'Puff the Magic Dragon,' grown bigger, more sophisticated and far deadlier. Slowly the pilot angled the plane over until they were flying along a shallow bank to the left. His eyes were on the projected sight to his left as he superimposed it over the target area. When he had done so, he held the aircraft steady for a second, making sure that all was aligned and correct before he announced his intent to fire.
From his position on the outer perimeter, Ilvanich listened to the drone of the propeller-driven aircraft above, wondering what it was doing and why it lingered so long over them. It sounded like a transport preparing to drop paratroopers. That, however, made no sense here. What was left of his regiment was already surrounded and under continuous fire from artillery, mortars and a steady stream of air strikes. Though no enemy ground attack had been launched in hours, there was no doubt that that would eventually happen, just as soon as the Americans had finished pounding the regiment into pulp. Having had its supply line cut, Ilvanich's regiment could no longer influence the battle, and the Americans knew it. They were therefore in no rush to waste any more manpower in eliminating the decimated Soviet regiment.
Firepower and air strikes would do the trick.
The air strikes were the regiment's greatest problem. The men had no cover, other than hastily dug foxholes. At first, they had been able to keep the enemy planes at a respectable distance with man-portable, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. These, however, were rapidly used up, and the Americans were quick to sense this. By late afternoon American ground-attack aircraft called Thunderbolts lazily flew over their positions, attacking anything that moved or appeared to be worthy of attack. Ilvanich sat helpless as he watched the evil-looking aircraft swoop down and fire 30mm. explosive rounds at individual foxholes. It was this sight more than anything else that convinced him that this time all was lost.
A sudden sharp ripping sound jerked Ilvanich's attention back to the strange aircraft flying overhead. From one point in the sky three solid streams of tracers stabbed through the darkness. Like great evil fingers the tracers searched out positions on the far side of the regiment's perimeter. For a moment he thought the Americans were using some type of laser or energy beam. The endless chain of explosions, however, told him that the aircraft was firing conventional miniguns.
Ilvanich stood up and watched, transfixed. Wherever the tracers touched the ground there was a maelstrom of explosions. It was as if God were reaching down with a giant hoe and methodically digging them out. Of all the instruments of death he had seen, this one was the most sinister and horrible.
Lieutenant Malovidov came running up from behind.
'What is that thing?'
Without taking his eyes from the horror unfolding before him, Ilvanich replied in a hushed, resigned manner, 'That, Comrade Lieutenant, is the angel of death heralding the beginning of the end.'
Malovidov, angry at the response and anxious for a reasonable answer, came around to Ilvanich's front and shouted at the senior lieutenant, 'Damn you! What do we do? I'm tired of your shit. Tell me, what do we do?'
Ilvanich looked at the junior lieutenant and thought, What does he expect? We have come to the end of the 391 line. We die, you stupid bastard, that's what we do.
That thought did not bother Ilvanich. He had been ready to die for a long time. In fact, after Tabriz and the firing squad, he had actively sought an honorable death in battle. Only death could cleanse his troubled soul and wipe away the images of blood spattered on the courtyard wall, images that were burned into his mind, images that visited him nightly. Death, however, eluded him. While he stood there, the circling aircraft stopped firing.
Darkness and almost total silence returned to the battlefield as the American plane lumbered away to the south. Again death has cheated me, Ilvanich thought. There is little for me to do but continue.
Turning to Malovidov, he focused on the problem at hand. 'No doubt, my friend, in a few moments the Americans are going to commence a heavy artillery bombardment, after which they will begin their long-awaited ground attacks.'
'Can we hold them?'
'I have no intention of finding out, Lieutenant Malovidov. By the time they go over the top, I intend to be several kilometers away from here with as many men as we can get out.'
In amazement. Malovidov asked, 'We are leaving? We are running?'
'Yes, we are leaving. At least I am leaving with what is left of the company. Do you wish to stay and join your comrades over there?'
Ilvanich pointed to the side of the perimeter that had been raked by the American aircraft.
'No, I'll go. But Lvov, what about Lvov?'
'We take the bastard with us.'
'What if he refuses?'
Ilvanich smiled. 'So much the better. He will die a hero's death as we break out. Come, it will be light soon and there is much we must do.'
The sudden hail of small-arms fire caught Duncan and his men off guard.
Instinctively they sought the protection that the bottom of their foxholes offered. After a few moments, the volume of fire began to drop. Duncan slowly raised his head and peered over the top. As he did so, the sound- powered phone leading from the platoon leader's foxhole buzzed. Duncan picked it up and yelled, 'Duncan.'
'What the hell are they doing?'
Duncan looked out of his foxhole again. The firing continued to subside.
'I think they're getting ready to pull out, Lieutenant.'
'They're attacking?'
'No, just trying to break contact.' Then a thought struck Duncan.
'Hey, Lieutenant, call the Old Man and tell him to let them out.'
'What? You mean let them get away?'
'No, let them out in the open. Let the bastards get out of their holes and get them in the open where we can take them out. Beats the shit out of digging them from their holes.'
The lieutenant thought about it for a moment before responding. 'Yeah, that sounds good. Get the platoon ready to move while I talk to the CO.'
Duncan gave his platoon leader a 'Roger' and turned to Sergeant Hernandez.
'Get ready to move out. We're going to go hunting Commies.'
The breakout had been easy, too easy. Ilvanich, along with half a dozen men, were taking up the rear, watching to see whether they were being followed. Malovidov was in the lead, moving the company toward a rock- strewn ridge three kilometers to the west. Between the two lieutenants the remnants of the 3rd Company struggled to carry their wounded comrades and keep up with the point element. Of all the men, only Lvov had protested. Calling Ilvanich a traitor and a coward, he had demanded that they remain in place. A sergeant offered to silence the captain for good.
Ilvanich, though tempted, ordered the sergeant to keep Lvov quiet but alive. The sergeant did so with great zeal, stuffing a dirty rag into the captain's mouth and binding him.
'Move it! Come on, let's go. Keep it moving.' Duncan pushed and yelled and did everything but pick up and carry those who were dragging behind. Not that the men needed much urging. They were all as eager as he to get in front of the fleeing Russians and finish them.
After a quick study, Duncan and his platoon leader had figured out that the only place the Russians could go was to the west, where a rocky ridge offered them protection and where they could hide during the day before they began their trek north. After having done the same thing for a month, Duncan knew what to look for.
He was sure he was right. Now all they had to do was beat the Russians to the ridge and set up there, and they would have them in the open with no place to hide.
He stopped for a moment and looked to the east in the gathering light, then to the west. Less than a kilometer to go. A rifleman, panting and covered with sweat, came up behind him and paused. 'Who told you to stop, soldier? Move your ass or Ivan will move it for ya.'
The crack of small-arms fire and explosions of grenades at the front of the column startled Ilvanich. He turned and watched the company disperse and drop to the ground. Desperately the men scurried for whatever cover they could. There was not much. They were in the open, less than two hundred meters from the first line of rocks that would have meant safety. But those same rocks, instead of providing a hiding place for his men, concealed the enemy that was bringing effective fire down on them.
Dropping to his hands and knees, Ilvanich began to make his way forward.
