Chapter 1164 We Will Meet Again

Swoosh——

"Bombard! Take cover!"

The roaring sound, like an old train whistle, broke the silence of the early morning and resounded through the sky. As soon as I heard it for the first time, I immediately realized what the sound meant. Before Malashenko's loud roar of warning had fallen, a loud explosion suddenly came.

Boom——

Boom boom boom——

The huge explosions one after another swept the entire village and shook the earth. Malashenko, who was in the brigade command post in the center of the village, only felt that there was a tremor under his feet, and the soil above the wooden structure above his head kept falling down like rain, as if the world was about to end.

As the saying goes, when there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey will be the king.

Without the suppression of the Soviet field artillery cluster, which was the biggest opponent, the German artillery, who felt that their combat effectiveness had doubled, began to show their power again in the early morning.

Almost all the artillery that could reach the village was deployed, and the three elite SS divisions that surrounded the village poured out their maximum firepower and bombarded it crazily.

The Red Army soldiers who had no chance to fight back could only take the beating.

The anti-artillery holes and temporary air-raid shelters between the positions and trenches became the best places to avoid the bombardment.

As long as the German artillery, which was slightly less powerful and far less violent than the Red Army artillery, did not hit directly, most of the soldiers hiding in the anti-artillery holes could survive this wave of bombardment and survive.

And these rebuilt and expanded fortifications and bunkers of the fortified positions were built overnight under the order of Malashenko. Although doing so would inevitably prevent the soldiers who had fought a hard day and had to deal with a more brutal battle tomorrow from having a good rest, it was better than being bombarded into the sky by the German planes and artillery before waking up.

When these bunkers built overnight came in handy, the soldiers who hid in the caves and felt the enemy's crazy artillery fire were all grateful for the achievements of last night's hard work.

Even those soldiers who complained about not being able to sleep well could only admire the long-term vision and wise decision of the brigade commander and had nothing to say.

After all, if there were no seemingly simple temporary bunkers and crude fortifications, the casualties caused by this wave of enemy shelling might be several times more than if there were places to hide.

Perhaps because of the rush and the limited time left, this wave of fierce German shelling came and went quickly.

When the shelling, which lasted less than 20 minutes in total, came to an end, Malashenko, who was covered in dust, had taken off the tank cap and weapons hanging on the wall, and he was accompanied by Lavrinenko, who was also ready to go.

"Be careful, remember to come back alive!"

Commissar Petrov and Malashenko are already a pair of partners who understand each other. In the past battles, Commissar Petrov rarely communicated with Malashenko who was about to leave and go to the battlefield. After all, most of the emotions between men are not expressed in words. It is a woman's behavior to talk a lot of nonsense and wipe a few tears.

But this time, facing the back of Malashenko who was walking away with a submachine gun on his back and a tank cap on his head, Commissar Petrov rarely said such a sentence without any warning.

It seems that I can guess what kind of thoughts Commissar Petrov had, so that he would say such words at the moment.

Malashenko, who had already walked to the door, stopped and turned his head slightly to look at Lavrinenko beside him. He got the expected affirmation and encouragement from his good brother's eyes. Then, after strengthening his will, he waved his hand without looking back and walked away.

"We'll see each other again, Uncle Peter, just like before."

The words left by the departing figure echoed in the command post. The soldiers fighting together in the same tank were already making final preparations, waiting for their commander comrade to arrive.

"I have a hunch, Iushkin, I always feel that those Germans will go completely crazy today. Don't ask me why, I don't know myself, but I just have this indescribable feeling."

Kirill, who was sitting on the turret, was muttering to himself. Iushkin, who was half standing in the tank and the upper body was sticking out of the turret, looked nonchalant, lighting a cigarette and answering Kirill.

"I'm different from you. As long as I stay in this tank and have Malashenko by my side, I have never been afraid of any enemy. Even if I die in the next second, my body is blown to pieces by shells and burned to ashes, I will accept it with pleasure. It has always been like this."

The car that had been moved by Seryosha was shaking and roaring. Kirill, who was also holding a cigarette that had just been lit, turned around, and the expression on his face was obviously a bit unbelievable.

"We have fought together for such a long time. Do you mean that I am afraid? Is that right?"

Ivushkin, who expected Kirill to say this, grinned immediately, puffed out a cloud of smoke and replied to Kirill beside him with a smile.

"You think too much. Don't I know what kind of person you are? You are my most trusted ace loader. If it were someone else, I would definitely be the first one who would not agree. I swear."

Iushkin laughed like this. Kirill, who was a little serious at first and couldn't turn around, realized that Iushkin, a talkative guy, was joking with him again. He grinned and then continued He touched Iushkin's head with his elbow as punishment.

"Okay, okay, college students, our comrade commander is here. Put your artistic skills away, now is the time to kill the Germans."

It's not a bad thing to joke around and relieve the tense nerves when the war is about to begin. I saw Kirill and Iushkin from a distance, and Malashenko, who was sitting on the tank and laughing, walked up to them and took three steps together. In two steps, he climbed onto the tank turret in one go and joined in, smiling and speaking.

"The SS bastards have washed their necks and come to be slaughtered. Are you ready?"

Malashenko, who was the last one to enter the turret, closed the hatch above his head, and what followed was Iushkin's still smiling and cheerful answer.

"Of course, it's just that there is no saber, only the shiny cannonballs loaded by Kirill waiting for those fascist lackeys."

The roar of steel sounded at the same time. The German Zoo, which had broken free from the cage, and the steel hammer of the loving father Stalin were dispatched at the same time, moving toward each other. A battle that could determine the fate of too many people has slowly begun.