Steel Soviet Union

Sitting in the passenger seat of the rickety GAZ 61 car, feeling a little drowsy and feeling like he was suffering from narcolepsy, Malashenko gave himself two slaps in the face, completely ignoring it. The Red Army corporal driving next to him looked astonished and looked like he was looking at a monster.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can I have a chat with you?"

The street scene that kept passing by outside the window was still some time away from arriving at the Smolny Palace where the front army headquarters was located. Malashenko, who happened to want to kill some time, nodded in agreement.

"Don't be too formal, comrade, feel free to say whatever you want."

The soft words from Malashenko made the somewhat timid young Red Army corporal feel happy. It was undoubtedly a great honor and a brag to be able to have a direct and close conversation with the Red Army tank hero who everyone was talking about privately. thing.

"Lieutenant Colonel Malashenko, everyone privately says that you are the most powerful tank hero of our Red Army. The tanks of those fascist lackeys will flee as soon as they see you. Even the political commissar comrades of our division say that you have knocked down Broken the backbone of those German armored units, those Germans are really vulnerable in front of you. "

Due to the instructions of his loving father, Comrade Stalin, and the need for political propaganda of the Red Army, Malashenko, who had become famous among the front-line troops of the Red Army with the headlines of Pravda, was deliberately portrayed as an indestructible Red Army tank hero.

Once the German armored forces encounter Malashenko, they will be as helpless as butter encountering a soldering iron and will be completely wiped out. Such exaggerated propaganda is undoubtedly due to the increasingly low morale of the Red Army's front-line troops due to continuous losses.

For Malashenko himself, he undoubtedly knows how much falsehood is included in such propaganda reports.

As the most powerful armored force in the entire World War II, the strength of the German armored force is demonstrated by its real and impressive results. It is not an exaggeration to say that one may lose one's life at any time in a battle with such a most powerful armored force in the world.

Although the words of the Red Army corporal next to him may be said to be ridiculous to onlookers, Malashenko, who is portrayed as a hero, cannot deny it. The morale in war years is better than in peacetime. Gold is something more precious.

"Those fascist invaders are fragile, their tanks are as worthless as their will. We in the Red Army are gradually turning the situation around, comrade."

Malashenko, who said untrue words but felt miserable in his heart, had to use these lies to excuse the corporal next to him in order to comply with political correctness. The reality that the military exists as an accessory to politics has been true since the day it was born. It has never changed.

He got the answer he deserved in the affirmative from the mouth of the tank hero beside him. The corporal, who was only responsible for driving for the division chief and had almost never faced the ferocious German army, immediately showed a cheerful smile.

"I knew it would be like this, Lieutenant Colonel Malashenko. With heroes like you in Leningrad, those Fascist tanks won't be able to cause much trouble. You are their nemesis."

Always wearing that insincere and slightly embarrassed smile on his face, Malashenko, who never said a single word of truth along the way, arrived at Smolny, where the Leningrad Front Army Headquarters is located. Outside the palace.

After opening the door and stepping out of the car, Malashenko, who had put on a clean uniform of a major, immediately came to the guard stationed on guard duty.

"Please show your pass or relevant documents, comrade."

He stretched out his hands and fumbled around in his new major's uniform for a while. Malashenko, who almost thought he didn't have his military ID card, finally found this hard little book and handed it to him when he looked a little panicked. in the hands of the guards.

He reached out to take the military officer's ID card handed over by Malashenko and looked through it carefully. However, the face of the guard squad leader, who had only the rank of lieutenant, became increasingly uncomfortable.

"Major? Major Malashenko? This is inconsistent with the orders we received, comrade. We were ordered to allow Lieutenant Colonel Malashenko into the front headquarters, not Major Malashenko."

Being confused by the weird words of the guard captain in front of him who looked out of place, Malashenko immediately realized what was going on after being stunned for a moment and said to himself, "Oh no."

"It's bad! When I left the front army headquarters last time, I rushed to support the front line. I went too fast. The officer's certificate has not been updated and verified. Even this uniform has the previous rank of major. This brother, please don't think of me as a fake. Spy agent."

Malashenko's worries are actually not unreasonable.

People who can serve as commanders of guard squads at the front army headquarters are by no means mediocre people. The basic attributes of these people are to be observant of words and emotions and to be able to discern details. A person like Malashenko who attempts to slip through and enter the front army headquarters with an officer's certificate that is inconsistent with the superior's report will naturally be equated with some very bad special hostile occupations.

Seeing the lieutenant in front of him looking at him with an increasingly unkind expression, Malashenko, who was panicking, immediately waved his hands and started to defend himself.

"Comrade like this, the problem with the military officer's certificate was caused by a small problem. The specific details can't be explained at the moment. But you can call your superior directly to inform him of the situation here, and he will tell you How do you handle it, trust me."

Malashenko's somewhat feeble explanation could not dispel the lieutenant's doubts. However, since his superiors had previously informed him about allowing Lieutenant Colonel Malashenko to be released, he could not make up his mind for a while. The young lieutenant then blurted out what to do, holding Malashenko's military ID card.

"Don't leave here. Wait a moment. I will contact my superiors to report the situation."

Before turning to leave, the lieutenant with his back to Malashenko winked at his subordinates. The two knowing guards immediately moved closer to Malashenko intentionally or unintentionally, with vigilant eyes like Staring at the enemy with a generally unkind expression.

"Yeah, this guy must have been taken as a spy for the Germans. Am I fucking unjust?"

The lieutenant who came to the duty box holding Malashenko's military ID card immediately picked up the microphone at hand and shook the phone. The colonel responsible for coordinating and commanding the guard of the front army headquarters answered the phone.

"Yes, Comrade Colonel. His military officer's certificate indicates that he has the rank of major, and so does his military uniform. So that's it. I understand, and I'll let him go."

When Malashenko, who was wandering around with his hands in his pockets, felt more and more that the situation was not good, the young lieutenant, whose attitude turned 180 degrees, smiled at him and handed back his military ID card with both hands.

"I'm sorry to cause you any trouble, Lieutenant Colonel Malashenko. There are some problems with our communication. Please forgive me and we will let you go now."