artillery arc

Chapter 647 Beech Trees in Hometown
July 7, the third day of the counter-offensive, 11 hours.

The 63rd Infantry Army Headquarters was on its way forward, and the new headquarters address was chosen in the former mining city of Basque.

It is difficult to say whether the commander had any selfish motives in choosing the location of the headquarters.

The jeep carrying Lieutenant General Eugene was at the forefront of the entire headquarters column.

The car drove up a small hill, and the city suddenly appeared on the distant horizon.

Lieutenant General Eugene shouted, "Stop! Stop right here!"

The driver braked and the jeep stopped, and the entire headquarters column following the jeep also stopped.

Lieutenant General Eugene stood up, stood on the seat of the jeep, raised his telescope and looked at the city on the horizon.

The guard in the co-pilot seat asked, "Do you have any relatives left here?"

"No. We have all evacuated, but some of the elderly in the families of the workers in the mine did not want to leave and chose to stay." Lieutenant General Eugene sighed, "The elderly experienced the war with Anatolia when they were young, and their concept of country and nation is not that strong. They like the doctor's sausage in the church store, but it doesn't matter if they don't have it."

Guard: "I wonder if these old people are still alive?"

"We will know soon." Lieutenant General Eugene put down the telescope. "There are signs of human activity in the city, and I see crowds gathering. Don't let your guard down, stay alert! We're going into the city!"

After saying that, he sat down and patted the back of the driver's seat.

The car started immediately and slid down the hillside so fast that it seemed to catch up with the wind on the grassland.

As they approached the city, Lieutenant General Eugene clearly saw crowds gathered on both sides of the road holding flowers high.

The guards sent by the troops who entered the city ahead of time mixed in with the crowd, with flowers hanging around their necks.

A T34W tank was parked on the side of the road, with several officers standing in front of the tank.

Eugene's jeep drove all the way to the tank and stopped. Several officers came forward, and the colonel in charge led the salute: "General! The 71st Guards Infantry Regiment has occupied the Basque city, and no Proshen troops have been found. There are some seriously injured Proshen soldiers in the city hospital, and our hospital has taken over."

Eugene nodded, "I understand. The seriously injured must be taken good care of. This is what General Rokossov meant. We are about to start selecting a site for the headquarters. Can you please tell me if you have found any relatively intact buildings?"

Colonel: "We found that the mining workers' cinema is well preserved. According to the projectionist, a movie was shown there a few days ago. It was a movie by Proson, boasting about their civil and military achievements!"

Eugene suddenly showed a look of emotion: "Workers' Cinema? The one next to the church?"

"Ah? Oh, the ruins next to it are the church. The Proson people flattened the church with a bulldozer." The colonel said angrily, "These bastards deserve to die!"

Eugene: "They really deserve to die! I want to go to the cinema. Is the road clear?"

"of course."

Eugene immediately patted the driver's seatback and said, "Come to the back and I'll drive."

The driver got out of the car immediately, and Eugene stepped over the backrest from behind and stepped onto the driver's seat. He didn't mind and sat directly on his big footprint.

While pulling the handbrake, Eugene remembered something and asked the colonel who greeted him, "Did you organize the crowd on the roadside?"

"No," the colonel said with a wry smile, "I don't know where the rumor got out, saying that General Rokossov is going to set up his headquarters in the city. We tried to refute it, but it was useless. Everyone is convinced that they will see General Rokossov soon."

Eugene glanced at the crowd and smiled, "No wonder. I said I'm not that famous myself."

As he spoke, he lightly stepped on the accelerator, and the car started lightly and passed by the tank.

Crowds on the roadside threw flowers at Eugene's jeep.

There was also a passionate girl who caught up with the jeep and hugged Eugene's neck and kissed him.

Eugene: "Thank you, thank you! I can't drive like this, girl!"

He stepped on the accelerator a little more, the car sped up, and the girl let him go.

As the second girl was about to step forward, Eugene shouted: "I am not Rokossov! Look carefully at the stars! There are five stars on Rokossov's epaulettes! Five!"

The girl stopped hesitantly and carefully checked the stars on Eugene's epaulettes.

Eugene took the opportunity to speed up and the jeep drove through the crowd.

After entering the city, traces of war appeared. Half of the houses on the roadside were in ruins, and some had been ruined for a long time, with creepers and green moss growing on the walls.

Walking a little further, Eugene suddenly saw a woman crying on the side of the road. A group of old men were around her, holding her shoulders and controlling her, and a man who looked like a barber was clipping her hair with a clipper.

Eugene stopped and asked loudly, "What's wrong with this woman?"

One of the old men saluted Eugene, "General, this whore committed adultery with the Prosens! And betrayed the guerrillas hiding in Peter's house!"

The woman yelled, "What can I do! My child needs to eat!"

Eugene: "You can evacuate with the church, right? Women with children will be treated preferentially."

The woman was silent.

Old man: "She thought the Prosens would win! Damn it, we old men don't leave because we don't want to take up precious transportation resources! She doesn't leave because she wants to be a Prosen!"

Eugene: "Okay! Even if she is wrong, she should be tried. Leave it to the judges!"

When the woman heard the word Inquisitor, she trembled all over and a look of horror appeared on her face.

Eugene stepped on the accelerator lightly and stopped looking at this idiot who stood against the historical trend.

The jeep crossed the street and headed straight for the cinema. But just before arriving at the cinema, Eugene swerved the steering wheel and turned into an alley.

The crowd on the roadside was caught off guard and gathered at the intersection curiously, looking into the alley.

Eugene drove all the way to an old three-story building before he released his foot on the accelerator and stepped on the brake.

After the car stopped, he got out solemnly and looked up at the beech trees in front of the building.

Many branches of the old tree were broken by shrapnel, and the trunk was full of bullet holes, which showed how fierce the battle that had broken out here was.

Eugene stood under the tree and stared at the bullet holes, as if he had turned into a stone statue.

The guard asked in confusion: "General, what's wrong?"

"This beech tree has been here for as long as I can remember. It's the only beech tree in the city, so in the fall, a lot of people come to see its leaves. You know, the leaves of beech trees become very beautiful in the fall."

Guard: "I don't know. There are only birch trees, white birch trees, and white birch trees over my side."

Lieutenant General Eugene muttered, "Then you really should come and see it in the fall."

As he said this he took a step forward.

There used to be a low brick wall around the big tree, but now the wall has rotted away, and the soil that was originally surrounded by the wall has disappeared, leaving a considerable portion of the tree's roots exposed.

Lieutenant General Eugene had to step on part of the tree's roots before he could put his hand on the mottled bark.

He gently touched the bullet hole, but found that there was no bullet inside.

"I have taken away all the bullets." A childish voice suddenly came from behind the tree.

Eugene tilted his head slightly and looked behind the tree. He found that the roots were covered with a piece of canvas and a small face was peeking out from the gap between the canvas and the roots.

Lieutenant General Eugene hesitated and asked, "Katya?"

"How do you know me?"

Eugene pointed to the building next to him: "I am Eugene on the third floor of this staircase, have you forgotten?"

"Uncle Eugene?" The little girl lifted the canvas and stood up, her eyes wide. "Oh, it's really Uncle Eugene! I can't quite remember what you look like."

Eugene: "Of course, you were only five when we left, so it's not your fault."

Katya blinked and pointed at Eugene's epaulettes and said, "Are you a high-ranking official?"

"I'm a lieutenant general, and all around here are my troops," Eugene replied.

Katya: "Then who is greater between you and General Rokossov?"

"Rokossov is the boss of all of us," Eugene quickly changed the subject, "Why didn't you evacuate?"

"My mother wanted to take me with her, but she was killed in a plane bombing. Uncle Panjielaevich took me in. He wanted to put me on the evacuation vehicle, but the station had been bombed. The priests who stayed behind were distributing weapons and said we couldn't leave."

Eugene: "So you stayed?"

"Yes!" Katya laughed. "I am small, and the Prosen people didn't expect that I would deliver messages to the guerrillas! I also seized these bullet heads and gave them to the guerrillas. They need the materials from the bullet heads to make new bullets, otherwise they can't shoot far!"

Eugene's guard immediately said, "Chromium and nickel?"

Katya: "I don't know, but they say these are what you need. Iron won't go far!"

Eugene reached out and gently stroked Katya's head: "You did a good job. Where is Master Panjielai?"

"He was found by the Plossoms last year and hanged. Since then I have been hiding here. The people around me will secretly give me food and let me deliver messages to the guerrillas when there is something wrong."

The corner of Eugene's mouth twitched slightly, then he touched Katya's head and said, "General Rokossov has established a school that specifically accepts children like you and provides them with the best education. It is called Zhongsi Academy. I will write you a letter of recommendation. You can take it to Yebao to join this academy!"

"Can I go even if I'm a girl?"

"of course."

After a brief hesitation, Eugene asked again, "By the way, do you know the situation of Miss Anastasia who lives next door at No. 41?"

Katya shook her head: "I don't know, there is no such person."

"Okay," Eugene sighed.

Katya: "Who is she to you?"

"It's mine... um... you may not know, my wife died before the war broke out, Anastasia is my good friend..."

Katya: “You’re going to marry her!”

Eugene nodded.

"But it seems that it's no longer possible. She probably..."

The lieutenant general raised his head and looked at the old tree that still had no new leaves in the middle of summer, and said nothing more.

The summer sun shone through the bare branches and fell on him.

(End of this chapter)