I asked you to escape, but you became a soldier in World War II

Chapter 111 Arriving at the front line
In the hot and dry carriage of the train, Lin Chen asked all the deserters a few questions on the condition of letting them take a breath of fresh air.

For example, which troops these deserters belong to, the battles they experienced and the general process.

Through this information, he roughly understood the current basic situation of the German army on the Eastern Front, especially when he heard that the German army had deployed a large number of Tiger tanks on the Southern Front, which further increased his concerns about the war situation.

This tank was deployed on the battlefield for the first time. Although he repeatedly emphasized the horror of this new weapon in his telegram, it is unknown whether the Soviet high-ranking officials took it seriously or to what extent they took it seriously.

According to the records in his books and documentaries in his previous life, if this terrifying tank was defended in place, with the armor and firepower of the Soviet tanks at the time, it could be said that as many as possible were destroyed.

What worries Lin Chen the most is that in Prokhorovka, the Soviet army will launch a large-scale tank counterattack in the early morning of July 7. What impact will this have on the war situation?
So he had to get there as soon as possible and do everything he could to weaken the German tank combat effectiveness.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the train encountered a strong impact, and then the whole train turned sideways. Everyone was thrown to the ground, and a few unlucky people died because they were crushed under everyone or had their necks broken.

Fortunately, the tightly closed iron door was loosened.

Everyone pushed it quickly and it opened.

"Run!" The leading few people immediately got out and jumped off the car to prepare to run away.

If they don't run, the mission that awaits these people is almost a death mission.

For example, clearing mines with bare hands, or delivering orders across the line of fire, etc., no matter how dangerous it is, do it.

If you are luckier and meet a better superior, he will still make you work hard day and night, and no one will care if you are sick. As for medicine, you are thinking too much. If you can't even guarantee food and drink, what else can you expect?

This is the most terrifying thing about the Penal Camp (Probation Brigade).

Lin Chen glanced outside and saw that a guerrilla team had done some tricks and derailed the train. Fortunately, the trains were running relatively slowly during that period, otherwise the three of them would probably have died here.

Sergei was also eager to try, but was stopped by Lin Chen.

His look made it clear that he wanted the other German troops to rush out first and see how the situation would develop.

Sure enough, after a while, the escorting soldiers quickly set up machine guns, suppressing the guerrillas who tried to "take advantage" and shooting at the deserters who were running for their lives.

"See? Most of those who go out will be killed. How can the few who survive survive in this vast land of Russia? On one side are the German army's hunt, and on the other side are the Russians' hatred. So this kind of escape is meaningless." Lin Chen explained to the few people who stayed behind, and everyone was convinced.

"Ha, Sergeant, there are actually a few people here who didn't escape." After the situation outside was basically under control, a German soldier checked the carriage and found that Lin Chen and others were still staying in the open carriage. This was a very novel thing.

The sergeant hurried over and jokingly asked, "Why don't you guys run?"

"Report, we are not deserters, we just lost our IDs. If we ran away, we would really be deserters."

Looking at Lin Chen and the others, the sergeant tilted his head in thought, and said, "Come out, the guerrillas have been driven away, but the train must be unable to move. Let's go to the road ahead and see if we can get a ride."

After hearing this, several people quickly got out. Including Lin Chen and the other two, there were actually only six people still alive in the carriage.

Others died or escaped. It all happened in a flash.

Through conversation, I learned that the sergeant was the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer here. The carriage of a second lieutenant in charge of escorting the transport was squeezed up by the carriage behind, and his aorta was pierced by a sharp weapon.

So now this group of deserters will obey his command.

Leaving behind necessary personnel to guard the supplies and wait for follow-up troops to arrive and solve the problem, they lined up and walked towards the nearby highway.

The group waited on the roadside for a long time but no vehicle came, so they had to keep moving forward. When they passed a fork in the road, they suddenly heard a loud roar coming from behind.

The sergeant very vigilantly asked everyone to pick up their weapons. Lin Chen and others had no weapons, so they just found a cat in the bushes.

When the convoy behind approached, everyone realized that it was a reinforcement force transferred from the west, consisting of three Wasp self-propelled light howitzers and five Type 4 tanks.

When they saw Lin Chen and others, they were too lazy to pay any attention to them. Unexpectedly, the sergeant actually greeted one of the armored lieutenants and proudly declared that this was his biological brother.

It is undoubtedly a very happy thing to meet your relatives on the battlefield.

Since he was one of their own, his brother, as the commander of this armored unit, naturally would not let his younger brother walk. In order to give his younger brother enough face under his command (at least he thought so), he warmly invited Lin Chen and the others to climb onto the edge of the tank.

This type of tank can run about 200 kilometers when fully fueled, which is enough to take Lin Chen and his team to their destination. The three Wasp self-propelled light howitzers were modified using the chassis of the Type tank. This type of howitzer vehicle has excellent maneuverability and powerful firepower, and can be regarded as a star weapon in World War II.

However, in order to maintain confidentiality, Lin Chen and his team could only ride on the periphery of the Type 4 tank. The tank was not moving very fast, and as long as everyone held on to the handles, there would not be any safety issues.

In the car, Lin Chen learned from the conversation between the sergeant and his brother that this rapid reaction armored force was transferred from the rear to reinforce the Kursk front.

Because it was raining on the road, it was very muddy and difficult to walk on, which delayed their journey. Fortunately, it had cleared up here recently, so they immediately advanced to the front line at full speed after filling up the gas.

"Mr. Lieutenant, looking at your Iron Cross First Class, you must have destroyed many Soviet tanks, right?" Lin Chen pretended to be envious and wanted to get some information out of him.

"Hehe, it's just average, just average. I just got some benefits during the Kiev siege. Most of the Russian tanks are outdated. They are just like chopping melons and vegetables in front of our tanks!" The lieutenant looked intoxicated.

Obviously he was recalling the glorious achievements at that time.

Sergei was obviously not very comfortable with this "memory", and his face was obviously a little gloomy, even though Kirilenko kept pulling at his trouser legs.

Fortunately, everyone was attracted by the lieutenant's amazing record, and everyone wanted to hear more about those glorious battle stories. After all, that was the most glorious period for the German army on the Eastern Front.

"Alas, but since the Russian T34 tank appeared, the situation has changed," the lieutenant seemed to be recalling the painful past. "This tank not only has terrible protection performance, but most importantly, it has a very low failure rate. It is said that the production volume is very high, several times that of my Type tank."

"What's the use of quantity? The key is quality!" His brother, the sergeant replied disapprovingly.

He had never participated in a tank battle, so his understanding of this issue was still based on German propaganda.

"That's not the case. Frankly speaking, if we encounter the Russian T34, we may not be sure of winning in a one-on-one battle. As for their KV series heavy tanks, we can only run away when we see them, otherwise the car will be destroyed and we will die."

"Impossible! As far as I know, the Panzer IV is the most powerful armored force of our German army!" Lin Chen pretended to be stupid. "Shit!" The lieutenant couldn't help but swear, "The combat concept of our German armored forces is rapid penetration and mobile combat, so our tanks are all known for their mobility and advanced communication capabilities."

"On the Eastern Front today, our armored forces have become assault forces. To be honest, facing the dense mines, anti-tank guns, and anti-tank grenades fired by the Russians is really frightening."

From the lieutenant’s description, everyone can imagine that this unit must have participated in last year’s bloody battle.

"Oh my God, did you participate in the 'Winter Storm' rescue operation last year?" This time it was Kirilenko's turn to perform with all his heart.

"I am ashamed to say that I was sent into battle as the last reserve. We fought to the point of exhaustion on the southern front and had no choice but to retreat. At that time, only seven tanks were left in our tank regiment, and all my comrades were killed."

After hearing the lieutenant's sad description, everyone was in low spirits, including Lin Chen and his friends.

I have to pretend, otherwise I will be kicked off the tank by them immediately.

The lieutenant looked at everyone, and everyone was a little pessimistic, so he quickly raised his voice, "Don't despair, let me tell you a secret. This time we have invested in the latest new tanks that can teach the Russians a hard lesson. What a shitty T34, it's all garbage in front of it. Just wait and see, our armored forces will inflict heavy damage on the Soviet army in Kursk!"

"What kind of tank is this? Why is it so powerful?" Now it was the sergeant's turn to ask questions. His mind was also quite aroused.

The lieutenant tapped his brother's head lightly with the armored soldier's boat cap pinned on his waist. "This is a military secret. How can you just say it casually? Anyway, you will know it after the war."

Everyone in the convoy was talking and laughing, telling each other stories about their childhood, about how poor Germany was in the past and how powerful it is now. Lin Chen was afraid that Sergei and Kirilenko would be exposed, so he quickly told a few dirty jokes, which made everyone laugh.

I have long forgotten about those childhood stories. As expected, at any time, this kind of topic is what men are most interested in.

We took several breaks along the way and stopped at supply stations to refill water and eat.

Fortunately, the lieutenant liked Lin Chen and his companions and did not make things difficult for them. He also asked for some bread for them. This was a delicacy for Lin Chen and his companions who had been tired all day. The three of them wolfed down their lunch and then continued to move forward.

The lieutenant and his men felt that those who were willing to go to the front were all warriors. Although they were deserters, they occasionally heard about the current situation on the front line. One more person meant one more strength.

By evening, the convoy finally arrived in Belgorod. At this moment, the city had become a huge military camp.

There were marching troops everywhere. The morale of the German army was very high and their marching formation was very strict. It was obvious at first glance that they were elite troops that had undergone rigorous training.

There are also many transport troops that are delivering supplies, weapons and ammunition to the front line day and night.

Some heavy equipment was transported by military trains, but they were wrapped tightly with black cloth, and no one knew what was being transported.

There are many military police patrolling and standing guard along the route, and ordinary people cannot get close at all.

After saying goodbye to his brother, the lieutenant rushed to the front line with his men to carry out the mission.

The sergeant took Lin Chen and others to the reporting office of the disciplinary camp.

"Why are there only so few? Your task list says there are 143 people!" The sergeant in charge of receiving them was very dissatisfied.

"It's like this," the sergeant quickly explained the situation encountered on the road in detail, especially describing that these people did not run away when they encountered danger, so they can be used! He also left his unit number and contact information, and if the other party did not believe it, they could call to verify it.

The other party really went in to make a phone call to verify. After a long while, he lazily walked out and said, "Well, in this case, the original mission cannot be carried out. Now take these people and report to another place!"

He pulled out a piece of paper and prepared to write a new order.

"Wait a minute, these people can be used on the front lines to redeem themselves from their crimes. Really, the fact that they can rush to the front from the rear has already proven their loyalty to the empire!"

The sergeant, Lin Chen and others have come all the way here, so they have to help out in any way they can.

"What a joke! I can change their status as deserters? These things need to be reviewed, and they must be reviewed strictly! Within the scope of my authority, I can only make such arrangements for them!"

He quickly wrote out the receipt and handed it over.

The sergeant took a look at the receipt and found it a little unbelievable. "Is this true?"

"You don't want it? Then I'll change places!"

"Yes, yes, yes, thank you very much!"

The sergeant excitedly asked Lin Chen and others to leave. Lin Chen and others were also very curious about where they should go.

When they arrived at a deserted place, he finally revealed the mystery. It turned out that they were going to work at a gas station on the front line. This was a "good job" because there was almost no danger in this job. If they did a good job, once the front line was victorious, the gas station staff would definitely be commended, and their status as deserters might be changed, and they could become a member of the National Defense Forces again.

Lin Chen was obviously very satisfied with this arrangement. If they were asked to go to the front line to dig mines, or to carry things as laborers in the rear, then the meaning of coming here would be lost.

After all, most of the German deserters ended up in a miserable state.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little more favorable towards this loyal and righteous sergeant.

With the new pass in hand, the sergeant quickly got a military vehicle. Although it was used to carry livestock and the smell was very strong, on a battlefield like this, it was good to have a vehicle. If he had to walk on his own, how long would it take him to get there?
The closer to the front line, the more frequent the sound of gunfire in front. Many cold artillery even exploded next to the military vehicle, making the driver very unhappy. As a result, the driver wanted to give up before reaching the destination. The reason was simple: there was not enough gas.

Lin Chen secretly glanced at the fuel gauge and saw that there was obviously still half a tank of gas. It was obvious that the other party was afraid of death, but the sergeant couldn't say anything. He thought it was a great honor for him to lead the way, so he thanked him and asked everyone to get off the car.

The driver immediately turned around and drove back.

"This coward!" someone cursed hatefully, but the sergeant just smiled. There are always heroes and cowards in the army. This is normal, even in the powerful German Army.

Fortunately, the gas station was located in a dense forest not far ahead. Because of the cover of trees and the German army's clever camouflage, the Soviet reconnaissance plane did not discover this place.

After completing the border handover procedures, the sergeant had to go back overnight.

"You guys, work hard when you get to the gas station and try to get rid of your status as deserters!" These were the last words left by the sergeant. He probably didn't expect that they would meet again in the future, but they would be in different camps on the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)