Second Lieutenant Vasily, who endured the pain of bandaging his wound, was not too worried about the bad news. Compared with his superiors and Red Army comrades who had died on the battlefield and sacrificed their lives for the country, the fact that Vasily was still alive at the moment
The second lieutenant seems to be very lucky.
"Don't worry about that, Sasha, just wrap it up and stop the bleeding! Those Germans may come back at any time, so we have to quickly organize troops to repair their positions and prepare to continue to face the enemy."
He reluctantly bandaged the wound that had not completely stopped the bleeding and prepared to stand up. But just as he turned his head to Second Lieutenant Vasily in front of him, he saw a resolute face with a mixture of admiration and complicated expressions.
The silence between the four eyes did not last long. Malashenko, who was the first to take off the black leather gloves on his hands, immediately raised his right hand and gave a military salute to Second Lieutenant Vasily in front of him.
"Lieutenant Colonel Malashenko, commander of the 1st Independent Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion, was ordered to lead his troops to support the Uritsk theater. Nice to meet you, Second Lieutenant Vasily."
Second Lieutenant Vasily, who has joined the Red Army and served for five years, has experienced this kind of thing where his superiors who are many levels above him are the first to raise his hands and salute. After a moment of confusion, Second Lieutenant Vasily hurriedly
Subconsciously, I wanted to raise my right arm to give Malashenko a salute in return.
"Thirty-three...ah..."
The subconscious action of raising his hand could not change the reality that he had just undergone surgery for a gunshot wound to his right arm.
For a moment, Lieutenant Vasily felt a heart-piercing pain in his right arm. He threw away his right hand uncontrollably. This lightning-like severe pain and muscle tearing sensation, which was even better than an electric shock, caused even a determined person to feel it.
Even the Red Army soldiers couldn't bear it.
"No need, Comrade Vasily, saluting is completely unnecessary for you right now."
After witnessing this scene with his own eyes, Malashenko immediately signaled to Vasily that he did not need to salute like this without saying a word. Malashenko, who admired the Red Army second lieutenant's firm will, did not care about these trivial details at all.
The major issue of military deployment is what Malashenko is most anxious about right now.
"Second Lieutenant Vasily, I want to confirm something for you first. Among the commanders still alive on the entire position, do you have the highest rank?"
Second Lieutenant Vasily, who stood up with a DP28 light machine gun in his left hand, immediately nodded in acquiescence when faced with Malashenko's inquiry. Vasily, who was almost aware of the situation on the entire position, then answered.
"Although I was assigned command by the battalion commander comrade before he died, Second Lieutenant Mayakovsky is still fighting. He is a company commander like me. Have you seen him?"
"Second Lieutenant Mayakovsky?"
Malashenko, who recalled the name of this great Russian poet, instantly remembered the numb-looking Red Army second lieutenant he saw taking care of wounded soldiers when he just jumped out of the car, and realized that he had already interacted with him.
Malashenko, who had met before, nodded quietly.
"Yes, Second Lieutenant Vasily, I have already seen him. He is over there helping the wounded."
After hearing the words from Malashenko's mouth, Second Lieutenant Vasily immediately showed a sincere and joyful smile. There is nothing more gratifying on the battlefield than the fact that his life and death comrades are still alive.
"Okay, now that the situation has been determined, let's talk about something serious, Second Lieutenant Vasily."
Knowing that time was so tight that he had to race against time, Malashenko had no time to chat. Malashenko, who had to formulate a defense plan as soon as possible, spoke again almost without thinking.
"Comrade Second Lieutenant, tell me, how many people in our position can afford to kill those Germans now? In addition, where is your regiment or division headquarters? Why are there so many people in such a large position?
This is your army?"
Second Lieutenant Vasily frowned when he heard Malashenko's question, and an indescribable expression mixed with a hint of grief appeared on his face.
"That's right, Comrade Malashenko."
"This position in our regiment's defense area is the main position at the northwest corner of the field defense line on the outskirts of the town of Uritsk. After passing this position, you can enter the town by walking five kilometers further, so we set up a regiment here.
force to resist the Germans."
Second Lieutenant Vasily, whose every word was filled with a natural expression, did not realize the problem. He only placed a regiment of troops on the main position of the suburban field defense line. This was not a good thing for the Soviet army, which always emphasized the massing of large regiments for operations.
It's such a ridiculous thing to say that it's just a fantasy.
However, it also indirectly reflects the extent to which the strength of the 42nd Army, which has suffered heavy losses, has been depleted.
Malashenko, who had a serious look on his face, was unwilling to let go of any detail in his words. In contrast, Second Lieutenant Vasily, who was holding back the pain of his wound, continued to talk.
"Not long after the German offensive started in the morning, our regiment received news that the defense zone next door was in emergency. The division commander instructed our regiment to immediately send reinforcements to the position next door to prevent the German troops from breaking through the defense zone and crossing back to our rear or even behind us.
Break directly into the town."
"Comrade Commander of the Regiment personally set off with his troops to provide support, leaving political commissar Shanikov to continue directing the battle."
"The Germans' offensive was very fierce. They assembled nearly twenty tanks to cover a large number of infantry to attack our frontal defensive positions. Various mortars and howitzer shells kept bombarding us like rain."
"We repelled four German charges throughout the morning and knocked out eight of their tanks. As long as the German attack suffered a slight setback, they would temporarily avoid the attack and call for artillery support. After the artillery bombardment was over, they would continue the attack with the replenished troops.
"
"Commissar Shanikov was killed on the position by a plane that had just arrived from the Germans during the third wave of attacks. Battalion Commander Polonov took over the command and continued to lead us to fight and repel the Germans.
However, the retaliatory artillery fire launched by the Germans seriously injured Battalion Commander Polonov. He handed over the command to me at the last moment before he died, until the German tanks just rushed towards us.
You came to our position and drove them back."
After narrating the entire process from this morning to now at a very fast speed, Second Lieutenant Vasily, who had just taken a breath, suddenly remembered that he seemed to have forgotten something that he had not said and spoke again.
"The specific casualties on the position have not yet been calculated, Comrade Malashenko, but I estimate that we only have about a hundred people left who can still afford guns."