Chapter 329 Under the Vastness

Seeing the German soldiers carrying the bodies of their comrades and escorting prisoners of war gradually moving away, the old soldier who had been lurking in the snow and didn't even dare to breathe, after making sure that the German soldiers could no longer hear his voice, reached out to take off the pure white hood on his head, shook off the snow around him and stood up.

There was no anger or sadness in his slightly confused and complicated eyes. The old soldier who had long been accustomed to life and death in the continuous war was almost numb. Even the death of his closest comrade was just a change of partner for him.

Although he barely escaped this time, he might be the one to die next time.

"I have to take the information back quickly, there is not much time left."

The forbearance and hiding of seeing the dying do not mean that there is no courage to fight. On the contrary, sometimes those who choose to live will bear more heavy pain and destruction than the dead.

The flying snowflakes still have no intention of stopping under the howling wind.

After lifting the door curtain and looking at the vast white snow and the frozen world in the howling cold wind outside the tent, Malashenko, who had already gotten used to the cold winter of 1941, immediately turned around and returned to the field tent.

"Has the heavy snow not stopped yet? Malashenko."

Hearing the question from Political Commissar Petrov beside him, Malashenko, who was neither in a good nor bad mood, shook his head slightly and answered.

"Not only is there no intention to stop, but it is even heavier than when it was dawn this morning. Maybe we should have launched the attack as planned this morning. If this heavy snow continues like this, even tanks may not be able to drive on the road."

It is interesting to say that Political Commissar Petrov, who fought bravely in the Battle of Kiev and lost an arm, was promoted to the rank of colonel not long after that and took on the post of political commissar of the Malashenko Regiment.

On the other hand, Malashenko has been climbing up the ranks through various "routines and skills" and battlefields since the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. Although his promotion speed is as fast as a rocket, his starting point is still a lieutenant rank, which makes him only a lieutenant colonel of the tank troops, one level lower than Political Commissar Petrov.

The opposite pairing of the Colonel Political Commissar and the Lieutenant Colonel Regiment Commander is probably the only exception in the entire Red Army.

Malashenko, who did not feel awkward about this, seemed to be very indifferent. The connection and feelings between him and Political Commissar Petrov had long surpassed the general relationship between superiors and subordinates. On the contrary, Political Commissar Petrov, who felt that this arrangement was a bit inappropriate, privately sounded out Malashenko's opinion. After confirming that Malashenko did not care about these trivial but real things, he was reluctant to let go.

After hearing the complaining whisper from Malashenko, Political Commissar Petrov smiled frivolously and blurted out in a brisk tone.

"From the current situation, it seems that the Germans are in a passive position, Malashenko. The small German troops and patrols we have eliminated in the past few days are basically only wearing autumn clothes, and the few Germans wearing winter clothes are still wearing bloody Red Army cotton clothes."

"The prisoners captured yesterday have also admitted that their infantry division has suffered frostbite and non-combat casualties in recent days. Although the injuries are not fatal, they are enough to make the Germans lose their combat effectiveness. All the subordinate units in the entire division have almost no decent winter clothes. One of them even told me personally that they thought they could spend the winter in Moscow before winter came. At least their leader promised them so on the loudspeaker and broadcast. Ha, what a group of arrogant idiots."

Malashenko, who came from the future, was naturally very clear about what Petrov said and did not feel surprised or surprised.

The arrogant clamor of German leader Hitler to "take Moscow before winter comes" has been put forward since the day when the German Central Army Group was divided into two groups to support the north and south.

Hitler's wishful self-satisfaction was completely based on his own misconception and the echoes of people around him, as he did not yet understand the Soviet army's total war strength with vast resources and extremely terrifying mobilization capabilities.

Although there were knowledgeable people like Guderian and Marshal Bock who had realized the terrible mobilization capabilities of the Soviet army and proposed to Hitler to attack Moscow as soon as possible so as to end everything in the fall, Hitler, who was immersed in his ideal world and arrogance, obviously did not listen to these unpleasant advice, and incidentally classified Guderian and Bock and his party as "people who know nothing about war economics", which eventually laid the hidden danger for the tragic defeat under the city of Moscow.

As Malashenko thought of these later declassified documents along with the words of Political Commissar Petrov in his mind, he could not help but smile helplessly. If Hitler really listened to the advice of Guderian and Bock and launched the Moscow Offensive in the autumn, then it would be hard to say whether it was a red flag or a black flag flying on the top of the Kremlin in 1942.

"Although this is indeed the case, Comrade Political Commissar, we still have to follow the orders of the Front Army Headquarters to pull out the nails of the German army entrenched in the village of Womano. As long as it is there, the Germans who have recovered will only need winter supplies. You can use it as a springboard to launch attacks at any time. If you don't get rid of it, it will undoubtedly be a hidden danger for our entire front army's defense in depth. "

In line with the principle of rapid warfare, we should indeed launch an encirclement and suppression offensive against the enemy in front of us as soon as possible. However, the heavy snowfall that has rarely been interrupted in recent days not only made it difficult for the German army to move forward and was forced to stand still, even the Soviet army His own troops seemed to be frozen in this white world, unable to move.

"When I went down to inspect the preparations this morning, many crews complained to me. Basically, they were about problems such as the optical sights being frozen and not working very well, the tank having difficulty starting, and the parts becoming brittle and damaged. . Although these things may sound like trivial problems, they may turn into big problems if they go to the battlefield.”

From the words of Political Commissar Petrov, I heard some suggestions to make action plans after the snow stopped. However, Malashenko, who knew that the German army's final offensive at the end of 1941 was far from over, did not intend to do so. If he continues to wait, Malashenko, who cannot remember the date on which the heavy snow stopped in history, is extremely worried about the German offensive that may resume at any time.