“A peculiar story for you. Urban battles are messy and often more violent than one would expect. The combatants are so close that a soldier with no extreme feelings toward the enemy, like many of us conscripts, turns to hatred.

Vile hatred. I remember once something quite odd. A fight in the streets that was a back and forth. Neither is nor the Chechens were gaining the upper hand. Us on one side of a road, them on the other. The fire was quite intense and maintained a steady tempo.

This is the peculiar part. A stray dog, I think it was a stray, wandered down the road and was running back and forth barking. Wherever the dog ran, the fire in front of it decreased dramatically so not to hit the poor thing.

I found it peculiar. Two groups of men trying to kill one another, and they deliberately put their lives in danger by not shooting when the dog was in front of them. We accepted the deaths of ourselves and our enemies, but few were willing to risk the dogs’.

– “Alexei” Former Russian Soldier. First and Second Chechen War. 1995

This story was documented by Battles and Beers. Every soldier has a story, and every story deserves to be told.

If you like stories like this, make sure to check out my book “What War Did To Us” Now on Amazon!