This is the third update, please give me some recommendation votes... There are too few votes, brothers, there are more than 600.
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The sealing of the gas mask is indeed very good, and the extension tube is thick enough, so you can breathe smoothly underwater.
Shulka likes this feeling: he can no longer hear the sound of gunfire outside, and there is no stench of blood and mud. Looking up through the round window, the firelight of the gunfire outside is as gorgeous as fireworks...
...It's like being isolated from the world, as if all the pain and danger no longer exist.
Of course, the only downside is that it's a bit cold.
Shulka shuddered and couldn't help but huddle together. Then he saw his comrades entering the water one after another and gathering around... This was a bit scary. The Soviet gas masks were so ugly that the soldiers called them "dead men"
"Head", coupled with the poor lighting and being in the water, the group looked like zombies in a horror movie.
Shulka squatted under the water and used a special flashlight... The so-called "special" actually meant wrapping it with black cloth to reduce the brightness, then tightly wrapping it with several layers of tarpaulin and only opening a small hole in the bright area.
Use it carefully, the German troops in the opposite direction cannot see the light.
The function of this flashlight is to illuminate the watch so that Shulka can see the time, and to guide the soldiers to move closer to it and move in the right direction.
Similar things are very common on the battlefield. For example, the Germans have a special fluorescent stick. Their scouts use this fluorescent stick to guide the tanks forward in the dark. There is no light at all in the direction of the Soviet army, so they will not be exposed.
Location.
With great difficulty, Shulka saw the time clearly: 3:50 in the morning, only more than an hour before dawn. As Major Gavrilov said, time is indeed very tight.
Pukarev also had a flashlight like this. He held up the flashlight and drew a circle, and then the soldiers came closer to him.
Then, Pukarev held the flashlight behind his back and walked towards the other side of the river first... This was something Shulka could not accomplish. His sense of direction was very poor. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a road fool.
Don't know which direction to go.
But luckily, he only had to follow the light in front of him.
The group of people moved slowly underwater, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as "crossing the river by feeling for the stones." Although they could observe through the circular window on the gas mask, the visibility was very poor, and they could only see a
A little shadow.
Several times, several soldiers tripped over something.
Fortunately, all of this was done underwater, and there was no big abnormality visible on the water surface, so the journey was uneventful and we successfully reached the other shore in twenty minutes.
There was a burst of gunfire from above... It was the German soldiers using firepower to block the river bank so that the Soviet troops could not get water. This proved that Shulka and others did not go the wrong way.
Then the soldiers waited in the water, staring at Shulka and Pukarev, waiting for their orders.
Shulka looked at his watch, watching the time ticking minute by minute.
At 4:30, following Major Gavrilov's order, the Soviet troops ambushing in the east fired several artillery shells towards the other side of the river. This was followed by a burst of shouts and groups of Soviet troops.
The soldiers rushed out of the darkness carrying the raft and headed straight for the Bug River.
Then there was another burst of cannon fire, more than ten smoke grenades hit the surrounding area, and soon a thick fog rose near the river.
Seeing this situation, the German commander responsible for defending the river bank was Colonel Lucas. The sound of artillery immediately woke him up from resting in bed... In fact, Colonel Lucas was not asleep. He knew that in this situation
Under such circumstances, the Soviets could only have a chance to break through at night, so they could only sleep peacefully during the day.
The adjutant once said to him: "Don't worry, Colonel, the Soviets have no chance of breaking out!"
But Colonel Lucas did not dare to take it lightly.
"Never underestimate your enemy, Andre!" Colonel Lucas said: "What's more, our opponent fought so bravely, and not long ago we were deceived and almost succeeded in breaking through. Who can guarantee that there will not be another one?"
What about once?”
It turned out that Colonel Lucas was right, but he didn't want to be right!
At this time, Colonel Lucas got out of the headquarters and raised his binoculars to look out. There was a haze of smoke. Although there were flares, nothing could be seen, only the vague figures of rafts and Soviet troops.
Rely on smoke to force you through?
Lucas couldn't help but frowned. This was not a good method... He didn't understand why the Soviet commander on the opposite side was sometimes smart and sometimes stupid.
For example, now, the German army has long marked this river channel with artillery fire. As long as an order is given, the artillery shells can accurately explode in the river channel regardless of whether there is smoke or not.
Therefore, their attack is doomed to fail.
"Colonel!" the adjutant urged.
If they did not contact us and give the order to fire, the Soviets would most likely cross the cordon.
The communications soldier looked at the colonel with the microphone. He had already contacted the artillery to get them ready, and was just waiting for Colonel Lucas' order.
Although Colonel Lucas had some doubts in his heart, he hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.
"Fire!" As the correspondent gave the order, the whistle of artillery shells rang in the air.
Then there was a chaotic "boom" sound, and the shells burst into flames near the river, and the shells that exploded in the river stirred up water columns that shot into the sky.
Occasionally there were a few violent vibrations... those were German super-large-caliber mortars.
The purpose of the German army's use of this mortar at this time was not to blow up the walls of the fortress or kill many enemies, but to psychologically intimidate the enemies and make them surrender.
What the German army and Colonel Lucas didn't know was that not only did these gunfire fail to act as a deterrent, but they instead became the beginning or even a cover for the Soviet army's breakout...
The forced crossing from the east was of course fake. The smoke bombs were not used to cover the forced crossing, but to prevent the Germans from seeing through that it was a feint.
The purpose was to get the Germans to open fire.
Shurka believed that the German army would fire artillery. On the one hand, this was because the German army was not short of artillery shells at this time. On the other hand, there was a military principle, that is, when the situation is unclear, it is better to believe in the presence of the enemy than in the absence of artillery shells.
What can be lost by firing the cannon? At most, it will consume some shells.
But if the Soviet attack is true and the Germans do not fire, then the German losses will be great... This does not mean that the Soviet army can successfully break through, but that the Soviet army can at least successfully cross the river and engage in close combat with the German army. In any case,
will cause some casualties to the German army.
Of course, Colonel Lucas was unwilling to take this risk, so even if he had doubts, he would eventually fire.
then……
Under the Holm Bridge, Pukarev, who was hiding in the water, gave a signal with a flashlight, and the soldiers climbed out of the water one by one.