Chapter 32 Iron Will (Part 2)

Everything happened just as Malashenko had expected.

After the German anti-tank gun that first fired at Malashenko's car was destroyed, the German defensive position that officially opened the prelude to the battlefield began to burst into a scorching and dazzling light in almost an instant.

Chichi-Chichi-Chichi-

The harsh noise like a chain saw cutting a tree accompanied by the German army's unique green tracer machine gun bullet chain instantly attacked fiercely like water splashing. Malashenko, whose front armored plate was hit like a mosquito bite, had not yet turned the turret steering machine in his hand to the German machine gun position, and a miserable wailing sound of bullets tearing flesh instantly came into Malashenko's mind from the outside of the turret.

"It's bad! There's still 'human armor' hanging outside the turret! No, we can't go on like this! If it's hanging outside the vehicle like this, it will be a target for machine guns. We have to get these infantrymen off the vehicle!"

Thinking that something was wrong, he quickly stood up from his seat and used all his strength to open the integrated turret hatch above his head. Malashenko, who carefully stuck most of his head out of the vehicle, saw a small half-arm hanging on his turret before he even had time to speak. The bloody and mangled scene in front of him made Malashenko feel a chill in his heart.

"Damn, the car is full of rotten blood and flesh! The old Russian infantrymen really have no human rights at all."

He casually swung his right arm and threw away the half of his arm hanging on the turret of his vehicle. He turned his head and looked at the infantry company commander who was hunched over the engine hood, holding the Mosin-Nagant rifle in his hand, right behind the turret of his vehicle.

Since there were no armored personnel carriers like the German 251 series in the Soviet armored force sequence, in order to keep up with the rapid advance of the armored forces in the infantry-tank coordinated operations, the Soviet infantrymen had no choice but to choose the most dangerous and helpless way - hanging outside the tank to charge together.

In this way, although the charge speed in the infantry-tank coordinated operations was greatly improved, at the same time, the lives of these Soviet Red Army infantrymen hanging outside the tank could not be guaranteed.

The flying shrapnel and tracer machine gun barrage on the battlefield could knock down these unprotected Red Army soldiers at any time, although there is no exact number to count how many Red Army soldiers died due to this "human armor" method during the entire Patriotic War.

But there is no doubt that this extremely primitive rapid advancement of infantry-tank coordination is indeed one of the important factors that caused the Soviet Red Army to face heavy casualties regardless of victory or defeat during the entire Patriotic War.

Inability to change such a bad situation is also not considering these issues that should not be considered by a small captain. For Malashenko, who is currently leading his troops to attack as the spearhead of the entire division, how to save the lives of these infantrymen accompanying him in the attack as much as possible before advancing to the front of the German position and tearing it apart is the primary issue that should be considered at the moment.

Looking at the lieutenant infantry company commander who was crawling behind the turret in panic and looked at a loss, Malashenko frowned and had no idea what was going on in his head. He shouted at him.

"Lieutenant! Get your people off the car quickly! Don't hang outside the turret anymore, otherwise the German machine gun fire will tear you apart! You have to follow the tank and move forward!"

In sharp contrast to Malashenko's loud and decisive voice, this lieutenant infantry company commander, who was obviously frightened by the fierce MG34 machine gun crossfire on the opposite German position, did not have the courage and boldness to make decisions on the spot that his position should have.

"But it was my battalion commander's task to follow your tanks and charge the Germans, Captain. The basic rules I learned in the military academy tell me that I should not and do not have the right to change the decisions and orders made by my superior commanders. There is no order to allow us to get off the vehicle until the last 100 meters before the German position."

"One hundred meters? Damn! When we reach 100 meters, all of you will be swept into sieves by the German MG34!"

Although Malashenko, a time traveler from the future, knew before coming to the Soviet-German battlefield that most of the replacement officers who had just graduated from military academies and were promoted quickly in the early days of the Great Patriotic War were of mixed quality and serious dogmatism, and some were even useless and purely relied on flattery to get promoted.

But no matter what, the deeply surprised Malashenko would never have dreamed that the dogmatism of these young officers who were promoted quickly after the Great Purge in the early days of the Great Patriotic War would be so serious.

Malashenko was angry at the dogmatism of the lieutenant infantry company commander and disappointed with his lack of responsibility. He realized that this young lieutenant, who was probably about the same age as Kirill, was definitely not someone he could rely on. He made up his mind and decided not to rely on him almost instantly.

"Kirill, let Seryosha stop the car! We must let the infantry go. If we continue like this, our infantry will die before we can reach the German position!"

"Understood, Comrade Captain."

When Kirill, the loader who replaced Malashenko, reached out and patted the driver Seryosha on the shoulder to signal him to stop, the other Soviet T34 tank crews who were closely watching the command vehicle also stopped.

The remaining Red Army soldiers who were originally hanging outside the T34 tank body and suffered heavy casualties from the German machine gun fire finally felt relieved. Most of the surviving Red Army soldiers jumped out of the car without anyone's order and hid behind the T34 tank body to seek cover as they did in the previous exercise.

After seeing this scene, Malashenko glared at the young lieutenant who ran to the back of his tank to seek cover as soon as his car stopped. Knowing that it would be more dangerous for him to be exposed outside the turret, he closed the top cover and returned to the turret.

Seeing the Soviet infantrymen jumping off the tanks one after another in his gun sight, the somewhat puzzled Type IIIA assault gunner Klink turned around and asked the commander behind him.

"Michel, we are so close now, are you not going to let me fire?"