Chapter 250: Side by Side with Death

The anxious advice from Chief of Staff Khozin obviously could not stop Zhukov's firm determination. Once he made a decision, he would not waver. This time, Zhukov was no exception.

"Don't think about it anymore! If Uritsk falls, the German armored forces will use it to break into the Leningrad city. You know what terrible consequences such a disaster will eventually lead to. What's the use of keeping those planes at that time? To break through?"

The hint of success or death hidden in Zhukov's words was already very obvious. Chief of Staff Khozin, who had never thought of surviving and leaving the lost Leningrad, simply gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"You are right, comrade commander, I thought everything was too simple. Leningrad must be defended no matter what, and it is worth taking any risk for this ultimate goal!"

Accompanied by the order from Zhukov's mouth, the pilots of the shore-based aviation force of the Baltic Fleet, who survived many aerial operations, once again dragged their extremely tired bodies to the runway and boarded their respective planes that were already filled with bullet holes.

The roaring and whistling red war eagles raised their heads and rushed into the sky without hesitation to fight those extremely powerful opponents again. It is still unknown how many of the comrades around them will return with the increasingly fewer red war eagles as the fierce air battles continue to break out. Only the firm patriotic enthusiasm and faith and the passion for serving the country will be swayed in the sky at this moment.

The rumbling sound of the artillery, which was getting closer and closer as the charge continued, finally landed very close to Malashenko's car after a loud bang. Malashenko, who had already put down all the "tank knights" outside his car, immediately turned the commander's periscope in his hand and gave an order.

"Iushkin! At two o'clock, the German's No. 3, kill him!"

"You have the final say! Comrade tank commander!"

"Armor-piercing shells are good!"

"Fire!"

Boom--

The No. 3 tank, which was hidden behind a low-lying slope and only exposed a turret to reduce the area of ​​the front of the vehicle body that was hit by bullets, still could not escape death.

In order to ensure that Malashenko's car was penetrated, the action of approaching less than 150 meters before firing was not only futile, but also allowed Iushkin, who was beaten and hastily responded to the battle after searching for the enemy, to firmly put the seemingly huge square turret in his sight and instantly stepped on the firing pedal.

The German loader, who was holding a Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing shell in his hand and had not yet finished loading, was immediately swallowed up by the fierce explosion and flames, and the commander and gunner who were fighting in the turret beside him were instantly killed on the spot.

Watching the No. 3 tank turret dragging with flames and flames, it flew vertically for seven or eight meters before falling heavily. Iushkin, who successfully killed the opponent in one shot, immediately turned the turret steering machine in his hand and began to look for the next target with the help of the main gun sight. Malashenko, who was sitting side by side with Iushkin across the huge breech, was also using the commander's periscope in his hand to search for the enemy.

After leading the support troops to the front line of the small town of Uritsk, Malashenko found that the current battlefield situation was far more chaotic than what Lieutenant Oleg told him personally.

The German army, which was covered by planes in the sky and bombed tanks on the ground, was advancing like a hot knife through butter. The Soviet 42nd Army, which had suffered heavy losses in the previous battles and had not received any support, could not withstand the three-dimensional blitzkrieg attack of four fully equipped German divisions and quickly had a gap in the defense line.

The commander of the 42nd Army, who had already used up all his reserves, was powerless in the face of multiple gaps in the defense line that appeared at the same time. After tearing open the front defense line, the German armored forces increased their power and drove straight in, knowing that the opponent, the Soviet army, had no tanks.

The German armored forces, which had no need to worry about being counterattacked by Soviet tanks, took less than an hour to tear the suburban field defense line organized by the 42nd Army around the outskirts of the town of Uritsk into six isolated and helpless block positions that could not take care of each other.

The German infantry that followed immediately took this opportunity to engage in encirclement operations and launched the final general attack on the Soviet army's cut positions, which were already at the end of their strength.

Following the existing route, Malashenko rushed to the nearest Soviet defensive position that was cut off and surrounded. Without saying a word, he immediately commanded all his tanks and a battalion of border guards of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to join the battle.

The battle, which had already been blood-thirsty, had just begun and entered a cruel white-hot stage.

The Soviet infantry, who had no decent anti-tank guns available, simply dragged the M1939 85mm anti-aircraft guns to the position, and just like the Germans used 88 guns to fight tanks, they flattened the muzzles of the 85mm anti-aircraft guns and began to aim and shoot directly at the German tanks.

The German tanks, which had forced their way into the position by rolling over the infantry trenches under the direct firepower of the few remaining 85mm anti-aircraft guns of the Soviet army, were not willing to be outdone, and directly crashed the nearest 85mm anti-aircraft gun into a human iron plate.

Malashenko, who witnessed this scene in his own tank commander's periscope, needed no further explanation. Iushkin, who only had eyes for the German tanks, did not even need to give an order and directly stepped on the firing pedal.

The 76mm hooded armor-piercing grenade that came out of the barrel, without any suspense, turned the German Type 4 tank with human flesh still hanging on its tracks into a burning steel coffin.

After another successful attack, Iushkin had not had time to raise his hand to wipe off the sweat that had already flowed down his forehead to the corners of his eyes. A hovering Stuka that had noticed that a Soviet heavy tank unit that had been extinct for a long time appeared on the ground immediately screamed down towards Malashenko's car with anger like a tiger's whiskers being tickled.

The lightning-fast moment that determined fate was not even enough for Malashenko to feel any despair or curse. The Schwark cannon that roared at the last moment sounded almost at the same time as the Stuka pilot's finger pressing the bomb button.

Boom boom boom——

Swoosh——

The fatal blow that fired 0.5 seconds earlier fortunately saved Malashenko's life that should have ended here.

At the last moment before the bomb left the belly rack, the Schwark cannon penetrated the wing, destroying the flight aerodynamic layout, and deviated from the dive attack route that had been aimed at.

The 500 kg aerial bomb that was dropped by the German pilot without any time to react subconsciously deviated five degrees to the left and fell with a roar.

The dust from the explosion that soared into the sky brought a shock wave that was enough to sweep away any infantry, and instantly hit Malashenko's car, which weighed nearly 50 tons, and shook violently like a baby carriage.