Tiger z Poznaně – Siegert Richard (2021)

We continue to observe the surroundings, but we remain completely calm. At the moment we look to see if anyone might be shooting at us from the upper floors of the buildings, we spot a group of "?Ivans" quickly moving across the clear ruins of a house and hiding behind the wall of another. Then they watch us from around the corner. We still remain calm, so they probably think it's an abandoned tank. A full 10 minutes pass in complete silence. Suddenly, a burst of machine-gun fire drums against our rear armor, and immediately after, I hear the tank commander: "T-34 at six, distance 450 meters, load anti-tank!" Because our engine is off, the commander's voice is clearly audible: "?Heckmann, start up, start up?!" Together with Sander, we quickly turn the turret manually to the left to acquire the target. The Soviet tank appears behind us, emerging from behind the cover of a house wall and turning its turret towards us. As soon as the driver starts the engine, I step on the servo motor control pedal, and our turret turns back faster. Fractions of a second decide everything. Through the sight's eyepiece, I watch as the Russian tank gradually comes into view, just a glance at its rear engine section is enough for me. "Now??!?" I press the trigger. At the same moment, however, I see a flash from the T-34's cannon.