Chapter 50: The Silent Epitaph
"It is my duty to defend the motherland." The old captain's tone was not resolute, and there was a slight depression. He knew he was going to die, but life was still worth remembering. He was still gone, helpless and free, and when he put on his uniform again, he had actually made a choice. Now, it's just time to put it into practice.
On the battlefield, Rudolph could not be retained, and even after seeing the old captain leave, he began to pay attention to the battle situation.
The Russians came from the side street, and the building was supposed to be the headquarters, in a lower position. Now, it is directly exposed to the front of the Russian army. The troops were all on guard against the enemy forces in front, and only a dozen men were drawn to support. Rudolph walked to the window and looked out. As soon as the old captain and his soldiers went out, the Russians opened fire, and they quickly dispersed and hid behind nearby bunkers.
The Russian soldiers were approaching, they brought machine guns, and the defenders were so suppressed that they could not raise their heads.
Rudolph called his guards and asked them to provide cover. Two submachine guns protruded from the window, pouring bullets.
The fighting on the other side did not stop, and there was also a lightly wounded man and an operator upstairs, operating the light machine gun.
The window was reserved for the soldiers to shoot, and Rudolph could only stand behind and look out, but all he could see was the muzzle of the pulsing gun.
A figure appeared in the aftermath, and Florence was hiding behind a pile of masonry, intently taking pictures. Rudolph walked over to a room with the walls blown up, just in time to see the street.
Rudolph walked up behind Florence, and he saw the soldiers, as well as the captain in his old uniform. They hid behind cover, stretched out their rifles and shot forward.
The Russian army began to charge, a light machine gun and a dozen rifles could not resist at all, the old captain loaded the gun with bayonets, and his soldiers also loaded their bayonets.
"Kill!" The soldiers jumped out of cover and bravely rushed towards the Russian troops.
The Russian army was much outnumbered and soon surrounded them. Victor didn't know when he came to his side, and was equally shocked by the scene in front of him.
The outcome of a white-knuckle battle is often decided at the time of contact. These volunteers were no match for the Russians at all, and some were stabbed down before they could parry.
The old captain showed the qualities of a professional soldier, he took a bayonet and picked out the oncoming bayonet with one shot. Both of their bayonets were stuck in the ground, and the old captain suddenly kicked the enemy in the leg, then turned the head of the gun and stabbed the enemy.
Quickly pulling out the bayonet, the Austrians were left with only a few men. The old captain fought tenaciously and killed another Russian from behind, while at the same time exposing his back. A Russian came from the side, a bayonet stuck between his ribs, and the Russian struggled to pull out.
Rudolph saw it clearly, and the old captain shouted with his mouth open, his rifle tightly in his hand. At the moment when the bayonet was drawn, he fell in agony. Rudolph subconsciously pulled out his pistol, and before he could load it, he realized that it was too far away, a full eighty or ninety meters.
"Fetch a gun." Rudolph instructed Viktor on the side. Victor didn't speak, turned and left.
The Russian army kept falling, but they continued to advance. Here a few more soldiers were brought in, plus Rudolph's guards, and they organized a new defensive line.
The Russian soldiers straddled the bodies in the street, and they charged forward desperately, and the weak defenders could only barely resist.
Rudolph did not think about the critical situation of the battle, he was still immersed in the tragedy of the heroic sacrifice of those soldiers, and he felt guilty for his inaction.
Victor hurried over, carrying two rifles in his hand.
"Go back." Rudolph pulled Florence away with his rifle, and Florence was lying on the rocks with tears on her face, but even so, she did not forget to take the photo.
No one could restrain their mood swings, and the war dead were all compatriots and comrades-in-arms, watching them resolutely rush towards the enemy and then collapse in the struggle. Florence looked sad and sobbed, ignoring Rudolph's advice.
"Click." Victor pulled the bolt and waited for the order. Rudolph held a rifle in his right hand and walked back with a weeping Florence in his left hand.
"Hit." Rudolph was dissatisfied with his abrasiveness. He walked behind the brick wall, pulled the bolt, raised the gun, aimed, and then his finger stopped at the trigger.
The Russians were shaking before their eyes, and their tiny figures seemed to never be able to grasp. Rudolph staggered and moved the muzzle of his gun, and the chosen target disappeared behind cover again.
"Bang." He fired a shot at a crowded area, and no one fell, but his shoulder hurt from the butt of the gun. Although I have shot many targets in the military school, I still feel a little rusty.
He just stood and pulled the bolt and shot until he ran out of five magazines. Before he could ask for the bullet, Victor suddenly turned around and threw him to the ground. Rudolph reclined down, still thinking about his two twenty years of experience with firearms, but unfortunately it was either target shooting or hunting, or playing with all kinds of firearms in a 21st-century shooting club, with earplugs in his hands.
A few bullets hit the bricks, and Rudolph immediately came to his senses.
"Commander, go back quickly." Rudolph took Viktor's advice, slowly got up, and fled.
Rudolph patted the dust off his body, and saw that Victor had also returned, still carrying two guns in his hands. Rudolph turned his head in dismay, and Florence was holding the camera, and it was he who was aiming the camera at himself. Rudolph sneered as he shifted his gaze to the street, pretending to be nonchalant, intently examining the dynamics of the battlefield.
The Russian army was immobile in the streets, and they did not seem to have follow-up support. Gunshots rang out in the distance, and the sound became clearer. An armored car came out of the corner of the street, followed by another one, the machine guns on the car did not fire, and the Russian soldier with his rifle in his hands raised his rifle and surrendered.
The Russian army to the south stopped the offensive, and the friendly forces besieging it were surrounded, and it was not only pointless to continue the attack, but it might even be counterattacked.
Rudolph was saved, he said goodbye to the soldiers, praised their tenacious will, and took a group photo.
The faces of the soldiers around him were calm, as if they had lost their emotions. Once ardent patriots, they are now resolute fighters, intertwined with the ideals of defending their homeland and the blood-drenched reality.
Rudolph specially told that the bodies of the dead should be collected, and when the battle is over, those who sacrificed their lives for the country need to have a tombstone with the names of the dead and record the glory of the past.