"Yes, there is a lake behind us. Is there any problem?" the instructor asked.
"Where is it?" Shulka asked. He wanted to stick his head out and look out, but quickly retracted his head... He didn't want the enemy to shoot him in the back of the head.
"Two miles away from us!" The instructor looked at Shulka in confusion: "Is this important?"
Shulka didn't answer. He just took out the map from his pocket and spread it in front of the instructor and said, "Can you draw its location?"
"Of course!" the instructor replied.
As he spoke, he took out his pen, searched for it on the map for a while, and then roughly drew it.
"Are you sure?" Shulka asked.
"Yes!" the instructor replied: "My previous unit was stationed by the lake for more than a month, and I am very familiar with it!"
"Great, Comrade Instructor!" Shulka said, "I think we are saved!"
"Is it possible to be saved?" The instructor looked at Shulka: "You mean...use that lake for defense?"
"Yes!" Shulka nodded.
"I'm afraid you will be disappointed, Comrade Shulka!" The instructor shook his head: "As I said, the lake has been frozen, and it is difficult for them to use it!"
"The lake is frozen, which means people can pass, but tanks can't, right?"
"Of course, the lake is not frozen enough for tanks to pass!" the instructor replied: "I know what you are thinking, Comrade Shulka! But of course the Germans will not be stupid enough to drive tanks up, I mean... although...
It's covered in thick layers of snow, but you can tell it's a lake at a glance!"
"Then don't let them see that it's a lake!" Shulka said.
"What?"
"Why can you tell it's a lake at a glance?" Shulka asked.
"Because... although it is covered with snow, there are no plants!" The instructor replied: "In addition, it is very flat, with no stones or other things, and the two sides are slightly protruding!"
Shulka nodded and said nothing.
Then the instructor understood: "You mean, give it some disguise?"
"Yes!" Shulka said: "It's not difficult, isn't it? I mean, 'grow' some plants for it!"
"Yes, it's not difficult!" the instructor replied: "We just need to cut down some small trees from other places and then 'plant' them in the ice and snow!"
"How about adding some rocks to it!"
"Of course, we just need to transport it by car!" the instructor said, "I think the ice surface can still bear the weight of the car..."
"We could use a lighter carriage!"
"Yes, it's safer to use a carriage!"
"We can also create some bumpy terrain!"
"Of course! You can make it with just snow!"
…
The instructor's expression slowly changed, and finally he patted Shulka on the shoulder excitedly and said: "That's great, Shulka, we will give the Germans a surprise!"
"Let them take a bath!"
The instructor laughed loudly: "Yes, let them take a bath!"
Shulka immediately reported the plan to Major Gavrilov.
There is no reason why this plan should be rejected. After all, this is neither a retreat nor an escape. It may also destroy the effective strength of the German army to attack the enemy to a certain extent, which is beneficial to the war situation, the Soviet army and others, but not harmful.
However, Rokossovsky still gave the order: "Retreat two miles. We must ensure that we can recapture these two miles after the counterattack!"
"Yes, Comrade General!" Major Gavrilov replied confidently.
If the Germans were fooled, they could just counterattack, let alone recapture these two miles.
Of course, in this case, the Soviet army had no need to counterattack.
So the operation started quickly. Rokossovsky transferred two companies from the 1075th Regiment and rushed to Dubosekovo to make up the defense zone of the first battalion and replaced Shulka and others.
The first battalion headed to the rear under the leadership of Captain Venyakov... In fact, the total strength of the so-called battalion was only more than a hundred people, which was almost the strength of a reinforced company.
It didn't take long for the first battalion to arrive at the lake the instructor mentioned.
Sure enough, as the instructor said, some obvious landforms allow people to tell at a glance that it is a lake, but this will soon change.
"We need some carriages!" said Captain Venyakov.
"Leave it to me!" Davydov, the second company company, replied: "Next to us is the defense area of the 3rd Cavalry Corps. They should be able to find the carriage there!"
Captain Venyakov nodded, and then ordered: "Other people are responsible for doing other things. No matter what they do, they just need to arrange it like land. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Comrade Captain!"
So the soldiers quickly got busy.
Disguise is actually what soldiers are good at. The Soviet army's daily summer training included building fortifications and camouflage. The Soviet army even had special sniper training... The Soviet army even filmed a training film for this purpose.
, this film once became a teaching material for German sniper training.
It's just that these sniper trainings were somewhat outdated at this time.
These are not what Shulka needs to worry about. Shulka only knows that his subordinates are much more expert in this aspect than him, the company commander, and even the instructor is.
Not far away, they sawed down some trees of different sizes by their roots, and then used horses to drag them to the lake. Then they shoveled the snow on the lake, dug a hole in the ice, and "planted" the trees...
Of course, the tree cannot stand upright by itself at this time.
The Soviet soldiers would carry a bucket of boiled water and pour it into the ice bucket. The water would soon freeze into ice, and then the trees would "grow" in an orderly manner on the lake.
Even if you wait for a while, the snow will accumulate on these branches even more seamlessly.
"The size of the trees must be particular!" the instructor explained to Shulka while directing the soldiers to work: "They cannot be the same thickness, so it is easy for the enemy to find something strange, but they cannot be too thick, otherwise it will cause us harm.
The work brings great difficulties! It is best to be like this..."
As he spoke, he raised his head towards the fist-thick tree and said, "We can plant a large tree in a very short time!"
There are also shrubs, stones, and even a few soldiers building a small wooden house.
These things originally looked a bit awkward because there were human footprints and horse dragging marks everywhere.
However, after a period of time, the snow covered them, and everything became natural.
"We forgot something!" Shulka said.
"What?" the instructor asked.
"You only think about deceiving the Germans, but haven't you thought about what to do after you deceive the Germans here?" Shulka asked: "Are you just waiting for their tanks to crush the ice?"
The instructor couldn't help but slap his head... He actually forgot about the explosives.