Steel Soviet Union

Malashenko felt that it would be unsafe not to place some tanks at the division headquarters, so he would leave some infantry guards to be unable to withstand the unexpected situation of a larger formation.

Comrade Political Commissar was also thinking about Malashenko, fearing that those Germans would come out halfway and give Malashenko a killing blow.

It would be troublesome if a bunch of tanks rolled over and hit Malashenko in the face. An IS4 heavy tank fighting alone could not withstand the group on the opposite side no matter how hard it fought. Bringing the guards along with them, at least they met a group with a similar number. There is no problem when there are many enemies.

Both sides are thinking about each other. Although Malashenko is more stubborn, he is not used to being tough in his attitude towards his political commissar comrades. It can even be said that Malashenko has always had no confidence in his heart and does not feel that he can outshine his comrade, the political commissar. If he continues to hold back, it will be a meaningless waste of time.

"I'm just worried that there may be problems at the division headquarters. There are no troops around that can be mobilized immediately in case the Germans come over."

"There is no problem with the division headquarters. You don't have to worry about this. I just looked at the map of the war zone and the defense situation. The division headquarters is in the southwest corner. The Germans will waste a lot of time and unnecessary distance to break out from here. They have limited time and can only End everything as soon as possible before dawn, otherwise they will be completely destroyed as soon as our aviation forces arrive, and it will be impossible to break out from here. "

"Besides, the division headquarters is only two kilometers away from the defense area of ​​the third regiment. The tanks can arrive with just a kick of the accelerator. Just because I don't touch the tanks doesn't mean I don't know about the situation. You go and do what you should do. The division headquarters is here Don’t worry, I will take care of everything.”

Comrade Comrade Political Commissar seemed much more energetic after a good sleep, and his overall condition was much better than before.

Malashenko, who was watching this situation, didn't know if it was due to his own illusion, but since it seemed to be better, he didn't have any extra time to waste it, so he had to hurry up and do the important things he should do first. Let’s talk about it after it’s done.

"If you have any questions, use the relay communication vehicle to use the radio to contact me. Remember!"

"Well, you should also keep the communication open at all times. We have not experienced many night battles. No one knows what emergencies we will encounter."

After leaving the last mutual agreement, Malashenko, holding the tank cap in his hand, walked out of the civil fortification where the division headquarters was located along the traffic trench without looking back. As soon as he went out, he saw the boy Iushkin standing there. Wave to yourself at the edge of the tank.

"Hurry up and get in the car. I know you can't wait when you hear the sound of the cannon. You are all ready!"

There is no doubt that Malashenko is the legendary No. 177 crew chief.

But at the same time, Malashenko is also the division commander of Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division. Sometimes he has to do what the division commander must do, and it is impossible to stay with his crew all the time.

In the absence of Malashenko, generally speaking, Iushkin is the person who replaces Malashenko as the "acting commander".

Seryosha, who had been an old comrade with Iushkin for a long time, naturally did not say that there would be no problem in discussing it between the two good brothers.

Artyom, the new member of the crew who replaced Kirill, is not a thorny person. Iushkin was a bit irritable at the beginning, while Artyom knew how to retreat in order to advance and be courteous and humble. Whenever Iushkin was rude or wanted to cause trouble, Artyom would always choose to let him maintain the relationship and move forward.

Moreover, the experienced Iushkin is now the highest-ranking member of the No. 177 crew besides Malashenko. Comrade Lao Ma just promoted him to the rank of captain not long ago.

Therefore, both Seryosha and Artyom agree with Iushkin, the unappointed "acting commander", and they will follow Iushkin's arrangements as long as it is not too messy. It's as simple as that. thing.

Iushkin, who was lying on the turret to enjoy the cool breeze, was the first to react when he heard the sound of the cannon. Knowing Malashenko's character well, he quickly asked his brothers to take action and get ready for the tank launch.

As soon as the tank here was warmed up, Malashenko immediately appeared in Iushkin's field of vision and walked over with a long stride. He greeted the tank commander and comrades to get on the bus quickly, and naturally became Iushkin. The last thing Shijin should do.

"Where are you going? Are the Germans coming?"

Climbing up the car body with Malashenko and preparing to get into the turret, Iushkin asked questions. Iushkin, who didn't know the specific situation, felt excited just by hearing the sound of the gun. He didn't care about lying to the Germans. It's always exciting.

"It's better to say they were caught by us than to fight over. A bunch of bereaved dogs just wanted to escape in the darkness of the night. Just over there in the defense area, the battle is going smoothly so far, and the flares prepared in advance are now used. , let’s go over and send these German guys on their last journey.”

There is a saying that Iushkin, whose violent gene is getting stronger and stronger in his body, likes to listen to Malashenko's words. Comrade Commander always makes people's blood boil when he speaks, as if he is crushing a German on the tracks. What's underneath is just within reach.

The IS4 heavy tank, which was huge and extremely heavy, roared up from the mud and rushed forward. The crawler tracks that were grinding faster and faster dragged a large amount of mud behind the tank.

The wide track design of the Starling series of heavy tanks comes in handy at this time. The excellent cross-country passability ensures that the 60-ton IS4 heavy tank can still survive in such mud as long as it does not sink too deep. Passed effectively.

A similar situation also occurred with the guard company following Malashenko. The IS6 heavy tank, which is powerful, has a lighter combat weight and a higher power-to-weight ratio, will only perform better than the IS4.

Although Malashenko's command vehicle was not trapped in the mud, its speed was really incomparable to the IS6. It can only be said that the guard company deliberately slowed down and moved forward with the command vehicle of the division commander, keeping pace with it. .

At this moment, on the other side, the battlefield, illuminated by flares as bright as day, was still fiercely fought.

Under the light of the flares that hung high in the sky like the sun in the night sky, the German army had assembled a considerable force and was rushing towards the position that was already close at hand with all its strength.

The German troops, who thought they were cautious enough, had been marching along the planned breakout route, but they never thought of stepping on the trip mines laid by the cunning Russians.

Together with more than a dozen 152 shells specially buried together, a loud explosion was instantly triggered. On the spot, he lifted a No. 4 tank into the sky, killing dozens of nearby infantrymen, and completely woken up the Russians on the position 500 meters away.