Chapter 301 Hunger

Compared with Malashenko, who lives in Moscow all day long without worrying about food, clothing, housing, transportation and life safety, Lavrinenko and his party who are still stranded in Leningrad are obviously suffering much more.

Lavrinenko, who had already reached the end of his rope, led Iushkin and other remaining tank soldiers to hold on to the position. The food supplies were getting less and less and had been reduced to a pitiful amount of less than 400 grams of bread per day, which was obviously not enough for this group. The five big and three thick men fill their bellies.

Leading the troops to fight during the day, they were so hungry at night that they were so frightened that they could not sleep at all while tossing and turning. Lavrinenko and his team even started to dig weeds in the ground to satisfy their hunger. Having eaten almost all non-human things that could run and jump in the fields around the position, these Red Army tank soldiers had no choice but to eat this extremely unpalatable animal food.

"Ugh, vomit, vomit."

After pouring a lunch box of grass soup boiled with water into his mouth, it was really difficult to swallow. Iushkin vomited all the food in his mouth while retching, and he only felt his own His stomach was churning like a storm. This feeling of being hungry to the point of stomach cramps but having nothing to eat was simply worse than death.

"No, I really can't eat these things! How many days in a row have we not eaten normal food!? If this continues, let alone repelling those damn fascists, we will have to starve to death on the battlefield first !”

Although he used some slightly exaggerated techniques, the words spoken by Iushkin are the real truth that cannot be denied. If he continues to be hungry like this, let alone fight with the well-fed Germans. , Seryozha has almost lost the strength to push the KV1 joystick in the past two days.

"We can't continue like this. How can we defend Leningrad when people are starving to death? We must find a way to get some food, Iushkin."

"Get something to eat? Find a way?"

Iushkin, who was so hungry that his chest was pressed against his back, almost didn't have the energy to complain about Lavrinenko's words, which were like a mirror in a mirror.

"The German artillery is enough to cover our entire defensive position. It's so dark at night that we can't see anything. We've even caught all the rats in the surrounding fields. Where are you going to get food?"

Throwing the last cigarette butt in his hand to the ground, Lavrinenko, who was determined to risk his life, immediately turned his head and spoke firmly to Iushkin, who still had a question mark on his face.

"I counted them when the sun was about to set during the day. There were a total of eight German tanks left in front of our position, and they were only less than two hundred meters away. Those Germans did not dare to risk their lives to give them to them. People collect corpses, and this is our opportunity!"

Hearing this, Iushkin, who had roughly guessed what Lavrinenko's plan was, couldn't help but be startled.

"Damn it! You don't want to get food from the wreckage of the German tank, do you?"

"If you have a better idea, I'm all ears."

Iushkin responded directly without thinking. Iushkin couldn't say a word in an instant. Iushkin pursed his lips for a long time and couldn't answer a word. He was obviously shocked by this bold and crazy plan. Not light.

Although he wanted to reject Lavrinenko's almost crazy plan, the burning feeling coming from his stomach forced Iushkin to swallow back the words that came to his mouth. When he thought of the previous Food such as sausages and canned meats were looted from the corpses of the German soldiers. Iushkin, whose saliva was swirling in his mouth, immediately stood up from the ground with a heavy breath and a loud sound.

"Then it's settled, when will we take action? Are we going to call those people over to help?"

Facing the rhetorical question from Iushkin's mouth, Lavrinenko shook his head slightly and immediately replied without thinking.

"Too many people can easily expose the target. Each of us carries a large empty bag. The food in the two bags can be enough to last the remaining people in our camp for a week, provided that the Germans' Don’t really carry anything in the wreckage of the tank.”

About ten minutes later, Lavrinenko and Iushkin, who had not notified any friendly forces or superior units, greeted the sentry on duty and told him to keep quiet, and then carried two weapons that were originally used. The large linen bag containing tank parts bypassed his own machine gun position and sneaked out.

The battlefield that had been burning in the flames of war all day had already completely cooled down under the icy night.

Some of the burning tank wreckage and bushes had long been extinguished, but only the air mixed with the strong smell of blood and gunpowder smoke still reverberated in the air, raising alarm.

"Did you see it? At two o'clock, about ninety meters away, there is the wreckage of a German Panzer IV tank. It doesn't seem to have any signs of burning or explosion. This is our first target. Go over quietly, hurry up. !”

He tried his best to keep his voice as low as possible and completed the final mission briefing with Iushkin beside him. The two men, who had already experienced themselves on the cruel battlefield and became veterans, were still elite tank soldiers with strong skills even after leaving the tank. With their entire bodies lying on the ground, the two people immediately and quietly moved towards the target that was close at hand, like swimming snakes.

This German Type 4 tank wreckage that was stranded in front of the position was unlucky. A Red Army veteran who had destroyed two German tanks in the previous few days of fighting targeted him during the daytime battle today. The 5mm Simonov anti-tank rifle with a terrifying caliber finally penetrated the weak point of the driver's window of the vehicle body after repeated three shots.

The German driver, whose head was directly smashed by the 5mm armor-plated bullet, immediately fell limp in the driver's seat. After the successful shot, the Red Army veteran continued to calibrate the muzzle and fired several shots at the same position based on his previous successful experience.

The remaining German tank soldiers who were a little panicked because of the death of the crew members in the tank were killed on the spot. The bloody fact that the commander and gunner both died together made the remaining mechanics and loaders unable to bear the huge psychological pressure. They immediately opened the escape hatch on the side of the turret and didn't even bother to take the self-defense weapons and quickly abandoned the car to escape.

After reaching the side of the tank, he quietly crawled to the other side of the blind spot of the German attack starting position and stood up quietly. Even now, the escape hatch on the side of the turret in front of him was wide open, and a choking smell of blood was still emanating from it.