Great time travel

Chapter 1. A Christmas Story During World War III ([-])

Prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of Petropavlovsk port, Kamchatka, Soviet Union, January [-], [-]

When it comes to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, people always think of bubbling hot springs, snow-capped volcanoes, clear rivers with salmon jumping, and brown bears that appear everywhere by the water... All in all, it is a land far away from the civilized world. Savage land.

In the eyes of Europeans, this is a very desolate, cold, and remote place...more daunting than Siberia! ! !
How far away?The port of Petropavlovsk, the capital of the Kamchatka peninsula, is closer to Seattle, where Silicon Valley is located, than to Moscow.How cold is it?The lowest temperature in winter in the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula can basically reach minus 37 degrees Celsius every year, which is as cold as Antarctica, so the physique of Russians can't stand it.How desolate is it?On the Kamchatka Peninsula with a total area of ​​20 square kilometers (just equal to the land area of ​​Japan), immigrants began to build cities in the middle of the eighteenth century, roughly at the same time as the development of Australia.But until World War II, the entire peninsula had a population of less than [-], which was even more sparsely populated than Tibet.

If Siberia is a chilling place, then the place name Kamchatka can make people feel like they are about to freeze.

Because Kamchatka's climate is so cold and it is located in a remote border, so in the era of the Russian Empire, the word "Kamchatka" was more terrifying than the Siberian exile.In Russian schools at that time, many naughty students who were punished to the back of the classroom were often nicknamed "Kamchatkas"-in fact, according to historical records, the Tsarist government never exiled anything The criminals went to Kamchatka because there was no dedicated guard who was willing to accompany a group of prisoners to live in a cold, desolate and dangerous place like Kamchatka.

Even in the 21st century, Petropavlovsk, the capital of the Kamchatka Peninsula, is still the largest isolated city in the world without roads or railways. If you want to enter the city from the outside world, you can only rely on boats Or by plane.But because the latitude of the port is too high, it has to be frozen for at least eight to nine months every year, and the time for ships to navigate is pitifully short, which makes the city even more isolated from the world...

However, in this era of soaring wars sweeping the world, this place has become the place farthest from wars in the entire Eurasian continent.

For those who have been ravaged by years of war, whose wives and children were separated, their families were destroyed, and their lives were worse than death, such a pure land far away from gunpowder and death is simply like the legendary Shangri-La. People can't help but flock to it.

Well, according to the Japanese, this is the last pure land of bliss on the Eurasian continent that has not been polluted by the flames of war.

However, some Russians who lived here during the war did not like the peaceful atmosphere of this "Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss"...

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Facing the biting winter wind, the 26-year-old Second Lieutenant Reznov walked on the frozen snow outside the barbed wire fence of the prisoner-of-war camp, performing routine patrol duties.The cold winter in the Kamchatka Peninsula is really indescribably cold. Although he is wrapped in a thick fur coat, and leather boots that are comparable to a bucket, and the ear protectors of the winter hat have long been put down, he still can’t bear it. His teeth were chattering, and even his eyelashes were frosted.

In Lieutenant Reznov's opinion, he was one of the most unlucky people in the entire Soviet Red Army who were farthest from war.

After graduating from the military academy, he was dispatched to the Kamchatka Peninsula exactly one month before the outbreak of the Soviet-German War. He served as a platoon leader in a vacancy that had never reached 50.00% full occupancy rate, so unfortunately he missed it from the beginning to the end. throughout World War II.

As a result, when Second Lieutenant Reznov's classmates in the military academy sang the battle hymn and the Internationale, they passed through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, crossed the Rhine River, crossed the Alps, and planted the red flag on the Eiffel Tower and Pisa. At the time of the Leaning Tower, Second Lieutenant Reznov could only squat in the barracks in Petropavlovsk Port, drinking vodka bored all day long, looking at the vast snow-covered wilderness covered in silver and white in a daze.

——According to Second Lieutenant Reznov's speculation, if this situation continues to develop, then I am afraid that until he retires, he will still not have a single military medal on his chest... This is not what he wanted at all. The military career you want! ! !
Come to think of it, many, many years later, as an old man, he left the army and came home, sitting in a rocking chair by the fireplace, being pestered by his grandchildren about past war stories, would he be ashamed to say : I’m sorry to disappoint you. Grandpa didn’t even fight a single battle at that time. He squatted in the barracks on the Kamchatka Peninsula during the entire war. The whole record is probably fighting a few bears...

——For a soldier, what a disgrace, what a disgrace!It's like regretting the rhythm of life!
So, Second Lieutenant Reznov, who didn't want to sit back and watch the war end in a wild place, wrote a lot of letters of appeal to his superiors in the past few years, insisting on being transferred to the combat troops on the European front. It's a pity that these All the invitations to the challenge fell into the sea, and there was no response at all.

As time went by, in the end, he had no choice but to accept his fate, and prepared to spend the war years in the peaceful Kamchatka Peninsula.

However, even though he has given up hope of winning medals for his meritorious deeds on the battlefield, the winter in this place is really... so boring! ! ! !

In winter, the temperature in Petropavlovsk Port, the capital of the Kamchatka Peninsula, drops to minus [-] degrees, but because it is located by the sea, there is a lot of moisture in the air, so the snowfall is particularly heavy, and it is still ice and snow at a glance.Seas and ports were frozen over, even bears hibernated in their holes, city streets were also covered with a thick layer of snow, and most shops and movie theaters were closed.

What's more terrible is that because the latitude of the Kamchatka Peninsula is too high and it is close to the Arctic Circle, although the polar night has not yet appeared, in the port of Petropavlovsk in January, the daytime has become very For a short time, the sun always circled around the horizon before setting.Moreover, even in such a short day, it is always cloudy, the sky is dim and groggy, and it is rare to see a few precious rays of sunshine.

In such a dark and cold wind and snow weather, even the old Russians who are known for their cold tolerance are afraid to go out when they have nothing to do, so the farms and pastures on the Kamchatka Peninsula have long been empty. Petropavlov The factories and docks in the port of Vsk were also closed, and the fishermen's boats were frozen.All the residents of the city are now huddled in their houses, warming the cats and dogs, and passing the time with smoking, drinking, bragging and playing cards.

——And this has also been the consistent way of life of the Russian people 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 face the wind from the Arctic Ocean. Snow, patrolling the POW camp in such a dreadful winter.

In fact, according to Second Lieutenant Reznov, 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 lunatic would try to escape from prison and go to the wild in the winter of the Kamchatka Peninsula. If anyone dared to do this, the end would definitely be quickly frozen into a popsicle, and then thawed after the beginning of spring, turning into a person who just woke up from hibernation The rations for the bears... And the Yankees locked up in the prisoner-of-war camp don't look like fools, and they shouldn't do such a stupid thing.

Not to mention that there is a barbed wire fence around the prisoner-of-war camp, even if there is no barbed wire fence, where can these Yankees go?In the temperature of minus [-] to [-] degrees, relying on two legs to walk thousands of kilometers of tundra and pine forests, and then swim across the Bering Strait to escape to Alaska in the United States?
——In the world, there are only Yankees who can do this kind of thing and have not died halfway, only 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 to the Kamchatka peninsula to rescue such a few prisoners of war in Kamchatka under such bad weather, not to mention a few How many people will freeze to death on the road? Even if the prisoner-of-war camp is breached, how can 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 makes him feel more uncomfortable is the loneliness and boredom—every winter, Petropavlovsk Port will enter the world amidst wind, snow and sea ice. isolated state of isolation.Ships can't get in, and planes can't land.Magazines and newspapers from other places were naturally ignored, and 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 the Third World War, the originally very loose discipline in the army was suddenly tightened a lot.Except for a few days off, he has to stay on duty in the POW camp, and he can no longer sneak out of the station to have fun in the city, or go hunting outside-but in such a cold winter, there is nothing decent in the forest. The prey can be hit-naturally, this second lieutenant comrade felt that life was full of boredom.

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During the patrol, the snowflakes in the sky fluttered again after a short pause for a few hours. With the help of the strong wind by the sea, the snowflakes seemed to be flying on wild wings. It was a beautiful scenery, but to Second Lieutenant Reznov, it was just a numb and ordinary scene - in this ghost place of Kamchatka Peninsula, it snows for at least half of the year! !

Facing the snowflakes flying all over the sky, he only felt that the skin on his face was tingling, and the bones all over his body were about to be frozen stiff.After finally walking around the prisoner-of-war camp tremblingly, the whole person was completely chilled from head to toe, and the sky was getting dark. The snow field outside the prisoner-of-war camp was already gray and black. Second Lieutenant Zenov had no choice but to turn on the flashlight and walk forward in the snow.

Fortunately, the outpost as the destination is very obvious, and there is no danger of getting lost—in the vast expanse of snow, the bright electric lights in the outpost illuminate the dark night sky, and the lights are reflected by the white snow on the wilderness. The lighthouse at 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 entered the room, he took the copper pot from the stove, poured himself a cup of hot tea, blew a little, and drank the scalding tea in a few sips, which immediately made him feel that his frozen internal organs were warmed by the hot tea. After waking up, a warm current flowed slowly through his limbs, and he couldn't help letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

Just as Second Lieutenant Reznov put down his teacup and was about to find some food to fill his stomach, the door of the wooden house was pushed open again. The young soldier Victor who was on duty with him today was carrying a big sack, It broke in together with the cold wind wrapped in snowflakes outside.Like Second Lieutenant Reznov, Victor's eyebrows, the brim of his hat, and the collar of his pulled-up coat were also covered with a layer of white frost, and his first reaction after entering the room was also to fall down. I poured a cup of hot tea into my stomach, then let out a long breath, and muttered in a low voice: "...Damn it, it's really cold today!"

"...It should be a little bit colder, who let this be Kamchatka, and today is Christmas?" Second Lieutenant Reznov said disapprovingly, "...Have you received the special ration for Christmas? I heard It looks very rich. I went late yesterday and didn’t get it, so I should have it today!”

"...I have brought them all. Here is your share. In addition, there are newspapers from the past few days and letters from your home."

As Victor replied, he took out various gadgets from the sack and spread them out on the long table in front of Second Lieutenant Reznov.

—Wait, Christmas?That's right!Isn't it already January [-]th today?
In fact, there is no mistake. Although today is January [-], for Russians, today is still Christmas, because unlike Western European and American countries, modern Russians always celebrate two Christmases.

The reason for this situation is that before the Gregorian calendar was fully implemented to the whole world, the calendars used by the Orthodox Church and the Catholic and Protestant forces were different. Simply put, it took a few days at night.As a result, Christmas on December 25 in the Russian calendar became January 25 in the Gregorian calendar.Similarly, the October Revolution, which broke out on October [-] in the Russian calendar, was pushed 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 be in line with international standards, abolishing the old Orthodox calendar and switching 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 old calendar.In the end, we had to make 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 the Chinese New Year's Day; and the second on January [-]. This Christmas is equivalent to the Spring Festival in the Chinese concept...

Therefore, in theory, Russians have to put up Christmas trees twice a year, eat two Christmas dinners, and send two Christmas gifts... Of course, in practice, ordinary Russians may not have such luxury and affluence. Can only choose one of them Christmas has come.

Second Lieutenant Reznov opened the letter from home first, and found the Christmas card made by his mother, as well as family photos, he couldn't help showing a knowing smile.Then I looked at my special Christmas ration spread out on the table, and found that it was as rich as the legend said, with a total of two cans of beef, a large box of chocolates, two boxes of toffee, and a box of tea. Four packs of cigarettes, and two bottles of Japanese alcohol of unknown brands—to Lieutenant Reznov's surprise, lines of Japanese that he didn't understand were printed on the packages of all these things!

Oh my God, could it be that... these rations were collected from war-torn Japan? ! !What exactly did the comrades sent over there search Japan for?So many things have been brought in, and even a forgotten frontier like Kamchatka can get some?
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However, after a brief moment of astonishment, Second Lieutenant Reznov, who thought it had nothing to do with him, calmed down, opened the two bottles of Japanese sake issued to him by the logistics department, and invited Victor to drink together and taste the flavor of foreign wine. How does it taste? Generally speaking, Japanese sake is obviously not suitable for the taste of Russian Maozi: the alcohol content is not high enough, the taste is too soft, it does not seem like something for a man to drink... But for even antifreeze, cologne, hairspray For Russians who can drink alcohol, varnish and shoe polish, no matter how good the taste is, as long as it is wine, there is no reason not to throw it away and not drink it.

After a few glasses of wine, both of them felt a little tipsy, and at the same time, they couldn't help but chattered.

"...Hi'er~~ Comrade Platoon Leader, now that the Third World War has broken out again, we are also at war with the Yankees, and our place is the closest place in the entire Soviet Union to the United States. Do you think the Americans will come from here? Calling from Alaska? If that's the case, we'll have a chance to make meritorious service, right? Hiccup~~" Victor, who doesn't hold a lot of alcohol, said inarticulately while hiccupping.

"...The U.S. military came from Alaska across the Bering Sea? How is it possible?!"

As a "cultural person" who has studied in a military academy, Lieutenant Reznov is obviously much more knowledgeable than a local soldier like Victor, so he naturally scoffed at such stupid words, "...whether it is us or the United States No one would choose a place like the Kamchatka Peninsula as a battlefield! Our place is desolate enough, right? How much more prosperous can America’s Alaska be than ours? If the US military wants to attack the Kamchatka Peninsula from Alaska, then every drop of their Gasoline, every piece of bread has to be transported from the mainland, and this logistics supply line alone can drag them down!
What's more, even if they invested heavily and captured the Kamchatka Peninsula, so what?Do they dare to continue to cross thousands of kilometers of no-man's land to attack Vladivostok?Besides, if the fight started in summer, Vladivostok's Red Flag Pacific Fleet would not look good.If the war starts in winter, our warships will be frozen in the port and cannot get out, but how will their ships come here?

Of course, it would be the same if it were us, the Red Army would not start from here to attack the Americas, because both sides of the Bering Sea are deserted and wild areas with extremely harsh natural conditions, and people all over the world know this.Not to mention how to completely defeat the US Pacific Fleet and ensure the safety of the landing troops, even if the Red Army progresses smoothly and easily occupies the large wastelands in Alaska and northern Canada, what will happen next?
Occupying these uninhabited places cannot pose a substantial threat to the hinterland of Canada and the United States, but the thousands of kilometers of supply lines can drag the bravest soldiers to death and starve to death!No matter how brave the Red Army soldiers are, they cannot go to fight the Americans with empty stomachs and empty guns!So even if the Third World War breaks out, we need to be vigilant at most. The Yankees can send a few planes over to harass them when the weather is good, which is the limit!The real battlefield is still in Europe, in the Middle East, and in the Central and South Pacific, where is the main battlefield that determines the outcome! "

"...So, we won't have any battles here? At most, a few American planes will come? Oh, it's boring!"

Victor said with a look of frustration, "... Everyone must be complaining, saying that we missed both World War II and World War III..."

"...Where did you come up with so many weird words! Is it fun for you to fight?"

Second Lieutenant Reznov laughed and cursed and punched Victor on the head, "...Soldiers are bound to obey orders, and each of us has our own responsibilities! Only the country can decide whether we want to go to the battlefield! Seriously, you guys To be able to serve in peace, rather than go home with a broken arm and a broken leg, or come home in an urn, is the envy of many! Come on! Stop thinking about it! Merry Christmas! Cheers!"

"...um... hiccup... Cheers!"

——Outside the window of the outpost, the cold wind from the Arctic Ocean is still howling, and the smoke of war seems to be still very far away from Kamchatka...