Chapter 231 Twelve Hours

When the illusory dream came to an end, Malashenko, whose fingers seemed to still have the temperature of tears, finally returned to the cruel and hellish reality.

"A dream is just a dream after all. I thought I could return to the original world after waking up, but it seems that I just thought too much."

After dealing with the German armored forces that faced the enemy in the battle yesterday, Malashenko, who was almost destroyed, had just returned to the rear with the troops who suffered heavy losses to rest. The severe fatigue and sleepiness that came like a tide caught him off guard made him fall headfirst on the bed with his shaking body.

Although this thing made up of two iron pipes and a piece of canvas was really hard to call a "bed" for Malashenko who came from the future, it was a rare treat for Malashenko who could even sleep in a tank and snore loudly.

He shook his dizzy head and tried to find something within reach to quench his thirst, but unfortunately, the bare environment that looked like a small tent ruthlessly dispelled Malashenko's idea.

"I don't know what time it is now, how long I have slept, anyway, I'd better find something to quench my thirst."

With such a thought in mind, he was about to stand up on the bed with both hands, but a sound of footsteps coming from far away quietly lifted the curtain of the tent and appeared in Malashenko's field of vision.

"I thought you were going to sleep until tomorrow morning before getting up. It seems that those Germans have seriously affected your sleep quality, comrade battalion commander."

After a moment of hesitation, he took the military water bottle handed over by the person in front of him with a grin. No matter who blew it into his mouth, Malashenko immediately raised his head and drank it. The refreshing feeling of a long drought instantly echoed between his lips and teeth, making him feel like he was reborn.

"Huh, it's a little sweet. Where did you get the water?"

Reaching out to take the empty water bottle from Malashenko's hand, Lavrinenko, with a sly smile on his face, had a rare bad idea.

"I used it to hold urine last night. Didn't you taste it?"

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""

"Say it again. I didn't hear you clearly just now."

Looking at Malashenko's face, which was almost as black as a cooking pot and dripping with water, Lavrinenko waved and smiled and quickly cut the topic back to the point.

"Okay, okay, I'm just kidding you. You have slept for twelve hours from yesterday to now. If those Germans hadn't completely stopped and retreated a full twenty kilometers, I'm afraid you really wouldn't have such a good opportunity to sleep for so long."

Twelve hours? What the hell?

I expected that I would sleep like a dead pig after lying down, and it would definitely not be short, but this full 12 hours of sleep time was extremely shocking to Malashenko at the moment.

You know, since coming to the battlefield of the Great Patriotic War, Malashenko has not slept for more than 5 hours in the past few months. Even when he was leading his troops to transfer on the train, he suffered from insomnia all night because of his heavy heart and the poor quality of the Soviet railway.

"I slept for so long, what was the final result of the battle?"

"Didn't I tell you just now that the German armored forces couldn't hold on for a long time after being repelled. They retreated to a full 20 kilometers away and joined the reinforcements before they stopped. At least that's what the reconnaissance planes flying in the sky sent back."

It's different from the battlefield of the Asian Anti-Japanese War, which was mostly light infantry fighting.

During the Second World War, the military conflicts and major battles on the Soviet-German battlefield were almost all head-on competitions between technical equipment and heavy firepower. On the endless Soviet plains, the competition was about who had more tanks and who had more powerful artillery.

The German army, which suffered serious losses in technical equipment and armored forces, was repelled and driven to a place 20 kilometers away from the front line by the Red Army with a large number of heavy equipment and the support of the Baltic Fleet's naval guns. In the eyes of Malashenko, a later time traveler, such a result was a normal and reasonable thing in the Soviet-German battlefield during World War II.

Without waiting for a moment of thought, Malashenko spoke again. Lavrinenko, who came here with serious business, suddenly slapped his thigh and spoke again.

"Oh, I almost forgot the serious business. Commander Sorokov came here two hours ago, but you were sleeping soundly at the time. He also asked me not to wake up our combat hero and let you have a good rest. The front headquarters in the city asked you to go there after you wake up. This is what the division commander asked me to tell you, but he didn't mention what you were asked to do."

Front headquarters? Comrade Lao Zhu?

Thinking of how he, a small lieutenant colonel, was often summoned by Zhukov, the commander of the front, Malashenko felt a little awkward, but he had no right to refuse the order from the Leningrad Front Command.

"Okay, the order from the front command is extremely urgent and cannot be missed. I will pack up and report."

Before Malashenko got ready to leave, Colonel Donskoy, the commander of the 21st Border Infantry Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who was severely damaged in this battle, found Malashenko just before he left.

This man, who was 1.9 meters tall and wore a green-brimmed military cap unique to the Ministry of Internal Affairs Border Guard, was as excited as an ordinary person in later generations who was grateful to the people's police for saving his life. He gave Malashenko a big bear hug with gratitude, and the force was so great that Malashenko, who was caught off guard, felt difficulty breathing.

"Comrade Malashenko, I am so grateful! Your timely support saved the entire 21st Infantry Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Border Guard. On behalf of all the officers and soldiers of our division, I would like to express my gratitude to you! You and your tank soldiers are the best!"

Although Colonel Donskoy's rank was only one level higher than Malashenko, who had just been promoted to lieutenant colonel, in an army where seniority is the basic rule from top to bottom, this colonel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Border Guard, who was so sincere that he almost wiped out tears, could take the initiative to come to thank Malashenko. It is natural to imagine how much pressure he was under at the last moment of the urgency.

Looking at the colonel in front of him, whose mouth was almost grinning from ear to ear and whose face was filled with gratitude, Malashenko, who smiled and shook hands with him, had never taken his support too seriously before.