On The Nameless Height (song) - Background

Background

In August, 1943 the 139th Rifle Division was increased newly arrived draftees-volunteers. Eighteen newly arrived factory workers from Novosibirsk were given a task to occupy unnoticed a height behind enemy lines in the vicinity of today's settlement Rubezhonka in Kaluga Oblast. Headed by the Second Lieutenant Yevgeniy Proshin, they were given the deadline for their mission for September 14. Their call sign was Luna. Upon completion of the task Luna gave a positive SITREP for a successful mission. However, soon they were spotted by a German patrol which led to the encirclement of the element and its elimination. No real evaluation of the mission was recorded. Despite the lyrics which say about the three survivors, there were only two in fact: Sergeant Vlasov, Konstantin and Private Lapin, Gerasim. Their lives were miraculously spared when they were knocked unconscious. Sergeant Vlasov was captured as a prisoner, but later was able to escape to partisans; Private Lapin was found among the dead by the advancing elements of Soviet Armed Forces.

Here is the list of the soldiers that were lost in that mission: Nikolai Danilenko, Dmitriy Yaruta, Yemelyan Belokonov, Petr Panin, Dmitriy Shliakhov, Roman Zakomoldin, Nikolai Galenkin, Timofei Kasabiyev, Gavriil Vorobyov, Aleksandr Artamonov, Dmitriy Lipovitser, Boris Kigel, Daniil Denisov, Petr Romanov, Ivan Kulikov.