.“ Hey! You, are you stumped and crazy? I said you weren't allowed to smoke at any time outside the camp! ”

Following the angry roar, a burly young white man stood in front of a thin, yellow-skinned American, and he snatched the coarse cigarette that had been lit in his mouth, threw it to the ground, and then stomped on it with his thick leather boots.

The cigarette butt went out.

The American who had been stripped of his cigarette was stunned, and several of the Americans around him who were squatting or sitting had the same look of consternation on their faces, and the young white man said to these Americans in fluent Spanish: "Smoking is a big no-no for snipers, you better quit it for me!" Otherwise, quit my detachment, I don't want to lose someone's life because of a cigarette! ”

The Americans remained silent, looking at their blank gaze, and the young white man sighed helplessly.

This is a hill in the state of Morelos, Morelos is the largest state in Mexico, adjacent to Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, with a predominantly mountainous terrain, the state capital Cuernavaca, and Mexico's famous ** Catepete active volcano in the southwest.

When the Mexican Revolution broke out in 1910, Zapata, the leader of the Southern Peasant Army, revolted here, and for the next six years, it was an important base of the Southern Peasant Army.

This time, the bandits were replaced by troops from the United States of America.

The young white man, Manuel Rentz, was a sergeant in the German Army before coming to Mexico, and he sniped 59 enemies in the war, ranking 1378th among snipers in the German Army, and later worked as a shooting instructor at the Sniper School in Frankfurt, Germany. Now, he is the commander of the 3rd Freedom Detachment of the Guerrilla Brigade of the Southern Mexican Peasant Army, and the seven soldiers around him who have just joined the peasant army are his new subordinates.

Manuel was confident at first for the seven Mexicans who didn't speak Spanish well, because they had been hunters in the mountains before, and it stands to reason that hunters and rangers were best suited to train as snipers. The seven Mexicans were also very good marksmans, and in the first three days they learned from Manuel how to use a scope to shoot at long-range targets, and the accuracy of live fire was also satisfactory. However, as they learned more and more trained, Manuel found that they seemed to be only suitable for hunters rather than snipers, and after a week they still couldn't even understand the most basic combat commands, let alone follow his orders to complete sniper missions independently.

Manuel was both helpless and worried about these free-spirited recruits.

A total of 15 German officers came here with Manuel, including 2 lieutenants and 13 non-commissioned officers. The two lieutenants served as staff officers when they were in the German ** team. They came here to train Zapata's mid- and high-ranking officers in order to equip them with formal knowledge of tactical theory, and to assist Zapata's command in the development of battle plans, the deployment of troops, and the organization of logistics; Thirteen non-commissioned officers, including Manuel, all serve as junior instructors in the Zapatista Army, six of whom are general riflemen instructors, two are machine gunner instructors, two are artillery instructors, and the last three, Manuel and his two companions, are responsible for training sniper units for Zapata, with soldiers selected from recently recruited recruits.

Manuel: The first problem they had when they came to Mexico from Germany was not language. Most Mexicans speak Spanish. The Germans were also staffed by Spanish-speaking officers. What really struggled them was how to integrate into such an irregular army, which was basically made up of peasants, and train these peasants to become standard soldiers. These Mexican farmers are not lacking in courage and loyalty. But their quality is really low, at least nine and a half out of ten people have no education, and the remaining half have only two years of primary school at most, which is completely different from Germany, which started with education.

Normally, the training of recruits in Germany takes three months, and the training of qualified snipers is extended to at least half a year. In Manuel's opinion, it would take more time to train his seven fighters, but Zapata only gave them three weeks of training.

Today is Manuel's 15th day as commander of this detachment. Since the U.S. military was conducting a large-scale search for the main force of the peasant army and the base areas of the peasant army, Zapata dispersed the main force of the peasant army into dozens of guerrilla units and sent them to attack and harass the American army. Originally, Manuel did not plan to fight when the troops had not yet completed training, but after holding back in the camp for half a month, his men were eager to fight, and refused to continue to stay in the camp to train if they said anything, and in the end, Manuel had to take them out to relax, which was considered to be marching and covert training, and their current location was not far from the camp. Today's tasks are also limited to reconnaissance and vigilance.

By contrast, Manuel's predecessors, the German counterparts who arrived last September, fared much better. Major Sebastian, the leader of them, has become Zapata's chief of staff, and four other officers have led several successful attacks on the American army, and they each now command a small but fairly elite guerrilla force.

After teaching his seven poor Mexicans, Manuel sat down by a small tree with his rifle and backpack aside. As a properly trained German sniper, Manuel carried a 7.29 mm Mauser 1898 rifle, a six-fold ZF14 scope, 11 magazines, a Ruger 08 pistol, 32 rounds of pistol rounds, a helmet painted in chartreuse, a whistle, a flashlight, a rucksack hydration bag, a rain cape, a camouflage net, a pair of thick and thin gloves, a number of Mexican silver dollars, and a number of US dollars.

Looking at the Mexicans, they also have scoped Mauser rifles in their hands, but their other equipment is far less complete than Manuel's. There is no way, now that the US Navy is tightly blockading Mexico's main ports, coupled with the Mexican government's inventory and surveillance, it has become more and more difficult to smuggle weapons and equipment from Germany to the peasant army base areas.

For this reason, in the plan of the German ** leadership, it was very important to obtain a high-quality Mexican port before 1917, and the German government hoped that the Zapatista peasant army would be able to capture a certain port on the coast as soon as possible, preferably on the east coast of Mexico, so that the German supply to the peasant army would be much smoother.

However, although Zapatista occupied large cities such as Puebla and Cuernavaca at this time, his peasant army still did not have halberds to be heavily defended by government forces and the coastal ports outside the harbor with American ships stationed. In order to preserve strength and make use of their strengths and avoid weaknesses, after the US troops landed, Zapata took the initiative to withdraw his troops into the mountains and used guerrilla warfare to deal with the US ** team with cavalry artillery.

For these reasons, the German leadership decided to send an experienced sniper like Manuel to Mexico, firstly to strengthen the Mexican Peasant Army's attack and destruction capabilities, and secondly, to pave the way for deeper cooperation between Germany and the Zapatista Peasant Army.

At noon, the road down the hill was quiet. It was the only outside road leading to Zapata's main camping site in the area, and due to the seclusion of the campsite and the rugged mountain roads that led to it, Zapatista had only a few guard posts in the vicinity.

Manuel was thinking about how to make his wild monkeys obedient through this operation, when he suddenly heard a sharp whistle in the distance.

Suddenly, all seven Mexicans were on alert. Manuel had not been here for long, and knew that it was an alert from a police post.

Manuel turned half-sideways, picked up his gun, and looked down the hill through the scope on his rifle. Searched along the mountain road for a while. Sure enough, I found a team in the valley faintly marching in this direction, and from a distance, it looked like a long earthy snake crawling in the valley.

"Look, big hat! It's government troops! ”

Several Mexicans reminded Manuel in the back. The U.S. military is not going to wear that kind of big hat that is unique to Mexico.

Manuel put down his gun, looked at the seven Mexican peasant soldiers with a positive attitude behind him, and pointed to one of the most athletic, "You go back and report, let them get ready!" ”

The soldier who was hit was very unwilling, and finally met the enemy, but he had to go back to report the news. In the end, in Manuel's majestic gaze, he still agreed with great difficulty. I saw this unhappy-faced guy carrying a gun and running down the back of the mountain with a puff of smoke.

"Everyone is looking for a hidden sniper position. Remember, when I fire you fire again, when I blow the whistle, everybody has to retreat, understand? As he spoke, Manuel raised the whistle in his hand. One may be surprised that a sniper carries a whistle, and the shrill sound of the whistle can be heard farther and more noticeable than a person's shout. The Sniper's stealth principle limits its usefulness, but it can be used in unexpected situations under special circumstances.

The six shaved peasant soldiers nodded. But looking at their movements from time to time to glance down the mountain, Manuel felt that for a moment he could only hope that the other party would retreat.

At the same time, in the team down the mountain, a slender guy with blue eyes and a high nose was complaining very dissatisfied:

"I hate this damn hat, I can barely see the way, who ordered this clown to wear this kind of clown, I think he's crazy!"

Just before him, a major apparently heard these words, and unfortunately, he was the commander of this team, that is, the one who gave this "stupid order". He slowed down until he was side by side with the grumbling guy, and then told him, "Mr. Lieutenant, these hats look stupid, but they can prevent the other party from discovering our identity in advance!" Those peasant armies believe that a few shots can scare away Mexican soldiers, and we're going to make them make a mistake today! ”

"So we're going to cheat and get a win?" The man asked rhetorically.

The Major was a little angry, "It's not a cheat, it's a strategy!" Tactical strategy, understand? ”

"It's a lie!" The man held on.

The major was completely devastated, "Oh God...... Well, whatever you want, but as long as you're in my ranks, you're going to have to wear this stupid, clown hat! ”

Although he no longer said anything about the big hat, the lieutenant with a strong personality did not remain silent, and after a while, he hummed the traditional military song of the United States Army, "Bennyhaven, OH". The familiar melody infected the rest of the group, except for the Mexican guide and the major, who involuntarily hummed along.

"That's enough, George. Lieutenant Patton, what the hell do you want? The major roared angrily.

"Fill your team with morale and combat power!" The lieutenant replied lightly.

The major almost went crazy, "Hell, if it weren't for General Pershing's personal order, I would have kicked you out of my ranks!" ”

"I'm sorry, my ass wasn't born for you to kick. It's for squatting toilets! Lieutenant Patton gave a humorous reply, and the people around him couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Look at the poor major again, his face has almost turned the color of pig liver, "Humph! You'd better be careful not to fall into my hands! ”

Lieutenant Patton shrugged, not minding the major's threatening words. Originally, he was excited to be able to participate in such an operation. In his imagination, the great Dimei ** team general appeared neatly in front of the gang of bandits, instead of sneaking forward in a Mexican hat, and now he looks like this, and then he can be a clown in the funny big pants of the Mexican.

On this warm spring day, Lieutenant George Patton's team continued to advance slowly along the mountain road, and a spring breeze blew, and everyone entered a state of drowsiness. However, their lunch break ended when a bullet from a distance hit a rock next to the team.

"! These stupid Mexicans! Manuel scolded under his breath, needless to say. One of his peasant soldiers took the initiative again and opened fire. This time. Thinking it was an order to open fire, the others began to shoot. However, the attacker's team was still more than 1,000 meters away, which was much more than the effective range of the sniper rifle!

Soon. The team down the hill began to return fire. Their gunfire was chaotic at first, but after only a minute or two, it became neat and orderly, sometimes like a volley of soldiers firing from a platoon of guns, which is apparently the only way a well-trained unit can do. The exchange of fire between the two sides was fierce in sound, but each shot was a little blind, and from the scope, Manuel saw that most of the opposing soldiers were hiding behind rocks and bushes, and the large Mexican straw hats were thrown to the ground.

The early firing of his recruits from outside range rendered Manuel's expected lethal blow useless, but he didn't get nothing either. After the large hats on the opponents' heads fell off because they were dodging, Manuel clearly saw the iconic flat felt hats on their heads—in this era, only some units of the U.S. Army still wore flat felt hats similar to those of the Civil War Morale Confederate Army.

"It's actually the American ** team!" Manuel was shocked, because the soldier he had just sent back to report the news was going to bring a false message to the camp, knowing that the Mexican government army and the American ** team were two different things—if it was a government army, Zapata's people would be used as prey; In the case of the U.S. Army, Zapata's men usually evacuate the wounded and their families first, and then use harassment and attack tactics against the U.S. Army, which is far better in training, equipment, and combat effectiveness than the Mexican government army.

Time did not allow him to think too much, and Manuel immediately blew his whistle. Then he withdrew from his sniper position as covertly as possible. A few minutes later, he gathered himself in a bush at the back of the mountain.

In a fit of rage, Manuel scolded in German: "These unorganized and undisciplined fellows, they ...... What a bunch of big bastards they are! Big stupid! ”

The remaining two Mexicans looked at their German instructor in amazement, perhaps not quite understanding what had annoyed him. After a while, one of them asked Manuel nervously:

"Instructor, shall I call them back?"

Listening to the dense gunfire that was getting closer and closer, Manuel knew that the American troops in front had begun to attack, he shook his head and made a decisive decision: "You two immediately rush back to the camp and tell them that there is an American army of more than 200 people who plan to sneak attack our camp, so that they can prepare early!" ”

Seeing that the two of them were a little hesitant, Manuel sternly reprimanded: "Execute the order!" ”

"Yes!" The two warriors gave a military salute in their not-so-standard posture and ran in the opposite direction to the gunshot.

It wasn't until they were far away that Manuel picked up his rifle and moved towards another hill, where the Americans would have to pass the road below if they continued to advance toward the camp. Although he could not be caught by the Americans anyway, Manuel decided to wait for an opportunity to cause some trouble for them in order to buy time for the peasant army in the camp. Now, apart from Zapata's headquarters and a small guard, there were only a few wounded and infirm women and children who were not capable of fighting.

After counting the casualties, the Americans were shocked, the other side had less than 10 people, but they lost 2 officers, 7 soldiers, and 17 others were injured to varying degrees. With three hours to go from Camp Zapata, the raiding force had lost a tenth of its combat effectiveness, and after such a battle, the suddenness of the raid was gone.

What made these American officers and soldiers even more frustrated was that before attacking the top of the mountain, their commander, Major James, unfortunately suffered a shot, and because he was wounded in the lungs, it was still a question of whether he could save his life, let alone command the troops.

At this time, Lieutenant George Patton, who had already been greatly dissatisfied with James's order to advance cautiously, decisively announced that he would take over the command of this force as an adjutant of the expeditionary force command.

During the battle, the U.S. forces killed and captured one attacker. Unfortunately, the captured Mexican peasant soldier was already dying, and he didn't say anything the Americans asked him, so it seemed impossible to get valuable information from him.

Patton then left 10 soldiers to care for the wounded before leading the others on their way to the bandit camp. According to the guide, it takes even two hours for people from here to get to the camp in Zapata, and three to four hours to walk the mountain at a normal pace. Patton calculated that if he advanced at the speed of a strong march, he would arrive at the camp much slower than the peasant soldiers who had returned to report the news. So, he walked out of the ranks and shouted to the remaining 187 infantrymen:

"American warriors, we have just been discovered by the bandits' guard posts, and they will definitely send someone back to the camp to report the news! But this does not mean that our operation has failed, as long as we arrive at the camp at the same time as them, even faster than them, we can win a decisive victory, and even end our anti-bandit operation! If we are slower than them, they are likely to flee or even ambush us halfway, and then we have only one way to retreat. Now, I ask you, would you rather be America's heroes or be ridiculed losers? ”

"Of course it's a hero!" The soldier in the back replied sparsely.

"Then do you want to leave this hellish place early and return to the comfortable United States as soon as possible?" Patton asked his soldier in a loud voice.

"Yes!"

"Answer me out loud!"

"Yes!" This time, the soldiers shouted in unison.

Seeing that the morale had risen sharply, Barton struck while the iron was hot and said, "Okay, let's have a race with the gangsters, if we win, we can become heroes, and we can go home early!" If you lose, you will be despised and ridiculed by others! Do you dare to participate in this race? ”

"Dare!" After answering in unison, one of the soldiers shouted: "We will definitely run faster than the short-legged Mexicans!" ”

Suddenly, there was a burst of laughter in the ranks, and the shadow of the attack not long ago was forgotten by everyone.

Patton looked at the soldiers with satisfaction, and ordered: "Okay, now I declare, except for your rifles, bayonets, bullets, and water bottles, throw away everything you can, and run lightly!" ”

After a loud crack, cans, shovels, and backpacks were thrown to the ground, and to the sound of neat slogans, the American soldiers strode forward.

At this time, Manuel, who had just moved to a new position, saw all this through his scope, and he admired and worried about the American army's move, even if they could not reach the camp before the messenger, the time left for Zapatista Command to prepare would be greatly reduced.

Thinking of this, Manuel decisively picked up his gun, and in the scope appeared the officer who was cheering up the soldiers just now, which was the later famous General George Patton.