Shortly after lunch a man came running from the rear base excited and told us to, Corporal Werner, Siegfried is to quickly come to head to the Office. The fright in the limbs drove me instantly. Had I maybe done something? Na, nothing was left to me, as time go. I combed hair, put it on the kepi and buckled to Koppel, reported me off and started.

When the boss I needed not to send a, He saw me and called me back. He frug me whether I write typewriter and shorthand to [can]. I said yes to this and since I had to put me just at the table before the typewriter. I had just fixed the first arm, began to shoot our battery when suddenly. We looked up instantly in the sky and God knows, then came a pretty strong [Petljakow] PE-2 Association.

Instantly everything stob apart and sought cover. I ran away with the intention of, to run as far side beyond. Finally crouched I you me in a Fensterhöhle of a ground bunker and was looking for cover. And already the bombs came. Rapidly the strikes came closer. For a split second, I saw a fuzzy shadow down Outlook and that one, no more sharp explosions. Fragmented the Windows of my distances and from the floor of this bunker, someone asks me: “What is happening?” I replied: “Nee, Pig had.[“] Knappe 25 m I slapped away a a bomb row. Up few mud gradually came back to the ground and biting powder smoke filled the air.

I left my cover, as an infantryman in the way I came running up and it always called: “My arm, my arm!” I saw only, how limp down posted his forearm at Hautfetzen. Since I had to look away. At the same time, my boss here was, where he came, I don't know, and took this badly injured soldiers into a bunker. While I declined to our Office, I looked yet again up to the departing Association. This time I saw it also clearly. A machine burned, came down as a blazing torch, and a second remained with long plume of smoke back. Since all bomb rolls were in and outside of Buda Staraya, I thought so for me: “I hope that everything has gone down here in the Protze well!” Concerned, I was also to my friend Gerhard, He was top in the position of the device.

A man of us brought us the news. “Nicolai has fallen!” I immediately thought of our hilfswilligen Nicolai, These young, reliable people. I was also there, where it was happening. The dead man lay there still. He was not fast enough in cover come and one close behind i[h]Bomb making m was his undoing. His entire back was shredded. It was not but our young, When all welcome Nicolai, but a prisoner of war of the same name, the in Sechtschinskaja as Hiwi (volunteer) had committed. In addition to the Bombentrichtern filled with ground water, the other Hilfswilligen shoveled a grave him.

As the whole fracas was over, so gradually returned everything in its place. The first was, as Oblt. Pure Kingdom came back to the Office, He called the assumed to and frug Lt. Kruchen, He only returned to the mornings from vacation, whether something happened. Lt. Kruchen said, It was all in best order. Gerhard as my friend told me in the evening, was I worried me the, because the rumor rushed, the position of the prowess was given some bull's eye.

After this RAID, our Chief ordered immediate rebase of the prowess position. I helped with charge the Schreibstube items and remote forest then we drove off in a few km, where the other batteries already had placed their baggage. A suitable place was soon found. There, the whole stuff was unpacked again. I was used to, to include a battle report concerning the last use of the Earth. On this day, not much was managed. In the evening I was with a car. returned again to the position.

Again, a swarm of low-flying aircraft came within. This time they had bent but on us. Deep they came angebrummt. We shot them already opposed. Since it flashed on them on the wings and we knew: they shoot at us! Again the admonition was forgotten all we, in the US von Greim again reminds had: Bomb throws and onboard weapons testing, everyone on the set has to stay and not going to cover. It should further be shot also in such dangerous moments, and it disappeared all a few exceptions, in the protective hole. It was stronger than commands of people but the instinct of self-preservation of man, which it on to a few soldiers not on it came.

The last enemy aircraft was barely over, so even the call was heard after the paramedic from the gun position. The people were immediately on the legs and already was the Fhj Uffz. Taken Fixl. The boss had quickly come to his car and had to remove the wounded. What had happened: The Schlachtflieger had fired on our position and also the ammunition stack of the gun “Berta” taken. Some cartridges were exploding and a piece of carpal Luxemburg sleeve met Uffz. Fixl of the thigh. Otherwise nothing had happened in our position after this attack further.

Since probably the enemy troops in large force majeure were and fighting took an history unfavourable for us, enlisted on this day also in fighting the German air force with strong forces. It appeared strong associations [Junkers] Ju 88, [Heinkel] He 111 and dive bombers in the air. Carefully we followed their behavior in the air through the glass. Where they attacked were all huge smoke- and Rauchpilze in the air. That even the old Ho 111 has a very strong onboard weapons Assembly, (We were in Sechtschiwokaja in one he 111 about 12 overweight MGs, ) showed us the following event: To an association unbeschützten by German hunters he 111 dared to approach two enemy fighters. One tried to attack the machines from below. We heard a short Fireblast and already came “Ivan” vertical down. Not far from us, he saußte in the ground and exploded with Flash darting flame. The second Russian Hunter moved to remove it. So something was happening to us in the air no matter. This was still, the enemy now also in our vicinity with a rather large caliber shot. Not far behind us German artillery fired in turn also just above us across, so that we always at the sharp crack of floor terrible zusammenfuhren.

The next day, Sunday, the 11.9., outbid the previous day on strength and intensity of the battle with the attacking associations. It returned PE-2 and IL-2 Associations served. Occasionally our boss didn't even whether he should shoot on low-flying aircraft or on the high flying combat machines, because both types at the same time attacked. But always he chose the most dangerous for us Association to the fire.

Most of the time, he gave some quiet statements before the battle. As but a combat aviation unit us started that one could think: NA, I hope that we get from nothing, and called the E-measurement room addition: “Target throwing bombs!”, because it was once again out with silence. It was all nervous and uncertain and it howled suddenly and crashed it. The bombs had taken. A huge wall of smoke and dust was only a few 100 m of us away in the air. Now, After the bombs were exploded, was it clear to us, that now no bombs can fall more to us. Immediately, the mood on the set failed to return. Everyone got courage again and wanted to prove his readiness as possible accurate work. The departing Russian Federation could do nothing more to us.

In a lull, a small car column in our position bog a suddenly. Of course we were directed to the incoming high Mr immediately with glasses of our indicative and who got out: The Kdr. [Commander] of the air fleet 6, Colonel-General Ritter von Greim.

With him came his entourage. lieutenant. Pure Kingdom made smart message, and then they came forth to us in the State. By Greim and Kingdom of purity discussed the air raids of the yesterday and v. Greim asked, why because the delivery figures when such numerous Einflügen were so low? This Reinekingt replied, that we are the only battery in the air age in this space and a friend said he, It is sometimes impossible, to shoot all the bodies, because always several at the same time attacked. V. Greim asked to us, “If 100 enemy aircraft are, how much should be launched by then? Sergeant. Schweig responded: 99! V. Greim said that would be right. A machine to heimfliegen can and report, What's going on with us. This high Lord was probably not satisfied about the firing numbers of flak. Always they wanted higher beyond. If the possibility would have passed, that we would have to shoot more, would have we certainly done it. And that already in our are interest. But it is now in the nature of the flak, that the success, the use of munitions, according to, are low.

Throughout the conversation with Colonel-General, ran around cameramen to us and filmed. Finally unbuttoned v. Greim even slow his leather coat on, Here he had the Oak leaves to the Ritterkreuze Flash, and received a Rocktasche a person and filmed our operation. Later, some have questioned, whether he has ever had a movie in it, or whether he has done so. In any case I have made on this occasion also an excellent recording.

Worth mentioning would still hold, that v. Was also on the Erdkämpfe of our guns to speak Greim. This highly appreciative he spoke out for the men and said, that pure Kingdom it “really big” would have made and which he accordingly would appreciated for it. Now we might think we have it: the Knight's cross beckoned for our boss. The Colonel-General visited then our guns and then again continued this Association. They were hardly disappeared our views, so there was also the call: “Alarm!”

The first long fighting day was 10.9. He also began like any other day. Just in the morning came a [Petljakow] PE-2 Association. They flew just over in inclined flyby. Lunch and dinner were also PE-2 associations. We have always been lucky, There were always beautiful encounters, that could be fired at nice quiet.

In an attack, I had flight login items, was tied so not thinking of concentrated work on the device and therefore the approaches and shooting excellently observed. Clearly, I saw the contrail, You left the bullets behind him up on the descending branch. If we thought, the PE-2 are used again and we have peace of mind, Since the low-flying aircraft by their sharp hum announced their coming. The first Pack, She started us, was by the sudden, well gezielte fire of our 2 cm guns quite surprised. (Since our lighter train had lost all weapons and artillery at the last use of the Earth, was us a light train from one of our light Battr. allocated.) The second [Iljuschin] IL-2 Association, came angebrummt, already more took us to task. But the happiness was us always to the page.

The following low-level that day were now apart from the US. Now they came direct to us. Illegally we briefly had the eyes of our work and saw the Flash lightning of kills of their kews. Someone called an indiscriminate Word and restless and jumpy, the device left and disappeared into cover. This was the signal for the other operation. It jumped all in cover and had taken in the attack on himself. Shortly before us the Schlachtflieger had their missile splinter bomb with the einGene-like sound from. We now expect that here everything flies high. But on the contrary. We had vastly overestimated the effect of these bombs. They drilled into the Earth, a Puffen and some soil flew high. This was all. Not even the tent of our chef has been umgeblasen by the air pressure, Although densely in addition to a thing exploded.

Our 8,8 Guns fired in the local fire on these machines and we have also seen, how an IL-2 ausscherte and notlandete, However, later turned out how, on Russian territory. Special attention I need the front of the Kanonieren 2 pay cm guns. They sat on the gun and shot the enemy in swimwear, regardless of the kews- and splinter bomb attacks. Without ceasing others dragged up the heavy boxes of ammunition. Every one of them actually did his duty. About 100 a stack was m of our stand at a fences pots ammunition. And rings to these shells, many impacts were calculated. Would be only one in this stack into, then much would be left most of us no longer.

There were still some low-flying aircraft on this day, but the German lines of infantry and artillery seemed to have been positions whose attack area, because they umflogen us always in respectful distance. As it slowly darkened and we got something to rest, We once were able to overlook the struggles of the day. Whether we were successful? 4 or 5 Machines in any case came from the sky. This nearby army force part were full of appreciation for us. Our Uffz. Beckurts made on equal, to bring confirmations for our victories. Here he came to the front lines. But has found people who had watched closely, We had shot down the machines. It was the first long fighting day in Buda Staraja.

The next morning, Sunday, the 4. September 1943, was made in early again everything ready. We drove on and since it started popping up in a village before us, as if grenades slammed. All vehicles objected. Later it turned out, that there were explosions of the railroad tracks, that have been made by our services.

A passing vehicle of our Department threw some sack post in the ditch. Furthermore we have pleased us very. It was a boon particularly for the gun crews, to get greetings from home after the previous hard days.. We started some time later. Went through ruined villages and over dusty roads [It]. Where the Road stopped, had routes been extended through fields and meadows. Passing prowess positions of infantry and artillery. Past positions of heavy artillery, that morning we always internally by their launch pop let. Then we drove past light field artillery, She drew our attention by their shooting.

Now it was clear each of us, that we are in the battle area and probably a stand, about aims. In the course of the morning we taken a position on the edge of the village Staraya Buda. Buda Staraya, the name will be remained probably each of us measuring people due to his numerous and exciting Luftgefechte and for our Geschützbedienungen also as the place of heavy Erdkämpfe in memory.

Our first work in new positions is of course always position placing in our device. But this time we stopped reading our incoming post for important, as the hard work with the device. It was only dazwischenfahren Bodenschatz and remind us of our duty. We created a wall of abgestochenen turf slabs to the device and set up our tents finally. The first few days went by smoothly. Only once at night it went around and several times we hunkered down in our holes, because many bombs fell close to. During the day there was a wonderful weather and we broke out not in our work.