Chapter 643 The Eve of the Storm

Although Malashenko felt a little sorry for the group of tank trainees who admired him so much and died on the battlefield just after they went to the front line, he also understood very clearly that there was nothing he could do about it.

The garbage tanks sent by the British, the tank trainees who had just graduated and participated in actual combat for the first time, the German planes in the sky were like the plague god, supplying unlimited 1-ton heavy aerial bombs used to demolish buildings, and the German tanks and infantry on the ground were attacking like crazy like rabies

All the cause and effect relationships were combined together. Even for Malashenko, he had only fought a few times of this intensity since he traveled through time last year.

Fortunately, the anti-aircraft artillery network in the city curbed the arrogance of the German Air Force to a certain extent in the battle. Otherwise, Malashenko estimated that it would be hard to say whether the tractor factory would win or lose in the first battle. Although the tank trainees who died in the first battle were regrettable, they were just the final result of the bloodshed on the cruel battlefield. There was no surprise and it was normal.

As for whether to let the survivors of this group continue to go to the battlefield, Malashenko, holding an empty kettle in his hand and thinking with empty eyes, sighed and made a decision that affected the lives of many people.

"A tank may determine the success or failure of the battle. Moreover, this time we are going to counterattack the Germans. If we cannot gather all our strength, it may be difficult to achieve even the initial victory. There is no such thing as a war without death. Those who can survive this battle will continue to grow. In any case, we must fight first and then talk about other things."

The step-by-step promotion of position and rank brought Malashenko not only the halo above his head and the glory that others envy, but also the commander's obligation to decide the fate and life and death of others.

The issuance of an order may determine the fate of many people. Malashenko hated this power to decide the life and death of others at first, and even felt a little disgusted with guilt.

But the cruel battles have been accompanied by the death of many important people. Malashenko gradually became numb to the guilt of deciding the life and death of others.

From the initial panic and self-blame to now just a set of numbers, Malashenko is not sure whether this change in his mood that he can clearly feel is good or bad.

But based on what he has seen and heard and his analysis, Malashenko feels that this should be a change that must be experienced on the road to a higher level. Too many senior commanders, including Zhukov, are in almost the same situation as himself at the moment, and this situation is enough to be called cold-eyed and numb in Malashenko's view.

The tank veterans reorganized from the defeated troops are in high spirits about going to the battlefield. Most of these people have personal grudges with the Germans to avenge. The death of close comrades makes these veterans of the Red Army tank troops who crawled out of the purgatory-like battlefield want to rush to the front line immediately to crush those Germans and stuff them into the tracks for lubrication.

The surviving tank trainees have different reactions to the news of going to the front line.

Malashenko, who was standing next to Political Commissar Petrov and listening to the pre-war mobilization speech, could clearly see that many of the immature students sitting in the audience had expressions of fear and anxiety on their faces.

Although he frowned slightly behind Political Commissar Petrov without being noticed by others, Malashenko, who had also personally experienced the battle at the tractor factory, did not say anything after all, but just watched silently.

Even he, who had fought all the way from last year to now, was trembling all over after the battle and could hardly walk steadily. Thinking carefully, Malashenko simply thought a lot more open-mindedly. For young people who went to the battlefield for the first time, it was already very good to be able to withstand such pressure and not become a deserter.

After all, what more can you ask of a group of "children" who are the same age as college students in later generations?

As long as they can muster up the courage to step on their tanks and rush to the battlefield again, in Malashenko's opinion, this is already good enough.

The urgently mobilized and fully armed First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment set out after nightfall.

The worsening war situation forced Malashenko to join the 24th Army as soon as he left the city. The Soviet army, which only had a circle of field defense positions outside the city, had no strategic depth, except for the great city named after the leader behind him.

Under the cold and bleak moonlight, he couldn't help but look back at the ruins of the city behind him. For the first time, Malashenko felt so clearly that the cruel street fighting that was grinding flesh and blood was really not far away from him. This limited counterattack, which was destined to end from the beginning, could not stop the German tanks from rolling forward.

At the starting point of the attack, Malashenko, who was half asleep in his tank, barely took a nap. Although his posture was cramped, it made Malashenko feel safe enough.

Malashenko, who left his tank on the battlefield, always felt like a lonely boat in the sea or a rootless duckweed.

If he was not extremely tired, it would take him several hours to fall asleep after tossing and turning. Malashenko, who was not sure whether he had mental problems, could only rest in the tank to find a little comfort. Whether the posture was uncomfortable or not was no longer an important matter.

Driver Seryosha and loader Kirill, who were members of Malashenko's crew, chose to rest outside the vehicle. They leaned against the road wheels of the vehicle and used their coats as pillows to take a nap. Like Malashenko, only gunner Iushkin decided to spend the last few hours before the counterattack in the tank.

Malashenko, who was half asleep and half awake, was choked by the smoke and woke up completely.

One of the important reasons was that he had too many things on his mind and basically had no sleep, but the more important reason was that Iushkin had smoked most of a pack of cigarettes within an hour without opening the top hatch.

The smoky scene in front of him made Malashenko, who had just opened his eyes, almost mistakenly think that he had mistakenly entered a disco with special effects in his dream.

"Iushkin, can't you smoke less? You didn't even open the lid. Are you planning to suffocate me and make me into bacon?"

The 85mm armor-piercing shells at his feet were almost full of Iushkin's ashtray. Iushkin, who was still smoking, saw Malashenko wake up, and said something careless with a grin on his face.

"If you don't smoke now, you may not have a chance, comrade commander. It's a sad thing to have a cigarette craving at the last moment before death but not have time to light it up?"