Steel Soviet Union

My name is Yekakina, a Soviet woman from Kharkiv.

Among the many sisters who want to join the front line but are unable to do so due to various reasons, I am very lucky.

It was my first year in the army, less than a year to be precise. I had never seen what a battlefield looked like, I had only heard about it from other people's descriptions.

Those were also the last days before I graduated from the crash course at the Ulyanovsk Tank Corps School after the transfer. At that time, I heard what was probably the happiest news since I entered the gate of this military school.

"Students and comrades, I am very happy to announce an important piece of news to you today, a piece of great good news."

"The heroic 1st Guards Heavy Tank Brigade, under the command of Comrade Malashenko, an outstanding alumnus of our school, withstood the battle of Prokhorovka on the southern battlefield of the Kursk Battle of great strategic significance. The Nazi SS, which was several times their own strength, swooped down and held the battle line, destroying the enemy. The arrogance of our most elite heavy tank unit of the Red Army became a laughing stock in the world. "

“Now, the three so-called ace divisions of the Waffen-SS are fleeing and retreating under the fierce attack commanded by Comrade Commander Vatutin.

"Comrade Malashenko has completed the tasks assigned to him by his superiors well, faithfully performed his duties as a front-line commander, and done an excellent job. The supreme leader, Comrade Stalin, has issued a written order requiring the entire army's tank corps to learn from Comrade Malashenko’s bravery, tenacity and fearlessness in adversity.”

"Now I am happy to tell you another piece of news. Our heroic Comrade Malashenko is out of danger and is now receiving treatment in the hospital with the best medical conditions in Moscow. He will soon return to the battlefield and continue to fight. Fight. Keep the worst nightmares hanging around the throats of those bastards until they are hanged, destroyed, and beyond redemption."

"The school will launch a week-long special study activity on Comrade Malashenko. Please actively sign up to participate and contact the instructors and teaching comrades of each class. Soon you will also go to the battlefield and devote yourself to the great Patriotic War. I sincerely hope that you will Being able to achieve excellent results on the battlefield and kill the enemy bravely will be the best diploma for your success. "

Comrade Principal Comrade was impassioned and eloquent on the podium, but no one, including me, felt bored. He listened very attentively, as if he was afraid of missing even a word or syllable.

"He is so awesome, Ekakina, he is simply my idol! It is as if any nemesis on the ground will be arranged properly by him. I swear to be determined to become a person like him, Even if I can’t achieve it, this is my goal and always will be.”

Andre is usually a very unruly guy. He likes to show off his power in front of his classmates with his strong body and excellent academic results. Many people regard him as their leader and are willing to follow him to cause trouble everywhere and laugh with female classmates. He is simply the tyrant in the school.

Only when General Malashenko's name was mentioned did he behave like a student.

Later, our class of students heard the news about the establishment of the Leadership Division. How glorious would it be to serve in this unit? This is the Guards unit named after its leader Comrade Stalin. It is a unit commanded by General Malashenko and is the most elite heavy tank group in the entire Red Army.

Andrei always dreamed of being assigned to the leadership division. He knew very well that he admired General Malashenko and regarded him as his goal and personal idol. He firmly believed that he could be assigned to the leadership division based on his ability and graduation results. He even took the initiative to submit the application three times, but in the end he was scolded for it and didn't care.

I just didn't expect that it was not him but me who was assigned to lead the division in the end.

The urgent need to recruit a group of excellent gunners gave me this extremely valuable opportunity. However, Andre, a professional commander, missed this opportunity and was assigned to another Guards tank unit, the 4th Guards Tank Division.

Maybe I should congratulate him. This result is also very good, isn't it?

There is another thing that I am personally happy about. His continuous offensive pursuit of me has finally come to an end. He and I are on separate sides for the day, and we no longer have to endure him and his group of hooligans chasing and intercepting me all day long. , which is always something to be thankful for.

"Welcome to the Leader's Division. It has the most powerful heavy tank unit in the Red Army and even the world. It also has the best tank unit commander in the Red Army. I believe many of you have heard of Comrade Division Commander. story and joined.”

"He is not only our division commander, he is also the holder of the highest number of Nazi tanks destroyed by the entire division and the entire Red Army, a total of 103 tanks. It has been a long time since he rushed into the enemy formation and slaughtered the Nazi cans like he did before. But no one can break this record and no one can surpass it. He always occupies the top position on the list and is the strongest one that no one can shake. "

"I hope that there will be outstanding gunners among you who can approach or even surpass the performance of comrade division commander. This is not only my personal expectation, but also the earnest expectation of comrade division commander for you. Each of you is qualified and has the opportunity to represent the Red Army tank force In the future, maybe there will be tank marshals among you, I’m not kidding.”

I don’t quite remember what Comrade Brigade Commander mentioned in his speech. It’s been too long.

I only remember that day, the excited and uncontrollable eyes and warm emotions of the fellow recruits who were also present at the speech. I gradually understood why Andrei admired that man so much, the tank soldier hero named Malashenko.

Maybe it was the difference in gender and way of thinking that made me realize this fact later, but I guess it doesn't matter.

Because from that day on, I was just like Andre.

The tall figure and his face who only stayed at the speech site for a short time and then left have been deeply imprinted in my heart. No photo I have seen in any newspaper in the past can match this reality.

Yes, I can face my inner emotions and acknowledge them.

I, Ekakina, admire from the bottom of my heart this man who can crush all the enemies on the ground and bring news of victory one after another to the motherland. It's as if he just stood there and gave us a firm but warm look, making us firmly believe that victory in the next battle is coming, and we have no doubt about it.

Until my legs were hit by shrapnel, my eyes were scratched by shrapnel, and my face was covered with blood and severe pain, and I passed out and lost consciousness at the last moment, his figure was still in my mind.

"I will do my best to bring each of you home, just as I swore under the red flag to lead the leadership division to victory."

"Comrade Commander"