessive pronoun and an adverb. Write the number of this offer.

Answer: _____________________________.

Read a fragment of a review based on the text that you analyzed while completing tasks 20-23.

This fragment examines the linguistic features of the text. Some terms used in the review are missing. Insert into the blanks (A, B, C, D) the numbers corresponding to the numbers of the terms from the list. Write down the corresponding number in the table under each letter. Write down the sequence of numbers in ANSWER FORM No. 1 to the right of task number 24, starting from the first cell, no spaces, commas or other additional characters. Write each number in accordance with the samples given in the form. Do not forget to transfer all answers to ANSWER FORM No. 1 in accordance with the instructions for completing the work.

24. “Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov shows the reader the true cost of one of the seemingly ordinary episodes of the war. To recreate the picture of the battle, the author uses a variety of means of expression. Thus, the text uses various syntactic means, including (A) ___ (in sentences 14, 20), and trope - (B) ___ (“bloody meters” in sentence 22, “despite the deafening fire” in sentence 29), as well as techniques, including (B) ___ (sentences 12-13). One more trick - (G) ___ (sentences 38-40; sentence 50) - helps to understand the author’s thought.”

List of terms:

1) quoting

3) synonyms

4) phraseology

5) a number of homogeneous members of the sentence

6) parcellation

7) question-and-answer form of presentation

9) metaphor

Do not forget to transfer all answers to ANSWER FORM No. 1.

Part 2

To answer this task, use ANSWER FORM No. 2.

25. Write an essay based on the text you read.

State one of the problems delivered author of the text.

Comment on the formulated problem. Include in comment two example-illustration from the text you read, which, in your opinion, is important for understanding the problem of the source text (avoid excessive quoting).

Formulate the position of the author (storyteller). Write whether you agree or disagree with the point of view of the author of the text you read. Explain why. Argue your opinion, relying primarily on reading experience, as well as knowledge and life observations (the first two arguments are taken into account). The volume of the essay is at least 150 words.

Work written without reference to the text read (not based on this text) is not graded. If the essay is a retelling or completely rewritten of the original text without any comments, then such work is scored zero points.

Write an essay carefully, legible handwriting.

He reported that the tanks had arrived. The major went out with him. The tanks stood at the edge of the forest - heavy, gray-white vehicles, breaking a twenty-centimeter birch forest like matches.

Having made several heavy fire raids early in the morning, the Germans now engaged in systematic mortar and gun fire. Here and there, tall pillars of snow rose up among the trunks.

Ahead, in the grove, as reconnaissance found out, there were two lines of deep longitudinal snow trenches with three to four dozen fortified dugouts. The approaches to them were mined.

But this was not the first day that the major had been storming these woods and copses.

He had small assault groups selected in advance, six to seven people in each. Three groups per tank. One in front of him, two on his sides. At the edge of the forest, next to the tanks, light forty-five-millimeter guns stood ready.

The major called to him at the same time the commander of the assault group, the tank commander and the gun commander.

“Here is the commander of the group that will go ahead of your tank,” he said to the tanker, pointing to a tall sergeant with a machine gun over his shoulder. - Here is the tanker who will follow you. And here is the gun commander who will support you both.

Three people stood silently in front of the major. They were silent because everything was clear to them. They saw each other and saw the goal that the three of them had to go to in fifteen minutes.

So, without rushing, but without wasting time, the major brought together all the commanders who were supposed to go on the attack.

Everything was provided for. The guns were dragged along the trenches on wide skis to the very front edge. The tanks stood with their engines turned off. People waited silently, adjusting light machine guns and machine guns on their shoulders.

It was exactly twelve. The midday sun shone through the trunks, and if not for the dull explosions of mines flying over my head, the forest would have looked like it was on a peaceful winter day.

The assault groups slid forward first. They walked through the snow, led by sappers, clearing the way for tanks.

Fifty, sixty, eighty steps - the Germans were still silent. But someone couldn't stand it. A machine gun burst was heard from behind a high snowfall.

The assault group lay down. She did her job by calling the fire on herself. The tank following her turned its gun as it moved, made a short stop and hit the spotted machine-gun embrasure once, twice, three times. Snow and pieces of logs flew into the air.

The Germans fell silent. The assault group rose and rushed forward another thirty steps.

Same thing again. Machine-gun bursts from the next dugout, a short dash of a tank, several shells - and snow and logs flying upward.

The Germans retreated along the trench. But the tank, now maneuvering between trees, now breaking them, also moved along the trenches, sending shell after shell there.

First, the Germans, after running a few steps along the trench, punched a hole in the parapet and, sticking the barrel of a machine gun into it, hit our infantry, remaining elusive themselves. Now they increasingly had to jump out of one trench and, falling waist-deep in snow, try to reach the next.

But in these seconds, our soldiers, walking in front of the tanks, rose up, and one after another, the German overcoats remained lying in the snow as dark spots.

In the grove, it seemed that the air itself was whistling, bullets crashed into trunks, ricocheted and fell powerlessly into the snow.

The first line of trenches was occupied. The artillerymen, with the help of the infantry, clearing the loose spring snow, dragged their cannons on their hands after the tanks and hit the dugouts and dugouts with every stop.

Everything had already become so close that the German mortars stationed on the opposite edge were silenced, otherwise they would have had to hit their own.

Ahead was a second line of trenches. The fire from there became fierce.

The Germans lost the remnants of their restraint and, no longer afraid of being discovered, hysterically and continuously fired at the entire space in front of them.

It was difficult to raise one's head under this fire. But the first trench without the second would not be half the success, but barely a tenth of it. In battle, ordinary arithmetic is not applicable.

And the tired soldiers, no matter how much they wanted to sit back for a minute and rest in the newly recaptured trench, still climbed out and moved on next to the tanks and in front of them, inviting machine gun fire on themselves.

By seven in the evening, units of the regiment, having fought through eight hundred snowy and bloody meters, reached the opposite edge. Oak Grove was taken. Several hundred dead German soldiers, eight prisoners, machine guns, machine guns, rifles, how many there were, they didn’t yet know, they still continued to count, but they already knew that there were a lot.

There were up to forty dugouts, some abandoned, some broken. At their entrances, fragments of wood were mixed with snow blackened by gun explosions.

The orderlies carried out the wounded. The day turned out to be difficult, there were many wounded.

The commander of the assault group, political instructor Aleksandrenko, was carried past the regiment commander on a stretcher.

He lay mortally wounded, pale, with compressed lips.

Major Grishchenko stopped the stretcher and looked into his face.

It’s good, at least they took revenge on them, that’s at least good,” said Aleksandrenko, with difficulty parting his lips and, groaning in pain, he closed his eyes.

Now the grove is entirely ours, and the Germans opened hurricane mortar fire on it.

It was already getting dark. Not only snow pillars were visible between the trunks, but also flashes of explosions.

Tired people lay breathing heavily in broken trenches. Many people closed their eyes from fatigue, despite the deafening fire.

And along the ravine to the edge of the grove, bending down and running in the intervals between gaps, thermal carriers walked with lunch. It was eight o'clock, the end of the day of battle.

At the division headquarters they wrote an operational report, in which, among other events of the day, the capture of Oak Grove was noted.

And at night, the newspaper editorial offices received another, modest report from the Information Bureau: “Nothing significant happened at the front during the day.”

Ilya Erenburg

I saw a German tank painted green. Ours knocked it out at the beginning of April, when there was still snow, and the German tank looked like a dandy who had changed his clothes prematurely. But it was not dandyism, need that drove Hitler’s spring tanks and spring divisions into the cold. And now the snow has melted. The roads began to flow. They are covered with branches, you drive and jump: the car seems to be galloping. The thaw slowed down military operations for several weeks. In some places - in Karelia, in the region of Staraya Russa, on the Bryansk Front, attacks by our units continue, but these are separate operations. Before the May battles there was a formidable calm. And along the Desna, along the Dnieper, the last ice floes are passing. In the fields - wrecked German vehicles, corpses of people and horses, helmets, unexploded shells - the snow melted, revealing a gloomy picture of a military spring.

Never have we talked so much about spring as this year. Hitler conjured this word. He wanted to encourage the German people. And now spring has come. Two armies are preparing for battle. Meanwhile, Hitler begins to frantically look back. What confuses him? Good Tommy bombs? Campaign in America and England for a second front? Growing resentment of enslaved peoples? One way or another, Hitler began the spring with a campaign... against Vichy. To do this, he did not have to use up a lot of fuel. Several tanks for trips to Laval and Abetz. English radio reports that von Rundstedt has migrated from Ukraine to Paris. This, however, is only the general's journey. On the way, von Rundstedt had to meet with German echelons: Hitler continued to transfer divisions from France, Belgium, Norway to Russia. Apparently, neither the RAF(8), nor the article in the American press, nor the anger of the unarmed French affected German strategy.

Before the spring battles, Hitler wants to encourage his soldiers who suffered defeat in the winter. He starts rumors about the Germans' new "colossal" weapons. He spreads nonsense messages about the weakness of the Red Army. It is unlikely that the soldiers of the 16th Army will be happy to hear Berlin's stories on the radio that in the Russian regiments there are now only sixty-year-olds and sixteen-year-old teenagers...

Now is not the time to talk about our reserves. Summer battles will tell about them. I visited one of the reserve units and saw young, strong fighters, well trained and well equipped. The mood in the reserve units is excellent: everyone understands that the enemy is still very strong, but everyone also understands that the enemy will be defeated. Last summer people remembered Paris, Dunkirk, Crete. Now they remember about Kalinin, about Kaluga, about Mozhaisk, about Rostov. Hatred of the invaders inspires the reservists. Last summer, Germany appeared to the Russian peasant as a state; fascism could still pass for a newspaper word. Now fascism has become a reality - burnt huts, corpses of children, grief of the people. There are not only thousands of miles between New York and the Philippines, there is a world between them. The Siberian feels that near Smolensk he is protecting his land and his children.