“I think if we picked a spot where we had enough room to turn the truck around so that it was pointed into Finland, and then parked it in a way that blocks the road it would maximize the time, we had to get some kills.” Hale said.
Pekka nodded, “In fact it will probably seem pretty normal to them since Russian equipment is crap. Those idiot peasants they draft and use as cannon fodder don’t know how to maintain the vehicles and equipment they are issued. To capitalize on this, we should also put the hood up, so they are less suspicious about a truck that is detached from one of their columns.”
Pekka put the truck in gear and started driving down the road to the south. He drove perhaps half a mile, until the abandoned Soviet camp was out of sight. He slowed the vehicle and looked about for a good spot to turn the truck around. After a few hundred feet he spotted a piece of the road where the trees thinned and he was able to turn the wheel to the left and pull the front wheels of the Gaz-MM into the snow.
Pressing on the clutch, he threw the truck into reverse. He backed up until the rear end of the vehicle bumped a tree. Shifting into first he then drove forward and maneuvered the truck until the front end was pointing roughly northwest, so that it blocked the entire road.
The two men hopped out of the truck and looked around, “This looks good. What do you think?” Pekka asked.
Hale met the older man’s gaze and said, “I agree, this should block the road while looking convincingly broke down.”
“I’ll kill the engine. You get the hood up.” Pekka ordered.
Hale did as he was told. As the Corporal turned off the truck. The engine sputtered to a stop as Hale found the catch that held the hood closed. Tasks complete the two men met each other by the left front bumper of the truck, “What about these uniforms?” Hale asked. “We definitely need to get out of them, this green is very visible against the white terrain.”
Pekka let out a deep breath. The steam from his warm discharge created a large cloud of which slowly dissipated into the air around the two men, “Let’s set up our firing positions. Then if we have time, perhaps we can build some snowmen and clothe them with these uniforms to use as a decoys.” He replied.
Hale grinned widely, “Clever.”
Pekka paused and slowly looked out into the forest, “We will likely be come upon by a large column. I think one of us should set up so that we can target whoever gets out to investigate and the first few vehicles of the column. I think the other needs to set up a few hundred feet to the south, so that we can fire at them from two different positions.”
Hale nodded in agreement, “Smart. That should maximize the chaos.”
Pekka pointed at a large oak that was situated a few dozen feet along side the road to the north of their decoy and said, “I’ll use that large oak. It will provide me a great view of the column at a slight angle so I can shoot down the road.”
“Are you sure you want to make yourself such a visible target for the column? The last time I was in a tree I got blown out of it by a Soviet T-28.” Hale replied.
“I’ll take the risk. It’s too good of a position to pass up.” Pekka replied.
“You’re funeral.” Hale said.
“You have your orders private. I suggest you see to them.” Pekka snapped back.
Hale stiffened to attention and saluted, “Yes sir!”
Uneasy silence hung over the two men before both broke down into laughter. Once they were able to bring their mirth under control, they stripped out of their Russian overcoats and hats. Pekka opened the driver side door of the truck and held it as Hale tossed his in. Pekka quickly followed suit and then closed the door.
Splitting up, they went about setting up their firing positions. Pekka reached his chosen spot first. He looked up at the imposing tree and smiled, I think the kid is wrong about using trees as firing positions.
Pekka started climbing up the venerable oak as Hale walked down the road looking about for a good firing position of his own. He spotted it off to his right, a large gray rock that jutted out of the snowscape. The rock had a large log wedged up against it that formed a natural point between the two objects. Hale left the road to investigate more closely.
As the young sniper examined the spot closely, he saw broken remains of a tree scattered in front of the rock. This tree must have fallen, struck this boulder, and the top part of the tree broke into smaller pieces as it struck the earth. He thought. He walked around the south side of the boulder trying not to disturb the snow that had piled up on the gray stone, and the log.
Getting down on his knees, he pulled out his rifle and sighted it up and down the road as it stretched out in front of him in either direction, This is a great field of fire and I have plenty of cover! He thought with excitement.
Hale set about piling up snow underneath the log, so that the gap between the ground and the log was blocked. He then counted off the steps to the road from his spot so he could gauge the distance. He did this several times at different angles and wrote down the distances in his notepad with a pencil. After half an hour or so, he was satisfied that he had the distance of the road from his firing position calculated for every part of the road that was visible to him.
Task complete, he pulled a small hatchet out of his pack, and cut down one of the small evergreen trees that grew near the road. He began to walk back to his firing position with the tree dragging behind him, in each of the spots where he had left tracks. After another half an hour of this, he had successfully covered up all of the tracks that led back to his spot.
Satisfied that all was ready, he walked from his spot back to the truck. He was careful to walk north in the forest for a time, so that his tracks would not be visible from the road. He walked past the truck about a hundred feet and then made his way toward the road. He tread carefully through a depression that made its way toward the road. He was pleased in the knowledge that he was well beyond the point that an approaching column would see his footprints before they reached the truck. Finally making his way onto the road, he walked down one of the tire tracks in the road southward. Reaching the truck, he looked around for Pekka. The older man was not visible.
Hale moved his eyes up the road to the oak tree several hundred feet to the north that Pekka had proposed using as his firing position. He slowly looked up and down the tree, but didn’t see Pekka. He was surprised by a sudden shout coming from the direction of the tree, “Bang, you’re dead.”
“Where are you?” Hale asked.
Pekka waved an arm at Hale from behind the trunk of the oak, “I’m here.”
“How are you hiding behind the trunk of the oak, and twenty feet in the air?” Hale asked.
“I’m standing on a thick branch pointed toward the north. Turn away and I’ll get into my firing position.” Pekka replied.
Hale did as he was told, “Now look.” Pekka said.
Hale turned around and looked back at the oak tree, “Is your gun pointed at me?” Hale asked.
“Yes.” Pekka said.
Hale looked at the spot where he had seen Pekka’s arm a minute earlier. All his eyes could make out was a small black shadow that filled the light gap between two of the branches on the tree, “Are you in your spot?” Hale asked.
“I’ve got my gun pointed in your direction.” Pekka replied.
“Perhaps you’re right then. Maybe that is a great spot. I personally would not get back up into a tree though. It’s too easy to get blown out of it by a tank.” Hale said.
Pekka ignored Hale’s statement and said, “Let’s get to work on building some decoy snowmen, so we can put those uniforms to work for us.”
Hale waited, as Pekka climbed down the tree, and then walked toward him on the road. Like Hale, Pekka was careful to stay in the tire tracks that had been cut by the wheels of the previous Soviet column to rumble through this part of Karelia’s vast forest.