Chapter 886: Seize the Opportunity to Win

The night at the bridgehead was bright and dark, and the dark clouds that occasionally passed by the sky would bring the moon hanging high in the sky into darkness. Even the little stars that contrasted with the moon were looming. It was difficult to judge what the weather would be like after dawn based on such a scene.

"How many German prisoners did we capture?"

"Not many. It was too dark and the visibility was so low that we couldn't see whether the enemy really surrendered or catch those who threw their guns and ran away. It is estimated that there were only 70 or 80 people at most. The rest were either lying on the ground or running back to inform the enemy."

When the bridgehead was fighting fiercely just now, there was only crazy firepower roaring in the dark night, which was only one step away from pitch black. There was nothing else.

Some German soldiers who were scared and felt hopeless of breaking through wanted to raise their hands and surrender, but the Red Army soldiers who couldn't see whether the enemy had dropped their weapons in the dark could only continue to pull the trigger and wait for a burst of bullets in most cases.

Not only was there no hope of surrender, but they were directly knocked down and killed by a volley of bullets. The German soldiers, with a strong desire to survive, began to flee in all directions.

Realizing that the enemy had no intention of fighting again, the Red Army soldiers hurriedly chased after them to capture prisoners, but the terrain on the bridgehead was more familiar to the German troops stationed there. The dark and windy night brought great convenience to the German army to escape. Nearly half of the German garrison troops guarding the bridge finally escaped successfully, making Lavrinenko look helpless at the moment.

Malashenko looked up at the starry sky without saying much. He put the Luger P08 pistol back into the holster and then gave orders.

"Notify the troops to assemble urgently! Try to reach Karachi before dawn!"

"We can't see in the dark, and the enemy can't see either. We should catch these Germans off guard before they react and understand the situation."

Lavrinenko didn't want to reject Malashenko's proposal, but after looking back at the tanks still roaring across the Don River Bridge and the large number of vehicles jammed, Lavrinenko, who felt that Malashenko's order was somewhat difficult to execute, couldn't help but speak.

"We can only gather a tank battalion at most now, which is the limit. It's not easy to get all the troops across the bridge before dawn. Are you sure you want to start the attack immediately with such a small force? We don't even know how many Germans there are in Karachi."

"Why don't we just capture a few high-ranking prisoners and ask them how many Germans there are? Don't worry about it. Just give the Germans a blow first. Maybe the Germans in Karachi are less than half of what you think, or even less. If we get rid of this nail early, we can report to the front headquarters as soon as possible.

While explaining, he put his hands on his hips and looked around. Malashenko, who was looking around, finally found the familiar face he had been looking for in the co-pilot seat of another GAZ jeep that was driving across the bridge.

"Damn, I heard you came here to be the assault team leader? Malashenko! You are getting bolder and bolder. You must remember that you are a colonel brigade commander! ”

Just as Ivushkin complained earlier, it was as expected.

Political Commissar Petrov, who had just got out of the car, started to nag Malashenko before he even had time to close the door. He looked like a parent scolding a child who was too daring.

"I don't have time to explain so much. It's useless to talk about these things later. Have you brought the military uniform? I have to change this dog skin quickly!"

"I knew you would ask me for this."

Political Commissar Petrov, who knew that time was running out, did not worry too much about the trivial matter of the brigade commander turning into a commando leader. Instead, he turned around and opened the car door, and threw a set of spare new tank soldier combat uniforms and tank caps placed on the back seat of the jeep to Malashenko.

"Take the people to defend the bridgehead and clean up the battlefield, comrade political commissar. After setting up the radio station, send a telegram to the front headquarters immediately, saying that the Don River Bridge has been successfully captured, and please send support troops to come quickly. Malashenko has led the vanguard troops to Karachi Town, striving to capture the town as soon as possible to complete the mission objectives. "

Looking at Malashenko who was changing clothes directly on the snow in the wind, Political Commissar Petrov, who was used to helping this little guy in his eyes, shook his head helplessly.

"I have never done these things for you. It is you who should be more careful with such a small vanguard. You should know that the situation in Karachi Town is still unclear. We don't even know how many troops the Germans have deployed there."

After taking off his Wehrmacht colonel uniform and throwing it directly into the snow without paying attention, Malashenko, who was afraid of being mistaken and injured by mistake, finally changed into his genuine Red Army tank soldier combat uniform, put the tank cap on his forehead, and then ran to his car not far away.

"Don't worry, Karachi Town will be ours by noon at most! Those Germans can't escape from our palm. "

Looking at Malashenko's back as he spoke with great confidence, Lavrinenko, who did not follow immediately, could not help but curl his lips.

"He is always so confident, as if everything is under his control. I don't know where this confidence comes from."

Political Commissar Petrov, who also witnessed Malashenko's receding back, smiled slightly, his face showing his usual trust in Malashenko. He patted Lavrinenko's shoulder with his big hand and spoke immediately afterwards.

"At least this confidence can lead the troops to victory and be invincible. Hurry up and witness how his confidence turns into miracles. Also, don't let him go too far. You are more stable than him."

Political Commissar Petrov left the last words and ran away to command what he should do, leaving Lavrinenko with his head tilted and whispering to himself.

"Yes, I am indeed much more stable than the commando captain."

The troops that were urgently assembled were only the 5 T70 small bean tanks that crossed the bridge first and more than half a battalion of heavy tanks, with a total of only 32 tanks, just over 30.

The good news is that because Malashenko issued an order in advance to let the main force cross the bridge first, the heavy tanks assembled by more than half a battalion were all IS1 heavy tanks, that is, the tank battalion 1 commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kurbalov.

As a veteran tank commander and ace crew, Kurbarov's car was also among them. Counting his own and Lavrinenko's two brigade command vehicles, Malashenko, who had assembled three ace crews and a main force, was full of confidence.

The defense of Karachi, which was composed of the poor German logistics soldiers and supplementary troops, was simply vulnerable in the eyes of the brigade commander.