Chapter 528: Surviving the Disaster

Angry at the disappointment of the army, the German pilots decided to let the Soviets see how powerful Marshal Meyer was. Six escorting BF109 fighters and 12 Stuka dive bombers immediately went into battle and began retaliatory actions.

After wasting all the ammunition they carried, they turned back over the smoke-filled village of Nibotrikaya.

Dizzy and swollen by the German air raid that lasted for about ten minutes, Malashenko climbed out of a cellar and breathed in the fresh air around him. The air was not circulating in the cellar and he almost suffocated to death.

"Fuck your mother's German! I'm going to fuck your uncle! Fuck!"

A 100-kilogram aerial bomb that landed in the center of the courtyard almost collapsed the cellar where Malashenko was hiding behind the courtyard.

After Malashenko, who was nearly buried alive, climbed out, he immediately turned around and stretched out his right hand towards the cellar. It would be difficult for Political Commissar Petrov, who only had one arm, to climb out without help. After pulling Political Commissar Petrov out of the cellar, Malashenko sat down on the ground and gasped.

"These Germans have really good noses! It's only been a short time since the battle in the village ended, and the bomb has been thrown on our heads!"

He stood up from the ground with one hand on the ground, panting. The stagnant air under the cellar and the smell of something rotting and fermenting made Political Commissar Petrov feel very uncomfortable.

Malashenko, who was in his prime, was choked and gasped. Political Commissar Petrov, who was already a little younger, was in a worse situation and almost fainted in the cellar.

"Let's quickly count the casualties of the troops. Most of the troops were stationed outside the village and cleaning the battlefield and transporting supplies. The casualties should not be too great."

"These bastard Germans, one day I will rush to their airport and crush the intestines of these Nazi pilots!"

Malachenko, who was cursing and very annoyed, came to the village with Political Commissar Petrov.

The village, which had just suffered a surprise bombing, was devastated and covered with blood and incomplete corpses. Malachenko, who was already numb to such scenes, just wanted to know how many casualties there were.

"Malachenko! Comrade Commander!"

Before Malachenko could make the next move, a shout from far away came into his ears, causing Malachenko to turn his head and look. The direction of the sound was obviously from Lavrinenko, the loud-mouthed man.

"Here! Lavri! Here!"

They shouted at each other across several houses. Lavrinenko, who trotted along the direction of Malashenko's voice, soon reunited with the two.

"How are the casualties on your side? Lavri, weren't you just directing the cleanup of the battlefield outside the village?"

Lavrinenko, who was also a little out of breath after running all the way, first waved to Malashenko. After taking a few deep breaths, Lavrinenko, who felt a little relieved, blurted out his words in a calm tone.

"The situation on my side is not bad. As soon as the German plane flew over, we heard the movement and scattered to avoid it. There were about a dozen casualties, and only two died. But I think the Germans mainly rushed towards the village. How is the situation on your side?"

After hearing the good news from Lavrinenko, he finally felt relieved. Malashenko, who was still unclear about the casualties in the village, was frank.

"The casualties in the village have not been counted yet. Since you are here, let's move together and quickly count the casualties in the village."

After a brief meeting, the three people immediately separated and ran around the village.

The troops that were caught off guard by the German bombing did suffer heavy casualties. The bodies in the village were everywhere. Many Red Army tank soldiers were directly killed when they got off the car to help carry things and clean up the battlefield.

"Damn! Why not come at this time when the air strike is not good? This is really bad luck!"

Malachenko, who was in a very bad mood, gathered the troops he met along the way and ordered them to treat the wounded immediately, while counting how many bodies he saw on the way.

More than ten minutes later, when Malachenko, Lavrinenko and Political Commissar Petrov met again, the three of them looked at each other with bad faces. In the end, it was the most mature and stable Political Commissar Petrov who spoke first.

"The situation is not good, Malashenko. I went to the east and south of the village. There were about six tank crews with missing crews. Some lost gunners and some lost commanders and loaders. They will not be able to have the combat effectiveness of the whole vehicle in a short period of time."

"It's similar here. I went to the west of the village. The German planes bombed there first. Three tanks were blown up and four were damaged. The casualties of the tank crews have not been counted yet, but it is conservatively estimated that it will not be less than three groups of people. Karamov is leading people to repair the damaged tanks. He asked me to tell you that the tanks can be repaired before dark at the latest."

After hearing the answers of the two people in front of him, Malashenko frowned even more. The situation he saw on his side and the integration of the two directions, the conclusion that can be drawn now is that at least fifteen tank crews have suffered varying degrees of personnel shortages. Even if the tanks have basically not suffered any losses, this is undoubtedly a heavy blow.

"Arrange to rescue the wounded immediately, Lavri, you deal with the deployment of the troops, don't let the Germans take advantage of the situation! Arrange the defense and air defense positions of the village, I'm going to call the front headquarters!"

"Call? Do you want to report the losses, Malashenko?"

With his back to Lavrinenko's subconscious question, Malashenko, who didn't even turn his head, threw out the answer almost without thinking.

"Go to the commander comrade for reinforcements and supplements!"

A round of bombing blew up half of the temporary regiment command post that Malashenko had just built. Malashenko, who was in a terrible mood, didn't have time to care whether the cabin was at risk of collapsing at any time. He strode to the table and grabbed the microphone.

"Comrade Commander, there's a call for you. It's Malashenko, the commander of the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment. He said he has something urgent to report to you!"

"Urgent? At this time?"

Marshal Timoshenko, who was reviewing the troop mobilization and deployment files, frowned when he heard this. It must not be good news if Malashenko called at this time.