Chapter 570: Conscripting Young Men

"Hurrah! Victory! Hurrah!"

It was not only Malashenko's tank troops that made a significant contribution to this victory that came soon, but also the 500 infantrymen under the command of Lieutenant Vasily played a very important role.

When the tank troops under the command of Malashenko cut the German armored soldiers one by one like cutting melons and vegetables, Lieutenant Vasily realized that the time was ripe and was the first to pick up the German MP40 submachine gun in his hand and shouted to the comrades around him without even waiting for the order of Political Commissar Petrov.

"Defend the motherland! For Stalin! Charge!"

The German infantrymen who jumped out of the 251 half-track vehicle were in an extremely awkward situation. Not only was the attack blocked, but there was no place to defend. Facing the Soviet heavy tanks that were coming in front of them, the German infantrymen had to crawl behind the tanks like poor grasshoppers in autumn and could not move.

Malashenko, who saw the German infantrymen getting off the vehicle through the commander's periscope, ordered the machine guns of each vehicle crew to fire at full force to suppress the German tanks. The trajectory of the tracer machine gun bullets that hit the German tanks was quite strange, and more than one German soldier who was lying behind the tank had his head blown off by stray bullets that flew from nowhere.

Tanks exploded, infantrymen wailed, and the German vanguard troops who were trapped in the ambush circle in front of the first position outside the village were like ants on a hot pot but could do nothing.

Lieutenant Vasily's leading charge stimulated the militiamen who had just put down their hoes and tools. The soul-stirring Ura charge only took half a cigarette to cross a distance of less than 400 meters and ride on the faces of the German infantrymen.

In terms of professional military skills such as shooting and killing and target shooting accuracy, these militiamen composed of farmers and workers who had just put down their hoes and tools may be far behind the orthodox German army.

But the nickname of the fighting nation is not for nothing. Fighting from childhood to adulthood is a common point in the life of every Slavic man. The Soviet Red Army has never been afraid of close combat, such as fists and bayonets.

The bloody bayonets and shouts of fighting intertwined with fierce firing and explosions echoing in the battlefield sky. The hatred of the country and the family made these militia soldiers who were bloodshot use all means, even headbutting and biting to kill the enemy in front of them.

The defeated soldiers who were collected by Malashenko along the way were more fierce against the Germans. Rifle butts, engineer shovels, bayonets, and even double-wielded hammers and sickles stolen from some farmers in the village, all the tools that could be used were put into this bloody close-range killing.

The hammer in his left hand smashed the German soldier's helmet with a buzzing sound. The German soldier's head was spinning and he almost fell down. Before he could react, the sickle in his right hand chopped the whole head of the good man with the helmet and flew into the sky. The blood from the broken neck gushed out like a fountain, instantly dyeing the headless body and the grass under his feet red.

"Bastard fascist! Witness the power of communism!"

It took just over fifteen minutes from the first shot to the complete defeat of the German army. In this way, Malashenko did fulfill his promise of "defeating the German army in three cigarettes". The carelessness of the enemy and the vast grassland in front of the village, which was flat and undefended, were the main factors for the German army's defeat at such a speed.

Although the German vanguard troops were surrounded and completely eliminated within the scheduled time, the real battle was far from over for Malashenko.

The time to clean up the battlefield and escort the prisoners was quite limited, and Malashenko had to do everything possible to seize the time.

Lifting the turret hatch above his head and jumping out of the car, Lieutenant Vasily, who was not far from Malashenko's car, immediately approached Malashenko when he saw this scene.

"Comrade, I didn't expect victory to come so quickly! It's just like a dream!"

Lieutenant Vasily, who fought side by side with Malashenko for the first time, had not yet experienced Malashenko's vigorous and efficient fighting. It was reasonable for him to praise and be deeply surprised. However, Malashenko, who was in a hurry to do things, did not have the extra time to listen to these words of praise.

"As long as you follow me, there will be many more victories like this in the future! Now hurry up, clean up the battlefield within ten minutes and then take the German prisoners away!"

"Take them away?"

Speaking of which, this was the first time that Lieutenant Vasily, who had been defeated repeatedly throughout 1941, captured German prisoners.

Lieutenant Vasily, who had only captured some Finns in the Soviet-Finnish War and had no experience in dealing with prisoners, asked Malashenko curiously.

"Comrade, how should I deal with these German prisoners?"

Malashenko, who was still marching forward, suddenly stopped when he heard this. He pursed his dry lips and looked at Lieutenant Vasily in front of him. He turned his head and looked at the German armored grenadiers who had laid down their weapons and raised their hands to surrender. Malashenko realized that he seemed to have missed something, and then he thought of a very important question.

He only had 24 hours to hold on to the village, and so far there were only a dozen hours left.

If the situation is not good, he may not be able to hold on for more than ten hours and have to retreat early. Malashenko estimated that according to the usual Germans' habit, they would definitely use the method of outflanking after the vanguard troops were wiped out. If he stayed in the village at that time, he would definitely be surrounded by the Germans. At this time, even idiots would know to run away quickly.

But once the retreat began, he couldn't take more than a hundred German prisoners with him.

Not to mention that it would seriously slow down his marching speed, if a fight really broke out, there was no guarantee that these captured Germans would rebel on the battlefield, and at that time they would seize the guards' guns and cooperate with the outside, which would be enough for him to drink a pot.

But if he didn't take these German prisoners with him, Malashenko didn't dare to order the direct killing of more than a hundred German prisoners without a clear order from his superiors. Putting aside the possible adverse consequences that this would bring to himself, Malashenko was still somewhat reluctant to kill so many German prisoners at once without any discrimination.

After all, not all the Wehrmacht were fanatics, right?

After a brief consideration, Malashenko suddenly remembered a key factor and turned around to ask Lieutenant Vasily.

"Comrade Vasily, how are the fortifications in Stalingrad going?"