War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1920 Finding the High Ground

When the white light disappeared again, Wei Ran found himself hiding in the ruins of a building with only a few broken walls remaining.

Before he could even get a good look at his surroundings, he realized the negative state his body was sending to his brain—he was thirsty, hungry, tired, and sleepy.

All you ever think about is eating! Didn't Bai Guang just eat that before?
While observing his surroundings and his own situation, Wei Ran suppressed his fear of hunger and silently complained in his heart.

The building, whose roof had completely collapsed, was now only left with two walls. Directly in front of where he was lying, there was a firing hole, no bigger than two bricks.

Apart from the familiar G43 semi-automatic rifle wrapped in rags in his hand, he didn't see any acquaintances, including Milos and Dragan.

Wei Ran dodged the dangerous firing port like a lazy donkey rolling around, and then checked his equipment.

A tattered uniform for a southern expedition, German marching boots from a metal notebook, and a Soviet cloak. On the belt around his waist, only two sets of six German-style ammunition pouches were fixed, each containing five rounds in a clip or three in a pouch, all stuffed full of ammunition.

In addition, a canvas magazine pouch containing two fully loaded spare magazines was fixed to the stock of the G43 semi-automatic rifle.

So, aside from the bullets already loaded into the magazine, he had a full 110 rounds of spare ammunition.

This was good news, good news that worried him—at least bullets shouldn't be scarce.

So where is this? Or rather, where is this urban warfare taking place?
Putting aside this not-so-important issue for the time being, the starving Wei Ran hid in the corner and nervously took out the wooden box containing the sesame cakes.

Thank goodness, thank goodness, the room was filled with steaming hot sesame seed cakes filled with vegetables.

He reached out and pulled out two boxes, stuffing them into his pocket. Wei Ran then took out another one, took a bite out of it, and immediately put away the precious wooden box.

He took out the kettle, and its surprisingly light weight startled him.

He shook the kettle and quickly took out a bucket of fresh water.

Thank goodness, thank goodness, at least it's full.

Having temporarily relieved his worries, he couldn't help but secretly analyze what his father's purpose was in inflicting these negative statuses on him.

Of course, this caution did not stop him from filling the kettle with water as quickly as possible.

After quenching his thirst with a large gulp, Wei Ran refilled the water jug, put away the bucket and jug, took another bite of the sesame seed cake, and lay down again next to the firing port.

Looking out through this not-so-large firing port, all you could see were dilapidated streets and buildings, corpses scattered everywhere, destroyed tanks, and lingering smoke.

"boom!"

Just then, a gunshot rang out in the distance.

Looking in the direction of the sound, Wei Ran couldn't find the person who fired the shot, nor could he find the person who was shot, but he felt that something was increasingly wrong.

To get out of this area, this isn't a good enough sniping position.
Wei Ran decisively put away his gun, then lazily rolled away again, carefully sitting up to find a suitable sniping position.

"boom!"

Just then, a gunshot rang out, and a bullet struck the top of the broken wall where Wei Ran was hiding. The flying bricks also hit Wei Ran's shoulder, causing him to twitch in pain and quickly lie down again.

I hate sniper warfare.

Wei Ran mumbled something indistinctly.

Looking around, he pulled a dirty curtain out of the ruins, tore it in half, then wrapped a piece of broken brick inside one half, while using an entrenching tool to hold the other half in place.

After checking his weapon again, he flung the curtain, which was covered in broken bricks, towards the side where there was no wall.

"boom!"

Almost the instant the gunshot rang out, he had already gripped the entrenching tool and lifted up the other curtain.

"boom!"

In the ensuing gunfire, Wei Ran had already released the entrenching tool that was covering the curtain, and swung the rifle that was originally slung over his shoulder forward, holding the handguard and gripping the sling, and pulled the trigger in the direction where the gunfire had just started.

"Bang! Bang!!"

After two rapid gunshots, Wei Ran finally locked onto his target and rested the barrel of his gun against the broken wall, which was chest-high.

At the same time, he raised the hand that was supporting the handguard, and a huge sailor bag appeared in his hand.

Regardless of whether this unprepared magic trick attracted the other party's attention, Wei Ran had already pulled the trigger the moment the gunshot rang out from the other side.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three shots hit the firing port on the second floor of the building more than 100 meters away. Wei Ran slightly moved the muzzle of his gun and pulled the trigger again, this time aiming at the window directly above the firing port.

"Bang! Bang!"

Wei Ran fired his first shot at a man who was sticking his head out with a gun, and then fired his second shot into the same small firing hole.

Before the last spent cartridge case even hit the ground, he had already crouched down and taken cover, his heart pounding as he put away the sailor bag that had just been shot and the entrenching tool that had also been shot.

Not daring to linger there, he picked up the curtain and threw it out again, then darted out of cover and ran towards another, much more intact building next door.

Fortunately, no one fired at him this time.

This building is much better than the previous one; the three-story building is completely intact.

"Wei! Has it been cleaned up?"

Just then, a question came from the other side of the abandoned building where he had just hidden; it was Dragan's voice.

"Don't worry"

Wei Ran responded, then took his gun and crawled into the dilapidated three-story building. He found a room on the second floor, hid in the doorway, set up his gun, and re-aimed at the firing port where they had just been facing off.

This time, he could clearly see the two German corpses lying in the room behind the firing port.

Because the distance was close enough, he could even see the Mauser rifles they were using with scopes through the scope.

Instead of immediately sending a safety signal, Wei Ran held up his gun and searched carefully again.

Only after confirming that there were no hidden dangers in his field of fire did he walk around to the side window and wave to Dragan, who was hiding behind the building.

From this angle, he could clearly see Dragan and Milos, who were still working together, as well as the other partisans following behind them, carrying Soviet-made submachine guns.

Under his, Milos', and Dragan's cover and vigilance, the guerrillas quickly rushed across the T-junction.

Before long, Dragan and his companion also climbed up the building.

"Are you alright?" Dragan asked with concern, a PPSh gun hanging around his neck.

"fine"

Wei Ran waved his hand and asked matter-of-factly, "What do we do next?"

"There are many German snipers in Belgrade, and we have suffered heavy losses."

Milos, who seemed much more mature, explained, "The company commander gave the three of us the order to eliminate the German snipers."

Belgrade. Has the recapture of Belgrade already begun? So it's September of 44?
Wei Ran secretly analyzed the clues he gleaned from the other party's fragmented words, while continuing to say in a matter-of-fact tone, "Dragan, let's follow your orders."

We need to seize a strategic high ground.

Dragan said, "The main force's attack direction is the Sava River Bridge, and our task, along with several other groups, is to take out the hidden German snipers."

As soon as he finished speaking, gunshots rang out from downstairs; clearly, the fighting had begun. "Come with me."

Dragan gestured for the two of them to move to a spot some distance from the window, then pointed to a building in the distance and said, "There, we need to get there."

"The sniper I just killed was in the building next to that one," Wei Ran said.

"We need to take that place."

As Dragan spoke, he turned and headed downstairs, his stomach rumbling.

Are you two hungry?

As Wei Ran spoke, he took out the two sesame seed cakes that he hadn't had time to eat yet and handed them to them.

"It's still warm. Where did you get it?" Milos asked in surprise.

"Given to me by a guerrilla fighter."

Wei Ran used the same old excuse again, and then urged the two of them to go downstairs quickly.

In just a few steps up the stairs, Dragan and his companion finished the food that Wei Ran had shared with them.

Under the cover of a small guerrilla group of less than two people downstairs, the three quickly crossed the street and rushed into the ruins of the now-destroyed building.

Covering each other and constantly on guard against enemies that might appear at any moment, the three advanced toward a high point a hundred meters away.

However, as the saying goes, what you fear most is what happens. Just as the three of them passed through a broken wall, a young German soldier carrying a submachine gun walked through the burning doorway right in front of them!
"boom!"

Wei Ran, who had been holding a semi-automatic sniper rifle at his waist, was the first to fire.

At such close range, even though it was just a hip shot, the shot accurately hit the opponent's stomach.

"boom!"

Milos immediately raised his gun and pulled the trigger, firing a shot at the man's face.

"Back off!"

As Dragan shouted, he picked up the PPSh-41 and began to suppress the enemy, then strode over.

Meanwhile, Milos kept his gun raised, ready to fire a follow-up shot at any moment, while Wei Ran followed Dragan forward and pulled a grenade from his waist and pulled the trigger.

Wei Ran deliberately waited a second, and almost at the same time Dragan ran out of bullets, he threw the grenade over, and then the two of them hid behind the wall.

"boom!"

As the grenade exploded, Dragan began changing the magazine on his submachine gun.

Taking this opportunity, Wei Ran pulled another grenade from the other person's waist, ripped off the fuse, and threw it at an angle against the wall next door.

"boom!"

The second explosion had barely sounded when Dragan charged forward with his submachine gun and began firing, while Wei Ran followed, carrying the rifle he had just slung over his shoulder.

Following closely behind, Milos, who was holding a gun and keeping watch on both sides, also caught up and confidently entrusted his back to the two of them.

Passing through the door frame where the flames had been extinguished by the shockwave, Wei Ran also saw the German corpses in the room.

There are six corpses here, one of whom has bandages wrapped around his head.

After a quick inspection, Dragan pulled two magazines and a grenade from a corpse's magazine pouch and fastened them to his belt. He then picked up a German submachine gun and held it in his hand, while putting down the empty PPSh-41.

Wei Ran bent down and pulled a P38 pistol from the waist of a corpse. He briefly checked the magazine's remaining capacity, then found a spare magazine and tucked it into his sleeve.

He gestured to Milos behind him to grab a few grenades, then slung his rifle over his shoulder, raised his pistol, and walked behind Dragan.

Continue forward through this room, and ahead lies a long, narrow corridor.

The three of them walked along the corridor, cautiously looking at the rooms on both sides. They hadn't even gone a third of the way when a small stone suddenly fell down the stairs in the middle, eventually hitting the helmet of a corpse.

The three of them stopped in unison. Milos crouched down against the wall, raised his gun, and aimed it at the end of the corridor.

Peeking inside, Wei Ran pointed to a room diagonally opposite the stairwell.

After the two of them hid inside, Wei Ran himself nimbly walked around to the other side of the stairwell and squatted down against the wall.

Almost simultaneously, all three of them heard the soft thud of the German military boots' nails hitting the steps.

A moment later, a group of German soldiers, carrying rifles and pistols, came down, providing cover for each other.

Without even meeting them, Wei Ran, crouching in the corner, could tell from their heavy breathing that this group was probably mostly made up of greenhorns.

"Hans, go and take a look!"

One of the voices commanded with an undeniable authority.

"I'm!"

The soldier named Hans spoke with a tone that betrayed his naivety and fear.

After a series of footsteps, Hans stood halfway up the stairs and fired a burst of submachine gun fire in the direction Wei Ran and the other two had come from.

Then, he went down a few more steps, reached out and pulled the trigger from above Wei Ran's head.

Throughout the entire ordeal, the soldier named Hans never dared to step down the last step.

"Click"

Just as the soldier's submachine gun missed its target, Wei Ran finally stood up, grabbed the man's wrist, and pulled him down.

Before Hans could even cry out, Wei Ran had already shoved the pistol into his mouth and took the opportunity to quickly peek into the stairwell.

At this point, he could only see two pairs of military boots above the turning point of the stairs, but he couldn't see the part above the calves at all.

"Bite down on the barrel of the gun. Show me how many people are on it with your fingers," Wei Ran whispered in Hans' ear.

After a moment's hesitation, the young soldier named Hans obediently bit down on the barrel, which still smelled of gun oil and gunpowder, and raised his hands tremblingly, first holding up an index finger, then a palm.

"15 people?" Wei Ran asked in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Hans immediately nodded.

"Tell the higher-ups there's no one down here," Wei Ran whispered, then gently pulled out the gun barrel.

It's guerrilla warfare.

"Crack!"

The moment the other person uttered the words, Wei Ran reacted with lightning speed, delivering an elbow strike from below to his chin.

Almost simultaneously, smoking grenades were also thrown down from the second floor!
"Shabi!"

Wei Ran cursed Hans for being unable to distinguish right from wrong, and then pounced into the room where Dragan and the other man were hiding.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Before Wei Ran could fall to the ground, a series of explosions echoed through the corridor outside the door, shattering the loyalty in the heart of the young soldier named Hans—to Germany, the Führer, and his comrades.

As soon as the explosion subsided, several soldiers rushed down the stairs with their guns raised. Similarly, amidst the billowing smoke and dust, several grenades were thrown from Dragan and Milos's hands out of the room and onto the stairwell.