Chapter 340 The True Face Behind the Disguise

From the facial expression and look alone, Major Hermann, who was showing his true feelings, was indeed not false at all in Malashenko's opinion, but the words that came out of his mouth sounded a little awkward to Malashenko.

"Great? Haha, for you Germans, this adjective should not be used on the Bolsheviks who are regarded as targets that must be eliminated, right? Have you ever considered whether it is appropriate to talk to me like this?"

The ideological and political opposition did not seem to change Major Hermann's deep blue eyes that were still sincere and grateful. Even after hearing the almost sarcastic words from Malashenko, he still did not feel angry at all.

"Great people are not divided by race, nationality or even ideology, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. You saved my comrade as an enemy standing on the opposite side, which is enough to prove your greatness for me personally."

"Hmph, you are quite good at talking. That's right. Nowadays, a German who can understand Russian must be a college graduate at the very least."

Malachenko, who secretly complained in his heart, did not remain silent for too long. He wanted to know the truth of the raid just now and raised his head and asked again.

"Who is the highest commander of your German army in the village? If I'm not mistaken, it should be you."

As expected by Malachenko, Hermann's next words soon confirmed Malachenko's guess.

"You are right, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. There is only one infantry battalion belonging to the 127th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht stationed in this village, and I am the commander of this battalion."

Masashenko was not surprised that a mere infantry battalion could be defeated and surrendered so quickly. His conjecture was confirmed, and there were still many questions in his mind that needed to be answered.

"The intelligence I received before mentioned that it was a German armored infantry mixed coordination force that was attacking in this direction. Where are your tanks? Where did they go?"

Major Hermann, who knew very clearly what "they" in Malashenko's mouth referred to, did not hide anything unnecessary about what he knew, and then spoke again.

"Because winter combat supplies are very scarce and basically non-existent, that armored unit no longer has the ability to continue to attack you, nor does it have the ability to withdraw from the front line."

"After the first wave of cold waves came, they were trapped in the village with my battalion. Their tanks were parked in the village, but many of the crews had been killed by you in the battle just now. They insisted on participating in this battle even without tanks. My advice did not play much of a role."

After hearing Hermann speak like this, Malashenko noticed that in the queue of German prisoners of war who were walking slowly with their hands raised beside him under the escort of Soviet soldiers, many of them were German armored soldiers who did not wear the iconic steel helmets of the infantry. They only had a slightly funny canvas hat on their heads, which did not seem to be able to resist much of the severe cold in the wind.

"You just said the tanks are in the village, so where are they parked now? Take me there immediately."

Major Hermann did not hesitate to hear Malashenko's request. This German major, who seemed a little unpredictable to Malashenko, did not seem to be a die-hard fan of the Nazi Party.

"The tanks are parked in a small open space in the center of the village. Except for the fact that they were frozen to death and could not be started due to lack of winter lubricants and antifreeze, the vehicles are still in good condition. Come with me."

Hermann, who had not yet finished speaking, took a step forward and took the initiative to lead the way without waiting for Malashenko to answer. The German major, who had been disarmed and completely unarmed, was very cooperative, and even made Malashenko, who kept asking questions and requests, feel a little uneasy and suspicious.

For the sake of caution, Malashenko immediately winked at Sergeant Dyakov who was still standing beside him. This sergeant squad leader who had killed a large number of Japanese devils in the Kwantung Army was also very smart. He then waved to several squad soldiers who were waiting beside him. The Red Army soldiers immediately followed their squad leader and accompanied Malashenko, and walked towards the center of the village under the guidance of the German major.

The road from the entrance of the village where the German army surrendered to the small open space in the center of the village was not far. The village of Vomano with more than a hundred households could not be regarded as a large village. It took only a few minutes for the group to reach the final destination on foot.

"Here it is, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. The armored battalion that accompanied us in the attack has a total of 28 tanks left. Except for 3 tanks that were damaged in the battle and are waiting to be repaired, the remaining 25 tanks are in good condition. But the premise is that you have to find resources to get them moving again. They are now frozen to death here."

Accompanied by Hermann's explanation, he looked at the white canvas covered with snow in front of him. He could only see the scenes with basically bulging outlines like snow piles. Finally, Malashenko understood why the previous reconnaissance results reported that no German tanks were found in the village.

"These Germans, knowing that the tanks can't be used, just cover them with camouflage cloth to make snow piles. They are quite good at playing tricks."

The German army's tricks made him laugh and cry. The German tanks, which were covered with camouflage like a pile of snow, were indeed difficult to detect with the naked eye from a few hundred meters away. It was the first time for Malashenko to come into close contact with such a large number of German tanks, and he was a little excited. He turned his head and gave a look to the squad leader Dyakov who was also surprised.

"I understand, comrade Malashenko, I'll do it right away."

Dyakov, who understood from the look in his eyes, immediately turned around and waved to the Red Army soldiers following behind him. Except for two Red Army soldiers who still followed behind him and guarded Malashenko's safety, the rest of the Red Army soldiers immediately strode forward and began to try to uncover the camouflage canvas covering the German tanks with their bare hands.

The camouflage canvas firmly pressed by the thick snow could not be easily torn off even if several Slavic men worked together.

Several Red Army soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder in the ankle-deep snow, and they almost used all their strength. The white camouflage cloth pressed under the thick snow was finally torn off with a bang.

Looking at the German tank that finally appeared in front of him, Malashenko, with his eyes fixed, immediately noticed the not-so-obvious abnormality.

"Hmm? This number three? No, it seems a little different."