Chapter 27 Confrontation (Part 1)

Sitting in his seat as the commander, Malashenko heard the familiar words he had expected. After a moment of hesitation, he immediately responded to the division commander Cherniayev through the wireless communication station on his command-type T34 tank.

"I will definitely fulfill my mission, comrade division commander, please look forward to my victory!"

Before the firm words fell, he stood up and opened the turret cover above his head. After Malashenko, holding two signal flags, stretched his entire upper body out of the turret, he immediately began to wave flags to the first armored company under his command, which was already in standby mode, to send an attack signal.

Among the few shortcomings of the Soviet armored forces in the early days of the Great Patriotic War, the lack of a radio station for inter-vehicle communication was definitely the worst and most fatal one.

In the summer of 1941 when Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet armored forces at that time only popularized vehicle-mounted radio stations to the company-level command vehicles. The communication between each vehicle group and other friendly armored forces was basically completed by flag language and signalmen riding motorcycles.

The principle of the barrel effect is well known. The key factor that determines how much water a barrel can hold is not determined by the longest board but by the length of the shortest board. This is also true for tanks.

So when the Soviet armored forces, which were still using backward flag language as the main means of communication between vehicles in the summer of 1941, encountered the German armored forces that were fully equipped with radio stations and had rich combat experience and skilled cooperation.

These fledgling Soviet tank soldiers, even though they were equipped with excellent tanks such as T34 medium tanks and KV series heavy tanks that far exceeded the quality of the German armored forces of the same period by a whole era, still failed to perform the legendary myth of random punches to kill the master.

The legend of the old players who played the game at level 100 beating the new players who spent money on the game was staged again on the western steppes of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941. The German army, which was at a comprehensive disadvantage in terms of the quality of its armored forces, divided and surrounded its Soviet counterparts through a series of blitzkrieg offensives, and finally staged the irreversible overall defeat of the Soviet army in 1941.

As a time traveler in the future, Malashenko was well aware of the fatal shortcomings of the poor communication methods of the Soviet armored forces.

The German tank commanders could complete the task of speaking by staying in a relatively safe tank and pressing the communication button. However, Malashenko, who was also a tank commander, had to take great risks to open the turret cover in the battle to wave flags to order his troops. This was undoubtedly a great challenge for Malashenko, who was determined to survive the most brutal 1941 to save his life.

"Seryosha, start! The target is the German positions, charge at full speed!"

"Nikolai holds the machine gun on the vehicle, once the German infantry shows up, beat them all into a pulp!"

"Kirill, prepare to load the shells! This is your first battle, don't let tension and fear dominate you. After loading a shell, it is best to immediately hold another shell in your arms ready to load at any time. Your combat experience and physical strength are not the best, so doing this will have a greater tolerance rate and is more beneficial to you, understand!?"

Facing the loud reminder from Malashenko's face so close, Kirill, whose ears were already immersed in the roaring diesel engine noise of the T34 tank, immediately nodded repeatedly.

"Understood, sir!"

"Well, full speed ahead! Let's tear those nasty invaders apart!"

With the driver Seryosha pushing the joystick skillfully and stepping on the accelerator, the T3476 medium tank with a combat weight of just over 28 tons immediately rushed forward under the surging drive of the 500-horsepower diesel engine. The company of subordinates accompanying it, all of them, and the other 15 T34 tanks and four KV2 heavy tanks on both sides also came out in full force.

On a hill near the German position, just one kilometer away from Malashenko's current position, a Type 3A assault gun belonging to the SS Adolf Hitler Guard Division was filled with local plant branches and leaves and was hiding in a bush on the hill with its low appearance.

Beside him, a young SS officer who served as the commander of the Type 3A assault gun was lying on the grass with his telescope in hand, quietly observing the movements of his Soviet counterparts.

The terrible Soviet bombardment that shook the earth and mountains just now did not seem to have much psychological impact on the young SS commander. Calmly remembering the direction and distance of the Soviet armored forces advancing all the way in his telescope, the young commander who climbed up from the grass with one hand immediately turned around and ran quickly towards his car.

He quickly climbed onto his car in two steps and opened the hatch and jumped into it. Before the young SS officer sat down in his seat, the gunner in the same crew turned around and asked him impatiently.

"Hey, Michel, those Soviet Ivans are coming, right?"

Sitting in his own commander's seat and putting on the earphones used for communication between crew members during combat, Wittmann spoke nonchalantly, as if he didn't take the Soviet armored forces seriously.

"16 Soviet T34s, and four heavy tanks with heads the same shape as your toilet. God knows what caliber of main guns those Ivans installed on these monsters. I saw in the telescope that the caliber can at least fit Stalin's head in it, I swear!"

After hearing Wittmann's humorous joke, the other three young crew members in the crew all smiled heartily.

"Okay, enough joking, my brothers."

After turning on the microphone next to his communication headset and adjusting it to the best state to confirm that it was correct, Wittmann, who was ready to go, immediately gave orders to his crew members as the commander.

"Based on the records of other friendly forces' battles with the Soviets' new tanks and the results of interrogations of prisoners of war, these T34 medium tanks and KV series heavy tanks mentioned by Ivan are very difficult to deal with!"

"Our assault guns can't hurt the sides of those KV heavy tanks, so just leave those big toilet heads to the 88 guns. When the battle starts, Klink, remember to aim at the lower side of those T34 tanks! Follow my orders and fire within 500 meters, get ready!"