|
Reiner's column stopped about half way into the woods. He now had a clear view of the house and also a roadblock up ahead.
He wasn't sure if it was manned or not, since it was placed between two ruined wall sections. He decided to send 3 scouts to see if the roadblock was manned. As they advanced under cover of the woods, Reiner sat back
to plan his follow up.
Meanwhile, in the Soviet roadblock at the western entrance to the village of Molitovsk, all was quiet. Or, had been. The soldiers stationed there had been sleeping in the tent, unaware that a German force was moving up the road to their position. At first, it was a distant rumbling, no more. After a few moments it was evident that an armored column of some sort was moving down the road. Apparently Soviet, maybe coming back from the front line, one soldier, Private Ivanov, surmised. Surely not German, they would have had to pass a few roadblocks on the way, and there had been no word of German advances along this roa- Ivanov's thoughts were cut short by shouts from the anti-tank gun position. A shot, an explosion, and more shouts, some for help. The soldiers in the tent scrambled around for their weapons, only to find they didn't have their ammunition with them in the tent! Only crates of vodka bottles, Smirnoff- a fine blend, but no good in battle! Someone yelled that he remembered, the ammo crates were outside, he had taken them out to make room for the vodka. The soldiers jumped out of the tent and started rummaging frantically in the crates to get their ammunition and grenades. They could see nothing but smoke rising from the gun emplacement across the road. |