Judging from the facial expressions and expressions, the true feelings of Major Hermann seemed to Malashenko to be without a trace of hypocrisy, but the words pouring out of his mouth sounded to Malashenko.
But it has a somewhat awkward flavor.
"Great? Haha, for you Germans, this kind of adjective shouldn't be used on the Bolsheviks who are regarded as objects that must be eradicated, right? Have you never considered whether it is appropriate to speak to me like this?"
The ideological and political opposition seemed unable to change Major Herman's still sincerely grateful dark blue eyes. Even after hearing the almost sarcastic words from Malashenko's mouth, there was still no trace of anger.
"Great people do not distinguish between race, national boundaries or even ideology, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. You saved my comrades as an enemy on the opposite side. This is enough to prove your greatness to me personally.
"
"Hmph, he's quite eloquent. Nowadays, any German who can understand Russian must be a college graduate or something, no matter how bad he is."
Malashenko, who reported such secretly slanderous words in his heart, did not remain silent for long. Malashenko, who wanted to know the truth about the surprise battle just now, raised his head and asked again.
"Who is the highest commander of your German army in the village? If I guess correctly, it should be you."
As Malashenko expected, Hermann's next words quickly confirmed Malashenko's guess.
"You are right, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. There is only one infantry battalion belonging to the 127th Infantry Division of the National Defense Forces stationed in this village, and I am the commander of this battalion."
He was not surprised that a mere infantry battalion could be defeated and surrendered so quickly. Having his conjecture confirmed, Malashenko still had many questions in his mind that were yet to be answered.
"The intelligence I received earlier mentioned that the original offensive in this direction was a German armored and infantry mixed coordinated force. Where are your tanks? Where have they gone?"
In his heart, he knew very clearly what "they" in Malashenko's words meant, and Major Herman, who did not hide anything he knew about the situation unnecessarily, spoke again.
"Because winter combat supplies are very scarce and almost non-existent, that armored force no longer has the ability to continue attacking you, and it also has no ability to withdraw from the front line."
"After the first wave of cold wave came, they were trapped in the village with my battalion. Their tanks were parked in the village, but many of their crews had been killed by you in the battle just now. Even if they
If you insist on participating in this battle without tanks, my advice will not have much effect."
After hearing Hermann speak like this, Malashenko noticed that in the queue of German prisoners of war who were slowly walking past under the escort of Soviet soldiers with their hands raised, many people did not wear the infantry insignia.
The German armored soldiers wearing steel helmets, with only a canvas hat on their head, looked slightly funny, and it seemed that they could not withstand the severe cold in the wind.
"You just said that the tank is in the village. Where is it parked now? Take me there immediately to take a look."
After hearing Malashenko's request, Major Hermann did not hesitate. This German major, who seemed somewhat unpredictable to Malashenko, did not appear to be a die-hard member of the Nazi Party.
Die loyal.
"Those tanks are parked in a small open space in the center of the village. Apart from being frozen in place and unable to start due to lack of winter lubricating oil and antifreeze, the vehicles are in relatively good condition. Come with me."
Hermann, who had yet to finish his words, walked ahead and took the initiative to lead the way without waiting for Malashenko to answer. The German major, who had been disarmed and unarmed, was very cooperative and even kept asking questions and requests.
Malashenko felt an uneasy suspicion.
For the sake of caution, Malashenko immediately winked at Sergeant Tyakov who was still standing beside him. This sergeant squad leader who had killed many Japanese soldiers of the Kwantung Army was also very smart, and then he looked at him.
With a wave of the hands of several squad soldiers who were waiting next to them, the understanding Red Army soldiers immediately followed their squad leader around Malashenko, heading towards the center of the village under the leadership of the German major.
Go.
The road from the entrance of the village where the Germans surrendered to the small open space in the center of the village is not too far. The village of Womano with more than a hundred households cannot be considered a big village. It only takes a few minutes to walk and a group of people will soon be there.
reached the final destination during the hike.
"This is it, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. The armored battalion that accompanied us in the attack has a total of 28 tanks left. Except for 3 tanks that were damaged in battle and need to be repaired, the remaining 25 tanks are all in good condition. But the prerequisite is that you have to find them.
We need resources to get them moving again, they are frozen to death here now."
Along with Hermann's explanation words beside him, I looked towards the white canvases covered in the white snow in front of me. I could only see scenes with basic bulging outlines shaped like snowdrifts. Finally, Malashin
Coe understood why the previous reconnaissance results reported that no German tanks were found in the village.
"These German guys, knowing that the tank was useless, just covered it with camouflage cloth and turned it into a snowdrift. They are quite good at deceiving the tank."
I was a little bit dumbfounded by the little trick of the German army. The German tanks were covered with camouflage like large snowdrifts. If you look at it with the naked eye from a few hundred meters away, it is really difficult to detect the real appearance of the German tanks. It is the first time that I have come into contact with such a large number of tanks at close range.
Malashenko of the German tank couldn't help but feel a little excited, and then turned his head and glanced at squad leader Tyakov who looked equally surprised next to him.
"I understand, Comrade Malashenko, I'll do it right away."
Tyakov, who knew something from his eyes, immediately turned around and waved to the Red Army soldiers who were following him. Except for the two Red Army soldiers who were still following him and guarding Malashenko, the rest
Several Red Army soldiers immediately strode forward and began to try to lift off the camouflage canvas covering the German tank with their bare hands.
The camouflage canvas was firmly held down by the thick snow and could not be easily torn off even if several Slavic men exerted their strength at the same time.
Several Red Army soldiers standing side by side in the snow up to their ankles almost used all their strength, and the white camouflage cloth that was pressed under the thick snow was finally torn off with a huff.
Looking at the German tank that was finally revealed in front of him, Malashenko, who was looking at each other for a moment, immediately noticed something strange that was not so obvious.
"Huh? This...No. 3? No, something seems a little different..."