Chapter 444 Be prepared

"You mean to directly recruit veterans from other units? This is simply unheard of. I have never heard of such a situation. I didn't expect the Germans to do such a thing."

Compared with Commissar Petrov's surprised look, Malashenko, who looked calm and relaxed, seemed very disapproving of this.

"There's nothing strange about this, uncle. Isn't it the same with our First Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment of the Guards? Other neighboring tank units are accepting new recruits, and after they have been exhausted, there will be new recruits. After batches of new vehicle crews are eliminated, This is a valuable veteran crew.”

"And what about us? The ones we directly receive are the veteran crews. Although they are the defeated troops that have broken down, as long as they are well led, they still have much higher combat effectiveness than ordinary recruit crews, and they can quickly integrate into the battle under command. . The same is true for the Germans and us. The situation is no longer what it was at the beginning of the war, uncle."

Despite Malashenko's "answering questions", Commissar Petrov, who was more worried than he was a moment ago, soon spoke up again.

"What are you going to do? Malashenko, is there any good way to deal with these elites?"

He held the few cigarette butts left in his mouth between his fingertips, took two sharp puffs, then stretched out his hand and flicked it several meters away. Malashenko, who had some countermeasures, answered without hesitation on the spot.

"If you can defeat them once, you can defeat them a second time. No matter how miserable Yelnia is, it is our victory! Comrade Zhukov is still in charge of the overall situation. I don't believe what tricks these Nazi lackeys can pull off this time. Come."

The battles that need to be fought must be fought, and the things that need to be faced cannot be escaped even if you want to.

He paid little attention to the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, which had been defeated once. This indifferent attitude but could not be called underestimating the enemy made Malashenko look very calm at this moment, spitting out the last words from the cracks of his mouth. A wisp of smoke signaled that a fierce battle was about to begin.

At the same time that Malashenko was commanding the troops to assemble urgently and prepare to go to the battlefield in accordance with the orders of the front army, the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, which had just merged with the 4th Armored Division, was also busy building positions.

The frozen soil layer, which Guderian described as "not even heavy artillery can blast", is indeed extremely difficult to chew through. The German soldiers who were "warming up" on the construction site with iron shovels and other excavation tools were very tired. Just breathing heavily.

The prairie soil that used to be extremely easy to dig in summer and autumn is now as hard as tank armor. I waved the engineer shovel in my hand and hit hard to leave a shallow dent as deep as a fingernail. The exhausting work of digging trenches and earthworks is even more difficult for the German soldiers in this freezing cold weather.

"Hell, damn it! I heard those Russians dug all the trenches to defend us before winter came. What a bunch of smart bastards! Damn it, hey! This soil is harder than steel plates!"

"Stop complaining, Koch. Breathing through your mouth will only make you more tired. Shut up and dig. There is no other way now."

"What on earth did we come to Russia for? Aren't we supposed to be conquerors? Why are we fixing the land for those Russians now? This is ridiculous!"

From time to time, the tinkling sounds of digging and the accompanying moans echoed in the cold air.

When I heard these complaints with obvious negative emotions, I originally wanted to turn my head and reprimand him, but I thought that I, the leader of the regiment, was still letting his soldiers wear the same clothes even though it had been winter for so long. The clothes of the dead stripped off the corpses of the Soviet soldiers were used to save their lives.

Colonel Walter Horning, who felt deeply that he was incompetent, sighed secretly and shook his head, then continued to walk forward quickly.

"What they said was a bit out of line, wasn't it? Colonel."

Facing the words of an accompanying adjutant beside him, Colonel Horning, who was already a little numb to all the chaos at hand, shook his head.

"But what else can you do? Make them stand in the snow? Or let the person who said the wrong thing take on more labor tasks? I don't know whether these methods can have the desired effect, but I can be sure This will only make everyone more desperate for this damn Russian winter."

While softly speaking words of forgiveness, it was also an act of helplessness. Colonel Horning, who had never doubted that the German army could achieve final victory for a long time, felt a little confused for the first time.

The freezing weather in Russia now seems to allow Colonel Horning to travel through time and see the scene when Napoleon's expeditionary army was defeated in Moscow. The scenes and feelings in front of him are the same as the scene he heard the teacher describe in class. How similar.

But in the war a hundred years ago, Napoleon at least invaded the city of Moscow and obtained an abandoned city. But now the German army trapped in the ice and snow, even though they tried their best, still couldn't even touch a brick in Moscow. This This huge gap can't help but make the somewhat confused Colonel Horning have a deep doubt.

"Is it just a coincidence that we defeated the French in seven weeks? Or is it true that the French cannot even compare to the Russian winter?"

The time that passed in such a hurry did not leave Colonel Horning with many opportunities to summarize the French and think about life. A rapid roar of the engine was quickly transmitted to Colonel Horning from far to near under the influence of the cold wind. mind.

Colonel Huoning, who came to the front line to inspect the defense situation, immediately raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound. The accompanying adjutant, who had already identified the identity of the visitor, then put his head slightly closer to Major Huoning's. ear.

"It's the reconnaissance force of the Fourth Armored Division. They have a lot of motorcycles that can still be driven."

The three-wheeled sidecar motorcycle drove all the way to Colonel Horning's side with a clanging sound. The German soldiers who stepped out of the sidecar first did not bother to wipe off their cold-shined eyes. The snot on his nose and the thin canvas wrapped around his face and head made this German soldier, who was as well-armed as possible in the cold wind, look like an exotic Middle Easterner.

"Colonel Horning, a Russian reconnaissance force has appeared seven kilometers away from the outer position of our division. They are more numerous than us. After two rounds of fighting, we withdrew and came back to report the news. We stopped by to inform you. I'm here Through the telescope, I saw a large number of organized troops behind those Russians, at least one regiment in number, please be prepared."