A Raid at the Cost of Life

Summer 1941. After the Germans captured Yelnya, a dangerous salient formed, deeply jutting into our defenses. Above the troops defending Vyazma, a deadly threat loomed. Soviet command decided to destroy the bridgehead that had formed. But a successful operation required accurate information about the enemy. A reconnaissance platoon under Lieutenant Gleb Shubin is assigned the task, at any cost, of obtaining a “trophy prisoner” (“tongue”). Several raids into the German rear end unsuccessfully. The group keeps getting into an ambush or being hit by enemy mortar fire. It seems luck has turned away from Lieutenant Shubin. But Shubin is not used to giving up. In yet another raid, he decides to use an unusual tactic…