# On the Nameless Height (song)

On The Nameless Height (Russian: На безымянной высоте, Na bezymyannoy vysote), also known as Nearby an Unfamilial Settlement (Russian: У незнакомого посёлка, U neznakomogo posyolka) is a Soviet World War II song. The text was written by Mikhail Matusovsky in 1963, with music by Veniamin Basner, and is one of the themes of the war-based movie "Silence" (Russian: Тишина, Tishina), released in 1964. The song is based on true historical events and glorifies three lucky soldiers, surviving out of an eighteen-soldier infantry squad. The height concerned the one located near the Rubezhenka settlement in the Kuybyshevsky District, Kaluga Oblast while the soldiers, mentioned in song, were a part of Soviet 139th infantry division.

## Background

In August 1943 the 139th Rifle Division was reinforced with newly arrived draftees-volunteers. Eighteen newly arrived factory workers from Novosibirsk were given a task to stealthily occupy a height behind enemy lines in the vicinity of today's settlement Rubezhonka in Kaluga Oblast. Headed by the Second Lieutenant Yevgeniy Proshin, they were given the deadline to accomplish their mission by September 14. Their call sign was Luna. Upon completion of the task Luna gave a positive SITREP for a successful mission. However, they were spotted soon by a German patrol, which led to their encirclement and elimination. No real evaluation of the mission was recorded. Despite the lyrics which mention three survivors, there were in fact only two: Sergeant Konstantin Vlasov and Private Gerasim Lapin. Their lives were miraculously spared when they were knocked unconscious. Sergeant Vlasov was captured as a prisoner, but was later able to escape to partisans; Private Lapin was found among the dead by the advancing elements of Soviet Armed Forces.
Nikolai Danilenko, Dmitriy Yaruta, Yemelyan Belokonov, Petr Panin, Dmitriy Shliakhov, Roman Zakomoldin, Nikolai Galenkin, Timofei Kasabiyev, Gavriil Vorobyov, Aleksandr Artamonov, Dmitriy Lipovitser, Boris Kigel, Daniil Denisov, Petr Romanov, and Ivan Kulikov were among the soldiers who died while carrying out the mission.

## Translated lyrics

    Smoke fled from groves beneath the mountain
    The sun was setting in the blaze
    There has been three of us remaining
    Out of the other eighteen guys
    How many of them, friends so closest
    Left in the darkness they had lain
    Nearby some unfamiliar settlement
    Atop a height that has no name
    Shone like a star the fired missile
    When it was falling from the sky
    Those who have witnessed it at least once
    Will not forget until they die
    Will not forget it, not forget it
    The fierce attacks that happened there
    Nearby some unfamiliar settlement
    Atop a height that has no name
    The Messerschmidts above us circling
    As in broad day, were seen so well
    But only stronger friends became we
    Under the artillery hell
    Through hard times that we knew together
    We stayed loyal to our aim
    Nearby some unfamiliar settlement
    Atop a height that has no name
    Still am I dreaming of their faces
    Those comrades from the years of war
    I see our dugout in three layers
    A pine on top that has been scorched
    As if right now, I stand beside them
    Before the fiery edge again
    Nearby some unfamiliar settlement
    Atop a height that has no name