War Photographer's Notebook

In the coniferous forest, where a lot of sunlight was blocked by the tree canopy, while Timov pulled the trigger from time to time and fired a series of short bursts of gunfire, Buck had already installed an M7 grenade launcher on a rifle and replaced it with blank cartridges. , by the way, also put the five grenades that were looted at hand.

Glancing with Wei Ran, Buck poked the grenade out against the moss-covered ground and got ready. Wei Ran also used a Garand against his helmet, and poked out from the tree trunk where he was hiding. .

clang!
Amidst the crisp knocking sound, the steel helmet that Wei Ran had just poked out was overturned with a bullet by the sniper who seemed to be waiting impatiently.

However, before the cracked helmet fell to the ground, Timov, who had also been prepared, quickly moved the muzzle of the machine gun and firmly pulled the trigger.

With a difference of less than one second, Buck also aimed the grenade at the direction suppressed by the machine gun and pulled the trigger, while Wei Ran dropped the Garland in his hand, carried an M3 submachine gun, and moved towards the direction that was suppressed by Timo before. The sniper who was hit by the husband with a machine gun rushed over desperately!

Amidst the rumbling explosion, the grenade successfully blasted a conspicuous scar the size of a washbasin on the trunk of a pine tree. When the explosion came, Wei Ran immediately threw himself forward and hid in a place that he had already taken a fancy to. behind a pine tree, and climbed up as fast as possible, fitting the body to the contour of the trunk and getting ready.

Only a breath away, the sound of machine guns stopped abruptly, followed by a gunshot in the distance.

After the gunshot, Timov started suppressive shooting again, and Wei Ran immediately rushed out with his waist down.

When the second explosion of the grenade came, Wei Ran hid behind the tree again.Timov's suppressive shooting also stopped again.

But this time, he could already see a corpse lying on his back behind a pine tree not more than 20 meters away.

However, this time, the sniper on the opposite side did not shoot, and the machine gun controlled by Timov was interrupted for half a minute before restarting.

Regardless of the uneasiness in his heart, Wei Ran rushed towards the corpse with a stride, picked up the Mauser rifle in the corpse's hand, which was equipped with a scope, and tied a lot of pine branches with cloth strips.

Leaning against the tree and gasping for breath, Wei Ran hurriedly inspected the corpse.

He looked like he was in his 50s, and his bushy goatee was already grey, stained with yellowed pine needles and bits of compressed biscuit.

The dense bullet holes in the chest and abdomen were undoubtedly left by Timov when he fired the machine gun. In addition, besides a German coconut water bottle on the waist, the animal skin pocket on the other side of the old man also contained a lot of Less looting came from US Army compressed biscuits or even two cans and a can opener.

Ignoring careful inspection, Wei Ran opened the gun and took a look, then roughly took out two bullets from the ammunition bag on the corpse's chest and put them in his pocket, then rolled and hid behind another tree.

Taking out the Soviet cloak from the metal book to cover his body and rifle, Wei Ran anxiously looked at possible enemies.

boom!
The clear gunfire mixed with the machine gun fire came from a distance, and the sound of the machine gun fire stopped abruptly, but immediately after, a grenade flew towards the direction of the gunfire.

...

At the same time, Wei Ran also turned the muzzle of the gun, and with the help of the narrow scope, he saw a flashing figure and a dog's head that also flashed in the scope.

I can't find anyone, so I can't keep up with you?

Wei Ran muttered to himself, and decisively used the sight in the scope to catch the dog that had urinated on him.

However, he was not in a hurry to shoot. Instead, he followed the black and yellow wolf dog quickly through the forest with the muzzle, and finally stopped beside a pine tree after chasing the dog.

Seeing the dog lying down by the tree, Wei Ran continued to move the muzzle of the gun patiently, and then saw a short figure hiding next to another tree, and slowly pointed the muzzle of the gun Come out and point in the direction of Timov and the others.

boom!Wei Ran didn't have time to think about it and immediately pulled the trigger!

However, because he was not familiar with the gun in his hand, this hasty shot did not hit the figure, but just hit the trunk of the pine tree next to him narrowly and dangerously.

Seeing that the other party retreated behind the tree immediately, Wei Ran also changed his hiding position, pushed the bullet and loaded it, and used the scope to trap the dog again.

Seeing that the dog didn't move, he was not in a hurry to shoot, and continued to look for the hidden snipers around it.At this time, neither the few grenades left nor the machine gun Timov was in charge of fired, and the forest fell into a rare silence again.

But neither side of the exchange of fire in this forest moved. Timov and Buck, who were almost on the bright side, seized the time and brandished their engineer shovels to dig foxholes behind the pine trees they were hiding in.

About ten minutes later, a figure suddenly leaned out from the edge of Wei Ran's scope.

Seeing this, Wei Ran moved the muzzle of the gun slightly without thinking, and pulled the trigger almost at the same time as the opponent!
boom!
Two gunshots sounded almost at the same time, and Timov and Buck subconsciously hid their figures. Wei Ran also felt a numbness in his right hand when he saw the kneeling sniper falling backwards from the gun. , followed by a heart-piercing pain!
He lowered his head and looked at his right hand. Just now, the opponent's shot just hit the knuckle connecting his right index finger and palm. This shot not only took away his index finger, but also left behind a There was a wound that spread almost to the wrist, with bone deep visible.

hiss-!Damn it!

Wei Ran grinned and uttered a curse, endured the pain and turned over to hide behind the pine tree, tremblingly took out a morphine from the medical bag and stuck it around the wound.

There was no time to sew up the wound, so he could only pull out the index finger that was still stuck in the trigger guard and put it in his pocket as quickly as possible, then switched the rifle to his left hand and wrapped it tightly with the strap of the gun shot in the right wrist.

Taking a quick look at the probe and then retracting, Wei Ran gritted his teeth and raised his gun to aim at the opponent again. Seeing that the sniper was still lying on the ground, and even the dog leaned over to lick him, he aimed at the sniper. The sniper shot in the head and shoulder.

Seeing that there was still no response from the other party, he breathed a sigh of relief, put down the gun, took out the suture tools, and while the effect of the morphine was still there, he sutured the wound on the back of his right hand as quickly as possible, and then sprinkled sulfa Bandaged.

...

Victor!Are you still alive?Buck's voice came from a distance, I saw that sniper was shot, what about you?Are you still alive?
still alive!Wei Ran quickly responded, don't shoot, I just stood up.

Don't worry, I won't shoot you again.While Buck was talking, he had already run over with Timov, who was carrying a machine gun.

You are hurt?Timov first discovered the wound on Wei Ran's hand.But Buck looked curiously at the cloak Wei Ran was wearing.

It's okay, let's go to that sniper to have a look
Wei Ran waved his bandaged right hand, and pointed to the body of the sniper not far away, Buck, help me to search him carefully, maybe I can find something good.

Is that where your cloak came from too?it looks so warm
Before Buck could finish his sentence, he had already run to the side of the sniper, and without even thinking about it, he took off the boots on the opponent's feet and his own, and changed them.

Seeing this, Wei Ran and Timov looked at each other. The two covered each other and walked vigilantly towards the sniper who was at most 200 meters away.

As the distance drew closer, the two of them also saw the dog that was still sniffing around the corpse, humming and trying to wake up its owner, and even saw the thin sniper.

Why is it a child Timov read a sentence unexpectedly.should have thought
Wei Ran gritted his teeth, as Timov said, the sniper who was hit by bullets in the chest and shoulder was indeed a child who was no more than sixteen or seventeen years old.There are chilblains on the immature cheeks, and a pair of gray knitted gloves on the hands. On the gloves, there are black
The Naju eagle emblem and the swastika pattern are used as decorations.

And in his arms, there is a G43 semi-automatic rifle with a scope. On the butt of this rifle, there is a brown sock, which is bulging, obviously stuffed with something.

boom!
Timov pulled out his pistol and pulled the trigger at the whining dog. After the dog lay on the sniper's body whimpering and died, he sighed. Such a child should not be in such a place. He shouldn't have participated in this war at all.

Where do we go next?Wei Ran put the Mauser rifle in his hand in the opponent's arms, and picked up the opponent's G43 rifle by the way.

Unsurprisingly, it was the same gun he had seen at Dominique's estate.Carefully take off the socks on the gun stock, there are not only a few bullets in it, but also a small aluminum medicine bottle.

Pervitin?Timov pronounced the name on the bottle in German.

do you speak german?Wei Ran asked in surprise. He was not only surprised that the other party could speak German, but also the bottle of Pervitin in his hand.

To put it simply, this drug is to the German army what assault ingots are to the little devils.That's okay, the Germans in this era generally regard this kind of thing, which is called ice reading by later generations, as a sign of civilization and progress.

But even so, using this thing at such a young age still surprised Wei Ran.

of course
Timov explained indifferently, my mother is from Austria, do you know Salzburg in Austria?
...

I have never heard of Wei Ran's absent-minded response, and casually threw the bottle of Pervitin on the extremely young corpse.

You always know the Alps
Timov spreads his hands, but my mother is from a little place called Tamsweg in the south of the Alps, and of course I haven't been there, I haven't even been to Austria.How about you?How do you know German?

Wei Ran was about to open his mouth to make up an excuse, but Buck ran over from a distance, panting and pointed at the direction where Wei Ran hid before and said, hurry up!run!There are Germans chasing over there!I saw their motorcycles!

It seems that they are really going to surround us. Timov frowned, and turned to look at the wound on Wei Ran's hand.

My injury is not a problem

Wei Ran hurriedly said that he has not yet passed the anesthesia, and he can barely feel the pain, so naturally it is not a big problem.

It seems we can only run in this direction
Timov pointed to the direction on the left. Now that the enemies chasing us have been eliminated, it is safest to run only in this direction.

then don't waste time
After Buck finished speaking, he handed a submachine gun to Wei Ran, who still had the German gun in his hand, and then took out the landmine he had seized not long ago from his bag, and stuffed it into the too young sniper after some settings. under the body.

After setting up the landmines three times, five times and two times, Buck took the lead and walked in the front, and started running back in the direction they came from before.

When the three of them saw the dead pine tree from a distance again, they found that there was another half-track motorcycle imprint in the forest at some point.

Subconsciously glanced at the direction of the camp, and then at the direction of the track mark. Timov was about to make a decision, but the three of them heard the unique whistle of the mortar passing overhead again!

Buck subconsciously said as if not far from us.

Seeing Timov looking at him, Wei Ran gritted his teeth, my injury is fine.

Walk!Timov made a decisive decision, quickened his pace and chased in the direction of the track marks.

Following this rut, they turned over a small soil slope that was not too high but was also covered by dense coniferous forests. The three of them saw at a glance that on the other side of the slope, there was a A long and narrow open space that was obviously cut down by humans.

On the edge of this not-so-large open space, two people parked side by side.

A half-track motorcycle with a trailer also attached.

However, on the flat ground behind the two half-track motorcycles, there were two Gr34 80mm mortars placed one behind the other less than five meters apart!
At this time, there were eight artillery crew members cooperating with each other, skillfully firing out the shells one after another!

how to spell?Buck, who was hiding behind a tree, asked in a low voice, let's hurry up, I guess someone will catch up soon.

In which direction do you flee?Wei Ran asked more bluntly.

There is no doubt that once they decide to destroy the artillery crew members of the two mortars, the pursuers behind them will definitely chase them desperately, and it is tantamount to wishful thinking for them to escape back.

call first

Timov had already set up his machine gun while he was speaking. I will shoot the one closest to the motorcycle, and you two will shoot the one in front.

...

clear!Wei Ran and Buck responded in a low voice.Hearing this, Timov immediately pulled the trigger.

For a moment, the terrifying sound effect unique to the MG42 machine gun resounded through the forest, and the crew members who were closest to the half-track motorcycle did not react at all, and lay down on the ground.

At the same time, Wei Ran and Buck fired indiscriminately, thanks to the fact that the metal book can only be used to take things out with the left hand, so Wei Ran can usually train his left hand to use the weapons in the metal book .

So now even if his right hand is injured, his combat effectiveness will not be affected.Because of this, with the mutual cooperation of him and Buck, there was no accident at all, and they easily killed the two artillery crew members.

Without hesitation or discussion, Wei Ran and Buck rushed down the slope immediately, while Timov turned around and stood on the top of the slope with his machine gun in his hand, guarding against the enemies who might catch up at any time.

He rushed all the way to the edge of the open space halfway up the mountain.Before the two of Wei Ran had time to blow up the mortars or set up landmines, there was already the sound of machine guns firing on the hillside!You go pick up the captain!

While Buck was speaking, he picked up a group of mortars and threw them into the cargo bed of a half-track motorcycle, and signaled Wei Ran to drive away.

Seeing this, Wei Ran didn't have time to ask any more questions, and immediately jumped into the driving seat and turned around and drove up the dirt slope at the fastest speed. After picking up Timov, he went around in a circle to pick up Buck.

In just such a time, Buck had already loaded another group of mortars into the cargo bed of another vehicle, and blocked the accelerator with shells, allowing it to run freely amidst the roar of the engine. drove out.

run along the ruts
Buck casually pointed in a direction to remind him, and at the same time jumped onto the rear seat nimbly. By the way, he did not forget to hand Timov a pair of boots that had been taken off from the corpse's feet. Put them on, than we The boots are much warmer.

Hearing this, Wei Ran didn't dare to delay, and immediately turned the handlebar, followed the remaining ruts on the ground, and left here at a faster speed.And Timov also pulled out an rk2 fighting knife, cut off the laces and kicked off the thin boots, and replaced them with the German boots Buck had picked up for him.

After driving along the rut for less than 10 minutes, after bypassing a mountain depression, Timov, who was holding a map with Buck in the back row, turned his head and said, Victor, drive to the right, there will be a maximum of two kilometers. A river, we walk along that river, we can get back to the camp in no time.

Hearing this, Wei Ran immediately turned the handlebar.However, before he drove a hundred meters away, a concrete fortress without any disguise suddenly appeared in front of him!
Almost subconsciously, he twisted the handlebar in a circle, stepped on the accelerator to increase the speed to the highest.

Timov and Buck, who were sitting back to back with him and were about to say something, apparently also noticed the terrifying bunker, and the two reacted very quickly. They took off the American steel helmets on their heads and buckled them on their stomachs. cover up!
Guns, submachine guns!While reminding the two people behind him, Wei Ran stuffed his own submachine gun into the gap behind his calf, and twirled the cloak on his body in a circle.

How could there be a German firepower fortress here!While Buck was speaking, he had already hidden the submachine gun behind him.

...

in the back gap.

Timov's reaction was also not slow. Not only did he hide the submachine gun, but he also pulled out a blanket from his backpack and covered him and Buck's upper body in a panic.

Where are you going now?Wei Ran asked in a low voice, while speeding up again.

Timov on the right gave a direction that was getting farther and farther away from the camp.

Before he had time to ask what was on the right hand side of the map, Wei Ran desperately rushed out on his motorcycle.

Maybe it was because they were too far away to see clearly, or maybe it was because they firmly believed that the Americans would not be able to reach here for a while, and of course, it might just be because they were riding a half-track motorcycle.In short, no one fired at them until the concrete fortress behind them was completely blocked by thick pine trees.

There is a river ahead, Wei Ran slowed down slightly to remind him.

What?There is a river?With surprise in his tone, Timov opened the map again and looked at it. Why is it not displayed on the map?
Are you looking at the wrong place?Buck took the map, knelt on the seat, and spread the map on the hood of the engine. At the same time, Timov also signaled Wei Ran to stop temporarily.

The circled location is our camp, which I marked before I set off today.

While reminding Buck, Timov took out a biscuit from his bag and took a bite. That line is the route we have been walking.

really not.
boom!
Amidst the crisp gunshots, Buck, who was kneeling on the seat with his buttocks up, immediately uttered a scream, and covered his buttocks with his hands!

Sniper!Timov quickly picked up the machine gun mounted on the cargo bed, aimed it behind him and pulled the trigger, Victor!Get out of here!

There is no need to remind, Wei Ran has already stepped on the accelerator in a very quick reaction at the moment the gunshots sounded, and at the same time, he did not forget to swing the car left and right, firstly to avoid the snipers behind him, and secondly to avoid the surrounding tall pine trees !
In which direction?Wei Ran didn't forget to ask while shifting gears again and again.casual!Buck responded instead of Timov.

Hearing this, Wei Ran immediately drove downstream along the river, taking advantage of the surrounding terrain to block the sight of the snipers behind him.

Timov!While calling the other party's name, Wei Ran reached out and took out a morphine from the medical bag and handed it over.

Show me your wounds!Timov hurriedly asked Buck beside him.Can't die!
Buck slightly moved his shot butt towards Timov, allowing him to stick the disposable injection around the wound.

Throwing the used morphine injection into the adjacent river, Timov's eyes lit up, Victor!drive faster!Also, take off our helmets and clothes and throw them in the river!
what are you going to do?Buck turned his head and asked.i speak german

Timov patted Wei Ran on the shoulder and asked deliberately in German, what about you?How is your german?
no one should have heard it
Wei Ran responded in German, and at the same time bent down and pulled out the M3 submachine gun hidden behind his calf and threw it directly into the river. Do you want to pretend to be a German?

At least he survived. Timov threw his and Buck's helmets into the river before he finished speaking.

what are you guys saying?Buck asked, clutching his shot butt, I don't speak German.

...

Then you just pretend to be dumb

While Timov was talking, he had already taken off his shirt, rolled it up with his submachine gun and threw it into the river.

Seeing this, Buck could only signal Wei Ran to slow down a little, then took off his shirt, wrapped the Garand rifle he had picked up, and threw his own submachine gun into the river.

The three people in the same car walked all the way and lost all the way. When Wei Ran decided to continue walking along a tributary stream that diverged from this river, the three of them, apart from the captured machine guns, G43 rifles and a few landmines, In addition, the only remaining weapons and equipment are the 19 still pinned to the belt.
11 pistol, and Timov's fighting knife hidden in his boot.

In addition to weapons, what they left behind were their respective water bottles, compressed biscuits packed in one bag, and cans captured by the US military.Of course, there are also the blankets and sleeping bags they were wearing, as well as the Soviet cloak that Wei Ran wore.

After driving for more than ten minutes, Wei Ran stopped the car and said, Buck, lie on the hood, I will help you stitch up the wound.

You, lighten up, remember to call me first"

Why are you talking so much, have you forgotten that you are already dumb?
While talking, Wei Ran pushed the pale-faced Buck to lie on the hood, violently ripped off the clothes near the wound, and gave him a shot of morphine by the way.

Seeing this, Timov grinned, wisely picked up the G43 rifle captured by Wei Ran, and moved to the distance, hiding behind a tree, not only needing to watch Wei Ran seam, but also able to monitor behind him so as not to be touched by the enemy .

At the side of the motorcycle, Wei Ran waited for a while, then inserted the hemostat into the wound and pulled out a bullet head that was still stuck on the bone.

It was Buck's luck that the bullet hit the thickest part of his body. Although the femur was broken by one shot, the bleeding was not serious, so even though Wei Ran only had one hand to use at present, With Buck's own help, he barely healed the wound.

After finding a place to bury all the blood-stained clothes, Wei Ran gave himself and Buck an injection of anti-inflammatory drugs and half analgesic morphine before he set off, and then called Timov to come down to help and put Buck on The duck down sleeping bag was fixed to the engine cover of the half-track motorcycle with a blanket.

Which direction to go?Wei Ran asked before sitting in the motorcycle driver's seat.

Go ahead. Timov put away the compass and said after hesitating for a moment, at least he must get out of this forest first.

Hearing this, Wei Ran slowly stepped on the accelerator, steered the car, and continued to drive along the creek to an unknown direction downstream.