Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 168 Militia
boom! boom! boom!
Amidst the intermittent sounds of cannon fire, Qin Hao awoke.

He was woken up by the cold.

He was in a drafty wooden hut, where cold wind kept pouring in through the gaps between the planks, and icy rain dripped down from the cracks in the ceiling.

The house was messy and poorly lit, and the simple furniture suggested that the homeowner lived in a very poor standard of living.

When he tried to get up and check his surroundings, he found that his limbs were ice cold, and the cold air kept penetrating his clothes, like needles pricking his extremities.

Only then did he realize that he was still wearing thin pajamas and his fingers were so cold that he could barely feel them.

Without time to think, Qin Hao stood up and rushed to the cabinet in the corner, trying to find something to keep warm.

As soon as the cabinet door opened, a foul odor wafted out.

The stench of sweat, mildew, and engine oil mingled together, almost making Qin Hao slam the cabinet door shut—inside was an old-fashioned gray-brown worker's uniform that hadn't been washed in ages, bearing the words "Rostov Agricultural Machinery Plant," and the exposed threads at the corners indicated it had been used for many years.

Although he was psychologically resistant, the human body's need for calories is the most direct thing, so after hesitating for a moment, Qin Hao still put the clothes on.

A sour, foul smell wafted over, and my body began to warm up.

Only then did he have the energy to observe his surroundings.

The room was sparsely furnished; in fact, it could be described as simple.

A rickety table propped up with bricks, a dilapidated wooden cabinet, and a thin tin box—that was all the furniture. The most expensive item was probably a copper candlestick on the table.

There was a bag of food in the corner. Qin Hao reached out and opened it, only to find three fist-sized potatoes inside.

A faded portrait of Lenin hangs on the wall, otherwise the entire wall is bare.

The calendar on the desktop was turned to October 18, 1941.

Rostov, 1941, October... These two key pieces of information gave Qin Hao a general idea of ​​where he was.

I am currently in the early stages of the Soviet-German War. German divisions invaded four months ago, and by then Kiev should have fallen, with 65 Soviet troops being surrounded and annihilated by the Germans.

The Soviet army suffered heavy losses and retreated in defeat, while the German army was advancing directly towards Moscow and Leningrad.

On the other hand, Hitler instructed Army Group South to attack the Caucasus region, intending to control the oil fields in the lower Don River and Baku region.

If the Germans succeed, the Soviet Union will lose its most important oil resource, while Germany will fill the biggest gap in its strategic resources, making the course of the war very difficult to predict.

And the place where he was located was Rostov, the gateway to the Caucasus war zone.

In mid-to-late October, the current fighting phase should be the defensive phase on the perimeter; the real urban warfare has not yet begun…

Zila~~~
A piercing crackling sound of electricity rang out in mid-air, interrupting Qin Hao's train of thought.

Then came the broadcast, accompanied by static:
"Let's unite and deliver the heaviest blow to the invaders!"

"Transport all machinery and vehicles, leaving the enemy not a single piece of steel, not a single screw, not a single kilogram of grain, not a single liter of fuel..."

"Whether you are a citizen, a worker, or a peasant, you must resolutely strike at the invaders and their lackeys! Pursue them step by step, eliminate them, and destroy all their activities."

Qin Hao opened the door and looked outside! He saw a large loudspeaker hanging on a wooden pole above his head, continuously repeating a speech.

Meanwhile, people wearing dark armbands were walking around on the street. When the officer in the gray woolen overcoat looked over, he made eye contact with Qin Hao.

"Stay there and don't move!" the other person shouted, then quickly walked over with his soldiers.

Approaching him, the officer looked Qin Hao up and down, then asked in a deep voice, "Are you a worker?"

"Uh, yes." Knowing it was because he was wearing this outfit, Qin Hao, unaware of the situation, could only go along with the other person and continue the conversation.

"Why aren't you at the meeting point? Everyone else has already gone!" the other person asked seriously.

gather?

What's the point of gathering?

How would I know where to meet?
Despite these thoughts, Qin Hao could only remain silent.

The other party glanced around the room and finally seemed to have made up his mind: "Come with us now, hurry up, or we'll be treated as deserters."

After glancing at the other person's predominantly blue attire, Qin Hao roughly knew who he had encountered.

The people of the NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) were supposed to be supervising military service on the battlefield.

“Citizen, you have five minutes to pack your personal belongings and then depart immediately!” The officer raised his wrist to check his watch.

Personal belongings?

Even a thief would shake his head if he entered the house behind him. Qin Hao thought for a moment, then turned around, stuffed the candles and the few potatoes into his pocket, and went out.

"Comrade officer, you can go now." Perhaps seeing that Qin Hao was quite enthusiastic, the officer didn't make things difficult for him, and the group walked across the street toward a small square.

Everywhere you look, there are piles of sandbags, barbed wire fences across the main intersections, and soldiers in khaki uniforms carrying heavy machine gun parts are climbing ladders to the second floor.

It's obvious that they're preparing for urban warfare here.

As you enter the square, there are already about a thousand people crammed together in a chaotic manner. A banner with hastily written characters hangs high up: "Rostov Militia Division Training Center".

A large banner was posted nearby: "Never back down! Drive out the invaders!" and "Defend our homeland with hammers and rifles!"

Qin Hao suddenly realized.

It should be noted that the Soviet Union's regular army was suffering heavy losses. After losing three army groups in Ukraine, it was severely short of troops for frontal combat. As a last resort, it formed a large number of militia forces and even brought women into the battlefield.

About one-fifth of the crowd were women, including many girls around 20 years old.

There was one next to Qin Hao.

Amidst the chaotic crowd, a girl with short, wispy blonde hair stood there, wearing a brown turtleneck sweater and unisex trousers, carrying a book box with carved vines in her hands.

Unlike the others who stood loosely, the girl stood there with her legs as straight as pencils.

She was petite, barely reaching 1.5 meters tall. Even when she stood up straight, Qin Hao could see the top of her head when he looked at her straight ahead.

Although she wasn't a great beauty, her unique charm made Qin Hao, who was standing next to her, take a second look.

People lined up haphazardly, and the girl carrying her suitcase also joined them. However, as she approached Qin Hao, the petite girl frowned slightly, and unconsciously slowed her pace.

Qin Hao knew the reason.

His outfit is just too stylish.

Even I couldn't stand the smell of that salty ribbonfish, let alone ordinary women.

So Qin Hao pulled his coat tighter, gave the other person an apologetic smile, and stood a little further away from the girl, deliberately keeping the scent at bay.

The girl's expression froze for a moment, then she did something unexpected.

She picked up her book box and moved closer, standing just half a meter behind Qin Hao, silently enduring the pungent smell of ribbonfish.

Her small figure stood there, stubbornly endearing.

The team moved forward slowly.

At the end, an officer sat at a table, making simple notes for everyone and then writing them on a temporary badge.

"Name!"

"..."

"Name! Hurry up, the people behind are waiting." The officer began to urge impatiently.

"Qin Hao."

The other person glanced at Qin Hao's attire and asked, "Are you a worker at an agricultural machinery factory? Can you repair cars?"

"Sorry, I'm still an apprentice and I don't know how to repair cars," Qin Hao said honestly.

As soon as he said this, several disdainful glances were shot over from the surrounding area.

During this period, urban workers had a high sense of identity, but even among workers, there were different classes.

Among workers, the primary measure of status was their skill. A "jack-of-all-trades" working in a farm machinery factory who couldn't repair vehicles would be seen by others as someone who was simply freeloading.

Not only did the workers around him look at him with disdain, but even the petite girl behind him looked disappointed.

The officer casually filled out the identification document and stamped it.

Then they gave him 20 bullets and a military cap, and that was it for the registration.

"Next! Name!"

The girl, Lilia Litviak, stood at attention and announced her name.

"19 years old?" The officer glanced at the registered age, then asked in a businesslike tone, "Do you have any special skills?"

"I am an instructor at an aviation club."

"I can fly a plane!"

(End of this chapter)