Rank: Red Army soldier. Type of troops: Artillery. In the fall of 1943, German troops set up two defensive lines (Panther and Tannenberg) near the city of Narva. In early February 1944, Soviet troops reached the border of the Narva River, and only in the middle of summer, after fierce battles, was the Narva operation prepared, which provided for the crossing of this river and the capture of the city of Narva by storm. The Supreme Commander allotted two days to complete this task. A week before the crossing of the water barrier, the army headquarters urgently needed a "tongue" - a captured German officer. The command needed accurate information about the enemy's fortified area. In the deep night of July 20, two signal flares soared into the sky from the enemy side. Soviet and German troops were divided by the water belt of the Narva River. Our side accepted the prearranged signal and began to prepare its man for a special task. A day ago, a group of scouts, ferried by boat across the river, captured a German officer and, following the order, gave a prearranged signal. Sergeant Major Porfiriev lined up his company and asked which of the soldiers could swim. Of the few guys who responded, he opted for Fyodor Ionichev. The fighter was taller than others in stature, strong build. Before sending him for instructions to the commander's dugout, he asked: - Drowned at least once? - There was a case, comrade foreman. - Then everything is all right, you will come. You don't burn in fire, you don't drown in water! The regimental commander gave the last instructions to the young soldier: - You will cross in a boat to the enemy side, take a German on board and quickly return. The scouts will remain in place for another assignment. What they should do next is indicated in this package, give it to the group commander. The colonel gave his hand and as if casually asked: - Swim, if anything, can you at least know how? - I grew up on the Volga, comrade commander, - the soldier smiled. The boat on which the reconnaissance group was transported a day ago was launched. Pushing the package with the order into his bosom and tightening his waist belt tighter, Fyodor sat down on the bench and struck with the oars along the calm surface of the river. In the darkness of the night Fyodor was guided by the river current. Keeping the boat's course at a slight angle against the water rush, he had already begun to distinguish the outlines of the opposite bank when the enemy opened artillery fire. The shell dropped a few meters from the boat. A huge column of water instantly turned the small boat over, and the stunned fighter found himself in the water. The boat was carried away by the current, and Fedor, having lost all hope of her salvation, slowly swam to the shore. The scouts helped the soldier climb the steep bank, and everyone hid for a while in the coastal bushes. They were waiting for the end of the shelling. Passing a wet, but preserved package to the commander, Fyodor looked at the plump German Hauptmann. - We have been ordered to stay here, and you will have to swim with the "tongue", I see no other way out, - said the elder. We made a small raft. The material for this was the flexible twigs of coastal bushes. The dawn broke. The soldiers descended to the river and threw a fragile plexus into the water, more like an ordinary mattress than a reliable floating craft. The German was untied and loaded onto a raft. Fyodor pushed the raft away, and he swam alongside, directing the "tongue" towards the opposite shore. Almost in the middle of the river, a sharp pain suddenly gripped my left leg. He rested on the raft, which, unable to withstand the double weight, began to sink. Frightened for the life of a valuable "tongue", Fedor for a moment let go of the wicker structure, and it began to move away from the soldier downstream. If it were not for the leg, a few powerful hand strokes would have been enough to catch up with the missed raft, but the unbearable pain deprived of physical strength, and the helpless body pulled to the bottom of the river. - I fought back, and missed the "tongue". - Rus, rus, nein. The German was still shouting something in German and rowing desperately with both hands, trying to get closer to the drowning man. Swimming up to the drowning man and, grabbing him, he began to hold him afloat. Fyodor intensively massaged the calf of his leg with his hands, and the pain gradually eased. We sailed to the location of the Soviet troops when it was almost dawn. On the shore, they were met by soldiers led by a lieutenant. - Well done, what a good fellow! - patting the soldier on the wet shirt, the young commander was saying. - He, too, would not hurt to declare gratitude, - Fedor nodded towards Hauptman. For the first time in his life, having betrayed his principles, he shook an enemy soldier by the shoulder.