_'Suddenly, flash bombs to my right, I instantly dive low to avoid being a direct target. We stay down, close above ground - before too long life returns in the area and we spot men milling around; Richard and Pitt let them have it, but good. We-re down to our last bit of ammunition. Some Russians have frozen in fear, others lift their arm, others still lie flat on the ground. Not a single one remembers to get up and fire.'_On 21 June 1941, assigned to Luftwaffe bomber wing Kampfgeschwader 53, the 23-year-old Arnold Döring took off to fly his first mission against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. From that day, he kept a diary describing his operations in vivid detail. These diaries, here translated into English for the first time, give a unique perspective on the action on the Eastern Front, from the point of view of a bomber pilot. Döring-s accounts not only give technical aspects but are also filled with suspense and excitement with their close descriptions of bombing raids an
