Chapter 111, A Christmas Story During the Three World Wars (7)
January 7, 1947, Soviet Union, Kamchatka Peninsula, prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of Petropavlovsk port
When people mention the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, they always think of bubbling hot springs, snow-capped volcanoes, clear rivers with jumping salmon, and brown bears that appear everywhere by the water... In short, it is a land far away from the civilized world. A wild place.
In the eyes of Europeans, this is a very desolate, cold, and remote place...even more prohibitive than Siberia! ! !
How far away is it? The distance between Petropavlovsk Port, the capital of Kamchatka Peninsula, and Seattle, where Silicon Valley is located in the United States, is closer than the distance to Moscow. How cold is it? The lowest temperature in the northern part of Kamchatka Peninsula in winter basically reaches minus 50 degrees Celsius every year, which is as cold as Antarctica, so even the physique of Russians is not able to bear it. How desolate is it? On the Kamchatka Peninsula, which has a total area of 370,000 square kilometers (exactly equal to the area of Japan), immigrants began to build cities in the mid-18th century, roughly the same time as the development of Australia. However, until World War II, the entire peninsula had a population of less than 200,000, making it even more sparsely populated than Tibet.
If Siberia is a place that makes people feel chilled, then the name of Kamchatka can make people feel like they are about to freeze.
Because Kamchatka has such a cold climate and is located in a remote frontier, during the Russian Empire, the word "Kamchatka" was even more terrifying than the Siberian penal colony. In Russian schools of that era, many naughty students who were sent to the back seats of the classroom were often jokingly called "Kamchatka people" - in fact, according to historical records, the tsarist government never exiled anyone. The criminals went to Kamchatka because there was no dedicated guard willing to accompany a group of prisoners to live in such a cold, desolate and dangerous place as Kamchatka.
Even in the 21st century, the Port of Petropavlovsk, the capital of Kamchatka Peninsula, is still the largest isolated city in the world with neither roads nor railways. If you want to enter this city from the outside world, you can only rely on Take a boat or fly. However, because the latitude of the port is too high, it is frozen for at least eight to nine months every year. The time that ships can navigate is pitifully short, making the city even more isolated from the world...
However, in this era of soaring war sweeping the world, this place has become the farthest place from war in the entire Eurasian continent.
For those who have been ravaged by successive wars, whose wives and children have been separated, their families destroyed, and life worse than death, such a pure land far away from gunpowder smoke and death is simply like a paradise on earth like the legendary Shangri-La. People can't help but flock to it.
Well, according to the Japanese, this is the last piece of pure land on the Eurasian continent that has not been polluted by the smoke of war.
However, some Russians who lived here during the war did not like the peaceful atmosphere of this "pure land of bliss" very much...
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Braving the biting winter wind, 26-year-old Second Lieutenant Reznov carried a rifle on his back and walked on the frozen snow outside the barbed wire fence of the prisoner of war camp, performing a routine patrol mission. The winter in Kamchatka Peninsula was so cold that it was indescribable. Even though he was wrapped in a thick fur coat, long leather boots that were as big as buckets, and the ear protection of his cold hat had long been put down, he still couldn't bear it. His teeth were chattering, and even his eyelashes were frosted.
In Second Lieutenant Reznov's opinion, he was one of the people in the entire Soviet Red Army who was farthest from the war and also the most unlucky.
After graduating from the military academy, he was sent to the Kamchatka Peninsula just one month before the outbreak of the Soviet-German war. He served as a platoon leader in a vacancy arrangement with a staffing rate that had never reached 50%, so he unfortunately had to start from scratch. In the end, the entire World War II was missed.
As a result, when Second Lieutenant Reznov’s classmates in the military academy sang war hymns and international songs, they passed through Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, crossed the Rhine, crossed the Alps, and planted red flags on the Eiffel Tower and Pisa. During the Leaning Tower, Second Lieutenant Reznov could only squat in the barracks at Petropavlovsk Port, drinking vodka in boredom all day long, staring at the vast silver-covered and snow-capped wilderness in a daze.
——According to Lieutenant Reznov's speculation, if the situation continues to develop like this, then I am afraid that until he retires, he will still not have even a military medal on his chest... This is not what he wants at all. The military career you want! ! !
Think about it, many, many years later, when I have become an old man, I leave the army and return home, sitting in a rocking chair next to the fireplace, and being pestered by my grandchildren asking about past war stories, will I feel ashamed to say that? : I'm sorry to disappoint you. Grandpa didn't even fight a single battle at that time. During the entire war, he squatted in the barracks on the Kamchatka Peninsula. His total record was about fighting a few bears...
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——For a soldier, what a shame and humiliation this is, how unsightly it is! It’s a rhythm that I will regret for the rest of my life!
Therefore, Lieutenant Reznov, who did not want to sit back and watch the war end in the wilderness, wrote a lot of petitions to his superiors in the past few years, insisting on being transferred to the combat troops on the European front. Unfortunately, these All the petitions fell into disgrace, with no response at all.
As time went by, in the end, he had no choice but to accept his fate and prepare to spend the war years on the Kamchatka Peninsula where peace had become too much.
However, although I have given up hope of going to the battlefield and making meritorious deeds to win medals, the winter here is really... so boring! ! ! !
In the winter, the temperature in the port of Petropavlovsk, the capital of the Kamchatka Peninsula, drops to minus 30 degrees. Because it is located on the seaside, there is a lot of moisture in the air, so the snowfall is particularly heavy. At a glance, it is still ice and snow even if the ice and snow are removed. The oceans and ports were frozen, and even bears went into holes to hibernate. There was also a thick layer of snow on the city streets, and most of the shops and movie theaters were closed.
What's even more terrible is that because the latitude of the Kamchatka Peninsula is too high and close to the Arctic Circle, although the polar night has not yet occurred, the daytime in Petropavlovsk Port has become very dark in January. For a short time, the sun always circled near the horizon and then set. Moreover, even in such a short day, it is always cloudy, the sky is dark and gloomy, and it is rare to see a few precious rays of sunshine.
In such dark and cold wind and snow weather, even the old Russians who are famous for their cold resistance do not dare to go out, so the farms and pastures on the Kamchatka Peninsula are already deserted. Petropavlov The factories and docks in the Port of Fusk were also closed, and the fishermen's boats were frozen. The whole city is now huddled indoors, warming up over the fire and passing the time by smoking, drinking, bragging and playing cards.
——This has also been the way the Russian nation has always lived in winter since the Middle Ages... However, as the guard of this prisoner of war camp, Second Lieutenant Reznov had to get out of the warm house and brave the wind from the Arctic Ocean. Snow, patrolling around the prisoner of war camp in such a terrible winter.
In fact, in Lieutenant Reznov's opinion, there is no need to guard and patrol this prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of Petropavlovsk Port. Because harsh nature is the best natural jailer. Only a madman would try to escape from prison and run into the wild in the winter of Kamchatka Peninsula. If anyone dared to do this, they would definitely end up being quickly frozen into a popsicle, and then thawed in the spring and turned into a person who had just woken up from hibernation. Food rations for the bears... And the Americans in the prisoner of war camp didn't look like fools, so they probably wouldn't do such a stupid thing to seek death.
Not to mention that there was a barbed wire fence outside the prisoner of war camp. Even if there was no barbed wire fence, where could these Americans go? In temperatures of 30 to 40 degrees below zero, walking through thousands of kilometers of tundra and pine forests on two legs, and then swimming across the Bering Strait to escape to Alaska in the United States?
——The only Americans in the world who can do this kind of thing without dying halfway are Captain America or Superman...
Therefore, Second Lieutenant Reznov thought that his patrol work was still very easy - because it was impossible for anyone to abscond! On the other hand, it is impossible for the Yankees to send an elite commando team to brave such bad weather and cross thousands of kilometers of ice seas and snowfields to rescue so many domestic prisoners of war on the Kamchatka Peninsula - not to mention one. How many people would freeze to death on the road? Even if the prisoner of war camp was breached, how would we get them back?
However, despite this, due to discipline and rules and regulations, he still had to patrol every day according to the schedule, and went outside to suffer from the cold.
Compared with the cold, what made him feel more uncomfortable was loneliness and boredom. Every winter, Petropavlovsk Port would enter the world amidst wind, snow and sea ice. Isolated state of isolation. Ships can't come in and planes can't land. Of course, magazines and newspapers from other places were not mentioned. Even the radio often had no signal, so it was difficult for outside news to reach Second Lieutenant Reznov's ears.
Moreover, with the outbreak of World War III, the originally very lax discipline in the army was suddenly tightened a lot. Except for a few days off, he had to stay on duty in the prisoner of war camp. He could no longer sneak out of the camp to have fun in the city, or go hunting outside - but in such a cold winter, there was nothing decent in the forest. There is prey to hunt—naturally, this comrade second lieutenant feels that life is full of boredom.
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During the patrol, the flying snow in the sky stopped for a few hours and then started to float again. With the strong wind at the seaside, the snowflakes seemed to be flying on frantic wings. For those with artistic talents, this should have been It is a beautiful scenery with charm, but to Second Lieutenant Reznov, it is just an ordinary scene that is very numb to look at - in this ghost place of Kamchatka Peninsula, it snows at least half of the year! !
Facing the snowflakes flying all over the sky, he felt the skin on his face was stinging from the blowing, and the bones in his body were almost frozen to death. After finally trembling, I walked around the prisoner-of-war camp. My whole body was chilled from head to toe. The sky was getting dark. The snowfield outside the prisoner-of-war camp was already gray and black. Lieutenant Zenov had no choice but to turn on his flashlight and move forward step by step in the snow.
Fortunately, the post as the destination was obvious, and there was no risk of getting lost - in the vast white snow, the bright electric lights in the post illuminated the dark night sky, and the light was reflected by the white snow in the wilderness, making it even brighter than late at night. The lighthouse on the sea is even more conspicuous.
Even so, Lieutenant Reznov was already exhausted when he stumbled back to the cabin at the outpost.
As soon as he walked into the house, he took the copper kettle off the stove, poured himself a cup of hot tea, blew on it a little, and drank the hot tea in a few mouthfuls. He immediately felt that his frozen internal organs were being soaked by the hot tea. When he woke up, a warm current slowly flowed through his limbs, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of satisfaction.
Just as Lieutenant Reznov put down his tea cup and was about to find some food to fill his stomach, the door of the wooden house was pushed open again. Victor, the young soldier who was on duty with him today, was carrying a large bag of things. Along with the cold wind wrapped in snowflakes outside the house, it broke in. Like Lieutenant Reznov, Victor's eyebrows, hat brim, and pulled-up coat collar were also covered with a layer of white frost, and his first reaction after entering the house was also that of falling down. I poured a cup of hot tea into my stomach, then took a long breath and muttered in a low voice: "...Damn, it's so cold today!"
"...It should be a little colder. Who said this is Kamchatka and today is Christmas?" Second Lieutenant Reznov said disapprovingly, "...Have you received the special rations for Christmas? I heard It seems to be very rich. I went late yesterday and didn’t get it. I should have it today.”
"...I have brought them all. This is your share. In addition, there are newspapers from the past few days and letters from your home."
Victor replied as he took out various gadgets from the sack and spread them out on the long table in front of Lieutenant Reznov.
——Wait, Christmas? That’s right! Isn’t today January 7th already?
In fact, there is indeed no mistake. Although today is January 7th, for Russians, today is still Christmas, because unlike Western European and American countries, modern Russians have always celebrated two Christmases.
The reason for this situation is that before the Gregorian calendar was completely implemented all over the world, the calendars used by the Orthodox Christian forces and the Catholic and Protestant forces were different. To put it simply, there were so many days at night. As a result, Christmas, which falls on December 25th in the Russian calendar, becomes January 7th in the Gregorian calendar. In the same way, the October Revolution that broke out on October 25th in the Russian calendar was moved back to November according to the Gregorian calendar...
Although since the establishment of the Soviet Union, the leaders of the Kremlin have announced that they will integrate with international standards and abolish the old Orthodox calendar and switch to the Gregorian calendar. But the power of tradition is very powerful. Just as the modern Chinese failed to completely abolish the lunar calendar, the Soviets also failed to completely abolish the Orthodox calendar. In the end, we had to adopt a dual-track system - if the Russian old calendar is compared to the Chinese lunar calendar, then the first Christmas on December 25 is equivalent to New Year's Day in the Chinese concept; and the first Christmas on January 7 The second Christmas is equivalent to the Spring Festival in the Chinese concept...
Therefore, in theory, Russians put up Christmas trees twice a year, eat two Christmas dinners, and send two Christmas gifts... Of course, in practice, ordinary Russians may not be so luxurious and well-off. I can only choose one of them for Christmas.
Lieutenant Reznov first opened the letter sent from home and found his mother's homemade Christmas card and photos of his family. He couldn't help but reveal a knowing smile. Then he looked at his special Christmas ration spread out on the table and found that it was as rich as the legend said. There were two cans of canned beef, a large box of chocolates, two boxes of toffee, and a box of tea. Four packs of cigarettes and two bottles of Japanese sake of unknown brands - what surprised Lieutenant Reznov was that the packages of all these items were printed with lines of Japanese that he did not recognize!
God, could it be said...that these rations were all collected from war-torn Japan? ! ! How did the comrades sent there plunder Japan? You actually got so many things, even a forgotten frontier place like Kamchatka can share some?
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However, after a brief moment of surprise, Second Lieutenant Reznov, who thought the matter had nothing to do with him, calmed down, opened the two bottles of Japanese sake distributed to him by the logistics department, and invited Victor to drink with him and taste the foreign wine. How does it taste? Generally speaking, Japanese sake is obviously not suitable for Russia. The taste of guomaozi: the alcohol content is not high enough, and the taste is too soft, not like something for men to drink...but for Russians who can even drink antifreeze, cologne, hairspray, varnish and shoe polish, no matter Whether it tastes good or not, as long as it is wine, there is no reason to throw it away and not drink it.
After drinking a few glasses of wine, both of them felt faintly tipsy, and at the same time they couldn't help but start chatting.
"...Hiccup~ Comrade Platoon Leader, now that the Third World War has broken out again, we are also at war with the Americans, and we are the closest place in the Soviet Union to the United States. Do you think the Americans will start from there? Alaska is calling? If that’s the case, we’ll have a chance to make a contribution, right? Hiccup~~” Victor, who didn’t drink well, said with some slurred words while hiccupping.
"...The US military crossed the Bering Sea from Alaska to fight? How is it possible?!"
As a "literary person" who attended a military academy, Second Lieutenant Reznov is obviously much more knowledgeable than local soldiers like Victor, so he naturally sneers at such nonsense, "...whether it's us or the United States No one would choose a place like Kamchatka Peninsula as a battlefield! We have enough here! It’s desolate, right? How much more prosperous can Alaska in the United States be than here? If the US military wants to attack the Kamchatka Peninsula from Alaska, then every drop of their gasoline and every piece of bread will have to be transported from the mainland. This logistics supply line alone will Can bring them down!
What's more, even if they invest heavily in conquering the Kamchatka Peninsula, what will happen? Do they still dare to continue crossing thousands of kilometers of no-man's land to attack Vladivostok? Besides, if the war starts in the summer, the Red Flag Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok will not look good. If the war starts in winter, of course our warships will be frozen in the port and unable to get out, but how will their ships get over?
Of course, if it were us, the Red Army would not set off from here to attack America, because both sides of the Bering Sea are inaccessible wilderness areas with extremely harsh natural conditions. Everyone around the world knows this. Not to mention how to completely defeat the U.S. Pacific Fleet and ensure the safety of the landing troops, even if the Red Army progresses smoothly and easily captures the vast wastelands of Alaska and northern Canada, what will happen next?
Occupying these desolate places does not pose a substantial threat to the hinterlands of Canada and the United States, but supply lines that are thousands of kilometers long can drag the bravest warriors to death and starve to death! No matter how brave the Red Army soldiers are, they cannot go to war with the Americans with empty stomachs and empty guns! So even if World War III breaks out, we here only need to be vigilant. The Yankees can send a few planes over to harass us when the weather is good. That's the limit! The real battlefield is still in Europe, the Middle East, and the Central and South Pacific. That is the main battlefield that determines victory or defeat! ”
"...So, there will be no war to fight here? At most, there will only be a few American planes coming? Oh, it's so boring!"
Victor said with a frustrated look, "...Everyone will definitely complain, saying that we missed both World War II and World War III..."
"...Where did you come from with all these weird words! Do you think fighting is fun?"
Second Lieutenant Reznov laughed and cursed and hit Victor on the head, "...It is the duty of soldiers to obey orders. Each of us has our own responsibility! Only the country can decide whether we should go to the battlefield! Seriously, you guys Being able to finish the service safely instead of going home with a broken arm or leg in an urn is already enviable to many people! Stop thinking about it! Cheers! >
"...Hmm...burp...cheers!" - Outside the window of the outpost, the cold wind from the Arctic Ocean is still howling, and the smoke of war still seems to be very far away from Kamchatka...