Third rocket. Accursed height. Survive until dawn.

The novellas offered by Vasily Bykau, People's Writer of Belarus – "The Third Rocket," "The Cursed Height," and "To Live Till Dawn" – reveal the tragedy and grandeur of the human spirit in war. These are stories of ordinary soldiers whose small feats made up a great victory. In each of his works, Bykau shows not only the trials of front-line life but also the moral choice, dignity, and responsibility of a person to themselves and to history.
This book is a testament to truth, courage, and humanity, written in a simple and profound language characteristic of the power of true art.

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The novellas by Vasily Bykau, a recognized master of war prose, describe individual episodes from the front-line life of Soviet soldiers. At first glance, there is nothing exceptional in them – such events occurred daily in many places, and reports about them did not even make it into military summaries. But each of the heroes rises to a personal feat, which will become a small part of the Great Victory.