The group of people worked until midnight to arrange the lake several miles wide in front, and the next thing to do was to build fortifications on the opposite side of the lake.
This should be considered a relatively easy job, at least for the Soviet army... They are good at working in ice and snow, and have rich experience in building fortifications. They only need to pile up the snow and then use boiled water to move it up.
Then, with the sound of freezing ice, a solid ice and snow trench was constructed.
The advantage of this kind of trench is that it can be built quickly, and you can even make it into any shape you want, and it will basically not collapse, just like the Eskimos living in igloos.
The disadvantage is that it will make the trench very smooth, which is not conducive to troop maneuvers or charges.
However, this has two sides. The German army will also face this problem when they rush into the Soviet trenches.
Another fatal thing is that if this kind of trench is bombarded by enemy shells, the debris will fly around like shrapnel. If you are hit by such shrapnel, you will be lucky enough to not find the shrapnel.
Wounded or dead, because it will melt inside your body.
By one o'clock in the morning, all this was finally completed. Venyakov reported to Gavrilov, and then issued the order to "stand by", and then everyone collapsed in the trench.
But soon the soldiers were interested again.
The leader was the veteran. He decided to build a hut for himself, and he did so. Even though he was exhausted at this time, it seemed very simple to him... He first dug a small enough hut in the snow.
One person sleeps in the space inside, then picks up some branches and puts them across the top, lays a poncho on it, piles on the snow, and finally pours water on it, and an igloo that can block the wind and snow is completed.
The veteran spread a blanket inside and got in, and soon he heard the sound of snoring.
This led the soldiers to follow suit. After all, you can take some time to have a good rest, so why not?
Captain Venyakov sat next to Shulka and said: "It's a beautiful scenery, isn't it?"
"Yes, Comrade Captain!" Shulka replied.
Although Venyakov was Shulka's immediate boss, Shulka didn't have much contact with him... Shulka had more direct contact with Major Gavrilov.
"I think I should thank you, Comrade Shulka!" Venyakov said.
"Thank me?" Shulka was a little confused.
"Yes!" Venyakov replied, then took out a photo from his coat pocket and handed it to Shulka, saying: "This is my wife and my child who was just a few months old!"
The photo shows a young and beautiful mother holding a child in her arms, smiling happily, while the child stares at the camera curiously.
"Is it a boy?" Shulka asked.
"Yes, a boy!" Venyakov replied: "His birthday is June 23rd!"
Shulka didn't understand the meaning of these words at first, but then he thought about it and looked at Venyakov in confusion: "The second day when the battle broke out?"
"Yes!" Venyakov replied: "She was in Brest at the time...I lost news about her at that time. She was transferred to the hospital with the wounded in the army and survived."
"Great!" Shulka said.
Such luck is rare on the battlefield.
"Her name is Lizanka!" Venyakov said: "I thought I would never see her again, until I received her letter a few days ago... She read about our unit in the newspaper
of!"
"That is to say, you haven't met your son yet?" Shulka asked.
"Yes!" Venyakov looked at the photo again and again, rubbing his son's face in the photo lovingly with his fingertips from time to time, and said: "I have always wanted to see them in my dreams. Not long ago...
…You know, that’s why I said I should thank you!”
Shulka knew what this meant.
During the frontline defense, the fierce battle made Venyakov think he was going to die there, but Shulka's method gave them hope of survival... Although they don't know the outcome, at least Venyakov
Cove saw hope.
"I'm honored!" Shulka said.
Venyakov patted Shulka on the shoulder, stood up and said: "Fight tomorrow's battle well. I believe the Germans won't be able to hold on for long. Victory belongs to us!"
"Yes, Comrade Captain!"
Looking at Venyakov's leaving figure, Shulka suddenly felt much more relaxed, because he discovered that what he had done... was not just killing people, escaping, killing again, and escaping again.
In this cruel war, there are at least some beautiful things, such as the birth of new life, the reunion of relatives, etc.
At this time, suddenly the sound of gunfire and artillery came from the front line.
At first Sulka thought it was a cold shot between the enemy and ourselves on the front line.
This is a common thing on the battlefield. Sometimes it is triggered by something, such as a sniper shooting and causing the enemy to fire back, and then the enemy fires back again. This repeats for a while and then slowly stops.
Sometimes it doesn't even need any inducement, it just fires a few artillery shells for no reason, and the enemy is not willing to be outdone, so it will fight for a while.
But Shulka soon discovered that was not the case.
Because the gunfire and artillery fire on the front line continued for a long time without stopping, and it was very rhythmic, and there were also the explosions of grenades... It was more like a battle than a cold war.
Sure enough, soon Veniakov shouted an order: "Get ready for battle, the Germans are coming!"
"Prepare for battle!" Shulka immediately conveyed the order.
When everyone put their weapons on the trench, Shulka had the time to ask urgently: "Comrade Captain, what's going on?"
"Germans!" Venyakov replied from a dozen meters away: "They launched a night attack on our front line!"
This doesn't happen often.
As mentioned before, the German army has air superiority, more tanks, armored vehicles, etc. than the Soviet army, coupled with excellent coordination of various arms, so they rarely engage in night battles with the Soviet army.
However, it is precisely because of this that the German night attack was so unexpected.
Moreover, Shurka looked at his watch, and it was less than an hour before dawn... It was obvious that the Germans wanted to clear the way for their armored forces to fight after dawn.
"Attention!" At this time, Venyakov gave another order: "The one who appears first may be one of his own, no shooting is allowed without an order!"
This also means that the friendly forces holding the position were defeated by the Germans.
Shulka couldn't help but secretly thought it was a fluke. If the first battalion was on the front line, they would be the ones who suffered the defeat.