"Bachman! Camera, the camera you asked for is here!"
Listening to the sound of knocking on the armor from outside, Buckman, still holding the projectile in his arms, first put the heavy object in his hand into the shell collection box at his feet to avoid accidentally hitting his foot, and then
He raised his head and shouted at the turret roof that opened wide.
"Let Wenke come in. One more person can come in and take pictures!"
The sunlight shining into the tank from the open top cover was like shining into a dark dungeon. After climbing to the top of the turret, Wink stretched his head and glanced at Buckman who was working inside.
Playing with the set of gunner sights next to the main gun.
"...It is an improvement over the T34. The Russians gave the gunner an independent wide-angle periscope with a fixed viewing angle...The main gun sight is separate, with 4x magnification, but the field of view is still very narrow.
Single eye aiming..."
While muttering in his mouth, he was writing minutes in the small book in his hand. Buckman suddenly looked up and noticed that Wink was lying on the edge of the hatch cover looking at him, and the commanding words blurted out immediately.
"What are you still looking at? Come in quickly! We can get out of here after this is done!"
Wenke didn't say anything after hearing this. He touched the camera bag on his shoulder to make sure it was securely placed, for fear of dropping the baby, and then he put his legs in and actually jumped into the car.
.
"Are you sure this makes sense? Buckman, I feel like we are doing something that has nothing to do with us. Wouldn't it be better to wait until the battle is over and recycle the car and take it away? Why take such a risk to get in and take pictures?"
Wink, who has been close friends with Bachman since childhood, has no taboos. He just says what he thinks in his heart, that's all.
Backman, who was busy taking notes, didn't bother to look back at Wink, but he did give an answer with his own opinions.
"Are you sure that we can defeat those Russians before the battle is over? Everything is not a foregone conclusion until the sound of gunfire stops. Haven't the Russians made you understand this?"
Buckman was scolding him head-on, and Wink, who wanted to say something more, could not find a suitable reason to refute, so in the end he had no choice but to shut up and stop talking.
"Over there, the breech block and the ammunition rack. Go take pictures of these two places. If the brightness is not enough, use a flashlight. Did you bring it? Use mine if you don't."
Wink still didn't speak. He just lowered his head and took out the camera from the satchel in his arms. He began to take pictures and record them honestly according to Buckman's order. It's just that in such an environment, how high-definition photos can be taken?
But it all depends on luck.
After recording the gunner's position, Buckman glanced at the front end of the chassis again, thinking about what he could gain by checking the driver's position so that he could record some useful information and collect it.
But before Buckman could put his idea into practice and take action, several other good brothers who were staying outside the car immediately called the police.
Dong dong dong——
"Bachman! Hey! Something's wrong. There's a plane in the sky, a Russian! It's a Russian plane, coming towards us! It's all over the sky. Come out quickly! Quick!"
Upon hearing this, Buckman no longer cared about continuing to record useful information. He quickly put down the things in his hands and stuck his head out of the car. At a glance, he immediately saw the dark mass of fighter jets in the sky.
They were rushing towards the village where the sound of artillery fire was still loud and fierce.
"That's not our direction! Buckman, that must be the Russian plane! We have to get out of here quickly!"
The planes were coming straight from the north, covering a large area of darkness, and there were a lot of them.
Buckman clearly remembered that the direction of his air strike support was to the west. All frontline field airports and regular rear area airports were in the west direction. There was no reason to make a large circle and specifically launch air strikes from the north.
Buckman, who also realized that something was wrong, quickly returned to the car to put away the pen and paper, and also asked Wenke, who had not had time to take many photos, to leave this ghost place.
By the time Buckman stuck his head out of the turret again, the fighter planes that were falling straight down in the sky were close enough to see their true appearance. The red star marks on the wings and vertical tails were bright red and shining under the sunlight, which was quite dazzling.
The most terrifying scene predicted by Bachmann really happened on the head of the SS in the village!
Ula——
U-la——
If the roar of the plane's engine is not so scary, it can barely be considered acceptable.
Then the waves of mountain roaring, tsunami charging and shouting that followed from the north sounded like the sounds coming from hell to Buckman.
"It's over, it's over! Come down quickly, Buckman! The Russian reinforcements are coming. If we don't leave, we will die here! Hurry up!"
Buckman, who quickly got out of the car amidst the gunner's urging shouts, was in a very embarrassed state. The enemy planes falling straight down from the sky were like ferocious birds of prey.
The Il-2 attack aircraft, known as a flying tank, directly uses the anti-armor cannon on its wings to press the trigger at the ground target and fire wildly.
The large-caliber aircraft cannon shells that hit the ground hit the ground and splashed up large pieces of debris. Buckman, who felt that he was about to be hit by the shells, didn't even have a chance to breathe. He almost rolled and crawled all the way to the ground.
I stumbled back to my Panther tank, looked up at the increasing number of enemy planes in the sky, and instantly felt a chill in my heart.
Whether he is willing to admit it or not, whether he is willing to face it or not, Buckman truly feels that the failure of this wave of attacks is doomed.
The cigarette butts in the ashtray were already full. Guderian, who had been puffing away for a long time, did not interrupt. He just sat in his chair and listened peacefully, not letting go of every word in Bachman's words.
A detail.
"I understand. After that, you were repelled by the Russian counterattack. I heard that the Russians assembled two army groups to attack you in one go. Is that true?"
Bachman nodded. For a person of Guderian's level, this matter was not a secret at all.
"Um......"
Guderian, who was behind the desk, held his chin as if thinking about something. He raised his head again and blurted out his words in the same tone of question.
"So, that mysterious heavy tank was recovered by the Russians again?"
Buckman nodded again. Regarding the foreseeable result, no smart person would think that there is a second possibility.
"The tank only had its tracks broken, and the rest of the vehicle was in perfect condition. I even found the cartridge case and the cigarette butt that had not been completely extinguished in the ashtray. There is no reason why they should not recycle the vehicle. The Russians would never Include tanks that can be repaired in the loss list."