Steel Soviet Union

"A while ago, I asked him what he planned to do after the war. Guess what? This kid actually answered me that after the war was over, he wanted to go home and become a teacher. He said that he was good at math and was in the class in middle school. No. 1 on the list.”

"I said you're the best in fucking math and you've come to join the army? Do you have a brain problem or did the conscripts drink Walter too much?"

"How did he answer? Oh, I remember it! He said that the girl he was attracted to at the time signed up to join the army, and he wanted to pursue her! When his head was enthusiastic and horizontal, the teacher who put forward the recommendation would come and take advantage of it. Soldiers."

Malashenko couldn't help but laugh when he heard the story. He motioned to Alsim to move his butt towards the leeward wall of the invisible blind spot on the other side of the street. They sat here together and looked out from his pocket. He touched the cigarette case and replied at the same time.

"What happened next? Did he catch up with the girl?"

"No, that girl didn't like him at all. But this story is very bloody. Comrade senior teacher, please listen to what I'm telling you."

The two smokers sat in the invisible corner with the wind and worshiped the gods. The incense was curling up, and the words immersed in memories continued.

"It was only after he got to the army that he found out that the girl joined the army because she was chasing another man. Fortunately for him, he couldn't catch up from the beginning to the end. As a result, he was left to act in a play by himself, and the girl ended up with him. My old sweetheart got married and had children, so I left him alone."

"However, this boy is lucky. He has an unrequited love and no one else is pursuing him, but the girl from his hometown neighbor still has an unrequited love for him. She started writing letters to him not long after joining the army, and the girl even took the initiative to confess her love."

"Later on, it became a thing. I don't know exactly how it happened, and I didn't ask. It was 1939, and I didn't know him at that time. Anyway, it just became a thing."

"Sharapova is a good girl, otherwise I would say that this kid is very lucky to be chased by a good girl who loves her unrequitedly. I have been to his house several times, and Sharapova is good at cooking. She is very good at cooking. It’s delicious, and every time I go there, a table will be made to entertain me. Pavlov and I take advantage of our vacation together to get drunk, sometimes even until dawn.”

"They have two children. The eldest is a boy, who is five years old this year. The second is a girl. Is she, uh, two or three years old? Anyway, they were born after the war started. This kid is taking advantage of his vacation to go home. He can contribute to the new population with all his efforts, so he is very capable.”

As he talked and laughed, Alsim, who could no longer continue telling the story, gradually stopped laughing.

A beautiful story does not have a happy ending. The ending of a soldier is not to return to his hometown and become a respected mathematics teacher who teaches and educates people, but to be buried in horse leather like the vast majority of the Patriotic soldiers of this era who shed their lives and blood.

He left behind grieving comrades and brothers, a broken family, parents who lost their children in old age, a wife who lost her husband, and a pair of children who lost their father.

And the motherland who lost a brave warrior and a good son.

This is war - what is swallowed is flesh and blood life, and what is spit out is the ultimate misery and pain in the world.

Behind the grand narrative appearance of the leader, the most real aspect is still these broken stories that repeat tragic reincarnations.

Just like every Red Army unit in this era, it will not change just because the leader's division has a higher aura, greater reputation, and stronger combat effectiveness.

Fortunately, this painful cycle of reincarnation and repeated events is now coming to an end.

"Comrade Commander, can I ask you something?"

"Um?"

"Can you suppress the sacrifice of Pavlov in advance? I think I want to wait until the war is over. If I am still alive by then, I will personally tell Sharapova the news and take Pavlov with me. go back."

"Tell her now, I'm afraid that she won't be able to accept this blow. I've been to her home and know her well. She loves her husband deeply and has a somewhat introverted personality. I don't know how much courage she must muster to confess her love. She might I really can’t accept it. With me here, she might feel better, and even if it doesn’t work, I can watch her not do anything stupid.”

""

On the surface, he appears to be a careless, illiterate old man, but this does not mean that Alsim does not have the ability to consider everything carefully, and he has never been more careful in dealing with the funeral of his good brother.

However, this was just Alsim's own idea. Malashenko, who had only a few puffs left on his cigarette, thought of something else and spoke quietly.

"Then have you ever thought about the time when the war is over and the surrounding military families are welcoming their loved ones back, reuniting their families, and laughter is filling every ray of air. A wife is holding her husband's urn, between two What would it be like to burst into tears and cry heartbroken in front of your children?”

""

The silence that made him unable to speak further explained Alsim's state of mind at the moment. Malashenko, who was not in a hurry to get a result on this matter, put out the cigarette butt and threw it into the trash can nearby.

I saw half of a torn Nazi propaganda poster hanging on the side of the trash can, which said something like "Bite your teeth and hold on! Fight the Bolshevik devil to the end!" This thing now only deserves to stay where it really deserves to be. place - in the trash can.

"Tell me when you have thought about it and made a decision. There is no rush in this matter. I will wait for your news."

"Also, I heard that you just made a new friend and you are getting along well with him. His name is Sulovchenko, right?"

Alsim, who was still leaning against the wall, looked at Malashenko in a daze. Did Comrade Commander know what happened last night so quickly? This is a bit too amazing.

"That's what happened, Comrade Commander."

"Well, what do you think of this guy? I want to hear your evaluation."

"my comment"

Malashenko has never been asked such a question, and of course he is rarely asked about similar things by people around him.

Not being very good at answering this kind of question and having little experience, Alsim could only give the answer based on his first reaction after thinking briefly.

"He is a tough guy, he has a lot of energy, he is not afraid of trouble, and he dares to face him head-on. He is also educated and knowledgeable, and he graduated from a serious military academy. In this regard, he is much better than an illiterate like me. All in all, he’s pretty good and he gets along well with me. It’s rare that he gets along so well with me.”

"Well, it looks like you have a new partner."

"Comrade Commander, what do you mean?"

Malashenko, who had already stood up, was really planning to leave this time. If he didn't leave, by the time the artillery fire sounded on time, he would not even be able to finish his pile of errands, let alone direct the war.

But before leaving, he had to give a final affirmative answer to Alsim, who was a little confused.

"Sulovichenko will take over the position of your deputy. I have read his resume. To some extent, he is quite similar to you. Now it seems that it is very suitable to partner with you. You need a deputy to help you , Alsim, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but that I hope you can really go further.”

"It just so happens that you have lost some manpower even in the past few days, including today. Sulovechenko will bring his people over to make up for your missing men. It is better than giving you new recruits. Much stronger. But they are infantry, not engineers, and you may need to teach them some professional skills."

"Cooperate well and focus on serious matters to regain your status. I believe you can do it."

"I will guide you on a path of revenge, Alsim, you can trust me on that."

"And you-"

Malashenko, who had the last words before leaving, stepped forward again, reached out and patted Alsim's shoulder with a firm and trusting look, just as the friendship between men often does not require too many expressions. , everything is like that in silence.

"Just sharpen your knife and be ready to chop off the head of the naughty bastard who killed your good brother and hang it on the roof."

"Don't they like to attack heads? Well, let all Berliners know that they hang pure pork heads on the rooftops of their capital."

The role of the company deputy comrade ends here. This role has been completed according to the old rules. Although the role is not much and it is only a supporting role, it should be flesh and blood.

Next, it’s time to move into a deep assault on Berlin. Something bigger is coming, so be prepared.