Mansur Abdulin fought in the front ranks of the Soviet infantry against the German invaders at Stalingrad and Kursk and on the banks of the Dnieper. His extraordinary inside view of the ruthless war on the Eastern Front gives a rare insight into the reality of the fighting and into the tactics and mentality of the Red Army. In his own words and with remarkable clarity, he describes what combat was like on the ground, face-to-face with a skilled, deadly, and increasingly desperate enemy.