In August 1941 year one rifle company threw plugging a hole in our defense in the Krivoy Rog area. It has been tasked to deter German tanks, to the bitter end.
Mouth drove to the place, shipped an entire lorry antitank grenade RPG-40, told, that tanks tomorrow, probably, will be a lot and left. For all the tactical alignment of the men live less than a day left. The commander inspected the area and ordered: «shame, people to visit us from Germany go, and we have such a broken road». «crazy, maybe, fear» – soldiers thought. The commander continued: «All shake out all of the haversack and me.» Rota go to the nearest road from the slag hill, exported to located near the Krivoy Rog Metallurgical Plant, Equipment which has been evacuated to Nizhny Tagil. The commander made the gain in the slag bags and take to the road.
On the road itself was falling slag uneven, more there, where the road goes gorochku. «To them it was not slippery», – sentenced commander. Slag dragged for a long time, All the bags were torn to rags, but cover the slag was able to almost two kilometers of road. People angry and tired, Now in fact also dig midnight. Morning with shlakogor observers gave the signal: «I see tanks». Clutching their almost useless grenade, the soldiers knew, that life is over. Finally tanks began to come on «landscaped» way. The third column tank lost first caterpillar, and a minute later the epidemic has swept the rest of the machine, number eight. standing tank, if it is not anger, safe thing. I did not understand, What is you ist das, Germans ditched and a tank-tow. The infantry, the Germans are not bad, will not go forward without tanks – congestion. Our run up to them, too, there is no reason.
Commander, formally carried out the combat mission to stop the tanks, He sent a messenger to find some bosses and pass: «Mission accomplished. no casualties». The messenger brought the good news: «At night you can go, the back has a defense. It will be able, then we will cover the artillery»…
commander of the secret lay in its formation. In civilian technician was cold worked metals. Nikelshlaki same, – high-alloy steel production waste – terrible abrasive, only slightly inferior corundum and alumina. No fingers caterpillars do not stand the humiliation of such rubbish, and the caterpillar becomes unusable entirely, taking with it most of the entire drive.
Once again, I convinced that knowledge is a terrible force.
Ruslan Bogdanovich
Fairy tale. Ask for a link to a document.