p Not later than August 18, 1943

p Dear comrades,

p In a few minutes the Germans will come at us again. But they won’t get through! If I happen to fall in this battle, please inform my girl-friend at the following address:

Valya Fufayeva, Povorino, Voronezh Region.

On a section of the Bryansk Front, an unequal battle was in progress with nazi infantrymen. Thirty enemy bombers pounded the trenches, heavy Tiger tanks approached and behind them came greygreen lines of German soldiers. A platoon of guards under Lieutenant Panchenko which had just had time to dig itself in took the full force of the onslaught. The Soviet soldiers met the onrushing infantry with a tornado of automatic and machine-gun fire. All the same, six tanks managed to get to the trenches. Lieutenant Panchenko halted one Tiger tank with an anti-tank grenade, the rest were destroyed by the artillery. Again the enemy attacked. The company commander was killed. Lieutenant Panchenko took over. Under the command of the courageous lieutenant the soldiers fought off 14 onslaughts and wiped out more than 200 men. In the last attack, Mikhail Panchenko was killed. His note, written during the fighting, was discovered in his tunic pocket.