Chapter 165: Firebrand

On the battlefield of World War II, the "PPSh" undoubtedly stood out as a distinctive weapon in the Soviet camp. Its simple structure, durability, and impressive firepower output made it a favorite among Soviet infantry heavily equipped with this automatic weapon. In the later stages of the war, whether in field battles, positional warfare, or urban street fighting, Soviet infantry armed with the PPSh gained a certain advantage over German infantry, who primarily relied on the Mauser 98k and MP38/40. However, even though this firearm boasted excellent combat capabilities, when German Waffen-SS soldier Markus Tanzer temporarily used it as a makeshift crutch, its insufficient length made it quite awkward for him to walk — in this regard, it was clearly not as convenient as the Mauser rifle.

"Get in the car, Markus, quickly! Is there anyone else? Let him get in the car and attend to his wounds!"

Lynn shouted loudly from the driver's seat. Despite the bruised and battered appearance of the two German soldiers guarding the door, their ability to continue the fight was not in question. One of them helped Tanzer into the car while the other went back to the courtyard to call their comrade. This Gaz car was similar in size to an American Jeep, with five seats including the driver in two rows. While starting the car, Lynn personally arranged the seating positions and tasks for everyone: Tichimayor escorted Colonel Matsosov to sit in the middle of the back row, Tanzer sat on the far right, the German soldier who helped him over carried the PPSh submachine gun and sat in the front passenger seat. Lynn had intended for the other German soldier, who was more seriously injured in the courtyard, to sit on the left side of the back row, while the other one assisted Tichimayor in looking after the wounded Soviet colonel. However, they suddenly heard gunshots from inside, and then the German soldier who had just entered helped his more seriously injured comrade out, apologizing to Lynn, "Sir, I didn't pay attention for a moment and let that woman run inside!"

At this moment, there was obviously no time to catch the female nurse back. With Matsosov as a valuable asset, having one less person was more spacious, so they hurriedly asked the two to get in the car and let the heavily wounded soldier sit alone in the storage space vacated at the back. Another person helped Tichimayor look after the Soviet colonel, then Lynn instructed everyone to take off their helmets, stepped on the gas pedal himself, and drove the unprotected car through the barely passable path between the ruins towards the west, where the German defense line was.

To avoid attracting the attention of the still unsuspecting Soviet troops, Lynn did not turn on the lights, and the speed was relatively slow. The car rattled through a street strewn with rubble, turned left into the alley they had previously traversed. Many cement blocks on the road had been shattered due to the previous crushing by the two T-34s, so the bumpiness was significantly reduced. Coupled with the cleanup by the two teams of Soviet soldiers, this area seemed quite desolate.

Faintly seeing the corpse of the German soldier who had been killed earlier, Lynn deliberately avoided it. Soldiers who fought to the death, but the difference in methods and skills led to vastly different results. Then, passing by a multi-story building with the central part collapsed and the outer walls still standing, Lynn saw some figures near the street ahead. Wolfram wasn't here, so there was no way to bluff through language, so he said to Tichimayor, "Carl, aim the gun at the Russian's crotch. If he dares to speak nonsense, let him taste the bitterness first!"

This move was indeed vicious, and Tichimayor did it without hesitation. The Soviet colonel appeared extremely resentful at this humiliation, but with both arms disabled by Lynn from the start and escorted by two German soldiers, he could only struggle weakly. If looks could kill, Lynn would probably have been killed by him a thousand times over.

Seeing that the street ahead was the one he had previously crossed and met up with Tichimayor, Lynn drove the Gaz car smoothly past. The Soviet soldiers gathered on this side did not seem nervous about the gunfire. Lynn speculated that the Soviet vanguard had already passed the intersection and was fighting with the German forces on the opposite street. Once the main battle ended, the Soviet forces here would cross the street to clean up the remnants. With a bit of distance left, he whispered to his companion sitting in the front passenger seat, "Get ready to shoot at any time!"

Seeing the Gaz car approaching from behind, the Soviet soldiers in front relaxed their vigilance. Several who were blocking the road actively stepped aside. Lynn calmly continued to drive forward, and while pretending to be ready to talk to the other side, his left hand had already raised swiftly. When the foolhardy Soviet soldier opened his mouth to speak, Lynn smiled kindly and raised the gun — the soldier's eyes froze the moment they saw the dark barrel. Perhaps he had seen the German insignia on Lynn's collar, perhaps he had also seen the captured Colonel Matsosov; everything seemed as unbelievable as a fairy tale.

Without saying goodbye, Lynn pulled the trigger, and the unfortunate Soviet soldier's face was instantly blurred by the shotgun bullet, and the fierce driver shouted, "Fire!" He stepped on the gas pedal suddenly, shifted to a higher gear with the left hand that had retrieved the gun in a coherent motion, and the German soldier next to him, along with Tanzer and others in the back row, also began to fire their guns.

Caught off guard, the surrounding Soviet soldiers fell in droves.

Thanks to the large-capacity drum magazine, the "PPSh" wielded by the German soldiers continued to roar, and the engine of the Gaz car also roared powerfully, like a spirited horse galloping freely. In the blink of an eye, they rushed onto the street. Lynn sharply turned the steering wheel to the left to avoid the street corner where the two heavy tanks had previously engaged in a firefight, preparing to find a relatively safe path from the opposite direction. However, the whole of Berlin was now a battlefield, with fighting everywhere, and no one could be sure that turning at any street corner wouldn't encounter waiting enemy tanks. It seemed luck was on Lynn's side.

Realizing that the Gaz car was under enemy control, the Soviet soldiers didn't care whether their own men were on board or not. Those who hadn't been knocked down immediately began firing at the car, and a sudden burst of dense bullets flew. Some were just symbolic expressions of anger, but some were very threatening. The rearview mirror on Lynn's side was hit by a burst of bullets, and the shattered fragments splashed in all directions, scratching his face painfully. He didn't have time to put on his helmet this time; instead, he became a rally driver on the battlefield, using all his skills to maximize the car's acceleration, while continuously steering to avoid the large rocks and concrete blocks scattered on the road.

Once the speed increased, even the unavoidable small debris could cause the car to shake violently, increasing the difficulty of control. Fortunately, the bullets from the rear became sparse, and Lynn didn't accelerate anymore. He shouted, "Is everyone okay? Any more injuries?"

"I'm fine! Markus is fine! Damn Russkie nurse is fine too!" Carl Tichimayor was the first to reply.

The unknown German soldier sitting next to Lynn turned to him and said, "That was thrilling! I'm still alive! Awesome!"

But the happiness didn't last long. A moment later, another German soldier in the back row said with a mournful face, "Devik's dead, poor guy…"

"Who?" Lynn glanced at the rearview mirror. It seemed that the soldier who was seriously injured and originally sat at the back had been killed by the gunfire.

"Poor Devik!" The German soldier sitting in the front passenger seat heard the news and immediately made the sign of the cross on his chest.

Seeing that they were almost at the next street corner, Lynn began to slow down and asked the question he had been wanting to ask earlier, "Hey… were you three responsible for guarding this Soviet colonel before? From the 6th Defensive District Headquarters?"

"That unlucky headquarters no longer exists!" the soldier beside him replied. "We were ordered to escort this guy to the city center. We were hit by Soviet artillery on the way and then got involved in the fighting. We were caught by the Soviets before we could break through! Damn it! When we get to the city defense headquarters, I'm going to beat this guy up!"

With a rough idea of what had happened, Lynn didn't ask any more questions and focused on the road ahead. Entering the street that hadn't been completely controlled by the Soviets was also a way to withdraw from the battlefield, but with Tanzer dragging his injured leg and Colonel Matsosov's special condition, he decided to take a risk and drive back to the German-controlled area.

It had only been two minutes since they burst out of the alley, but the speed was fast enough, and they had moved much more than just two kilometers. Before turning, Lynn stretched his neck to look around and didn't see any Soviet tanks. The fighting on this side also seemed less intense. So he turned right at the intersection. In the first kilometer after the turn, Lynn didn't see any Soviet soldiers, nor did they encounter any gunfire, making him feel that things were too easy. Suddenly, he heard a sharp and short scream, and a shell landed on the street ahead and exploded.

Lynn didn't have time to shout "Get down!" He instinctively lowered his head, and the windshield in front of him was instantly shattered by shrapnel, and the pain from being cut by sharp objects came again from his head, but this time, the injury was on his forehead, and the sensation in his brain was numb!

"Damn it!"

He cursed angrily while forcefully turning the steering wheel. Fortunately, the speed had already slowed down considerably, so there was no risk of a rollover due to the sudden turn. It seemed that there were many tank wrecks along the street in the distance, but the German defenders didn't have so many tanks for the Soviets to destroy… In this case, it was likely that the gunfire from the distance was from their own side?

Deciding whether to turn back at the intersection or continue forward, Lynn resolutely chose the latter. Avoiding the shell craters, he turned the steering wheel again and deployed the "evasive maneuver" he had used when crossing the road earlier, swaying the car on the road even though he hadn't heard any gunfire. In the next minute or so, two more shells whistled down. By observing the power of the explosions, he basically confirmed that this was a small-caliber field gun, most likely a 37mm or 50mm anti-tank gun, and the gun position was several kilometers away, undoubtedly friendly artillery. So he honked the horn frequently to remind his own people that this was not a reckless Soviet vehicle. However, the shelling did not stop. After traveling a short distance, Lynn saw Soviet soldiers leaning against the ruins as barriers. Initially in small groups, their numbers increased as they moved forward, followed by T-34s and SU-85s sheltered behind the ruins and dilapidated buildings. Most of the Soviet officers and soldiers looked at the Gaz car with strange eyes, probably thinking it was a messenger sent by their superiors to persuade the enemy to surrender. Finally, Lynn woke up: it seemed that he had stumbled into a stalemate battlefield, and the relative calm was only because both sides were accumulating strength. Hopefully, his unexpected appearance wouldn't trigger intense fighting prematurely and lead to his demise under the intense gunfire!