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Modern War Studies
800 Days on the Eastern Front: A Russian Soldier Remembers World War II
During his 800 days of war, Nikolai Litvin fought at the front lines in the ferocious tank battles at Kursk, was wounded three times, and witnessed unspeakable brutalities against prisoners and civilians. But he survived to pen this brief but powerful memoir of his wartime experiences.
Barely out of his teens, Litvin served for three years in the Red Army on the killing fields of the Eastern Front. His memoir presents an unadorned, candid narrative of the common soldier's lot in Stalin's army. Unlike the memoirs of Russian officers—usually preoccupied with large military operations and political concerns—this narrative offers a true ground-level view of World War II's deadliest theater. It puts a begrimed human face on the enormous toll of casualties and provides a rare perspective on battles that were instrumental in the defeat of the German army.
Litvin's varied roles, ranging from antitank gunner at Kursk to heavy machine gunner in a penal battalion to staff driver for the 352nd Rifle Division, offer unique perspectives on the Red Army in World War II as it fought from the Ukraine deep into the German heartland. Litvin documents such significant battles as Operation Kutuzov, Operation Bagration, and the German counterattack on the Narev, while also providing unique personal observations on fording the Dnepr River under enemy fire, the rape of German women by Russian troops, and literally seeing his life pass before his eyes as he watched a Stuka's bomb fall directly on his position. And, because part of his duties involved chauffeuring Red Army generals, he also presents revealing glimpses into their personalities and behaviors.
Originally written in 1962, with events still fresh in his mind, Litvin's memoir lay unpublished and unseen until translator Stuart Britton and a Russian colleague approached him about publishing it in English. Britton interviewed Litvin to flesh out the details of his original recollection and annotated the resulting work to provide historical context for the campaigns and battles in which he participated. Remarkably free of Soviet-era propaganda, this gem of a memoir provides a view of the war never seen by western readers, including photographs from Litvin's personal collection.
An invaluable historical document, as well as a remarkable testament of survival, Litvin's memoir offers unique and penetrating insights into the Soviet wartime experience unavailable in any other source.
Barely out of his teens, Litvin served for three years in the Red Army on the killing fields of the Eastern Front. His memoir presents an unadorned, candid narrative of the common soldier's lot in Stalin's army. Unlike the memoirs of Russian officers—usually preoccupied with large military operations and political concerns—this narrative offers a true ground-level view of World War II's deadliest theater. It puts a begrimed human face on the enormous toll of casualties and provides a rare perspective on battles that were instrumental in the defeat of the German army.
Litvin's varied roles, ranging from antitank gunner at Kursk to heavy machine gunner in a penal battalion to staff driver for the 352nd Rifle Division, offer unique perspectives on the Red Army in World War II as it fought from the Ukraine deep into the German heartland. Litvin documents such significant battles as Operation Kutuzov, Operation Bagration, and the German counterattack on the Narev, while also providing unique personal observations on fording the Dnepr River under enemy fire, the rape of German women by Russian troops, and literally seeing his life pass before his eyes as he watched a Stuka's bomb fall directly on his position. And, because part of his duties involved chauffeuring Red Army generals, he also presents revealing glimpses into their personalities and behaviors.
Originally written in 1962, with events still fresh in his mind, Litvin's memoir lay unpublished and unseen until translator Stuart Britton and a Russian colleague approached him about publishing it in English. Britton interviewed Litvin to flesh out the details of his original recollection and annotated the resulting work to provide historical context for the campaigns and battles in which he participated. Remarkably free of Soviet-era propaganda, this gem of a memoir provides a view of the war never seen by western readers, including photographs from Litvin's personal collection.
An invaluable historical document, as well as a remarkable testament of survival, Litvin's memoir offers unique and penetrating insights into the Soviet wartime experience unavailable in any other source.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published April 24, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 28, 2021
In Russia history serves the state. This is true today under Putin and was especially true during the Communist decades, when nothing could be published without official approval, and voicing unorthodox opinions could be very bad for one’s health. The Great Patriotic War was seen as the defining moment of modern Soviet history, and the custodians of that history were very careful to ensure that books about it emphasized the courage, fortitude, and resolve of the Red Army soldiers in destroying the Nazi scourge. Only passing references could be made to hunger or cold, and while occasional mentions of unfit officers at lower levels were permitted, readers never heard stories of incompetent senior officers, arbitrary justice, or cowardly political officers, and certainly no criticism of Stalin or the war effort.
As a result, there is a sameness to most Soviet war memoirs. Writers speak of marches and attacks, provide what seem like wildly inflated numbers for casualties inflicted on the Germans, and tell stories of individual cleverness or gallantry. Considering that this is the country which gave us Dostoevsky, it is somewhat surprising that there is almost no internal development of the characters, no personal insights or growing realization about life and fate. The only interior conversations are about killing Germans and finally going home. The anecdotes related have a homogenized feel to them, as if the state editors were carefully re-writing stories to conform with the requirement to present the war as a terrible but noble struggle, ultimately vindicating Marxist-Leninist theory.
This book is different, but only to a limited extent. It was sketched out in rough form during the political thaw of the Khrushchev era, when criticism of Stalin was permitted, even encouraged, and it seemed that more honest accounts of the war might be possible. Brezhnev snuffed that out and the accounts that were allowed to be published were no more forthcoming than they had been under Stalin. As a result, the manuscript languished for decades until after the fall of communism when western journalists starting seeking out Soviet veterans to hear their stories. Once rediscovered, it needed to be put into publishable form, and additional notes provided to explain the geography, the specialized terms, and a larger view of what was going on in the war as Nikolai Litvin described his own small part. It is also worth noting that under Putin’s increasingly heavy handed nationalism, the book could probably not be published today.
There are moments in this book when you read of incidents that the Communist censors would never have permitted, such as needing to live off a dead horse for two weeks because food was not being delivered to the front lines. There are also two stories of murder that would never have been permitted previously. In one Litvin and his comrades are talking to a woman whose husband had been killed the day before by a German soldier when told there was no food in the house, and just then, that soldier was marched by in a column of prisoners. He was pulled out and handed over to the woman to kill any way she chose. In another incident Litvin and another soldier were escorting about a dozen Germans to the rear, having already been told that it would not be a problem if something “happened” to them on the way. They were, of course, all murdered. Litvin claims, disingenuously, that he passed out during the shooting and only realized that he had taken part in it when he saw that cartridges were missing from his weapon.
There is another incident near the end of the war in which a major commanding an artillery battery was found drunk and consorting with a local woman when he was supposed to be moving his unit forward. The next day he was busted in rank and sentenced to a penal battalion.
Litvin himself had spent some time in a penal battalion early in the war when a former commanding officer invited him to join his new unit, but an invitation is not an order, and Litvin was accused of desertion. He describes his time it in as not much different from any other unit; only there were two roll calls a day instead of one, and he was released early for courageous performance in combat. The major probably had a much worse fate. According to Alexander Pyl’cyn’s book Penalty Strike: The Memoirs of a Red Army Penal Company Commander 1943-45, as the war went on conditions got much worse and it got harder and harder to return to regular units. Once peace was declared everyone still in them was automatically sentenced to fifteen years in the Siberian gulag.
Other than these incidents, the book’s interest is mainly in the details of Soviet army life. As with any other Soviet memoir, the reader learns little of what Litvin thought about his situation and his life. Perhaps this was simply part of the culture of the men and women who fought the war. The book is short, only about 150 pages, and is a moderately interesting addition to the Soviet literature of World War II, but not an insightful look at the times and events of that tumultuous period.
As a result, there is a sameness to most Soviet war memoirs. Writers speak of marches and attacks, provide what seem like wildly inflated numbers for casualties inflicted on the Germans, and tell stories of individual cleverness or gallantry. Considering that this is the country which gave us Dostoevsky, it is somewhat surprising that there is almost no internal development of the characters, no personal insights or growing realization about life and fate. The only interior conversations are about killing Germans and finally going home. The anecdotes related have a homogenized feel to them, as if the state editors were carefully re-writing stories to conform with the requirement to present the war as a terrible but noble struggle, ultimately vindicating Marxist-Leninist theory.
This book is different, but only to a limited extent. It was sketched out in rough form during the political thaw of the Khrushchev era, when criticism of Stalin was permitted, even encouraged, and it seemed that more honest accounts of the war might be possible. Brezhnev snuffed that out and the accounts that were allowed to be published were no more forthcoming than they had been under Stalin. As a result, the manuscript languished for decades until after the fall of communism when western journalists starting seeking out Soviet veterans to hear their stories. Once rediscovered, it needed to be put into publishable form, and additional notes provided to explain the geography, the specialized terms, and a larger view of what was going on in the war as Nikolai Litvin described his own small part. It is also worth noting that under Putin’s increasingly heavy handed nationalism, the book could probably not be published today.
There are moments in this book when you read of incidents that the Communist censors would never have permitted, such as needing to live off a dead horse for two weeks because food was not being delivered to the front lines. There are also two stories of murder that would never have been permitted previously. In one Litvin and his comrades are talking to a woman whose husband had been killed the day before by a German soldier when told there was no food in the house, and just then, that soldier was marched by in a column of prisoners. He was pulled out and handed over to the woman to kill any way she chose. In another incident Litvin and another soldier were escorting about a dozen Germans to the rear, having already been told that it would not be a problem if something “happened” to them on the way. They were, of course, all murdered. Litvin claims, disingenuously, that he passed out during the shooting and only realized that he had taken part in it when he saw that cartridges were missing from his weapon.
There is another incident near the end of the war in which a major commanding an artillery battery was found drunk and consorting with a local woman when he was supposed to be moving his unit forward. The next day he was busted in rank and sentenced to a penal battalion.
Litvin himself had spent some time in a penal battalion early in the war when a former commanding officer invited him to join his new unit, but an invitation is not an order, and Litvin was accused of desertion. He describes his time it in as not much different from any other unit; only there were two roll calls a day instead of one, and he was released early for courageous performance in combat. The major probably had a much worse fate. According to Alexander Pyl’cyn’s book Penalty Strike: The Memoirs of a Red Army Penal Company Commander 1943-45, as the war went on conditions got much worse and it got harder and harder to return to regular units. Once peace was declared everyone still in them was automatically sentenced to fifteen years in the Siberian gulag.
Other than these incidents, the book’s interest is mainly in the details of Soviet army life. As with any other Soviet memoir, the reader learns little of what Litvin thought about his situation and his life. Perhaps this was simply part of the culture of the men and women who fought the war. The book is short, only about 150 pages, and is a moderately interesting addition to the Soviet literature of World War II, but not an insightful look at the times and events of that tumultuous period.
October 18, 2012
A rare glimpse into the life of a common Soviet soldier in WWII. The editor does a fine job by including historical context for the reader throughout the book, although I would have appreciated the footnotes on text page bottoms as one is constantly flipping to the back of the book to read these often fascinating sidebars of information.
The book does drag at times, but the occasional vignette makes it all worth while and leaves one wishing the book were longer.
The book does drag at times, but the occasional vignette makes it all worth while and leaves one wishing the book were longer.
March 24, 2018
This book is is valuable for getting one soldier's insight into WWII from the Russian perspective. As I am currently taking a Modern Russian History course, for which this was required reading, I understand that. However, Litvin gives very little information on his reactions to the war and its events and few accounts of personal interactions with the civilians and the soldiers he served with. Mostly his account deals with troop movements, problems with his keeping vehicles running, battles and skirmishes. I found it very dry. My rating therefore is extremely personal for I was hoping for more personal reactions from him.
May 31, 2013
A rather interesting read from the perspective of the Russian soldier. Somewhat bland but not everyone is a General and no doubt many with the best stories failed to survive. The life expectancy of Russian soldiers was pretty dismal, so this is by all means an story of beating the odds.
January 28, 2014
A needed change of perspective.
August 11, 2024
The author served in the Soviet Red Army in the Second World War, facing the German Wehrmacht and their allies. Unlike other militaries, the Red Army generally did not grant leave, so once on the front, the individual soldier stayed there. Since there were lulls in the fighting for rest and refit, there were times when there were few, if any, bullets flying.
This book is essentially a diary of the experiences of a common soldier in the Red Army, Therefore, the descriptions of the action are in general the events in his immediate vicinity. There are some statements of the broad tactics employed by the commanders, there are many times when the discussion is about the weather and the quality of food and shelter.
There are no real major revelations of information that is not otherwise known. Yet, it is interesting to read about the experiences of the common soldier in the Red Army in World War II. The one resource that the Soviets had over the Germans was manpower, and it is informative to read about the actions of one of millions.
This book is essentially a diary of the experiences of a common soldier in the Red Army, Therefore, the descriptions of the action are in general the events in his immediate vicinity. There are some statements of the broad tactics employed by the commanders, there are many times when the discussion is about the weather and the quality of food and shelter.
There are no real major revelations of information that is not otherwise known. Yet, it is interesting to read about the experiences of the common soldier in the Red Army in World War II. The one resource that the Soviets had over the Germans was manpower, and it is informative to read about the actions of one of millions.
May 26, 2021
Like an angry, provoked bear Soviet Russia swept through the East to defeat Nazi Germany, and this memoir describes a soldier of the Red Army's experiences. Mr. Litvin also offers a priceless historical timeline of the U.S.S.R., from his instruction as a youth to post-war life. The reader is spared many of the graphic depictions usually found in this genre. Stuart Britton's translating is superb, and the information in italics is valuable to war historians. This is a good book to read.
September 27, 2020
A short and informative memoirs book but at the same time it gives the reader very detailed information about things of not significant importance, while it has huge missing parts in between periods. I can say that it doesn't seem to have Soviet propaganda but i am giving only three stars cause for example it doesn't mention anything about the horrible crimes of the Soviets against the German people, especially the raped mothers and daughters from several red army soldiers.
February 8, 2015
Good tale of life on the Eastern Front in World War 2 from a Soviet soldiers perspective. Could have used a little more help from the editor though.
May 1, 2015
Was not originally written for publication so free from a much of the Soviet propaganda that one usually finds in Soviet memoirs. Worth the money despite being a quick read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews