War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 323 Polluted Water Source
In the song after song that is very characteristic of the times, Tonya, who has the title of "artist", sang one after another, the panic and sadness caused by the shelling not long ago in the trenches were gradually diluted, and even the work efficiency was faster. Not a lot.

In an open space not far from the command post, Valentin said to a captain next to him, "Comrade Commissar, I think Tonya should be allowed to go to the military band to play his talent, instead of waiting in this muddy field." Killed by the Germans."

"I'll talk to the battalion commander about it"

The political commissar with a TT33 pistol strapped to his waist sighed, "But that must be done after we have replenished enough troops, Valentin, don't forget that the position we need to defend is more than 150 meters long, Everyone here matters."

"I remember you are friends?" Valentin asked intentionally or unintentionally.

"It's just that they are all from Moscow. We don't know each other too well." The political commissar said perfunctorily.

Valentin shook his head regretfully, "I hope our artists can live until then."

"hope so"

The political commissar turned around and walked into the trench. He didn't take out a group photo from his arms until Valentin behind him was blocked by the corner of the trench.

There are more than a dozen people in this group photo, and they are standing on the stage in uniform. Among them are not only the political commissar, but also the artist Tonya mentioned by Valentin just now.

And on the back of the photo, there are names next to each other, but many of the names have been crossed out with a pen, and there are only four or five names left.

Carefully putting away this group photo, the political commissar is leaning against the damp trench, humming softly an aria from the opera Rigoletto, but his eyes are always looking at the singer standing on the box singing Tonya, secretly looking forward to the opportunity to stand in the biggest theater in Moscow with this good friend again.

At the same time, Wei Ran finally dried up the German boots given to him by the soldiers around him, and even got a small piece of shoe wax for simple maintenance of the heavy German boots.

And all of this makes sense, after he wrapped himself in dry foot wraps and put on these boots that he took off from some dead German soldier, he finally didn't have to let his feet endure the dampness. Cold and wet between the toes.

After washing his hands with the warm water on the stove around him, Wei Ran stuffed the boiled potatoes in salt water into his bag, then picked up his camera, and asked Tonya, the artist, to help him. While distributing food, he gave it to other soldiers Take a photo of yourself and write down their name and home address along the way.

After he finished all this, Tonya took him to find a place where he could bask in the sun.The two sat on a wooden box filled with grenades, and chatted while eating boiled potatoes that had long since cooled.

"Victor, do you want to take a closer look at the Germans?" Tonya asked in a low voice.

"See the Germans up close?" Wei Ran's curiosity was aroused, "Where should I go?"

"It's at the very edge of the battlefield, but it's a bit dangerous. You need to borrow a steel helmet later." Tonya pointed in the direction, "There's a trench there that's only about 50 meters away from the German trenches. At night, we could even hear the conversations of the Germans across the way."

"Why did you dig so close?" Wei Ran asked in puzzlement. He had heard Valentin mention this trench not long ago, but the other party did not explain the function of that trench.

"On the far left of our and German positions, there is a pond about 50 meters wide."

Tonya explained, "In the first few months, we and the Germans both fetched water from that pond. And the two sides maintained a tacit understanding. In the morning, we went to fetch water, and at dusk they went. It was us and the Germans. The only time and place to live in peace."

"And then?" Wei Ran asked after eating the potatoes in his hand in two or three bites.

"Later, an idiot on the opposite side ambushed us and threw a grenade over while our men were fetching water."

Tonya said helplessly, "Of course, we also ambushed them with machine guns that day. After that incident, we couldn't get water for about a week, and then we took the risk of lengthening the trench as a canal to draw the water over. solve this problem."

Without waiting for Wei Ran to ask questions, Tonya continued, "But around August, the Germans threw a lot of corpses into that pond. As revenge, we also threw a lot of German corpses in. Later, the two sides Started diverting the water from the trenches into that pond again."

"Then where does our current water come from?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"We dug a well near the artillery emplacement"

Tonya explained indiscriminately, and then asked again, "Victor, do you want to go to that trench? I bet you will be scared by it."

When the other party said so, Wei Ran naturally couldn't refuse. After letting Tonya help him find a helmet, the two began to advance along the trench line.

Soon, the stagnant water under the feet became deeper and deeper, and then a boardwalk almost as high as the stagnant water began to appear. At the same time, Wei Ran gradually smelled a stronger and stronger stench.

The two walked cautiously along the boardwalk for dozens of meters, and then stopped at a corner.

There was an excellent hidden machine gun fire point around this corner, but the firing hole was blocked by a small piece of sack, leaving only a gap the size of a disposable lighter to see out.

However, when he put his eyes on the narrow slit to see the scene outside, he fell into a daze.

In the direction facing this observation hole is a trench or drainage channel less than 20 meters long.

But no matter what it is called, at the end of this ditch is a pond wrapped in muddy ground, but in that pond, there are at least [-] or [-] dead bodies of soldiers from both sides of the war.

Perhaps because these corpses had been thrown into the water for too long, most of them had already taken on the appearance of giants. On some corpses, there were even a few fat crows standing like old hens.

On the other side of the pond, a similar ditch could be vaguely seen in the hazy water vapor, but the Germans on the opposite side probably knew whether there was also a machine gun fire point hidden in that ditch.

"Is there no need to defend here?" Wei Ran asked after leaving the small and pitiful observation hole.

"A month ago, this was a good place for us and the Germans to sneak up on each other"

Tonya pointed to the ladder outside the bunker beside the trench and said, "Sometimes if we need to grab our tongues or go to the battlefield at night to pick off the Germans' boots, this is the fastest starting point. Of course, the Germans on the opposite side also Often sneak up on us from here, until both of us have planted a large number of mines nearby."

Speaking of this, Tonya signaled Wei Ran to follow him to leave this damp firepower point, and continued as he walked back, "But now, this place has become a trap. Occasionally, the Germans will use shelling and grenades to clean up the fire here. mines.

Then in the evening, the Germans would touch it, but they basically didn't take advantage of it. Instead, they would help us send the boots directly to this trench.This is much safer and more convenient than going to the battlefield to pick off boots. "

Hearing this, Wei Ran remained silent. The war has reached such a level that he really didn't know whether to evaluate the behavior of the two sides as smart or stupid, but there must be helplessness and numbness to life and death in it.

Under the introduction of Tonya, the two returned to the position where they just sang. Wei Ran continued his interview and chatting. After the break, Tonya continued to carry the plank and repair the muddy trench with his comrades. .

As dusk approached, overcast clouds began to appear in the sky, followed by a drizzle not long after.Except for the soldiers who needed to lie on guard in the trenches and a few snipers who repeatedly moved and fired with Mosin Nagant sniper rifles, most of the rest of the soldiers hid in bunkers.

The bunker in this position has not changed much compared to the Don River No. 19 position that Wei Ran had visited before. It is just as damp and cold, and from time to time you can see a few equally wet rats running rampant. Crowds of soldiers bake boots of different styles or smelly foot wraps around the simple stoves transformed from milk cans or oil barrels.

When it was completely dark outside, Wei Ran received the second gift that came here, a Soviet cloak that can be used to keep out the rain and keep out the cold, and a Soviet kettle filled with hot water.

But it was Nurse Lano who came from the birch forest behind to ask if Daniela had returned.

When Nurse Lano returned to the first-aid station in the forest with disappointment, Wei Ran, who had already put on the cloak, drank enough hot water, took another chance to fill up the empty water bottle with the vodka she brought, and shared To every soldier I saw.

This precious little gift on a cold rainy night allowed Wei Ran to gain the friendship of all the soldiers in a very short period of time, even the company commander Valentin and a political commissar he had never met before. He bluntly said that he sent a "gift from God".

However, just when Wei Ran was looking for a chance for the third time to fill the kettle half full with vodka.The soldiers hiding behind the observation holes in the trenches pulled the triggers one after another, and immediately after that, a series of flares were fired into the night sky.Correspondingly, those German soldiers who were about to take advantage of the rain to sneak attack were also exposed one after another, and were left on the muddy battlefield one by one.

Soon, the artillery of the German position began to fire a salvo, and correspondingly, the artillery fire of the Soviet army behind the position began to counterattack.However, the exchange of fire between the artillery of the two sides suffered from the Soviet and German soldiers who were sandwiched between them, and the main body was only 200 meters away from each other.

(End of this chapter)