JULY, 1943. The Germans had already opened fire, but they were firing randomly, and their shells were hitting the trench parapet or glancing off our armour. The enemy was obviously trying to provoke us to fire, in order to pinpoint and to suppress our firing emplacements. ... the Germans were advancing confidently in a head-on assault designed to demoralize the defenders.

‘That’s all very well for them; their rate of fire is twice that of ours!’ Korolev declared indignantly, as if having read my own thoughts.

‘Be strong, Valeriy, cool-headedness is the guarantor of victory,’ I said to calm down the gunlayer, who was beginning to become nervous.

There were now about 600 metres to the enemy tanks, when at long last the order arrived from the command post. The gun was already loaded and Valeriy, having checked his aim, pressed the trigger, yelling as he was supposed to do:

‘Shot!’

Everyone intensely watched for the strike – where would the shell hit?! The shell exploded on the right side of the frontal armour. Well done, but the Ferdinand kept advancing as if nothing had happened!

‘Valeriy! Hit it lower, on the track as it is moving up the slope!’ 

Having signalled the order ‘Follow me’ [literally, ‘Delay, kak ya!’ or ‘Do whatever I do!’] to Levanov by flags, I instructed the driver: ‘Viktor! Head for the grove at full speed!’

– Vasiliy Krysov
Panzer Destroyer: Memoirs of a Red Army Tank Commander