After the armored convoy passed through the third battalion's defense area, it immediately turned around and headed west, preparing to bypass the Romanian army's defense area. After making a wide circle, it detoured back to the rear of the German troops attacking the factory area and gave them a hard lesson.
After driving about five or six kilometers, Guchakov suddenly saw a checkpoint at the intersection in front of him. There was a sandbag fortification on each side of the road, and there were more than a dozen military tents nearby. It looked like this checkpoint
There were quite a few people there. Seeing this, Guchakov quickly informed Samoilov behind him: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, an enemy checkpoint has been found in front of us, with no less than one platoon of troops. Please prepare for battle immediately.
"
"Understood." After Samoylov agreed, he said to the soldiers in the car: "We found an enemy checkpoint ahead. Everyone is ready to fight."
"Comrade Lieutenant," Tavlin saw the machine guns in the roadside fortifications and asked tentatively: "If a firefight really breaks out, we will expose the target. Do you think you can go around it from other places?"
"If it were during the day, we could still consider taking a detour. But now it's night," Guchakov said with a frown: "The enemies at the checkpoint spotted our car lights from a long way away. If we change the route at this time,
, but it will arouse the enemy's suspicion. We should continue to look forward. If the enemy sees through it, we will forcefully break through."
The armored vehicle stopped in front of the crossbar of the checkpoint, and a soldier immediately came up to him. He raised his hand to salute Tavlin, who was sitting in the vehicle, and asked in broken German: "Mr. Second Lieutenant, please show me your ID!"
Hearing the non-standard German spoken by the soldier, Tavlin was stunned for a moment. When he saw the soldier's uniform clearly, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic, because the people at the checkpoint were not Germans, but Romanians. Even if the enemy saw through it, they could force him to
The success rate of breaking through levels can also be greatly improved.
Before this departure, Sokov specially prepared military cards and identity cards for Guchakov to deal with checkpoints along the way. These things were collected from German officers and soldiers who were captured or killed.
Even if they encounter interrogation, their identities will not be revealed. But it is the first time for Guchakov and the others to use their IDs. When they encounter the enemy's interrogation at the checkpoint, they will inevitably lack confidence.
Seeing that Tavlin did not have an accident certificate, the Romanian soldier repeated what he had just said: "Mr. Second Lieutenant, please show your certificate."
"This is my ID." Seeing the soldier asking for his ID again, Tavlin took out the military ID card that Sokov had prepared for them and handed it to the soldier calmly.
The soldier opened the document and checked it with the help of a flashlight photo. After seeing clearly what was written on it, a puzzled expression appeared on his face: "Second Lieutenant Leo, from the 24th Armored Division?"
"That's right," Tavlin stared at the other person and asked, "Is there any problem?"
"Haven't the troops of the 24th Armored Division been transferred to the vicinity of the Russian barricade factory?" the soldier asked vigilantly: "Why are you here?"
As soon as the soldier finished speaking, Tavlin heard the sound of pulling the bolt of a gun from behind the sandbag fortification nearby. Although Tavlin secretly screamed something bad, he still pretended to be tough and said: "Where are we?
Do I need to report to you? Where is your commander? Call him over immediately."
The soldier was frightened by Taflin's attitude and quickly turned around and shouted into the checkpoint. Soon an officer came out of the checkpoint. When he came to the armored vehicle, the soldier handed over the certificate in his hand.
He murmured a few words in a low voice. The officer nodded, looked up from Tavlin who was sitting in the car and said: "Mr. Second Lieutenant, which part do you belong to?"
"Are you blind, Lieutenant?" Tavlin could clearly see that the person talking to him was a lieutenant, but the other person was an officer of the Romanian army. Let alone a lieutenant, even if he was a lieutenant colonel, there was no need to be polite to him. After all, he
Now wearing the clothes of their master: "Didn't you see clearly that my ID says 24th Armored Division?"
"Mr. Second Lieutenant," the Romanian lieutenant was suffocated by Tavlin's attitude. He carefully asked: "Can I ask why you are here? You know, since you handed over the defense, this is us.
defense zone."
"We are here to perform a mission. As for what the mission is, let alone you, even your captain is not qualified to know." Tavlin pretended to be arrogant and said: "We have completed the mission now and are ready to
If returning to the defense zone and resuming operations will delay our time, can you afford the responsibility?"
The Romanian lieutenant hesitated for a moment, returned the certificate in his hand to Tavlin, and said respectfully: "Mr. Second Lieutenant, since you want to go back to resume your life, I won't delay you." After that, he stood up.
He waved his hand towards the checkpoint and shouted, "Let's go!"
After passing through the Romanian army checkpoint without any danger, Tavlin took off his hat, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to Guchakov: "Comrade Lieutenant, luckily we met the Romanian army.
If it was the Germans, maybe they would call to verify, and if we wanted to pass the checkpoint, we might have to shoot our way through."
Guchakov, who had always been highly nervous, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was getting farther and farther away from the enemy's checkpoint, and said to Tavlin: "It seems that the certificates prepared for us by the division commander are still very effective.
"
After Guchakov finished speaking, Tavlin immediately asked: "Where should we go next?"
"Keep moving forward," Guchakov pointed forward with his hand and said, "This area is the Romanian army's defense area. We must find a way to get around it to avoid running into trouble."
After driving forward for more than half an hour, the convoy entered a forest. Not long after, two forked roads appeared. After the driver stopped the car, he turned and asked Guchakov: "Comrade Lieutenant, which way should we go?"
?”
Guchakov stood up and looked around. Unfortunately, it was still dark and he couldn't see anything. He could only point to the road on the right and said: "Comrade driver, let's take the road on the right."
This way.”
The driver restarted the vehicle and drove along the road on the right. After driving two or three kilometers, there were another fork in the road ahead, not two this time, but three. He could only stop again and ask Guchakov for instructions.
Tavlin said before Guchakov made a decision: "Comrade Lieutenant, I find that we seem to be lost. If we continue to wander around blindly, I don't know when we will be able to leave these forest areas."
Hearing what Tavlin said, Guchakov seemed a little hesitant. He did not tell the driver which road to take, but called Samoilov on the car radio: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, can you come to the front for a moment?"
?”
The armored car Samoilov was riding in was only a hundred meters away from Guchakov's car. Hearing Guchakov's words, he guessed that he must have encountered some problem, so he quickly got out of the car and walked forward. He came to the position of the leading car.
At that time, he saw Guchakov and Tavlin standing next to the car, whispering something. He asked directly: "Comrade Lieutenant, why don't you leave? What happened?"
"Comrade Second Lieutenant," Guchakov replied with a grimace: "We seem to be lost in the forest."
"Isn't there a compass?" When Samoylov saw that the convoy stopped and refused to move, he thought something big had happened. After hearing what Guchakov said, he realized that he couldn't find the direction, so he said carelessly: "Just
We need to follow the guidance of the compass and keep walking north, and we will be able to get out of this forest."
"Comrade Second Lieutenant," Tavlin said: "It's too dark. Even with the help of a compass, you will get lost in the forest. In order to prevent us from running into the enemy's defense area, I suggest that we stop here first and wait until dawn.
Keep moving."
"What, stay here until dawn?" Samoilov raised his hand and looked at his watch, frowned and said: "You know it's only two o'clock in the morning. Instead of stopping here and waiting, it's better to keep going, maybe wait until dawn.
By that time, we had arrived near the target."
"If we break into the enemy's defense zone," Guchakov said softly, "it will be all over."
Guchakov's words made Samoilov hesitate. If he continued to move forward, it was indeed possible to break into the enemy's defense area. However, if he waited here for dawn, the time to rush to the designated place would be greatly delayed.
For a while, none of the three people spoke, and they all remained silent.
"I think," Samoilov said firmly after an unknown amount of time, "we should move on."
"No." Guchakov objected, shaking his head: "I can't let the team take risks. If we really break into the enemy's defense zone, our mission may fail."
Seeing that the two men had their own opinions, Tavlin said tentatively: "Comrade commanders, why don't you send a telegram to the division headquarters, report our situation to them, and ask the division commander to make a decision."
"No!" As soon as Tavlin finished speaking, Guchakov and Samoylov shook their heads at the same time and rejected his proposal. Guchakov said slowly: "We can't send a telegram to the division headquarters now.
, This will expose our whereabouts. I think we should stop here temporarily and wait until dawn to observe the surrounding terrain clearly before moving forward."
Regarding the decision made by Guchakov, Samoylov smiled coldly and said expressionlessly: "Comrade Lieutenant, I reserve my own opinion. When I return to Mamayev Heights, I will take this matter to the next level."
The matter was reported to the teacher."
"It's up to you." Guchakov waved his hand to Samoilov and said feebly: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, you go back to your car first, seize the time to rest, and wait for dawn before rushing on."
After Samoilov turned around and left, Tavlin asked Guchakov worriedly: "Comrade Lieutenant, he used to be from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will he cause trouble for you in the future?"
Guchakov had been captured by the German army twice, and he had an inexplicable fear of the people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But he was the top commander of this small team. If he did not dare to have his own opinions, the next tasks would still be difficult.
How to complete it. So he gritted his molars and said: "It's okay, I believe the teacher will figure out what is going on."
After a long wait, the sky gradually began to light up. Although the light in the forest was still difficult, he could vaguely see the surrounding environment. Since there was no reference nearby, Guchakov had no idea what he had arrived at.
He stood in the car and checked the surrounding environment, then used the compass to check the direction. Finally, he pointed to the middle road and said to the driver: "Let's take the middle road."
After driving forward for half an hour, Guchakov saw a horse-drawn cart appearing on the road ahead. The driver looked like an old man from the back. Guchakov quickly lowered his head and said to the driver:
"Drive the car to the side of the big car and stop it. I want to ask him about me."
After giving instructions to the driver, Guchakov sat up straight and said to Tavlin: "Comrade Sergeant, in order not to expose our identities, you will be the one to ask later."
"Hi, old man!" After the armored vehicle stopped next to the carriage, Tavlin stood up straight, leaned over and asked deliberately in broken Russian: "What is this place?"
When the old man driving the carriage saw an armored vehicle parked nearby, and a German officer in the vehicle asking him, he quickly reined in his horse and jumped off the carriage. After bowing slightly to Tavlin on the armored vehicle, he said respectfully
Said: "Hello, officer, what can I do for you?"
"Let me ask you, where is this place?" Tavlin didn't know who the old man was and didn't dare to reveal his identity easily. He still asked in broken Russian: "Are there any villages nearby?"
The old man quickly said an unpronounceable place name, which literally translates to "country cemetery." Sitting in the car, Guchakov, after hearing the place name clearly mentioned by the old man, quickly took out a map and quickly searched for the location mentioned by the old man.
Soon, he discovered the village southwest of Gumlak Station.
After figuring out where we were, Guchakov quickly whispered to Tavlin: "Sergeant, I already know where we are. Let's keep going."
Tavlin nodded, raised his hand and slapped twice on the bridge, and ordered in German: "Let's go!"
Seeing the dust-raising armored vehicles passing by him, the originally bent old man straightened up, took a sip at the retreating armored convoy, and cursed viciously: "Damn German devils, our people will kill you sooner or later.
Come back and pack your things."
Naturally, Tavlin didn't know that the old man spat at them, but asked Guchakov: "Comrade Lieutenant, where are we now?"
"Here, southwest of Gumlak Station." Guchakov pointed to the map spread out on his lap and said to Tavlin: "I estimate that there must be a large amount of ammunition and supplies stored here at the station. We can put this place
as the primary target of attack."
Tavlin looked up at the sky and asked, "It's already dawn. If we want to sneak attack the enemy's station, I'm afraid we have to wait until dark."
"No need." Guchakov shook his head and said, "Since we have rockets, we can carry out sneak attacks during the day, and then leave after the attack. The enemy may not be able to figure out what happened."