Rockets shot off near the Volga’s shore, screaming off towards the Nazi positions. We are backed up with only a few blocks until we hit the river. I can hear the water rushing down the banks. Men and supplies are endlessly being ferried as Nazi fighters pick off a few at a time. Vladmir and I sit in the rubble of a shelled out apartment. Rifles and machineguns surround our train of thought. I smell the dust off charcoal from a fire below. I grip my rifle tightly, scanning the streets for targets. Vladmir is munching on some rations he found on a dead soldier downstairs. I tell him we should set up the mg42 in the window. We start to hear the engines of tanks on the adjacent block. I recognize the sound as our t-34 and I relax. Vladmir takes a last bite and grabs the mg to set up. I feel the rubble shift under me as I adjust my seat. I hear the German radio in the other room and suspect an attack is imminent. With Vladmir ready on the gun I dart upstairs for a secluded sniping position. I creep over the edge, moving pieces of blown rock as I crawl and peer down into the thick grey dust that the tanks made. I hear the Nazis coming around the block and I peer down my scope. Vladmir suddenly fires off birsts of bullets at the invaders and I smell the steam from the hot metal of the gun. And at that moment, I see a soldier in my crosshairs.