Arc of Gunfire

Arriving at the backup position, Andreas took one look at the tripod and knew it wasn't working.

So he decisively adopted the second plan, supported the machine gun on a sandbag with a bipod, and began to shoot based on experience - the tripod has a hand wheel with a scale that can adjust the angle of elevation when shooting, and the bipod can only rely on the shooter. experience and standards.

Andreas fired wildly.

The backup machine gun position was behind the first trench, forming a crossfire with the second trench. The Anters did not confirm the direction of the machine gun fire at the first time, allowing Andreas to steal more than a dozen people in a row.

Suddenly, a signal flare rose into the air and arced towards Andreas' position.

He immediately took cover and dragged the unresponsive recruit Maramon behind the sandbag.

Immediately afterwards, the bullet crackled on the sandbag.

Maramon was shocked: "What's going on?"

"The flare indicated our target, so the Ants started focusing their fire on us!"

"They discovered us just by relying on a flare?"

"Nothing was found. I just fired in the direction of the flare, but look at the firepower. Do you dare to bet that not a lucky bullet hit your big head?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of bullets hitting the sandbags stopped. Andreas changed his position, raised his machine gun and started firing.

At this time someone shouted: "The tanks are coming!"

Maramon, who was holding the ammunition belt, immediately followed the sound and shouted, "The tank is coming, it's our tank!"

Andreas opened the pressure plate: "Change bullets! Quick!"

While Maramon was changing bullets, he looked in the direction where the engine sound came from and saw a No. 2 tank driving up to the position and strafing the beachhead with a machine gun.

The tank parked behind the third trench, several hundred meters away from the real front line.

Maramon changed the ammunition and announced loudly: "Reloading completed!"

Andreas covered the detonator and continued shooting without stopping.

Maramont held the ammunition belt and kept feeding bullets into the gun chamber. At the same time, he muttered in confusion: "Why can't the tank come up behind it?"

Andreas: "That's the No. 2 tank. It's been lagging behind a long time ago. The enemy has weapons that can penetrate its armor at a distance of 100 meters. It can't move forward. It's good to stay behind and use it as a machine gun turret - —”

A fire dragon erupted from the position occupied by the Ants and headed straight for the No. 2 tank huddled behind the third trench.

The tank immediately burst into flames, and the members covered in fire got out of the tank and rolled on the ground.

"Look!" Although Andreas said this, he did not look at the burning tank at all, and was focused on knocking down the Ants.

Suddenly, he was shocked. Veterans would trust their instincts when encountering such a situation, so he rolled away from the shooting position and rolled into the traffic ditch next to him with the machine gun with a hot barrel in his arms.

Almost at the same time, the roar of mortar shells came from the sky, and ten mortar shells fell one after another, destroying the sandbag wall outside the machine gun position.

It is estimated that the Ant mortar team has advanced to the west bank, and it has actually begun to provide close support.

After the bombardment ended, he got up and patted Maramon lying next to him on the shoulder: "Let's go! This position has also been exposed! Ant's assault team should be nearby! Move!"

Maramon didn't move.

Andreas was not sure, so he grabbed Maramon's shoulders and turned him over. He found that the recruit's young face was covered with mud, and there was mud in his mouth, nostrils, and even eyes.

The red was spreading across his chest.

Andreas put on the eyes of a new recruit, skillfully searched his pockets, took out his family letter, put it away, and climbed into the traffic trench with the machine gun in hand.

After running less than thirty steps along the traffic trench, Andreas met Sergeant Koslyk head-on.

"Sergeant?"

Kosrek: "My machine gun team was wiped out, and the machine gun and tripod were taken away by the enemy. I'm going to inform the deputy company commander of the fall!"

Andreas: "I need an assistant shooter!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the deputy company commander appeared with a platoon of people: "You two! We are going to fight back! We need heavy machine gun firepower, you - light machine guns can also do it!"

A general-purpose machine gun is a heavy machine gun when mounted on a tripod, and can be used as a light machine gun when removed.

"Follow me!"

Sergeant Kosrek stopped the deputy company commander: "Are you taking these new soldiers to retake the position?"

Only then did Andreas realize that the person holding a submachine gun behind the deputy company commander was not an experienced and experienced non-commissioned officer, but a recruit with a childish face like Maramon.

Kosrek snatched the submachine gun from the recruit: "Give me the magazine bag! And grenades! You go and be the assistant shooter for Sergeant Andreas!"

Recruit: "I'm not trained to operate a machine gun!"

Andreas: "Just hold the bullet belt! Come with me and give up the submachine gun to Sergeant Koslyk!"

"But!"

Deputy Company Commander: "That's it. As long as you survive, sooner or later it will be your turn to hold a submachine gun and fight for the trenches with the enemy Guards. Let's go, Kosrek! We still have work to do!"

After that, the deputy company commander trotted along the traffic trench. Compared with the new company commander who parachuted from the military academy, the deputy company commander was an experienced second lieutenant. He had never attended a military academy and was promoted from the front line. However, he was better than any other military academy graduate. Little Maotou is even trusted by the soldiers.

Sergeant Kosrek followed with a submachine gun.

Andreas put the machine gun on his shoulder and strode to follow.

The team soon arrived near the lost position.

Andreas chose the best machine gun position at a glance, and lay down next to the sandbags to set up the machine gun.

Deputy company commander: "Forward! Close-range combat, recruits, follow the training!"

Andreas began to fire, forcing the protruding Ants into the trench.

Kosrek rushed out of the trench first, threw a grenade first, and then rushed diagonally.

The grenade exploded outside the trench occupied by the Ants. This grenade, like Andreas' machine gun shooting, was to suppress the enemy and prevent the enemy from raising his head.

Sergeant Kosrek rushed to a place less than ten meters away from the trench and lay down, throwing three grenades that had been held in his hand for a second.

After the continuous explosions, he rushed into the trench with a submachine gun.

Andreas could no longer see the sergeant, but could hear the sound of the submachine gun firing.

The deputy company commander also jumped up: "Support the corporal! Move forward in groups!"

He rushed to the trench with two soldiers.

Andreas suddenly found a group of Ants rushing towards this side in the distance, so he turned his gun and shot over them, trying to stop them.

But without a tripod, the accuracy of the overshooting was not very good, and it only made the Ants go from jogging to running.

Suddenly, Andreas saw Sergeant Kosrek stick his head out and splash water on the approaching Ants with the captured PPSh.

The Ants finally lay down.

Then, Andreas saw the Ants began to retreat to the river beach.

There were also Ants on the river beach who threw down the weapons they brought and tried to swim back to the other side.

It seemed that the first wave of attack today was blocked.

Andreas threw down the machine gun, sat down in the trench, and gasped for breath. Only then did he realize that his heart was shaking like an internal combustion engine.

He took out a cigarette, held it in his mouth, and then felt for matches in each pocket.

At this time, there was a whistling sound in the sky, and the Ants' heavy artillery came again.

But Andreas suddenly didn't want to avoid the bombardment, so he let the Ants blow him to death, maybe it would be easier.

In the trembling of the earth, Andreas finally found a match, lit a cigarette, and puffed out smoke, he thought of his hometown in the mountains, and his father who had spent his whole life fiddling with the orchard and terraces at home.

His father said that his grandfather's grandfather had fought for the Habsburgs, and the decorative air gun in the house was given by the Habsburg emperor at that time.

His grandfather's grandfather certainly didn't need to endure this kind of earth-shaking bombardment.

A shell fell nearby, and Andreas began to have tinnitus, and at the same time felt that something warm and sticky flowed out of his ear hole.

Andreas always felt that the hearing of his ear could not be saved.

At this moment, the bombardment stopped.

Andreas supported his body and climbed up, ready to continue to greet the Ants with a machine gun.

However, there was no sampan of Ant on the river, and the Ant people who had just retreated into the water did not attack again, and everything was quiet.

This situation was so strange that Andreas was stunned for a long time with the cigarette in his mouth, until the cigarette burned his lips and woke up suddenly, and threw the cigarette butt on the ground.

At this time, the deputy company commander ran along the trench, and Andreas stopped him: "What's the matter? The Ant people suddenly stopped attacking?"

"I was also going to the battalion headquarters to ask about the situation. Stay and don't move. Find a usable tripod! If there is no usable one, find a way to repair one!"

"Yes."

After watching the deputy company commander leave, Andreas picked up the machine gun, recalled the location of all the machine gun positions, and began to look for a tripod.

...

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the deputy company commander came back from the battalion headquarters with a sad face.

He called all the surviving non-commissioned officers to a meeting.

As soon as Andreas arrived at the meeting, he reported: "I fixed a tripod and found two usable ones. They were placed on three machine gun positions."

"No need." The deputy company commander had a gloomy expression, "We are going to retreat."

Sergeant Kosrek: "We are not defeated yet! We can still make the enemy suffer if they come!"

Deputy company commander: "We were breached 17 kilometers upstream and a pontoon bridge was built. The enemy's tank troops are passing through continuously and the armored troops are counterattacking, but the division headquarters ordered us to prepare for retreat."

Andreas: "What? What does it mean?"

"Literally, we will know the result of the armored unit's counterattack by tomorrow night. If the counterattack succeeds, it will be great. If the counterattack fails, we will retreat."

One of the sergeants cursed: "I knew that the 310th Division on the flank could not hold it, damn it!"

Someone immediately echoed: "And those Moravians! I don't understand why they are given such good equipment! They are obviously second-class citizens!"

Deputy company commander: "Okay! Be careful not to shake the morale of the troops when you go back, and quietly prepare for retreat. It's right to send the wounded to the trucks first and then send them back! Disband!"