Page 10
his journey, equipped with a compass, watch,
and pistol. He constantly berated himself for
losing his aircraft, and despite having over 300
combat sorties to his credit, he retrospectively
considered his actions during the fight to be
reckless.
During the first night, he encountered a main
road along which Soviet troops were heading
west. After observing the traffic for a moment,
he positioned himself in the gap between
two groups of marching soldiers in the dark.
Later, he also managed to hitch a ride on
a horse-drawn cart. Upon reaching a village,
he separated from the stream of soldiers and
continued on through meadows and fields.
He spent the second day hidden beneath a layer
of cut grass and set out again at half past eight
in the evening. However, he soon encountered
a large network of trenches, forcing him to
spend the next day observing the situation.
German fire directed at Soviet positions
helped him determine the correct direction but
also complicated matters, as he found himself
under fire from his own comrades!
During the following night, he barely
managed to cover one kilometer due to the
numerous flares and the dense network of
Soviet positions. Growing increasingly hungry,
he resorted to chewing on herbs to stave off
hunger. At six in the morning, an enemy patrol
spotted him, and he came under mortar fire.
Fortunately, he was able to hide in a crater
created by an artillery shell. Throughout the
day, he observed dogfights between fighters
overhead and later regarded the experience
as valuable instruction.
In the early evening, around six o’clock,
he cautiously emerged from the bushes to
make his way toward the front line, which
was about a kilometer ahead. He successfully
avoided three Soviet machine-gun positions
and found a new direction of advance thanks to
a German loudspeaker urging enemy soldiers
to desert. He had to move very carefully, as
this area was not a uniform front line, and it
was also riddled with wetlands and river arms.
He successively crossed three lines of
barbed wire and a former German minefield,
then navigated a road that was under German
machine-gun fire. When he attempted to cross
one of the arms of the Kuban River, he came
under direct fire for the first time and was
forced to move further east. After a detour
through more barbed wire, mud, and reeds, he
successfully crossed the river on his second
attempt.
Next, he encountered a large Soviet position
with several bunkers. He observed it for some
time and noted that the guns were manned by
only one soldier, who walked between the posts,
firing them briefly. Eventually, Petermann
crossed the trenches and descended the slope
back into the river, where the last of the Soviet
barbed wire awaited him.
Rescued!
Petermann crossed the final river obstacle
at 2:30 in the morning on June 10, the fifth
day of his journey. Suddenly, a hand grenade
exploded about eight meters in front of him,
followed by two bursts of machine-gun fire
aimed in his direction, fortunately tearing up
the ground before him. He realized that the fire
was coming from the direction of the Germans,
so he shouted, "Comrades, don’t shoot—I’m one
of your own!"
"What's going on? Where are you stuck?"
came the response from the darkness.
Summoning the last of his strength, he
maneuvered through the new barbed wire, and
the hands of the infantrymen pulled him into
the trench. The soldier who had attempted
to hit him with a grenade and machine gun
was very apologetic, and everyone showered
Petermann with food and drink. Only then did
he realize he had sustained several wounds,
the worst of which was in his thigh from an
enemy grenade. After the war, Petermann
recalled being rescued by soldiers from an
outpost under the command of Fw. Lehmann
HISTORY
A photo from spring 1943 at a German position in Kuban. In addition to the 88 mm Flak 36 anti-aircraft gun,
a covered field kitchen is also visible. Photo: Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
German officers at a forward observation post by the Kurchansky Liman in Kuban in spring 1943. It was in this
area that Viktor Petermann was shot down on June 6, 1943. The officer in the center of the photo is Major der
Reserve Willy Marienfeld, commander of Grenadier-Regiment 123. Foto: Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
INFO Eduard10
November 2024