Chapter 597 Target: Stalingrad
"We are now short of tanks, fuel, medicine, troops, everything useful! We have no other choice but to retreat to Stalingrad, Comrade Political Commissar! The death rate of the troops has almost reached 80%. If we fight another battle, we may Even the establishment is gone!”
Malashenko naturally knows that running into Stalingrad at this time is equivalent to drilling into a running meat grinder, or the brutal street fighting that will begin soon will even devour people's souls.
But now the situation is getting more and more difficult as the war continues, forcing people to have no other choice.
The entire Don River grassland and the banks of the Volga River have been burned red by the flames of war. Standing in front of the map, Malashenko could not find a place where there was no war, centered around the city of Stalingrad. The outskirts of Point have been completely shrouded in flames of war.
In this case, moving closer to the retreat of the large forces can only go in the direction that the Germans are focusing on. Malashenko is retreating now not only because the situation of the troops does not allow them to experience even one more vicious battle.
The 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment needed a relatively safe place to replenish its troops and equipment in order to regain its strength. Otherwise, the eight remaining tanks would not even be able to roll over in the face of the ferocious wave of German attacks. There was no other place to hide in the scene where artillery fire was flying.
The only place that can meet these conditions is Stalingrad. The Stalingrad Tractor Factory is constantly producing what Malashenko needs most.
Unauthorized retreat without clear orders may cause disaster, but as the saying goes, "If you move a tree, you will die, but if you move a person, you will live." In line with the truth that a living person cannot suffocate to death, Malashenko will not fail to contact his superiors. Under such circumstances, continuing to stay here and wait for death does not make any sense even from an overall strategic perspective, and is equivalent to giving nothing to the German army.
Although Commissar Petrov does not know the situation that only Malashenko, as a time traveler, knows, this does not prevent him from taking charge of the overall situation.
The First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment is different from other general troops in that it has the greatest demand for various heavy equipment, especially tanks.
At present, there are only eight tanks left that can move. Once they are replenished, it will be equivalent to reorganizing the army. This level of replenishment cannot be accomplished anywhere on the current war zone map, except for the city of Stalingrad, which has its own tank factory, the Stalingrad Tractor Factory, and a huge military population.
Retreating without clear orders was a first time for a eldest daughter to get into a sedan chair, even if it was done to Commissar Petrov.
Thinking that he might be blamed by his superiors and take responsibility for this, he sighed lightly but there was no other better way. Commissar Petrov immediately responded with a firm look and slowly spoke.
"The decision was made by both of us, and if we take responsibility afterwards, we will bear it together. This is not your order alone, Malashenko."
After listening to Commissar Petrov's words, Malashenko could not help but feel a little silent. Malashenko can still clearly recall his loving father, Comrade Stalin. It is estimated that it will not be long before he issues the famous Order No. 227. Fortunately, there is no such thing now. Even if that order is placed on one's head, one can still decide to retreat.
After discussing the specific retreat matters with Political Commissar Petrov, Malashenko immediately began to take advantage of the night to act.
The sleepy soldiers were woken up from their sleep and put on their clothes. The tank tanks were filled with sufficient fuel. All the artillery shells that could be taken away were loaded into the trucks to ensure that the ammunition was sufficient. He was personally directing all this as soon as possible. After finishing, Malashenko suddenly received a somewhat unexpected report.
"Comrade Commander, what should we do with those German prisoners?"
"Kraut prisoner?"
If the squad leader who was responsible for guarding the prisoners of war hadn't come to report to him, Malashenko would have almost forgotten that there were hundreds of German prisoners of war left in the village.
If you think about it carefully, it would be too easy to release these German prisoners of war, but taking them all the way will inevitably delay the retreat. How to deal with these hundreds of German prisoners of war has suddenly become a problem. A big headache.
After much thought, Malashenko finally decided to take away all the German prisoners of war first. If he let them go in vain, these bastards would definitely turn around and go back and pick up weapons again.
If you are lucky enough to bring this group of German prisoners of war back to Stalingrad without being overtaken along the way, the labor of hundreds of young and middle-aged people will be of great use in building field fortifications.
Thinking of this, Malashenko then gave an order in a determined tone to the squad leader who was still on standby in front of him.
"You go to the battalion commander of the field maintenance battalion, Captain Karamov, and tell him that I want you to get some trucks from him. How many trucks are needed? Calculate the number of prisoners and give him a definite number. Then the Germans will All the prisoners were loaded into trucks and transported away, so that they could go to labor reform and reflect on their sins. "
The trucks that had previously brought ammunition supplies and fuel supplies were parked in the village and did not leave. The total number of trucks was more than 30.
The earlier air raid may have been because the Luftwaffe was too focused on the heavy tanks under Malashenko. Those trucks, which were only covered with camouflage cloth for basic concealment, were not hit by even a bomb, but now it seems that this On the contrary, it made Malashenko's retreat much easier, and at the same time he was able to take away more things that would have been abandoned.
The preparations for the retreat, which had been busy for several hours, were finally completed around two o'clock. Malashenko, who had little time left, immediately issued an order to retreat towards the city of Stalingrad. A tank started up and drove away from the village. The movement was not even as big as the effect of the more than thirty GAZ trucks.
A few hours after Malashenko led his troops to leave, more German troops who followed soon saw the hill made of thousands of corpses of German officers and soldiers.
The body of Lieutenant Colonel Doubler, who had been beaten into a hornet's nest by Malashenko's own hands, was placed at the top of the mountain of corpses. The small flag with an extremely ironic message was placed next to his body.
The frightened and angry German follow-up troops decided to take action immediately. The German reconnaissance troops on motorcycles and barrel trucks immediately went out, but strangely, after circling the village, they found no movement.
Feeling that something was fishy, the German commander hesitated and then issued an order for a company of infantry to enter the village to search. More German troops stayed outside the village, ready to rush to rescue at any time, but they never expected that Malashenko would leave behind The breakfast of this group of German soldiers was already ready.
