War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1291 Singing in the forest
In the darkness of the night, deep in the primeval forest that was still shrouded in freezing rain, the continuous blood loss from the wound on his shoulder had already made Wei Ran nervous. In comparison, the situation of Father Doferro was not too good either. Still in a coma.

"Alyosha, how far is it?"

When they stopped temporarily to extinguish the kerosene lamp again because of the reconnaissance plane flying low overhead, Fras, who was responsible for carrying the stretcher, asked.

"It's not far," Alyosha, who was leading the mule, replied while looking above his head. "It's not far further. How is dad?"

Hearing this, David, who was also responsible for carrying the stretcher, put his hand to Father Dofero's nostrils and tried, "He's still alive."

"Victor, how are you doing?" Flas asked Wei Ran who was sitting on the trunk of a pine tree.

"It's okay," Wei Ran responded weakly, "I'm okay, keep walking, we have to hurry up."

Hearing this, Alyosha, who was responsible for leading the way, looked up at the night sky above his head again. Hearing the roar of the plane gradually disappearing, he lit the small oil lamp again, and with the faint light, he led the mule forward. With.

Gritting his teeth, Wei Ran stood up holding on to the tree trunk, but then he felt that the light of the oil lamp in front of him disappeared, and he was also spinning for a while, amidst the exclamations of Flas and David. Lost consciousness.

In his daze, he only vaguely felt as if he was lying on a swaying and bumpy slope. He only felt that he was tied to something and couldn't move at all.

I don't know how long it took, but the dazzling light and the stinging pain at the wound made him regain consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he immediately saw a man wearing a Soviet military uniform and a mask next to him, using a pair of tweezers to remove the wound. A bullet was pulled out of the wound on his shoulder, and there seemed to be something blocked in his mouth.

"We don't have anesthesia, so Comrade Victor, you have to be patient, and then I will help you suture the wound." The man wearing the mask said apologetically.

Wei Ran nodded laboriously, and the gagged Wei Ran moved his eyes slightly, and then he saw another person wearing a mask on the other side of him, holding two square box flashlights to help shine. Covering the wound.And directly above him, there seemed to be a canopy.

Without waiting to continue looking, the severe pain from the wound made him tighten his nerves and bite the thing in his mouth.

"Hold him"

The doctor who was suturing his wound gave an order. Suddenly, Wei Ran felt that his other shoulder, two hands, two legs, and even the top of his head were being pressed hard by one hand after another. Flat bed board.

In the severe pain of being poked and stabbed with needles and threads over and over again at the wound on his shoulder, Wei Ran could not help but sweatdropping on his forehead. However, the weakness caused by the blood loss and the big hands around him that were holding him down firmly made him feel weak. He could only bite the thing in his mouth tightly and endure the pain.

Fortunately, the doctor was quick enough and completed the suturing of his wound in less than 10 minutes.

Looking sideways at the wound that had not yet been bandaged, Wei Ran shook his head helplessly. Although he was deprived of medical skills, he could see that this person's needlework was not much better than his own, but it was definitely more sloppy than his own.

Watching the other party complete the bandaging work, before Wei Ran lost consciousness again, he vaguely felt someone taking away the thing stuffed in his mouth, and saying "Okay, let him sleep, he Will survive.”

When he woke up again, the canopy above his head had been removed, replaced by a cave "ceiling" that was obviously man-made.

He looked around, but he saw that it was only a hundred or ten square meters in size. There were some wooden boxes stacked around him that contained unknown contents, and some of the boxes put together were obviously used as beds - just like the bed under him. .

Sitting up with a little effort, Wei Ran waited for the darkening symptoms in front of his eyes to disappear, and then through the dim light of the oil lamp, he discovered Dofero's father, who was lying head-to-head on the wooden box bed with him on the other side, as well as the head of his bed. In the box on one side are the relics of political commissar Vinya.

Standing up unsteadily, Wei Ran walked to the other party's bed and stretched out his hand to try. Fortunately, although the father was not awake, his breathing was stable enough.

I casually walked to a box and looked inside. The box contained only some mining tools, some food such as potatoes and onions, and even some neatly folded German uniforms.

Was he captured?

Wei Ran quickly gave up this idea. He clearly remembered that what he had just seen was a wound treated by people in Soviet uniforms. What's more, he also found a lot of Soviet-style Mosin in a box. Nagant rifles, as well as a small number of pistols mixed in, and even a few Soviet grenades and German mortar shells and other weapons.

Drawing a rifle at random and using it as a crutch, Wei Ran staggered towards the tunnel connecting this huge space.

Compared to this fairly spacious cave, although the tunnel leading to the outside is very wide, it is much shorter in height.

More importantly, until he reached the entrance of the cave, he did not see any hands guarding him. Even the three Alyosha and even the mule did not know where they had gone, but on both sides of the entrance, there were There were two German sidecar motorcycles.

Looking at the freezing rain that was still falling outside and the endless forest around him, Wei Ran couldn't help but shiver from the cold wind.

"You're awake, how do you feel?" Just at this moment, political commissar Zinovi, whom he had met before, had already walked over from a distance while speaking.

Looking at the bundle of firewood held in the other person's hand and the bandage on the other hand, Wei Ran asked curiously, "Why are you injured too?"

"The day before yesterday, we had a sneak attack on the village of Polpino and were accidentally shot." Political Commissar Zinovi explained nonchalantly.

"The day before yesterday?" Wei Ran was stunned, "How long did I sleep? Where were Alyosha and the others?"

"It's just one day," Zinovi explained with a smile, "Alyosha and the others helped carry our trophies and other wounded."

"How was the harvest?" Wei Ran paused and then added, "Are there many casualties?"

“The casualties are not too big”

Zinovi motioned to Wei Ran and walked a few steps into the cave. He sat down against the wall and put down the firewood he was carrying. He gave Wei Ran a cigarette and explained, "Counting me, only three people were injured, and the other two were injured." The injuries were not too serious, it was just inconvenient to move around, but we grabbed a lot of weapons."

At this point, Zinovi added abruptly, "I heard Alyosha tell you about you, Victor, thank you. At that time, we were still wondering why there were so many fewer enemies than expected, until Alyosha told us We didn’t know until you sent it here that we were attracted by you. Also, we are very sorry about political commissar Vinia.”

"You're welcome," Wei Ran sighed after saying, "Do you know where Commissar Vinia is buried?"

Hearing this, Zinovi shook his head, "I heard Alyosha say that after you fainted, they temporarily abandoned Vinya's body in order to get here as soon as possible. Yesterday, they took you and Father Doferro After putting it down, he hurried back, probably to bury it on the spot."

"Is that so?" Wei Ran was silent for a moment, then changed the topic and asked, "This is"

"Our base camp" Zinovi pointed to the depths of the cave with a finger holding a cigarette. "This is an abandoned mica mine. A hunter led us to find it here."

"Is that so?" Wei Ran thought for a while and continued to ask, "What's the situation outside now?"

"The Germans sent out several patrols to hunt for us."

Zinovi looked in the direction of the cave entrance and replied, "We are luring them into the forest so that their heavy firepower and armored vehicles are useless, and then we can keep them here forever."

Hearing this, Wei Ran was about to say something when he heard noisy noises coming from outside the cave.After looking at each other, the two immediately put out the cigarettes they had just lit, stood up, and walked quickly to the entrance of the mine.

Far away, he saw Alyosha leading the mule this way. Behind the mule was also dragging a simple sledge, with two legs wrapped in bandages sitting on it. Wounded soldiers in German uniforms.

The two wounded men were obviously in good condition. Not only were they both smoking cigarettes, but they were also laughing and chatting about something.

Behind the sledge, Fras and David were actually holding a horse each, and behind the two horses were also dragging a sledge each, and the sledge was also equipped with a lot of weapons and ammunition.

"Victor! Are you awake?"

Alyosha was the first to spot Wei Ran, and immediately waved enthusiastically. At the same time, he did not forget to ask, "Where is Dad? Is Dad awake?"

"Not yet." Wei Ran responded feebly while holding on to the rock wall at the entrance of the mine. The smile that had just appeared on Alyosha's face also froze.

During these few words, David and Flas also walked over with their horses. They greeted Wei Ran first, and then said with some urgency, "Commissar Zinovi, Platoon Leader Taras asked us to go first." Send back these trophies, including these two army horses, they are still ambushing the Germans. Comrade Political Commissar, let us also join the battle!"

"Yes!" Alyosha echoed, "Comrade Political Commissar, let us also participate in the battle!"

"You do have to fight."

Zinovi's words immediately made the eyes of these three young men brighten up, but then they heard political commissar Zinovi say, "But your battlefield is not where Platoon Commander Taras is. I want to arrange it for you." A more important mission.”

"What mission?" Alyosha immediately asked, "Give me an anti-tank gun and let me shoot tanks!"

"No, no, no, the mission I want to talk about is much more important than fighting German tanks."

Political Commissar Zinovi waved his hand and explained, "Alyosha, David, and Vlas, you are all locals and are more familiar with this forest than us. I need you three to go through the forest to find us. main force and a sufficiently secure rear area.”

Seeing that the four Weiran people were about to say something, Zinovi continued, "This mission is not just a one-time mission. You need to help us find a safe passage through the forest to establish contact with the rear, and you also need to bring us with you." After the supplies came back, they helped us transport the wounded, brought weapons and supplies back, and even brought reinforcements here. The most important thing is that Father Dofero is in urgent need of better treatment. Not only is his body not here at all, There is no way to recover, and it is likely to get worse. Comrades, this is a more important battle than fighting on the front lines."

Hearing this, Alyosha and the three looked at each other and asked in unison, "When will we set off?"

"The sooner the better, I will ask you to follow me to the front line to help transport supplies, and by the way, I will bring back the two military horses just for you."

Zinovi glanced at Wei Ran beside him and said apologetically, "Victor, if you can still move, you should lead them."

"no problem"

Wei Ran nodded and agreed. Regardless of whether the task of finding the rear was realistic or not, at least Father Dofero's physical condition did not allow him to wait here any longer.

Seeing this, Zinovi's face immediately showed a satisfied smile, "I believe you can definitely complete this task, come with me!"

The four of them looked at each other, and Alyosha and the other three helped the wounded man down who was still sitting on the sledge, followed Zinovi into the cave, and after helping them to the wooden box bed, they found a few people working together. A group of wooden boxes sat around.

"Can you read a map and use a compass?" Zinovi asked while taking something out of the box next to him.

"Me and David can do it"

Vlas was the first to say, "We used to work in the printing house in Bryansk and learned how to proofread map scale, so we know how to use it."

"I learned how to use the compass from Commissar Vinya," Alyosha replied.

"I know how to do it." Wei Ran responded when he saw Zinovi looking at him.

"that would be great"

While Commissar Zinovi was speaking, he had already taken out a waterproof map from a cowhide map bag and laid it on the wooden box surrounded by people. Then he took out a north guide that was probably seized from the Germans from the bag. The needle pressed against it.

This was not over yet. He then took out a red and blue double-core pencil from the bag and a flashlight in a box that was also probably captured by the German army and opened it.

"This is where we are now"

Zinovi drew a red triangle the size of a fingernail on the map. "It's not very accurate. The mine that was abandoned during the Russian era is not marked on the map at all, but it won't deviate too much."

Then, he turned the pencil over again, drew a line with the blue refill at the other end and said, "You need to go through this forest to the northeast, toward Belevsky, in that direction Looking for lands and Soviet government that were not occupied by the Germans.”

"Belevsky?"

Alyosha grinned, "I have never been to such a far place before the war."

"This time you have a chance to go"

Zinovi said apologetically, "Comrades, boys, I'm sorry that we can't provide you with more supplies. All we can provide you are the two stolen military horses and your own mules. "

"Enough is enough"

Vlas stood up before he finished speaking, "We are sure to get out of the forest and will definitely bring the supplies back. Let's set off as soon as possible. Alyosha, come here to help. Let's lift dad onto the sledge first. Wade, help Victor pack his things."

"Victor, take this."

Zinovi handed the map bag to Wei Ran, "Here are my ID and a letter of introduction. They can help you."

"I will take good care of these things." Wei Ran took the map bag with both hands and hung it on his shoulders.

At the same time, Alyosha and the other three also began to pack their few luggage.

All Wei Ran needed to take away was his German backpack, the canvas pocket bag left by Political Commissar Vinya, and the map bag given to him by Political Commissar Zinovi.

It was even simpler for Father Dofero who was still in a coma. Alyosha and Fras covered him with an extra thick blanket and directly lifted the stretcher under him.

The group of people left the cave, and Wei Ran also enjoyed the same treatment as Father Dofero - being tied to a wooden sledge pulled by mules and horses.

Although he said that there was nothing else for them except these three animals, Commissar Zinovi still distributed to everyone, including Wei Ran, a German submachine gun that he had borrowed from them before, and A German lunch box containing boiled potatoes, carrots and pieces of meat from an unknown animal, plus a kettle filled with water, and a Soviet cloak for each person.

Without much delay at all, Alyosha and the other three shouted to the animals, and under the guidance of the compass held by Flass, they left the abandoned mica mine and once again entered the cave that seemed to be able to devour people. in the forest.

Soon after, the mine behind him was completely blocked by trees. Alyosha, who was slowly moving forward with a mule and a sledge pulling a sanitary ignition, cleared his throat and sang a cappella the song "The Gun Kagami" he once sang. .

Get out of the way quickly, animals and birds, get out of our way.Look at the dust floating in the clouds, and the horses galloping forward
In the quiet forest, Fras, who was walking at the front, and David, who was walking at the back, also cleared their throats and sang along in a low voice: circuitous to the left and right, rushing to and from the enemy's defense line.A young machine gunner, the machine gun was firing loudly.
On the sledge pulled by a mule, Wei Ran smiled, took out the blues harmonica from the metal book, and played the accompaniment of the song in harmony with their singing in unison - just like he had done in the basement of Leningrad.

When they heard Wei Ran's harmonica accompaniment, the eyes of the three young men leading the mules and horses all brightened up. Although their singing did not get much louder, it was much more cheerful and full of power and energy that was not found in a cappella singing. Endless hope.

By the time the song ended, Alyosha had already moved to the edge of the sledge and said in surprise, "Victor, you actually know how to play the harmonica? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I forgot," Wei Ran replied in a mocking manner.

"That's a good excuse. What other songs do you know?" David, who was walking behind, asked with a smile. Lying on the sledge pulled by the horse he was holding was Father Doferro.

"I can sing whatever you can sing."

Although Wei Ran was weak at this time, he was extremely confident in what he said. After all, it was the metal notebook that taught him. If there was something he didn't know how to do, he wouldn't mind mocking the broken notebook in his heart.

Hearing this, Alyosha started singing directly, "Beside the old oak tree, the spring water in the forest was flowing. The war horse was pawing at the iron ladder, its mane rustling."

Seeing this, Wei Ran put the blues harmonica he was holding in one hand to his mouth again and played the accompaniment to the old Cossack song "By the Oak Tree".

In this quiet forest, one person accompanied by three people sang Soviet songs that drove away the coldness and fatigue. Even the three mules and horses snorted from time to time as if they were trying to sing along. .

"I thought I was in heaven"

Just when Alyosha and the other three had finished singing an unknown number of songs and were about to stop to rest, Father Doferro, who was lying in the last sledge, woke up and said feebly, "I'm still here." It’s strange why those angels not only didn’t sing hymns but also had such loud voices, it turned out to be you guys.”

"Dad, are you finally awake?" Alyosha and the other two people gathered around him excitedly.

"How long have I been sleeping? Are you the only ones?" Dad asked sadly.

"Victor, and Victor." Alyosha immediately pointed to Wei Ran who was sitting up on the sledge next to him and said.

"Commissar Vinya is still alive, as well as Yeremey."

Fras said unexpectedly, "The political commissar's injury was relatively serious and he couldn't move, so he stayed in the camp of Platoon Commander Talas and his team to recuperate. Yeremey injured his leg, so he was also left behind. "

"The three of us received the mission to help Platoon Commander Taras and the others establish contact with the rear hospital."

David on the side helped to weave this cruel lie, "Not only do we need to find a hospital, but we also need to safely deliver you and Victor, the two lightly injured people, to reduce the burden on Platoon Leader Taras and others."

Hearing this, a trace of well-hidden grief flashed across Father Dofero's old eyes, and then he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good that he's still alive. It's a pity for Sasha."

Hearing this, the three young men who were singing just now fell silent, and listened to Wei Ran say casually, "Dad, Sasha's sacrifice is worth it. We have achieved great results, and we have effectively helped Tara." Platoon Commander Si and the others attracted a considerable number of enemies, making their sneak attack a great success."

"This is probably the first good news I've heard." Father Dofero sighed and asked about what happened before he fell into coma.

The three young men in Alyosha told the story of what happened in the lies weaved by each other. Father Dofero also managed to eat half a boiled carrot, and the men and horses who had had enough rest set off again. .

However, this time, before they could finish singing a Katyusha song to appease their father, they heard a rumble of explosions from far away!
When this sound reached their ears, the expressions of Alyosha and the three others also changed. They all knew that the sound of artillery seemed to come from the direction where Platoon Commander Taras and the others were fighting.

(End of this chapter)