This is the recounting and the diary of my life - Marino Mattei

12.

The front where we were was calm. We pitched our tents and for three weeks we did nothing; we only rested. It didn't even seem like we were at the front. After the three weeks we received orders to move to another location, a small village called Loscina where we found houses for shelter. We were on the front line but the Russians were around 4 kilometers distant and between us and them was the Don River [this places them Southwest of Moscow].

The front continued to be calm. Every once in a while we'd hear machine gun fire but it was of little importance. We stayed well there. They even gave us enough to eat and we also discovered a lot of food that the Russians, before leaving their homes, had hidden underground (potatoes, honey, etc.); this is how we resolved the problem of having enough to eat. As soon as we were settled we began the work of digging trenches and underground shelters to protect us from the cold and the artillery shells. The guard stations were all enclosed and each post had a small stove for heat. We worked hard and by the end of October the tasks were more or less completed. We had set ourselves up very well since it was in this location that we were to have passed the winter. For now, the season was still pleasant and somewhat warm.

Aldo, Romola's son [see part 11], and I were together. Fredo [also part 11] and many others from Monté were about 2 kilometers away from us. Every night I would leave carrying my rifle and hand grenades and go visit Fredo. It was fairly dangerous but I felt sorry for Fredo. He still seemed to be too much of a child to be in a war so I risked going to see him. As I said, every night I visited him but he never came to visit me because he was too frightened. The warm weather continued, the work was finished and we were doing well. It didn't even seem like we were at war. The Russians had still not shown themselves and in this way the time passed.

One morning in the first week of November it began to rain, then it turned into snow and it became unbearably cold. In two days they were driving across the Don River with trucks because the ice was so thick that it would not break. The front was still calm and, up to this point, things were going fairly well. Aldo, myself, a soldier from Barga, and another from Garfagnana [Barga - a town close to his hometown. Garfagnana - the region within Tuscany in which they all lived] all stayed together. Time passed without surprises.

We had arrived at December and I developed an infection in my left ear. I went to the infirmary for medicine every day. There was a doctor there and a male nurse from Ghivizzano [a town close by his hometown] who recognized me. He was very kind and he helped me. My ear, unfortunately, steadily worsened and the Russians were beginning to show themselves with planes that bombed our front lines and some artillery shelling every so often. We expected an attack at any moment. On approximately Dec. 20 I was on guard duty. It was still a little dark. I heard a great rumble and I saw a large area of fire coming from the Russian line. In a second a row of bombs hit our front lines. The Russians had a cannon called a Katyusha which fired 14 shells at a time and they were shooting it at us. Everything went well, no one was injured and no one was killed. I left my guard post and immediately went to find Aldo. A bomb had landed close by the house where he was stationed. It had destroyed the entryway and the house was completely ruined. Aldo was extremely shaken but he didn't have a scratch on him. I tried to give him courage and everything returned to normal. The Russians did not fire again and nothing seemed to be happening. However, the calm did not last for long.

As usual, every morning I went for an examination where it was obvious my ear was not getting better. I saw that things were going badly. I asked the nurse to talk to the doctor to see if I could be sent back to the hospital. I had the examination and, in fact, the nurse spoke to the doctor and he said that if my ear was not better by the following morning I would be sent back. On Dec. 22 I returned but first, as always, I passed by to see Fredo who was close by the infirmary. At the same time the Russians had begun a strong attack on a small village that was opposite our position. We could not distinguish one shell blast from another. It was all a huge rumble and in 10 minutes the entire village was engulfed in flame. At this point the real war in Russia began. I stopped to talk a little with Fredo and he, as well all his friends from Monté, were very affected by what was happening.

I went back to my post and nothing occurred that day. Aldo, myself, the soldier from Barga and the one from Garfagnana were watching the area were the real war was starting to accelerate [the above-mentioned village]. We were very frightened as we waited for the attack to come towards us at any moment. The day and night passed without any surprises. In the morning, as soon as it was daybreak, I returned to the infirmary and my ear had not improved. The nurse very kindly spoke to the doctor and they decided to send me back to the hospital. They told me to return to my company while they prepared the necessary documents and, on the following morning, to come back and they would take me to the hospital. As usual, I passed by to see Fredo but, sadly, his company had departed. There was only a driver who was loading up what remained of the company's materials. I asked where they had been dispatched and I was told they were sent to the village that now looked like an inferno. They were called in as reinforcements because the Russians were trying to advance. At that moment I immediately thought that Fredo and his friends from Monté were lost.

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© 2009 by Maurice Mattei
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