Malashenko felt that it would not be safe if there were no tanks at the division headquarters, so leaving some infantry guards would be difficult to deal with emergencies when the formation becomes larger.
Comrade Political Commissar was also thinking about Malashenko, fearing that those Germans would come out halfway and give Malashenko a killing blow.
It would be troublesome if a bunch of tanks rolled over and hit Malashenko in the face. An IS4 heavy tank fighting alone could not withstand a group of people on the opposite side no matter how hard it fought. Bringing the guards along with them, they would at least encounter a group with a similar number.
There is no problem when there are many enemies.
Both sides are thinking about each other. Although Malashenko is a stubborn person, he is not used to being tough in his attitude towards his political commissar comrades. It can even be said that Malashenko has never been confident in his heart and does not feel that he can speak up.
If you continue to defeat Comrade Political Commissar, it will be a meaningless waste of time.
"I'm just worried that there may be problems at the division headquarters. There are no troops around that can be transferred immediately. If the Germans come over..."
"The division headquarters is fine, you don't have to worry about this. I just looked at the battle zone map and defense situation. The division headquarters is in the southwest corner. The Germans will waste a lot of time and unnecessary distance to break out from here. They have limited time and can only
We must end everything as soon as possible before dawn, otherwise they will be completely destroyed as soon as our aviation forces arrive, and it will be impossible to break out from here."
"Besides, the division headquarters is only two kilometers away from the defense area of the Third Regiment in a straight line. The tanks can arrive with just a kick of the accelerator. Just because I don't touch the tanks doesn't mean I don't know about the situation. You go and do what you should do. The division headquarters is here.
Don't worry, I will take care of everything."
Comrade Comrade Political Commissar seemed much more energetic after a good sleep, and his overall condition was much better than before.
Malashenko, who was watching this situation, didn't know if it was due to his own illusion, but since it seemed to be better, he didn't have any extra time to waste it, so he had to hurry up and do the important things he should do first.
Let’s talk about it after it’s done.
"If you have any questions, use the relay communication vehicle to use the radio to contact me. Remember!"
"Well, you should also keep the communication open at all times. We have not experienced many night battles. No one knows what kind of emergencies we will encounter."
After leaving the last mutual agreement, Malashenko, holding the tank cap in his hand, walked out of the civil fortification where the division headquarters was located along the traffic trench without looking back. As soon as he went out, he saw this guy Iushkin standing there.
Wave to yourself next to the tank.
"Hurry up and get in the car. I know you can't wait when you hear the sound of cannons. You are all ready!"
There is no doubt that Malashenko is the legendary No. 177 crew chief.
But at the same time, Malashenko was also the division commander of Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division. Sometimes he had to do what the division commander had to do, and it was impossible to stay with his crew all the time.
In the absence of Malashenko, generally speaking, Iushkin is the one who replaces Malashenko as the "acting commander".
Seryosha, who had long been an old comrade-in-arms with Iushkin, naturally did not say that there would be no problem in discussing it between the two good brothers.
Artyom, the new member of the crew who replaced Kirill, was not a thorny person. Iushkin was a bit irritable at first, but Artyom knew how to retreat in order to be polite and humble. However, Iushkin always made rude remarks.
Or when things wanted to cause trouble, Artyom would always choose to let him maintain the relationship and move forward.
Moreover, the experienced Iushkin is now the highest-ranking member of the No. 177 crew besides Malashenko. Comrade Lao Ma just promoted him to the rank of captain not long ago.
Therefore, both Seryosha and Artyom agree with Iushkin, the unappointed "acting commander", and they will follow Iushkin's arrangements as long as it is not too messy. It's that simple.
thing.
Iushkin, who was lying on the turret to enjoy the cool breeze, was the first to react when he heard the sound of the cannon. Knowing Malashenko's character well, he quickly asked his brothers to take action and get ready for the tank launch.
As soon as the tank here was warmed up, Malashenko immediately appeared in Iushkin's field of vision. He walked over with a long stride and greeted the commander, comrade, to get on the bus quickly. Naturally, Iushkin became
The last thing Shi Jin should do.
"Where are you going? Are the Germans coming?"
Climbing up the car body with Malashenko and preparing to get into the turret, he asked questions. Iushkin, who didn't know the specific situation, felt excited just by hearing the sound of the gun. He didn't care about lying to the Germans.
It always makes people feel excited.
"It's better to say they were caught by us than to fight over. A bunch of homeless dogs just wanted to escape in the darkness of the night. Just over there in the defense area, the battle is going smoothly so far, and the flares prepared in advance are now used.
, let’s go over and see these Germans off for the last time.”
There is a saying that Iushkin, whose violent gene is getting stronger and stronger, likes to listen to Malashenko's words. Comrade Commander always makes people's blood boil when he speaks, as if he is crushing a German on the tracks.
What's underneath is just within reach.
The huge and extremely heavy IS4 heavy tank rose up from the mud and rushed forward. The crawler tracks that were grinding faster and faster dragged a large amount of mud behind the tank.
The wide track design of the Stalin series of heavy tanks comes in handy at this time. The excellent cross-country passability ensures that the 60-ton is4 heavy tank can still survive in this kind of mud as long as it does not sink too deep.
Passed effectively.
A similar situation also occurred with the guard company following Malashenko. The is6 heavy tank, which is powerful and has a lighter combat weight and a higher power-to-weight ratio, will only perform better than the is4.
Although Malashenko's command vehicle was not stuck in the mud, its speed was really incomparable with the is6. It can only be said that the guard company deliberately slowed down and moved forward with the command vehicle of the division commander, keeping pace with each other.
.
At this moment, on the other side, the battlefield, illuminated by flares as bright as day, was still fiercely fought.
Under the light of the flares that hung high in the sky like the sun in the night sky, the German army had assembled a considerable force and was rushing towards the position that was already close at hand with all its strength.
The German troops, who thought they were cautious enough, had been marching along the planned breakout route, but they never thought of stepping on the trip mines laid by the cunning Russians.
Together with more than a dozen 152 artillery shells specially buried together, a loud explosion was instantly triggered. It lifted a No. 4 tank into the sky on the spot, killing dozens of surrounding infantrymen and killing dozens of nearby infantrymen.
It completely woke up the Russians on the position five hundred meters away.