"Today, I might really get killed by you."
When the first light of dawn painted the eastern sky, the two individuals hiding on top of the water tower realized the precarious situation they were in.
Merely 20 meters away from the water tower, five government soldiers crouched, guarding a heavy machine gun, most likely deployed here early. It was unclear how they hadn't noticed them climbing up the water tower last night. Now, if these guys suddenly decided to climb up, perhaps out of boredom or a whim to shoot a few rounds towards the water tower, they would be in serious trouble.
The sniper cautiously peeked out, took a quick look, and then retreated carefully. "Ignore them."
The spotter complained in a hushed tone, "Of course, we're not going to bother them. Do you think we can take them out? It seems like we only have one shot. Look at that anti-tank gun 100 meters away. If they react quickly, they could blow this water tower to bits within seconds. I think it's better for us to leave tonight if we don't get any results today. This place is too damn dangerous." He was indeed unlucky; how did he end up partnering with such a competitive guy? Even if you were eager to earn merit, you had to preserve your life first. What good was honor without your life?
The sniper, who had been silent while listening to the complaints, finally spoke. It seemed he agreed with the suggestion.
Complaints aside, the spotter diligently carried out his duties, keeping his eyes fixed through the high-powered scope.
From observing the government troops below having breakfast, enduring a few rounds of artillery fire, and repelling an attack from Franco's forces until late morning, the spotter suddenly discovered a special target. "Hey, here comes a vehicle. About 2000 meters away. Looks like it's heading to the command post. Wouldn't it be great if we had a sniper rifle with a 2000-meter range?"
Judging by the number of people below, a battalion-level unit seemed to be stationed here, and their battalion commander seemed determined to coexist or die with the position, establishing the command post more than 2000 meters away. Unfortunately, the effective range of the G43 beside him was only slightly more than 800 meters, and the sniper's Mauser 98K didn't exceed 1000 meters, posing no threat to the command post.
Hearing the mention of a sniper rifle, the sniper, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "You know, I've heard that the NSV heavy machine gun has good accuracy. With a scope, it can hit things 2000 meters away."
The NSV he mentioned was a heavy machine gun developed by the Soviet Union in the future. Due to its outstanding overall performance and several structural innovations, it was widely used by Warsaw Pact member countries as a general-purpose heavy machine gun for infantry, competing with the Browning M2 widely used in the West. Some NATO member countries still recommended and tested the NSV to replace the old M2 several decades later.
If the U.S. military hadn't improved the M1921 and officially named it the M2 in 1932, Wilhelm would undoubtedly have taken it and used it for himself.
Unfortunately, the U.S. military completed the improvements in 1932. Even if he wanted to negotiate with the United States on authorization issues, there was no guarantee they would agree. Additionally, the NSV was much lighter and had a much higher rate of fire than the M2, so Wilhelm simply took it for development.
The spotter curled his lips. "Damn, how heavy is that thing? Can you run around with a 25-kilogram object on your back? Hey, looks like he's a regimental commander, and he really went into the command post."
After waiting for more than an hour, he saw several people come out of the command post. This included the regimental commander who had entered earlier, along with the accompanying battalion commander, staff officer, two company commanders. It seemed they had just finished a briefing.
The spotter sighed lightly. "It's a pity; we can't contact the artillery positions. Otherwise, a shell could have taken care of them all by now. What's the use of the methods the school taught us for guiding artillery attacks? Do we have to drag a telephone wire everywhere we go? Where's the mobility in that?"
Listening to his continuous complaints, the sniper was starting to get impatient. "Shut up. Since the school taught it, there must be a reason. Don't you know that tank units can communicate wirelessly?" This guy was indeed a qualified spotter, but he had a flaw. Once he got nervous, he would turn into a chatterbox, able to talk about any topic for half an hour. And that was under the condition of him not participating; if he accidentally chimed in, he could talk for several hours.
Wait a minute? Participate? Damn, in the next part, this guy will definitely comment on the radio for several hours.
But it seemed he guessed wrong this time.
"How heavy is that radio? Hey, that guy didn't get in the car. What does he want to do? Inspect the front line?" Seeing the regimental commander did not get in the car to return but continued forward with his subordinates, greeting soldiers they encountered warmly along the way.
"Do you think he might come to this machine gun position?" the spotter said cautiously, taking the G43 rifle next to him.
Sure enough, after more than ten minutes, that group of people walked towards the machine gun position below. "When in heaven, walk freely; when in hell, break in. It serves them right for building a career.", the spotter mumbled while carefully taking out two grenades and placing them within easy reach. As mentioned earlier, this water tower was only 20 meters away from the heavy machine gun position below, and it overlooked it. Any soldier could throw a grenade over there.
The crosshair in the sniper's scope was firmly locked onto the regimental commander's forehead. The distance between them was so close that even the sweat on the commander's face was clearly visible. Taking a deep breath, the sniper asked in a hushed tone, "Are you ready?"
The spotter, at this moment, had also raised the G43 and aimed below. "Yes. You target the regimental commander, I'll handle the company commanders. After the shots, we retreat immediately! May God bless us!"
"Three, two, one!"
As the word left his lips, the sniper decisively pulled the trigger. Simultaneously, a burst of blood mist erupted on the face that occupied the entire scope. The blood drops seemed to splash onto the scope, vivid and clear.
The five soldiers who were standing up to greet their superior were dumbfounded, watching their regimental and company commanders' heads almost simultaneously blown with bloody holes. Before the bodies could fall, gunshots echoed, and the accompanying company commander and staff officer were shot one after another.
The heavy machine gunner, an experienced soldier, instantly recognized the gunshots so close. He roared, "Water tower top!" Immediately operating the heavy machine gun, but when he aimed the muzzle at the top of the water tower, he saw two figures drawing graceful lines and landing in their position.
One of them, unfortunately, rolled right to his feet.
"Damn!" Watching the smoking metal lump at his feet, the machine gunner's mind only had time for one word before the tremendous impact sent him flying. Two grenades easily flipped the remaining soldiers in the trench.
After shooting the regimental commander in the head, the sniper kicked a pre-prepared bundle of rope down as he stood up, slinging the rifle onto his back. "Quick, retreat!"
The spotter, frantically pulling the trigger, emptied the ten rounds in the magazine and casually threw down two grenades. Then, he followed the sniper, jumping off the water tower.
In the moment he grabbed the rope, he caught a glimpse of the distant anti-tank gun already turning its barrel towards their location. The spotter's entire being tensed up, not daring to slow down, and slid down to the ground. "Hot, hot, hot!" He shook his hands, feeling like they were about to catch fire, and without any pause, sprinted away.
Just as the two of them took a few steps, they heard a deafening explosion from above.
The fragments of the water tower filled the sky, raining down like a celestial scattering flowers, covering the ground where the two hadn't run far.
...
...
That evening.
Berlin, the Imperial Palace.
"Your Highness, the sniper team you sent has already scored over 50 points for two members."
"So fast?" Hearing Anna's report, Wilhelm couldn't help but be surprised. It had only been a few days.
"A sniper team hid on top of a water tower 20 meters from the enemy's frontline. They took out an enemy regimental commander, a company commander, and a platoon leader who came to inspect the front line in one go. Their score was already 35 points before this. As a result, the enemy's frontline in that area fell into chaos, allowing Franco's forces to quickly break through the defense line, advancing 30 kilometers."
Impressed, Wilhelm couldn't help but exclaim. "Are the members of that sniper team still alive?"
"Yes, they only suffered minor injuries. No need for hospitalization."
"Give both of them the Iron Cross Second Class, what's the name of the sniper?"
"Matthias Heisenor. His instructor is Erwin König. The other sniper is Joseph Sep Ellberg, and his instructor is Simon Heier."
Wilhelm nodded, wrote down the names of the two snipers on a piece of paper, and added a brief and encouraging message to each. "Hand it over to Schorl Company, have them engrave it on the barrel of the SVD sniper rifles. Also, send over the sniper armbands that have been made."
The SVD, of course, was the original Soviet SVD sniper rifle from the old timeline. He directly copied the later model of the SVD with a twisted barrel set at 240mm. Like the original SVD, the current SVD did not have great accuracy when using ordinary 7.62X51mm caliber rifle ammunition.
Although some people were puzzled why it was called SVD, the Crown Prince seemed to have no intention of explaining, and no one dared to inquire.