Chapter 552: Supply
So do not question the progress of your opponent, and do not entertain the fanciful thought that “the opponent can’t possibly learn that fast.” The facts have proven that the improvement of weapon performance is just that fast, and the learning and application of tactics is even faster!
In another timeline, the German army was thoroughly beaten by Soviet snipers in the Battle of Stalingrad. They left tens of thousands of elite soldiers in that city, which had been bombed into ruins, and finally stepped down from their divine altar of invincibility. In just one year, tens of thousands of German snipers taught the Americans a good lesson in the Normandy region, making the arrogant American GIs learn to always keep their heads down. Of course, the Americans were not idle either. They established sniper schools, and in a few months, the snipers of the U.S. Marine Corps were making the Japanese devils cry out in misery on Saipan and Guadalcanal.
This is war. This is the war that makes one harden their heart to learn from their opponent and to face them squarely. Those who do not learn will either have their country conquered or will die. The ones who are left are all thorough students, all the most shameless plagiarists.
You use sloped armor? We’ll try it too! It works well? Then we’ll use it too! You use sniper teams? We’ll try it too! The effect is obvious? Then we’ll use it too! You use aircraft carriers to fight naval battles? We’ll try it too! Not bad, eh? Then we’ll build more carriers! The era of being the undisputed leader for hundreds of years is over. In this era of great development, it only takes a few months to catch up with your opponent!
Intelligence showed that the Soviets were training their own snipers. They were selecting talent from among the hunters in Siberia, learning to organize sniper teams like the Germans, and were beginning to clumsily apply sniper tactics in the war.
Right now, it seemed they were still very backward, and their tactics were not yet mature. In many cases, their learning was foolish and blind. But all the Germans who had witnessed the changes in the Soviet army felt the pressure from the other side, felt the subtle transformation of the Soviet forces through and through.
The opponent was indeed a group of farmers and unemployed people who had never been to school. Most of them were even illiterate. But the cruel war had made these people, who also longed to live, begin to work hard to summarize the experience of how to survive. Failure after failure had made them begin to learn how to meet the next failure with dignity.
These Soviet peasants, who had originally not known how to fight at all, had, because they had been ambushed and pursued by the Germans, learned to send out scouts to reconnoiter the area around their encampments, had learned to build their own defensive works the moment they stopped, had learned to sleep with their rifles in their arms and without taking off their clothes. Apart from the uniforms on their backs and the steel helmets on their heads, they were becoming more and more like the Germans opposite them, at least in some details.
Of course, the facts proved that they were still a step behind the Germans. The details that were overlooked were often the key to victory or defeat. The Soviet logistical supply was still chaotic and inefficient. Their uniforms were still a single green, while the Germans had begun to use a large number of camouflage smocks. The Germans had already begun to experiment with the infiltration of special forces squads on the battlefield, while the Soviets were at this time only just beginning to imitate the Germans and form sniper teams.
But do not laugh at this clumsy, foolish learning. This is a pious longing and a grand wish from the depths of the soul.
When, in the Tianjin Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, the Chinese with their braided queues used a brush to record the method of imitating Krupp cannons and began the process of industrialization with crude equipment, please do not laugh at their ignorance and limitations.
When, in the factories of New China, the masters, with their calloused hands, used a file to shape each and every part and piece together the first Chinese jet fighter, please do not laugh at their clumsiness and backwardness.
When, in the aircraft manufacturing company in the northeast, the engineers disassembled an advanced foreign fighter, figured out the technology, and then copied and produced it, finally naming it a domestically produced aircraft, please do not laugh at their shamelessness and baseness.
Because, when a nation begins to disregard face, no longer cares about shamelessness and baseness, is not afraid of clumsiness and backwardness, and is not even stopped by ignorance and limitations in its steps to learn from its opponent, what else can stop this nation from becoming strong? When a nation, disregarding everything, only wants to survive, it can find a thousand and one ways to do so.
“The optical sight on the sniper rifle is well-made, not like a Soviet product,” the battalion commander said, looking at the well-maintained modified Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle. “The gun oil is evenly applied, and the sights are well-adjusted. The view is very clear at 200 meters.”
The sniper had also looked at this rifle. He was an authority on his counterpart. “There’s a notebook with records, which means this sniper is literate. The rifle is well-maintained, which means he has received professional training and knows the importance of maintenance for a firearm. This reflects that the quality of the Soviet snipers is improving.”
The battalion commander nodded. He also felt that the opponent was becoming more and more difficult to deal with. Two months ago, these Soviet soldiers would definitely have fired two rounds of artillery before they started to charge in droves.
It was as if they were afraid the Germans wouldn’t hear the cannon fire and prepare properly, and they would even shout the slogan “Urrah!” and stand in a denser formation to avoid wasting the German machine gunners’ ammunition. Such considerate opponents were really rare. Sometimes the German army even thought that the opponent was cooperating with them in the battle.
Now these Soviets no longer charged foolishly, and they often did not conduct an artillery preparation before an attack. Now even sniper ambushes had appeared; they were getting smarter and smarter. Of course, the most direct reflection of the Soviets’ cleverness was that the casualties of the German soldiers had begun to rise.
“Send these things to the regimental headquarters, and then have the regimental commander submit them to the division. Let’s see what the people above have to say. Our opponent is closing the gap with us. This is not a good sign,” the battalion commander said, nodding as he thought of this.
“So what do we do now? If one sniper team has come, a second or even a third will follow,” the deputy battalion commander asked with a frown. He was concerned about the casualties of the ordinary grenadiers. After all, the war was not yet over, and his men had to continue to fight under the great threat of the “Soviet sniper.”
The battalion commander said nothing and looked at the sniper. He was the one with the most say here. The sniper thought for a moment and said, “Stick close to the walls as much as possible, keep your head down and move quickly. When you stop, make sure you have cover. If you spot an enemy sniper, finding a helper is the best way.”
“If possible, use a mortar or a sniper to eliminate the opponent. A frontal assault by the infantry is not a good idea,” he then added, then took the captured rifle, the notebook, the identification documents, and the other things and left the battalion headquarters.
“I hope the countermeasures from above come down soon. Otherwise, we really don’t have any good solutions,” the battalion commander said to his deputy, watching the sniper’s back.
The deputy battalion commander nodded. “The infantry sent out on patrol recently must be careful. We should try to arrange for more experienced soldiers. If that’s not possible, then cancel the patrols and use scissor periscopes to set up sentry posts.”
“Scissor periscopes? The battalion only has one of those. Applying to the division for one is a troublesome matter. After all, it’s not just our battalion that’s waiting to use it,” the battalion commander said with a sigh. “We’d better just honestly wait for the news from above.”
The deputy battalion commander pouted, indicating his helplessness, then went back to busying himself with the soldier casualty report he had just been writing.
The battalion commander had just bent his head to look at the defensive map for a moment when a soldier came in from outside and reported that the supplies had arrived. He immediately walked out of the house to sign for the supplies that had been delivered here.
There wasn’t much, only half a truck’s worth. The driver handed him a clipboard and pointed to the back of the truck. “Four bags of potatoes, and 20 loaves of black bread, 40 kilograms of vegetable leaves. The military train wasn’t late this time, so you’re lucky to get an extra 50 cans of luncheon meat. To make up for the last time’s shortage, we still owe you 4 bags of potatoes. Everything else is here!”
The soldiers unloaded box after box of munitions from the truck, including 80mm mortar shells for the battalion, 13mm heavy machine gun ammunition, 7.92mm machine gun belts, rifle ammunition and hand grenades, Panzerfaust rockets, a few replacement helmets for the ones that had been damaged, and a few sets of uniforms and combat webbing. In short, a whole mess of things that needed to be inventoried and then distributed to the various companies.
Hearing the driver’s words, the battalion commander nodded, wrote his name in the reception column, then stuffed the pen back into his breast pocket and handed the document to the truck driver. “You’re not staying for a meal before you go?”
“No, thanks. Is anyone from your unit going back to the division? I can give him a ride,” the driver said with a smile, taking the cigarette the battalion commander offered him and asking casually.
The battalion commander pointed to the sniper team that hadn’t gone far and nodded. “They were originally going to the regiment, but since you’re here, it’s fine for you to take them to the division. And there are two wounded who need to be sent back to the field hospital. Why is the truck only half full? Is the distribution in a mess?”
“Not at all… they all came out with full loads. But there’s an order from above to distribute some to the local Ukrainian villagers along the way, so by the time we get to the front, they’re all half empty,” the driver said, lighting his cigarette with satisfaction. “I’ve been holding it in all the way. The back is full of munitions, so I didn’t dare to light up. Now I can finally have a good smoke.”
“Distribute to the Ukrainian peasants?” The battalion commander frowned. He hadn’t even received a full supply himself, and now the supplies were being given to the enemy civilians in the rear? What were the people above thinking?
“You don’t have to guess. The staff at the division said it’s great wisdom, a decision that definitely has more advantages than disadvantages,” the driver said with a smile. “If the partisans in the rear become active, God only knows if even this half a truck of supplies can reach you!”
The battalion commander was taken aback for a moment, then gave a sheepish smile and said no more.
Published: 2025-09-05T01:12:01.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-12-25T13:51:56.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c552-supply-138142448
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