holding it under heavy fire. A shell fell and exploded on my 
left. I stepped on the gas and whizzed past. Our infantry 
was advancing on the right side of Brunete, the sector assigned 
to my company. The fascists concentrated artillery fire on us.

We slid behind a hill, shells falling around us. Then fas-
cist airplanes appeared. Some thirty bombs exploded and it 
seemed that the ground was splitting under the tanks. Inside 
the tank it was extremely hot. The heat from the motor, the 
gas and smoke from cannon and machine-guns, and the heat 
from the armour which was almost too hot to touch, made one 
gasp for air. Sweat poured out of the skin until there seemed 
to be no more moisture left in the body. Sometimes this had 
to be endured for three to four hours at a stretch, without one 
gulp of fresh air.

Bullets sprayed the tank as the driver searched for the 
nests from which they were being fired. "Five-fifteen left, ridge, 
machine-gun!" I shouted to the tank commander, who was 
sitting with his assistant in the revolving turret two feet higher 
and back. This meant that five hundred yards ahead and 
fifteen degrees to the left, near the ridge, was the enemy's 
fire-nest. The commander observed through his telescope 
while his assistant loaded the gun with grenade shells. As the 
cannon roared, the tank shook. I shouted "fifty short, five 
left". The commander made the correction .on the telescopic 
sights accordingly. Another shot, the ridge is blown up, and 
the enemy does not move---and never will! Now the infantry 
could advance.

A German Hero

AS it was getting dark, we pulled into the rear. Although 
having had nothing to drink or eat the whole day, one felt 
more tired than hungry. But there was no time for rest. We 
had to proceed immediately to check and refuel the motor, 
load the tank with ammunition, and clean the gun, all in the 
dark. That night and every following night, a fascist plane 
would drop flares, followed by a heavy bomber trying to hit 
the olive grove where the tanks were parked. Three hours 
of sleep, and we were on the move again.

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