Snajper. Z frontu wschodniego na Syberię

by Bruno Sutkus, Marcin Jojko (Translator)

Byłem niemieckim strzelcem wyborowym i wszystko, co opisałem na kartach tej książki, widziałem na własne oczy i przeżyłem na własnej skórze. Zadaniem moim była eliminacja snajperów nieprzyjacielskich. Rozkazy otrzymywałem od dowódców kompanii.
Bycie snajperem frontowym w pierwszym okopie stanowiło bardzo niebezpieczną misję. Oczekiwania, jakie żywiono w stosunku do strzelca wyborowego, były niezwykle duże. Wykonywałem rozkazy moich przełożonych, zaś od mojej skuteczności zależało życie mych towarzyszy broni.
Najczęściej strzelec wyborowy nie szuka sobie celu na własną rękę, lecz zostaje ulokowany na odcinku frontowym, położonym dokładnie naprzeciw nieprzyjaciela. Przydzielano mi do dyspozycji obserwatora, który towarzyszył we wszystkich niemal akcjach, zapewniając ich sukces. Udane akcje odnotowywano w książeczce strzeleckiej, konkretne przypadki zaś uwierzytelniano podpisem adiutanta batalionu.
W taki sposób pomagałem moim frontowym kolegom dawać odpór sowieckim atakom.
Na froncie zasady cywilizowanej egzystencji były zawieszone. Działały tam jedynie prawa wojny. Przeszedłem przez wszystkie możliwe potworności, i wielu z rzeczy, które widziałem i doświadczyłem, nigdy nie zapomnę. Mimo że minęły już dziesiątki lat, od czasu do czasu wciąż jeszcze śni mi się, że jestem na froncie.
Wojna pozostawiła w ludzkich sercach negatywny ślad. Dzisiejsze pokolenia nie są w stanie wyobrazić sobie, jak ciężka była dola frontowego żołnierza. – Bruno Sutkus

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Biography, World War II, Memoir, Russia

280 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2009

Reviews

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

In modern warfare, the role of sniper holds a special place: a singular soldier who has one but one purpose, and that is to kill enemy combatants. Bruno Sutkus was one such soldier, serving in the German Wehrmacht during World War II against the Russians on the Eastern Front. While I was hoping this book would be a personal account of his combat career and shed some insights into the life of a sniper, it came up short.

The first part of the book covers his combat career and recounts his over 200 confirmed kills. However, the recounting is really just like reading from a list with very few extra details added, so it's pretty dry. It's the second part of the book which is a bit more interesting as Sutkus becomes a "banishee" to Siberia after the war. The recounting of life in Siberia, first as just an ordinary soldier and then later as an infamous sniper, makes up more than half the book and is fairly interesting. It is very hard to imagine living and surviving in such an environment for 50 years, yet that is what Sutkus did.

The narrative of the book is translated from German and is generally pretty good, with only a few spots where the phrasing gets a little confusing. However, there's a definite inconsistency in the amount of detail provided and the narrative skips several years at a time in some places. Is this a good book? Yes, but if you keep your hopes in the middle of the road you'll probably enjoy it more than I.

[Knyga be viršelio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knyga labai įtikinanti ir ne jautriems žmonėms. Knygos autorius tikras laimės kūdikis. Nemirtingasis.
Buvo labai smagu skaityti kai buvo taškomi šio snaiperio vienas po kito ruskiai-suskiai. Gaila, kad jų kaip utėlių - pilna užsiveisę visame pasaulyje.
Ši knyga, tai įrodymas, kad tų suskių žiaurumui ribų nėra. Kad jie visi prasmegtų su visa rusija; pakankamai prisišiko kad jų pasaulis nebekęstų. Slava Ukraini.

[Karrtuvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives very good advise and a overall interesting book.

[lentasa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Paranoiczne wynurzenia SS-man, gloryfikujące dokonania SS, Waffen-SS i Wehrmachtu. Przez prawie 300 stron gryzie się w język, żeby nie krzyknąć - "Heil Hitler". Pała jebana.
Przedstawia niemieckie wojsko jako organizację dżentelmenów a to byli zwyczajni bandyci, mordercy i zwyrodnialcy.
Kto uwierzy w takie bzdury litewskiego chama, jebanego konfidenta i kapusia, rodzinka ma na rekach krew pomordowanych w Ponarach.
P.S.
Nie neguję jego dokonań jako strzelca wyborowego, robi wrażenie ale i tak jedna kurwa strzelała do drugiej kurwy.
Moje subiektywne odczucia.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read to get an insight into life as a Wehrmacht sniper on the Eastern front.
It is however a little bit wooden in reading as it’s mostly just carbon copies from his sniper log which makes it a little text book style and less memoir style.
Worth a read but I have read slightly better on the subject.

[Brian Totten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story, Unusual perspective!

Really liked this memoir - No BS, straight up - Reader will enjoy a different perspective - A second story after meat and potatoes - Wish the internment in Siberia was expanded - Otherwise wonderful

[Thiago S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly the part of book covering his banishment to Siberia and work as a “slave” is even more interesting than his bodycount at the front. Solid 4 / 4.5.

[Michał Hołda · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of few rare books on by someone who as sharpshooter and marksman killed Russian, nad was, afther war given orders by them to work like slave. It's prove, like any other, that we all have the same dices and we have similar fate, outcome, burden, cross to beary.

On the night of January 23/24, 1945, the Red Army entered Gliwice (then Gleiwitz), marking the beginning of the Upper Silesian Tragedy of 1945 – a period of repression against innocent civilians in Upper Silesia, beginning with mass arrests and deportations to forced labor in the USSR, driven by the need for labor in Soviet industry. This deportation affected thousands of residents regardless of nationality and lasted until mid-1945.

The Red Army committed mass murder, rape, and robbery, with an estimated death toll in the hundreds (sources indicate over 800, or even 700), including elderly people, women, and children, in retaliation for resistance, although the exact number of civilians murdered is unknown.

The Miechowice Massacre of January 25-28, 1945, was a crime committed by Red Army soldiers during the liberation of Upper Silesia. It included mass murder, rape, and pillage of civilians, including Poles and Silesians. Long silenced, it came to light years later, with up to 380 victims. The events began with the fighting on January 25, and the brutality was part of a revenge against the population considered German, despite their diverse national identities.

The deportations of Upper Silesians to the USSR in 1945, known as the Upper Silesian Tragedy, were the mass forced relocation of over 43,000 people (mostly men) to forced labor that took place after the "liberation" by the Red Army. The exterminations took place from February to April, and those deported were sent to labor camps. Many died in inhumane conditions, and their return only occurred in 1950, deepening the trauma of a region that had long remained silent about these events.
---
It was January 19, 1945. I crawled to the wall of a house. My hand looked terrible. A grenade exploded nearby, burying me in rubble. My companions carried me from the ruins of the house and transported me to a yard where the wounded were being treated. There, my hand was operated on, and then I was taken to a field hospital in Gliwice. On January 22, 1945, I had to deposit my weapons, for which I received a receipt. When the Russians approached the Lithuanian-German border, all the Germans were evacuated. My parents were sent to the village of Stöbnich, near Rochlitz, near Leipzig. Because they knew my field post office number, their letter reached the hospital in Gliwice. By this time, the Russians had reached the Gliwice area, so the wounded had to be transported. My 68th Infantry Division was still fighting fiercely in Silesia, and our hospital train was taking us elsewhere. When we passed through Rochlitz, I got off. I was sent to the reserve hospital in Burgstädt.

My arm looked very bad; the doctors were increasingly calling for amputation. I also felt pain on the left side of my chest, and since I was buried under the rubble, I had been coughing up blood. So I underwent another operation.
While I was in the Burgstädt field hospital, I received a letter and a package from the Commander-in-Chief of the 4th Panzer Army, General Fritz-Hubert Gräser, on the occasion of my 207th hit. On January 11, 1945, he addressed the following words to me:

To Corporal Bruno Sutkus; at the headquarters of the 196th Grenadier Regiment.

I heard with great joy about your 207th hit. I know how much courage, perseverance, and dedication—besides masterful skill—it takes to achieve this magnificent result. Through your actions, you inflicted heavy losses on the enemy while simultaneously serving as a shining example of uncompromising combat readiness for your comrades. I offer you special praise and send you a package with gifts intended for you.
Hail Hitler!

Signed: Gräser, General of the Armored Forces. While I was in the field hospital, air raid alarms often sounded, and the wounded were then moved to the air raid shelter. It was terrifying, but nothing like the weeks spent in the trenches facing enemy attacks, in rain, snow, and cold.

On March 1, 1945, I received the Silver Wound Badge from the chief surgeon – it was my third wound.

The first was a blow to the cheek, the second to the chest. When he was hit in the chest, he didn't lose his cool and shot the Russian.
Earlier, in the field hospital, with the previous wound, he met a girl named Erika, and he liked her so much that he thought about her every day, constantly . She told him she would sew his clothes and he should go to the cinema to see a movie. Afterward, everything was neatly mended, and he later mentioned the song Erika.

One day, I went with my father to Patašiai, the village where he was born. The last Lithuanian partisans lived in the vast forests around Sutkai. They all perished, one by one.

Now I no longer had any identification, so one day I was arrested by NKVD operatives. They demanded I show my ID, and because I didn't have it, I was considered a "bandit" and arrested. They ordered me to admit I was a partisan and tell them where my bunker was. I was beaten and pushed, then my hands were tied behind me with wire. I was accused of banditry and participation in the Lithuanian resistance movement.

Then I was taken to Grishkabudis prison, where I was subjected to brutal torture. NKVD investigators demanded that I admit I was a German soldier, reveal the Lithuanians' hiding places, and reveal the location of my remaining comrades.

The prison was terrible. I spent almost three weeks there. We were packed like herrings in a very small space. There was no room to sit or lie down. We even slept standing up. Many times in those days, I cursed my fate, wishing I had been shot while fighting in The Wehrmacht.
My cousin, Pijus Marma, from the village of Szetija (Leketschai district) helped me. For a generous gift—smoked ham, sausage, and vodka—KGB Captain Szalabin stood up for me when I was about to be court-martialed, demanding the death penalty by shooting for desertion. And once again, I was saved by my stateless passport, issued in the Schloßberg district, which stated that I was not Lithuanian because I was not born in Lithuania. And as a stateless person, I also lacked Soviet citizenship, meaning I could not be tried under Article 58 for treason. Ultimately, I was released and given a certificate granting me permission to live in the Szakai district. Once again, I narrowly avoided death.

NEWS FROM HOMELAND
A Letter from Erika

When I was still living in Rudówka, I sent many letters to Germany, to my sister living in Niederdorf, near Chemnitz. I didn't know that after my husband returned from wartime captivity, she had moved to Dortmund and wasn't receiving my letters. However, one day, Irmgard Schröder, her daughter, went to visit Niederdorf. My letter arrived there just then, and was immediately forwarded to her. Since they hadn't heard from me for ten years, they didn't even know if I was still alive. It was from them that I learned that my mother had died on January 1, 1948.

I also wrote to Erika, a former Red Cross nurse, and she replied. I also sent a letter to my grandmother's old address in Chicago; she was last home in 1929, when she came to visit my father. She then gave him a few documents and a gold watch with a chain, the back of which was engraved with his grandfather's coat of arms, and a signet ring with the family coat of arms. His father then flew into a rage and threw the documents and the signet ring into the fire. His grandmother burst into tears, but his father exclaimed angrily: "It would have been better if they had killed me at birth, then I wouldn't have had to live the life I live! No education, no school, and when I sign my name, I have to make three crosses!" Today I understand his pain. His father was the illegitimate son of a count, for whom marriage to a "commoner" was unthinkable. Therefore, his son had a difficult youth. However, the letter from Chicago returned with the information: "The addressee has died."
...a dangerous sniper is operating on the German side, but they took it lightly. Being in the group, they weren't afraid of a single German soldier. They joked that it was probably high time to eliminate him. We knew they were coming because our reconnaissance group had managed to catch a lookout during the night. I took up a position overlooking the road they were supposed to come by. They must have passed by this point; there were no other roads in this swampy area. Colonel Miroshnichenko was the commissar of that sector at the time. He said they knew my name. I knew this because they often said over the loudspeakers that "they will destroy me, a bloodthirsty fascist." However, all their efforts to lure me into a trap were in vain. A great panic broke out in their trenches as I shot, killing them one by one. In this situation, none of them felt safe anymore. I cleared our sector of enemy snipers, thus saving my comrades.

When Officer Shvaitov led me into the building, the doors of all the offices opened. Everyone wanted to see this renowned German sniper who had lived under their noses for so many years and—unbeknownst to them—had been acquitted by a military tribunal.

They couldn't bring any charges against me because I had fought honestly against them. I could have died many times myself. Sure, I was lucky, but I was also faster than the others and had a better eye.
However, Colonel Miroshnichenko summoned me for another reason. He wanted to recruit me into the Soviet security service. If I agreed to go to Germany and fulfilled the tasks assigned to me by the Soviet security service, I would receive officer rank and expiate my sins.
I flatly rejected the offer. I could never betray my comrades-in-arms who had died for me; I could never become a traitor to my German homeland.

Miroshnichenko then stated that I couldn't even dream of ever going to Germany again. I had no right to live, and I would atone for my sins until my death. I will remain in exile and be closely watched by the Soviet security services. And I will have to obey all their orders. He said, "It's a pity, you yourself will begin to regret that you're still alive." Many others will be allowed to leave the country, but certainly not you! I replied that what I can earn honestly will be enough for me.

On Miroshnichenko's desk, I saw documents stolen from the German Wehrmacht archives. Well, their security services had done a good job. I had to sign a pledge never to reveal my true identity to anyone and not to engage in anti-state propaganda or act to the detriment of the state. I was then released.

Thus, a trap was set for me, one I couldn't easily escape. Where was I supposed to get an original birth certificate, since Schilfelde was located on the East Prussian border in the Schloßberg district? The local town hall, along with the citizen register, had most likely been destroyed during the war. I also found the village of Fichtenhöhe, which I had visited in 1945, burned down. Everything was destroyed. I didn't know then that the longtime mayor of Fichtenhöhe, Richard Schiller, had saved the citizen register, which was now in the possession of his son Georg, who lived in Bremen. One day, a security officer came for me. I was to be personally interrogated by Colonel Miroshnichenko in Irkutsk. The incident concerned an incident that took place on November 15, 1944, on the Jastrzębiec-Zaniki road in the Subcarpathian region. That day, I opened fire on officers from a Soviet inspection force tasked with investigating why, a few days earlier, Soviet planes had dropped bombs on their own positions instead of German ones. The Soviet units fired flares to show the pilots their target, but they didn't notice them. We exploited this, easily capturing their observation post.

[Kristjan Kruk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lihtne lugemine, lihtsas keeles kirjutatud. Raamatu esimeses osas kirjeldab Stutkus oma elu teise maailmasõja idarindel. See oli minu arust raamatu igavaim osa, kuna ta kirjeldas ainult seda, kuidas ta vastaseid maha lasi. Raamatu teine pool räägib juba tema elust Siberis, mis on huvitavam, kuna see räägib rohkem tema isiklikust elust ja igatsusest kodumaa vastu. Raamatu teine pool oleks justkui kogenuma kirjaniku poolt kirjutatud. Kindlasti tuli tal ajaga kogemust juurde just kirjutamise poole pealt.

[Ricardo Ribeiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess people getting this book will be interested in some way in the sniper activity. Well, not much to read about it here. The books is divided in two parts: the war time and the post-war. The war time, the sniper days, it's a dry narrative, a counting of the kills of Bruno Sutkus, a sequence of data like "I saw an officer running and shot him through the chest. At 300 m.". And this goes on and on.

Ironically, the narrative of the post war times is by far the most interesting but then, readers who picked this book weren't interested in this in first place.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in German in 2003, and published in English in 2009, 'Sniper Ace - From the Eastern Front to Siberia' is an autobiographical account of the experiences of a very successful Wehrmacht sniper, and his subsequent long incarceration in the Soviet Union. Bruno Sutkus does come across as very opinionated, particularly when discussing the oppressive Soviet regime, yet also seems naive in his surprise at perceptions of his own war record at the time of his eventual release. However you view it, it makes incredible reading.

[The Villan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a few sniper’s biographies from WWII and current conflicts but this was the first from the German Army perspective and it was very detailed and a real insight into how their snipers did their work. I would not have liked to been up against this fella who was very good at his job. The ending was an eye opener as to how the Russians treated the Germans after their surrender and it was disgusting how his own country treated him even though he had loyally served his Fatherland.

[Garold Weiland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for war buffs.

I liked this book as a whole, but found the repetition of material from diary to book dialog a bit tiring. Some great old photos are present. Priced low you can give it a go.

[Thomas Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads like an after action report.

This could have been 100 times better with a co-author who could put some feeling into the first half. The second half is barely better. Main turning points of the book get barely half a sentence and I found myself having to re-read paragraphs.

[Michel D. Guernsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

Very good story as told by the author. As someone who has been through several military sniper courses, Bruno 's experience is a good reflection on current techniques.

[Aivaras Žukauskas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5.

A bit dry in terms of writing, and would have been good to get more insight into life back in Germany, but nevertheless, this a fascinating story, inspiring some pretty conflicting emotions when following the journey.

[Medusa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry and a bit self congratulatory, with some pretty implausible stuff in there (ie body armor made of fabric sufficient to stop a 762 x 54 hit at 400 meters). A few good nuggets of info, but overall a slog.

[BETHANY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

Good story. Would have liked more of the book on the sniper days and more detail about the military operations. Overall, good book.

[Frank Blasberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth a read

Well written and interesting. A testament of how fortunate one can be, even under such adverse conditions. Highly recommended overall

[Edvinas Sinkevičius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Įdomi ir įtempta knyga, tiksliau – dienoraštis. Esu nustebęs Broniaus sekmingumu ir vingiuota gyvenimo eiga. Rekomenduoju kiekvienam mėgstančiam negrožinę literatūrą.

[Krist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buvo įdomu skaityti. Neprailgo.

[Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short volume (a bit over 200 pages, but if photographs and references are excluded, it's hardly 150 pages long) is an autobiography of a German sniper active on eastern front during the final stages of the war. The first part is dedicated to his upbringing and his wartime experiences. Those interested in the 'sniper' part of the book will probably be as disappointed as I am. Sutkus offers no detailed narrative of his experiences. Instead, the reader has to wade through an admittedly impressively long (over 200 confirmed kills), but nonetheless quite tedious list of 'this and this day i saw x and shot him at range xxx'. Here and there the author dedicates couple of lines with details about a particular event, usually about enemy's reactions to a shot he's taken. From this part of the book, one learns precious little about a sniper's life or craft on Eastern front. Most of his shots were made at a distance of between 150 and 400 meters, with few rare occasions of shots taken at 600+ meters. The only really useful information (at least to me) is provided in author's comments of the occasions when he was discovered. Considering the fact that he was a very skilled specialist, it came to me as bit of shock that he was nonetheless frequently spotted after the first shot and exposed to fire of enemy snipers. When Sutkus' narrative is seen in its whole, it gives some insight to the extension of use of sniper, the level of their training and sniper counter-measures taken by both sides.
Second part of the book describes the life of the author after the war. Due to his Lithuanian background and, surprisingly, for reasons other than his activities during the war, he was deported to Siberia in 1948 and was kept there until 70-ies. This part of the book is really a tirade of an old, bitter and quite self-righteous man. Still, it provides an at times fascinating insight into a life of an 'enemy of the state' during these years as well as of Soviet quite frequently Kafkaesque bureaucracy machine.
In summary, this is a book that is only marginally interesting to a WWII buff or a reader interested in art of military sniping. The author is either unable or unwilling to provide deeper insight into his experiences at the frontline. The book is also clearly tainted by bitterness caused by the hardships of author's life as well as by author's remarkable lack of acceptance of his own side's role in the conflict. The fact that it's mercifully short is really the only thing that makes it readable.

[Karl Jorgenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sniper Ace is a simple, unpretentious after-action report for a Bruno's life. A simple farmhand in eastern Prussia, he turned 18 in 1943 and was drafted into the Wermacht, where they discovered he could really shoot. They made him a sniper, and for the next two years as the Russian armies shredded the German defenses and advanced on Berlin, he killed Russian officers, commissars, snipers, machine gunners, and other soldiers at ranges up to 800 yards.
The first half of the book is a series of log entries with little detail: 'Dec. 3. Shot a Russian officer at a range of 300 meters when he emerged from a bunker.'
The war ends and we come to the second half of the book, where Bruno, trying to avoid prison or execution for having been on the losing side is exiled to Siberia where he survives for decades through superhuman effort. This part provides an interesting, if summary view of Soviet bureaucracy.
The final takeaway from this book is the German view of the war: Bruno repeatedly bemoans the destruction and barbarity of the invading Russian hordes. As a lowly corporal who joined the war in 1944, he can be excused for not knowing the details of the Nazi's atrocities 'im ost'. But writing in the 21st century, he can not be allowed to ignore them.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author was able to make quite a few sniper kills in a few months on the Russian front. Interesting to hear the author recount his experience. He does so fairly matter-of-factly with no braggadocio. His experience in Soviet Russia after the war was very sad as he recounts the abuses he lived with and the sacrifices he made. Interesting that he was able to work hard and actually at times be better off than those around him because of it. Not supposed to happen in a communist society but one reaps what one sows.

Not as engaging as The Forgotten Soldier, which I recommend you read for a more detailed view of an infantryman's view of what it was like on the front.

[Thor Longus]

This is one heck of an autobiography.

Besides his amazing war record killing Communists, Sutkus was captured and forced to live under brutal conditions in the most remote parts of Siberia. His story shows just how cruel, anti-human, and ultimately self-destructive the Jewish Communist rule of Russia was. He stayed strong through it all, never betraying the Germany he loved or the family he sacrificed so much for.

[Renat N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Эта книга произвела на меня сильное впечатление. Интересным было то как менялось моё мнение к герою этой биографии. Если в начале книги я ненавидел его за то как легко и многократно (209 подтвержденных жертв) он лишал жизни наших солдат. То во-второй части книги, где описывается его жизнь после ареста и ссылки в Сибирь - я стал испытывать глубокое уважение к нему. За его стойкость в жутких жизненых условиях, за трудолюбивость, за преданность родине.

[Taimatai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brrrr. Tokias istorijas beskaitant visada pagalvoju, kad dar gali atsitikti ka������kas pana������aus ar dar baisiau. ������ia a������ kalbu apie antr������ knygos dal������, - pokar������. Pirma dalis gana l������k������toka, - at������jau, nusitaikiau ir nu������oviau. Ir taip 209 kartus

[Peter Tkačenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tých 209 odstrelov vás rýchlo prestane baviť, to zaujímavé príde v druhej časti, keď je Bruno vo vyhnanstve na Sibíri. Plus, samozrejme, je to ďalšie zádumčivé zrniečko na tému, či môžeme (nesmierne "úspešného") vojaka Wehrmachtu považovať za rešpektovateľnú ľudskú bytosť.

Čiže dobre.

[creig speed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very compelling story

This is quite a journey. This guy really had a great and terrible life. Many times one questions his choices.

[Janis Gramatins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent though chilling account of war then grim survival in the Soviet system. Not an easy read but recommended for all who are interested in Eastern Europe history.