War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 879
"bang bang bang"

At the same time as there was a hasty knock on the door, Wei Ran, who had already woken up, opened the door.

Jens, who was knocking on the door, raised his eyebrows, gave Wei Ran a lot of attention, and finally nodded in satisfaction, "Let's go when you're ready."

Hearing this, Wei Ran nodded slightly, and subconsciously glanced at the other people who had gathered in the corridor.

Not counting himself, at this time, including Jens, there were only five people in total.And except for Jens, the other four soldiers were all about sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing either the uniform of the labor regiment or the uniform of the youth regiment.

In addition to being young and dressed, this team, or this combat team used a variety of weapons.Jens, who is over half a century old, is carrying an STG44 assault rifle by himself.Among the other four people, two were carrying MP40 submachine guns, and the other two were empty-handed, with only a captured 1911 pistol on their waists.

Coupled with Wei Ran's G43 rifle on his shoulders, this group of only six people is a perfect guerrilla style.

Under the leadership of Jens, a group of six people lined up against the wall to the garage, and finally stopped next to two side-by-side half-track motorcycles.

Perhaps because he knew Wei Ran's "death date" in advance, the veteran Tings didn't intend to introduce at all, so he directly greeted everyone to get in the car and left the garage, got into the dense coniferous forest, and drove to the unknown direction.

Although sitting in the car with his back to the driver, he couldn't see the direction he was going, but looking at Jens sitting beside him and the young soldier in the car behind, Wei Ran couldn't help shaking his head secretly.

One veteran with four or five raw melon eggs. This combination is probably the only remaining war potential of the bloody war machine of World War II Germany.Even if he came from later generations, he knew that the battle was barely won by Germany, but at the same time, they also lost.

If there was no war, these extremely tired veterans and these extremely young recruits at this time, they should have been able to create higher value, instead of ending their lives hastily in this forest.

In his wild thoughts, the two half-track motorcycles stopped one after another after driving for less than ten minutes.

Not far in front of the front of the car, there is a reinforced trench. In addition to a machine gun fire point with a roof, there is also a bunker at the back connected by a traffic trench in the middle.

Without an order at all, the two empty-handed young soldiers replaced the main and deputy machine gunners in the trench.

Immediately afterwards, the two soldiers with submachine guns also entered the trench, and two sleepy-looking soldiers got on half-track motorcycles.

The car continued to move horizontally along the trench for a certain distance, and Jens also called Wei Ran to get off the car, pointed to the trench and said, "This is the first position in front of our fortress, and it is also the front line facing the Americans. Wait for you Go find a gentleman named Otto in the trenches, and he will arrange missions for you."

Before the words finished, Jens took out a small bottle of Pervitin and threw it to Wei Ran, "Take it, it can make you last longer."

Subconsciously took the small metal bottle containing Pervitin, Wei Ran looked at the other person's eyes and nodded, left the car with his semi-automatic rifle on his back, turned around and walked towards the trench not far away.

This section of the trench was also reinforced with logs, but inside the trench, there was a dead silence. Every now and then, he could see a few soldiers gathered around the fireplace that was pulled out from the trench wall, stretching out their hands to the U.S. Dabing's oil and gas stove and a heater made from a gas mask canister full of holes.

Despite the rough workmanship of this German-American joint venture heater, the performance is really good. The heat emitted by the red-hot, hole-covered gas mask tank made the young soldiers around the simple fireplace reluctant to leave for half a day. step.

There was even a soldier who used a sharpened wooden stick and wore a canned American spirit meat that was cut into pieces and approached, which in turn filled the area with a nice greasy aroma.Wei Ran who passed by here couldn't help sniffling.

After inquiring along the way, when Wei Ran found "Mr. Otto" in the bunker at the end of the trench, this old man with a gray beard was guarding a cast iron stove burning with coking coal, rubbing the dead skin on his feet with an intoxicated expression. What about leather?

"Your Jens has already told me." Otto said before Wei Ran spoke, "Do you have Pervitin? Give me one."

"Have"

"Give me the whole bottle, I haven't seen this thing for several days." The old man named Otto had already snatched the metal bottle from Wei Ran's hand before he finished speaking.

Wiping his hands on his trousers indiscriminately, Wei Ran patiently waited for the other party's order.

On the other hand, Otto was not in a hurry at all. After unscrewing the bottle cap, he took out the pill and threw it into his mouth, and then poured out a note from it.

I opened the note and looked at it, but it was written in German, "Send him to death."

Looking up at Wei Ran, Otto threw the note directly into the stove, and continued rubbing his feet while saying, "I heard from Jens that you are a sniper, so you can move freely. Of course, if you can If so, you can go to the west for a stroll, there is an American camp there. In this way, let me find someone to take you to familiarize yourself with the nearby terrain."

After finishing speaking, Otto shouted at the top of his voice, "Okan, Okan!"

"I'm here! Dad! I'm here!" Before he finished speaking, a short soldier who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old ran in.

"This is the new sniper Victor, take him around the American territory." After Otto finished speaking, he threw the bottle of Pervitin to a young man named Okan.

"Great, finally waiting for the new sniper."

Okan took the medicine bottle and put it in his pocket, and said enthusiastically, "Victor, come with me, I'll take you around, we've planted a lot of landmines around here, and we've put up barbed wire, you But you have to be careful."

"Then I will trouble you"

Wei Ran glanced at Otto without a trace, saw that the other party was nodding slightly towards him, then turned around and followed Okan to leave the warm but full of beriberi fungus bunker.

Under the leadership of Okan, the two left the trench before the sky was completely bright, and walked straight to the west.

When the trench line behind him became indistinct and hard to see, a young soldier named Okan also stopped behind a lying pine tree and said while pulling up the withered and yellow pine branches beside the tree, "Wei Kedo, follow the stream behind me to the south for about 20 minutes, and you will find the source of this stream. From there, immediately go to the right, and you will see the wooden house supply point in at most 10 minutes. "

Before he finished speaking, the young man pulled out a bicycle belonging to the labor regiment from under the pine branch and showed it to him, and then covered it with pine branches.

"When you get to the supply point, just hide this car under the wooden house. There are a lot of pine branches there, just use them to cover it. I will ride it back when I go there to pick up supplies tomorrow."

After finishing speaking, Okan took out two boxes of US military spirit meat cans and a pocket watch-style compass issued by the US military from his own pocket and handed them over, "Please bring this box of cans and this compass to My brother, his name is Jonas, and his birthday is a week away, please tell him to eat well and not miss home.

Also, it’s best not to be spotted on the way to the supply hut. If someone spots you and stops you, you can say that Papa Otto asked you to sneak back some Pervitin. "

After Wei Ran took over the can and the compass in his hand with a look of astonishment, Okan pointed to the hollow tree hole at the root of the dead tree and said in a low voice, "It is safest for you to leave here after dark. , when the time comes, remember to hide your soldier card and rifle here, and then block them with moss. But don’t worry, I will help you arrange a decent death.”

"You guys." Wei Ran opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say.

"there"

Okan raised his hand and pointed in another direction, "The barbed wire fence is at most 200 meters away from the American territory, but there are mines around the barbed wire fence, so you can keep an eye on it later.

If there are really Americans coming from this direction, as long as you shoot, we will rush over to support immediately.Of course, if you still want to escape at night, it is best not to attract the attention of the Americans. "

"What about you?" Wei Ran finally couldn't help asking.

"What about us?" Okan looked at Wei Ran puzzled.

"Aren't you running away?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

"There must always be someone here, and everyone can't escape, so it should be enough to escape a part."

Okan replied naturally, "Of course, I don't think the Americans can easily occupy here. Well, I should go back. Goodbye, Victor."

"Goodbye"

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, the young soldier named Okan had already trotted towards the trench line.

Looking around, Wei Ran thought for a while, walked a hundred meters away, chose a pine tree that was thick enough, found a place about one meter away from it, and took out the information in the metal book. Sappers shoveled, dug up the wet moss, and patiently dug foxholes for hiding.

While he was busy, the sky gradually brightened, and his vision in the forest gradually became clearer.His foxhole gradually allowed him to squat down and hide his whole body.And from other directions in this forest, the sound of firefights came one after another.

Extra pieces of moss were shoveled from a distance to cover the excavated floating soil, and Wei Ran, who was squatting in the foxhole, patiently dug out a fireplace that was spacious enough, and then took out the big one that should never have appeared in this world. cake oven.

The probe looked at the direction of the American position through the observation hole specially set out, and saw that no one was attacking from the direction he was in charge of, so he slowly lit the pancake oven, and then took out the Soviet cloak to surround it. On his body, he endured the time silently, and also resisted the cold and humid environment in this forest.

Rarely free, he finally had the opportunity to start thinking about the people he met in the two historical fragments on the edge of this battlefield, and then he held back and began to speculate on the next progress.

It's a pity that the closest distance he is to the ruins of the castle is still separated by a moat.Before entering the castle, the only thing he can be sure of is one thing.

Captain Letts, a daring quartermaster, seemed to have contacted many people, and together with these people, rescued and hid a group of people.

Pausing to continue the meaningless speculation, Wei Ran glanced at the time on the watch, and began to think about another matter.

At this time, there are still more than nine hours before the agreed time, and before he completes the return mission, there is still one leader and two group photos.

Moreover, he hadn't seen a camera for so many days. Obviously, this photoshoot could only be done after going to the castle.

So what about the poor leader?Could it be here?

Wei Ran leaned over to the observation hole and looked out again, but unfortunately, except for the endless forest and the endless barbed wire, he couldn't see any enemy at all.

"So there is still a chance for a firefight later?"

Wei Ran muttered to himself, and finally suppressed the dangerous thought of "If the enemy doesn't come, I will take the initiative to seek death", honestly wrapped his cloak tightly, and leaned his body against the damp mud wall , while enjoying the heat released by the continuously burning flatbread oven in front of you.

As the day wore on, sporadic firefights continued in the forest until the sun went down.During this period, Wei Ran, who had been hiding in the foxhole, did nothing except put away the gasoline stove for heating, so as not to expose himself to the flames, and the trench line seemed to have forgotten his mission. Just like existence, no one came to him at all.

When night fell, the two sides that had been fighting all day long chose to cease fire tacitly, and the forest became colder and quieter.

At 45:[-] in the evening, Wei Ran, like a mouse, poked his head out of the foxhole where he had been hiding for a whole day, and carefully walked back to the edge of the lying dead tree a hundred meters away.

Gently stuffing his weapon and soldier badge into the tree hole, and covering it tightly with moss, Wei Ran pulled out the bicycle from under the pine branch, carefully put on the goggles that had been hanging around his neck, and wrapped it tightly. After taking off the cloak, he stepped on the pedals in circles along the rushing creek.

Just like what the young soldier named Okan said, after riding along the creek for about 20 minutes, he heard the sound of rushing water from a distance.When he got closer, he immediately saw cold spring water bubbling out of a crack in a rock out of the ground.

I don't know if it's for guiding the way, but there is a U.S. Army helmet on purpose with three stones directly below the spring.The sound of the spring water being poured on the top of the helmet can be heard clearly from a long distance away.

Rolling up his cuffs and checking the time, Wei Ran turned the front of his bicycle and continued to move forward.After he rode up a dirt slope with difficulty and rushed down from it, he saw the wooden house in the distance at a glance.

In the pitch-black forest, there was a faint candlelight in the door of this wooden house whose windows were sealed with canvas.

Stopping the bicycle far away, Wei Ran approached the wooden house little by little in a nearly crawling manner, and when he got closer, he didn't hear any sound from the wooden house.

Carefully pushing open the door, his cheeks were illuminated by the dim candlelight. On the only table in the wooden house were not only an MP40 submachine gun and a flashlight in a square box, but also a tin can next to it. A candle the length of a finger.And outside, ammunition supplies that may be used tomorrow are arranged.

After a little hesitation, Wei Ran blew out the candles, took the submachine gun and the flashlight, pushed the bicycle over and hid it in the pine branches under the wooden house at the fastest speed, and then ran towards the mill at a faster pace.

However, when he ran all the way and saw the mill in the distance, he found a sidecar motorcycle with a machine gun parked at the gate of the mill!
When Wei Ran saw this motorcycle, his heart sank. Although it was some distance away, he recognized the two figures reflected by the anti-aircraft lights of this motorcycle just now as the one in the fortress. Two chain dogs with gloomy faces every day!

Not only that, but in that fortress, the only people riding sidecar motorcycles were these two leash dogs who had almost no friends except Captain Wrights.

However, according to the observations of the previous few days, these two people rarely leave the fortress. Why are they here at this time?

After some thought, Wei Ran crawled closer to the opponent, until he hid his body in the shadow of the broken waterwheel, and then glanced at the time.

Fortunately, there are still 9 minutes before the appointment. As long as Sophie doesn't open the gate in advance, the water channel under the floor should still be full.

"Have you found it?" Just as he was worried, there was an inquiry from the mill.

"No, there's no extra fuel here," said another voice.

"Are you sure you read it right?" the person who spoke first asked in a gloomy voice.

"How can I be wrong, that night I saw Captain Letts sneak into the warehouse with the new cripple, and locked the cripple in the oil depot. Later, I watched them fill a The sacks of things were carried into the garage."

"You are disabled, and your whole family is disabled."

Wei Ran clenched his right hand, which was missing a index finger, and cursed secretly, and at the same time began to ponder whether to get rid of the two chain dogs.

"Why didn't you stop them then?" another voice complained.

"I drank a lot that day," the voice at the beginning explained, "I didn't think of it until I saw Letz come out with supplies in the evening."

"But there's nothing here." Another voice kicked the iron drum that still contained a lot of fuel while speaking, "Forget it, it's just some gasoline."

"How can I forget it! This is"

"Change another quartermaster? If I still have to ration our wine, cigars, and pervitin like that idiot before, I won't be able to last a whole winter in this wet and cold forest."

While speaking, the chain dog had left the mill and walked to the side of the motorcycle. While stepping up, he unobtrusively turned off the anti-aircraft light and pulled out the P38 pistol at his waist, "And the ones he gave us yesterday The ring and dentures, if given to me, will be enough for half a year's salary, so buddy, you better not interfere with my fortune."

"Carl, don't get me wrong Carl, I don't want to change the quartermaster."

Another chain dog quickly explained, "I mean, if we find the handle on Letts, maybe he can give us more spoils in the future?"

"So what are you going to do?"

"We've been spying on him recently. If we catch him again, we can talk to him about the spoils."

"Get in the car, let's go to another supply point that he is in charge of personally, there may be some clues there."

The chain dog straddling the motorcycle finally put the gun back into the holster, and at the same time continued to say, "If he is really secretly doing something that can make him rich, maybe we can help him."

"I've heard he has a daughter, who is said to be very beautiful. By God, I haven't seen a woman since I came here in the autumn."

While the chain dog was talking, he finally dared to come out of the mill and sat in the sidecar.

"I've also heard that she went to study in Italy shortly after the war started. Later, after Italy betrayed us, his daughter seems to have disappeared."

"That's what I heard"

Another chain dog said with a smile, "The last time I had a drink with him, I heard that his wife disappeared when he was injured, and seemed to have taken all his property with her. Ha! Letts actually Said he was a nobleman."

"I'm even more noble than him!"

Before the words were finished, the chain dog started the motorcycle, turned on the anti-aircraft lights again, and drove in the direction of the cabin in the forest.

"It counts your fate"

Wei Ran, who was hiding in the shadow of the waterwheel, muttered to himself, and finally put away his submachine gun.

He rolled up his cuffs again and looked at the time. At this time, there were only 7 minutes left before the agreed time.He was slightly relieved, and he finally knew where the precious booty that was embezzled by Captain Wrights went.

But at the same time, he couldn't help but began to worry about whether Captain Letts, who was being targeted by those two greedy chain dogs, would encounter any trouble, and whether his daughter Sophie would have a way to send news to her old father .

Amidst these worries, time passed by every minute and every second, and Wei Ran finally came out of the shadows and entered the mill in the dark.

Fumbling his hand into the gap in the floor, after he moved an inconspicuous piece of wood, the floor could finally be opened.

Holding the flashlight and pushing the switch, the water level under the floor has begun to drop rapidly. Even if you jump in at this time, it will only be waist deep at most.

After waiting patiently for about half a minute, Wei Ran put away the Soviet cloak on his body and jumped into the waterway, then reached out and pinned his hand to the unremarkable piece of wood on the floor.

He walked forward in the dark for more than ten meters, until he turned a corner, and then he stopped covering the light of the flashlight in the square box with his hand, and at the same time quickened his pace, stepping on the water and running to the other end of the waterway.

(End of this chapter)