Steel Soviet Union

After resting for a night in a cold tank filled with the pungent smell of diesel engines, Malashenko woke up and ate something casually before immediately commanding the armored company he led and starting to move downwards. Heading straight for a predetermined target location.

As an improvement on the T3476 medium tank, which was the first batch of models put into production in 1940, the 1941 T3476 medium tank was equipped with a more powerful F34 2mm tank gun, but its poor human-machine efficiency and design and structural defects have always been It has been carried on without any improvement.

In order to reduce the front projection area of ​​the turret and thereby reduce the chance of being hit by the tall turret of the T34 tank, the early models of T3476 tanks were all designed and installed with a narrow and small turret with only two crew members inside.

As a result, although the expected effect has been achieved in terms of design functions, the actual combat defense of the T3476 medium tank's little head has indeed been strengthened to a certain extent.

However, there is not only no extra space in such a small turret to build the first ammunition rack of the turret, so the already tall Slavic loaders have to bend down and go through the turret to the chassis of the car body at their feet to transport ammunition to the turret. inside, and then load it into the breech to complete a main gun loading.

On the other hand, the small turret space with only two members built in will undoubtedly exclude the third person commander besides the gunner and loader.

In wartime situations, the hard-working gunner not only has to use a wide-angle periscope to observe the battlefield situation and surrounding enemy situations, but after discovering the enemy target, he then uses the narrow-angle main gun sight to aim at the target and then lock in and fire.

At the same time, the heavy-duty gunner also had to shoulder the responsibility of the commander, which was missing due to the tank's design flaws. While concentrating on firing the gun, he also had to devote some time to other members of the crew. The three members issued corresponding instructions for battlefield command.

With such a heavy task all shouldered by one gunner, it is natural to imagine what kind of bad situation he will face on a battlefield where the war is fierce, the situation is complex, and the situation is changing rapidly.

The gunners of the Soviet T3476 tank, who were distracted by the other, often made omissions and errors in a certain link during actual combat because they were too busy to touch the ground.

This resulted in communication and command errors among the crew members, leading to irreparable mistakes. The tank was eventually defeated by the German tanks on the opposite side, which used a complete team of five members: commander, gunner, loader, electromechanical operator, and driver, and had a clear division of labor. Seize the opportunity and take it away with one shot.

But compared to these bad problems that will only be encountered after actually entering the battlefield, Malashenko, who feels like he is being held to death in a coffin in the entire narrow turret, is really complaining now. .

Also due to imperfect considerations of human-machine efficiency and actual combat application at the beginning of the design, the heavy integrated hatch on the 1941 T3476 tank turret almost covered most of the surface area of ​​the top of the turret. Without the hydraulic boost and electric drive of modern tanks, It is naturally difficult to push open such a heavy armored hatch cover while waiting for auxiliary equipment.

After feeling that he had almost exhausted all his strength, Malashenko finally pushed open the turret hatch above his head. He stood up in the turret and stretched his entire upper body out of the turret. Finally, Malashenko It was like breathing in the fresh air and breeze that I had been missing for a long time.

"In the blink of an eye, I have been on the road for almost two days, and I don't know where the Army Group South led by Marshal Rundstedt has attacked. It's a damn thing that this terrible place in Kiev can really be defended! For Fighting against the Germans has become a foregone conclusion in history, and I’m really convinced!”

In the circles of military fans of later generations, the Great Encirclement of Kiev, a large-scale encirclement and annihilation battle with the largest number of prisoners in the history of human wars, has always been talked about.

During this battle, as many as 650,000 of the 800,000 Soviet troops stationed in Kiev were captured.

The German army responsible for escorting Soviet prisoners of war even had one squad escorting one Soviet regiment. What was even more surprising was that none of these Soviet prisoners of war dared to make trouble, and eventually they all entered the German prisoner of war camp one after another. Submit obediently.

A considerable number of these captured Soviet troops are Ukrainians, and within the Soviet army, the discord between Ukrainian soldiers and Russian soldiers due to historical issues is a long-standing and well-known thing.

It was normal for these Ukrainian soldiers who were unwilling to defend Moscow or even work for the Russians to surrender to the German army. Even though these captured Ukrainian soldiers later even formed organizations such as the "Ukrainian Liberation Army" to join the spicy chips to compete with the Soviet Red Army and the old days. The fact that his comrades were fighting in the same room was not a big deal in Malashenko's opinion.

But only one thing is certain: Comrade Malashenko, who had just traveled to the world of World War II not long ago, neither wanted to die on the battlefield, nor did he want to enter a German prisoner-of-war camp with Ukrainian soldiers who disliked each other. Play house.

When he thought that he was about to participate in this battle that had been destined to be defeated by history, Malashenko couldn't help but feel frightened for fear that he would be shot by the Germans or eat in a prisoner of war camp.

"No, you can't just attack like a fool and be used as cannon fodder. If I really encounter the German Army Group South, I will be killed without even being able to escape. I have to think about it. It’s better to find a way to survive this.”

At this time, what Malashenko, who was still deep in thought and unable to draw his leisure attention, did not notice.

In the mid-air above the clouds above his head, a looming black shadow circled and soared repeatedly as if to confirm something, and then quickly disappeared into the clouds without anyone noticing it.

About ten minutes later, when Malashenko felt his forehead hurt after thinking hard, he was about to return to the turret to rest for a while, when a propeller whistling sound came from the distant horizon. Follow along.

"Is this sound a plane!? Damn it, could it be a German plane!?"

Looking up at the direction of the propeller engine noise in the distance, six fat figures covered in black and strangely shaped like giant seagulls appeared in Malashenko's field of vision.

"Fuck you! It's a German Stuka!"

"Everyone stops immediately and takes cover with air defense!"