Tonya, who has the title of "artist", took the lead in singing one song after another with the characteristics of the times. The panic and sadness caused by the recent shelling in the trenches were gradually diluted, and even the work efficiency increased.
Quite a few.
In an open space not far from the command post, Valentin said to a captain next to him, "Comrade Political Commissar, I think Tonya should be allowed to go to the military band to use his talents instead of waiting in this muddy field.
Killed by the Germans."
"I will talk to the battalion commander about this."
The political commissar with a TT33 pistol on his waist sighed, "But that must be done after we have added enough troops. Valentin, don't forget that the length of the position we need to defend is more than 150 meters.
Everyone here matters."
"I remember you are friends?" Valentin asked intentionally or unintentionally.
"It's just that we are both from Moscow, and we don't know each other very well," the political commissar said perfunctorily.
Valentin shook his head regretfully, "I hope our artists can live until that time..."
"hope so..."
The political commissar turned around and walked into the trench. He waited until Valentin behind him was blocked by the corner of the trench before he took out a photo from his arms.
In this group photo, there are more than a dozen people, standing on the stage in uniform costumes. Among these people are not only the political commissar, but also the artist Tonya mentioned by Valentin just now.
On the back of the photo, there are names next to each other, but many of them have been crossed out with a pen, and only four or five are left.
Carefully putting away the photo, the political commissar leaned against the damp trench and softly hummed an aria from the opera Rigoletto, while his eyes were always looking at the singer who was standing on the box.
Tonya secretly looked forward to the opportunity to perform in the largest theater in Moscow with this good friend again.
At the same time, Wei Ran finally dried the German boots given to him by the soldiers around him, and even got a small piece of shoe wax to perform simple maintenance on these heavy German boots.
And all this makes sense. After he wrapped himself in dried foot wraps and put on these boots that were ripped off from the feet of an unknown German soldier, he finally didn't have to endure the harsh weather on his feet.
The coldness and moisture got into the gaps between my toes.
Washing his hands with the warm water on the stove nearby, Wei Ran stuffed the salted potatoes he received into his bag, then picked up his camera, called on the artist Tonya to help, and while distributing food, he also gave it to other soldiers.
Take a selfie and write down their name and home address.
After he finished all this, Tonya took him to find a place where he could get some sun. The two sat on a wooden box filled with grenades and started chatting while eating boiled potatoes that had already cooled down.
"Victor, do you want to see the Germans up close?" Tonya asked in a low voice.
"See the Germans up close?" Wei Ran's curiosity was aroused, "Where can we see them?"
"It's at the very edge of the battlefield, but it's a bit dangerous. You need to borrow a helmet later." Tonya raised her finger and pointed in the direction, "There is a trench there only about 50 meters away from the German trenches.
At night, we could even hear the Germans talking across the street."
"Why are they dug so close?" Wei Ran asked puzzledly. He had heard Valentin mention this trench not long ago, but the other party did not explain the purpose of that trench.
"On the far left side of our position and that of the Germans, there is a pond about 50 meters wide."
Tonya explained, "In the first few months, we and the Germans were fetching water from that pond. And there was a tacit understanding between the two parties. In the morning we went to fetch water, and in the evening they went. That was us and the Germans.
The only time and place where we can live in peace."
"Then what?" Wei Ran asked after finishing the potatoes in his hand in two bites.
"Later, an idiot from the opposite side ambushed us and threw a grenade while our men were fetching water."
Tonya said helplessly, "Of course, we also ambushed them with machine guns that day. After that incident, we were unable to get water for about a week, and then we took the risk of lengthening the trench as a canal to divert the water.
solve this problem."
Before Weiran could ask questions, Tonya continued, "But around August, the Germans threw a lot of corpses into that pond. In retaliation, we also threw a lot of German corpses in. Later, both sides
They started to divert the water from the trenches to the pond again."
"Then where does our current water come from?" Wei Ran asked, his curiosity aroused.
"We dug a well near the artillery position"
Tonya explained randomly, and then asked again, "Victor, do you want to go and have a look in that trench? I bet you will be scared by it."
After the other party said this, Wei Ran naturally couldn't refuse. After letting Tonya help him find a helmet, the two began to move forward along the trench line.
Soon, the water under his feet became deeper and deeper, and then a boardwalk began to appear at almost the same height as the water. At the same time, Wei Ran gradually smelled an increasingly strong fishy smell.
The two of them walked cautiously along the boardwalk for dozens of meters, and then stopped at a corner.
There is a well-hidden machine gun fire point at this corner, but the shooting hole is blocked by a small piece of sack, leaving only a gap the size of a disposable lighter that can be seen outside.
However, when he put his eyes on the narrow gap and saw the scene outside clearly, he fell into a sluggish state.
In the direction facing this observation hole is a trench or drainage channel that is only less than 20 meters long.
But no matter what it was called, at the end of this trench was a pond wrapped in mud, but in that pond, there were floating the bodies of at least twenty or thirty soldiers from both sides of the war.
Perhaps because they had been thrown into the water for too long, most of these corpses had taken on the appearance of giants. There were even a few crows as fat as old hens standing on some corpses.
On the opposite side of the pond, a similar trench can be vaguely seen in the hazy water vapor. But if that trench also secretly hides machine gun firepower points, I am afraid that the Germans on the opposite side will know about it.
"Don't we usually need to defend here?" Wei Ran asked as he left the small and pitiful observation hole.
"A month ago, this was a good place for us and the Germans to sneak attacks on each other."
Tonya pointed to the ladder set up beside the trench outside the bunker and introduced, "Sometimes if we need to grab tongues, or go to the battlefield at night to pick off German boots, this is the fastest starting point. Of course, the Germans on the opposite side also
They often sneak up on us from here until both of us have laid a large number of mines nearby."
Having said this, Tonya motioned for the weiran to follow her away from this humid firepower point, and continued as she walked back, "But now, this place has become a trap. Occasionally, the Germans will use shelling to clear the place with grenades.
mines.
Then in the evening of the same day, the Germans would come to us, but they would basically not get any advantage. Instead, they would help us deliver our boots directly to the trenches. This is much safer and more convenient than going to the battlefield to pick off our boots.
"
Hearing this, Wei Ran remained silent. The war had reached this point, and he really didn't know whether to evaluate the actions of both sides as smart or stupid, but there must be helplessness and numbness to life and death.
With Tonya's introduction, the two returned to where they had just been singing. Wei Ran continued his interview and chat, and Tonya also continued to carry wooden boards after the break and repaired the muddy trenches with his comrades.
.
As dusk approached, clouds began to appear in the sky, and soon a drizzle began to fall. Except for the soldiers who had to lie down on the trenches to stand guard and a few snipers who repeatedly moved their positions with Mosin Nagant sniper rifles and fired.
The rest of the soldiers mostly hid in bunkers.
The bunker in this position has not changed much compared to the No. 19 Don River position that Wei Ran visited. It is still damp and cold, and from time to time, you can see a few wet rats running rampant, and they are still the same.
Groups of soldiers gathered around simple stoves converted from milk cans or oil drums, baking boots of various styles or smelly foot wraps.
When it was completely dark outside, Wei Ran received the second gift he came here, a Soviet cloak that could be used to keep out the rain and cold, and a Soviet kettle filled with hot water.
The person who brought this gift was Nurse Lano who came from the birch forest behind to ask if Daniela had returned.
When Nurse Llano returned to the first aid station in the forest with disappointment, Wei Ran, who had already put on his cloak, drank enough hot water, found an opportunity to fill the empty water bottle with the vodka he brought, and shared it.
Gave it to every soldier I met.
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 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 found the opportunity to fill the kettle half full with vodka for the third time, the soldiers hiding behind the observation holes in the trench pulled the triggers one after another, and then, rounds of illumination bombs were fired into the night sky.
.Correspondingly, the German soldiers who were preparing to take advantage of the rain for a sneak attack were exposed one after another and were left on the muddy battlefield one by one.
Soon, the artillery from the German position began to fire a salvo, and accordingly, the Soviet artillery fire from behind the position began to counterattack. However, the exchange of fire between the artillery of the two parties was painful for the Soviet and German troops who were sandwiched between them, and the main body was only two hundred meters apart.