The Unnamed Soldier

It is 1943 during WW2 and the battle of Stalingrad had been raging for a few months. Among the people trapped in the apocalyptic battle is an unnamed Soviet soldier. Before, he was a farmer from a far away province of the Soviet Union. Now he was among the hundreds of thousands of soldiers batting in the desperate defense of the city. Everyday, he heard gunshots, falling shells and bombs, and it was difficult to tell whether it was from the enemy or from another Soviet unit. The chaotic nature of the battle made recognizing friend from foe difficult. The skies were often dark, not only due to smoke from fires caused by the battle, but also because winter had begun to set it, and the harsh winter snow began to fall. The soldier did not know whether or not the snow will be his savoir or the cause of his death. Due to his rapid deployment to save his country, the soldier was only lightly prepared to survive the winter.

The winter cold had just begun to set it, and the soldier was looking for anything that could keep him warm. Fires were forbidden as they could reveal their positions, leading to an enemy bombardment. Sometimes, black snow would fall, changed by the soot and the smoke caused by the war. Food was oftentimes scarce as the war had been hard on the Soviet defense with most soldiers happy to just have one meal a day. For the unnamed soldier, everyday was a challenge just to stay alive as even though he had enough resources to live to the next door, everyday carried the fear that an enemy unit would break their lines, and his life would meet a cruel and bloody end.

It had been about a week since the snow fell, and the unnamed soldier could barely believe that he was alive at times. There was a strange silence during that day as the gunfire and explosions had suddenly stopped and there was just quiet for hours, To the unnamed soldier, it was strange that the day was so quiet as he had been used to the sounds of war for so long, the peace of sound seemed almost alien to him. He was unable to enjoy the peace as his fellow soldiers warned that enemy units might be trying to execute a surprise attack if they tried to rest. For the rest of the day, the unit, including the unnamed soldier, stayed awake for hours even if it caused discomfort and discontent among them. The attack never came, but the unit remained alert.

The next day, the sounds returned, and the unnamed soldier returned to his usual routine of war and blaring noises. One of the worst parts for him was that he was unable to sleep for long, not only because they weren’t allowed to as they needed to watch for enemy soldiers, but because the sounds of the war made doing so difficult. Everyday, he could feel the weight of his fatigue in his eyes as he struggled to keep them open. Unable to rest, he often looked out a nearby window, hoping that the building he was in wasn’t going to collapse due to an enemy bomb. He could at least enjoy the fresh air as the air in the building became stale due to the decay and rot caused by the war, but only briefly as he was warned about enemy soldiers looking for soldiers who stuck their heads out of the windows.

One day it finally came, the unnamed soldier’s worst nightmare, an enemy unit was in his building, and he could hear them shout and scream. He called to the other soldiers in his unit, and they immediately grabbed their weapons to defend the building. They rushed to every corner and door that they could use to hide and wait for the enemy. They had been dreading this moment, but it was here and they waited for it with every second feeling like an agonizing eternity. They waited and then waited again. After a few minutes, they thought that the enemy soldiers had retreated, but they were instructed by their commanding officer to remain in their positions. Another ten minutes had passed, and then, it began.

The enemy soldiers first threw grenades at the doors, where several soldiers were hiding, and the doors and surrounding floorboards were blown into hundreds of tiny pieces. They then charged the positions with a hail of gunfire echoing throughout the building. The unnamed soldier was positioned close to the doors and was paralyzed for a few seconds before his commanding officer yelled at him to regain his senses. The enemy soldiers had also used smoke bombs to cover their advance, which made it difficult for the unnamed soldier to aim and detect where they were. Suddenly, gunfire rained over his head. The unnamed soldier fortunately was able to duck and avoid the bullets just in time. His commanding officer, however, wasn’t so lucky as he lay dying and bleeding next to him.

As his commanding officer lay dying next to him, he was able to say a few words. “Do not let them take this building,” he said. The unnamed soldier then looked over the makeshift defenses he had built a few days before and saw the shadows of the advancing soldiers trying to enter his room form the smoke and opened fire at the silhouettes. As he did, one of the shadows then collapsed, revealing the dead body of an enemy soldier. For a moment, the unnamed soldier was relieved, but he quickly noticed that he had run out of bullets, so he again ducked to reload his weapon. The other soldiers were also defending the position frantically as gunfire screamed across the room. Several of them fell, succumbing to their injuries. The sounds and sights made the scene look like one from a horror novel, as enemy soldiers quickly hid behind corners and doors after driving back several defenders.

The battle dragged on and the unnamed soldier at one time ran out of ammunition, which before he died, his commanding officer gave him his. The battel dragged on with an enemy soldier almost being able to climb over the defenses that the unnamed soldier, but he was able to stab him with a bayonet before he could. As the onslaught by their enemies continued, many of the fellow soldiers in the unnamed soldier’s unit began to fall as more enemy soldiers broke through their barricades. He began to believe that all hope was lost as he had retreated to a position further back, and there was nowhere else to retreat to until he heard a sound.

It sounded like tanks, but they weren’t the enemy’s. The unnamed soldier was able to catch a quick glance outside a nearby window and quickly recognized them as Soviet tanks. The enemy soldiers then began to retreat as the unnamed soldier knew that if the Soviet tanks reached the building, they would be encircled. After another twenty minutes, every enemy soldier had left the building, and the unnamed soldier could enjoy a moment’s reprieve. “I am still here,” he said, as another snowfall blanketed the city.