Thanks to the usual hard physical training, the fighters were able to reach speeds of up to ten kilometers per hour with so much equipment.

In fact, the actual distance from the blacksmith village to the target was nearly eighty kilometers, and the troops could only embark on a relatively smooth road after passing through the core area of the swamp.

The soldiers have long been indoctrinated with the truth that soldiers are fast and fast. They pride themselves on their high mobility, even with 30 kilograms of equipment on their backs, and still being able to maneuver at high speeds.

Because in the weekday training, the 15-kilometer cross-country with a weight of 20 kilograms is a compulsory course for each company every week. All fighters must meet the standards or be punished or kicked into the militia units. Thanks to this model, the comprehensive quality of the fighters of the main forces was strengthened.

However, the situation today is extraordinary, most of the soldiers carry more than 30 kilograms, they are human, not superhuman. Balzen, of course, knew the dangers of this load to the human body, so he only asked the troops to march for two hours.

Gradually, these fighters who were moving quickly along the road had to gradually slow down.

"The fighters are already out of breath, we don't really need to be in such a hurry, why don't we move slowly?" Klavsky of the 1st Regiment of the 284th Division said this, he is the deputy commander, and he is still serving as his original duty - the commander of the first battalion.

Balzen glanced at the panting Krafsky and shook his head regretfully: "It seems that your physical strength is really bad!" Look at my reconnaissance battalion soldiers, is anyone gasping for breath? Not a single one. ”

"Alas! Ah! I don't raise the bar with you, you're right, I admit that the reconnaissance battalion is the elite of the elite, but you also have to consider the reality! I have never heard of a commander ordering his infantry to gallop twenty kilometers on his feet with all their equipment in just two hours. ”

"Now you've seen it, it's the task force I led! How? What more do you have to say? ”

"Don't you think that's crazy? We should really rest for a while, or some of the troops will be out of touch! ”

At this moment, Yevgeny of the 284th Regiment of the 284th Division was beside these two, and as the commander's descendant, he was only listening for the time being. I still remember a long conversation with the commander sitting around the campfire in April, and the commander made a heartfelt evaluation of Balzen. "His command ability is like this, and with too many troops, he can easily get a brain fever and forget his strategy."

Kravsky didn't think he could convince this guy, he quickly asked about Evgeny's attitude: "The troops should not continue to march so quickly, we received the order to reach the goal the day after tomorrow, not today!" Besides, even if they could arrive today, only their reconnaissance battalion would be able to arrive. ”

Evgeny smiled: "Okay! Actually, I'm rooting for you. Balzen, I don't think you should work too hard today, our army is indeed short of time, and it is not so nervous that it needs to squeeze the physical strength of the clean soldiers. Let's take a break and walk slowly! ”

By now Rychev's paratrooper battalion had long since turned around for the Missy crossing, and there were only three battalions left under Balzen's command. In the emotional situation, Balzen of course hopes to arrive at the destination as soon as possible so as to give the commander credit, what should it be better to see the joint efforts of these two battalion commanders?

Continue to give orders? No! That's impossible! They may not necessarily listen carefully, especially this Evgeny, who is the commander's confidant, not his close comrade-in-arms!

After some weighing, Balzen had no choice but to give his regimental commander the order - the whole army rested for fifteen minutes.

The order saved many lives, and the soldiers had already run twenty kilometers, and they had to overcome mud and assist the wagons to run with the army.

The march was two kilometers long, like a gray-black snake, swimming between the swamp and the forest.

The soldiers formed a simple column in two columns, and after the troops stopped, everyone dispersed to both sides of the road, one by one, sitting or squatting. Some people are drinking water and eating potatoes, and some are simply resting.

In the ranks, those little warriors also had to bear this fatigue. Young soldiers like Natasha, since they become soldiers, they must be trained according to the regulations, and now they are no longer children, they are soldiers! Under war, they are small war machines.

The children are not left behind, and this is of course based on the huge physical exertion. Fortunately, the adults also thought of the possibility of the group of children being left behind, so they marched with a carriage, and most of their backpacks and equipment were also hung on the carriage. But after two hours of rapid marching, even Natasha could hardly help but panting.

After a short break, the warriors resumed their march.

There was no need to run wildly, and everyone slowly moved towards the goal. Finally, at a fork in the road, the top soldier at the head of the team stopped and sent someone to report to the regimental headquarters.

"Report to the captain, we are about to leave the core area of the swamp, is the whole team turning?"

"Wait, I'm going to look at the map."

Balzen was satisfied to be called a regimental commander by the soldiers, but he could not do it in command of the army. The three battalion commanders, including him, immediately gathered and studied the map.

Evgeny said with some concern: "According to the map, we are heading northeast from our current position, and we have not built a single road. The whole army will be able to advance only through the crevices of the woods, and I fear that the wagons will sink into the earth. ”

"That's something that really needs to be considered." Kravsky replied: "Even if the carriage does get stuck in the mud, we can still pull it out." This is the road of the future, and our speed is going to be even more slow! Having said that, he also took a look at Balzen's reaction and deliberately amplified the volume: "There is really no way, we can't keep up too fast!" ”

What do they mean? Balzen had already understood in an instant, and he immediately made a decision, and the troops began to turn and officially kill the small city of Loyev.

When the troops began to advance in a northeasterly direction, trouble quickly came.

The vast Pripet Marsh has a large number of forests, is sparsely populated and outnumbered by wild deer. Walking in the small forest fields with abundant grass, the soldiers couldn't help but slow down. If you don't go to war, build a wooden house here, which is definitely the favorite abode of forest hunters.

If the soldier slowed down because he was tired, then the speed of the carriage dropped simply because the wheels were greatly affected by the soft earth. Four horses pulling a cart of more than five tons as a whole is no problem, and once the road becomes complicated, the horses have to take on a lot of help.

Many of the carriages were gradually unable to keep up with the pace of the soldiers, and the horses could not return to high speed, no matter how much the master whipped.

Seeing this scene, Balzen could only pinch his waist with his mouth tensed and watched as some warriors helped the carriage that had fallen into a small mud pit to get out of trouble.

For this reason, Kravsky also took the opportunity to ridicule: "You saw it all, right? This is called haste is not reached. If it is as usual, your reconnaissance battalion will definitely be ordered by the commander to directly break away from the large force and kill to the destination, but this time you are the front-line commander! You can't abandon the big troops, especially the wagons! They are the foundation of whether our encirclement can be laid or not! ”

"Some of what you say is nonsense!"

"Huh? Are you angry? I have good words to persuade you, I hope you don't rush for quick success! We are still moving slowly, as long as we get close to Loyev before the sun sets tomorrow, we have fulfilled the order! It's still early, and we're already a third of the way there! ”

"Yes, I know. However, grinding is not my style. ”

Kravsky shook his head: "You are now the commander of the regiment, you should take into account the situation of all the fighters." The reality is that the vast majority of soldiers are so tired that you can't expect all troops to be as strong as a reconnaissance battalion. I saw that at four o'clock in the afternoon, it was time for the troops to stop and set up camp. ”

"What? Stop at 4 p.m.? It was still early before dark! Balzen complained, "It's a pity that my regimental commander is not the real regimental commander, and you are not my real subordinates." ”

"Of course!" Evgeny leaned over to join the conversation: "We are higher than you in terms of military rank. You were personally appointed by the commander as the commander of the regiment, and the commander also gave us an order, that is, to see that you, the regiment commander, should not mess around! I think Kraftsky is right, look at our march today, it's crazy. After all, we didn't plan to get there today. I support the decision to rest at four p.m., and whether you agree with it or not, I will order my men as such. Because, I must guarantee that after the start of the battle, the legs of the soldiers will not be broken! ”

This remark was already very serious, and Balzen's pride was quickly dispelled by Evgeny.