Chapter 1080 Reliable Comrade

Although the losses were much smaller than those of the Germans, Malashenko's losses were also quite large.

It was only after the battlefield was cleaned up and the confiscated materials and losses were counted in detail that Malashenko, who was sitting in the temporary tent of the brigade, had the opportunity to see what his losses were.

"Only 18 tanks? This is not it. Are you sure this number is correct?"

Malashenko, holding the statistical report in his hand, repeatedly confirmed and read it again, but he still couldn't believe that the number on the paper in front of him was actually true, so he confirmed it again to Political Commissar Petrov in an unbelievable tone and blurted it out.

In contrast, Political Commissar Petrov's next answer was with a smile on his face.

"We are the defending side, and it is normal that our losses are smaller than those of the attacking side. We must first understand this."

"On the other hand, your tactical arrangement is also very reasonable. That wave of smoke bombs at least saved our battalion of tanks. Imagine what it would feel like to be bombarded by the Germans for more than ten minutes without the cover of smoke bombs? No one would think that they would be safe in this situation."

"Your decision saved everyone, Malashenko. Comrades are now very grateful to their brigade commander. You are a hero in their mouths, and you were also in the past, but now you have been elevated to a higher level.

Even with such an explanation from Political Commissar Petrov, Mala Shenko still couldn't figure out why the casualties were so low.

You have to know that the smoke bombs at that time did not immediately cover all the huge Stalin tanks. After all, it was only the size of a mortar company. The German air strikes quickly targeted those tanks that failed to retreat to the smoke cover in time. Malashenko didn't think that the fate of being focused on by the Germans in such a situation would be any better. The low losses were indeed a bit beyond expectations.

"If you want to thank Karamov, go to him. He will tell you what he and his men did to create this miraculous number you saw in the report. My expression when I first received the report was almost the same as yours. "

Comrade Political Commissar knew why Malashenko was so surprised. In fact, to put it bluntly, another major reason for this matter was Karamov.

This commander of the field maintenance battalion, who had made mistakes before and even held a review meeting, has completely changed since he made a promise to the brigade commander and the political commissar in front of all the comrades in the brigade. No matter what he does, he strives to lead by example, rush to the front, and work hard. Even hard work like repairing cars that does not require him to do it himself is indispensable.

Is this a way of expiating sins? Maybe, but it may not be.

After all, the mistakes made by Karamov were just minor style issues in the characterization of the brigade commander, not a big deal. So when Karamov changed his style of doing things, many comrades in the brigade were a little flattered. , it feels like Comrade Karamov, who had been giving everyone a headache before, has become a completely different person.

The reason why the number of tank losses this time is so small is largely due to the credit of Karamov and his men for rescuing the zombie tanks.

For the seriously damaged tanks that cannot be repaired by ordinary technicians and engineers, although Karamov does not guarantee it with a pat on his chest, in most cases it will have a satisfactory ending.

Karamov is a person who is not used to making final statements and does not like to pat his chest and guarantee without leaving himself some room, but this does not mean that Karamov is the kind of unreliable person who does things half-heartedly.

On the contrary, the reason why Karamov has become a hot figure in Malashenko's hands is because Malashenko really cannot do without such a general under his command.

Karamov neither leads troops to fight nor is he a brigade commander. The core management of the department seems to be just an ordinary battalion commander, a marginal figure who can be replaced at any time, but in Malashenko's view, he is a great god that cannot be replaced by the three combat battalion commanders.

Want to replace Karamov, yes, no problem!

If you find such a great person to do the maintenance and repair of the whole brigade for me, and lead the field maintenance battalion to be even better than it is now, I will personally hold a commendation meeting for the whole brigade for you!

What? You said you can't find him?

Sorry, please stay wherever you are cool, I will continue to use Karamov, if you don't agree, shut up, if you don't want to stay in my brigade, get out as soon as possible, don't be like a fly, chattering and babbling non-stop, people have already made written inspection reports at the review meeting, what else do you want.

It may sound a bit rough and heroic, but our old comrade Ma is indeed Thinking this way, Malashenko believed that he had understood this capable general who had been with him since 1941 very well: Karamov was a man who had some minor problems and was prone to arrogance, but was absolutely trustworthy, reliable, and worthy of being entrusted with important tasks at critical moments.

At this moment, Karamov once again surprised Malashenko, who had just experienced a battle that should have been a serious one, without making any prior guarantees.

In fact, there should have been 38 tanks lost in this battle, and most of them were destroyed by German air raids, such as tracks being blown off, the power compartment being penetrated by top-piercing armor-piercing shells and damaging the engine, or the dome armor being penetrated, resulting in casualties in the crew and abandoning the vehicle. Various situations appeared in a jagged pattern, and sometimes there was more than one situation on a tank.

As soon as the battle ended, Karamov led his own people and rushed forward almost immediately along with the troops cleaning the battlefield, aiming directly at the heavy tanks that were paralyzed in various positions and were not on fire but could not move.

After one operation, Karamov miraculously reduced the number of battle damage from the initial 38 to 18. The remaining 20 vehicles were reviewed by Karamov one by one and included in the "repairable" range.

According to Karamov's report to Political Commissar Petrov, these tanks can be put into battle before the battle begins tomorrow. His field maintenance battalion will have to repair these tanks even if they stay up all night. It's almost the same.

"Many of the damaged tanks were pierced by armor-piercing shells but had no ammunition to explode. The Germans installed large-caliber cannons on their aircraft instead of aerial bombs. This should be considered lucky. Of course, this is still due to With Karamov, otherwise I think these tanks cannot be repaired, which is equivalent to a complete loss.”

Political Commissar Petrov does not often praise Karamov. Malashenko even now feels that Comrade Comrade Political Commissar may still have some opinions on Karamov, but this time it is obviously different.