In the dense forest, Captain Winter was at the head of the line.

Sunlight fell through the gaps in the leaves above his head, hitting his dark green military uniform and steel helmet, forming golden flecks of light of various sizes, making him look like a weirdo with an electric discharge all over his body.

The soldiers of the 2nd company followed him, step by step, into the woods, in the direction of the Neman River.

The terrain of the woods is fairly flat, and the spacing between the trees is large enough that the armored vehicles of the company can easily pass through the middle.

"I'd rather play hide-and-seek with the Russians in the city than hide and seek with the Russians in the woods on the other side of the river. You know, I hate the unnamed bugs in the woods. ”

Behind Captain Winter, his younger brother, Private Friedrich of the first class, complained.

"I don't like the bugs either, they look disgusting and crawl through the cracks in their uniforms. The feeling of insects crawling over my body, I felt itchy all over my body just thinking about it. ”

His comrade-in-arms, Private Victor, said as he nervously swayed from side to side, as if there were really a lot of bugs crawling on him.

Captain Winter didn't seem to hear the conversation behind him, and walked towards the river.

He was not very familiar with fighting in the forest, and it could even be said that the German army was not good at fighting in the forest.

It is not that the German army despises combat training in the forest, but that the German Forestry Ministry and the Forestry Commission are like a miser, staring at the large and small forests in Germany, and the German army must be cautious and cautious when using forest training, and try to ensure the integrity and safety of the forest, especially to avoid triggering forest fires.

The various branches of the German military did not dare to be careless in the warning of the Ministry of Forestry, because the post of Minister of Forestry in Germany was held by the great Imperial Marshal and the powerful General Go.

No one dared to ignore Mr. Ge's warning. No one wants to go to court with Mr. Ge because of an insignificant forest.

Captain Winter looked at the trees on his left and right, fortunately this was not the kind of deserted, swampy, wooded primeval forest that was dense enough to block all the sunlight, and he and his men should be able to cope with the battle in this terrain.

Cutting through the woods, Captain Winter waved his hand to signal the troops behind him to halt their advance.

Squatting under a birch tree and taking cover from the bushes in front of you, which were almost a man tall. Captain Winter looked across the raging Neman River.

Unfortunately, on the other side of the river, which is more than 100 meters wide, there are still large areas of woods and shrubs.

Whether the dark woods were empty, or whether there were countless Russian soldiers hiding patiently waiting to hunt him and his men, Captain Winter drew a big question mark in his mind.

After some hesitation, Captain Winter decided to try, and Major Koch had transferred the reconnaissance battalion away from the city of Alitus in the street fighting, not to enjoy the natural scenery.

Find out if the other side is dangerous for the whole battalion. Taking risks with the whole company to avoid greater risks for the whole battalion is the fate of the second company as the vanguard team.

The Type SDKFZ250 armored vehicle slowly drove to the river, the front of the car was aimed at the other side of the river, and the muzzle of the MG42 machine gun on the roof of the carport flashed with a cold light, and these machine guns would be the most powerful fire support for the troops crossing the river.

Compared with the 251 series armored vehicles, the 250 series armored vehicles can only carry half a shift, but they are more lightweight and flexible, and can better adapt to complex terrain. Trusted and loved by the Scouts.

The scouts removed the dinghy from the carriage and took turns pumping it with a pump.

Soon. Five inflated dinghys were moved to the river, thrown into the water, and five squads of soldiers jumped onto the dinghy and rowed vigorously across the Neman River.

At the front of the rubber boat, the machine gunners held the machine guns, and the muzzles of the guns were pointed at the opposite shore.

The middle of the dinghy. The other members pointed their guns to the sides, their indifferent gazes sweeping around the woods on either side.

It wasn't until he saw the five rubber boats arrive safely on the opposite shore and the soldiers on the boats disappeared into the dense forest that Captain Winter's hanging heart fell back into his stomach.

The crossing was protected by the vanguard, and Captain Winter emboldened.

Five more rubber boats were thrown into the water. The five rubber boats on the opposite shore also began to return home.

After radio the battalion headquarters was informed of the successful crossing of the river, Captain Winter crossed the Neman as a second group.

Leaving a squad to cover the crossing site, Captain Winter led a platoon and advanced along the bank in the direction of the city of Alitus in the upper reaches of the Neman

In the same forest, Alexander. Without saying a word, Corporal Morcharin walked at the front of the class.

Under his leadership, the class walked downstream along the riverbank.

Behind them, there was either a muffled thunder or a series of crisp toms, and the sound of gunfire in the city of Alitus came from time to time, burrowing into his ears.

Indifferent to the sound of gunfire behind him, Corporal Morcharin was expressionless and walked forward.

Behind him, the young soldiers chattered.

"How I wish this time was a big battle with the Germans in the city of Alitus, and not on such a boring mission. We are field troops, not border guards, and such patrol tasks should not be carried out by us. ”

Private Andreevich held a long Mosin Nagant rifle and grumbled as he walked.

"You thought the battle in the city of Alytus would be easy? You won't say that when you're hiding behind a window and think you can easily take out a few Germans on the street, only to see the Germans' infantry guns pointed at you.

I think the patrol mission is quite interesting, the air here is fresh, definitely a hundred times better than the smoke of the city, and the environment is a hundred times better than the dilapidated buildings in the city. Private Ivanov said.

Morcharin abruptly stopped and looked back at Private Andreevich.

Unguarded by Morcharin's movements, Andreevich almost hit his head on Morcharin's nose.

"You, Andreevich, and you, Ivanov. If you two don't want to be invited to coffee and chat by the political department, don't say those weird things in the future. If you feel over-energy, I suggest you look across the river and see if there are Germans hidden. ”

Seeing Morcharin's stiff face and steel teeth full of cold light, young Andreevich and Ivanov hurriedly straightened up and listened to his instructions.

"The war has begun, and death can come to every corner of the scene at any time. The fact that our superiors had us patrol the woods to prevent the Germans from infiltrating us meant that this could happen. Cheer me up, keep your eyes open, keep your eyes on the river, and don't slack off. If I find anyone lazy, I'll be happy to confiscate your ration as punishment. Morcharin said viciously.

Morcharin said that the rationing was a special treatment of 100 grams of vodka per person per day, and when he heard the idea of the squad leader playing the precious 100 grams, the young soldiers were all highly nervous, and their eyes instantly became extremely sharp.

"Seeing your eyes, I think you have recognized the seriousness of the matter, follow me, and continue to patrol."

Sensing the change in the mental state of his men, Morcharin still nodded expressionlessly, and then turned away.

As soon as he turned around, he heard a voice from behind him.

"Report."

Turning around, Morcharin stared at Andreevich, frowned and asked, "What's the matter?" Private. ”

"I'm going to the toilet and begging to be out of the queue for a while."

Morcharin looked Andreevich up and down, and finally landed on his clenched legs, knowing that this young private was really "in the city", not mischievous.

"Go ahead, remember to catch up with the group as soon as possible and don't get lost."

"Yes." Andreevich turned around and ran.

"Wait." Morcharin called out to him.

Clenching his legs, Andreevich looked at Morcharin with bared teeth.

"Did you bring any paper?" Morcharin asked.

Andreevich hurriedly touched his pockets, and then said with a sad face: "No." ”

Morcharin rolled his eyes angrily, pulled out a wad of tissue paper and stuffed it into Andreevich's hand.

"Careless fellow, what if I don't remind you, what are you going to do after going to the bathroom?"

"You can wipe your butt with a grenade." Ivanov laughed strangely.

"You'll wait for me to come back." Andreevich threw down a cruel sentence and ran behind a birch tree with his legs between his legs to solve his personal physiological problems.

Morcharin, with his team, continued on the path of patrol.

After his beating, in order to keep the precious supply of 100 grams of vodka, the soldiers in the squad were all in high spirits, and their intented eyes were like X-ray machines, sweeping over and over again in the river and in the woods on the opposite bank.

Morcharin's beating played a decisive role, and not long after, Ivanov suddenly shouted loudly: "There is a situation, there are people in the river." ”

Morcharin hurried over to Ivanov and looked in the direction he was pointing.

In the distance, there were countless faint black dots shuttling between the banks of the Neman, and although it was not clear, Morcharin could still guess that it must be a German boat.

The Germans actually smuggled across the Neman River, but fortunately they were discovered in time.

"Anton, you immediately run back and inform the company commander that a German has crossed the river. The others come with me, let's go see how many people have crossed the river? Remember to be careful and don't move too much. Morcharin said.

Anton turned to leave, when Morcharin grabbed his arm.

"If you meet Andreevich on the road, remember to remind him and let him be careful."

Without saying a word, the private who called Anton turned around and ran along the river bank.

Taking off the Bobosha submachine gun from his shoulder, Morcharin was about to speak, when he suddenly heard a gunshot.

Who fired the shot? Morcharin was stunned.

Frightened, Morcharin hurriedly looked in the direction where Anton had left, and saw Anton holding a waist-thick birch tree and slipping softly to the ground.

"Lie down." Morcharin shouted. (To be continued......)