War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 332 The Chase That Started Quietly (Last Update in 2021)
It was still the forest shrouded in mist and night, and it was still the five solitary soldiers including Wei Ran who were far away from their own positions. If there was the only difference, it was that the draft horse that followed them to death did not need to be pulled Just a sledge.But correspondingly, the supplies they carried on their bodies were already pitifully small.

And when the five of them set off to find another German artillery position, near the second shack they abandoned, a middle-aged German soldier with a sniper rifle under his arm carefully removed the gun that was fixed to the shack. Leads on the wooden door.

And behind him, a young soldier with a submachine gun in one hand and a wolfhound in the other was casually lighting a cigarette for himself.

After the middle-aged soldier took out a small piece of blood-stained gauze from the shack and handed it to him, the young soldier immediately put it to the nose of the wolf dog.

Soon, the wolfhound twitched its big wet nose and led the two of them to chase them in one direction.

"Looks like we've met a professional hunter"

The leading middle-aged sniper used his toes to gently pull away a small piece of pine needles on the ground, glanced at the horseshoe prints hidden underneath, and continued after thinking for a moment, "You walk behind me, don't let it get hurt."

"Understood." The young soldier flicked the cigarette butt away, and dragged the excited wolfdog to walk a little slower.

And the nose of the middle-aged sniper who was walking in front seemed to be better than that of the wolfhound. Along the way, the traces covered by Wei Ran and Daniela were almost invisible.Soon, they found the place where Wei Ran and others separated from Qiao Ya in the night.

"What's next?" asked the young soldier.

The middle-aged sniper pointed a flashlight at a remaining footprint on the ground and said, "Look at this boot print."

"This is our man?" The young soldier frowned, "No, the short boots worn by the patrol team, these are the shoe prints of the long boots."

The middle-aged sniper bent down, followed the footprints and walked a few steps forward and said, "It seems that we caught the mouse running from the opposite position."

"Could it be the artillery spotters of the Soviets?" the young soldier asked. "The group who commanded the artillery to blow up our artillery positions during the day."

"Maybe it's them"

The middle-aged soldier stood up and thought for a moment, then said, "The general direction they are going is another artillery position of ours. Let's go, let's catch up."

"Don't care about the other side?" The young soldier asked, shaking the blood-stained gauze in his hand.

"The wounded take up more resources than the dead, so let's keep it for them. Let's move faster." The middle-aged sniper had already started to catch up before he finished speaking.

And after the young soldier let the wolfdog sniff the remaining horseshoe prints on the ground, he was immediately pulled by it to speed up.

At the same time, Wei Ran and others who were also traveling in the night and mist did not know that there were more people chasing them behind them.At this time, they were still helping Andre with the same problem-where was the other artillery position of the Germans.

"According to the request you just said, there are only four places I can think of at present."

Revley took a bite of boiled potatoes and said vaguely, "The nearest one is a village that was occupied by the Germans a few months ago. Most of the villages are loggers who depend on wood for their livelihood."

"Tell me about the situation there," Andre asked.

“I haven't been there for a long time”

Revley spat out a piece of potato peel and explained, "I heard from Joya that, except for those who escaped, the rest of the village probably either died or were captured by the Germans. Of course, some people joined the guerrillas. But I haven't been there for a long time. I don't know exactly what's going on there now."

Andre and Daniela looked at each other and asked, "Do you know the way?"

"I know, of course I know!" Revley raised his finger and pointed to the front right, "As long as we keep walking in this direction, we will definitely be there before dawn."

Andre gritted his teeth, "In this case, let's go to that village to see."

"Danila, Andrea."

At this moment, Nurse Lano suddenly called to the two of them, "Do you still remember the train we saw when we crossed the railway line?"

"Remember, what's wrong?" Daniela asked strangely.

"You must also remember that there were a lot of artillery on that train."

Nurse Lano thought about it and said, "We waited for a long time at that artillery position before the Germans brought the cannons there, but it's not far from the railway line, isn't it?"

"you mean"

Lano nodded, "I was wondering if the cannons transported on the train we saw at that time might be the ones we are looking for now, instead of the ones we blew up before."

"Even if it is, what can it explain?" Raffle asked puzzled.

"Revli, how far is the village you just mentioned from the railway line?" Wei Ran, who had been silent just now, asked.

"some distance"

Revley simply stopped, and after some consideration, he replied, "I used to drive a horse-drawn carriage from that village to the railway line, and it probably took me a whole day to walk."

"Is that part of the road easy?" Wei Ran continued to ask.

“Not so good to go”

Revley unscrewed the kettle and took a big mouthful of cold water, "That road is only easy to walk when it is frozen in winter, other times it is like a mud pit by the pond, and there is a wooden bridge on the way, as long as there is a heavy rain in summer, It's definitely going to be overwhelmed."

"It seems that it's not that village." Andre asked, "Tell me about the other three places."

"There is also an open space that was burned out by the forest fire last summer. It is surrounded by forests on three sides, but I only know the location and have never been there, but it is said that it is not far from the railway line. When the forest fire broke out, I remember people around saying that even the railway line was almost affected."

"What about the other two places?" Daniela then asked.

"The remaining two sites are left over from logging camps, both of which are on the edge of the forest, but one is on the west side of the forest and one is on the east side of the forest, but they both have logging roads leading to the railway line. "

Raffle raised his finger and pointed straight ahead, "But no matter where we go, we have to keep going for a long time."

Andre sighed worriedly, "Then let's move on."

Raffle looked at the sky above his head and the increasingly heavy fog, bent down and picked up a damp wooden stick to break off the branches, then lit the kerosene lamp that had been hanging on the horse's back, and used the wooden stick to horizontally Picking and walking in the forefront.

This kerosene lamp, which is far less bright than a flashlight, is their only tool for traveling at night, and its weak light is more concealed, but even so, under the advice of the sniper Daniela, Raffles honestly Hold it with a wooden stick, so as not to be hit by the Germans when they shoot at the kerosene lamp from a distance.

"Should we find a place to rest?" Revley who was walking in front asked in a low voice. He had already heard Nurse Lano's panting voice and heavy footsteps.

At the end of the day, they hardly had time to stop, and they even settled for eating while walking.

Daniela glanced at Nurse Lano who was being held by her hand, and then at Andre behind the two of them, gritted her teeth and replied, "Go on."

"Take a break"

Andre sighed, and said, "Let's find a dry and hidden place to rest for an hour, light a bonfire to keep our bodies warm, and eat something by the way. The German cans seized before are good, and comrade nurses kept them." It's time for the vodka, too."

Daniela looked at Nurse Lano, who was dripping with sweat, and Andre, who was nodding slightly to her right, and finally agreed to his suggestion.

Soon, Raffle led them to find two thick pine trees growing side by side. Everyone picked up some dead branches from nearby, dug a half-meter-diameter pit on the ground, and lit a bonfire. By the way, they put their cloaks around, barely blocking the light of the campfire.

"I thought you wouldn't mind if I toasted the footwraps, would you?"

While speaking, the postman Raffle took off the German boots he had received before departure, and spread the stinky foot wrap by the side of the bonfire.

Since there is a leader, the rest of the people are naturally no longer polite. Soon, the edge of the bonfire was filled with scorching foot wraps, and at the same time, a few opened tin cans were placed on the charcoal fire. Even the draft horse was leisurely gnawing on the weeds that could be seen everywhere.

"I remember you guys are getting married?" Andre asked Daniela after taking a sip of vodka.

"If we go back this time, we will get married." Daniela said, holding Nurse Lano in his arms.

"Ready for the ring?" Andre continued to ask.

"This." Daniela shook his head, "I found two similar ones from the Germans and made them smaller."

"Put it on for me now." Nurse Lano stretched out her left hand while speaking, "while there is still a chance."

"This is a time worth witnessing." Andre took out a piece of melted chocolate from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth, which was given to him by Wei Ran back then.

Daniela froze for a moment, shook her head helplessly, took off a leather cord from her neck, took off the two ordinary rings worn inside, and put one of them on Nurse Lano's hand.

At the same time, Wei Ran also took out his camera and pressed the shutter, "Although I don't know if the light from the bonfire can take this photo, but after we go back, I will help you take another shot."

"Now it's my turn"

Nurse Lano took another ring with Danila's body temperature, and put it on the latter's finger under the cover of the constantly beating bonfire. Later, she paused for a moment, and carefully gave Wei Ran There was a photo opportunity.

"You are the most generous journalist I have ever met."

Andre leaned on the pine tree behind him and joked, "I remember other reporters, their shutters are like the detonators of bombs, and they are reluctant to press them easily."

"Victor is indeed the most generous reporter," Revley said, taking over the topic. "I heard that he took a photo of all the soldiers commanded by Company Commander Valentin."

"The artist sent me a lot of film, otherwise I would be as cautious as pressing a trigger switch."

Wei Ran raised the camera again as he said, "Then as the guests who witnessed this wedding, how about we take a group photo?"

"No problem at all!"

The barefooted Andre and Revley immediately moved to the side of Daniela and Nurse Lano, and even the draft horse came to lie down on the ground under Revley's call, and put its The long and slender face stretched between Danila and Nurse Lano, and the thick lips were pursed like a human being, revealing the teeth mixed with grass leaves.

A strange group photo with a horse's face was taken across the campfire, and the canned meat on the campfire had already begun to bubble.

The people who had baked the foot wrap just now didn't even remember to wash their hands. They each took out spoons or forks from their dry food bags and began to eat their first hot meal in so many days.

"If I'm not worried about the lack of battery, I can actually use the wireless station to receive a signal and play a piece of music for you."

Andre looked at the radio station beside him with some regret, "Your wedding is too simple."

"Our wedding hasn't started yet, we just put on the ring in advance." Daniela explained dumbfoundingly.But at the same time, everyone present knew that the so-called wedding between the two of them had actually become one of their beliefs in returning alive.

Taking advantage of the topic of the wedding, not only did everyone fill their stomachs with fat-filled cans and toasted brown bread, but they also drank less than a quarter of the pot of vodka.

And this short rest also allowed them to completely recover.As for the lack of sleep these days, I can only look for opportunities to talk about it.

Re-wrapped the feet with warm and smelly foot wraps, and each put on the same dry German leather boots. Raffle used a shovel to randomly pick up the surrounding soil to cover the campfire. Start moving towards an unknown destination.

However, less than an hour after they left, a young German soldier, dragged by a wolfhound, found the bonfire that was still warm and covered with tin cans discarded around it.

"It seems that there are only five people on the other side." The young soldier pointed to the remaining footprints around the remains of the campfire with a flashlight.

"We're about to catch up with them." The middle-aged soldier who was walking behind had already loaded a bullet into the sniper rifle in his hand while speaking, "Hurry up and try to finish them off before dawn."

"Aren't we going to take a break?" asked the young soldier with the dog.

"Your dog isn't tired, so what right do you have to think you need a rest?"

After the middle-aged sniper finished speaking, he took another step forward.

"Leon, are you tired?"

The young soldier put his arms around the dog's neck and asked solemnly, and then the dog helped him wash his face with his big bright red tongue.

　next chapter next year
　　I wish you all the best of luck in 2022 as it was before the outbreak.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)