From the distance, it was possible that the village in the distance was the same place Lynn had fought earlier that morning, but the ambiguous terrain made him unable to be completely certain. Seeing the tall officer and his "elite" soldiers studying a battle map, Lynn realized that the Soviet armored unit was likely their target for this operation. Unlike camps, defensive positions, or supply depots, a unit could move at any time, and they wouldn't stay in one place for too long. Could it be that before dark, German reconnaissance aircraft spotted signs of the Soviet armored unit stationed here, and after dark, the German command sent out elite night combat units to launch a surprise attack?
This speculation seemed logical, but Lynn looked at the village in the distance with skepticism. The tanks parked there were numerous, and their quantity couldn't be estimated. Judging by the Soviet combat habits during World War II, this should be at least a battalion-sized armored unit. Lynn thought that unless the accompanying transport vehicles were carrying large quantities of combat supplies, or this was the Soviet division-level command post along with its armed guard unit, even if the fifty German infantrymen could carry out a successful raid, at most, they would only delay the armored unit from launching an attack for a short time, rather than seriously damage or annihilate it. Without an armored battalion or even an armored regiment, the fierce Soviet offensive would probably not be significantly restrained.
Without consulting Lynn or any of the other "miscellaneous soldiers," the "night warriors" led by the tall officer moved into the substantive action phase through discussion. Soldiers without large boxes unloaded their bag-type military backpacks and took out brick-like objects from inside, resembling almost like TNT explosive blocks. At the signal from the tall officer, the "miscellaneous soldiers" stepped forward, each receiving two of these objects. It was soon Lynn's turn. Although he had never handled explosives before, it was evident from the paper-wrapped objects with straw-like fuses that it was a combination of high explosive and **. According to the gestures of the "night warriors," pulling the top of this long strip would set off a ten-second delay before explosion.
Lynn weighed it. Each package of this explosive combination weighed about two pounds, which posed no threat to tank armor. However, if thrown into the interior of a tank or placed in critical positions such as idler wheels or engine hoods, it should still be able to cause damage. As for people, if detonated directly, it would be a devastating "human bomb"!
After the miscellaneous soldiers received the explosive combinations, the bag-type backpacks of the "night warriors" were almost empty. They also received two packs of explosives each and tucked them into the large pockets under their combat uniforms. After this, the tall officer did not speak. He first removed his water bottle and placed it on the ground, and the "night warriors" immediately followed suit, unloading everything that might make unnecessary noise, such as water bottles, bayonets, and shovels. Although some miscellaneous soldiers hesitated, they followed suit one by one. The tall officer didn't bother to check if the soldiers were thoroughly lightened, he simply waved his left hand, and the soldiers carrying large boxes led the way out of the woods.
Compared to their movements in the wilderness just now, their bodies were pressed even lower, to the point where their two legs were bent alternately, which reminded Lynn of the old days of CS. This was the way characters moved in a crouched state, and with the M42 helmet paired with the M43 camouflage combat uniform, these "night warriors" clearly played the role of the police.
Behind the "night warriors" carrying large boxes, the ten "reserve team members" who had removed the explosives cautiously left the woods in roughly the same posture, while the "miscellaneous soldiers" who remained in the woods were hesitating. Whether to advance or retreat, they had to make a decision immediately amidst the dangerous situation.
Without a supervisory team, if most of the surrounding companions chose to flee, Lynn probably wouldn't move forward alone. However, after a moment of contemplation, more than thirty "miscellaneous soldiers" temporarily assembled from the front line still took steps forward. Thus, with five equipped with infrared night vision goggles at the forefront, followed by ten assault rifle-equipped soldiers spaced ten meters apart, and then the group where Lynn was located, fifty German soldiers moved slowly and cautiously between the woods and the village in the field. Although it was not yet midnight, the starlight above was already dwindling, and the wind blowing across the face was particularly cold.
Descending the slope of the woods, Lynn suddenly saw two people lying on the side ahead, and the accompanying companions were also surprised by this situation, many of them wanting to approach and take a look. Both were Soviet soldiers wearing steel helmets and white cloaks, and their young faces appeared particularly pale under the starlight. One of them tilted his head, staring blankly into the distance, while the other lay on his back, his eyes wide open under his thick eyebrows, as if he hadn't figured out what had happened until his death.
Seeing bodies on the battlefield was not unusual, but what intrigued Lynn was how the "night warriors" silently killed them without attracting the enemy's attention—there was no gunshot heard during the march, and in the night environment, the sound of ordinary pistol shots could be heard from a distance.
With these questions in mind, Lynn squatted down to inspect the two bodies. Both were shot in the chest, with the one on the left hit by three bullets, and the one on the right by four. The bullet holes were much smaller and more concentrated than those of ordinary rifle bullets. At first glance, they seemed to be caused by rapid rifle fire, but Lynn had heard the sound of the MP44 firing, which was as crisp as frying steel beans in an iron pan. Unless a suppressor was used, firing seven shots in rapid succession could not fail to be noticed by nearby Soviet sentries. However, Lynn had never heard of the Germans developing suppressors for assault rifles during World War II; instead, they were equipped with primitive suppressors for some pistols, the effectiveness of which was unknown, such as the Czech-made CZ27. This 7.65mm caliber pistol was originally issued to Czech police and border guards, and after the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia, it was renumbered as the P27(t) and continued production. By the end of the war, a total of 480,000 were issued to German ** troops and police, with some equipped with special silencers, making this small-caliber semi-automatic pistol more discreet to use.
Although he did not witness the "night warriors" silently hunting down their targets, Lynn could fully imagine how cool and ruthless the scene must have been. Looking at the corpses of the two Soviet soldiers, he suddenly had a bold idea: to wear Soviet uniforms and infiltrate the enemy camp. This way, he would have the opportunity to scout the enemy's actual deployment before the assault, sow chaos when his own forces launched the attack, and even potentially carry out clean and efficient assassinations. However, communication was a crucial prerequisite for any plan, and with his current language abilities insufficient to communicate normally with those around him, there was no way to let others know his thoughts and intentions, let alone consider how to persuade them.
With frustration weighing on his mind, Lynn reluctantly got up and continued to follow his companions.
Descending the hill, the road ahead led to the village, but the lead "night warriors" had no intention of approaching or crossing the road. Instead, they led the team through the fields parallel to the road. Before long, a flash of fire from the village was followed by a faint popping sound, prompting the soldiers to quickly take cover. As the illuminating flares flew over to the woods in the distance, Lynn suddenly realized: those illuminating flares that almost made him pass out from nervousness were actually launched from that village!
Crawling on the icy ground, Lynn lifted his head slightly to look around. Obviously, the people staying in the village couldn't directly observe the situation behind the woods, indicating that the Soviets should have set up an observation post near the woods he had just passed. From the current situation, their observation post had not detected this German small squad that had crossed the defenses, or they had been taken out by the German reconnaissance soldiers just like the two Soviet corpses they had seen earlier. Although he knew that night vision goggles could be very effective in tactical operations, Lynn had not expected these "night warriors" to have such sharp combat skills.