Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

Page 88

Faced with such a brutal reality, few ordinary German civilians would continue to cower in the shadows like rats, clinging to the ruins of their living rooms and bedrooms and daydreaming about their past lives. They had no choice but to move their belongings and clothes to a resettlement area planned for them by the victorious powers, using former Nazi German military tents as makeshift shelters.

Aside from obeying their arrangements, relying on their own hands to participate in the long journey of rebuilding their homeland is the first step, and the only option, on the path of atonement that God left for the German people.

Did the Germans want this? But what could they do if they didn't? The war was started by their own country, and standing before them were the invaded people filled with hatred and resentment. Were they to use that ridiculous, sorrowful expression to cry out to those they had invaded about the various "tragedies of war" they had suffered? I don't know how important it is to fully understand the horrors and evils of war, but I do know that the absence of the three Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—could be far more important for peace-loving people around the world.

Yes, Sheva was watching, with a meaningful look, a long line of German civilians carrying small items, heading towards a nearby town. With Berlin engulfed in war, the reconstruction of the capital had naturally been suspended for a while; they were going to the surrounding towns that were still under construction to do what they could.

Sheva felt uneasy. In the impassioned speeches of his officers, they had sensed a hint that the enemy in the city would be treated "like the German beasts were a year ago." Now, the enemy in the city was sending out various languages, and officers in military caps were leading German civilians to build fortifications. Did the enemy in the city truly have any connection to the evil fascists?

Watching the Germans slowly walk away, Sheva could only look down at the accelerator pedal and shake his head helplessly.

He was a Soviet soldier, and he had to be wary of anyone who might harm his motherland; but he was also an optimistic and positive person, and he was unwilling to blindly vent his negative thoughts and emotions on a group of former enemies who had already raised their hands because of past events, because that was not the way to solve the problem.

Even with the deep-seated hatred between Germany and the Soviet Union, which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of people, would the animosity between them subside if a third country were to come and become their enemy?

Sheva himself thought so, and he hoped that the Germans were willing to extend an olive branch to them, and even more so that the documents stamped by the beloved Comrade Stalin expressed the same meaning.

The great Soviet Union was not afraid of powerful enemies, but it also needed friends.

……

Sheva had no idea how long the traffic jam had lasted, but he finally managed to drive the truck to the town he was going to. He parked the wheeled truck in the truck yard and jumped out to ask for directions.

"Hello, comrade! Where can I find packhorses to go to Berlin?"

"There are three cars over there. Just ask any one of the drivers."

"okay!"

……

"Comrade! When are you setting off?"

"We're about to leave! Where are you going?"

"Is there a problem sending me to Karlsdorf?"

The driver reached his hand out of the car door window and patted the back of the car.

"Thanks!--"

Sheva nimbly rolled onto the cargo hold, and with the rough yet cheerful melody of the ZIS truck engine, he followed the truck, getting closer and closer towards Berlin.

"uh-huh?"

It was at this moment that he began searching through the various items on the car body—surprisingly, there was a sweet smell of alcohol!

Sheva's nose is as sharp as a dog's when it comes to smelling alcohol. He found a box full of vodka bottles right next to a box of bullets without much effort.

"Ee-ha-ya!—"

He stuck his head into the box, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand on the African savanna, and took a deep breath of the full box of vodka. Wow, that wasn't enough. Sheva continued to strain his lungs and chest, taking several more deep breaths, like a human vacuum cleaner, wishing he could suck in all the alcohol evaporating from the bottle through his nostrils.

Of course, it's true that he loves to drink, but as a soldier, stealing alcohol would definitely be punished, so he could only satisfy his craving through his nose.

But this was hardly the end of it. Sheva rearranged the crates a few times, then lay down, his nose just touching the opening of the crate. He closed his eyes, inhaling the aroma of the liquor. Despite the bumpy ride in the truck, Berlin was still far from the soldiers, but his dream was just one step away.

Section 127, Chapter 80: Cultivating the Abyss, Piercing the Darkness

Fourth day.

As the sun sets, the sky reflects the flames of war within Berlin like a churning lake.

In the command center of the Capitol, Colonel Cary was still intently fiddling with the electronic map table when General Marendo walked in.

"Is there a problem, Kari?"

"Ah, reporting to the general, apart from the occupied area shrinking further, the fighting within the city is not something to worry about too much for the time being. However..."

"Just what?"

"Now, the Soviet troops are getting closer and closer to the inner city. I'm worried..."

"Let me guess... are you worried that the enemy might use something against you?"

“Subway, sir.” The colonel paused, then led the general aside and picked up a map that was kept there.

"The city's subway lines are generally intact, with no line interruptions caused by landslides or flooding. Lieutenant Colonel Eddie Hill even suggested to me that we could speed up the work of expanding the subway's interior space so that it could be put to good use in the future. Perhaps, in a few months, the city beneath Berlin will be a cave city that we have created."

"Then what are you thinking about?"

"Sir, the research department has also deployed a considerable number of sub-teleportation portals in the subway. Although they cannot meet the transportation needs of many vehicles, they serve as shelters to protect against enemy air strikes and reduce material losses. We have already stored a substantial amount of supplies in these subways to prepare for the reinforcements. If the Soviet army breaks into the subway and destroys all the supplies, wouldn't that be..."

"Ahem... Let me ask you first, Colonel, what do we have that we can stay in the subway? What do the enemy have that they can roam around in the subway? What are our strengths and weaknesses?"

"Well," Colonel Kari pondered for a moment, "According to the soldiers' investigation, the Berlin subway has no major collapses in the tunnel walls, and there are basically no entrances that can accommodate KMFs and various types of armored vehicles. And the Soviet tanks and armored vehicles, in terms of size, are not small, many of them are no smaller than assault guns. So it seems that the only way to enter the subway is through the existing subway entrances on foot."

"so?"

"So, in the Berlin subway tunnels, it should be a purely infantry-only battle. I'm thinking, we've had many infantry clashes with the Soviets before, and we've always struggled to gain the upper hand. This way..."

“I don’t think so, Colonel.” At that moment, a staff officer leaned over.

“Look, Colonel. I remember our infantry had one thing that the enemy absolutely didn’t have, right?”

"You said."

"Night vision goggles, Colonel. The fact that we were able to successfully launch surprise attacks on them these past two nights and throw them into disarray shows that their ability to fight in the dark is not as good as ours, right? If we make good use of this, wouldn't we be able to kill the enemy in the dark, exposed to the light of our night vision goggles?"

“Your analysis is somewhat convincing, kid,” Kari shook his head. “But you have to understand, the enemy isn’t stupid. They might have thought of things much earlier than you have.”

Just then, the radio control operator called out in the direction of the three men.

"Report! News from Dongcheng District! The enemy has occupied a subway station entrance and surrounding area, and has begun an underground assault into the city from all four directions!"

……

As night fell again, under a sky shimmering with the light of explosions, a convoy of T-34 tanks and trucks, along with Soviet soldiers on and off the vehicles, approached the first subway station captured by the Soviet army.

Just before the lead T-34 tank passed the platform, Lemilia shouted and jumped off the tank, waving to his comrades around him as he began to descend the subway station stairs—though they were wide enough to fit a small car, their height meant you had to get used to not jumping around.

And in this underground world, shrouded in darkness and illuminated only by the flickering light of a few oil lamps, the ghostly chants of gunfire echoed, like a ravenous army of wolves charging down the hillside, howling wildly…

"Hurry, hurry! Comrades!" Lemilia shouted back as she ran down the stairs, "Captain Lovellin and the others need us!"

After descending the passageway, they entered a chaotic waiting platform, but that wasn't the end of it. The lieutenant continued leading the group toward a subway tunnel from which gunshots had been heard.

"We're here, soldiers!" He ran across the tracks, panting. The gunfire grew closer. He crouched low and, by the light of the oil lamp and torch, saw the khaki uniforms of Soviet soldiers ahead.

"Captain! Captain!" The soldier next to the lieutenant called out to his comrades huddled in the bunker in front of him, and an officer who looked like a captain began to wave to them.

"Hey!" But Lemilia noticed a figure not far from the captain, wearing a black helmet and clothes, acting suspiciously.

"Watch out!" The soldier next to him immediately understood and pounced on the dark figure like a tiger, knocking it to the ground.

"It's too dangerous! Captain!" Lemilia rushed to the captain's side, trying to drag him away.

"Wait a minute, comrade! Look carefully!"

The captain's words were a wake-up call for him, and the lieutenant and his men realized that the figure did not rush to resist, and did not seem to be an enemy who had infiltrated.

"Hey! Comrade! Comrade!" The dark figure shouted several times in Russian amidst the gunfire around him before everyone realized that it was actually a Soviet soldier wearing an enemy black helmet and enemy black bulletproof vest.

"Oh my God, you scared us to death."

“Calm down, Lieutenant Petrovsky.” The captain patted Lemilia on the arm. “I had this comrade pick up an enemy helmet, and we found something on it that looked like a small telescope, which allowed us to see clearly in the dark. Since we couldn’t remove it and attach it to our helmets, this was the only way we could do it.”

"Really? Let me see?"

Lemilia took the helmet and, following the instructions of the comrade who had almost caused their accidental killing, pressed the switch on the little device. Instantly, the pitch-black subway tunnel transformed into a scene of dawn with a green glow. Although it was still quite dark, the lieutenant could easily spot the comrades hiding in the bunkers on this side, as well as the bastards who were firing their guns at the other side.

"Okay, so you mean this thing can make dark things brighter, right?"

“That’s right. I think you’ve seen it too, Lieutenant, the enemy has a lot of automatic weapons, and they’re all hidden. We need to find a way to break the deadlock!”

“Well then, I have a way to make something bright even brighter.” The lieutenant took off his helmet and handed it back.

"Captain, are any of the other comrades wearing 'brightening glasses'?" He gave this weird thing a name first.

"No! Otherwise, we wouldn't be trapped here!"

"That's good! Let's hide a little longer! I'll have my soldiers prepare some supplies!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lemilia, amidst the occasional bullets that grazed the cover beside the captain, swiftly began assigning tasks to his men. One team went to the left flank, another to the right flank, and finally, he called over the machine gun team carrying the DShK machine guns.

"Comrades! You guys come with us."

The lieutenant led Ru to the captain's side, around a derailed subway car. The machine gun team went in as instructed by the lieutenant, then unfolded the machine gun mount, mounted the gun, and the muzzle was just above the wall of the subway car.

"Oh God..." Just as they were setting up their guns, it seemed that the enemy had spotted them and fired a few bullets, but fortunately no one was injured.

"Alright, comrades! Now it's time to see what you can do!" Lemilia shouted to them, pulling out his flare gun and loading it. "Now, get into position and wait for me to give the signal. You need to lock onto all the enemies as quickly as possible!"

"Yes!"

"Okay..." The lieutenant took a deep breath, his heart pounding as he faced the incoming bullets, and reached out to pull the trigger of the signal gun.

"Come! Let me present you with the sun of our motherland!—"

As soon as he finished speaking, the lieutenant pulled the trigger of the signal gun, and in an instant, the tracer bullets that were flying in the air just a second ago faded into the blinding red sun.

The flare, glowing a blinding red light, darted into the spacious subway like a terrifying red bear. Its faint hissing sound, however, was like a bear's roar, silencing the pack of black-skinned wolves who had opened fire.

Lemilia looked up and saw that the gunfire had stopped a lot. In its place, there were men in black hiding in the bunkers across the street, cursing in English. He didn't know that the flare had not only injured the eyes of many Britannian soldiers, but had also destroyed several night vision goggles in the intense light.

Overjoyed, he immediately took up the DShK machine gun he had been waiting for.

"Comrade!—"

"Yes!--"

The machine gunner immediately stood up, gripped the machine gun handle with both hands, and the gun began to tremble like a heavy tank starting up. The thick 12.7mm bullets, trailing flashes of light, flew out of the machine gun muzzle and towards the enemies who were still frantically fiddling with their weapons.

Compared to the roaring light, the bullets from rifles and submachine guns were already overshadowed in terms of sheer force, not to mention the overwhelming destructive power of the terrifying 12.7mm bullets compared to the former two. The ammunition belt was like a long lawnmower, sweeping ruthlessly from left to right under the machine gunner's control. Wooden crates, bricks, iron barrels, and sandbags were all reduced to withered branches and rotten leaves whipped up by the high-speed chainsaw in the roar of the ammunition belt, scattered like mosquitoes under the lamplight in the afterglow of the tracer rounds. How could it possibly protect the young men hiding behind it?

“Oh no!——”

"Run! Run fast!"

The machine gun's ammunition belt swung wildly, but even more frenzied were the black-clad soldiers. Many of them didn't even have time to run, or were too confident in the cover in front of them. Sand and gravel mixed with their flesh and blood splattered, staining the ground beneath their feet red—ironically, they might not even have feet anymore, but DShK showed no mercy. Its only thought was to turn this place into a blood-sucking factory under its control!

More and more surviving soldiers in black began to run away in the lingering light of the flares, and the DShK machine gun fired with a click, venting the last of its rage.

"Our turn! Comrades!" Lemilia led the way, standing up and raising his PPSh submachine gun. "Charge! Kill our soldiers, and we'll repay them tenfold!"

"Hurrah!—"

Soviet soldiers rushed out of their bunkers, rifles and submachine guns in hand, holding the guns to their chests, shouting as they chased after the retreating enemy.

"Don't let them get away!—"

The soldiers' pace didn't slow down at all. Lemilia seemed too exhausted to keep up, so he stopped and turned his gaze to the side with the soldiers around him. There was a tightly closed door with no wooden planks nailed to it, indicating that the enemy might have used the room before.

"Follow me." He led a few soldiers to the door, stuffed a grenade in the crack, pulled the pin, and it exploded.

"Go!" Several people rushed in, following behind the beam of the flashlight.

"Damn it!" Suddenly a dark figure darted onto him, followed by several similar figures wielding daggers and various other weapons, pinning the Soviet soldiers to the ground.

"Damn it!" Lemilia looked at the brat pinning her down in front of her—she was holding the dagger in her hand while her other hand was pressing down on his other arm.

"Drink it!—"

This brat isn't so easy to control! The lieutenant suddenly exerted all his strength and actually flung the guy straight backward!

"You're asking for it!" He pulled out the military shovel from behind his body, swung his arm around like an axe, and chopped it down on the throat of the brat he had slammed to the ground.

"Damn it! Damn it!" the lieutenant cursed as he slashed at the bastard's face and arms, like a butcher letting loose, turning the body in front of him into a pile of rotten blood and mud wrapped in black cloth.

Having dealt with this place, let's see what else we have to do. Those enemies in black are nothing special; the only difference is that they resisted to the end for varying lengths of time before their throats were slit and their hearts pierced.

“Let’s go… let us…” Lemilia gasped for breath, changing the drum magazine on his submachine gun, “Let’s go out… follow them…”

The soldier closest to the door was about to step out when suddenly another figure darted to the door and stabbed him with a dagger!

"Damn it!" The lieutenant didn't care about anything else. He ignored the drum magazine in his hand and threw it like a rock, hitting the black-skinned bastard's helmet and knocking him down.

"Ah! Die!" The soldier who had been stabbed rushed forward and, as if filled with deep hatred, stomped on the enemy's face again and again until he stopped moving. Then he took the rifle from his comrade, loaded it, and slit a hole in the enemy's head.

"Are you alright, comrade?" the lieutenant asked with concern. "The medic should be here soon."

"Ah, look." The soldier raised his left forearm, which had been pierced by a dagger, then tore off a piece of cloth from his clothes with his mouth, gritted his teeth, and tightly bound the wound.

"Oh, by the way, comrades, do you have any alcohol? Sprinkle some on me!"