05:19

Ruth Deutschmann

Benjamin Epp

Wien

2008-06-13

Sylvia Manning - Baumgartner

1944

There I also had to? Following this unit, I went into the river alone - no one behind me for a stretch, and no one left in front of me either. Then both machine guns started to fire only at me. In physical terms this was a true miracle for me. I saw the bullets coming at me, hitting the water. But it was as if someone were catching them. They didn’t hit me. Normally they should have riddled me. Two machine guns were shooting from only 60 metres away. What were we wearing? Two layers of underwear, a pair of trousers in between, the uniform, and over all this, the camouflage battledress - over the camouflage outfit, the ammunition belt with 60 rounds. The belt alone weighed four kilos. On top, the rifle with four kilos. Then the bread bag and its contents - C-rations plus the bayonet. Anyway, a heavy load. And the heavy, nailed mountain boots. We were supposed to swim across with all that ? but you could barely move. So for a while I really was a sitting duck for these two machine guns, 1 and they fired and fired. I crossed the river, slowly, slowly, and suddenly my foot gave way on the slippery ground and I fell forward. Right then two bullets hit me, grazing the back of my head. I was thrown forward and everything went black; then my head was booming, as if I were standing next to the Pummerin (largest church bell in Austria) when it is rung. That's what it sounded like, very loud, like a bell. Then everything went black. Suddenly it was like looking through a keyhole: "I've got to keep my head above water." That was my first thought. I saw that there was a dry spot in front of me. I fell onto the dry patch and lost consciousness. I was out for about an hour, I can’t say for sure. When I woke up, it was a little bit lighter - no, nonsense ? darker. On the battlefront at the Barents Sea, 500 km north of the Arctic Circle there is hardly any light in December. It begins to dawn a little at midday and then it gets dark again. Otherwise it’s always dark, only the moon shines brightly. So I was lying there. When I woke up again I heard the machine guns still firing. And I thought to myself: "They have to stop at some point, when they change the belts. I’ll wait for that." In fact, one stopped shooting and a little later the other one as well. I jumped up right away, over the bank. One fired after me, a sniper. But I was already in safety. The sniper was maybe 40 metres away. Very close .. First of all I bandaged my wound by myself, with the first aid kit. Then I had a look if I could still see the Russians on the opposite river bank. I couldn’t see the sniper but the flash from the muzzle of his gun. I saw that and thought, he must be a little bit to the right. I fired in that direction. I was well covered and I fired there. A few shots one after the other. No shot came back from there anymore. I don’t know if I hit him or not, whether he ran off or went for cover, I can’t tell. I only know that no more shots were fired from there. That was the sniper, who shot at people who were climbing out. Well, that was my head injury. Then of course we had to cross a field ? maybe two kilometres long and 80 metres wide ? with lots of hay sheds - with snipers in them. And the road, which was 80 metres away, was patrolled by two tanks. They mowed down anybody who crossed.