“The soldiers look like dirty brown lumps of clay glued on to the white camouflaged tanks as, for the first time, I see our enemies in front of me. A faint shudder goes through my body. If they get me, everything is over, because we have often heard in gruesome detail what they do to German soldiers. There is a mixture of excitement, fright and rebelliousness about what could be happening to us. My mouth is dry and I grip my carbine more tightly.”
