Hale couldn’t quite put his finger on it but the village was missing something, “The village seems odd to me somehow. I know the people that lived there were evacuated two days ago.”
“It looks odd because you are used to seeing signs of life from such a place.” Maki said.
“How so?” Hale asked.
“For instance, there isn’t any smoke.” Maki replied.
Hale nodded, “I couldn’t put my finger on it, but that’s what must be weird about it then. You think the Russians are going to notice?”
Maki smiled, “I doubt it. Those poor bastards have been brainwashed to the extreme. They are incapable of independent thought. They party exacts a terrible price for the food that fills their bellies. There is no greater price loss a person can suffer than the loss of independent thought. The very thing that makes you who you are is demanded by the party in tribute to the pittance that you are granted.”
“Well that would explain why it’s been so easy to kill them.” Hale replied.
“If the party allowed them to have thought, they would be dangerous. A man that can think, is a man that will see through all the nonsense the party feeds them, to keep them in line. Thanks to that fact any one of us is worth ten of them on the battlefield. That is why so few of us will be able to beat so many of them.” Maki said.
“From what I have seen, I would agree with you. One of us is certainly worth ten of them, but what if there is eleven?” Hale asked.
Maki laughed, “That’s what I love about you Hale. You would think that someone with your back ground would be an unintelligent country bumpkin, but your mind has a sharp edge to it.”
“Thanks. I think.” Hale replied.
“It was meant as a compliment. The circumstances of your birth, and the life you led growing up, would dictate that your body is strong, but your mind is weak. You aren’t like that. You’ve worked to foster strength in both.” Maki said.
The two men fell silent and turned their attention to Kivennapa. The thatched rooves of the small cluster of buildings gathered around the crossroads were visible through the trees. As they talked, the eastern horizon slowly morphed from a gray, to a purple, then deep red, and finally a brighter and bright orange. A moment later the sun broke the horizon. Hale could see the dull red orb through the countless sea of trees.
Suddenly, the silence of the woods was pierced by the faint droning of engines. Faint and first, but ever louder as hundreds of vehicles rumbled their way toward the village. Hale closed his eyes and listened to the sounds. His ears could pick out the difference between the dull rumble of trucks, and the higher pitched squeal of tank tracks.
The sound slowly grew over time until Hale’s eyes caught movement on the road. The lead vehicle came into view. Hale shuddered as he recognized it, an unstoppable behemoth, a T-28 medium tank.
The T-28s long body was covered in a dull olive drab green paint. In addition to the deadly looking main gun that sprouted from the front of the tank’s turret, were several smaller machine guns. Two of the machine guns, flanked the large main gun in the middle. Two more surrounded the opening from which the driver peered onto the road. The side of the turret had a red star emblazoned upon it.
Hale saw the torso of a man sticking out of the top of the turret. This man who leaned up against the metal door of the open hatch was the tank commander. Of the six men that occupied the metal beast, the only other vulnerable crewmember was the driver. This man likely sat just behind the opening in the front middle section of the behemoth.
Hale raised his rifle and took aim at the driver. A hand touched his shoulder, “Not yet. We have a battalion deployed in the village. Let them deliver the first surprise blow. We mustn’t show ourselves too early. We are here, to keep the Soviets off balance when they start pressing home their attack. By distracting them we increase the chance that our men in the village can hold.” Maki said.
Hale, lowered his rifle, turned and made eye contact with Maki. The young sniper threw him a faint smile and a slight nod, “We wait then.”
“It won’t be long.” Maki promised, “Patience.”
The two men sat in silence behind their protective log. Earlier that morning, they had found a downed tree. Deciding the position offered a great view of the road while affording them some protection, Hale and Maki worked to turn it into a firing position. Using snow, loose branches and other logs, to build up a protective barrier between them and the road. Now they watched the column from their concealed position.
The T-28 kept slowly rumbling northward toward the village. As the tank moved past them, they could see the acrid black smoke that belched from its back panel. Following closely behind the tank, was a dozen Gaz-MMs. Each truck carried a squad of enemy soldiers, eight men in all.
As the tank closed to within two hundred feet of Kivennapa a very loud bang sounded from the direction of the village. A moment later something struck the front of the T-28. The projectile, whatever it had been, Hale was unsure as he couldn’t see it and was unfamiliar with the sound it made, struck the front of the tank. The olive drab green juggernaut, abruptly stopped as the men inside screamed.
“What was that?” Hale asked.
“An anti-tank rifle.” Maki said.
The tank commander leapt from the top of the turret, as smoke began billowing out of the opening. Before he could lower himself to the ground, weapons fire rang out from the village and peppered his body. The commander staggered back a step, then two, and finally his corpse toppled off of the tank and onto the ground.
This caused the Soviet infantry in the twelve trucks behind the T-28 to vomit forth from the bowels of the vehicles. Several seconds elapsed as these men gathered themselves behind the trucks. As soon as the Sergeants were satisfied that all was ready to deploy, they simultaneously erupted from behind the trucks and began charging the village.
The Finnish defenders in the village allowed these men to advance about one hundred feet before a lone voice from somewhere in the village barked the command to, “Fire!”
The instant the order was given, it seemed as if a giant wave swept out of the sky and broke across the charging Soviets. The lead men jerked to a stop as if they had run into an invisible wall. They fell to their knees clutching the fresh holes that had erupted on their torsos a moment before. A cacophony of sound roared over Hale and Maki as the noise of both automatic weapons fire, and single shot bolt action rifles created a deafening roar.
The Soviet charge broke and they fell to the earth trying to save themselves from the led onslaught that blazed forth from the village. When the last enemy soldier still standing was slain, the roar of weapons fire abruptly stopped. Eerie silence reigned where moments before the loud crescendo of weapons fire had filled the forest.
Smiling Maki turned to Hale and said, “They’ve completely stopped the first attack cold.”
“What happens next?” Hale asked.
“According to the training I received from the war college. Whoever is in charge of the Soviet’s will now take their time to deploy the regiment. They won’t move forward again until they form a large front. When all are ready, they will advance again.” Maki replied.
The two men sat in silence and watched as the men that survived the first assault on the village slowly crawled south back down the road. The engines of the advancing regiment dropped in volume as they came to a stop and began to idle. As the two men sat in their position and listened, the voices of angry Sergeants began to pierce the forest. I t took nearly an hour for the Russians to form themselves up into a brigade sized formation.
“Does it normally take this long to form men up for an attack?” Hale asked.