The Stalin Front by Gert Ledig

Author:Gert Ledig
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-59017-815-7
Publisher: New York Review Books
Published: 2013-12-05T16:00:00+00:00

7

‘Achtung! Achtung! Calling all men. Between 0801 and 0810, we will transmit the time in clear,’ a voice said in a forest, way behind the Front, into the microphone of a short-wave radio. The signals ran through spools and tubes and coils, clambered up a pole on a copper wire, and passed into the ether via an antenna. ‘Achtung! Achtung! Calling all . . .’

‘The army’s broadcasting the time,’ said an officer in the radio car of the divisional command. ‘Tune to receive! Interrupt all messages!’ The radio operators threw switches, twiddled knobs: synchronize watches. They passed on the incoming voice on whatever frequency they were on.

‘. . . the time in clear,’ heard the radio man in Podrova. He glanced down at his watch. They’ll be transmitting that for the next nine minutes, he thought. Better if they listened to me. To what I’ve got to say:

. . . location podrova eastern exit road – lost contact with unit – enemy trench mortar fire on podrova – withdrawal to road – disorderly – elements of infantry, artillery, ack-ack – no weapons, no vehicles, no officers – no intact units – leaderless troops of men – wounded officer describes russian pincer movement on hill 308 – hill presumably still in our hands – end of message.

Instead of which the voice in his receiver said ‘one minute past eight’ and kept the wavelength occupied.

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