War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1691 Bait
On this cold winter night in the mountains, the kerosene gas stove in the makeshift shelter burned with a hissing sound all night long, providing vital warmth in this small space where it is difficult for people to straighten their backs completely even when sitting.

At the edge of the bunker, Wei Ran, who was lying against the wall, placed the Nikon camera on his suitcase. After some adjustments, he pressed the shutter button towards Abdul, who was sitting against the wall opposite him with an RPG in his arms, and Hakim, who was also holding an RPG beside him.

After a somewhat long exposure, the two men who were busy connecting several 40-round ammunition belts together should have left some shadows on the film.

Contentedly putting away the camera, Wei Ran lay down, covered himself with the dirty, sandy blanket and closed his eyes.

This night was far less comfortable than last night in the cave. There was the crowded space, the mountain wind howling outside the shelter, the cold temperature squeezing in from the corners, the uneven ground beneath, and of course, the worry about tomorrow.

All this made Wei Ran and the two people opposite him wake up from time to time. They would either open the corners to take a look at the sky outside, or wrap themselves tightly in the blanket and fall asleep with difficulty after tossing and turning again.

When Wei Ran woke up again, the morning star outside the felt was extremely clear. He was no longer sleepy, so he simply climbed out of the shelter and looked at the mountain opposite.

Although it was some distance away, he could still barely see a makeshift shelter that he hadn't noticed yesterday evening.

At this moment, someone climbed out of the bunker and waved towards this side enthusiastically - it was Habibullah.

Wei Ran also waved in response, walked a little further to the other side of the mountain, selected the most neat-looking stone as a target, and urinated in the morning with a strong smell of sheep.

When he returned to the makeshift shelter, Abdul and Hakim had already woken up and were performing the crucial morning prayer in the shelter.

Without disturbing the two of them, Wei Ran silently used the pancake stove with only a little fuel left to boil the remaining mutton soup in the stainless steel pot and served a bowl to everyone, including himself. Then he turned off the oil stove and put away the stainless steel pot under the cover of the suitcase, and took out an engineer shovel at the same time.

Their morning ceremony had not yet ended, so Wei Ran did not disturb them too much. He walked a distance away with a shovel in his hand. He first tried to raise the camera to frame the bunker in the distance. After a little hesitation, he took a step back and then drew a cross on the gravel ground with the tip of his shoe with satisfaction.

Using this cross as a reference, he picked up the engineer shovel and carefully constructed a sufficiently concealed individual shelter.

He couldn't kill anyone this time, so he couldn't help Abdul and Hakim. The only thing he could do was to record everything that was about to happen in a close enough distance, in detail and objectively.

Before he could finish, Abdul and the other man had already finished their morning prayer.

Seeing this, Wei Ran immediately dropped the engineer shovel in his hand, picked up the camera again and said, "Before having breakfast, let me take a few photos of you."

"Where did we shoot it?" Abdul asked first.

"You decide," Wei Ran said casually.

"I'll just stay here"

Hakim said, already putting the RPG on his back and standing next to the anti-aircraft machine gun, "I'll take the picture here, Victor, please take a picture of me and my weapon."

"no problem"

Wei Ran nodded and took a few steps forward, using the viewfinder to frame Hakim, who was smiling particularly brightly, and the anti-aircraft machine gun whose barrel he was holding with one hand.

"Give this photo, that letter, and this Bone Blue Whale to Vida."

Hakim said, taking out the Blue Whale from his arms and handing it to Wei Ran, "If you can find her, whether she has started a family or not, tell her that I am dead, dying in the battle resisting the Soviet invaders."

"If you insist, I will tell you the truth."

Wei Ran solemnly took the palm-sized bone blue whale and stuffed it into his arms.

“It’s my turn.”

Abdul took off his vest and shook it vigorously. After putting it on again, he walked to the edge of the flat ground on the top of the mountain not far away. "Let's take pictures here. Take as many pictures of Afhan behind me as possible, but don't take pictures of our position. I want Qiaoya's memories to have fewer parts related to the war."

"As you wish"

Wei Ran raised his camera again and pressed the shutter button towards the old soldier who was pretending to be happy and making a cheering expression.

Finally, a photo of the teacher and student was taken in the trench, holding an enamel pot and drinking mutton soup. Wei Ran finished his portion in a few bites and asked, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Just protect yourself"

Abdul said with the kindness of an elder, "We won't have the energy to protect you, so you should stay as far away as possible. If we die, don't worry about our bodies. Go find Habibullah and ask him to take you away from here.

If he is dead, you go find any guerrillas who are still alive. If they are all dead, you will have to go find Mahbub on your donkey, and hope you remember the way back."

“To be honest, I’m a directionally challenged person.”

Wei Ran climbed out of the makeshift trench and said, "So even if it means that I can leave Afhan alive and deliver a letter to Hakim, you have to survive."

"We'll try our best to survive." Hakim smiled innocently, with a cloud of mist rising from his mouth.

"I'll treat you to mutton soup tonight."

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he couldn't help but press the shutter button towards them again. Then he walked to the unfinished individual shelter not far away, picked up the engineering shovel again and started working.

With his extremely careful and absolutely professional work, a foxhole that only allowed him to curl up in it was finally dug before the sun reached its highest point.

In order to make this place inconspicuous enough, he even transported all the excavated sand, stones and soil to a far place, used them to build a false bunker, and dug enough weeds to bury around the bunker.

Finally, the roof was capped with the dirty blanket. Wei Ran didn't even have time to raise the camera to try it out before a series of explosions suddenly came from the other side of the mountain opposite.

"Hide it!"

Abdul shouted in Russian, but he had already sat on the base of the anti-aircraft machine gun, skillfully adjusting the elevation and steering controls, aiming the crosshairs at the mountain opposite.

At the same time, Hakim also covered the former, the machine gun and even himself with a piece of felt.

All of this was recorded with a camera by Wei Ran, who had chosen a relatively high position.

As he anxiously waited, intensive gunfire was heard from the direction farther away from the explosion, or to be more precise, from the other side of the road.

However, at this time, the guerrillas hiding in the opposite mountain in the direction of Habibullah did not move. He didn't even know how many people were hiding there.

Amid the ongoing exchange of gunfire, the counterattack became increasingly intense.

Just at this moment, Wei Ran also noticed that two people on the opposite mountain climbed to the top of the mountain, each carrying a recoilless gun. After a slight aiming, they fired a shell each at the bottom of the mountain.

Immediately afterwards, the two men immediately retreated, and let their only companion help them load the ammunition, then moved away for a distance, crossed the top of the mountain again, and each fired a shell towards the bottom of the mountain.

What's the point of this special code if you don't run away and wait for chicken feathers?
As soon as Wei Ran finished speaking, another dull explosion was heard from the other side of the mountain. There was no need to guess, just by listening to the noise one knew it was definitely a landmine.

This answered Wei Ran's doubts. He really couldn't run away and there was no way to run away.

In short, both sides of the exchange of fire are now waiting for helicopters or even fighter jets to come to support them. It's like a gamble, both sides are betting on whether the support they are waiting for can win the fight, as for what the supporters are thinking, I'm afraid no one cares at this time.

In the ensuing firefight, Wei Ran clearly saw that one of the guerrillas who was carrying a recoilless rifle on his shoulder was shot in the body just after he finished firing.

He only had time to throw the recoilless rifle on his shoulder behind him with all his strength, and then he rolled down the mountain.

Without any pause, the guerrilla who was originally responsible for loading the shells picked up the recoilless gun, stuffed the shells into it skillfully, staggered on his shoulder, moved a distance away with another person, and then popped up again to fire a shell at the convoy at the foot of the mountain.

Although the only two recoilless guns here are far less powerful than the suspected DShK heavy machine guns used by the guerrillas on the opposite mountain, a shot from time to time would probably be enough to cause headaches for the enemies at the foot of the mountain.

After fighting back and forth for nearly half an hour, two armed helicopters finally appeared in the distance to provide support!

"Why don't you fight?"

Wei Ran frowned. The range of the Stinger anti-aircraft missile is five kilometers, which is far beyond the range of a machine gun.

But soon, he understood what these people were planning. They probably wanted to shoot down both planes!

As the distance between the two sides gradually narrowed, the two guerrillas who were originally carrying recoilless rifles were the first to drop their heavy weapons and began to run wildly.

They are also bait.
Wei Ran pressed the shutter again and again, recording everything that happened in the mountains.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Just when everyone was unprepared, the two helicopters opened fire, and they easily tore apart the two guerrillas who were running wildly in the valley with their machine guns.

At the same time, the DShK heavy machine gun on the opposite side of the road finally directed its firepower from the road at the foot of the mountain to the helicopter in the air, allowing Wei Ran to clearly see the barrage of bullets fired from the opposite side with the help of tracer bullets.

Compared with this dense barrage of bullets, the two Mi-24s in the air, as expected, began to circle around the guerrillas who were firing at them with the classic "wheel tactics" while strafing them with their cannons.

It was at this time that Abdul opened fire.

Amid the deafening sound of gunfire, 14.5mm bullets suddenly hit the Mi-24 that was engaged in a rotation battle and had just hit him!

In this series of chaotic firefights, the tail wing of the Mi-24 that was hit continuously by the anti-aircraft machine gun was the first to be destroyed by the anti-aircraft machine gun. Immediately afterwards, a Stinger anti-aircraft missile flying from the other side also hit it hard.

Amid the explosion of the anti-aircraft missile, the helicopter began to spin and fall, and finally crashed heavily into a narrow valley between two mountains, and after rolling several times, it became motionless.

But the other helicopter reacted very quickly and took off, even dropping jamming bombs that were rarely equipped on Mi-24 helicopters, narrowly avoiding the stinger that was flying towards it without any damage!
To be finished.
Wei Ran thought to himself that this was not good. If they had just dealt with the helicopter, even if it was just slightly damaged, they might still be able to survive. But at this moment all their positions had been exposed, and that Mi-24 would probably be back soon!
The most important thing is, if he remembered correctly, they only sent two Stinger anti-aircraft missiles this time!
At this moment, he clearly saw that there was an RPG in the opposite bunker, and a man running out with a PPSh-27 rifle whose owner was unknown.

He almost fell all the way from halfway up the mountain to the valley at the foot of the mountain, then immediately got up, held the PPSh and pulled the trigger towards the inside of the helicopter wreckage!

When the magazine of the PPSh was empty, he immediately threw the submachine gun into the wreckage of the helicopter, and then actually carried the RPG into the wreckage of the helicopter!

It's Habibullah! That's Habibullah!

Wei Ran recognized the other party instantly and knew what he was planning.

Sure enough, at this moment, in the bunker on the opposite mountain, another person also raised the anti-aircraft missile launcher and was ready without any disguise.

Not only on the opposite side, but also in the anti-aircraft position not far away, Hakim and Abdul removed the anti-aircraft machine gun from the tripod as quickly as possible, wrapped it with felt for cover as prepared in advance, and then actually lifted it to the other side and threw it directly down the mountain!

Immediately afterwards, the two men worked together to lift the 50-liter iron oil barrel and threw it down as well.

Even though he was some distance away, Wei Ran recognized him.

The oil barrel was filled with the ammunition they had made last night by linking together five 5-round ammunition belts, a total capacity of nearly 40 rounds!

After throwing the most important weapons and ammunition down the mountain, the teacher and student each picked up an RPG rocket launcher and looked at Wei Ran in unison.

As he pressed the shutter again, Abdul gave a gentle push, allowing Hakim to leave the bunker and hide on the other side of the mountain.

Almost at the same time when they were all ready, the helicopter flew over in circles from a distance and began to fight back with rockets from a distance!
As Wei Ran pressed the shutter again, the rockets first tore apart the guerrilla on the opposite mountain who was holding a Stinger launcher but had no anti-aircraft missiles. He was the biggest threat to it.

At the same time, Abdul also stood in the makeshift shelter, stood straight, pulled the trigger and fired an RPG rocket at the Mi-24 out of range, purely to attract fire!
"boom!"

The RPG that reached its self-destruction time and exploded successfully attracted the attention of the Mi-24!
"grass!"

When Wei Ran saw flames coming out of the tail of the Mi-24's rocket launcher, he realized that something was wrong. He quickly squatted down after pressing the shutter for the last time, and also covered his head with a suitcase he had prepared in advance.

"Boom boom boom!"

In a series of explosions, the makeshift shelter where Abdul was located was covered by smoke, dust and sand.

Amid the sound of the explosion, the roar of the helicopter came closer and closer and began to circle, using its machine gun to carefully fire at the anti-aircraft machine gun position, the simple bunker on the other side of the mountain, and even the fake bunker that Wei Ran had built using excavated soil.

Amid the deafening sound of machine guns, the roar of propellers, and the crash of rocks and sand being blown away, Wei Ran, who was hiding in the foxhole, no longer cared whether he would be discovered or not. The only thing he could do was to hold on tightly to the felt that served as camouflage.

Finally, after a long period of supplementary shooting, the Mi-24 began to circle and lower its altitude.

Obviously, they were prepared to take the risk and get closer to observe the crashed helicopter, and perhaps even to rescue their surviving companions.

At the same time, Wei Ran also popped his head out and risked raising his camera.

A little earlier than him, Habibullah who was hiding in the wreckage of the helicopter and Hakim who was hiding on the other side of the mountain jumped out almost at the same time. Amid the flying sand and rocks, they fired their respective rockets at the Mi-24, which they thought had eliminated all threats!
"boom!"

With an explosion, the RPG fired by Hakim took advantage of its height and first hit the cabin of the Mi-24 near the tail, and exploded.

Objectively speaking, the pilot of this Mi-24 was alert enough and his gunner reacted quickly enough.

But at this time, there was more than one outdated and crude RPG7 rocket flying towards them!
"boom!"

As the second rocket hit the cockpit glass of the helicopter head-on, the helicopter spun and began to tilt, almost brushing the top of the mountain where Wei Ran was and flew to the other side, and finally crashed into the valley with a "bang!"
Wei Ran hurriedly pressed the shutter a few times in the direction where the helicopter was crashing, and looked anxiously at Hakim and Habibullah.

At this time, Habibullah had left the wreckage of the helicopter and was holding onto something, running hard towards the top of the mountain where they were.

Looking at Hakim again, he also shouted "Teacher" and jumped back to the fire shelter.

Looking into the distance, Wei Ran also climbed out of the foxhole and ran towards the bunker that was almost razed to the ground.

But at this time, he could no longer find anything intact in this almost flattened bunker.
"I thought I was going to die," Hakim said in despair.

"You should be thankful that you are alive and the battle is not over yet." Wei Ran had to remind them, he thought they were all going to die.

"Yes, it's not over yet, not yet"

Akeem was stunned for a moment, but he didn't care about Habibullah who hadn't run up yet, and turned around and ran to the other side of the mountain in the direction of the helicopter crash.