"Private!" The instructor objected, "I must warn you that we just repelled the enemy at this distance......"

"It was only a tentative attack by the enemy, Comrade Altu!" The major interrupted the instructor: "They are not strong enough!" ”

Since the major said so, the instructor did not dare to say anything more.

"What's your name, private?" The Major turned his gaze to Shulka.

"Uh, Shulka, Comrade Major!"

"So, Shulka!" The major asked: "At what distance do you think we should fight the enemy?" ”

"500 meters!" Shulka replied without thinking about it: "This is the maximum range of the enemy's 50MM mortars, their mortars and submachine guns will not work!" ”

The Major thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "You're right, Shulka, I'll consider this suggestion!" ”

With that, the Major patted Shulka on the shoulder and left.

The instructor glared at Shulka, as if trying to find some other excuse to punish Shulka, but hesitated and finally gave up.

After the instructor left, the bearded man breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Do you know how lucky you are?" ”

"What?" Shulka didn't understand what could be called lucky.

"Deliver ammunition ......" said the bearded man: "You will be the first target of German aircraft!" ”

So Shulka understood that this was not the most dangerous place.

After being stunned for a while, Shulka whispered to the bearded man: "That major, who is he?" ”

The reason for asking in a whisper was because Shulka was worried that the major might be a very familiar person, and it would be strange to ask such a question.

But fortunately, there was nothing unusual on the bearded face, and while squatting on the ground and rolling tobacco with old newspapers, he replied casually: "The commander of the 44th regiment, Comrade Gavrilov, it was he who organized the troops to persist in the fight!" ”

Hearing the name, Shulka's head exploded with a "boom".

Shulka had heard the name in modern times, a legend...... In the early days of the Soviet-German war, when the rest of the Soviet army was defeated, he led the remnants of his troops to hold the Brest fortress for a month.

"This is the Brest Fortress?" Shulka asked again.

Only then did the bearded man look at Shulka in surprise.

"I say, Comrade Shulka!" The bearded man said, "You won't forget who I am!" ”

Shulka really didn't know who the bearded man was.

However, this is easy to explain, such as being hit by a shell and injuring the brain, so soon Shulka learned that the bearded man's name was Okunev, Shulka's fellow countryman, and they joined the army together to be trained and honorably become an infantryman.

As for Shulka himself...... He could learn about it from the Red Army card.

Shulka pulled out his Soviet soldier ID card from his jacket pocket, a pamphlet with a brown paper cover and a red five-pointed star on the first page.

Listen to Okunev that a serviceman receives such a Soviet soldier's card after completing basic training, and must carry it with him at all times.

Flip through it, and the first page is information like names.

Number: 1st Infantry Battalion, 131st Regiment

Rank: Private

……

The strange thing is that the place where the photo should be posted is blank.

Later Shulka learned that this was actually normal...... The management of the Soviet army was chaotic, and many people did not have the conditions to take pictures during the war, and until the end of the war, such documents could not guarantee that they would have photos.

Shulka looked at the soldier ID card and was stunned, he knew that this was like a modern ID card, but it was hard to imagine that the ID card of this era would be so rough, and it was no wonder that German spies could easily blend into the Soviet army.

What makes Shulka even more lament is that he will exist in this capacity in the future, and there is no choice.

At this time, someone suddenly shouted: "Plane, air defense alert!" ”

Piercing anti-aircraft sirens soon sounded over the trenches, but before anyone else could react, the German "Stukka" bombers descended from the ground with their characteristic whistling.

There was another violent tremor, and then German artillery fire joined the bombardment, and shock waves and heat waves poured in round after round towards Shulka's location.

However, the trench where Shulka was located was not much danger.

As mentioned before, the German attack was fire reconnaissance, so they focused their bombardment on a four-story building behind the trenches...... The Soviets placed many firing points there, and even turned them into pillboxes with Mark heavy machine guns and sandbags in several windows, which obviously caused a lot of trouble for the Germans.

As a result, aerial bombs fell from the sky and smashed into the building, and there were many "bombs" that would not explode.

Later Shulka learned that they were not bombs, but oil drums filled with gasoline...... At this time, the Luftwaffe did not have special incendiary bombs, and in order to better blow up or burn buildings, they often threw gasoline cans at the target and set them on fire with artillery fire or bombs.

This worked well, as bright red flames erupted from the artillery fire, and the building was soon engulfed in a sea of fire and smoke, which in turn ignited the combustibles in the room and even detonated the Soviet ammunition stored and spread.

And so a hellish scene unfolded in front of Shulka: upstairs and downstairs were full of Soviet soldiers who were set on fire by flames, shouting hysterically, some running, some jumping, and some simply waving their arms full of flames and jumping from the stairs.

They hope to end their suffering in this way, but only some of them can do it...... The floors were too low, and more people jumped down the stairs only to fall into a sea of fire that was even more intense.

Some people seem to want to rush out of the fire, but this is clearly a wasted effort, and the flames entangle and tear them around them like demons until they are dragged into an abyss of endless pain and bottomlessness.

At this moment, a "Stuka" swooped down with a sharp whistle, and it dropped an aerial bomb on the side of the building...... The bomb passed through the wall on the second floor of the building and then slammed into the load-bearing beams on the first floor, and Shulka could even see the splashes of cement all around.

With a loud "boom", a ball of flames erupted from the entire floor, and sawdust, glass, and even the entire wooden door were blown outward.

The building held out for a few more moments in the flames and smoke, like an old man who had lost his crutches, trembling and shaking, until finally collapsed from the bottom up and reduced to a pile of rubble.

"Prepare for battle!" Orders came from the mouths of the soldiers.

It was only then that Shulka realized that the bombing was in fact what is often referred to as "fire preparation".