"Hey, what do you think of the weather here? I haven't eaten anything hot for 10 days in a row and I thought I was going to die in that car. The soldiers began to talk to each other.

"We're lucky."

"Luck! You say it easily...... If you were there when the train was bombed, you would know. The explosion created a large cloud of smoke more than 100 meters high. We had 40 dead and 70 wounded. While we were cleaning up the site, a lot of people were injured. It took us 5 days to get back to traffic. I also went with others to hunt down the saboteurs. We caught only two saboteurs in a farmstead. ”

"Where's that Polensky guy?"

"He's in his warm truck right now. He twisted his foot, which was so swollen that he couldn't take his boots off, so he had to wait until the injury healed healed. ”

"He's taking advantage of this injury and if it were me, I'd sprain my foot every time......"

The soldiers laughed when they heard this.

The soldiers' conversation was quickly interrupted by the sound of an order to leave. They set off. For them, the situation on the front line was still unknown, and they still had to trude on dirt roads covered with snow and ice, and on both sides of the road were high walls of snow left behind by snowplows clearing the snow, so they could not see what the scenery on both sides of the road was like. Through the gaps in the snow wall, they could see the traces of the brutal battles here not long ago. The road was littered with war materials scattered in the snow, making them wonder how the Soviets could be defeated with so much supplies.

The armored unit that escorted them caught up with them, and once again they drove through the Finnish ice fields in the bitter cold. Above their heads, planes flew by from time to time, all the way to the west. Soon a Soviet reconnaissance plane flew over the convoy, the reconnaissance plane and the armored detachment escorting them exchanged something over the radio, and then the plane left them and flew north. The tanks that escorted them also disappeared into the snow mist rolled up by their tracks. After a while, several rumbling explosions were heard in the distance. Then the explosions stopped, and then there were a few more sounds.

And at this time, several explosions were heard not too far and not too close to the Soviet soldiers. The Soviet soldiers stopped. The explosion rang out again. There were a few times when the voice sounded far away. The soldiers instinctively ran. A veteran was asked, "What happened?" The veteran replied: "Take our weapons, we are close to the front line." ”

Several more explosions were heard, some intermittent while others were continuous. The departure whistle sounded, and an hour later the soldiers reached the top of a hill, where the fierce gunfire brought them to a complete stop. Gunshots came from a very close place. Each explosion made the air around it tremble.

One of the officers shouted: "There are partisans ahead!" Now everyone disperses! Get ready for battle! He said as he pointed to his left. The soldiers followed the officers and threw themselves on a slope covered with snow. When they lifted their heads from the ground and looked out, they saw a large crowd of blackened people coming from the bushes towards their defenses. The Finns seemed to move incredibly fast, much to the surprise of the Soviet soldiers.

"They have sleds." Someone said, "Finns are natural skiers." ”

The extreme cold and the thick clothes on the soldiers' bodies no longer allowed them to perform any combat maneuvers flexibly. The cold slowed everything down.

Those Finnish partisans are still far from them now. A young officer shouted an order: "Now everyone dig their own foxholes!" ”

Hearing this order, some of the veterans smiled bitterly, removed the sapper shovels and began to dig up the snow, while many did not have shovels and could only knock some of the snow off the ground with the butts of their guns. The soldiers lay on their stomachs in their makeshift bunkers, somewhat relaxed as they watched the scene outside. The recruits were amazed at the number of Finnish partisans who came out of the bushes, and there were so many of them! Soon, more guerrillas could be seen coming out of the forest. They look like a mighty army of ants. Apparently they are moving from north to south. Since the Soviet troops were moving from east to west, they did not pay attention.

At this moment, on a tree-covered hill near them, a large column of smoke and an explosion that gradually became more and more intense rose into the sky. A heavy machine gun to the right of the position opened fire, then stopped. Someone stupidly poked his head out of the makeshift bunker, and as soon as they saw the faint white smoke of the partisans, the bullets "whizzed" and knocked all the reckless guys to the ground. Then there was a dull explosion, and the shells flew out of nowhere and landed in the Soviet positions, and several soldiers were covered in blood and lay on the snow screaming loudly.

At this time, on the opposite side of the hill, the Finns' machine guns also opened fire. By this time, the Finnish partisans were already very close, and almost all those who rushed at the former Yugoslavia had opened fire. Everywhere there was the crisp sound of gunfire and the "whoosh" of bullets flying. Everywhere there were Finnish partisans, who were moving rapidly from all directions, and faster and faster. Some of them were shot and fell and lay motionless in the snow, while many more sprang and shot. Bullets from them swept through the air over the positions of the Soviet troops. The sound of the exchange of fire between the two sides was deafening, and a large number of bullets hit the snow in front of the Soviet soldiers, and the recruits who participated in the battle for the first time began to fire blindly in front like everyone else. Some of them quickly emptied their magazines, and when they changed them, the Finns' bullets killed them. Many more screamed from injuries, and many soon fell into a coma, their faces showing pain. There was a loud moan, and more people remained motionless, they were dead.

The exchange of fire lasted about 20 minutes, and a number of Finnish partisans suddenly began to retreat into the bushes. It turned out to be a Soviet tank rushing towards them, and this tank was rushing forward, stopping from time to time to fire its guns. After a while, seven or eight more tanks arrived and opened fire on the Finnish partisans.

The Finnish partisans, who were attacked from behind, did not scatter in all directions, as the Soviet soldiers imagined, but scattered at a rapid pace, covering each other and rushing towards the Soviet tanks.

"It's broken! Tanks are going to be out of luck! One of the veterans shouted, straightened up, and joined several veterans, raised his rifle in his hand, and pulled the trigger continuously at the Finnish partisans who were approaching the tank.

Some of the unknown recruits involuntarily followed the example of the veterans and fired at the Finnish partisans who approached the tanks, but their marksmanship was very poor, and although there were many bullets fired, few hit the target.

Four partisans were shot and fell to the ground in succession, but the valiant Finns did not stop attacking the tanks, and several of the recruits were surprised to see them so desperately approaching the tanks for the first time, and they put down their guns, as if to see what they wanted to do.

The answer soon emerged, and some of the recruits could not help but exclaim at the sight of several partisans who had managed to get close to the tank with bottles that had been lit in their mouths.

One of the Finnish partisans, at the moment of being hit by a bullet, threw a Molotov cocktail in his hand at the tank, only to hear "Bang! With a bang, flames instantly enveloped the tank.

A few more Molotov cocktails were thrown and exploded on the tank, and one of the partisans, because he was skiing too fast, actually rushed to the front of the tank, and the tank's machine gun hit him, and he was about to throw the Molotov cocktail in his hand, but when he fell to the ground, the Molotov cocktail in his hand fell off and rolled under the tank.

Soon, the hatch of the tank opened, and the tankers inside jumped out howling, one of them was covered in fire and rolling in the snow, while the other tanker took off his clothes and tried to help his companion extinguish the flames, when a volley of bullets flew out of nowhere, knocking both tankers to the ground and not moving.

"That's a 'Molotov cocktail.'" As the veteran spoke, he fired another shot, knocking down a Finnish partisan who was trying to throw Molotov cocktails.

"What? Molotov cocktails? ”

"Yes! Haven't you heard the stories of 'Molotov's bread basket' and 'Molotov's cocktail'? ”

Of course, these recruits did not know that because the Soviet Air Force launched an air raid on the Finnish capital Helsinki and other large cities at the beginning of the war, using various bombs including incendiary bombs in the form of submunitions, the result was a large number of casualties among Finnish civilians, however, in the face of the international community's accusations of the Soviet Union's inhumane bombing of civilians, Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov argued that "the Soviet Air Force did not bomb Finland, but airdropped 'bread' for the hungry workers in the cities"! Because of this, the Finns jokingly called the bombs of the Soviet Air Force "Molotov's bread basket".

In response to the "Molotov bread basket", the Finnish army used a large number of Molotov cocktail bottles, which were invented during the Spanish Civil War to contain oil, phosphorus, accelerants, etc., in glass bottles and other containers. These simple Molotov cocktails caused great damage to Soviet positions and tank vehicles, and because most of the Molotov cocktails were containers, the Finnish officers and soldiers called them "this is a cocktail for Molotov", so the name "Molotov cocktail" spread and became well-known to the Soviet army.

At this time, several other tanks were also hit by the Finnish partisans with Molotov cocktails called "Molotov cocktails" and caught fire, and the smell of death began to spread, suddenly scaring the recruits.

"Hey! There was a wounded Finman waving to us. One of the veterans laughed and said, "Poor fellow, I wish their own people could take care of him." War is like that, and tomorrow it may be our turn to be like him. ”

As soon as the veteran finished speaking, a bullet struck the mortally wounded Finnish partisan, who immediately fell there and did not move.

The battle was still raging, the sky was covered with lead-colored clouds and thick black smoke, and two small black dots flew towards the battlefield. Some of the recruits who had just arrived at the battlefield noticed them and actually raised their heads.

"Those are our two reconnaissance planes!" Seeing this scene, an officer shouted in annoyance, "Shoot at the enemy!" ”

Just a few seconds after the officer's words were spoken, a loud sound of an airplane engine passed over the heads of the soldiers, followed by a series of loud explosions. An incredible force threw the soldiers off the ground with a heavy blow. Many people felt as if their chests and ear drums were going to explode. The sound of the sky falling apart makes people feel the end of the world. A rain of stones, snow and severed limbs fell from the sky and surrounded the soldiers who were fighting. Then there was smoke and fire.

"Everyone, hurry up and find cover! Don't stay on the side of the road! An officer shouted.

The Soviet soldiers scattered in the snow around them. Someone shouted: "They are shooting at the tank!" "The soldiers took refuge in craters in the snow. One of the officers shouted: "Anti-aircraft fire!" He shouted as he hunched over to the other side. The soldiers next to him raised their guns and aimed them at the sky.

The sound of the plane's engine rang out again. The experienced veteran fell to the ground, and a fighter jet with the Finnish Air Force insignia whizzed over the soldiers' heads, and then two loud explosions, one closer and one farther away, were heard. Someone looked up to see the situation, and two Finnish planes swooped down again behind the aspen groves, while several Soviet tanks were coming in the direction of the woods. The Finnish partisans ran in all directions.

With a deafening explosion, a huge black plume of smoke rose up. A moving Soviet tank was hit by a plane of the Finnish army, and the tank exploded immediately, as were the two armored vehicles that were immediately in front of and behind it. The snow was littered with the debris they had fallen from their explosions. They are now a pile of scrap metal with flames and acrid black smoke.

"Damn it! That's the plane of the Finns! ”

"Where are our planes?"

"Those idiots were all beaten down by the Finns!"

"How so?"

"Because they're idiots!"

Soon, a huge explosion drowned out the curses of the Soviet soldiers.

The poor Soviet soldiers looked at the Finnish planes that were shuttling and bombing in and out of the sky, and could not understand where their powerful air force had now gone.

Unbeknownst to the Soviet soldiers, the Finnish Air Force was in fact much smaller than the Soviet Air Force, but the training of its pilots was much more solid and of a high standard. Technical exchanges between Finnish pilots and other countries are also widespread. At this stage, the Finnish Air Force had begun to use the 4-aircraft formation as the basic formation for their air combat. This formation is similar to the basic concept of tactical formation, which was developed by Germany during the Spanish Civil War. Two of the four planes are fought in small groups, usually with a more experienced pilot serving as the leader of the squadron and taking the initiative in the battle, and the other is operated by a junior pilot who is responsible for covering and waiting for an opportunity to attack enemy aircraft. Such tactical formations will gradually be adopted by the countries of the world in the near future and will become the basis of modern fighter combat formations.

Compared to the Finnish Air Force, the situation of the Soviet Air Force was much worse. Poor training and rigid tactics made the Soviet Air Force numerically superior to the Finnish Air Force, but far inferior in combat effectiveness to the Finnish Air Force, resulting in heavy losses from the outset of the war. And the Soviet Air Force also had a very limited effect on bombing targets in Finland.

At the time of the invasion of Finland, the Soviet Air Force still adopted the three-plane formation tactics that had been practiced since World War I, and it was far inferior to the Finnish Air Force in terms of individual pilot training, tacit understanding between formations, and combat will. Due to the poor quality of the pilots, during the battle, the wingmen in the 3-plane formation of the Soviet Air Force sometimes opened fire with the long plane, whether they had a target or not, forming a situation of wasting ammunition. And the fighters responsible for supporting bombers and covering ground offensive forces will sometimes leave their comrades behind in battle and leave the combat airspace on their own!

And this is how the tragedy of the current Soviet soldiers being attacked by the Finns from the air came about.

The Finns' air assault soon ended, and when the Finns' planes flew away, the Finn partisans withdrew, leaving behind the corpses of Soviet soldiers and the wreckage of destroyed artillery, tanks, and vehicles.

And almost the same tragedy is being played out again and again on all fronts of the Finnish battlefield.

It wasn't long before reports appeared in the far east.

"Where did you get this information?"

In a secret room of China's Ministry of Homeland Security in Yanjing, a person glanced at the report on the table, and did not rush to open it, but asked.

"We've got observers and eyeliner over there."

"Is the information reliable?"

"Reliable. Many of the eyeliners are Russians, and they are extremely fearful and dissatisfied with the Kremlin. ”

"The Presidential Office, the General Staff and the War Department all want to accurately understand the combat strength of the Soviet Army so that they can formulate corresponding countermeasures.

"Everybody understands that, so they're all working on it. More information will arrive in a few days. ”

"It's good to understand."

Secretary of Homeland Security Mizui nodded and opened the report. He didn't immediately look at the text on it, but picked up a few photos sandwiched inside and looked at them carefully.

In the first photo, the wreckage of a destroyed Soviet T-28 tank is impressive.

(To be continued)