A summary of "They Fought for Their Country" by Mikhail Sholokhov

This book is a poignant account of the Great Patriotic War. Its war prose is built not on grand descriptions of battles, but on the tragedies of ordinary soldiers. The main characters endure terrible trials: captivity, loss of families, severe physical suffering, and grueling defensive battles. The unfinished novel remains as individual chapters, becoming a literary monument to the tragic summer of 1942.

Life before the storm

Nikolai Streltsov, an agronomist at the Chernoyarsk Machine and Tractor Station, is struggling with a marital rift. His wife, Olga, has become noticeably distant, often disappearing to visit friends. Nikolai suspects her of having a secret affair with teacher Yuri Ovrazhny. Living under the same roof is becoming painful. Their young son, Kolya, feels the strain acutely and moves into his grandmother Serafima Petrovna’s room. The couple is afraid to be the first to initiate the difficult conversation about divorce.

In June, Nikolai’s older brother, Alexander, arrives. He spent over four years in the camps on false charges. Now he’s been rehabilitated and reinstated as a general. Alexander charms Olga and Serafima Petrovna with his tactfulness. He spends a lot of time with little Kolya, telling the boy stories of their past campaigns. The brothers go to the river, fish, and cook fish soup. Alexander shares his thoughts on politics and loyalty to the Party. Their short vacation is interrupted by a summons to Moscow.

In the crucible of battle

The action shifts to the sweltering July of 1942. The remnants of Nikolai’s regiment are exhausted by the fighting and retreating toward the Don. The soldiers see endless burning fields of ripe wheat. One hundred and seventeen soldiers march across the dry, dusty steppe. Captain Sumkov commands the wounded unit. Sergeant Lyubchenko carefully carries the folded regimental banner. The soldiers’ spirits are low.

Nikolai became close friends with the armor-piercing soldier Pyotr Lopakhin, a former miner. Lopakhin is a boisterous joker and womanizer, but displays phenomenal courage in battle. Another soldier, former combine operator Ivan Zvyagintsev, tells the story of his wife, Nastasya Filippovna. She became engrossed in reading novels and began writing her husband at the front, pompous love letters. Zvyagintsev, irritated by her strange pet names, asks Lopakhin for life advice.

The regiment takes up defensive positions on an unnamed hill near a farmstead. The ground is as hard as rock, making digging in incredibly difficult. German tanks and infantry attack the hill six times in a row. Lopakhin calmly sets fire to enemy vehicles with an anti-tank rifle. Corporal Kochetygov throws himself under a German tank with a Molotov cocktail and dies heroically. Enemy aircraft launch a massive attack on the defensive positions.

A German bomber dives steeply onto the trenches, dropping high-explosive bombs. Lopakhin accurately fires his rifle at the plane and shoots it down. A heavy bomb shatters near Nikolai Streltsov. A wave of hot air throws the soldier against the trench wall. Nikolai loses consciousness, bleeding from his ears and nose. Coming to, he tries to fire, but his fingers won’t respond. The regiment repulses the onslaught thanks to the arrival of Soviet tanks. The wounded Captain Sumskov, with his arm severed, urges his soldiers not to surrender.

Zvyagintsev sustains severe shrapnel wounds to his legs and back. A petite, red-haired nurse pulls the tall soldier out from under fire. At the medical battalion — a mobile field hospital — a surgeon removes the shrapnel without anesthesia. Zvyagintsev stoically endures excruciating pain, but furiously scolds the nurse for cutting the seam of his brand-new boots. The doctor confidently declares that the strong soldier will surely survive and return to duty.

Retreat to the crossing

The remnants of the regiment retreat further. The soldiers stop for the night at a farmstead. The stern sergeant Poprishchenko tries in vain to wheedle provisions from the collective farm chairman. There’s nothing left in the barns. Lopakhin volunteers to procure food and goes to the home of a wealthy widow, Natalya Stepanovna. The miner chops wood, cleans the cowshed, and carries water, hoping to charm the stern woman. That night, he sneaks into her room.

The powerful woman easily lifts the hapless suitor by his leg and shoulder and tosses him out the door. Lopakhin returns to his comrades with a black eye and a huge lump on his forehead. In the morning, it turns out that Natalya Stepanovna has learned of the retreating regiment’s heroic deeds. She slaughtered the chickens, cooked noodles, and fed the soldiers to their fill. Lopakhin openly admits his utter defeat.

In the forest near the Don, Lopakhin firmly decides to remain on the front lines. Suddenly, a severely shell-shocked Nikolai Streltsov appears. He is completely deaf and stutters badly, but he also escaped from the hospital to fight alongside his comrades. Lopakhin and Nikolai communicate via notepad. The soldiers are lined up in a forest clearing. Only twenty-seven remain.

The division commander, Colonel Marchenko, wounded in the head, slowly walks toward the line. He sincerely thanks the soldiers for saving the regiment’s sacred treasure. The colonel kneels and reverently kisses the edge of the crimson velvet cloth. Poprishchenko succumbs to the colossal inner tension. Clear, old tears roll down his wrinkled cheeks, but he remains at attention.