Chapter 177 Fighting in the Dark (Part 1)

When the battle that lasted all day finally came to an end as the sun set, Malashenko, who had basically had a smooth battle throughout the whole day, could finally take a good breath.

After leaving his car, Malashenko was in a building just one street away from the German-controlled area, enjoying this rare and brief moment with the Red Army infantrymen beside him who had also just retreated from the line of fire. of tranquility.

"Comrade Major, your tobacco smells really good. I haven't smelled such a good smell in a long time."

Holding a half-lit cigarette in his hand, he was sitting in the corner puffing away smoke. The words from the little Red Army soldier next to him couldn't help but move Malashenko's attention to this slightly immature face. .

After just one glance, the young Red Army soldier who took the initiative to chat with Malashenko seemed to him to be only eighteen or nineteen years old at most. The Cinagan rifle is much taller than the owner sitting against the wall.

The age of eighteen or nineteen in a peaceful era is the best time of youth in a person's life, when he studies in higher education and pursues his dreams. However, young people born in this turbulent war era have been ruthlessly deprived of what should be theirs by the war. Of all the wonderful things, too many young people lost their lives in this cruel war to defend their motherland and homeland.

Malashenko, who felt the same way, did not feel any disgust with the little Red Army soldier next to him. On the contrary, after giving a warm smile to the little Red Army soldier next to him, Malashenko immediately took some money from his pocket. He took out the pack of finished high-end cigarettes that only officers above the Red Army's school level were qualified to supply and handed them over.

"I don't have much left, but I can still afford a cigarette."

I thought I was a very lucky little soldier just sitting next to Malashenko and smelling the smell, but I never expected that Malashenko, whose status and position were so different from mine, would take the initiative to invite me. This great surprise made this little soldier who had been in the army for less than a year smile.

"Comrade Major, can I really take one?"

Looking at the overjoyed look of the little soldier in front of him, Malashenko smiled slowly as he recalled that he had been in the same situation when he first entered society.

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with that."

boom--

Da da da--

Before Malashenko, who was smiling and holding an almost-burned cigarette butt in his hand, finished speaking, a huge explosion shot up into the sky, followed by the unique chainsaw-like rapid fire of the MG34 general machine gun, which echoed in the night sky. among.

"The Germans, those Germans are attacking!"

"Where? I can't see anything!"

"Damn it, have they already rushed into the building?"

The sudden explosion and the volley of gunshots knocked the superficial tranquility to the ground in an instant, like a wine glass being filled.

All the Red Army soldiers on the floor who were awakened by the sound of war immediately picked up their weapons and stood up. In the dark night, the dim scene where they could barely see their hands and could only see the faint moonlight lingered like the fog of war.

The terrible situation where only dense gunshots and rumbling explosions could be heard not far away made these Red Army soldiers who had no idea what was going on feel confused for a while.

Malashenko, who was also disturbed by the strong explosions and intensive gunshots, threw away the cigarette butt in his hand with a wave of his hand and instantly stood up from the base of the wall.

Not waiting for Malashenko, who had just picked up the Somi submachine gun for self-defense, turned on the gun safety, and Captain Kalinimbov, who was holding a Popod submachine gun that was relatively rare among the Red Army infantry, stumbled along the way. The ground ran forward.

"Major Malashenko, the sound of the exchange of fire came from the west of the German-controlled area and is not within our defense area! We are not under any attack now. What instructions do you have?"

In early 1941, when both individual soldier night vision equipment and tank-mounted night vision equipment were blank, large-scale night battles were something that almost all frontline commanders tried their best to avoid, regardless of country or battlefield.

Once fought, this kind of confusing battle can result in a thousand casualties to the enemy and eight hundred losses to oneself, or a direct annihilation of the entire army. Even top armies as powerful as the Soviet Union and Germany would not dare to do so on a dark and windy night. Take action.

Except for actual combat needs under certain extremely special conditions, such as a desperate attempt to reverse the situation of the war when the troops and equipment are at a disadvantage, Malashenko really cannot imagine what other reasons could motivate a soldier to The commander made this move.

"Do other friendly forces have action plans tonight? Comrade Captain, I mean the siege forces in other directions in the theater."

After being asked such a fierce question by Malashenko, he was stunned for a moment, but when he thought about it carefully, he didn't expect any friendly forces to announce the action plan. Captain Kali Nimpov quietly shook his head.

"We did not receive any advance notice from friendly forces, Comrade Major. There is no reason for our troops to launch operations at night. The entire encirclement was already in place during the day. It is only a matter of time before those Germans are crushed to death by us in the city."

"Then this can only be explained by the fact that the Germans are preparing to break out. These Germans seem to want to escape, and we can't let them succeed!"

As he opened his mouth, he pulled the bolt of the Somi submachine gun in his hand and loaded a 9mm bullet into the chamber. Malashenko, who had already made a decision in his mind, decided to take action on his own without receiving orders from his superiors.

"Inform all our troops to prepare for battle, comrade captain. The tanks will start right now, and we will rush in that direction wherever the gunfire is the densest! We can't see clearly. Those Germans are also blind. Since they want to fight We will fight them in this kind of blind battle, and we must cut off the retreat of these Germans! "

"Understood, Comrade Major!"

The siege column, which was urgently dispatched after Malashenko gave the order, started to operate rapidly like a sophisticated machine. Although the sleepy Red Army soldiers were tired and sleepy, they still braced themselves for battle. , the KV1 heavy tanks that started up one after another let out a low roar like a prehistoric beast waking up from the night.

Just as the Red Army siege column located on the weak point of the encirclement circle was caught off guard by the German breakout troops who had been prepared in advance.

The commander, General Zhukov, who had just closed his eyes and fell asleep in the reserve front army headquarters in the rear area, was suddenly awakened by the sudden hasty report and a telegram.