USSR 1941

  Chapter 128 Landmines

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   Three days to capture Odessa, this order surprised Schobert.

   As an army commander, Schobert certainly knew something about the battle in Odessa.

  He knew that although there were not many Soviet troops in Odessa, only about 40,000, the Romanian Fourth Army had more than 100,000. The Romanian and German troops had an absolute advantage in strength.

   But the problem is that there are lakes everywhere outside Odessa that are easy to defend and difficult to attack, not to mention that Odessa is backed by the Black Sea and can get the support of the Black Sea Fleet, so it is not easy to capture Odessa in a short time.

  But Schobert looked at the map and believed that Rundstedt's idea was correct. The German army seems to have only one choice now, and that is to take and hold Odessa.

  Thinking of this, Schobert no longer hesitated, and immediately issued an order to the 22nd Infantry Division, which was advancing towards Uman, to prepare for the landing.

   There are still twists and turns in this, because the 22nd Infantry Division has penetrated deep into the territory of the Soviet army, and it is impossible for them to return to carry out airborne landing.

Schobert thought of a way to let the engineers repair and empty an airfield seized from the Russians on the spot. They used this airport as a transit, allowing the German Air Force to pick up the 22nd Infantry Division and its equipment from here and fly to Ao Desa area.

  Of course Shulka and others on the other side didn’t know about these situations.

  All they know is that the problem they've been dreading has finally come up...land mines.

   First of all, the Germans' aerial mines.

This makes Shulka admire from the bottom of his heart. Although aerial mines are commonplace in modern times, they are new at this time, and the difficulty is not small... It is very likely that the mines will be broken or detonated during the deployment process. However, many countries cannot do this, and the German army has already used it on the battlefield on a large scale.

  Several transport planes flew overhead, and then dropped small dandelion-like parachutes from the rear of the cabin. Each parachute was hung with a mine, and then staggered to the ground.

Although these mines are easy to find because they are all on the surface, there is nothing you can do even if you find them. You still have to move forward while clearing the mines... The Soviet 9th Army is a mechanized force, and it could have driven tanks and cars on a rampage all the way , but now he has to be cautious and follow suit.

   But this is not a greater difficulty. The German infantry also began to intentionally lay mines around roads and railways.

These mines range from anti-personnel mines to anti-tank mines. Anti-personnel mines are "S" mines known as "bouncing Bettys." The marbles in the charging part shoot out in the horizontal direction at a deadly speed... If such a landmine is stepped on, nearby soldiers will be injured together.

   And the wounded are often the most troublesome, because the wounded will become a burden on the troops.

  However, the wounded were not a problem for the Soviet army. Those who could fight would be pushed into the car and given a few words of encouragement.

  Mechanized troops probably should be, because they can't let the wounded drag them down.

   But looking at the wounded lying on the side of the road, the eyes are full of fear and pain... It is not only the pain of the wound, but also the pain of being abandoned and uncertain about the future.

  Warning this scene, the soldiers naturally felt a chill in their hearts.

  The reason is very simple, no one can guarantee that they will be the next one.

  Shuerka's subordinates were also hit by jumping lightning. It was a recruit. When he got out of the car, another soldier stepped on a landmine one meter away. As a result, several steel **** were embedded in his arm.

   "He can't continue to fight!" Leonyev said: "We'd better let him wait for the follow-up troops on the side of the road!"

   "No!" Shulka shook his head and rejected the plan: "Staying by the side of the road may not necessarily wait for follow-up troops!"

   Shulka didn't say much, because some things are inconvenient to say more. But the soldiers all understood the meaning of these words.

   "Yes!" the veteran said: "We have left the follow-up troops far behind, and they may take a whole day to arrive..."

   All day, maybe even longer.

   Another night will pass.

  The wounded are basically without combat effectiveness.

   It's scary just thinking about it.

  The result of doing this is likely to be the enemy instead of the follow-up troops.

  Facts also proved that Shulka's guess was right, because they later learned from others that many wounded were killed by German stragglers on the roadside.

   "You choose, comrade!" Shulka said: "You can choose to stay with us, and we will try our best to help you. You can also choose to wait on the side of the road!"

   The recruit hesitated for a while, then gritted his teeth and replied, "I believe in you, Comrade Platoon Leader!"

  So Shulka prepared a first-aid kit... This is a first-aid kit handed over from the German army. Almost every German soldier has one, and the Soviet army doesn't even think about it.

  Shuerka imitated the appearance on TV and performed a small operation on the recruits: first cleaned the wound, using Uncle Alek's vodka. The marbles are then picked out with a flame-burned saber... the process is a bit **** because the marbles are deeply embedded in the meat and sometimes the meat has to be cut open.

   After finishing, sprinkle gunpowder and ignite with a sound of "嗞".

  Although this is cruel, it is a necessary disinfection process. The battlefield is full of mud bacteria. There is no anti-inflammatory drug in this era. If you don’t treat it, you will almost die.

  Finally wrap it with a clean bandage.

   "What's your name?" Shulka asked.

   "My name is Larinovich, Comrade Platoon Leader!"

   "It will be fine!" Shulka Anwei said: "When we hit Odessa, there will be a doctor for further treatment!"

   "Thank you very much, Comrade Platoon Leader!" The recruit's eyes were full of gratitude.

  In fact, Shulka found that not only the eyes of the recruits were full of gratitude, but everyone in the carriage looked at Shulka differently.

   Shulka was a little puzzled by this, because it seemed to be a very common thing.

   Later Shulka asked the actor.

  The actor smiled and replied: "This is indeed very common, comrade platoon leader, but you are different from others!"

   "What's the difference?" Shulka still didn't understand.

"Other people will definitely choose to hand over the wounded to the follow-up troops, understand?" The actor explained: "They would not advise a soldier who cannot fight to stay in the vehicle and follow the troops because it is a mistake, and it can even be said It's disobedience!"

  So Shulka understood that although he was very careful, he still made a mistake unknowingly... He should have considered the issue from the standpoint of an officer instead of a soldier.

  Yes, in the Soviet army, soldiers and officers were often opposed to each other.