                
         ESCAPE FROM VELIKIYE LUKI- VELIKIYE LUKI, Central Russia, January 12, 1943: During the fatal
         winter of 1943, the German disaster was not confined to Stalingrad alone.
         All along the line, Russians were cutting off pockets of Germans. At
         Velikiye Luki, the entire 277th Infantry Regiment was in dire straits.
         Surrounded and with further relief efforts abandoned, it was over for the
         277th. The Russians were tightening their vise. Elements of four Rifle
         Regiments with massive armor and artillery support had broken the
         perimeter and were now in the process of slaughtering what remained of the
         unit. As the headquarters fell, the commander gave the order for all who
         could save themselves to do so. As night fell, many isolated groups headed
         for the German lines some ten miles distant.
         
         
         AFTERMATH: The weakest part of the Soviet corridor lay to the Southwest in the area of
         the 129th Rifle Regt. There, a few groups were able to escape the ever
         tightening noose, although they came out in no way resembling a combat
         formation, but in ones and twos. Co. A of the 2nd Bn intheir attempt lost
         everyone save one squad and a few officers. Technically, it was a disaster of
         the first magnitude but the fact that somebody made it was a source, albeit a
         small one, of considerable hope for those who would face the same plight in
         the months ahead.
         