Chapter 1860 Awkward Situation

Compared to the high-speed assault and fierce fighting during the evacuation, the number of tanks under Malashenko's command did not decrease, but increased a lot. The more than 30 Panther 2s that he got from the station with a windfall have become the "stars" in everyone's mind.

"Unbelievable! The Germans even left behind their weapons, and they were brand new! What's the difference between this and betraying your lover and abandoning her? These fascist rubbish!"

"Think about it, if those fascist bastards didn't do this, would we have gotten so many precious new cars? I'm more curious about how the division commander will deal with these things next. These are the best medium tanks the Germans have now, even better than our own. It would be great if we could keep them for our own use."

"Well, it's good, but we have to change the paint as soon as we drive back. This fascist logo is disgusting."

Not only the tank soldiers on the march, but even the infantrymen who were hitchhiking on the tanks were talking about these newly captured German tanks and talking about them with relish. Almost everyone was amazed that they got so many Black Panther 2s at one time.

The comrades were happy. Of course, they would be happy to get such a large amount of unexpected spoils, but our division commander, Comrade Malashenko, was a little worried at the moment.

Adding the minimum amount of gasoline to these Panther 2s to make them move is only the first step to get them away. Malashenko then encountered a more difficult problem: where to find "talents" who can drive these more than 30 Panther 2s?

Although the operation of tanks these days is similar, the Panther is also operated by mechanical linkage instead of the trendy steering wheel operation like the Tiger, at least the operation and driving method are consistent with the Red Army tanks.

But the operation and driving system designed by the Germans is different from that of our Red Army. Malashenko knows that the Germans' ability to make simple things complicated is innate.

If you let a driver who has never touched a German tank do this job, you may damage this batch of brand new Panther 2s, and it is hard to say whether you can drive it away. It is well known that German machines are not as tough and durable as our own products, and they are really delicate, so you have to drive them slowly.

Malashenko was really at a loss, so he quickly called the two tank regiment commanders and ordered them to gather all the tank soldiers who had touched, driven, or even test-driven the captured German tanks before, and who could at least make the captured tanks run.

Fortunately, it was common for the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division to win battles and seize enemy equipment. In addition, soldiers themselves would have a natural curiosity and interest in the same type of enemy equipment. So when the two regiment commanders followed Malashenko's orders to cast a net and check, they sent Malashenko more than 40 people in a short while, which was not only full but also overstaffed.

There was just one detail that was a little embarrassing. These more than 40 tank soldiers who volunteered and expressed their confidence that they could make the German's broken car move in their hands were not all dedicated drivers.

Among these people, there were not only gunners and tank commanders, but also loaders who had secretly learned to drive the German's broken car at some point.

At the same time, these more than 40 tank soldiers who volunteered came from different companies, and all of them were crew members of the front-line combat troops.

This also means that if these people are allowed to drive, the crew members of the combat troops will definitely be reduced. If there is a lack of key positions such as gunners or drivers, it is hard to say whether the crew can operate normally, let alone put into battle.

Malashenko, who did hesitate for a moment, had no better way in the end. He gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, thinking, "Anyway, there will probably be no more high-intensity battles next," so he simply decided to take a gamble and give it a try.

The final result of this is that the tank column that Malashenko is currently commanding to evacuate has a total of nearly 70 tanks that cannot engage in normal combat or have reduced crew members and insufficient combat effectiveness.

The more than 30 captured Panther 2s only have a driver stuffed in them, and there is only one person in the entire crew. It is a "harmless sightseeing car" that can only run but not fight.

After more than 30 tank soldiers were transferred to temporarily serve as the second-rate drivers of the Panther 2, the same number of Red Army tanks as these Panthers experienced crew reductions.

As for the specific positions of the reductions, it varies, as mentioned earlier. This one lacks a commander, that one lacks a gunner, and some tanks even lack a driver. Even the official driver was transferred to temporarily drive the Panther 2. There was really no choice but to let other crew members come to replace the driver first, at least to make the car run normally.

The operating and driving system of the Panther 2 is basically copied from the Panther 1. Many tank soldiers who had previously played with the captured Panther 1 can drive this thing. This is the only news that Malashenko is thankful for so far.

However, the nearly 70 tanks under his command are either lacking in combat power or simply cannot be put into battle. It is a "awkward state" that is purely a showpiece. To be honest, this is the first embarrassing thing that Malashenko has encountered since he led his troops to fight the Germans in 1941.

It seems that there are more than 30 more tanks in hand, but if you really talk about the overall combat effectiveness, it has actually decreased instead of increased. It just looks more scary.

Malashenko, who was well aware of this situation, had a bad face and a speechless expression on his face along the way. He didn't know what to say or what to evaluate at this moment.

I just hope that there won't be any tough battles along the way, and that I won't encounter a large army of blind Germans rushing up to fight with me.

As if he heard Malashenko's silent prayer in his heart, he led his troops to retreat all the way eastward after leaving the train station, toward Malashenko who kept pushing westward and was converging with the friendly troops sent by Vatutin to meet him. In the end, he returned. It's really been smooth sailing.

In addition to encountering cats and dogs, Malashenko was most worried about running into a large German army. , encounters did not occur, and good luck remained until the meeting with the friendly forces who came to respond.

"It's weird. I've always had bad luck! In the past, I would bump into the Germans' elite fighting battles when I was on the road. Today, the sun is coming out in the west? This is not normal, it's so abnormal!"

Malashenko, who behaved well after getting a bargain and was muttering in his heart, was finally able to lead his troops to take a break. After the transfer of the treasure was completed and the troops took a short rest, they could get back on the road and head north to meet up with the political commissars and the others to prepare. One stage of the battle.

But what Malashenko never expected was that the person waiting for him among the troops coming to receive him was not a friendly division commander or army commander, but Vatutin who loved to blindly shoot when he had nothing to do. He is a "great god" who has not changed his habit of running away and losing his life to this day.