Chapter 552 In the Snowstorm

Troop train No. 532 was stuck in heavy snow.

The conductor Nikolai had no choice but to order the soldiers on the car to get off and shovel the snow forward.

However, the soldiers on the car only had engineer shovels and no equipment specifically used to shovel snow, so the progress was very slow. The train could only move forward slowly at the speed of human walking.

Nikolai was so anxious that he went to shovel the snow himself. However, the snow was too heavy. As soon as he shoveled out a small clearing, several centimeters of new snow fell on it.

Seeing that the train was about to be buried under heavy snow, a soldier waded through the snow and came over to report: "Conductor, there are people coming from behind, many people are coming!"

"What? The Prosens came across the river to attack?" Nikolai asked nervously.

"No, look!" The messenger turned around and pointed behind him.

Nikolai looked over and saw a large group of people walking this way in the snow and wind, holding flags.

Those people quickly arrived, and Nikolai saw clearly that what they were holding were not weapons, but various tools for shoveling snow.

"Who are you?" Nikolai asked loudly.

"Comrade conductor, we are students from a nearby school, and the church has organized us to shovel the snow!" the young man in the lead shouted.

Nikolai nodded and looked at the flag they were holding: "Why are you carrying the red flag?"

"Because we heard that the red flag will now be awarded to the bravest troops in combat. We are not old enough to go to the battlefield, but we can fly the red flag first! We dyed it ourselves!" The young man smiled fearlessly in the snowstorm.

Nikolai looked at the young faces, then at the red flag, and shook his head: "You'd better go back, such a heavy snowstorm is very dangerous!"

"How can it be more dangerous than the battlefield?"

The soldier shoveling the snow next to him smiled: "This is indeed the truth. Train Dawarish, let them do it, and we will get to the assembly point early."

Nikolai took a deep breath, and when he exhaled, he had already made a decision. He waved his hand: "Come on, children!"

The boy in the lead turned back: "Come on! Dig out the train!"

All the boys - no, the girls too - all rushing towards the train, brandishing tools.

Nikolai stared at them for a few seconds, then walked along the railway towards the rear of the train. Along the way, he saw many red flags with words written on them:

"The Tenth Middle School Youth Commando."

"Young Pioneers of Badaev Village."

"Kalinka Youth Rescue Team."

…

Suddenly, I don’t know who started it, and the young people began to sing: "Listen to the noise of the wind and snow, watch the shooting stars flying~"

"My heart is calling me to go to the turbulent distance~"

————

At the same time, Prossen's 420th Motor Regiment.

Major Hansen, the commander of the regiment, almost didn't hear someone knocking on the car door. He opened the door of the command car and saw a guy who was about to become a snowman outside. It took him a lot of effort to recognize that he was the commander of the first battalion by his military rank.

"We can't move!" a battalion commander shouted, "We can't move at all! And if the snow keeps falling like this, we are at risk of being buried! We should find a nearby house to take shelter!"

Major Hansen looked at the sky and sighed: "It is dangerous to march in the snow at this time. Just wait on the truck for the snow to pass. Use the radio to ask the military station to see if anyone can come to rescue."

As soon as he finished speaking, the radio operator in the command vehicle said: "No, no one can be called by the radio now. It may be due to freezing, or the ionosphere is disturbed by the snowstorm, but no one can be called anyway."

Major Hansen scolded: "Don't you know what to do? Keep calling! Until you call someone!"

————

Prosen Sixth Army Headquarters.

Admiral Frederick looked at the rattling window. There was already a layer of fog on the window and he couldn't see the outside at all. However, through the rattling sound, he could still feel the biting north wind outside.

"General Winter." The admiral sneered, "This time has come. He really knows how to pick his time."

His chief of staff was on the phone. He just finished speaking. He put down the receiver and looked over: "General, the transportation team that set off this morning has not reached the next stop yet. Our transportation line is completely paralyzed. This is more deadly than mud. .

"But the good news is that the enemy, the Ant people, are not much better, and this kind of snowstorm railway has to be stopped."

The admiral was silent, staring at the white window and not knowing what he was thinking.

The chief of staff waited for a while and asked: "General?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, this is the only good news. They should have more troops than us, and they will suffer more than us if their supplies are cut off."

————

East bank, Badaev village.

Someone knocked on the door of Melekhov's house rudely, and old Melekhov opened the door with a curse: "What's wrong? The weather won't stop like this! Huh? My lord, the priest, what's the matter?"

The priest said seriously: "The railway line was blocked by a snowstorm. Uncle Melekhov, you have experience in transportation in the snow. We need to organize a transportation team. Can you..."

Melekhov looked at the sky: "During transportation in such weather, many people will die, priest."

“We the priests will also be taking part in the transport.”

Uncle Melekhov sighed: "Then what else can I say? Old woman! Bring me my coat!"

"Coat? What are you going to do? Are you going to die if you go out in this weather?" The uncle's wife came out cursing. When she saw the priest, her face immediately changed, "Hey, priest, come in and sit down."

The priest shook his head: "No, the young men on the front line are still waiting to eat. We have to send meat and grain up there. Your three sons may also be waiting on the front line to eat."

"That's it! Let our old man go, he is very familiar with snowstorms! Old man, what are you doing? Do you want the priest to kneel down and beg you?"

"My coat!" Uncle Melekhov was angry, "I just called my coat!"

"Okay, okay, coat, coat, I'll get it for you right now!"

Soon, the coat and tobacco bag were delivered to the uncle.

While putting on his coat with the help of his wife, the uncle said to the priest: "The old man next door is a Tatar, and he is also familiar with blizzards. If we go together, we will definitely reduce a lot of casualties!"

"Shout, he has already reported to the church! I'm here specifically to invite you!"

"Okay, let's go!"

So the old man, who had put on his equipment, disappeared into the swirling snowstorm together with the priest.

The aunt stood at the door and stared in the direction they left for a long time.

————

On November 6, the snowstorm continued.

The headquarters support point of the 581st Proson Infantry Regiment has sealed all the windows, leaving only the firing port of the machine gun.

The shooting port was also blocked with the coats of the dead soldiers. Otherwise, the cold wind pouring in from this mouth would freeze everyone in the entire support point to death.

Major Richard, the acting regimental commander, and several soldiers huddled around the small stove for making coffee, shivering.

Someone made great determination, picked up the thermometer placed at his feet, and immediately cursed: "Twenty-seven degrees below zero? This is even when there is a fire!"

Major Richard sighed, but the water vapor he just exhaled from his mouth turned into ice slag, and some of it was still hanging on his beard that he hadn't shaved in a few days - it was terrible to shave in this weather, the razor was terribly cold, and the razor was too cold to touch. The moment it hits the skin, it will definitely tremble, and then the face will be scratched.

Major Richard: "Be content. You took the thermometer away from the fire. It froze all of a sudden and then exploded."

"Will it explode?" The person holding the thermometer looked surprised.

"Yes, I don't know. I've never seen a mercury thermometer freeze." Major Richard shrugged, "You can try it and treat it as a scientific experiment."

At this time, the machine gunner came over: "Do you have anything extra that can be burned? The fire under the machine gun is almost out. I'm afraid the machine gun will freeze. It will be terrible if the enemy attacks."

"Even the Ant people wouldn't attack in such horrible weather, right?"

Someone muttered.

Then as if in response to this sentence, Bobosha's voice sounded outside.

Major Richard shouted: "Combat alert! Get into position quickly! Open the gun holes!"

The machine gunner who had just come to borrow fuel ran back to his position like crazy, and his assistant gunner had already pulled out the coat blocking the firing hole.

The biting cold wind immediately poured into the room, causing the flames on the small stove to dance wildly, as if they would go out at any moment.

Major Richard also rushed to his observation port, trying to pull out the thing blocking it, but he couldn't pull it open after a few pulls. It was obviously frozen, and he might have spilled a little water when drinking water.

He could only push aside the soldiers next to him and look out from the shooting port.

No Ant people could be seen in the swirling blizzard.

But Bobosha's voice still sounded, and several guns joined in the "concert."

"Perhaps the enemy is shooting into the air for the sole purpose of making us uneasy." The last remaining staff officer in the regiment provided his professional insight.

"I don't know." Major Richard shook his head, "Okay, seal all the holes, otherwise we will freeze to death before the enemy attacks. Block them quickly!"

When everyone was trying to block the hole, the machine gunner screamed, scaring everyone to stop and look at the past.

Machine gunner: "The gun is frozen! Damn it, the cold wind blows for just a while! How do the Anters keep their weapons functioning normally?"

"They have real antifreeze lubricants." Major Richard said, "If we are fighting the enemy, we can try to seize some lubricants and use them ourselves."

"What the hell is our Academy of Science doing? Even the Anters can't compare!"

Major Richard: "Stop complaining. This kind of cold winter is not easy for anyone, and the Ant people will definitely be unable to move."

As he spoke, the major took out the letter paper and wrote a letter to his wife with a pencil under the dim light of the stove:

"This damn Ant winter has come so suddenly and so unreasonably. My dear, if you knew what a terrible situation we are in now, you would definitely cry out of distress.

"No one can continue to fight in such a cruel cold..."

There was another sound of shooting from the waves outside.

The people in the room rushed towards the newly blocked shooting port again.

Major Richard: "That's enough! This must be a trick of the Ant people, just let them make noise! ​​We won't be too late to wait until the bomb explodes outside the wall! Stay still!"

The soldiers in the bunker hesitated but followed the order.

The major continued to write: "Our regiment has been beaten down to less than 500 people, and they are scattered in three different fortresses. They are called fortresses, but they are actually the simple brick and stone houses of the Ant people. These are the best big houses, but in Prosonia there are better houses in the suburbs..."