Originally, Shulka and others were going to retreat thirty kilometers and build a new line of defense as planned, but they were "intercepted" halfway.
The troops successfully withdrew from the front line. Although the German army also discovered the Soviet retreat, they were unable to do anything in the face of a large number of landmines and muddy roads.
But the heavy rain also caused trouble for the 333rd Regiment.
The most serious thing is that no one can rest in this heavy rain environment, although everyone is very sleepy.
The second is the difficulty of eating. Taking the pieces of bread out of the raincloth will soon turn into mud mixed with rainwater, and you must swallow these disgusting mud as soon as possible, otherwise it will flow from your fingers.
Walk.
Once again, my whole body was wet. Because the boots were filled with water, they were as heavy as stones. Every time I stepped on my boots, I could feel the sound of water and air squeezing each other inside.
Therefore, when the troops passed a village, the thief suggested: "Comrade Sergeant, why don't we stop and go to those houses to warm up by the fire or take a rest?"
The actor immediately responded: "What a great idea, even a few minutes will do!"
Within a few minutes... everyone knew that the actor was addicted to smoking again.
"No, Fovalikov!" Shulka replied: "This is not something I can decide. If you really want to do this, I think you should ask the ensign!"
When Shulka said this, the thief fell silent, because everyone knew that asking the second lieutenant would only lead to a scolding... That was the second lieutenant's way of speaking.
At this moment, several cars drove staggeringly next to Shulka and others. The driver poked his head out of the cab and asked: "Hey, are you from the 333rd Regiment?"
"Yes!" Shulka replied.
"Get in the car!" The driver only said two words.
"What?" Shulka didn't understand what the driver meant. Shulka didn't dare to make a decision casually without receiving an order. He was just a platoon leader.
But he felt relieved the next second, because the second lieutenant blew the whistle from the front and ordered: "Get in the car!"
The soldiers cheered and rushed to the car without even waiting for Shulka's order.
Shulka shook his head, secretly thinking that they were the Soviet army after all and could not have too high demands on them.
As soon as they got on the bus, the soldiers fell onto their chairs like a puddle of mud.
The veteran took off his boots, and the smell immediately made everyone cover their noses.
"Matvey!" the Cossack said dissatisfied: "Do you want us to spit out all yesterday's dinner?"
"Isn't that what you are doing?" The veteran shook his boots, poured water out, and then took off his "foot bindings."
At this time, Soviet soldiers did not have socks. Their standard equipment was to wrap their feet with a piece of cotton cloth as socks, just like women with bound feet in feudal society.
Of course, Shulka would not tell them this, unless he wanted to be picked up by his subordinates and thrown into the river... What fighting people hate most is being called like a woman, not to mention that it will offend them.
It's the entire army.
"We are indeed the same!" retorted the Cossack: "But do you have to take it out?"
This is right. No one has washed their feet properly since the soldiers came out of Brest Fortress. You can imagine what their feet will smell like.
"What do you know?" the veteran replied: "You'd better do the same, otherwise you will know the consequences soon!"
The veteran is right. If your feet are soaked in water for a long time, they will become swollen, deformed, and lose consciousness. What's more serious is that there are many germs in the sewage, which will invade the body and cause skin diseases or other diseases.
This was quickly verified by other troops.
"Take off your boots!" Shulka ordered: "Like Matvey did!"
"Yes, Comrade Sergeant!" the soldiers responded, and then took off their boots one by one while holding their breath.
The carriage was immediately filled with a disgusting smell. If I had to use a word to describe it, it was like pickles that had not been successfully cured. There were almost no flies to join in the fun.
But having said that, although the smell is a bit unpleasant, it is still very comfortable to free the feet and blow in the air, so that the soldiers are not willing to put wet shoes back on for a long time.
After a while, Shulka shouted to the thief sitting at the front: "Ask the driver where he wants to take us?"
The thief knocked on the partition of the car and asked loudly into the cab: "Comrade, can you know the destination?"
"Kyiv!" the driver replied.
"Kiev!" the thief turned around and relayed: "We are going to Kiev!"
There was a cheer immediately in the carriage, especially from the recruits who had just joined the army... Going to Kiev meant that they could go home.
But they will soon be disappointed.
Because they are going to the Kiev defense line, not Kiev.
The car staggered on the road for more than four hours before reaching its destination... It was dark and raining. In fact, what's more important was the poor road conditions in the Soviet Union. There were potholes everywhere. Once flooded, no one knew how deep it was.
It is deep, so the driver should never try to run over it easily.
So the speed can only be about 30 kilometers per hour.
This can be said to be a shortcoming, but it is also an advantage... This road condition also caused a headache for the German mechanized troops.
Shulka believed that if the Soviet Union had a few decent roads at this time, there would be no victory in the defense of Moscow, because the Germans would definitely be able to end the battle before the harsh winter came.
One after another, the cars stopped in front of an air-raid shelter, and then a shrill whistle was heard outside. Major Gavrilov shouted from outside: "Everyone, get out of the car!"
The soldiers hurriedly picked up their equipment and crowded into the back of the vehicle. Some of them were even putting on their shoes in a hurry... As mentioned before, we can't put too much hope in the discipline of the Soviet army.
After the troops lined up in the heavy rain, Major Gavrilov ordered: "Rest where you are and disband!"
Shulka was about to turn around but was stopped by Major Gavrilov: "Shulka, come with me!"
"Yes, Comrade Major!"
Shulka didn't ask why. During the time he came to this world, he had learned to ask as few questions as possible.
But when Shulka saw soldiers and civilians busy building defense lines everywhere in the darkness, he understood... The 333rd Regiment being brought back from the front line must have something to do with the construction of fortifications. After all, they are the only one on the front line.
Successfully used the "log cabin camouflage" tactic to defeat enemy forces.
Sure enough, under the leadership of Major Gavrilov, the two quickly entered an air raid shelter.
The person looking at the map in the air raid shelter was none other than General Kilponos, the commander of the Southwest Front.