A.D. What were you taught at the school?
They taught us tactics, how to shoot, how to camouflage. Also ballistics, how the bullet flies. Here it flies, here it hits -- I forgot everything already.
A.D. Sniping partner couples were formed at the school?
At the school. When we came as civilians, Marusia Chikhvintseva and I stood next to each other, so we remained partners with her.
A.D. And did you train as partners?
Yes.
A.D. So it seems that the entire group was sent to one sector of the front?
No. Many of us graduated, I couldn't say how many now, but they sent us to all fronts.
A.D. But your group was constant? You had six pairs, right?
About 12 of us, six pairs. Simultaneously. A squad was 10 soldiers, but there were more of us.
A.D. What was the total number of Germans you killed?
I don't remember, Germans killed in battle weren't counted, only in the defense.
A.D. How did you count the kills?
The commander in whose trench we were would write a note. And we would return with it.
A.D. Then it's not clear, what if you only wounded him?
Yes, it could be, but we counted as killed.
A.D. So if he fell, that's a kill?
Yes. How would you check?
A.D. What was the usual distance you fired from?
At the school or at the front?
A.D. At the front.
1200 meters, and 200 meters. Our lines were close. Once Germans attacked our trench and took some girls prisoner, and killed them there. They killed Klava Monakhova. Only one soldier survived, there was an abandoned dug-out, simply a hole in the soil covered with a ground-sheet with snow on top, he hid there. Germans held out for a day, so he spent the day there.
A.D. What was the standard distance from which you fired? Or an optimal one?
Well, what's there to say? The rifle could shoot two kilometers in a straight line. But you could observe up to 800 meters. At the school we fired at 200, and 300. There was night target practice. Different kinds of shooting.
A.D. Even at night?
Even at night. How else?
A.D. Did you shoot at night at the front?
No.
A.D. And in the moonlight?
No. As soon as it dawned we went to our position, as soon as it got dark we returned. We stayed not in the trenches, but at the regiment commander's command post.
A.D. How many shots did you fire from one position?
One. You couldn't do two.
A.D. Or else you'd get killed?
Of course!
A.D. So, in practice that would amount to one shot per day?
Yes, if you kill, otherwise you might not have even one.
A.D. And partners were always next to each other?
Yes, at arm's length. Together all the time. Some went outside the defenses, but we didn't. Why? Because minefields had to be cleared, and that was very difficult and dangerous for the sappers. Then again, we stood as soldiers in the daytime, while the soldiers were resting. There were fifty soldiers in a trench. Ten of them, no more, stood watch at night
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