And the dawns here are quiet (story). And the dawns here are quiet (story) And the dawns here are quiet short by chapter
The story "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", a summary of which is given later in the article, tells about the events taking place during the Great Patriotic War.
The work is dedicated to the heroic deed of the anti-aircraft gunners, who suddenly found themselves surrounded by the Germans.
About the story "The Dawns Here Are Quiet"
The story was first published in 1969, it was approved by the editor of the magazine "Youth".
The reason for writing the work was a real episode of wartime.
A small group of 7 soldiers recovering from their wounds prevented the Germans from undermining the Kirov railway.
As a result of the operation, only one commander survived, who subsequently received the medal "For Military Merit" at the end of the war.
The episode is tragic, however, in the realities of wartime, this event is lost among the horrors of a terrible war. Then the author remembered the 300,000 women who carried the hardships of the front along with the male fighters.
And the plot of the story was built on the tragic fate of anti-aircraft gunners who die during a reconnaissance operation.
Who is the author of the book "The Dawns Here Are Quiet"
The work is written by Boris Vasiliev in the narrative genre.
When the Great Patriotic War began, he barely finished the 9th grade.
Boris Lvovich fought near Smolensk, received a shell shock, and therefore knew firsthand about front-line life.
He became interested in literary work in the 50s, writing plays and scripts. The writer took up prose stories only 10 years later.
The main characters of the story "The Dawns Here Are Quiet"
Vaskov Fedot Evgrafych
The foreman, in whose command the anti-aircraft gunners entered, held the commandant's position at the 171st railway siding.
He is 32 years old, but the girls gave him the nickname "old man" for his intractable character.
Before the war, he was an ordinary peasant from the village, had 4 classes of education, at the age of 14 he was forced to become the only breadwinner in the family.
Vaskov's son, whom he sued from his ex-wife after a divorce, died before the start of the war.
Gurvich Sonya
A simple shy girl from a large family, born and raised in Minsk. Her father worked as a local doctor.
Before the war, she managed to study for a year at Moscow State University as an interpreter, she spoke fluent German. Sonya's first love was a bespectacled student who studied in the library at the next table, with whom they timidly communicated.
When the war began, due to an excess of translators at the front, Sonya ended up in a school for anti-aircraft gunners, and then in the detachment of Fedot Vaskov.
The girl was very fond of poetry, her cherished dream was to see her many household members again. During a reconnaissance operation, Sonya was killed by a German with two stab wounds in the chest.
Brichkina Elizabeth
Country girl, forester's daughter. From the age of 14, she was forced to leave her studies and take care of her terminally ill mother.
She dreamed of entering a technical school, so after the death of her mother, following the advice of one of her father's friends, she was going to move to the capital. But her plans were not destined to come true, they were corrected by the war - Liza went to the front.
The gloomy Sergeant Vaskov immediately aroused great sympathy in the girl. During a reconnaissance raid, Liza was sent through the swamp for help, but she was in too much of a hurry and drowned. After some time, Vaskov will find her skirt in the swamp, then he will realize that he was left without help.
Komelkova Evgenia
Cheerful and beautiful red-haired girl. The Germans shot all the members of her family, the merciless massacre took place right in front of Zhenya's eyes.
Her neighbor saved the girl from death. Burning with a desire to avenge the death of her relatives, Zhenya went into anti-aircraft gunners.
The attractive appearance of the girl and the perky character made her the object of courtship of Colonel Luzhin, so the authorities, in order to interrupt the romance, redirected Zhenya to the women's detachment, so she came under the command of Vaskov.
In intelligence, Zhenya twice showed fearlessness and heroism. She saved her commander when he was fighting a German. And then, putting herself under the bullets, she led the Germans away from the place where the foreman and her wounded friend Rita hid.
Chetvertak Galina
A very young and receptive girl, she was distinguished by short stature and a habit of writing stories and fables.
She grew up in an orphanage and did not even have her own last name. Because of her small stature, the elderly caretaker, who was friendly to Galya, came up with her surname Chetvertak.
Before the call, the girl almost managed to finish 3 courses of the library technical school. During the reconnaissance operation, Galya could not cope with her fear and jumped out of cover, falling under German bullets.
Osyanina Margarita
The senior person in the platoon, Rita was distinguished by seriousness, was very reserved and rarely smiled. As a girl, she bore the surname Mushtakova.
At the very beginning of the war, her husband, Lieutenant Osyanin, died. Wanting to avenge the death of a loved one, Rita went to the front.
She gave her only son Albert to be raised by her mother. The death of Rita was the last of the five girls in intelligence. She shot herself, realizing that she was mortally wounded and was an unbearable burden for her commander Vaskov.
Before she died, she asked the foreman to take care of Albert. And he kept his promise.
Other characters of "The Dawns Here Are Quiet"
Kiryanova
She was a senior combat comrade of Rita, industrial platoon. Before serving on the border, she participated in the Finnish War. Kiryanova, along with Rita, Zhenya Komelkova and Galya Chetvertak, were redirected to the 171st siding.
Knowing about Rita's secret raids to her son and mother while serving with Vaskov, she did not betray her longtime colleague, standing up for her that morning when the girl met the Germans in the forest.
Brief retelling of the story "The Dawns Here Are Quiet"
The events of the story are given in a strong reduction. Dialogue and descriptive moments are omitted.
Chapter 1
The action took place in the rear. At the inactive railway siding at number 171, only a few surviving houses remain. There were no more bombings, but as a precaution, the command left anti-aircraft installations here.
Compared to other parts of the front, there was a resort at the junction, the soldiers abused alcohol and flirted with local residents.
The weekly reports of the commandant of the patrol, foreman Vaskov Fedot Evgrafych, on anti-aircraft gunners led to a regular change in composition, but the picture was repeated again and again. Finally, after analyzing the current situation, the command sent a team of anti-aircraft gunners under the leadership of the foreman.
The new squad had no problems with drinking and revelry, however, for Fedot Evgrafych, commanding a female cocky and trained squad was unusual, since he himself had only 4 grades of education.
Chapter 2
The death of her husband made Margarita Osyanina a stern and self-contained person. From the moment of the loss of her beloved, a desire for revenge burned in her heart, so she remained to serve on the border near the places where Osyanin died.
To replace the dead carrier, they sent Yevgeny Komelkov, a mischievous red-haired beauty. She also suffered from the Nazis - she had to see with her own eyes the execution of all family members by the Germans. Two dissimilar girls became friends and Rita's heart began to thaw from the grief experienced, thanks to Zhenya's cheerful and open disposition.
Two girls accepted the shy Galya Chetvertak into their circle. When Rita finds out that it is possible to transfer to the 171st junction, she immediately agrees, since her son and mother live very close by.
All three anti-aircraft gunners come under the command of Vaskov and Rita, with the help of her girlfriends, makes regular night trips to her relatives.
Chapter 3
Returning in the morning after one of her secret sorties, Rita ran into two German soldiers in the forest. They were armed and carried something heavy in sacks.
Rita immediately reported this to Vaskov, who guessed that they were saboteurs whose goal was to undermine a strategically important railway junction.
The foreman betrayed important information to the command by phone and received an order to comb the forest. He decided to go to Lake Vop in a short way in front of the Germans.
For reconnaissance, Fedot Evgrafych took with him five girls, led by Rita. They were Brichkina Elizaveta, Komelkova Evgenia, Galina Chetvertak and Sonya Gurvich as an interpreter.
Before sending the fighters, they had to be taught how to properly put on shoes so as not to erase their feet, and also to force them to clean their rifles. The quacking of a drake was a conditional signal of danger.
Chapter 4
The shortest path to the forest lake went through a swampy swamp. For almost half a day, the team had to walk waist-deep in cold marsh slush. Galya Chetvertak lost her boot and footcloth, and part of the way through the swamp she had to walk barefoot.
Having reached the shore, the whole team was able to rest, wash dirty clothes and have a snack. To continue the campaign, Vaskov made birch bark for Gali. We reached the desired point only in the evening, here it was necessary to set up an ambush.
Chapter 5
When planning a meeting with two fascist soldiers, Vaskov did not worry much and hoped that he would be able to capture them from the advanced position, which he placed among the stones. However, in case of an unforeseen event, the foreman provided for the possibility of retreat.
The night passed quietly, only the fighter Chetvertak became very ill, walking barefoot through the swamp. In the morning, the Germans reached out to the Sinyukhina ridge between the lakes, the enemy detachment consisted of sixteen people.
Chapter 6
Realizing that he had miscalculated, and that a large German detachment could not be stopped, Vaskov sent Elizaveta Brichkina for help. He chose Lisa because she grew up in nature and was very well oriented in the forest.
To delay the Nazis, the team decided to portray the noisy activities of the lumberjacks. They lit fires, Vaskov chopped down trees, the girls called back and forth cheerfully. When the German detachment was 10 meters from them, Zhenya ran straight to the river in order to divert the attention of enemy scouts while swimming.
Their plan worked, the Germans went around, and the team managed to win a whole day of time.
Chapter 7
Lisa was in a hurry to get help. Failing to follow the instructions of the foreman about the pass on the island in the middle of the swamp, she, tired and frozen, continued on her way.
Almost reaching the end of the swamp, Lisa thought and was greatly frightened by a large bubble that swelled right in front of her in the dead silence of the swamp.
Instinctively, the girl rushed to the side and lost her footing. The pole Lisa tried to lean on broke. The last thing she saw before her death was the rays of the rising sun.
Chapter 8
The foreman did not know exactly about the trajectory of the Germans, so he decided to go on reconnaissance with Rita. They found a halt, 12 Nazis were resting near the fire and drying clothes. The whereabouts of the other four could not be ascertained.
Vaskov decides to change his place of deployment, and therefore sends Rita for the girls and at the same time asks to bring his personalized pouch. But in the confusion, the pouch was forgotten in the old place, and Sonya Gurvich, without waiting for the permission of the commander, ran after the expensive thing.
After a short time, the foreman heard a barely audible cry. As an experienced fighter, he guessed what this cry meant. Together with Zhenya, they went in the direction of the sound and found Sonya's body, killed with two stab wounds in the chest.
Chapter 9
Leaving Sonya, the foreman and Zhenya set off in pursuit of the Nazis so that they would not have time to report the incident to their own. Rage helps the foreman to clearly think over a plan of action.
Vaskov quickly killed one of the Germans, Zhenya helped him cope with the second, stunning the Fritz in the head with a butt. This was the first hand-to-hand fight for the girl, which she suffered very hard.
In the pocket of one of the Fritz, Vaskov found his pouch. The entire team of anti-aircraft gunners, led by the foreman, gathered near Sonya. The body of a colleague was buried with dignity.
Chapter 10
Making their way through the forest, Vaskov's team unexpectedly ran into the Germans. In a fraction of a second, the foreman threw a grenade forward, machine-gun bursts crackled. Not knowing the forces of the enemy, the Nazis decided to retreat.
During a short fight, Galya Chetvertak could not overcome her fear and did not participate in the shooting. For such behavior, the girls wanted to condemn her at the Komsomol meeting, however, the commander stood up for the confused anti-aircraft gunner.
Despite being very tired, perplexed about the reasons for the delay in help, the foreman goes on reconnaissance, taking Galina with him for educational purposes.
Chapter 11
Galya was very frightened by the real events that were taking place. A visionary and writer, she often plunged into a fictional world, and therefore the picture of a real war unsettled her.
Vaskov and Chetvertak soon discovered two bodies of German soldiers. By all indications, the soldiers wounded in the skirmish were finished off by their own comrades. Not far from this place, the remaining 12 Fritz continued reconnaissance, two of which came quite close to Fedot and Galya.
The foreman safely hid Galina behind the bushes and hid himself in the stones, but the girl could not cope with her feelings and, screaming, jumped out of the shelter right under the German machine-gun fire. Vaskov began to lead the Germans away from his remaining fighters and ran to the swamp, where he took refuge.
During the chase, he was wounded in the arm. When it dawned, the foreman saw Liza's skirt in the distance, then he realized that now he could not count on help.
Chapter 12
Being under the yoke of heavy thoughts, the foreman went in search of the Germans. Trying to understand the train of thought of the enemy and examining the traces, he came across the Legont Skete. From hiding, he watched as a group of fascists of 12 people hid explosives in an old hut.
For protection, the saboteurs left two soldiers, one of whom was wounded. Vaskov managed to neutralize a healthy guard and take possession of his weapon.
The foreman, Rita and Zhenya met on the bank of the river, in the place where they portrayed lumberjacks. After going through terrible trials, they began to treat each other like brothers. After a halt, they began to prepare for the last battle.
Chapter 13
Vaskov's team held the defense of the coast as if they had the entire Motherland behind them. But the forces were unequal, and the Germans still managed to cross to their shore. Rita was seriously wounded by a grenade explosion.
In order to save the foreman and the wounded girlfriend, Zhenya, shooting back, ran further and further into the forest, leading the saboteurs with her. The girl was wounded in the side by a blind shot from the enemy, but she did not even think to hide and wait.
Already lying in the grass, Zhenya fired until the Germans shot her point-blank.
Chapter 14
Fedot Evgrafych, having bandaged Rita and covered her with spruce paws, wanted to go in search of Zhenya and things. For peace of mind, he decided to leave her a revolver with two rounds.
Rita understood that she was mortally wounded, she was only afraid that her son would remain an orphan. Therefore, she asked the foreman to take care of Albert, saying that it was from him and from her mother that she was returning that morning when she encountered German soldiers.
Vaskov made such a promise, but before he could move a few steps away from Rita, the girl shot herself in the temple.
The foreman buried Rita, and then found and buried Zhenya. The wounded hand ached a lot, the whole body burned with pain and tension, but Vaskov decided to go to the skete to kill at least one more German. He managed to neutralize the sentry, five Fritz were sleeping in the skete, one of which he shot immediately.
Having forced them to bind each other, barely alive, he led them into captivity. Only when Vaskov saw the Russian soldiers did he allow himself to lose consciousness.
Epilogue
Some time after the war, in a letter to his comrade, one tourist describes amazing quiet places in the region of two lakes. In the text, he also mentions one old man without an arm, who came here with his son Albert Fedotovich, a rocket captain.
Subsequently, this tourist, together with his new comrades, installed a marble slab with names on the grave of anti-aircraft gunner girls.
Conclusion
A piercing story about female heroism during the Great Patriotic War leaves an indelible mark on the hearts. The author repeatedly emphasizes in his narrative about the unnatural nature of the participation of women in hostilities, and the fault lies with the one who unleashed the war.
In 1972, director Stanislav Rostotsky made a film based on the story. He dedicated it to the nurse who carried him off the battlefield, saving him from certain death.
And the dawns here are quiet...
May 1942 Countryside in Russia. There is a war with Nazi Germany. The 171st railway siding is commanded by foreman Fedot Evgrafych Vaskov. He is thirty two years old. He has only four grades. Vaskov was married, but his wife ran away with the regimental veterinarian, and his son soon died.
It's quiet on the road. Soldiers arrive here, look around, and then begin to "drink and walk." Vaskov stubbornly writes reports, and, in the end, they send him a platoon of "non-drinking" fighters - anti-aircraft gunners. At first, the girls laugh at Vaskov, but he does not know how to deal with them. Rita Osyanina is in command of the first squad of the platoon. Rita's husband died on the second day of the war. She sent her son Albert to her parents. Soon Rita got into the regimental anti-aircraft school. With the death of her husband, she learned to hate the Germans "quietly and mercilessly" and was harsh with the girls from her department.
The Germans kill the carrier, instead they send Zhenya Komelkova, a slender red-haired beauty. In front of Zhenya a year ago, the Germans shot her loved ones. After their death, Zhenya crossed the front. She was picked up, protected "and not that he took advantage of defenselessness - Colonel Luzhin stuck to himself." He was family, and the military authorities, having found out about this, the colonel "took into circulation", and sent Zhenya "to a good team." Despite everything, Zhenya is "sociable and mischievous". Her fate immediately "crosses out Ritina's exclusivity." Zhenya and Rita converge, and the latter "thaws".
When it comes to transferring from the front line to the patrol, Rita is inspired and asks to send her squad. The junction is located near the city where her mother and son live. At night, Rita secretly runs into the city, carries her products. One day, returning at dawn, Rita sees two Germans in the forest. She wakes up Vaskov. He receives an order from his superiors to "catch" the Germans. Vaskov calculates that the route of the Germans lies on the Kirov railway. The foreman decides to go a short way through the swamps to the Sinyukhina ridge, stretching between two lakes, along which you can only get to the railway, and wait for the Germans there - they will certainly go by the roundabout. Vaskov takes Rita, Zhenya, Lisa Brichkina, Sonya Gurvich and Galya Chetvertak with him.
Lisa is from Bryansk, she is the daughter of a forester. For five years, she took care of her terminally ill mother, because of this she could not finish school. A visiting hunter, who awakened her first love in Liza, promised to help her enter a technical school. But the war began, Liza got into the anti-aircraft unit. Liza likes Sergeant Major Vaskov.
Sonya Gurvich from Minsk. Her father was a local doctor, they had a large and friendly family. She herself studied for a year at Moscow University, knows German. A neighbor from lectures, Sonya's first love, with whom they spent only one unforgettable evening in the park of culture, volunteered for the front.
Galya Chetvertak grew up in an orphanage. It was there that she met her first love. After the orphanage, Galya got into the library technical school. The war caught her in her third year.
The path to Lake Vop lies through the swamps. Vaskov leads the girls along a path well known to him, on both sides of which there is a quagmire. The fighters safely reach the lake and, hiding on the Sinyukhina ridge, are waiting for the Germans. Those appear on the shore of the lake only the next morning. There are not two of them, but sixteen. While the Germans have about three hours left to go to Vaskov and the girls, the foreman sends Lisa Brichkin back to the siding - to report on a change in the situation. But Lisa, crossing the swamp, stumbles and drowns. No one knows about this, and everyone is waiting for help. Until then, the girls decide to mislead the Germans. They portray lumberjacks, shouting loudly, Vaskov felling trees.
The Germans retreat to Lake Legontov, not daring to go along the Sinyukhin ridge, on which, as they think, someone is cutting down the forest. Vaskov with the girls moves to a new place. He left his pouch in the same place, and Sonya Gurvich volunteers to bring it. Hurrying, she stumbles upon two Germans who kill her. Vaskov and Zhenya are killing these Germans. Sonya is buried.
Soon the fighters see the rest of the Germans approaching them. Hiding behind bushes and boulders, they shoot first, the Germans retreat, fearing an invisible enemy. Zhenya and Rita accuse Galya of cowardice, but Vaskov defends her and takes her on reconnaissance for "educational purposes". But Vaskov does not suspect what mark Sonya's death left in Gali's soul. She is terrified and gives herself away at the most crucial moment, and the Germans kill her.
Fedot Evgrafych takes the Germans on himself to lead them away from Zhenya and Rita. He is wounded in the arm. But he manages to get away and get to the island in the swamp. In the water, he notices Lisa's skirt and realizes that help will not come. Vaskov finds the place where the Germans stopped to rest, kills one of them and goes to look for the girls. They are preparing to take the final stand. The Germans appear. In an unequal battle, Vaskov and the girls kill several Germans. Rita is mortally wounded, and while Vaskov is dragging her to safety, the Germans kill Zhenya. Rita asks Vaskov to take care of her son and shoots herself in the temple. Vaskov buries Zhenya and Rita. After that, he goes to the forest hut, where the five remaining Germans sleep. Vaskov kills one of them on the spot, and takes four prisoners. They themselves tie each other with belts, because they do not believe that Vaskov is "alone for many miles." He loses consciousness from pain only when his own, Russians, are already coming towards him.
Many years later, a gray-haired, stocky old man without an arm and a rocket captain, whose name is Albert Fedotovich, will bring a marble slab to Rita's grave.
The events take place in 1942. Uyezd No. 171 ceased to be the center of hostilities due to damage to the railway track - German attack aircraft flew here from time to time, but in general the service was quiet. Because of this, all the soldiers gradually began to drink moonshine, which was successfully driven by local women and went "on a visit" to the soldiers. Fedot Evgrafovich Vaskov, who was the commandant here, could not cope with drunkenness and debauchery, so he constantly wrote requests to replace soldiers. The soldiers were regularly changed, but the drinking continued. Once the command found a way out of this situation and sent female soldiers to Vaskov, solving both problems in one fell swoop. Vaskov was very embarrassed because of such subordinates.
He noted that they were much more educated than him - they graduated from 7-9 classes, while he was only 4 (because his father was "broken" by a bear). Before the Finnish war, Vaskov married, his son Igor was born. However, the wife did not wait for her husband - Vaskov, through the court, deprived his wife of parental rights and sent his son to be raised by his mother, the son did not live long - only a year, and then died. After that, Vaskov smiled only three times - to the general who presented the order, to the doctor who took out the fragment and to the hostess of the apartment - for her ingenuity.
Chapter 2
Rita Mushtakova met her future husband at a school ball - it was love at first sight. Her lover was a lieutenant of the Red Army, a border guard. After this evening, the young people corresponded for a long time, and then got married.
So Rita became Osyanina. Soon Rita gave birth to a son, Albert. A year later, when the war began, the girl sent her son to her parents, and she herself began to save the lives of other people's children. Her husband was killed early, but Rita found out about it almost a month later. In the evenings, Rita goes somewhere at night. Only Kiryanova and Chetvertak know about these campaigns, but they are silent - they think that Rita has a man who can melt her heart.
Chapter 3
Rita liked to return from her nightly adventures. After the last patrol point, you could walk without fear of being discovered - that was the most pleasant thing. The dawns here were quiet. Rita was walking barefoot and enjoying the morning, suddenly she saw a man on the road. Rita hid in the bushes, and at that time another one approached the stranger - it was German intelligence.
The girl waited until the Germans left, and then ran to the unit. Rita woke up Vaskov and told him about the Germans. The command allowed Vaskov to reconnoiter the area with a group of 5 people. They were Rita Osyanina, Zhenya Komelkova, Lisa Brichkina, Galya Chetvertak and Sonya Gurvich.
Chapter 4
The path of the group was very difficult - the girls were very tired and could hardly drag their feet. Along the way, Vaskov notices other people's marks and this worries him very much - he worries if the Germans know the way straight through the swamp, which he recognized back in Finnish, but then his fears dissipate - the traces go around the swamp. The path through the swamp became more difficult - Galya lost her boots in the quagmire. By evening, the group reached the lake, which allowed them to have some rest.
Chapter 5
Vaskov with the soldiers takes a position for observation. Fedot Evgrafych teaches girls how to make a fire without smoke. After dinner, everyone takes their positions. In the morning they saw 16 Germans who passed by without noticing Vaskov and his group.
Chapter 6
Vaskov realizes that with the forces at his disposal, he is unable to repulse the Germans. Fedot Evgrafych is at a loss, he becomes afraid. Vaskov decides to send Liza Brichkina back for reinforcements. He once again reminds her of the road and tells about landmarks. Fedot Evgrafych understands that he needs to somehow detain the Germans, but does not know how to do it - the girls offer to pretend to be lumberjacks. The plan to transform into lumberjacks turns out to be successful - the Germans retreat, and Vaskov's group wins some time.
Chapter 7
The life of Liza Brichkina has always been difficult. Her mother fell ill early - she stopped getting up, coughing fits completely tortured her. However, death was in no hurry to alleviate the fate of the woman - all this time Lisa patiently looked after her mother, helped with the housework.
One day, a young hunter from the city temporarily settled with them. Lisa imperceptibly fell in love and expected that this feeling would be mutual, but this did not happen.
From the hunter, Liza only had a note with a promise to help her enter a technical school. After the death of her mother, her father got drunk heavily, and Lisa was looking forward to August. However, it was not possible to go to training - the war made its own adjustments, and Lisa had to dig trenches.
We suggest that you familiarize yourself with which Boris Vasiliev wrote.
Lisa was in a hurry to return to the division - she steadfastly overcame the road and when she had already almost passed its most difficult segment, she was frightened of a bubble that had jumped out of the swamp and stumbled. Liza drowned - at that moment the sun seemed unusually bright to her.
Chapter 8
Vaskov's detachment sang merrily, although there was nothing much to rejoice at - Vaskov knew that such a trick would scare the Germans away for a short time and therefore decided to go into reconnaissance, he took Rita as an assistant.
Vaskov decides to change the location of the detachment and sends Rita after the others. Upon arrival, the girls notice that they forgot to pick up Vaskov's tobacco, which was drying on a stone. Sonya goes to buy tobacco, ignoring Vaskov's ban. Soon Fedot Evgrafych heard a strange cry - Sonya was found mortally wounded.
Chapter 9
Vaskov and Zhenya are chasing the Germans. Fedot Evgrafych determines that there were two attackers. Effortlessly they look for the Germans. Vaskov kills the first one without any problems, it didn’t work out that way with the second - Vaskov was confused and found himself at a disadvantage - Zhenya comes to his aid and breaks the German’s head with a butt. After that, the girl cries, she is sick. Vaskov notes to himself that this is a natural reaction to killing a person. Sonya dies, the girl is buried. Vaskov takes off her shoes and orders Galya to put on shoes.
Chapter 10
Galya Chetvertak was a foundling - she knew nothing about her parents. From a very young age, the girl was distinguished by a rich imagination - she often came up with all sorts of fairy tales, but she did it not from evil - Galya really believed in them. So, for example, she came up with the idea that her mother is a doctor and firmly believed in it.
They didn’t want to take a quarter into the army - she didn’t fit in height and age - the girl starved out the military commissar and ended up at the front.
Vaskov with the group continues the pursuit. When they discover the Germans, Vaskov decides to attack - he throws a grenade, and the girls support the fire. Only Galya was frightened.
Chapter 11
Vaskov and Chetvertak continue to pursue the Germans. This time, Vaskov was not lucky - they found a whole group of Germans. Galya was very frightened and jumped out of hiding, destroying all Vaskov's plans. Galya is killed, and Vaskov tries to take the Germans away from the rest of the group. In the morning, he sees Brichkina's clothes in the swamp and understands that Lisa drowned - "only her skirt remained from her."
Chapter 12
Vaskov was very puzzled - he lost half of the group and lost ammunition. Vaskov with a revolver goes to an abandoned monastery. He sees that the door of one of the huts has been opened. The Germans made a transshipment base there. Vaskov kills one of the Germans and takes his weapon. After he finds Zhenya and Rita. The girls cry at the sight of him. Everyone remembers the dead girls.
Chapter 13
Vaskov with the girls continues to detain the Germans. Vaskov's reserves are running out, and this significantly complicates the task. He and the group take a new position. Soon a shootout begins and Rita is wounded by a grenade fragment in the stomach. Zhenya decides that she must take the Germans aside, but she does not quite succeed. As a result, she gets hurt. The girl shoots to the last. When she runs out of bullets, the Germans finish her off and look at her beautiful but proud face for a long time.
Chapter 14
Rita realizes that her wound is fatal. When the shooting died down, the girl guessed that Zhenya had also died. She began to cry silently. Vaskov tried to support Rita. The girl said that at night she ran into the city to her three-year-old son, in the hope that Vaskov would not leave her son and help raise him.
The girl asks to kiss her, and Vaskov kisses her on the forehead. He then covers Rita with branches and leaves. A few minutes later, Rita shoots herself in the temple. Vaskov buries her and Zhenya, and leaves to look for the Germans. He has in stock a revolver with one cartridge and a grenade without a fuse. Vaskov finds the Germans - he kills the sentry with a knife, and then breaks into the hut - they were all asleep, except for one - Vaskov kills him with a revolver. The rest surrender to Vaskov out of surprise. Vaskov leads the bound Germans into distribution. When his strength is completely exhausted, he sees the approaching Red Army.
Epilogue
After the war, Fedot Evgrafych and Rita's son Albert come to the place of Rita's death, find her grave and erect a monument there.
The story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” by Boris Vasiliev is one of the most heartfelt and tragic works about the Great Patriotic War. First published in 1969.
The story of five anti-aircraft gunners and a foreman who fought sixteen German saboteurs. Heroes speak to us from the pages of the story about the unnaturalness of war, about the personality in war, about the strength of the human spirit.
The main theme of the story - a woman at war - reflects all the "ruthlessness of war", but the topic itself was not raised in the literature about the war before the appearance of Vasiliev's story. To understand the series of events in the story, you can read the summary of “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” chapter by chapter on our website.
main characters
Vaskov Fedot Evgrafych- 32 years old, foreman, commandant of the patrol, where anti-aircraft gunner girls are assigned to serve.
Brichkina Elizabeth-19 years old, the daughter of a forester, who lived before the war on one of the cordons in the forests of the Bryansk region in "a premonition of dazzling happiness."
Gurvich Sonya- a girl from an intelligent “very large and very friendly family” of a Minsk doctor. After studying for a year at Moscow University, she went to the front. Loves theater and poetry.
Komelkova Evgenia- 19 years. Zhenya has his own account with the Germans: her family was shot. Despite the grief, "her character was cheerful and smiling."
Osyanina Margarita- the first of the class got married, a year later she gave birth to a son. Her husband, a border guard, died on the second day of the war. Leaving the child to her mother, Rita went to the front.
Chetvertak Galina- a pupil of an orphanage, a dreamer. She lived in the world of her own fantasies, and went to the front with the conviction that war is romance.
Other characters
Kiryanova- Sergeant, platoon commander of anti-aircraft gunners.
Summary
Chapter 1
In May 1942, several yards survived at 171 railway sidings, which turned out to be inside the hostilities going around. The Germans stopped bombing. In case of a raid, the command left two anti-aircraft installations.
Life at the junction was quiet and calm, the anti-aircraft gunners could not stand the temptation of female attention and moonshine, and according to the report of the commandant of the junction, foreman Vaskov, one half-platoon “swollen from fun” and drunkenness replaced the next ... Vaskov asked to send non-drinkers.
Arrived "non-drinking" anti-aircraft gunners. The fighters turned out to be very young, and they were ... girls.
It was quiet at the crossing. The girls teased the foreman, Vaskov felt embarrassed in the presence of "learned" fighters: he had only 4 classes of education. The main concern was caused by the internal “disorder” of the heroines - they did everything not “according to the charter”.
Chapter 2
Having lost her husband, Rita Osyanina, the commander of the anti-aircraft gunners, became harsh and withdrawn. Once a carrier was killed, and instead of her they sent the beautiful Zhenya Komelkova, in front of whom the Germans shot her loved ones. Despite the tragedy. Zhenya is open and mischievous. Rita and Zhenya became friends, and Rita "thawed out".
Galya Chetvertak becomes their friend.
Hearing about the possibility of transferring from the front line to the junction, Rita perks up - it turns out that she has a son next to the junction in the city. At night, Rita runs to visit her son.
Chapter 3
Returning from an unauthorized absence through the forest, Osyanina discovers two strangers in camouflage robes, with weapons and packages in their hands. She hurries to tell the commandant of the section about this. After carefully listening to Rita, the foreman understands that she has encountered German saboteurs moving towards the railway, and decides to go to intercept the enemy. 5 female anti-aircraft gunners were allocated to Vaskov. Worried about them, the foreman tries to prepare his “guard” for a meeting with the Germans and cheer him up, joking, “so that they laugh, so that cheerfulness appears.”
Rita Osyanina, Zhenya Komelkova, Liza Brichkina, Galya Chetvertak and Sonya Gurvich, with the group leader Vaskov, set out on a short route to Vop-Ozero, where they expect to meet and detain saboteurs.
Chapter 4
Fedot Evgrafych safely leads his fighters through the swamps, bypassing the swamps (only Galya Chetvertak loses his boots in the swamp), to the lake. It's quiet here, like in a dream. “And before the war, these lands were not very crowded, and now they are completely wild, as if lumberjacks, and hunters, and fishermen went to the front.”
Chapter 5
Expecting to quickly deal with the two saboteurs, Vaskov nevertheless chose the retreat path "for safety net". While waiting for the Germans, the girls had lunch, the foreman gave a combat order to detain the Germans when they appeared, and everyone took up positions.
Galya Chetvertak, drenched in a swamp, fell ill.
The Germans appeared only the next morning: “grey-green figures with automatic weapons at the ready came out of the depths”, and it turned out that there were not two of them, but sixteen.
Chapter 6
Realizing that “five laughing girls and five clips for a rifle” cannot cope with the Nazis, Vaskov sends the “forest” resident Liza Brichkina to report that reinforcements are needed.
Trying to frighten off the Germans and force them to go around, Vaskov and the girls pretend that lumberjacks are working in the forest. They loudly call to each other, scorch fires, the foreman cuts down trees, and the desperate Zhenya even bathes in the river in full view of the saboteurs.
The Germans left, and everyone laughed "to tears, to exhaustion", thinking that the worst was over ...
Chapter 7
Lisa "flew through the forest as if on wings", thinking about Vaskov, and missed a conspicuous pine tree, near which she had to turn. With difficulty moving in the swamp slurry, she stumbled - and lost the path. Feeling the bog engulfing her, she saw the sunlight for the last time.
Chapter 8
Vaskov, who understands that the enemy, although he has fled, can attack the detachment at any moment, goes with Rita to reconnaissance. Having found out that the Germans settled on a halt, the foreman decides to change the location of the group and sends Osyanina for the girls. Vaskov is upset to find that he forgot his pouch. Seeing this, Sonya Gurvich runs to pick up the pouch.
Vaskov does not have time to stop the girl. After a while, he hears "a distant, weak, like a sigh, voice, an almost soundless cry." Guessing what this sound could mean, Fedot Evgrafych calls Zhenya Komelkova with him and goes to his former position. Together they find Sonya killed by enemies.
Chapter 9
Vaskov furiously pursued the saboteurs to avenge Sonya's death. Having imperceptibly approached the "Fritz" walking without fear, the foreman kills the first one, there is not enough strength for the second one. Zhenya saves Vaskov from death by killing the German with a rifle butt. Fedot Evgrafych "was full of sadness, full to the throat" because of Sonya's death. But, understanding the state of Zhenya, who painfully endures the murder she committed, she explains that the enemies themselves violated human laws and therefore she needs to understand: “these are not people, not men, not even animals - fascists.”
Chapter 10
The detachment buried Sonya and moved on. Looking out from behind another boulder, Vaskov saw the Germans - they were walking straight at them. Starting an oncoming battle, the girls with the commander forced the saboteurs to retreat, only Galya Chetvertak, out of fear, threw away her rifle and fell to the ground.
After the battle, the foreman canceled the meeting where the girls wanted to judge Galya for cowardice, he explained her behavior by inexperience and confusion.
Vaskov goes on reconnaissance and takes Galya with him for educational purposes.
Chapter 11
Galya Chetvertak followed Vaskov. She, who always lived in her fictional world, at the sight of the murdered Sonya was broken by the horror of a real war.
The scouts saw the corpses: the wounded were finished off by their own. There were 12 saboteurs left.
Hiding with Galya in an ambush, Vaskov is ready to shoot the Germans who appear. Suddenly, Galya Chetvertak, who did not understand anything, rushed across the enemies, and was struck down by machine gun fire.
The foreman decided to take the saboteurs as far as possible from Rita and Zhenya. Until night, he rushed between the trees, made noise, briefly shot at the flickering figures of the enemy, shouted, dragging the Germans closer and closer to the swamps. Wounded in the arm, hid in the swamp.
At dawn, getting out of the swamp to the ground, the foreman saw Brichkina's army skirt blackening on the surface of the swamp, tied to a pole, and realized that Liza had died in the quagmire.
There was no hope for help now ...
Chapter 12
With heavy thoughts that "he lost his whole war yesterday", but with the hope that Rita and Zhenya are alive, Vaskov goes in search of saboteurs. He comes across an abandoned hut, which turned out to be a refuge for the Germans. He watches how they hide explosives and go to reconnaissance. Vaskov kills one of the remaining enemies in the skete and takes the weapon.
On the bank of the river, where yesterday “a performance was staged for the Fritz”, the foreman and the girls meet - with joy, like sisters and brothers. The foreman says that Galya and Liza died the death of the brave, and that they all have to take the last, apparently, battle.
Chapter 13
The Germans went ashore, and the battle began. “Vaskov knew one thing in this battle: do not retreat. Do not give the Germans a single shred on this shore. No matter how hard, no matter how hopeless - to keep. It seemed to Fedot Vaskov that he was the last son of his Motherland and its last defender. The detachment did not allow the Germans to cross to the other side.
Rita was seriously wounded in the stomach by a grenade fragment.
Shooting back, Komelkova tried to take the Germans away with her. Cheerful, smiling and resilient Zhenya did not even immediately realize that she had been wounded - after all, it was stupid and impossible to die at the age of nineteen! She fired as long as she had bullets and strength. “The Germans finished her off at close range, and then looked at her proud and beautiful face for a long time ...”
Chapter 14
Realizing that she is dying, Rita tells Vaskov about her son Albert and asks him to take care of him. The foreman shares with Osyanina his first doubt: was it worth saving the canal and the road at the cost of the death of girls who had their whole lives ahead of them? But Rita believes that “Motherland does not begin with canals. Not from there at all. And we protected her. First her, and only then the channel.
Vaskov went towards the enemies. Hearing the faint sound of a shot, he returned. Rita shot herself, not wanting to suffer and be a burden.
Having buried Zhenya and Rita, almost exhausted, Vaskov wandered forward to the abandoned monastery. Bursting into the saboteurs, he killed one of them, and took four prisoners. In delirium, the wounded Vaskov leads saboteurs to his own, and, only realizing that he has reached, loses consciousness.
Epilogue
From a letter from a tourist (it was written many years after the end of the war) resting on quiet lakes, where there is "complete carlessness and desertion", we learn that a gray-haired old man without an arm and a rocket captain Albert Fedotych who arrived there brought a marble slab. Together with visitors, the tourist is looking for the grave of anti-aircraft gunners who once died here. He notices how quiet the dawns are here ...
Conclusion
For many years, the tragic fate of the heroines does not leave readers of any age indifferent, making them realize the price of a peaceful life, the greatness and beauty of true patriotism.
The retelling of “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” gives an idea of the storyline of the work, introduces its characters. It will be possible to penetrate into the essence, to feel the charm of the lyrical narration and the psychological subtlety of the author's story when reading the full text of the story.
War is no place for a woman. But in a rush to protect their country, their fatherland, even representatives of the beautiful half of humanity are ready to fight. Boris Lvovich Vasiliev in the story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet…” was able to convey the plight of five anti-aircraft gunner girls and their commander during the second war.
The author himself claimed that a real event was chosen as the basis of the plot. Seven soldiers serving on one of the sections of the Kirov railway were able to repulse the Nazi invaders. They fought with a sabotage group and prevented their site from being blown up. Unfortunately, in the end, only the commander of the detachment remained alive. He will later be given the medal "For Military Merit".
This story seemed interesting to the writer, and he decided to put it on paper. However, when Vasiliev started writing the book, he realized that in the post-war period many feats were covered, and such an act is only a special case. Then the author decided to change the gender of his characters, and the story began to play with new colors. After all, not everyone decided to cover the women's share in the war.
The meaning of the name
The title of the story conveys the effect of surprise that hit the characters. This junction, where the action took place, was really quiet and peaceful place. If in the distance the invaders bombed the Kirov road, then "here" harmony reigned. Those men who were sent to protect him drank too much, because there was nothing to do there: no fights, no Nazis, no tasks. As in the back. That is why the girls were sent there, as if knowing that nothing would happen to them, the site was safe. However, the reader sees that the enemy only lulled his vigilance by planning an attack. After the tragic events described by the author, it remains only to complain bitterly about the failed justification of this terrible accident: "And the dawns here are quiet." The silence in the title also conveys the emotion of mourning – a moment of silence. Nature itself mourns, seeing such abuse of man.
In addition, the title illustrates the peace on earth that the girls sought by giving their young lives. They achieved their goal, but at what cost? Their efforts, their struggle, their cry with the help of the union "a" is opposed by this blood-washed silence.
Genre and direction
The genre of the book is a story. It is very small in volume, read in one breath. The author deliberately took out from the military everyday life, well known to him, all those everyday details that slow down the dynamics of the text. He wanted to leave only emotionally charged fragments that cause a genuine reaction of the reader to what he read.
Direction - realistic military prose. B. Vasiliev tells about the war, using real life material to create a plot.
essence
The main character - Fedot Evgrafych Vaskov, is the foreman of the 171st railway district. It is calm here, and the soldiers who arrived in this area often begin to drink from idleness. The hero writes reports on them, and in the end, anti-aircraft gunners are sent to him.
At first, Vaskov does not understand how to deal with young girls, but when it comes to hostilities, they all become a single team. One of them notices two Germans, the main character understands that they are saboteurs who are going to pass secretly through the forest to important strategic objects.
Fedot quickly gathers a group of five girls. They follow the local path to get ahead of the Germans. However, it turns out that instead of two people in the enemy squad, there are sixteen fighters. Vaskov knows that they cannot cope, and he sends one of the girls for help. Unfortunately, Liza dies, drowning in a swamp and not having time to convey the message.
At this time, trying to deceive the Germans by cunning, the detachment tries to take them as far as possible. They pretend to be lumberjacks, shoot from behind boulders, find a resting place for the Germans. But the forces are not equal, and in the course of an unequal battle, the rest of the girls die.
The hero still manages to capture the remaining soldiers. Many years later, he returns here to bring a marble slab to the grave. In the epilogue, young people, seeing the old man, understand that it turns out that there were battles here too. The story ends with the phrase of one of the young guys: "And the dawns here are quiet, quiet, I just saw it today."
Main characters and their characteristics
- Fedot Vaskov- the only survivor of the team. He subsequently lost his arm due to a wound. Brave, responsible and reliable person. Considers drunkenness in war unacceptable, zealously defends the need for discipline. Despite the difficult nature of the girls, he takes care of them and is very worried when he realizes that he did not save the fighters. At the end of the work, the reader sees him with his adopted son. Which means that Fedot kept his promise to Rita - he took care of her son, who became an orphan.
Images of girls:
- Elizabeth Brichkina is a hardworking girl. She was born into a simple family. Her mother is sick and her father is a forester. Before the war, Liza was going to move from the village to the city and study at a technical school. She dies while following orders: she drowns in a swamp, trying to bring soldiers to help her team. Dying in a quagmire, she does not believe to the last that death will not allow her to realize her ambitious dreams.
- Sofia Gurvich- an ordinary fighter. Former student of Moscow University, excellent student. She studied German and could be a good translator, she was destined for a great future. Sonya grew up among a friendly Jewish family. Dies trying to return a forgotten pouch to the commander. She accidentally meets the Germans, who stab her with two blows to the chest. Although she did not succeed in the war, she stubbornly and patiently fulfilled her duties and accepted death with dignity.
- Galina Chetvertak- The youngest of the group. She is an orphan and grew up in an orphanage. He goes to war for the sake of "romance", but quickly realizes that this is not a place for the weak. Vaskov takes her with him for educational purposes, but Galya cannot withstand the pressure. She panics and tries to escape from the Germans, but they kill the girl. Despite the cowardice of the heroine, the foreman tells the others that she died in a shootout.
- Evgenia Komelkova- a young beautiful girl, the daughter of an officer. The Germans capture her village, she manages to hide, but her entire family is shot in front of her eyes. In war, he shows courage and heroism, Zhenya shields his colleagues with himself. First, she is wounded, and then shot at close range, because she took the detachment to herself, wanting to save the others.
- Margarita Osyanina- junior sergeant and commander of the anti-aircraft gunners squad. Serious and reasonable, was married and has a son. However, her husband dies in the first days of the war, after which Rita began to hate the Germans quietly and ruthlessly. During the battle, she is mortally wounded and shoots herself in the temple. But before dying, he asks Vaskov to take care of his son.
- Heroism, sense of duty. Yesterday's schoolgirls, still very young girls, go to war. But they don't do it out of necessity. Each comes of its own accord and, as history has shown, each has put all its strength into resisting the Nazi invaders.
- woman at war. First of all, in the work of B. Vasiliev, the fact that the girls are not in the rear is important. They fight for the honor of their homeland on an equal footing with men. Each of them is a person, each had plans for life, her own family. But cruel fate takes it all away. From the lips of the protagonist sounds the idea that the war is terrible because, taking the lives of women, it destroys the life of an entire nation.
- Little man's feat. None of the girls were professional fighters. These were ordinary Soviet people with different characters and fates. But the war unites the heroines, and they are ready to fight together. The contribution to the struggle of each of them was not in vain.
- Courage and boldness. Some heroines especially stood out from the rest, showing phenomenal courage. For example, Zhenya Komelkova saved her comrades at the cost of her life, turning the persecution of enemies on herself. She was not afraid to take risks, as she was sure of victory. Even after being wounded, the girl was only surprised that this happened to her.
- Motherland. Vaskov blamed himself for what happened to his wards. He imagined that their sons would rise up and rebuke the men who had failed to protect the women. He did not believe that some kind of White Sea Canal was worth these sacrifices, because hundreds of fighters were already guarding it. But in a conversation with the foreman, Rita stopped his self-flagellation, saying that the patronymic is not the canals and roads that they protected from saboteurs. This is the whole Russian land, which required protection here and now. This is how the author represents the homeland.
- The problem of war. The struggle does not make out who to kill and who to leave alive, it is blind and indifferent, like a destructive element. Therefore, weak and innocent women accidentally die, and the only man survives, also by chance. They accept an unequal battle, and it is quite natural that no one had time to help them. Such are the conditions of wartime: everywhere, even in the quietest place, it is dangerous, destinies break everywhere.
- Memory problem. In the finale, the foreman comes to the place of the terrible massacre with the heroine's son and meets young people who are surprised that battles took place in this wilderness. Thus, the surviving man perpetuates the memory of the dead women by installing a memorial plate. Now the descendants will remember their feat.
- The problem of cowardice. Galya Chetvertak was unable to cultivate the necessary courage in herself, and with her unreasonable behavior she complicated the operation. The author does not blame her strictly: the girl was already brought up in the most difficult conditions, she had no one to learn to behave with dignity. Her parents left her, fearing responsibility, and Galya herself was frightened at the decisive moment. Using her example, Vasiliev shows that war is not a place for romantics, because the struggle is always not beautiful, it is monstrous, and not everyone can withstand its oppression.
Themes
Problems
The problematics of the story covers typical problems from military prose: cruelty and humanity, courage and cowardice, historical memory and oblivion. She also conveys a specific innovative problem - the fate of women in war. Consider the most striking aspects with examples.
Meaning
The author wanted to show how Russian women, who have long been famous for their willpower, fought against the occupation. It is not in vain that he talks about each biography separately, because they show what trials the fair sex faced in the rear and on the front line. There was no mercy for anyone, and in these conditions the girls took the blow of the enemy. Each of them went to the sacrifice voluntarily. In this desperate tension of the will of all the forces of the people lies the main idea of Boris Vasiliev. Future and present mothers sacrificed their natural duty - to give birth and raise future generations - in order to save the whole world from the tyranny of Nazism.
Of course, the main idea of the writer is a humanistic message: women have no place in war. Their lives are trampled on by heavy soldier's boots, as if they come across not people, but flowers. But if the enemy encroached on his native land, if he mercilessly destroys everything that is dear to his heart, then even a girl is able to challenge him and win in an unequal struggle.
Conclusion
Each reader, of course, sums up the moral results of the story on his own. But many of those who thoughtfully read the book will agree that it tells about the need to preserve historical memory. We need to remember those unthinkable sacrifices that our ancestors voluntarily and consciously made in the name of peace on Earth. They went into a bloody battle to exterminate not only the occupiers, but the very idea of Nazism, a false and unjust theory that made possible many unprecedented crimes against human rights and freedoms. This memory is needed so that the Russian people and their equally brave neighbors realize their place in the world and its modern history.
All countries, all peoples, women and men, old people and children were able to unite for a common goal: the return of a peaceful sky overhead. This means that today we “can repeat” this association with the same great message of goodness and justice.
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