Chapter 140 Interlude

The road to the reserve front was actually not easy.

The entire western Soviet Union had a backward and desolate road transportation network that was almost non-existent. Although it caused great mobility inconvenience for the German army as the invading party, it also slowed down the advancement of the German armored forces to a certain extent, and played a role in gaining some ground for the Soviet army. The role of time.

However, the endless cross-country dirt road in front of them also caused great inconvenience to Malashenko and his party who did not use the railway transportation network for mobile transfer.

The ultimate off-road speed that a tank can run under off-road conditions is far less than the theoretical maximum road speed.

Rugged off-road dirt roads will not only greatly delay the movement of tank troops, but the dust and ash raised in the sky will also block tank filters, cause wear and tear on the engine itself and the transmission mechanism, and in the most serious cases, cause the tank to directly collapse. It is not impossible to break down.

The 1st Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion, which had just retired from the hot spot of the Yelniya War Zone, had a large number of tanks with major and minor problems.

Days of continuous whitewash fighting and German anti-tank firepower attacks made these armored behemoths as unsatisfactory as old people suffering from cold and dampness.

Some tank gearboxes and transmission mechanism component gears that were in short supply due to fierce battle conditions could only continue to make do and could not be replaced. The rattling noise of the transmission mechanism when running on an off-road dirt road is worrying. Even the battalion commander's car commanded by Malashenko himself is no exception to this bad situation.

"This new engine turns like my grandma's crutch! Listen to the sound, it's terrible!"

"Hey, Seryosha, stop complaining. After all, this engine is just a temporary replacement removed from a scrapped KV1. How much more do you expect? It's done well enough! At least it didn't make us anchored here, no? ?"

Holding a telescope, he stretched out his upper body and crawled on the turret to observe the surrounding situation. The bragging and farting sounds of Nikolai, the electromechanical technician, and Seryosha, the driver, coming from the car did not faze Mara. Schenko interrupted to speak. As a major battalion commander, the worried Malashenko obviously had more things to care about and consider.

The long queue is moving forward at a constant speed and is speeding towards the target location marked on the map. In order to ensure that the tank engine life and trouble-free time can be maintained longer to ensure that it will not be lost due to power system failure when encountering the enemy. Combat power, the entire first heavy tank breakthrough battalion is currently advancing at a constant speed at half the maximum speed.

But even so, the First Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion, which was maneuvering on the grassland at a cross-country speed of nearly 20 kilometers per hour, still inevitably raised dust all over the sky and continued to move forward on the grassland like an earth dragon. OK.

Such a bad situation will not only have a foreseeable serious impact on the tank engine problem that Malashenko has always been worried about.

From another perspective, such obvious and dazzling flying sand and dust can be clearly seen even one or two kilometers away. If you suddenly encounter enemy troops, it is equivalent to shouting "Hey" to the Germans with a loudspeaker. , Ivans are here!”

"It is too risky to pass directly through the edge of the war zone in order to rush for time. You should choose a safer road and continue walking to avoid running into the Germans who have noticed the traces. It is better to inform them and prepare for battle first. ”

After thinking about it, Malashenko always felt that it was inappropriate to continue walking like a parade. Even if there were really no German troops near the next route of advance, he should be ready for battle just in case, otherwise if there was an attack, A tank column without combat preparation will undoubtedly be extremely passive.

Just when Malashenko had made up his mind and was about to bend down and return to his turret to issue orders through the communicator, a sudden burst of gunfire from far to near tore through the tranquility of the grassland.

"It's a gunshot, just to the southwest!"

Due to the special nature of his profession, he was extremely sensitive to the sound of gunfire. Malashenko's whole body felt like an electric shock instantly. He immediately stopped his movements and leaned his upper body out of the turret again, and at the same time raised his hands. He looked through his telescope in the direction of the gunfire.

Unfortunately, the direction of the gunfire seemed to be in a low-lying pothole terrain. The terrain where Malashenko was located was slightly higher because of the obstruction of the hilly terrain, even with a telescope in his hand. It is not possible to see the specific situation in the direction of the gunfire.

During the ten seconds that Malashenko raised his telescope to follow the sound, the burst of gunshots coming from far and near became increasingly dense and intensified.

A bolt-action rifle that fires one bullet at a time seems to be no longer enough to meet the needs of fierce battles. As time goes by, the more intense firing sounds of fully automatic weapons begin to echo in Malashenko's ears. .

"It sounds like the Kraut's and the MP38 submachine gun. The rifle sounds are very mixed. It should be Mauser and Mosin Nagant. It seems that the Kraut's firepower is more advantageous."

The consecutive days of position raids and brutal street fighting had already enabled Malashenko's ears, tempered by the flames of war, to clearly distinguish the different gunshot characteristics of the standard small weapons of the Soviet and German armies.

The unique high-speed continuous firing sound of the German MG34 machine gun, like a fuel-filled chain saw, was clearly the dominant melody of this chaotic and fierce exchange of fire.

The crisp and easily distinguishable sound of the Mosin-Nagant rifle was obviously at a disadvantage among them, but the continuous firing sound of the German MG34 machine gun, which abandoned short bursts and switched to crazy firing, seemed to indicate that the battle situation was not completely favorable to the German side.

In the hasty exchange of fire, there was nothing else except the occasional small-scale explosion. Malashenko, who did not hear the whistling of large-caliber heavy artillery and small and medium-caliber mortars, quickly made a keen judgment based on the sudden exchange of light weapons.

"As expected, it should be a fight between two groups of light infantry. The intensity is low and there is no heavy weapons and artillery support."

"We can't just leave it alone like this. Maybe the German officer's guards were attacked. Maybe we can get some credit and some benefits if we go there now!"

Malashenko, who had decided to go there and take part, immediately returned to the turret, grabbed the communicator at hand and gave orders to the entire battalion-level communication channel. The dusty First Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion immediately turned the car head and drove at full speed in the direction of the gunshots.