The Trap

Another episode of war, about the complicated fate of the protagonist of the story.

“First attack failed. Having taken a horseshoe height into account, the company tried to rush into the trench at the very top, but didn’t even reach the middle of the slope. A withering barrage of fire from German machine guns forced the riflemen to lie down in the open, a ravine slope frozen by the morning frost. Soon the fighters realized they couldn’t hold out here and, by making quick dashes, returned to the place where they had begun the attack.
It was a deep, barren gully with sparse patches of still-unmelted dirty snow and a frozen stream in the middle. It shielded them from fire, from the unrelenting pressure of a cold March wind, and gave them the chance to prepare for the next attack. Catching their breath a little, the company commander—Captain Orlovets—summoned the platoon leaders. Dissatisfied and angry, without looking at anyone even once, he began:
— Ladies! Little runts! What kind of fool gave you automatic rifles?"...