Chapter 45 Elite Troops

In the 21st century, when it comes to night battles, many people would envision soldiers wearing Kevlar helmets and equipped with night vision goggles. The emergence of night vision equipment has allowed humanity to overcome inherent limitations and accurately identify targets in low-light conditions. However, night vision devices were not a late 20th-century invention. As early as the battlefields of World War II, both the Axis and Allied forces developed their own night vision equipment and deployed them in combat.

For the emerging night vision equipment, the German ** team, which lost air superiority in the late stages of the war, devoted considerable effort. The Leopard tanks equipped with infrared night vision goggles became the world's first night combat tanks, and photos of half-tracked armored vehicles carrying large infrared searchlights were also frequently seen in various military materials. In addition, the German army also developed night vision goggles for infantry use, collectively referred to as the "Vampire" system, which utilized infrared detection and imaging technology.

Since there were companions equipped with night vision goggles, this mission was undoubtedly of an assault nature, giving Lynn a clue. Considering the narrow rear doors of the armored vehicle, he took off his Mauser rifle from his back and slung the submachine gun diagonally behind him, holding the rifle with both hands as he followed a soldier into the already crowded compartment.

As one of the distinctive signature equipment of the German military, the SD.KFZ251 half-tracked armored vehicle had a rated capacity of 10 passengers. However, Lynn counted sixteen people, including himself, squeezed inside, with the six innermost passengers all wearing the same dark helmets and uniforms as the previous officer. Armed with assault rifles, they were already formidable, and the two innermost soldiers were even equipped with complete individual infrared equipment, which must have been quite expensive in 1945. Combined together, it was hard not to see them as elite troops!

Along the way, the German soldiers in the compartment remained silent, with only the roar of the engine and the squeaking of the tracks filling the air. Lynn could sense that these "conscripts" who were inexplicably brought here, like himself, felt both curious and anxious about the nature and purpose of this operation. Among them were not only Waffen-SS soldiers but also army soldiers who had fought side by side on the same battlefield, using various weapons that appeared on the Eastern Front: Mauser 98k, MP38, MP40, MP44, "Papa-Sha", STV40, and so on. There were many like Lynn, carrying a rifle in hand and another on the back. Even though their helmets were worn properly, their mud-stained uniforms were torn in places, and with the disorderly array of weapons, they hardly looked like regular soldiers but rather a ragtag bunch!

Because there were no seats available, Lynn had to bend over, propping his rifle with his left hand and supporting himself against the compartment wall with his right hand. Helmets could not fully protect against bullets and shrapnel, so he dared not stick his head out of the compartment rashly. However, after about a quarter of an hour of travel, there was no gunfire along the way, and he couldn't help but take a few glances outside. The armored vehicles were traveling on mountain roads between the trees, so it was bumpy, and in the darkness of the night, only the black outlines of the trees could be seen. As they rounded a bend, Lynn suddenly saw some large figures lurking near the trees, their long "noses" unmistakably gun barrels.

Tigers, Panthers, or perhaps the immensely powerful King Tiger?

Traveling at a speed of about forty yards per minute, the armored vehicles left the question far behind, and Lynn could only speculate on their models and sizes with a rough glance.

After another ten minutes or so of travel, the armored vehicles slowed down and finally came to a stop. Lynn turned half-way, and the soldier beside him was trying to open the hatch from the inside. There was a hurried sound of footsteps, followed by a creaking sound, as if a metal door that had been sealed for years and had rusted was being opened again. The tall officer who had been there earlier stood in the doorway like a night watchman. He didn't immediately let the soldiers get off but began speaking rapidly, which was precisely what Lynn dreaded, but what could he do?

Perhaps he was giving instructions, or explaining the mission again. Although his magnetic voice had a pleasant tone, Lynn couldn't grasp the content due to the MG-42-like rapid pace of speech, let alone understand it with a dictionary on hand. After about six or seven sentences, he stopped speaking, and the burly figure stepped back a step. The soldiers sitting by the door quickly got off with their weapons, and Lynn had to follow his companions closely to see what they would do next and imitate them accordingly.

The three half-tracked armored vehicles stopped at the edge of a pine forest, the engines were turned off, and the sound of flowing water could be heard more clearly. Based on the direction and time of travel of the armored vehicles, Lynn guessed that this was the same river he had previously defended, only now he was further downstream. After getting off, he noticed that not far behind the armored vehicles was the German defensive position, but there were no corpses or charred shell craters around, indicating that it had not yet been attacked by the Soviet forces.

Soon, all the soldiers on the SD.KFZ251 got off. Lynn counted, excluding the tall officer, there were a total of 14 soldiers equipped with dark steel helmets and uniforms, which was the size of a reinforced combat squad. They quickly lined up on the right side of the armored vehicle, while the rest of the soldiers spontaneously formed a line behind the armored vehicle, numbering more than thirty. It seemed that it was not just the team brought by "Junker," but there were also soldiers from other positions joining this team for the mysterious mission.

The officer with the magnetic voice seemed very confident in his original team, only giving them a glance and waving his hand. The two "night warriors" carrying the large boxes along with four companions with bag-type military backpacks took the lead and left. Then, he walked to the queue of more than thirty people with the large "flashlight" slung over his shoulder and spoke a few words in a moderate volume, probably advising these temporarily conscripted soldiers again. Although Lynn maintained the same expression as the people around him, he felt a complex sense of discrimination—frustration without an outlet. Only now did he realize the importance of learning another foreign language, regretting not having done so earlier!

After finishing speaking, the officer turned to look ahead. His "elite" soldiers stood like statues, and Lynn felt that if they were not given instructions by the officer, they could maintain this posture until dawn. Among the remaining eight soldiers, only two were carrying large boxes, while the other six were carrying ordinary bag-type combat backpacks. There seemed to be a certain proportion of soldiers with different equipment, but when including the six who went to scout ahead, the numbers didn't add up. Lynn suddenly realized as he glanced at the officer who kept checking his watch: with him included, there were five soldiers carrying large boxes, ten soldiers dressed similarly but without boxes, so each soldier equipped with individual infrared night vision gear had two "bodyguards"—or reserve personnel—to ensure that these expensive and advanced equipment wouldn't become ineffective due to casualties.

After about seven or eight minutes, a drum-like sound suddenly came from a distance. It sounded like it was at least ten kilometers away, and although Lynn and the surrounding soldiers instinctively turned their heads to look in the direction of the sound, they knew that such artillery fire posed no threat to them, so they remained at attention. In just a few seconds, the distant artillery fire went from sparse to intense. Lynn wasn't sure if the Soviet artillery was targeting the position he had been in earlier. If he were still there, he would likely face another test of death. But should he be grateful?

After the time it takes to smoke two cigarettes, the officer seemed to see the signal in the darkness. He extended his left hand in an arc between his shoulder and head, and the group of eight soldiers in front began to move forward. When the officer made the same gesture for the second time, the "large group" of thirty-plus people where Lynn was also began to move in the same direction.