Sniper, Hero of the Soviet Union, Ilya Leonidovich Grigoriev reports.
It was in 1943 near Orsha. The title I wore was the most common one - the foreman of the guard, but my position was unique, not stipulated by any regulations: the commander of the sniper movement of the 33rd Army. A replenishment arrives to us: twenty girls who graduated from a sniper school.
The girls are one to one. And everyone rushes into action. How, I think, to do so as to give them the opportunity with the least risk to get used to everyday life at the front and at the same time show their sniper talents? I thought, thought and composed such "music".
He ordered to collect hoops from barrels wherever possible. Empty cans were tied to them, in which they poured various pieces of iron, and again sealed. It must be said that the positions of our troops in that sector passed through a high-rise. This circumstance was at the heart of my sniper symphony.
Having carefully covered the girls in combat positions, I ordered the concert to begin. The hoops with the cans rolled down, emitting a loud clink as they walked, which until now no one heard. Out of natural curiosity, the Nazis stuck their noses out of the trenches in several places at once. Their curiosity was at the same moment severely punished by our girls.
We lost similar concerts on other sectors of the front. And everywhere with the same success. Because the "musicians" were extra-class for me. They played like clockwork …
