Chapter 841 Asking for Directions

Kremenskoya is a troop assembly point located north of Stalingrad and under the actual control of the Soviet Southwestern Front.

On the battlefield of Stalingrad, the German army's own elite troops were mainly responsible for siege battles and deep assault street battles. This was the hardest bone to chew in the entire battle, and it was also the sad place for Paulus, the commander of the Sixth Army of the Wehrmacht. As the strongest main force of the Axis, the Germans had to complete this arduous task by themselves.

On the German flank in Stalingrad, the army responsible for covering the German army and playing soy sauce on the battlefield was composed of the expeditionary corps of Italy, Romania, and Hungary. This was the force that Hitler had specially asked for from his dog-legged allies in order to make up for the huge losses in the Battle of Moscow.

The Führer believed that even if the combat power of these dog-legged allies was not good, it should be no problem to help the German army to cover, fill the number of troops, and put them on the side to look after the rear of the German main force.

However, the facts on the front line are exactly the opposite. The combat effectiveness of these dog-legged allies is so bad that the German front-line commanders all expressed their distrust.

In order to prevent these Italians, Hungarians, and Romanians from fleeing at the critical moment, Paulus also specially dispatched about half of the armored division to assist in the defense, but the main purpose is to play a supervisory and pillar role to prevent these garbage allies from ruining their own good deeds at the critical moment.

Can the "supervision team" sent by the German army be effective? How strong is the dog-legged army composed of Italy, Romania, and Hungary? What kind of tactics is the most appropriate in the next counterattack?

All of the above are the issues that Malashenko is still considering. Malashenko, who was sitting in the back seat of the jeep with a map in his hand, has been thinking all the way.

"You have been looking all the way, I don't know what you are looking at, what are you studying?"

Lavrinenko, who was also sitting next to him in the back row, finally couldn't help but murmur, but Malashenko, holding a map in his hand, still had a calm expression.

"Look at how the upcoming counterattack will be fought. If nothing unexpected happens, our brigade will definitely be placed in the forefront again. It is better to prepare in advance than to look at the map at the last minute."

After Malashenko said this, Lavrinenko was even more unhappy.

"But you don't even know when the counterattack will start and our general offensive direction. What can you see by looking at the map? You are not the commander of the front, my old classmate, are you thinking about the overall strategy?"

This time, Malashenko did not speak, but still held the map in front of him and looked at it carefully from top to bottom, just like a dull gourd, which made Lavrinenko, who originally planned to chat on the way to relax, very depressed.

"Look at your map, I smoke my cigarette, that's it"

The situation where one person was busy looking at the map and the other was smoking silently continued until the convoy arrived at the final destination of Kremenskaya.

"Regiment, comrade brigade commander, we are here. This is Kremenskoya marked on the map."

Malachenko, who had long forgotten the concept of time, put down the map in his hand after hearing the reminder from the driver in the front row, and looked out of the car window. The first thing that caught his eye was the busy figures of the Red Army soldiers of the brigade outside the village.

"Move over here, move those boxes of ammunition and load them on the car quickly, and you guys come to help, hurry up"

"Where is the logistics and munitions department? We need to report the list of supplies, yes, immediately."

"Stop, stop! Don't back up, there is a pit behind, be careful not to fall into it!"

The scene of hundreds of people and dozens of various cars busy surprised Malachenko a little. This place does not look like it has been baptized by war at all. Everything seems to be in the process of preparation before the attack. However, looking at the infantry identity of these Red Army soldiers, it is obvious that they are not the 1st Heavy Tank Brigade of the Guards where he came to take office.

"Get off the car and ask. It's not right to drive around like this all the time."

Without waiting for Lavrinenko to answer, Malashenko opened the door and got out of the car alone. Lavrinenko, who was leaning on the back seat and was about to fall asleep, opened his eyes and saw that there was no one beside him. Then he hurriedly opened the door and followed Malashenko.

The person Malashenko found to ask for directions was a major.

Looking at the more than 100 people in front of him, he was the most senior officer. There were several lieutenants around him who seemed to be receiving orders from the major and obeying his command. Malashenko felt that this major should be able to give him the answer he was looking for.

"Hello, comrade! Our troops passed by here. We have a few questions to ask you. Are you free now?"

The major, who seemed to be two or three years older than Malashenko, obviously didn't notice Malashenko's approach. He was only concerned with assigning tasks to his subordinates. After hearing the sudden words from his side, he turned around with a cigarette in his mouth.

He was wearing a new-looking lieutenant colonel tank soldier's uniform, but he was missing the military cap that should have been worn correctly.

At first glance, the iron tower-like figure that was definitely over 1.9 meters tall was a whole head taller than him. The slightly stunned major looked directly at Malashenko with his head raised slightly upward.

"Why do I feel that this person looks familiar? I seem to have seen him somewhere, and more than once"

The major was looking up at Malashenko's face and seemed distracted for a moment, but the lieutenants beside him were not blind.

Compared to this familiar face that was recognized by several people who often read newspapers, the shining golden star hanging on his chest at this moment is obviously more worthy of attention.

"Oh, damn! Am I blind? Then that can't be..."

"Tank hero Malashenko and the Gold Star Medal, swear to Comrade Stalin, this is the biggest news I have seen in the past month, no doubt about it"

"Comrade Battalion Commander, Comrade Battalion Commander?"

The major felt someone pulling the corner of his sleeve and looked back subconsciously, but then he saw that his subordinates were all hinting at him with strong eyes without exception, and their expressions were so bizarre and outrageous.

The major was still thinking about who this familiar person in front of him was, and turned his head back to look again in the direction of the hinted eyes.

It's not a big deal if you don't notice it, but when you take a look at it, your jaw almost drops.