Chapter 596 Retreat
It is now 11 o'clock in the middle of the night, and many Red Army soldiers who have been fighting for a day have fallen asleep amidst the loud snoring. But in one of the few remaining intact cabins in the village, Malashenko, Political Commissar Petrov and the entire regiment continued to be busy and could not sleep.
"Isn't it fixed yet? What is the problem?"
Being questioned by the comrade leader and political commissar who were supervising the work at the same time, the platoon leader who was already busy and sweating profusely in the cold wind blowing late at night couldn't help but turn around and spoke helplessly.
"It's probably hopeless, comrade commander and political commissar. The shell pierced the telegraph box, and several electronic components inside were broken. We have no spare parts to replace and repair them. The antenna was also blown off. There is also no backup, the phone is of no use at this time, and we have completely lost the ability to communicate with the outside world.”
Such bad news was obviously something that Malashenko was unwilling to accept. Thinking that similar things had happened before but were eventually resolved, Malashenko reluctantly continued to move towards the only remaining regimental communication company in front of him. The last platoon leader asked.
"But just about ten days ago, we were also bombed by the Germans during the retreat. The telegraph machine was damaged by the Germans. You repaired it at that time. Why can't it be repaired now?"
Malashenko's repeated questioning did not bring him the ideal answer he had hoped for. What awaited him was an even more helpless look from the communications platoon leader.
"Captain Shekovsky is the one who is most proficient in telegraph and radio maintenance. He was still alive during our retreat ten days ago, but now he has been buried in the ground. I am in charge of sending and receiving telegrams, Comrade Commander , I can only say that I am slightly better than the average person in terms of maintenance.”
When the situation was at its most critical during the day, all non-combatants in Malashenko's regiment rushed to the position with whatever tools they had at hand, including the regimental communications company led by Lieutenant Shekovsky.
The list of victims tallied up in the evening included the name of Lieutenant Shekovsky. An M24 long-handled grenade thrown by a German killed him. The entire regiment communications company also suffered more than half casualties, and the platoon leader in front of him was the highest-ranking person still alive in the entire regiment communications company.
Hearing the helpless reply from the only remaining platoon leader in front of him, Malashenko, who felt as if he had been abandoned by fate again, couldn't help but take a deep breath.
After complete statistics, the battle damage casualties of the entire Guards 1st Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment were close to 80%, and the remaining strength was less than 20% of the time when the entire regiment was fully loaded.
The equipment was extremely poor and lacked parts, and the medicines were almost exhausted. Although the soldiers had strong morale support, after retreating all the way and fighting a fierce battle for a whole day, they were almost too tired to even stand up. Once you sit down, you will hear a purring sound within ten seconds.
What's even worse is that the telegraph machine at the regiment headquarters has now been damaged by German shelling. The people who know how to repair this thing have been buried in the soil and there are no spare parts.
After retreating all the way and then fighting immediately, there was no need to pull a phone line. The wireless communication station on the tank had a limited distance and could not reach any surrounding friendly forces.
The extremely realistic and incompetent situation silently told Malashenko a fact.
The 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment, which suffered heavy casualties, is now unable to contact any friendly forces, including superiors. This means that Malashenko has no chance to request assistance, let alone receive any orders from superiors. .
Survival or destruction, this is a question worthy of careful consideration for Malashenko at this moment.
The 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment, which had been completely disabled, could no longer fight any tough battles. Eight tanks plus hundreds of small-armed infantrymen barely had the strength to stand up. Such a small number of troops can be said to be like small sandbags on the beach. The Germans only need one round of artillery preparation to completely kill themselves at dawn tomorrow morning.
According to the order he originally received, Malashenko was to stay in this small village, which he didn’t even know its name, until 12 o’clock at noon tomorrow, to buy time for the retreat of friendly forces and the deployment of the new house line. In short, The last is the end.
But the biggest problem is that Malashenko can't contact any friendly forces or higher-level front army headquarters now, and he doesn't know whether he still needs to hold on in the village meaningfully.
The situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly, and Malashenko didn't even know whether his surroundings had been completely broken through by other German troops. If this were the case, he would be a pebble thrown into the ocean without anyone caring about him. He would be completely surrounded by the German army and would not even be able to make a splash when the big waves hit him.
The period from now until dawn is Malashenko's last chance. If he does not take advantage of the cover of night to evacuate as soon as possible, what will be left for Malashenko at dawn is likely to be destruction.
Thinking of this, Malashenko, who was determined to evacuate from the village overnight, immediately spoke to the political commissar Petrov beside him.
"Comrade Political Commissar, I have decided that we must retreat immediately tonight! The situation of the troops can no longer support another tough battle. If this continues, all that will be left for us tomorrow morning is to be wiped out."
Although the words are not nice and somewhat negative, objectively speaking they are facts that cannot be denied.
Political Commissar Petrov also knew very well that what Malashenko said was not false at all. If he continued to stay in the village, he would not be able to leave at dawn tomorrow morning.
"It's time to retreat tonight. I agree with you. Since we can't contact the front army headquarters, we can only make our own decisions. It's unrealistic to stay in the village. But there is a problem. If we really plan to retreat, where should we go? Movement in that direction?”
The dim kerosene lamp illuminated the small room, and Malashenko stared intently at the war zone map hanging on the wall in front of him.
"Long-distance maneuvers are inappropriate, Comrade Political Commissar. We currently lack the ability to conduct long-distance maneuvers. All kinds of supplies are approaching critical points and are very scarce."
"There are fightings everywhere on all fronts now. The 62nd Army is surrounded by the Germans, and the 64th Army is almost in despair. The entire Don Bend has been burned into a sea of flames. And this is the news I received yesterday. I don’t know anything else now. The situation on the front has deteriorated to what extent.”
There was a pause before he finished speaking. After thinking for a moment, Malashenko raised his head and spoke firmly.
