It was a quiet night.
At noon the next day, Simon found traces of the Soviet army in the snow. It seemed that they had passed through here a day ago, and the number of soldiers was estimated to be between a hundred to two hundred. There were also carriage tracks in the snow, which meant that they were probably equipped with heavy machine guns.
The two of them chased after them on skis for the entire afternoon, and finally, they were close to their target before sunset.
The Soviet troops were moving very slowly, and it was difficult for both men and horses to walk on the half-meter-thick snow. Sometimes, they even needed soldiers to push the carriages. The terrible weather and the constant news of casualties from the frontline had caused the morale of the soldiers to plummet. By now, they had already exceeded the original 16-day combat deadline. If Zhang Heng remembered correctly, many of the Soviet troops had been wiped out by the guerrillas, and the Soviets had achieved very little.
Now, every unit that was sent to the frontline was anxious. The morale of a cross-border war was usually lower than that of a domestic war. Although the Soviets had mobilized public opinion before the war, the effect was barely satisfactory. This was especially true after the purge. The experienced middle and senior officers in the Soviet army were either executed or exiled to Siberia to accompany the polar bears.
Many of the young officers who were promoted had just graduated from military school. Their loyalty was impeccable, but all they knew was to carry out the orders given by their superiors. They had no problem with winning battles, but when faced with a difficult situation like this, they did not know how to appease their soldiers.
Simon took a few glances and passed the binoculars to Zhang Heng.
The unit behind the binoculars was a typical Soviet infantry company. There were about 150 soldiers, including three infantry platoons and a machine gun platoon. They were equipped with twelve light machine guns, two heavy machine guns, and some grenades that looked like shovels. Of course, most of the soldiers were still equipped with the M1891 Mosin-Nagan, because it was the main weapon of the Soviets.
In terms of firepower, this unit was quite strong, especially the two Maxim heavy machine guns on the carriage.
It could shoot down planes in the sky at 600 rounds per minute.
Worried that the reflection of the binoculars would expose their position, Zhang Heng did not dare to look at them for long. He planned to retreat and wait until it was dark. However, Simon had already started to gather the snow on the ground in front of him. The girl gestured to him, indicating for him to retreat first.
Zhang Heng had trained with Simone for a week, and he thought he had a good understanding of her marksmanship. However, when he guessed the girl's plan, even he could not help but gasp in shock despite his usual calmness.
The distance between them and the group of Soviet soldiers was already more than 700 meters. What kind of concept was this? Using an iron sight, after 300 meters, the front sight would be bigger than the target itself.
An ordinary person's vision range was 500 meters or even 700 meters. This was completely against common sense. Under such circumstances, Zhang Heng did not know how a sniper could complete the shot.
However, the first rule on the battlefield was to trust one's companions. Although Zhang Heng was taken aback, he still nodded and quietly retreated a mile away with their skis and backpacks. Not long after he laid prone, he heard gunshots. Then, there was a commotion among the Soviet troops in the distance. Zhang Heng could not see the specific situation, but he could roughly guess the reaction of the Soviet soldiers.
They should have dropped to the ground immediately and blindly fired back while searching for the sniper. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they thought, no one would have guessed that the bullet came from more than 700 meters away.
The exchange of gunfire lasted for a while. After that, the two Maxim heavy machine guns fixed on the carriage opened fire. Coupled with grenades, it was a powerful attack. However, even the sound of the M28's gunfire was drowned out, and the Soviets had no idea where the sniper was.
This kind of fighting method was a huge blow to the morale of the soldiers. Simon might only have one sniper, and the firepower of the Soviets was far inferior to that of the Soviets. However, in a situation where they could only passively take a beating without knowing where the enemy was, the fierce firepower of their own side would only make them feel more desperate.
Panic began to spread among the troops. It was not until five minutes later that the gunfire gradually stopped. However, there were still many Soviets with rifles in their hands, looking around nervously. Some of them were so nervous that they accidentally injured their companions.
Although the Soviets could not find the sniper, some bullets still landed in the area where Simon was. Zhang Heng could not help but feel a little worried. Fortunately, he soon saw the girl retreating from the frontline.
Simon looked almost the same as before, but her breathing was a little faster. She spat out the snow water in her mouth and gestured the number 12 to Zhang Heng.
The girl used a total of two magazines and thirty bullets. Her hit rate was about one-third. Don't underestimate this result. Considering her range, it was shocking enough. Her main target was the machine gun platoon, which posed the greatest threat. She killed more than half of the fourteen soldiers in two squads. Other than that, she also hit an officer and a few grenadiers.
While the Soviets were still in a state of confusion, the two managed to put some distance between themselves and the enemy.
And so, the first battle in Zhang Heng's guerrilla career came to an end. He did not fire a single shot, and throughout the whole process, he just watched as his partner killed the enemy.
Simon, on the other hand, looked like she had just done something insignificant. There was no excitement on her face. It was as if she was not the one who calmly shot and killed hundreds of enemies.
… …
There was still about half an hour before the sky turned completely dark. The girl did not want to waste any time, so she changed positions with Zhang Heng and repeated what she did before.
The Soviets could do nothing about it. In terms of numbers, they indeed far outnumbered the guerrillas. However, if they really wanted to conduct a large-scale search, more than a hundred people scattered in the forest would not be enough. Instead, it would give the enemy a chance to take them down one by one. Once the formation was disrupted, it would be difficult for the Soviets to use their heavy weapons to their advantage. Of course, now that they were gathered together, they would still be in a suicidal state.
This was actually an unsolvable problem that plagued all Soviet commanders during the Winter War.
Only snipers could deal with snipers.
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