Chapter 444: Be on Guard

"You mean to directly transfer veterans from other troops to supplement? This is unheard of. I have never heard of such a situation. I didn't expect the Germans to do such a thing."

Compared to the surprise on the face of Political Commissar Petrov, Malashenko, who looked calm and indifferent, seemed very indifferent to this.

"There is nothing strange about this, uncle. Isn't it the same for our First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment? Other friendly tank troops are receiving new recruits. After they are all defeated, they will receive new recruits again. After batches of new crews are eliminated, they will be the precious veteran crews."

"And what about us? We directly receive veteran crews. Although they are those defeated troops, as long as they are well led, they are still much more combat-effective than ordinary recruit crews, and they can be quickly integrated into the battle under command. The Germans and us are like this. The situation is no longer the same as at the beginning of the war, uncle."

Despite Malashenko's "answering questions and solving doubts", Political Commissar Petrov, who was more worried than a moment ago, soon spoke again.

"What are you going to do? Malashenko, do you have any good way to deal with this group of elite Nazis?"

Pinching the remaining cigarette butt in his mouth between his fingertips and taking two puffs, he immediately flicked it a few meters away. Malashenko, who had a countermeasure, answered without hesitation on the spot.

"If we can defeat them once, we can defeat them a second time. No matter how badly Yelnya fights, it is our victory! Comrade Zhukov is still in charge of the overall situation. I don't believe that these Nazi lackeys can play any tricks this time."

The battle that should be fought must be fought, and the things that should be faced cannot be escaped even if you want to.

For the Great German Infantry Regiment that has been defeated once, he hardly cares about it. This mentality of not caring but not underestimating the enemy makes Malashenko look very calm at the moment. The last wisp of smoke exhaled from his mouth indicates that a fierce battle is about to come.

While Malashenko was commanding the troops to urgently gather and prepare to go to the battlefield according to the order of the front, the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, which had just joined the 4th Armored Division, was also busy building positions.

The frozen soil layer described by Guderian as "unbreakable even by heavy artillery" was indeed extremely difficult to chew. The German soldiers who were "warming up" on the construction site with iron shovels and other digging tools were exhausted and could only breathe heavily.

The grassland soil that was originally very easy to dig in summer and autumn is now as hard as tank armor. After swinging the shovel in the hand and hitting it hard, it can only leave a shallow dent as deep as a fingernail. The trench digging work that can make people tired is even more unbearable for the German soldiers in this cold and freezing weather.

"Damn it, damn it! I heard that the Russians had already dug trenches to defend us before winter came. What a bunch of smart bastards! Damn it, hey! This soil is harder than steel!"

"Stop complaining, Koch, breathing through your mouth will only make you more tired, shut up and dig well, there is no other way now."

"What are we doing in Russia? Aren't we conquerors? Why are we repairing the land for those Russians now? This is ridiculous!"

The clanging sounds of digging and the complaints that came with them echoed in the cold air.

Hearing these complaints with obvious negative emotions, I wanted to turn around and scold them, but I thought about myself, as the commander of the regiment, and I was still letting my soldiers wear dead clothes stripped from Soviet corpses to save their lives when winter had already begun.

Colonel Walter Horning, who felt that he was incompetent, sighed and shook his head secretly, and then continued to walk forward quickly.

"What they said was a bit out of line, wasn't it, Colonel?"

Faced with the words of an adjutant beside him, Colonel Horning, who had become somewhat numb to the current chaos, shook his head.

"But what else can you do? Let them stand in the snow as punishment? Or let those who said the wrong thing take on more labor tasks? Let's not talk about whether these practices can have the desired effect, but I can be sure that doing so will only make everyone feel more desperate about this damn Russian winter."

While speaking softly to forgive, it was also a helpless act. Colonel Horning, who had never doubted that the German army could win the final victory for a long time, felt a little confused for the first time.

The freezing weather in Russia now seemed to allow Colonel Horning to travel through time and see the scene of Napoleon's expeditionary corps' defeat in Moscow. The scenes and feelings in front of him were so similar to the scenes he heard his teacher describe in class that year.

But in the war a hundred years ago, Napoleon at least entered Moscow and captured a ruined city. But now the German army trapped in the ice and snow has tried its best but still can't touch a brick in Moscow. This huge gap can't help but make the confused Colonel Horning have a deep doubt.

"Is it just a coincidence that we beat the French in seven weeks? Or are the French really not as good as the Russian winter?"

The time that passed quickly did not leave Colonel Horning too much opportunity to summarize the French and think about life. A burst of rapid engine roars quickly entered Colonel Horning's mind from far to near with the addition of the cold wind.

Colonel Horning, who came to the front line to inspect the deployment, immediately raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound. The accompanying adjutant, who had already identified the identity of the visitor, put his head slightly close to Major Horning's ear.

"It's the reconnaissance unit of the 4th Armored Division. They have a lot of motorcycles that can still be driven."

The three-wheeled sidecar motorcycle drove to the side of Colonel Horning with a clanging sound. The German soldier who got off the sidecar first did not bother to wipe off his snot that was already frozen and shiny. The thin canvas wrapped around his face and head made this German soldier, who was as well armed as possible in the cold wind, look like an exotic Middle Eastern person.

"Colonel Honing, Russian reconnaissance troops have appeared seven kilometers outside our division's outer position. They have more people than us. We withdrew after two rounds of fighting and came back to report the news. I came to inform you along the way. I saw through the telescope that there are a large number of organized troops behind those Russians, at least a regiment. Please be prepared."