Slovakia, Autumn 1944 - p.6: Episodes
October 17, 1944
THE ATTACK.
It was the day after the firefight in the village of Jaseno. We were all on the alert and tense as we expected the Germans to follow up with an attack. Time passed slowly. I was sitting or squatting in our hillside position, looking toward the village. My slice of bread was gone. The boys to the left and right of me were also anxiously scanning the slopes and fields below our line. The skies cleared in the late afternoon and we were partly blinded as we were facing the setting sun.
It was sudden. At the beginning we did not hear any sound but felt a vibration in the rocky ground. Through my squinting eyes I spotted a cloud of dust moving up the slope toward our line. When we also heard a low rumbling noise we froze from fear. Inexperienced boys as we were, it was clear to everyone that our rifles were useless against armoured cars.(There was no metal clanking as made by tanks.) The dust cloud came closer and opened up.
There were no Germans, there were no armored cars. Two young shepherd boys came over to join us. In so doing they hijacked the village's herd of cows and a few sheep.
Still before nightfall the whole procession was guided to our base camp down in the valley where a few skilled guys started to milk the cows. The next day came some men from the village to get back their herd. The two shepherd boys stayed with us and so did a few sheep. For a few days we stuffed ourselves with simple lamb stew, plain meat in a soupy brew; no bread and no potatoes. Some days longer everybody and everything stank after cold mutton fat.
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October ?? 1944
EXPLOSIVES
Two volunteers were required for training in the handling of explosives. My namesake Ivan-Vrutky and I were chosen to go to another partisan camp to be instructed by a Russian parachutist through a partisan translator. We left our rucksacks and blankets in our main camp and took off on an easy climb and still easier descent into another valley that was farther away from the front line. It was a mild sunny afternoon and we were in a happy frame of mind as we discussed the better food we expected to get at our destination. That camp was definitely better than ours. It consisted of a large tourist hut and some small outbuildings.---There was no food. The partisans there, older than in our platoon, were a hungered out lot mostly lying on their bunks to conserve strength. At least they had a solid roof over their heads.
Our instruction started the next morning, on empty stomachs. For safety's sake it was held on a hillside footpath, well away from the camp. All the details and theory are by now forgotten but I still remember this:
- We were taught how to determine from the size and material of an object, for example a bridge support, the quantity of explosives necessary for its demolition.
- We were shown how to handle detonators and estimate the length of igniter cords.
- The explosives we were allowed to handle looked like large pieces of laundry soap. They had a hole in the centre to accomodate the blasting cap.
- There was a crude-looking wooden box with a battery and a trembler switch (steel ball resting on three wire contacts) which set of the explosive on vibration or tilt.
Later in the afternoon we walked back to our own camp where we had our fill of mutton stew.--- I never had a chance to put my new knowledge to any use.
---------------------------------------------
October ?? 1944
MONEY
A grey afternoon sometime in the fourth week of October. I was up on the line, in our hillside position. (There or in the base camp, we were always out in the open, exposed to the elements.) Suddenly there appeared a Soviet officer with a visor hat, in dark blue riding breeches and wearing a long coat with shoulder boards. He moved from man to man and handed each of us a 100-koruna (crown) Slovakian banknote.
THE ATTACK.
It was the day after the firefight in the village of Jaseno. We were all on the alert and tense as we expected the Germans to follow up with an attack. Time passed slowly. I was sitting or squatting in our hillside position, looking toward the village. My slice of bread was gone. The boys to the left and right of me were also anxiously scanning the slopes and fields below our line. The skies cleared in the late afternoon and we were partly blinded as we were facing the setting sun.
It was sudden. At the beginning we did not hear any sound but felt a vibration in the rocky ground. Through my squinting eyes I spotted a cloud of dust moving up the slope toward our line. When we also heard a low rumbling noise we froze from fear. Inexperienced boys as we were, it was clear to everyone that our rifles were useless against armoured cars.(There was no metal clanking as made by tanks.) The dust cloud came closer and opened up.
There were no Germans, there were no armored cars. Two young shepherd boys came over to join us. In so doing they hijacked the village's herd of cows and a few sheep.
Still before nightfall the whole procession was guided to our base camp down in the valley where a few skilled guys started to milk the cows. The next day came some men from the village to get back their herd. The two shepherd boys stayed with us and so did a few sheep. For a few days we stuffed ourselves with simple lamb stew, plain meat in a soupy brew; no bread and no potatoes. Some days longer everybody and everything stank after cold mutton fat.
----------------------------------------------
October ?? 1944
EXPLOSIVES
Two volunteers were required for training in the handling of explosives. My namesake Ivan-Vrutky and I were chosen to go to another partisan camp to be instructed by a Russian parachutist through a partisan translator. We left our rucksacks and blankets in our main camp and took off on an easy climb and still easier descent into another valley that was farther away from the front line. It was a mild sunny afternoon and we were in a happy frame of mind as we discussed the better food we expected to get at our destination. That camp was definitely better than ours. It consisted of a large tourist hut and some small outbuildings.---There was no food. The partisans there, older than in our platoon, were a hungered out lot mostly lying on their bunks to conserve strength. At least they had a solid roof over their heads.
Our instruction started the next morning, on empty stomachs. For safety's sake it was held on a hillside footpath, well away from the camp. All the details and theory are by now forgotten but I still remember this:
- We were taught how to determine from the size and material of an object, for example a bridge support, the quantity of explosives necessary for its demolition.
- We were shown how to handle detonators and estimate the length of igniter cords.
- The explosives we were allowed to handle looked like large pieces of laundry soap. They had a hole in the centre to accomodate the blasting cap.
- There was a crude-looking wooden box with a battery and a trembler switch (steel ball resting on three wire contacts) which set of the explosive on vibration or tilt.
Later in the afternoon we walked back to our own camp where we had our fill of mutton stew.--- I never had a chance to put my new knowledge to any use.
---------------------------------------------
October ?? 1944
MONEY
A grey afternoon sometime in the fourth week of October. I was up on the line, in our hillside position. (There or in the base camp, we were always out in the open, exposed to the elements.) Suddenly there appeared a Soviet officer with a visor hat, in dark blue riding breeches and wearing a long coat with shoulder boards. He moved from man to man and handed each of us a 100-koruna (crown) Slovakian banknote.
posted by Observer at 8:30 PM
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