It is formed due to the low terrain of this area...The Soviet Union will be covered with ice and snow every winter. Once the weather gets warmer and the ice and snow melt, the water will naturally flow towards the low-lying areas, thus forming this 600 kilometers long and wide area.
200 kilometers of swampland.
The escaping Soviet troops had to go south, which was luckier because it meant they only had to walk 200 kilometers.
Of course, this is a theoretical distance.
In fact, the German army was also advancing in the south, so in order not to fall into the German encirclement when passing through the swamp, they should cross the swamp diagonally, so the distance would be much farther than imagined.
But the Soviet army was not in a hurry to enter the swamp, because they had to do one thing before doing so.
Artu was escorted out of the car by two people and brought to Major Gavrilov.
Not far away, the major's two guards found a tree, a tree that had died for unknown reasons, with no leaves at all, and only a few black branches stretching toward the sky like devil's claws.
The guard took out the rope, threw it through the middle of the tree branch, and then tied a ring on one end...
Artu knew what they were going to do as soon as he saw this stance.
"No, Major!" Artu looked at Major Gavrilov in horror and cried: "You can't do this, Major! I am willing to accept interrogation..."
"Artu!" Major Gavrilov interrupted Artu: "You think I will risk my life to take you out of the swamp? No, you are not worthy of us!"
"I beg you……"
Artu wanted to say something else, but Major Gavrilov raised his head towards the guard, and the guard stuffed Artu's mouth again.
"Comrades!" Political Commissar Fumin stood on a stone and said to the soldiers gathered together: "Artu betrayed us. He not only surrendered to our enemies, but also provided the enemies with a lot of information that was detrimental to us. We
Many comrades died in the hands of the Germans because of this. This kind of betrayal of the motherland and the people is shameful, ugly, and must not be tolerated..."
While listening to these words, Shulka somewhat understood Major Gavrilov's intention of bringing Artu here alive.
He wanted to execute Artu in front of the soldiers.
On the one hand, this is to anger the civilians so that they will not unite to launch mutinies like before... This is what they fear most during the war, because they will not live long anyway, so there is nothing they dare not do.
On the other hand, it can boost the morale of the troops and warn them not to take the road of Altu.
Because time was running out and the Germans could chase him at any time, Political Commissar Fomin kept his story short and loudly announced that Artu would be hanged. The guards then escorted Artu under a tree.
Altu's desire to survive was very strong, and he kept struggling, but after the guard punched him twice, he realized that it was all in vain... He could only let the guard put the rope around his neck.
Due to extreme fear, Artu's feet were shaking like leaves blown by the wind. His helpless eyes looked at this person and that person, as if hoping that someone would stand up and say a word for him.
But the result will obviously disappoint him. Artu has always been arrogant and domineering, riding on the soldiers' heads and dominating, and no one will pity him.
Political Commissar Fumin nodded. Artu knew that this was his last moment and sobbed in despair, but the two guards at the other end had worked together to tighten the rope. They tied the rope around their shoulders like trackers, and then pushed hard
Go in the opposite direction...
The sobbing stopped suddenly, and Alfie was hoisted up like a heavy object. Amidst the laborious "continuous" sound of the rope, his feet kicked wildly in the hope of stepping on something. Soon it turned into a burst of
He twitched, and finally his whole body relaxed and collapsed like a pile of rags.
The soldiers cheered, and the guard tightened the rope and tied the other end to the tree trunk. When passing under Altu's body, he deliberately dragged his feet with his hands and shook him so that he could hang under the tree trunk and sway in the wind.
The Soviet soldiers burst into laughter.
Shulka did not laugh.
He felt a sense of fear for no reason. Although Altu deserved his punishment, it was still difficult for Shulka to adapt to this atmosphere... They took away a person's life easily, even with a little joking, which was different from Shulka's treatment in modern times.
education and respect for life are incompatible with each other.
But Shulka knew that he should adapt to this, because this is the war time.
"Does anyone know German?" Gavrilov asked.
Soldiers, you looked at me and I looked at you, but no one stood up.
"Forget it!" Major Gavrilov said: "I think the Germans will bring a translator, and they will find a way to figure it out!"
As he said that, he wrote a few words on a white cloth with Altu's pen: "The fate of the traitor!"
Then Shulka knew that Gavrilov had another intention in doing this...to humiliate the German army.
Shulka could almost imagine what it would be like to see Artu hanging slightly dangling from a tree when the German pursuers arrived.
Shurka guessed correctly. Colonel Lucas personally led the troops here. When he saw this scene, he, who had always been calm and regarded himself as a gentleman, was also angered.
"Damn Russians!" Colonel Lucas was trembling with rage: "They actually humiliated me in this way, using the body of a Russian traitor... They thought I would care! They actually thought I would care!"
Although Colonel Lucas said he didn't care, his actions have already revealed the answer... Colonel Lucas may indeed not care about the life or death of a Russian traitor. The problem is that this Russian traitor is his prisoner and is under his protection.
However, the enemy snatched him from the army and hung him in front of him. This is intolerable.
On the other hand, Shulka and others distributed the supplies in the car and walked into the depths of the swamp.
At first, Shulka thought that the swamp was not as scary as it was depicted in movies and TV.
It looks like a flooded area, with some areas being land and others being calf-deep.
The scary thing is the "traps"... Some places are empty, but because they are all covered with sewage or mud, there is no difference at all on the surface. If you step down, you will fall into these "traps".
It's fine if it's just sewage, but if it's mud, it will make it impossible for people to break free, and the more they struggle, the deeper they will sink until the whole person is swallowed up.
However, if you are moving forward as a group, this danger basically does not exist. Your comrades will soon use ropes to pull you out of the mud "trap".
But soon, Shulka knew that there was more danger in the swamp.