Chapter 59: Mid-Moon Serenade

Feeling the cold wind blowing past his ears, he remained silent for a long time, looking at the bonfire that was constantly jumping and tumbling in front of him, and a sudden word broke the silence at this moment.

"Comrade Captain, are you afraid and terrified in today's battle?"

He did not answer immediately, but turned his head in the direction of the voice. Immediately after that, Malashenko appeared in his field of vision. It was one of the only two T34 tank crews left in his company.

Looking at this tank commander who was only about 24 or 25 years old and looked more like a singer and dancer than a veteran soldier, Malashenko thought for a while and then slowly answered him with a determined look in his eyes.

"If I remember correctly, your name should be Iushkin, right? Second Lieutenant Tank Commander of No. 208 T34 tank."

After hearing Malashenko's accurate name, he felt a little surprised and pleasantly surprised. You know, the young Iushkin and his crew were temporarily transferred to Malashenko's command by their superiors when the attack began last night.

The second lieutenant, who had just experienced a fierce battle like a cycle of life and death in the battle during the day today, had never expected that Malashenko, who was two levels higher than him, could accurately call out the name of his temporary subordinate.

In his excitement, he stood up from the lawn with one hand and raised his hand to salute. A sense of joy of being recognized immediately arose in the heart of the young second lieutenant Iushkin.

"Report to the captain, Lieutenant Iushkin, the commander of car No. 208, reports to you. I wish you good health!"

Looking at the young lieutenant in front of him with an excited look, he recalled that he had once been as excited as Lieutenant Iushkin under the intentional or unintentional recognition of the unit leader. Malashenko, who couldn't help but sigh at the wonderful changes in life, waved his hand down at Iushkin.

"Sit down, Lieutenant Iushkin. There are no superiors and subordinates tonight. Now we are all good brothers on the same life and death line!"

A simple but sincere and true speech boosted the morale and atmosphere around him, which was originally in a depressed state. As Lieutenant Iushkin sat down again, Malashenko, who had already prepared the relevant answer, spoke again.

"Brothers, Lieutenant Iushkin just asked me if I was afraid in the battle today. I will leave this question suspenseful, and I want to ask everyone. Is there anyone here who dares to stand up and say that he was not afraid at all in the battle today? If so, you can stand up and let everyone know your brave self." As Malashenko's words filled the ears of everyone present, the Red Army soldiers looked at each other in silence. After a full minute, no one dared to stand up and admit his fearlessness as Malashenko required. When the cruel and fierce armored stranglehold has reached this point, any surviving Red Army soldier who once boasted of his bravery is no longer "fearless" in the "ignorant" situation at that time. The screaming Stukas descended from the sky and spread death to every corner of the battlefield. The roaring 88mm guns slaughtered Soviet tanks one after another like a combine harvester. The ammunition exploded and the turrets flew straight into the sky. Even the bodies of the former comrades disappeared in the flames. All the surviving Soviet tank crews felt that death was so close to them.

After looking around and seeing that no one stood up to continue his words, Malashenko realized that his goal had been achieved and straightened his back. He began to tell the tank crews around him the words he had prepared in his heart.

"Comrades, brothers, what I want to tell you today is that after experiencing so many cruel and fierce battles, each of us has some fear and terror in our hearts because we calm down after the war. Even me, your superior Captain Malashenko is no exception."

"These fears and terrors come from each of us's fear of death, especially when we have witnessed the fragile lives of our former comrades disappear in the explosion of tanks, this fear and terror becomes more real."

After saying this, he paused and began to switch his tone to a more determined state, and then began to lead the topic to the whole.

"But because of this, I want to emphasize one more thing to everyone! That is, the fear and terror in our hearts comes from the human instinct of fearing death and the desire to survive, not the fear of the German Nazi invaders themselves!" "These hateful Nazi invaders burned our houses, trampled our homes, and completely smashed everything that each of us once cherished and trampled it underfoot, ravaging and plundering it wantonly, just to make us, the Red Army soldiers, fear them! Trying to force us to consciously lay down our weapons and surrender, trying to package these hateful invaders as invincible and terrifying existences equal to death through hypocritical appearances!"

The increasingly excited words were like a shot of stimulant, making Malashenko's body no longer able to hold it in. Malashenko stood up from the grass and immediately waved his fist to say the last bold words in his mouth. blurted out.

"But fortunately, our Red Army soldiers are Soviet soldiers supported by firm beliefs. The content of the oath sworn under the party's banner is not just an empty talk! For our motherland, for our relatives, and for our homeland ! Because some things are worth protecting with our lives! ”

At Malashenko's loud words that resounded in the night sky, they were all stunned. These young Red Army tank soldiers, whose immature and smoky faces were reflected red by the bonfire jumping, had never heard such ambitious and inspiring words. The words of people's hearts were never heard even during the pre-war mobilization of Commissar Petrov, which was enough to resound into the heart.

"While pear blossoms are blooming all over the world, soft gauze floats on the river. Katyusha stands on the steep bank, singing like the bright spring light."

In the dark night, I don’t know if it was the soldier sitting around the campfire who started this whisper. Soon, almost all the Red Army soldiers sitting around the campfire began to hum along with the melodious melody of the accordion. Sing this heartfelt song.

"The girl is singing beautiful songs, she is singing about the eagle of the grassland; she is singing about her beloved, and she is also hiding her lover's letters. She is singing about her beloved, and she is also hiding her lover's letters."