Chapter 515 Investigation

The rising sun at dawn cast a pale golden glow over the land, and the snow that had almost melted made the land of the entire Soviet Union a bit muddy.

Malashenko, who began to move under the cover of darkness in the early morning, has now led his troops to a very close attack position. If he moves forward a little further, he will be in danger of being discovered by the German patrol sentry.

After the experience of almost losing his life when he and Lavrinenko went out for reconnaissance, Malashenko, who learned from the experience, learned his lesson this time and no longer did that kind of desperate stupid behavior. Instead, he ordered the infantry assigned to him to go out to scout the enemy. In terms of work on his feet, Malashenko is really not as good as these professional infantrymen.

"What do you think of the situation? Malashenko, why hasn't there been any movement for so long?"

Lavrinenko, who was a little impatient, lay behind the snow cave and quietly watched the situation in the distance. The infantrymen who had been gone for nearly an hour but still hadn't returned made him a little worried about the sudden change of the situation.

"You ask me, who should I ask? Wait patiently, they will be fine if there is no gunfire, and they should be back soon."

Compared to the somewhat anxious Lavrinenko, Malashenko, who was calm as if nothing had happened, seemed much more natural. Malashenko knew that in this situation, you can't do anything even if you are anxious. In the era of underdeveloped communications, you can only wait for those two-legged infantrymen to run back and report after the reconnaissance.

Lavrinenko, who was patient, had to continue lying in the snow cave and waited for the development of the situation with Malashenko. The half-melted snow that melted into lumps made Lavrinenko uncomfortable all over. The feeling of his clothes being wet on the ground was not very pleasant.

About ten minutes later, when Lavrinenko was about to ask Malashenko what was going on, several figures trotting over on the small earthen slope not far away immediately made Lavrinenko's eyes light up.

"It's them! They're back, Malashenko!"

The Red Army squad leader who led the reconnaissance was an experienced veteran. In previous battles, he had figured out the position deployment situation from under the noses of the Germans several times, and survived intact and brought back the intelligence he saw with his own eyes.

In terms of reconnaissance ability, this Red Army squad leader who was over 30 years old was definitely much better than Malashenko.

"Comrade Leonid, what did you see?"

After hearing the question from Malashenko, he pulled down the mask used for camouflage on his face, and the squad leader Leonid, who saw the situation at the edge of the village clearly, blurted out to Malashenko.

"There is probably at least one company of Germans deployed outside the village. They placed machine guns at the entrance of the village. I didn't see any anti-tank guns. I guess they are hidden in the dark and in a concealed firing position."

"Although I didn't see any German tanks, I saw deep ruts at the entrance of the village. That kind of mark can't be made by cars. Although the land is very soft this month, it can't be pressed into that state by a car weighing several tons. That's something only tanks can do."

After hearing this, Malashenko turned his head and looked at Lavrinenko beside him. The reconnaissance situation was indeed as they expected last night. There were indeed German tanks.

"Can you tell how many tanks there are? Comrade Leonid, don't give an exact number, even a rough estimate is fine."

After hearing Malashenko's question, squad leader Leonid, who looked thoughtful and began to carefully recall all the details of the past, quickly gave an answer.

"I'm not sure how many tanks there are, but based on my previous reconnaissance experience, the minimum number will not be less than this, Captain Malashenko."

Looking at the three fingers raised by squad leader Leonid, Lavrinenko, who was slightly stunned and raised his mouth, immediately showed a disdainful smile.

"Ha, I thought those Germans had so much preparation, and they dared to prepare to launch an attack with just a few tanks. They really overestimated their abilities."

Before Lavrinenko finished speaking, squad leader Leonid, who was holding up three fingers, hurriedly shook his head repeatedly as if to make up for the loss.

"Not three, but thirty! Those Germans had at least thirty tanks driving into the village through the entrance. I don't know if these tanks are still in the village, but the wheel tracks at the entrance of the village will definitely not be less than this number!"

Thirty! ?

Lavrinenko blinked in surprise when he heard such words, and then subconsciously cast his eyes to Malashenko beside him to seek the result, but Malashenko, who still kept a calm face, seemed to have expected all this and looked calm.

"Aren't you surprised, Malashenko? These are at least 30 German tanks!"

The surprised question of Lavrinenko beside him echoed in his ears. Malashenko, who was not really surprised by this situation, smiled slightly in surprise.

"In fact, I think 30 tanks are still a little too few. According to the importance of Nibotrikaya Village, it is normal for the Germans to deploy an armored division here."

""

Lavrinenko was speechless in response to Malashenko's answer. He didn't know what to say, but after learning the first-hand intelligence, how to attack the village was the most urgent decision to be made next.

In order to achieve the unexpected attack effect ordered by the front headquarters, Malashenko must consider how to give the German army the heaviest blow in the shortest time, and use a fast and fierce tank assault to end everything before the German tanks in the village react.

Judging from the terrain, the village of Nibotrikaya, which is a medium-sized village, can accommodate a limited number of hidden tanks no matter how hard it is packed.

Malashenko estimated that the number of German tanks parked in the village would start from 30 and 50, and it would never exceed this number, which is roughly the strength of a standard German armored regiment.

"We all know the specific requirements of the battle. The first thing to do is to rush in before the Germans in the village react. To put it bluntly, we can't let those German tanks drive out of the village to deploy their formations. We must surround the Germans in the village and completely eat them up!"

"Only in this way can we maximize our offensive advantages and make the more complex terrain in the village an obstacle to the Germans, so that they cannot gather enough troops to fight against us in the first place."