Oder River Country/Transcript

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A document given to Alexei Ivanovich Voronin.

 Sergeant Alexei Voronin ,

We are almost upon the Oder River. From there, it is less than 70 kileters to the lair of the fascist beast! Some of our tank crews are decorated veterans of the Battle of Kursk. They will lead this drive to the Oder.

However, there are still severe shortages of trained tank crews. The expanded design of our new T-34-85 tank accommodates five crewmembers, but many of the crews under my command have as few as three crewmen. To be fully effective, these crews must have a driver/mechanic, a hull machine gunner, a main gunner, a loader, and a commander.

I have been authorized to enlist soldiers at will from the infantry to fill out the incomplete crews. Given your combate record, you will be the commander/spotter for a less experienced, but technically competent tank crew. When the next batch of fully trained replacements reaches the front, you will be returned to your former unit.

Report to the tank bearing tactical number 7726 by  0900  hrs.

Colonel G.V. Andropov, 2nd Guards Tank Army

Oder River Country
 Approaching the Oder River   January 26, 1945   1345 hrs 

Alexei Ivanovich Voronin takes control of a tank headed to the Oder River with a few other tanks.