They were sent into the teeth of enemy weapons
With commissars ready to shoot them in the back
They might not have believed in their government
But they loved their country, home of their family
Often, it wasn't honor that would beckon
Instead, it was fear, anger or the will to survive any attack
The enemy was perverse, racist, bent
The two sides clashed leaving behind only agony
The drums of war beat heavily
Remembering only the path ahead
There was no retreat in a battle to the death
No retreat
The battles were wicked, fought bestially
The winter snow once white, now red
No time to relax, more than a single breath
No defeat
Nothing to soothe the wounded
And the sons of steel workers and farmers
The daughters of miners and factory laborers
Carved a legacy out of fate
Now came the winter
The winds wicked, even brutal
The end could be seen afar
But the survivors would be lame
Dreaming only that they might hold on
At first prayers were lifted
But the battlefield god was cruel
Leaving only the dead and scarred
Like chess some saw war as a game,
leaving dead kings and pawns
