Page 85 (2/2)

Alexander had spent the last three days and nights hidden in the wooden bunker on the banks of the Neva with Marazov and six corporals The artillery enca froun, a Katyusha rocket launcher, and two portable 76- of the attack Alexander was not just ready to fight, he would have fought Marazov if itout of the confinement of the bunker They played cards, they smoked, they talked about the war, they told jokes, they slept -- he was done with it all after six hours, and they had stayed in it for seventy-two Alexander thought about Tatiana’s last letter What the hell did sheto help him? Obviously she couldn’t tell hi up his iet to her

He needed to get to her

Wearing white cauised like Alexander, the south shore barely visible in the gray light He was on the northern bank of the Neva just west of Shlisselburg Alexander’s artillery unit was covering the outererous -- the Germans were extre Alexander could see the fortress Oreshek a kiloa A few hundred meters before Oreshek lay the bodies of 600 o and failed Alexander wanted to know if they had failed gloriously or vainly Bravely and without support, they went across the ice and were laid down one by bloody one Will history reht ahead

He was on air detail today Marazov was launching Katyusha’s solid-fuel rockets Alexander knew this was it He felt it They were going to break the blockade or die in the process The 67th Arht-kiloy for the attack was to close ranks with Meretskov’s 2nd Ar Manstein’s Aruard divisions and souard divisions in all Two hours later three more rifle divisions with heavy andsix of the men under Alexander’s immediate command He would remain behind the Zenith on the Neva He would cross in the third wave, with another heavily ar a T-34, athe river without sinking

It was just before nine, barely sunrise, thesky a dark lavender

"Major," said Marazov, "is your phone working?" He put out his cigarette and stepped up to Alexander

"Phone’s working fine, Lieutenant Back to your post" He smiled Marazov smiled back

"How many miles of field phone wire did Stalin demand from the Americans?" Marazov asked

"Sixty-two thousand," replied Alexander, taking the last deep drag of his cigarette

"And your phone is not working already"

"Lieutenant!"

Marazov saluted Alexander "I’m ready, Major" He stepped aside to the Katyusha "I’ve been ready Sixty-two thousand miles is a bit excessive, don’t you think?"

Alexander threw his cigarette butt in the snoondering if he had tih The Americans will supply us with five times that much before this war is over"

"You’d think they could supply you with a working telephone," Marazovaway from Alexander

"Patience, soldier," said Alexander "Phone is working fine" He was trying to figure out if the Neva ider than the Kama He decided it was, but not by much He had swum the Kama to the other shore and back in heavy current in about twenty-fivewould it take him to cross the 600 meters of the Neva ice under German fire?

Alexander concluded he would have to take less than twenty-fiveAlexander ss co to Tatiana and away "All right,slightly behind the the barrel of the Zenith upward "And be brave"

He picked up the phone and flagged the go-ahead command to the corporals on the mortars The men fired three slow-emission smoke bombs that flew across the river and exploded, teht Instantly Red Ar, snakelike forht in front of Alexander, and ran across

For two hours the heavy fire fro Alexander thought the Soviet soldiers did better than expected -- remarkably better With his binoculars he spotted a number of downedup the bank and hiding in the trees

Three Ger at the Soviet soldiers and breaking holes in the ice -- er zones for trucks and ht, opening un fire on the aircraft One plane exploded; the other two quickly gained altitude to avoid being hit Alexander loaded a high-explosive shell into the Zenith and fired Another of the planes burst into flaained more altitude and was now unable to fire at the ice; it flew back to the Gerarette "You’re doing well," he yelled to histhey didn’t hear him He hardly heard hi loss

At 11:30 AM a green flash went off as a signal for the motorized division to o-ahead was too early, but Alexander hoped the eleht if they could move across the ice quickly Alexander motioned for Marazov to take his men and run "Go," Alexander yelled "Stay covered! Corporal Smirnoff!" One of the men turned around "Take your weapons," said Alexander

Marazov saluted Alexander, grabbed the handles of the 76-un, yelled to his men, and they started down the short slope and onto the ice Two other corporals were running holding the 81-uns were left behind They were too heavy to transport without a truck Three soldiers in the front were running with their Shpagins

Alexander watched Marazov knocked down by fire, barely thirty meters onto the ice "God, Tolya!" he shouted and looked up The Ger at the men on the ice Marazov’s soldiers dropped Before the plane had a chance to reverse and return, Alexander swung the barrel of the Zenith, aih-explosive ih; it burst into flames and dead-spiraled into the river

Marazov continued to liehiun The river was being pummeled by shell fire "Oh, for fck’s sake!" Alexander ordered Ivanov -- the reun, ju for the rest of the soldiers to continue across the river "Go! Go!" They grabbed the field gun and the mortars and ran

Marazov was splayed on his stomach Alexander sahy hisby him, Alexander wanted to turn hi so painfully that Alexander was afraid to touch hi on" Marazov had been hit in the neck His helmet had fallen off Alexander desperately looked around to see if he could find a ive him so not a weapon but a doctor’s bag The man wore a heavy woolen overcoat and a woolen hat -- not even a helroup of downed h time to think, what a fool, a doctor on the ice, he is insane, when he heard soldiers behind hiunfire was too loud, black s erect, turned around and yelled in English, "What? What are they saying? What?"

It took Alexander an instant He saw the doctor on the ice, in the e of the trajectory path of shells from the German side Alexander knew he had one quarter second, a splinter of tis in English, "GET THE Fck DOWN!"

The doctor heard immediately and dropped Just in time The conical shell flew a meter over the man’s head and exploded on impact just behind him The doctor was propelled like a projectile across the ice and landed head first in the water hole

With clear eyes Alexander glanced at Marazov, ith fixated pupils, was spurting blood fron of the cross on hiun and ran twenty meters across the ice, fell on his stomach, and crawled another ten to the water hole

The doctor was unconscious, floating in the water Alexander tried to reach him, but the man was facedown and too far away Alexander threw his weapons, ammo, and ruck down onto the ice and jue and then an instant whole-body anesthetic, nu the doctor by the neck, Alexander pulled hith hurled hi on to the ice with the other Crawling out hi heavily on top of the doctor, who calish

"Quiet," said Alexander in English "Stay down We have to get you to that armored truck on the wooden boards, do you see it? It’s twenty et behind it, we’ll be safer We’re out in the open here"

"I can’tthe wet bitter cold himself, Alexander knehat the doctor meant He scanned the immediate ice The only cover was the three bodies near the water hole Crawling across on his stomach, he pulled one body to the doctor and lay it on top of him "Now, just lie still, keep the body on you, and don’tit over his back, and picked up his ruck and his weapons "You ready?" he said to the doctor, in English

"Yes, sir"

"Hold on to the botto for an ice skate"

As quickly as he could with one dead ed the doctor and the additional corpse twenty h he were losing his hearing, the bursting noise around hih his helmet and his conscious h the blockade, and she didn’t have a deadthe doctor faster, faster, faster aht he heard the whiz of a low plane and wondered when Ivanov was going to shoot the fcker down

The last thing Alexander re noise closer than he’d ever heard before, an explosion, then painless but severe i force helmet first into the side of an arht Alexander