Steel Soviet Union

Judging from the facial expressions and expressions, Major Hermann, who showed his true feelings, seemed to Malashenko to be without a trace of hypocrisy, but the words pouring out of his mouth sounded to Malashenko. But it has a slightly awkward flavor.

"Great? Haha, for your German army, this kind of adjective shouldn't be used on the Bolsheviks who are regarded as objects that must be eliminated? Have you never considered whether it is appropriate to speak to me like this?"

The ideological and political opposition seemed unable to change Major Herman's still sincerely grateful dark blue eyes. Even after hearing the almost sarcastic words from Malashenko's mouth, there was still no trace of anger.

"Great people have no regard for race, national boundaries or even ideology, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. You saved my comrades as an enemy on the opposite side. This is enough to prove your greatness to me personally. "

"Hmph, he's quite eloquent. Yes, the German guy who can understand Russian these days must be a college graduate or something, no matter how bad he is."

Malashenko, who reported such secretly slanderous words in his heart, did not remain silent for long. Malashenko, who wanted to know the truth about the surprise battle just now, raised his head and asked again.

"Who is the highest commander of your German army in the village? If I guess correctly, it should be you."

As Malashenko expected, Herman's next words quickly confirmed Malashenko's guess.

"You are right, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. There is only one infantry battalion belonging to the 127th Infantry Division of the National Defense Forces stationed in this village, and I am the commander of this battalion."

He was not surprised that a mere infantry battalion could be defeated and surrendered so quickly. Malashenko, who had his conjecture confirmed, still had many questions in his mind that had yet to be answered.

"The intelligence I received earlier mentioned that the original offensive in this direction was a German armored and infantry mixed coordination force. Where are your tanks? Where have they gone?"

In his heart, he knew very clearly what "they" in Malashenko's mouth meant, and Major Herman, who did not make any unnecessary concealment of what he knew, spoke again.

"Because winter combat supplies are very scarce and almost non-existent, that armored force no longer has the ability to continue attacking you, and it also has no ability to withdraw from the front line."

"After the first wave of cold wave came, they were trapped in the village with my battalion. Their tanks were parked in the village, but many of the crews had been killed by you in the battle just now. Even if they If you insist on participating in this battle without tanks, my advice will not have much effect."

After hearing what Hermann said, Malashenko noticed that in the queue of German prisoners of war who were slowly walking past under the escort of Soviet soldiers with their hands raised high, many people did not wear the infantry insignia. The German armored soldiers wearing steel helmets, with only a canvas hat on their head, looked slightly funny, and it seemed that they could not withstand the severe cold in the wind.

"You just said that the tank is in the village. Where is it parked now? Take me there immediately to have a look."

After hearing Malashenko's request, Major Hermann did not hesitate. This German major, who seemed somewhat elusive to Malashenko, did not appear to be a die-hard member of the Nazi Party. die loyal.

"Those tanks are parked in a small open space in the center of the village. Apart from being frozen in place and unable to start due to lack of winter lubricating oil and antifreeze, the vehicles are in relatively good condition. Come with me."

Hermann, who had yet to finish his words, walked ahead and took the initiative to lead the way without waiting for Malashenko to answer. The German major, who had been disarmed and unarmed, was very cooperative and even kept asking questions and requests. Malashenko felt an uneasy suspicion.

For the sake of caution, Malashenko immediately winked at Sergeant Dyakov who was still standing beside him. This sergeant squad leader who had killed a large number of Kwantung Army Japanese soldiers was also very smart and immediately looked at him. The few squad soldiers who were waiting next to them waved their hands, and the understanding Red Army soldiers immediately followed their squad leader around Malashenko, and headed towards the center of the village under the leadership of the German major. Go.

The road from the entrance to the village where the German troops surrendered to the small open space in the center of the village is not too far. The village of Womano, with more than a hundred households, cannot be considered a big village. It only takes a few minutes to walk and a group of people will soon be there. reached the final destination during the hike.

"This is it, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. There are still 28 tanks left in the armored battalion that accompanied our attack earlier. Except for 3 tanks that were damaged in battle and need to be repaired, the remaining 25 tanks are all in good condition. But the prerequisite is that you have to find them. We need resources to get them moving again, they are frozen to death here.”

Along with Hermann's explanation words beside him, he looked towards the white canvases covered with snow in front of him. He could only see scenes with basic bulging outlines shaped like snowdrifts. Finally, Malashen Coe understood why the previous reconnaissance results reported that no German tanks were found in the village.

"These German guys knew that the tank was no longer usable, so they just covered it with camouflage cloth and turned it into a snowdrift. They are quite good at deceiving the tank."

I was a bit dumbfounded by the little trick of the German army. The German tanks were covered with camouflage like large snowdrifts. If you look at them with the naked eye from a few hundred meters away, it is really difficult to detect the true appearance of the German tanks. This is the first time that I have come into contact with such a large number of tanks at close range. Malashenko of the German tank couldn't help but feel a little excited, and then turned his head and glanced at squad leader Tyakov who looked equally surprised next to him.

"I understand, Comrade Malashenko, I'll do it right now."

Tyakov, who knew something from his eyes, immediately turned around and waved to the Red Army soldiers who were following him. Except for the two Red Army soldiers who were still following him and guarding Malashenko, the rest were Several Red Army soldiers immediately strode forward and began to try to lift off the camouflage canvas covering the German tank with their bare hands.

The camouflage canvas was firmly held down by the thick snow, and it was not something that could be easily torn off even by several Slavic men working together.

Several Red Army soldiers standing side by side in the snow up to their ankles almost used all their strength, and the white camouflage cloth that was pressed under the thick snow was finally torn off with a huff.

Looking at the German tank that was finally revealed in front of him, Malashenko, who was looking at each other for a moment, immediately noticed something strange that was not so obvious.

"Huh? This No. 3? No, there seems to be something different."