It was not only Malashenko's tank troops that made a major contribution to this soon-to-come victory, but the small 500 infantry unit commanded by Lieutenant Vasily also played a very important role.
When the tank troops commanded by Malashenko were killing the German armored soldiers one by one like chopping melons and vegetables, Lieutenant Vasily, who realized that the time was ripe, did not even wait for Commissar Petrov's order and was the first to pick up the weapons in his hand.
The German-made MP40 submachine gun shouted at the surrounding comrades.
"Defend the motherland! For Stalin! Charge!"
The German infantry who jumped out of the 251 half-track car were in an extremely awkward situation. Not only was the attack blocked, there was no way to defend them. Facing the Soviet heavy tanks rushing in front of them, the German infantry could only act like poor autumn grasshoppers.
He was also pinned behind the tank and couldn't move.
Malashenko, who saw through the commander's periscope that the German infantry had dismounted, ordered the machine guns of each crew to fire with all their might to suppress the vehicle. The tracer machine gun barrage that hit the German tanks formed a single or even multiple repeated ricochet trajectories.
The trajectory was quite strange. More than one German soldier hiding behind the tank had his head ripped off by stray bullets that came from nowhere.
The tanks exploded, the infantry wailed, and the German vanguard troops who were trapped in an ambush in front of the first position outside the village were like ants on a hot pot but there was nothing they could do.
Lieutenant Vasily's lead charge greatly stimulated the militiamen who had just put down their hoes and tools. The breathtaking Ula Charge took only half a cigarette to cross a distance of less than 400 meters and ride into the face of the German infantry.
superior.
When it comes to professional military skills such as shooting to kill and target shooting accuracy, these militias composed of farmers and workers who have just put down their hoes and tools may still be far behind the orthodox German army.
But after all, the nickname of the fighting nation is not for nothing. Fighting from childhood to adulthood is the life of every Slavic man. The Soviet Red Army has never been afraid of such things as fists and bayonets in close combat.
Bloody bayonets and fighting cries intertwined with fierce firing and explosions that echoed across the battlefield. The hatred of country and family made these militia soldiers use all means to kill the enemy in front of them, even at the cost of banging their heads and teeth.
The broken troops gathered by Malashenko along the way were even more vicious against the Germans. They used rifle butts, engineer shovels, bayonets, and even dual-wielding hammers and sickles that I didn't know they had obtained from the farmer in the village.
All the people involved were thrown into this blood-splattered close-quarters killing.
The hammer in his left hand hit the German soldier's head and helmet hard, making a buzzing sound. The German soldier's head was spinning instantly. The German soldier was unsteady and about to fall. Before he could react, he immediately used the lawn mower sickle in his right hand.
With one horizontal slash, the whole good man's head and helmet flew into the sky. The blood from the broken neck gushes out like a fountain and instantly dyes the headless body and the grass beneath his feet red.
"Bastard fascists! Witness the power of communism!"
It only took fifteen minutes from the firing of the first shot to the complete defeat of the German army. Judging from this, Malashenko did fulfill his promise of "defeating the German army in three cigarettes." He carelessly underestimated the enemy and the village was completely flat.
The vast grassland with no danger to defend was the main factor in the German army's defeat at such a speed.
Although the German vanguard units were surrounded and completely eliminated within the scheduled time, the real battle was far from over for Malashenko.
The time to clean the battlefield and escort prisoners is very limited, and Malashenko must do everything possible to seize the time.
He opened the turret hatch above his head and jumped out of the car. Lieutenant Vasily, who was not far from Malashenko's car, saw this and immediately moved towards Malashenko.
"Comrade Commander, I didn't expect victory to come so quickly! It's like a dream!"
Lieutenant Vasily, who was fighting side by side with Malashenko for the first time, had not yet experienced the vigor and efficiency of Malashenko in fighting. It was only reasonable to be full of praise and deeply surprised, but he was just in a hurry to do something right now.
Malashenko, however, had no spare time to listen to these words of praise.
"As long as you follow me, there will be many more victories like this in the future! Now hurry up and clear the battlefield within ten minutes before taking the German prisoners away!"
"Detain it?"
Speaking of which, this was the first time that Lieutenant Vasily, who had suffered repeated defeats throughout 1941, captured a German prisoner.
Lieutenant Vasily, who had only captured some Finns in the Soviet-Finnish War in the past and did not have much experience in handling prisoners, immediately asked Malashenko curiously.
"Comrade Commander, what should I do with these German prisoners?"
Malashenko, who was still striding forward, suddenly stopped when he heard this. He pursed his dry lips and glanced at the cute Lieutenant Vasily in front of him, then turned his head and glanced at those who had put down their weapons.
The German panzer grenadiers raised their hands to surrender. Malashenko, who realized that he seemed to have missed something, immediately thought of a very important question.
He only has 24 hours to defend the village, and so far there are only a dozen hours left.
If the situation was not good, he might not be able to hold on for more than ten hours and would have to retreat early. Malashenko estimated that according to the German's usual behavior, after the vanguard force was completely wiped out, he would definitely use a roundabout method to outflank him.
If he stayed in the village any longer, he would definitely end up being made dumplings by the Germans. At this point, even an idiot would know how to run away.
But once the retreat began, the mighty and powerful number of more than a hundred German prisoners could not be taken with them.
Not only was it seriously slowing down my marching speed, but if there was a fight, the captured Germans would rebel if they couldn't protect them all. At that time, if they could seize the guards' guns and cooperate with each other, they would be enough to make a drink for themselves.
But if these German prisoners were not taken away, Malashenko would not dare to have the courage to order the killing of more than 100 German prisoners without a clear order from his superiors. Let’s not talk about the possible consequences of doing so.
Despite the negative consequences for himself, Malashenko still felt a little repelled by the indiscriminate killing of so many German prisoners at once.
After all, the Wehrmacht are not all fanatics, right?
After weighing and thinking for a moment, Malashenko suddenly remembered a key element and immediately turned around and asked Lieutenant Vasily.
"Comrade Vasily, how are the fortifications in Stalingrad being built?"