Steel Soviet Union

The night at the bridge was flickering, and the dark clouds that drifted across the sky from time to time would bring the moon hanging high in the sky into darkness. Even the bits of starlight contrasting with the moon are faintly visible. It is difficult to judge what the weather will be like after dawn based on this scene alone.

"How many Kraut prisoners did we take?"

"Not many. It was too dark and the visibility was so low that I couldn't see whether the enemy really surrendered or catch those who threw away their guns and ran away. I guess there were only about 70 or 80 people at most, and the rest were either lying on the ground or not. I just ran back to report the news."

During the fierce battle at the bridgehead just now, they were only one step away from being invisible. Under the night, there was only the roar of crazy firepower and nothing else.

Some German soldiers who were frightened and felt that there was no hope of breaking out wanted to raise their hands and surrender, but in the darkness, the Red Army soldiers could not see whether the enemy had lowered their weapons. In most cases, they only continued to pull the trigger and fired a bunch of bullets. Serve.

Despite saying there was no hope of surrender, they were directly knocked to death by a hail of bullets. The German soldiers, who had a strong desire to survive, began to flee in all directions like a breach of the embankment.

Realizing that the enemy had no intention of fighting anymore, the Red Army soldiers quickly chased after them to capture the prisoners. However, the terrain on the bridgehead was more familiar to the German troops stationed here. The dark and windy night gave the Germans great convenience in escaping. Nearly half of the German garrison battalion guarding the bridge finally managed to escape, leaving Lavrinenko looking quite helpless at this moment.

Malashenko, who looked up at the starry sky, said nothing more. He put the Ruger P08 pistol in his hand back into the holster and then gave the order.

"Notify the troops to assemble urgently! Try to reach Karachi Town before dawn!"

"It's the same for the enemy that we can't see in the dark. Before these German guys can react and can't figure out the situation, we can catch them by surprise first."

Lavrinenko did not want to veto Malashenko's proposal, but after looking back at the tanks that were still roaring across the Don River Bridge and a large number of vehicles that were jammed, he felt that Malashenko's order was somewhat inappropriate. Lavrinenko, who had trouble executing, couldn't help but speak.

"Now we can only assemble a tank battalion at most. This is the limit. It is not easy to get all the troops across the bridge before dawn. Are you sure you want to use such a small number of troops to start the attack immediately? We even have the town of Karachi. I don’t know how many Germans there are.”

"How many Germans are there? Just ask if you can capture a few high-ranking prisoners. Don't worry about so many. Give the Germans a slap first. Maybe the Germans in Karachi Town are less than half or even more than you think." With fewer troops, if we pull out this nail as soon as possible, we can deliver the mission to the front army headquarters as soon as possible.

While explaining, Malashenko put his hands on his hips and looked around. Malashenko, who was looking around, finally found the familiar face he had been looking for in the passenger seat of another Gas jeep driving across the bridge.

"Damn it, I heard you came to be a commando captain? Malashenko! You are getting bolder and bolder. You must remember that you are a colonel and brigade commander!"

Just as Iushkin complained earlier, it is true.

Commissar Petrov, who had just gotten out of the car, started nagging about Malashenko before even closing the door. He looked like a parent scolding a daring child.

"I don't have time to explain so much. It's useless to talk about it later. Have you brought the military uniform? I have to change this dog skin quickly!"

"I knew you would ask me for this."

Political Commissar Petrov, who knew that time waited for no one, was not too entangled in the fact that the brigade commander turned into a commando captain. Instead, he turned around, opened the car door, and placed a bag on the back seat of the jeep. Putting on a new tank soldier's combat uniform and a tank cap, he threw it at Malashenko.

"Lead people to hold the bridgehead and clean the battlefield, Comrade Political Commissar. After setting up the radio station, immediately send a report to the front army headquarters, saying that the Don River Bridge has been successfully captured. Please send support troops to come quickly. Malashenko has already led the leading troops. Head towards Karachi Town and strive to capture the town as soon as possible to complete the mission objective.”

Seeing Malashenko changing clothes directly on the windy and snowy ground in front of him, Commissar Petrov, who had become accustomed to wiping the butt of this little guy in his eyes, shook his head helplessly.

"I didn't do these things for you, but you. With such a small vanguard, you have to be more careful. You must know that the situation in Karachi Town is still unknown. We don't even know how many troops the Germans have deployed there. Know."

Malashenko took off his Wehrmacht colonel's uniform and threw it in the snow without paying attention. He was afraid of being misjudged and accidentally injured. Finally, he put on his authentic Red Army tank soldier combat uniform. He put the tank hat on his forehead and ran towards his car which was not far away.

"Don't worry, Karachi Town will be ours until noon at most! Those Germans can't escape our grasp."

Looking at Malashenko's back as he said the rather confident words, Lavrinenko, who did not follow immediately, couldn't help but glance at his mouth.

"He is always so confident, as if he has everything under control. I don't know where this confidence comes from."

Political Commissar Petrov, who also witnessed Malashenko's retreating back, smiled slightly, his face showing his continued trust in Malashenko, and patted Lavrinenko's shoulder lightly with his big hand. With the opening.

"At least this self-confidence can lead the troops to victory and be invincible. Follow him quickly and witness how his self-confidence turns into miracles. Also, don't let him go too far. You are more stable than him."

Political Commissar Petrov, who left his last words, hurried away and ran to direct what he should do, leaving Lavrinenko, who tilted his head, talking quietly to himself.

"Yes, I am indeed much more stable than the Commando Captain."

The troops that were urgently assembled were only the five T70 Xiaodudin tanks that were the first to cross the bridge and more than half a battalion of heavy tanks. The total number of troops was only 32 tanks, which were in their early thirties.

The good news is that because Malashenko issued an order in advance for the main force to cross the bridge first, the heavy tanks assembled by more than half of the battalions were all IS1 heavy tanks, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kurbalov. One battalion of tanks.

As a veteran commander and an ace crew, Kurbalov's car is also among them. Counting his and Lavrinenko's two brigade command vehicles, there are three ace crews plus one main force. Malashenko in the army is very confident.

The defense of Karachi Town, which was composed of the logistics troops of the German army and supplementary troops, was simply vulnerable in the eyes of the brigade commander.