Chapter 22 Follow-up reinforcements

The splashing mud was like churning volcanic lava, being splashed everywhere under the crazy rolling of the tank's driving wheel. The field maintenance troops of the 20th Tank Division were nervously and busy rescuing the steel behemoths stuck in the mud pit. Division Commander Chernyayev, who was in charge of leading this unit, raised his arms and shouted loudly.

"Back! Back! Damn it, did your crew have mud in their heads!? I told you to go back first, but your tank got stuck on the slope and skidded, and you stepped on the accelerator, right? You want me to teach you how to drive a tank?"

Before the furious Commander Chernyev finished speaking, Lieutenant Colonel Petrov, political commissar of the 20th Tank Division, ran up anxiously, clutching a copy of the paper that had just been received and even smelled of ink. .

"Comrade division commander, you have to take a look at this. Three minutes ago, the division headquarters just received a telegram from the advance troops. The two companies of the advance troops led by Captain Malashenko had just suffered heavy losses from bombing by the German Air Force. Malashenko At the end of the telegram, the captain stated that he would lead the remaining troops to continue advancing according to the original plan, but the remaining troops on hand were less than ten tanks and one platoon of infantry! "

"What did you say? A German air raid?"

With a face of great surprise and a tone of disbelief, he snatched the telegram copied from Lieutenant Colonel Petrov and read it at a glance. A moment later, Commander Chernyayev, who had read the entire text, was instantly furious. Don't hit any place.

"Damn it! The German planes are flying above our heads like flies, but where are our air forces!? Where are these damn pilots? It's been almost a week since the war started and I haven't seen even one of ours. Planes, these air force division commanders really should be sent to the Gulag for transformation!”

Seeing his furious partner who had crumpled the telegraph newspaper into a ball in front of him, Lieutenant Colonel Petrov, who was quite helpless after letting out a long sigh, then spoke slowly.

"Stop complaining, comrade division commander. My classmate who works in the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent me a message and told me that almost all frontline air force bases, including our Southwest Front Army, have basically been occupied by the Germans on the first day of the war. They were all paralyzed within a short period of time.”

"Countless aircraft were directly shot and destroyed by German fighter jets in the hangar and on the runway. Those poor pilots were sent to the sky by the German Stuka before they even had time to leave the barracks. My that An old classmate specially reminded me to pay attention to safety and beware of the German threat from the sky. At least until the new planes arrive, the sky will always belong to the Germans. "

After hearing the truth told by Lieutenant Colonel Petrov, I was stunned. It was hard to imagine that the air force under the Southwest Front, which was the most elite in the entire Soviet army and had nearly a thousand aircraft of various types, had reached such a desperate situation. At this point, Chernyayev, who had never so clearly felt that the Germans' cutting-edge blitzkrieg tactics could be so powerful, couldn't help but said in a voice.

"How could this happen? We are the Southwest Front! Peter! We are the most powerful Southwest Front in the entire Red Army! Why was our plane destroyed on the runway by the Germans after the war started, before it could even take off? How can we deal with those German bombers without air force support? No, I can't accept it!"

Looking at his old partner who was uncharacteristically uncharacteristic and almost hysterical, he could imagine what impact this extremely heavy news had on Chernyaev, the acting commander. What a heavy blow. Lieutenant Colonel Petrov, whose face was as gloomy as water, also felt that the future of the current bad battle situation was bleak, then raised his head again and said slowly.

"The affairs of the Air Force should be left to those who should be responsible for it. Comrade Division Commander, the top priority we must do now is to find a way to send some additional reinforcements to Captain Malashenko as soon as possible. At the same time, we must try our best to Bring more anti-aircraft guns to prevent the Germans from attacking again. "

After a short period of boredom and frenzy in his heart, he calmed down and realized that the air force's affairs were not a problem that he should worry about. He worked hard to adjust his state and tried to return himself to the state that a division commander should have as soon as possible. After taking a deep breath, he responded to Lieutenant Colonel Petrov with a slow nod.

"You are right, Peter. Even after suffering such heavy casualties, Captain Malashenko was still able to follow the oath under the red flag and lead the troops to move forward. From this point alone, Captain Malashenko is worthy of his party members and The status of an officer is very worthy of recognition and praise, and follow-up reinforcements must be sent to support our little hero. "

Before he finished speaking, he rolled his eyes and kept thinking. Knowing that Lieutenant Colonel Petrov's nephew Kirill was among the advance troops, the experienced Cherniayev naturally understood that his partner, the political commissar, was so anxious at the moment. Another purpose of sending additional reinforcements.

Not only for his old partner, but also to prevent Captain Malashenko, the rising star, from falling, Chernyaev finally made the decision to save Malashenko from the fire and water after some careful consideration. important decisions among them.

"Let's do it, Peter. I will transfer another company of T34 tanks from the first tank regiment to the command of Captain Malashenko. At the same time, I will transfer six vehicle-mounted 37 anti-aircraft guns and Two vehicle-mounted 76 anti-aircraft guns carried a company of infantry and rushed over. "

"All dispatched tanks and vehicle-mounted anti-aircraft guns will try to select units in the best condition. They will only carry necessary equipment and basic ammunition base to speed up the march and join the advance troops as soon as possible. What do you think of this arrangement?"

After hearing this basically proper arrangement from Chernyaev, Lieutenant Colonel Petrov, who had been worried about the safety of his little nephew since he received the news of the attack on the advance troops, finally felt relieved. The stone fell to the ground.

"I think this plan is feasible, comrade division commander. Personally, I don't have any objections. Let's just follow this plan."

"In addition, today is already June 25th. According to the planned plan, our vanguard is expected to encounter those German invaders tomorrow and a conflict will break out. The German armored forces rushing towards Lutsk to Brod are making rapid progress. , we must be fully prepared to intercept them, comrade division commander."