Chapter 1663: Parade

Accompanied by Valosha, Malashenko personally inspected the combat engineer battalion troops armed with brand-new equipment.

When the division commander came to inspect, the soldiers of the combat engineer battalion naturally assembled quickly and lined up neatly without complaint, showing the most high-spirited attitude, holding their chests and heads high, and standing in a strict military posture. They were fully armed and lined up in a standard full combat state. Malashenko personally approached and inspected the troops at close range accompanied by Valosha.

Coming in front of a tall soldier holding a batch of new rifles, Malashenko noticed that this soldier not only held the latest AK-44 in his hand and held his head high, but also wore a holster of the Tokarev TT33 pistol on his belt around his waist, and carried two iron fists from the Germans on his back, just like a human-shaped self-propelled tank armed to the teeth.

By the way, after the last Battle of Cherkassy, ​​the Panzerfausts captured by the Stalinist 1st Guards Tank Division were almost piled up into a mountain. According to Varosha, even if the soldiers of the whole regiment had two, there would still be more than double the number. It is hard to imagine how many of these things the Germans had stored in preparation for the early Battle of Cherkassy.

Fortunately, they encountered the Stalinist 1st Guards Tank Division, which was tough and strong and mainly composed of heavy tanks. The solid and reliable inclined main armor belt of the IS6 heavy tank was not something that the early Panzerfaust 60 could break. In most cases, the main force facing the IS6 heavy tank was helpless and could only hear the sound of the attack. It was reasonable that a large number of them were captured under this useless premise.

After examining the soldier in front of him who was only half a head shorter than him from head to toe, Malashenko, who was not satisfied, asked with a smile.

"With so much equipment on you, will you feel redundant during combat?"

The young and tall soldier hesitated and did not answer directly. Seeing this, Valosha, who was accompanying Malashenko in the inspection, quickly stood up and took the initiative to speak.

"Answer the division commander truthfully. Don't be evasive or have any concerns. Our regiment has never and will never fool the division commander."

While giving the soldiers reminders and instructions, he also emphasized the excellent style of his regiment. Malashenko turned his head slightly and glanced at Valosha. At that time, he sighed in his heart, "This kid is good, he has made progress!", followed by the young soldier's answer.

"Comrade, this equipment is heavy, but my body is stronger! Our combat engineer battalion eats the best food and undergoes the most rigorous physical training, in order to be able to destroy all enemies on the battlefield with the most full fighting posture! So I don't feel that this equipment is redundant, and every weapon will become a weapon for me to destroy the German fascists!"

The soldier's answer was simple and straightforward, and he spoke directly without any twists and turns, but this was exactly what Malashenko wanted to hear the most.

"Very good, very good! What's your name?"

"Comrade, my name is Cheertenko, Mikhail Androvich Cheertenko."

The excited young soldier said his full name in one breath, and Malashenko, who was very satisfied with his high morale, nodded repeatedly.

"Chertenko, OK, I'll remember that. If you have any suggestions on equipment and team formation, go talk to your regiment commander, Valosha. If he doesn't like you, come to me directly. I welcome you at any time! The opinions of the soldiers are as valuable as food and should not be wasted!"

The words of the division commander should be a reminder to himself that he should never be so self-righteous as to get carried away at any time. At least that's what Valosha thought when he heard this at this moment.

When Malashenko came to the center of the parade, he suddenly noticed that there were several bullet holes on the bulletproof vest on the chest of a soldier in front of him. The scratches and bullet holes looked very new, and they should have been made in the last battle.

Malashenko stopped again and said nothing. He raised his hand and stretched out his index finger to poke the bullet hole on the soldier's bulletproof vest.

The diameter of the bullet hole was relatively large, enough to accommodate the tip of Malashenko's right index finger.

Malashenko, who did not feel any obvious obstruction at the fingertips and nails, could guess that the second layer of bulletproof armor inside was at least hit by the bullet. Even if it did not penetrate, it was at least bent. After understanding this situation, Malashenko immediately retracted his right hand and asked the soldier.

"What gun fired this? When? How close was it?"

Malashenko's question went straight to the core, and the soldier in front of him answered without much thought.

"Comrade Division Commander, it was during the last encirclement and annihilation battle in Cherkasy. A wounded SS soldier pretended to be dead. When I went up to check the body, he suddenly turned over and shot me with a pistol. I reacted quickly and used the gun tip to push away his right hand. He was aiming at my face but missed and hit the bulletproof vest, almost face to face."

"If it weren't for this double-layer bulletproof vest, I might have died at that time. I really have to thank her for giving me a second life."

The result of shooting through the first layer of bulletproof steel plate and damaging the second layer with a large-caliber pistol at face to face distance was not difficult to accept. At least the double-layer bulletproof vest played its due role and saved the soldier's life. Malashenko felt that this was enough.

"It seems that your luck and reaction are very good! Luck is also a part of strength. Don't underestimate it. People who use their luck reasonably can survive on the battlefield. Believe in yourself."

"In addition, do you have any suggestions for our current bulletproof armor? How do you feel about matching it with the newly issued ammunition equipment? Tell us about it."

Malachenko has always believed that the soldiers closest to the battlefield have the most say in the quality of equipment and the direction of improvement. The development of equipment must not be out of touch with the actual combat feedback of the soldiers, just like his cooperation with Kotin and Morozov.

"I have a suggestion, Comrade Division Commander!"

"The protection of the entire steel plate is very comprehensive, covering the important internal organs of the entire upper body. But it is really too big and very solid, and it cannot be bent or stretched. Sometimes we encounter situations where we are unable to move inconveniently on the battlefield, such as in trenches, when squatting, or when lying down and standing up, which often restricts our movements and causes trouble."

"As for the new ammunition equipment, it is great! Everyone used to worry about how to carry and store this pre-loaded curved magazine. Some people even inserted it into the boot shaft. When changing the magazine, they have to bend down to take it out, which is very inconvenient."

"Now with it, I can get the magazine by just touching my belly, and I don’t have to change into a new military uniform. I just need to hang it outside the original military uniform. I can take it off at any time when I don’t need it. The person who designed it is simply a genius!"