Chapter 602 Interlude

Malashenko did not stay with Division Commander Mikhail for too long. Malashenko, who was eager to solve the problem of troop replenishment, quickly moved on to the front army headquarters. Malashenko hoped to be able to work in West China Admiral Levsky had gratifying results.

The headquarters of the Stalingrad Front was located in the city. It did not take much time to transfer from Division Commander Mikhail's division headquarters to the headquarters of the Front. Vorokov, a skilled veteran driver, quickly drove the horse. Rashenko sent him to the destination he wanted to go to.

"We are here, Comrade Malashenko, this is the front headquarters."

Malashenko, who didn't know what was going on in his mind, was a little distracted. It took several seconds after Vorokov's reminder voice fell to finally react.

Compared with the front headquarters that was located in field conditions in the past, the Stalingrad front headquarters that has been moved to the city has a different flavor to Malashenko.

The German bombing of this glorious city named after the Supreme Leader of the Soviet Union had already begun.

When Malashenko opened the door and stepped out of the passenger seat of the car, he saw a scene of ruins after being bombed.

Malashenko once thought that the scenes of the bombing of Leningrad and Moscow he saw last year were quite miserable, but it was not until he saw the street in front of him that was completely worthy of the name of ruined walls that Malashenko realized that he was actually How naive the idea is.

Perhaps seeing the deep surprise on Malashenko's face, Vorokov, who also opened the door and stepped out of the driver's seat, spoke.

"The German bombing has been going on for some time, as if they thought they could destroy this impregnable city by bombing alone. The main streets of the city are visited by German bombers almost every day. And those factories, Those places were also the focus of bombing by the Germans, who would often bomb them twice after they were reduced to rubble.”

Daytime high-altitude bombing does not pose much of a threat to ground mobile units. It is difficult for unguided low-resistance aerial bombs to hit mobile targets like tanks in a high-altitude horizontal bombing posture. However, it can be used for buildings with fixed targets and a wide area. Two said.

The German army, determined to win Stalingrad, launched an early bombing of the city.

Although the current density of bombing is not too high and cannot be compared with the weeks at the peak of the street fighting in Stalingrad, it has already caused great trauma to this industrialized city.

The soldiers and civilians of Stalingrad were almost enveloped in the terrifying roar of German fighter planes, working overtime to complete their work. Everyone was united and devoted themselves to the work of defending the city. What Malashenko had just seen The bustling construction site outside the city is just the tip of the iceberg of Stalingrad.

While stopping and staring, suddenly a group of Red Army soldiers who looked like street patrols rushed out from the corner of an alley not far away. The rapid footsteps and the greeting of the second lieutenant leading the group quickly attracted Malashenko's attention.

"Speed ​​up! Comrades, hurry up!"

The anxious words of the second lieutenant who led the team obviously meant that something urgent had happened and he was very anxious. The curious Malashenko, out of the inconvenience of disturbing the other party, asked Vorokov next to him.

"What are they going to do? Why are they in such a hurry?"

Faced with Malashenko's question, Vorokov, who didn't know why he was in this situation, answered frankly.

"I don't know, Comrade Malashenko. Maybe a dilapidated building that was bombed by the Germans collapsed and buried people inside. In this case, nearby patrol teams are usually summoned to participate in emergency rescue. These days, there have been This happened many times, and I heard about it all the time when I was stationed outside the city.”

"The dilapidated building collapsed? Are people buried inside?"

Hearing Vorokov's answer, he couldn't help but be a little surprised. Malashenko, who was very surprised by this, then asked a question that seemed quite puzzling to him.

"Why do you still stay in the house after it was blown up by the Germans? Can't you evacuate people to a safe place?"

"Safety?"

Compared to Malashenko's subconscious question without thinking, Vorokov, who already knew the situation in the city, had a wry smile on his face.

"There is no safe place here, Comrade Malashenko. As soon as the air defense siren sounds, the German bombs will fall like raindrops. They can bomb wherever they want, and our planes can't even It’s less than one-fifth and it can’t stop them at all. No one knows where is safe when the air raid siren sounds.”

"Many people are unwilling to leave their homes. We cannot persuade everyone. After the bombing, there will always be people who quietly return to their homes. There is too much work to be done. The troops in the city only patrol and maintain order and distribute supplies. We don’t have enough manpower to check every house one by one to see if there is anyone inside.”

Volokov's answer was obviously unexpected for Malashenko, but compared to this, Malashenko, who had been staring at the red army patrol flying away for a while, suddenly changed his mind. Got the idea.

"Follow them, Comrade Vorokov, and we'll go over and see what's going on."

"Aren't you going to report to the front army headquarters?"

"We'll go there later. Let's go over first to see what happened. Maybe it's some other emergency."

After saying this, Malashenko ran out without waiting for Volokov to react. Volokov, who was caught off guard, had to pick up the PPSh submachine gun he had placed next to the driver's seat and hurried over.

"Comrade Malashenko, slow down, wait for me!"

Although it was important to complain to Vasilevsky and ask for equipment and supplies, Malashenko, after weighing the pros and cons, felt that since he had already retreated into the city, it was safe for the time being, and it was not a big deal for him to be safe for a while. Instead, the situation where curiosity killed the cat made Malashenko "yearning for it".

Following the patrol team running in front a hundred meters away, they ran all the way, and when Malashenko ran a full three blocks on foot, he finally stopped and took a breath.

Malashenko, who usually traveled by tank, really lacked exercise. His panting appearance formed a very sharp contrast with Volokov, who was only panting a little beside him.

"The house really has collapsed. Look over there, Comrade Malashenko!"