Steel Soviet Union

The rest of the way to Stalingrad Train Station No. 1 was not too far. Malashenko and Iushkin, who were chatting along the way, soon saw a connected area at the end of their field of vision. The building of the railway track is the Stalingrad No. 1 railway station shrouded in night.

"Are we there?"

While holding the map in one hand, he illuminated it with a flashlight in the other hand and looked at it carefully for a while. Iushkin, who was convinced that he had reached his destination, raised his head and spoke to Malashenko and returned.

"Yes, it should be right here. It's too dark to see the surrounding terrain clearly, but this is the only place that can be called a train station."

The powerful air raids and bombings from the Luftwaffe almost turned the entire city of Stalingrad into ruins. Many streets and landmark buildings were completely blown down and changed their original appearance. Malashenko walked almost everywhere No one could recognize where it was originally called and where it was located. Even the No. 1 train station in front of me was found in the dark by following a feeling.

"Okay, we'll find out if we get out of the car and ask."

Malashenko, who put his head in front of the map and glanced at it twice, felt that he was right. He immediately grabbed the Somi submachine gun placed next to his seat in the turret and jumped out of the car.

Iushkin, who liked to follow Malashenko around when he had nothing to do, followed closely, leaving only Kirill and Seryosha to stay in the tank.

"Hey, is there a code or something? I'm worried we'll be beaten to death as Krauts."

"I don't know, maybe there is a secret code, but I have never heard anyone tell me about it. If I really thought you were a German, we would have been shot to death on the ground by now."

Malashenko, who was muttering in a low voice, answered the question raised by Iushkin. Suddenly, a beam of searchlight light came from the wall of the train station, which was only a hundred meters away in front of him, and instantly illuminated the two of them as brightly as day. .

Perhaps they had received news in advance that a tank unit would come to support them, or they were simply more cautious because they were afraid of accidentally injuring friendly forces.

All in all, when Malashenko saw Major Nikolayev jogging all the way from the train station in front of him, the worry of being mistaken for a German and being beaten into a sieve was finally settled for the time being.

After briefly chatting with Major Nikolayev to understand the situation, Malashenko realized that there would be a tank unit coming to support him. Chuikov had already called and informed him that a tank unit was coming to support him. .

As the top commander of the railway station's defense, Major Nikolayev has been waiting since he received the call in the evening. He has been waiting and waiting, not to mention that the sound of gunfire in the surrounding neighborhoods has become louder and intensified, with the momentum of an attack. .

Major Nikolayev, who was worried that the German army might appear around the train station at any time, did not dare to leave his post without authorization and go out to search. He could only continue to wait patiently at the train station for the arrival of tank support troops.

It wasn't until Malashenko, who had done a good deed on the way after cleaning up the Germans, drove over with his troops, that Major Nikolayev, who heard the dull roar of the Soviet tank's engine, perked up and immediately prepared. Come out and greet.

"The troops in the surrounding blocks are in telephone contact with our train station, Commander Malashenko. If a German tank infiltrates, it will be impossible not to be noticed. It is easy to hear any sound in such a quiet night. Not to mention the roar of the tank engine."

Malashenko, who was listening to Major Nikolaev's explanation, also noticed a detail. Major Nikolaev just said that he could use his hearing to tell whether it was a diesel engine of a Red Army tank or a gasoline engine of a German tank. , this situation aroused Malashenko's interest.

"You just said that you can tell whether it is a German tank or our own tank by the sound of the engine. I have never heard of such a unique ability, at least not in the infantry unit."

After hearing Malashenko's question, Major Nikolayev smiled helplessly and slightly embarrassedly, as if he was laughing at himself. Then in silence, he took off his helmet and eye mask, which had been covered by shadows, and turned the searchlight behind him. Under the illumination of the light, his true face was revealed.

Malashenko, whose vision had been blocked by the shadow of the backlight, had not noticed yet that this Major Nikolayev was actually a Cyclops with a prosthetic eye inserted into his right eye socket!

After taking off the blindfold, the prosthetic eye was exposed. Only the intact left eye remained normal, with a scar at least ten centimeters long running from top to bottom at an angle of 45 degrees from Major Nikolayev's eye. His right eyelid was scratched, and it seemed that this was the real reason why he lost his right eye.

"I used to be a tank company commander in the Western Front. I fought with the Germans in Minsk and lost my right eye."

"The German armor-piercing projectile hit the sight hole on the gun mantlet without any bias, shattering the lens of my gun scope. I happened to be aiming the main gun at the time, and the fragments of the lens almost turned the entire right eye into pieces. minced meat."

"Military doctors told me that I was no longer suitable to continue serving in the tank force. If I could not use my right eye, I would not be able to serve as a commander of the tank force. I could no longer even control the main gun to aim."

"I tried to fight for some opportunities, but it was useless. My superiors rejected my appeal and asked me to leave the tank unit. Fortunately, I was not allowed to retire completely. At least I can continue to defend the motherland in the infantry division."

Major Nikolayev's brief statement made Malashenko suddenly feel a sense of sympathy. Everything that happened to this tank veteran was indeed somewhat similar to himself.

"How many troops do we have now that can be used to defend the train station? I have brought a regiment of tanks and a company of infantry. Of course, they are not enough."

While listening to Malashenko's words, he tilted his head and glanced at the mighty tank columns lined up. Major Nikolayev, who had an idea in his mind, then turned around and faced the horse. Rashenko made an invitation gesture and immediately spoke.

"Let's take a look inside the train station first, Commander Malashenko. The order I got is to hand over the command to you and obey your orders after you arrive. I suggest that we talk while watching and learn more about the train. The actual deployment status of the station can help you better grasp key information and make actual adjustments.”

From his words and deeds, he felt that Major Nikolayev seemed a little unusual. Malashenko, who was not sure whether his intuition was correct, immediately asked with a slight hesitation.