Chapter 18: Marksman Talent

Some military enthusiasts often crown the German 88mm gun with the title "The Wrathful Deity," but this is merely their expression of admiration for this versatile weapon. Among the German soldiers of the time, the 88mm gun did not have such a magnificent and dazzling reputation. Sometimes, soldiers referred to it as the "tank can opener" or the "armor can opener." Due to its large size, some even called it "Frederick's Guard." In the later stages of the war, companies like Krupp began producing dedicated 88mm anti-tank guns with conventional gun carriages, retaining the superior armor-piercing capabilities of this artillery while reducing the height of the cannon and increasing battlefield concealment. However, by this time, German military production could no longer meet the demands of the battlefield. Therefore, the 88mm anti-aircraft guns with tall gun carriages remained active on both the Eastern and Western fronts, compensating for the severe shortage of German tanks and assault guns.

Within sight, Lynn pointed out four traditional-looking 88mm guns. Despite their careful camouflage with fresh branches and concealment nets, the muzzle flames and the resulting white smoke upon firing still clearly exposed their positions. Fortunately, the smoke pervading the battlefield greatly interfered with the visibility of the Soviet tank crews. For the German anti-tank gunners, as long as they could see the silhouette of a tank through the smoke, they could shell it, making this relative advantage obvious.

Following the rhythm of the anti-tank guns, the German tanks also began firing after advancing several hundred meters. Lynn had placed particular hope on the two large-bodied Tiger tanks due to their previous survival experience. Moreover, historical records often cited successful cases where German tanks achieved great victories against overwhelming odds. Legendary ace Michael Wittmann, for example, once single-handedly destroyed 20 Soviet T-34 tanks, 23 infantry guns, and anti-tank guns in one day on the Eastern Front using Tiger tanks.

Like previous battles, the two Tiger tanks did not hastily open fire upon stopping. They often needed four or five seconds or even more to aim and adjust. Each shell seemed to yield results once it penetrated the smoke-filled battlefield. The sound when the shell hit the ground or struck an armored target was distinct, and with practice, one could distinguish between them.

As the battle progressed, the lone smoke launcher behind the village fired three rounds in succession. Perhaps the smoke rockets were depleted, or there was concern that the dense smoke would affect the performance of their own tanks and anti-tank guns. The soldiers ceased fire and quickly dragged it back into cover. Meanwhile, the advancing German infantry anti-tank teams bravely entered the densest area of smoke. Lynn could only see flickering lights through the smoke and had to rely on sound to guess their battles, stirring a sense of combat readiness within him

"Notel!"

The lowered voice of "Butcher" suddenly came from the side. Lynn followed his gaze and immediately saw the silhouette of Soviet soldiers in the burned forest ahead. To avoid strong visual contrast between white and black, they had discarded their white coats, which could provide warmth and concealment in the snow, leaving only the brown 1940-style steel helmets and traditional Soviet military uniforms, as seen in most pictures and movies. From a distance, besides their firearms, they did not carry any suppressive weapons such as heavy machine guns and mortars. There was no road on the steep slope, so they had to search for footholds while advancing, often slipping but quickly getting up to continue.

As the terrain on this side was not suitable for the advance of tank vehicles, and the attacking infantry could not deploy, the German defenders stationed in the village did not deploy anti-tank guns on this side. Apart from Lynn and a few others, some infantry had dug trenches about twenty to thirty meters long in positions on the side and rear before the bombing began, but most of them had reinforced the frontal positions before the bombing started.

Estimating that the Soviet soldiers attempting to reach their flank would soon be within the maximum rifle range, Lynn picked up the Mauser rifle and glanced at the scale on the gun, rare for him. 500 meters. He pushed the bolt forward and began aiming at those moving earth-brown shadows, following a three-point alignment technique.

Concentrating for about two minutes, Lynn felt that the leading Soviet soldiers were within 500 meters, but "Butcher" still made no sign. Lynn glanced in his direction and saw "Butcher" staring intently in that direction. Without guessing further, Lynn silently adjusted the range on the sight to 400 meters—after a while, he adjusted it to 300 meters.

At 300 meters, an adult's size in the line of sight was about half the size of a finger. Calculating the effect of gravity and wind direction, Lynn intentionally aimed slightly to the left and above the target. This suddenly reminded him of the once-popular "Crazy Tanks", recalling familiar maps like One Bridge, Ice Peak Valley, Steel Factory, and Sacred Temple. To eliminate opponents, one must consider wind direction, wind speed, distance, obstacles, and ballistic trajectory. Some people even used rulers to measure on the computer screen, and those who hit the target with every shot were often suspected of using cheats. Lynn, who had achieved advanced medals, was also skilled, always able to perform well as long as luck wasn't too bad, but he had also been questioned and cursed by opponents for it.

"Geveil!"

"Butcher" suddenly shouted lowly, and before Lynn could wonder, the sound of his companion's rifle made him understand instantly. Gripping the stock tightly with his left hand, shoulder against the butt, and naturally exerting force with his right hand, crack! The body of the target in his sight trembled, then fell backward.

This was the first time Lynn had visually confirmed that his bullet had hit the target, and he couldn't help but feel elated. Although the Soviet soldiers opposite immediately returned fire, at a distance of three hundred meters, their "shots" were just blind shots, hitting a few leaves, posing no threat to Lynn and his companions.

Pulling the bolt, ejecting the cartridge case, and resetting, Lynn's movements were coherent and smooth. The satisfying click of the bolt locking into place was particularly pleasing to his ears. Aiming and shooting again, the target swayed and then rolled down the slope to the side.

Beautiful!

Lynn exclaimed in his heart. At this moment, he and the Soviet soldiers were no longer in a relationship of enmity but were fighting for survival. With one less enemy, the hope of surviving increased accordingly, and at the same time, the desire to prove his worth also quietly surged.

Crack... tap... crack!

Crack... tap... crack!

Crack... tap... crack!

Lynn's shooting became smoother and smoother. Within half a minute, three consecutive shots were on target. Although not necessarily fatal with every shot, hitting five out of five at this distance, without using any auxiliary aiming equipment, indicated that Lynn's shooting skills were not "ordinary."

During university military training, shooting five rounds in rapid succession at a distance of 200 meters with a semi-automatic rifle, Lynn scored four hits and one bullseye, and the target paper was still preserved until after graduation. The bullet hole in the ten-ring position was his hidden pride. Among male students, many only hit one or two out of five shots, and some only received clean target papers. There were probably differences in talent.

At this moment, only two Mauser rifles were firing, and although several dozen Soviet soldiers had fallen, the disturbance caused by the gunfire was evident in their panicked footsteps. Some of them stumbled and fell, and the overall pace did not accelerate.

Hearing the gunfire, five German soldiers deployed under the hill, bringing with them an MG-34 machine gun. Although the machine gun did not cause a complete rout, several Soviet soldiers immediately fell when it fired. Taking advantage of the confusion of the enemy, Lynn calmly continued shooting, reloading five rounds into the chamber. At a distance of slightly less than three hundred meters, the bullets from the Mauser rifle seemed to have eyes, shooting down one target after another. In a relatively relaxed state of mind, Lynn even had the opportunity to identify where the bullets hit: one in the chest, one in the abdomen, one in the back, and one spectacular headshot!

After firing five rounds, Lynn had at least three more "kills" in his hands. Under the deterrence of the German machine gun, the Soviet soldiers attempting to ambush finally retreated in confusion. By the time Lynn had reloaded his bullets, they had already run back about a hundred meters. Although there was still a certain probability of hitting the target at this time, Lynn refrained from firing to save ammunition and took a wait-and-see approach.

As the machine gun stopped firing, Lynn let out a long breath. When he turned his head to look at "Butcher," he found him looking at himself and then raised his right thumb.

Lynn smiled, feeling a bit shy about this smile.

The small-scale infantry battle on this side lasted less than ten minutes, while the booming of artillery on the main battlefield quickly drew Lynn's attention back. The white smoke gradually dispersed, covering a large area including the village, and the density of the smoke also decreased significantly. From a distance, the outlines of the tanks could be vaguely distinguished. At the beginning, Lynn had thought that those stationary Soviet tanks had been destroyed by the defenders, as they accounted for half of the attacking forces, but the situation was far from optimistic. As soon as the two German Tiger tanks started moving, the camouflage effect of their light-colored paint diminished significantly, and many shell craters appeared around them. The frequent incoming shells forced them to start and stop repeatedly, but no matter how the vehicles moved, their large cannons always pointed towards the center of the battlefield and fired very frequently.

Also busy were the German anti-tank guns in the rear and on the flanks of the position. Sometimes, the shells accurately hit the Soviet tanks, causing them to stop, but only for a moment. After a few seconds, these ugly monsters would start moving again and retaliate with fierce and accurate gunfire. Lynn heard a shell whizzing past from nearby, and he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of suspension. The intense explosion and the tremendous roar eventually emanated from the hills to the side and rear. While his ears were still ringing, as the smoke cleared, the position of the 75mm anti-tank gun was a mess: the cannon was overturned violently, a gunner was thrown several meters away, the two bodies left behind were incomplete, and two other gunners had disappeared without a trace.