Chapter 1323 Combat Engineer Battalion

The Panzerfaust is designed to attack tanks, but it can also be used against fortifications and bunkers. Especially in close, narrow, and close combat in trenches, it has great destructive power against the German machine gun fire points and places where people are densely packed.

And if you say this thing is heavy, it is really not heavy. When it is not used, you can tie ropes at both ends and hang it on your back. It does not affect the use of light weapons in the hands of soldiers. At best, it feels a little heavy on the back, and the physical strength is consumed too quickly when walking, and the movement speed is slowed down.

Being able to carry a Panzerfaust on the back is just a basic operation. Malashenko estimated that the tough veterans in his division would have no problem carrying two or even three on their backs.

Of course, this is not a forced choice.

Malashenko told Varosha that he only needed to let the soldiers carry the number they thought was appropriate and sufficient according to the actual needs of the combat situation. If you can bring one, bring one; if you can bring two, bring two. If you feel that you are as strong as an ox and can shoot a light machine gun from your waist, no one will stop you from carrying three. In short, don't be too brave.

So when the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division set out again, many of the Red Army "tank knights" riding on the tanks had more or less brand-new German iron fists on their backs, temporarily serving as breakthrough players in their respective teams, ready to play a greater role on the battlefield.

Among them, the most abnormal one is the newly established "combat engineer battalion" under Varosha.

Since the Battle of Stalingrad, Malashenko, who saw with his own eyes how fierce the combat engineers were and how strong their combat power was in actual combat, began to think that his troops should also have a combat engineer unit.

It was not until the formation of the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division was completed and the organization of the troops was upgraded again that Malashenko, who did have enough surplus power, was finally able to put this idea into practice.

Compared with other combat engineering units, the actual use and combat methods of this combat engineer battalion in Varosha are somewhat different. In addition to the tasks that combat engineering units usually undertake, the combat engineer battalion under Malashenko has other combat tasks.

Since the battles faced by the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division are mostly field battles and very few urban battles, at least for now.

Therefore, the actual combat method of the combat engineer battalion is no longer like the Battle of Stalingrad, holding the PPSh and rushing forward, banging non-stop, and using flesh and blood to carry steel plate bulletproof vests to act as "human tanks".

When facing the enemy's perfect three-dimensional positions under field conditions, this level of firepower attack is not something that flesh and blood infantry wearing a steel plate bulletproof vest can withstand. Rushing forward in a line is tantamount to seeking death.

These special combat engineers need to advance to the last distance close to the position under the escort of the tank troops of Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division and then get off the vehicle. The firepower encountered along the way will be absorbed by the tanks in front that serve as mobile shelters.

After rushing into the trenches, the combat distance is forcibly shortened and shortened, and many battles occur at close range face to face, as well as in trenches and communication trenches.

At this time, combat engineers wearing steel plate bulletproof vests have their place when facing the submachine guns in the hands of the Germans that are convenient for use in trenches. In the close combat where tanks can no longer provide cover, they continue to serve as the vanguard of the assault charge.

Sometimes, it is not only effective against the German submachine guns. In the position attack and defense battle that just passed, a strange thing happened when combat engineers and German riflemen faced each other and fought with bayonets.

The German rifleman rushed forward with a bayoneted Mauser 98K. The bayonet stabbed his chest with a "bang". The bayonet, which was already frozen and brittle in the cold winter, broke on the spot. It didn't penetrate at all. He was dumbfounded on the spot.

Then, he was shot to death by the combat engineer who raised the PPSh in his hand. It was really an unjust death.

Because they shoulder the mission and responsibility of leading their comrades to charge forward in close combat, the iron fist equipment rate of these combat engineer units can be said to be the highest at present.

At a glance, there are quite a lot of personal equipment, with a steel helmet on the head, a steel plate bulletproof vest on the body, a close-quarter assault in the hand, a grenade on the waist, a spare drum on the buttocks, and an iron fist on the back specially used to deal with difficult German targets.

Such a heavy equipment, if you change to a person of average size, it is really difficult to carry. Therefore, even in the combat engineer battalion, which is basically full of sturdy men, there are only a few people who dare to use this set of equipment that seriously affects the movement speed and consumes too much physical strength.

Some soldiers even took off their steel plate bulletproof vests and iron fists to save trouble, and put them directly on the tail compartment of the tank engine, which was within easy reach, and put them on at any time when a battle occurred.

Similar situations are not uncommon, and many veterans of the combat engineer battalion chose to do so. Because even if this full set of equipment is worn and nothing is done, just sitting on the tank engine compartment, the heavy burden it brings to the body is unimaginable. Who the hell is so idle in the winter that they want to hold a piece of iron in their arms?

But neither Malashenko, Political Commissar Petrov, nor Valosha stopped these soldiers from doing this.

Put heavy armor within reach and put it on quickly when fighting, so as to save physical strength during the march and save it for use in combat. This method has been around since ancient times. As long as the response is quick in wartime, there is nothing wrong with it. Malashenko does not think there will be any big problems with "using ancient methods today".

It is really uncomfortable to be in a tank full of foot odor, sweat, gunpowder, and diesel. As long as it is not a wartime state, Malashenko would rather stick his head out of the car to breathe fresh air, blow the cold wind, and wake up.

Malashenko, who had just put a cigarette in his mouth, was about to take out a lighter to light himself, but he never thought that at this moment, the radio transmitter in the car suddenly rang.

"Contact the reconnaissance unit, there is a situation, comrade commander."

The first person to take the transmitter was the loader Artyom. He was the closest person to Malashenko in the turret. With half of Malashenko's body outside the car, he naturally had the obligation to answer the news and report the situation.

"Give me the speaker."