On the afternoon of December 1, 1942, two outstanding soldiers of the Brandenburg Commando, Edim and Heisenberg, who were fighting in the Soviet Union, were summoned to a secret meeting.

Together with eighty-three other paratroopers, they sat in a conference room. Everyone talked in a low voice, not knowing what was going on. A captain walked into the room, and all the paratroopers stood upright. He walked to the front of the conference room and ordered everyone to sit down.

"Good afternoon! First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you who have been carefully selected to be the best soldiers among us. You have been selected for a highly classified and extremely important mission. I am Captain Dorne, and I will be your commander in this operation. ”

He stood up, spread out a large aerial photograph, and pinned it to the wall behind him with a few thumbtacks. The photo shows a large hill fortress with some artillery and several bunker-like structures. Heisenberg had never seen anything like this in the past.

"This is Polpov, located in the mountains of Peterus, a fortress of strategic importance, which overlooks most of the front," and then, ominously, he added: "It is considered a very terrible monolithic fortress, and for infantry and tanks it is even more difficult to deal with than the Maginot Line." ”

Heisenberg's heart began to beat harder, and he felt like he was being dragged into an extremely dangerous situation

"We believe that the defenders of the fortress numbered about one and a half hundred. You'll be outnumbered, but your advantage is, raid! ”

The captain paused slightly: "As I said earlier, you are carefully selected soldiers. Have their own skills. Seventy-four of you are among the best soldiers in the unit, including two commandos from the Brandenburg Commandos, five demolition specialists, three medics, and three communications specialists. ”

He pointed to the huge armored roof of the fortress and said, "This is where you parachute down." When you land, this place should be unguarded. It's a great landing area. ”

The captain pointed to several armored turrets with artillery mounts. There are no hatches or other entrances to the top of these turrets. Then he pointed to the large number of artillery and anti-tank guns in the fortress. "That's why you were sent to attack this fortress. As long as these 200-mm and 20-mm guns remained in the hands of the Soviets, the assault teams could not launch an effective offensive against them. In short, the entire assault of the commandos depends on this raid, and you must not miss it. ”

He reached into a wooden box that had been placed on the table and pulled out a submachine gun. "This is the MP40 submachine gun"

The captain put the MP40 back in the wooden box and pulled out a small black pistol. A silencer was installed on the barrel. "This is a Walther PP pistol equipped with a silencer, which also uses a 9mm bullet and has an effective range of about fifty meters."

Then. He raised another flamethrower. The fuel drum is shaped like a round lifebuoy. "This is a knapsack flamethrower, also known as the Type 40 flamethrower, which has an effective range of 36 meters and fuel that can be sprayed continuously for two minutes. It is recommended that you spray for 10 seconds at a time. This makes it possible to use it twelve times. You will be equipped with twenty flamethrowers. ”

And then. The captain picked up a conical bomb. "This is a hollow charge, and the fuse installed on it is the same as that of the S24 grenade, but the burning time has been extended to 10 seconds" He pointed to the armored turret on the photo and said: "This bomb is magnetic, put it on the armored turret, pull the fuse, and then you guys hide to a safe distance." This bomb can blow through the turret and kill the people inside. Twenty of you, each armed with two of these bombs. Five blasting specialists. Two for each person. ”

"Each of you is armed with an MP40, a Walther PP pistol with a silencer. There are also two S24 grenades. Soldiers who do not carry flamethrowers or hollow charges will carry more grenades and bullets. ”

Heisenberg raised his hand

The captain pointed at Heisenberg and asked, "Corporal, is there a problem?" ”

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm a sniper. If you bring your own carbine, the combat effectiveness will be higher. ”

The captain said to the entire chamber, "I know that many of you are adept at using all kinds of weapons. Some weapons are too heavy for this operation. Normally, the commandos will drop their weapons boxes at the same time as you parachute, but this will not be done this way due to the emphasis on the accuracy of the landing point. This time, special weapon pouches will be sewn onto your military uniform, and you can carry weapons with you. ”

After the battle plan was announced, the commandos were given several hours to discuss with each other the details of the attack.

Heisenberg was instructed to cooperate with the other snipers to suppress the enemy forces in the barracks and take out any sentries who might be outside the barracks. Edim received the same orders as Heisenberg. The commandos were all soldiers who were dispensed more grenades and bullets.

The assault team was taken in front of a mock fortress. This replica of the fortress is astonishingly detailed, almost exactly like what the commandos see in the photographs. The commandos trained again and again. To increase the number of exercises per day, the commandos replaced their parachutes with specially made gliders. Every day, commandos with full gear get into gliders, glide to rooftops, practice planting explosives, and launch attacks on sites where resistance is expected. The assault team used empty cartridges and simulated grenades and explosives. Some of the infantry took refuge in the fortress and played the role of Belgian defenders. The commandos practiced at least ten times a day until the invasion was launched on December 6. Everyone knows every room, every door, every hallway in the fortress.

The commandos waited and listened to the newsAt midnight on December 6, the commandos were woken up and learned that the operation had begun and that the commandos would immediately go into battle.

Soon, the commandos put on specially made military uniforms. The military uniform had a long compartment on the back with a zipper, in which the MP40 submachine gun was mounted. A pistol holster was also worn on the belt to house the Walther PP pistol, and the silencer was carried in a pouch next to the holster.

The commandos were also issued special magazine packs containing eight MP40 submachine gun magazines and four pistol magazines. A commando-style dagger is tucked into the scabbard next to his boot.

At 3 a.m., the assault team took to the air in a plane and flew towards Belgium. The plan was that when the sky was bright enough to see the roofs of the buildings inside the fortress, the assault team would descend. Both Edim and Heisenberg were a little worried, and the commandos shook each other's hands.

"See you on the ground!" Edim said.

"Heisenberg would have been there. Be careful not to get shot, Edim! ”

"Remember the first rule."

"I remember!"

Captain Dorn turned to the paratroopers and said, "The commando team will fly over the target area in 5 minutes, everyone get ready, remember, cut the parachute as soon as possible after landing to make room for your comrades behind you." ”

Heisenberg took out the pendant that had been hanging around his neck, opened it and looked at the pictures of his wife and son. Heisenberg closed the pendant, kissed the cold metal cover, and tucked it back under his shirt again. A few minutes later, the hatch opened, and the paratroopers jumped out of the cabin in a one-way column. Heisenberg put on his goggles and jumped out of the way. For a moment, Heisenberg was a little panicked, because it was pitch black below. Then I saw the fortress on the ground, and a line of parachutes was falling towards it. Heisenberg maneuvered the parachute and floated in that direction.

"I can't believe it!" Heisenberg thought. The fortress is getting closer. Eighty-five paratroopers ghostly appeared quietly over the fortress.

Immediately, the assault team began to land. Just as in the plan, the paratroopers quickly landed and untied their parachutes. One by one, the commandos landed on top of the huge concrete fortress.

Just as Heisenberg approached the rooftop, the silence of the night was broken by the shouting of Russian. The Heisenberg Commandos have been discovered. Gunfire erupted quickly.

Heisenberg finally touched the ground. After running a few steps forward, Heisenberg stopped and immediately unhooked the parachute. The early morning breeze blows the parachutes on the ground. Edim landed behind Heisenberg, who also made the scheduled moves.

Heisenberg saw several paratroopers rush to the edge of the roof and shoot fiercely downward. There were also stragglers who jumped from the edge and landed on the top floor, where several armored turrets were mounted.

"Get out of the way!" They shouted below. After a few seconds, the hollow charges exploded one after the other. Heisenberg saw the smoke from the explosion billowing into the night sky.

Edim and Heisenberg arrived at the designated location as planned, and took control of the entrances to the four barracks. Heisenberg saw the muzzle of guns flickering from the barracks doors and windows, and the enemy in the barracks finally reacted.

Heisenberg took out the MP40 submachine gun, loaded it into a magazine, and fired at the flashing point of the muzzle.

More paratroopers descended to the roof, and Edim and Heisenberg continued to shoot at the barracks below. Heisenberg heard a bullet hit the wall next to Heisenberg and was ricocheted off. The assault team lay on the ground, using the stone roof as a cover, to hide from the bullets of the Russian soldiers.

Two German soldiers, lying on the ground, crept into the windows of the two barracks, and both of them threw a grenade into the windows at the same time.

A few seconds later, the grenade exploded with two loud bangs, accompanied by screams.

Heisenberg and Ellis pointed at the barracks window, fired an entire magazine of bullets from the MP40, and then reloaded. Another soldier got up and threw a grenade through the barracks door. There was another loud bang, and more screams rang out from the barracks.

Heisenberg picked up the MP40 and swept it towards the door.

Now, there are German paratroopers everywhere. Several more grenades were thrown into several other barracks, and the air was filled with the sound of gunfire and grenade explosions. (To be continued......)