Steel Soviet Union

"Is this the last battle?"

Before Malashenko could actually walk to the car, Iushkin, who was sitting on the turret with a cigarette falling out of his mouth, was already asking questions.

"Yes, the last battle, to be precise, it is the last battle in Cherkasy. If you say it is the last battle against the Germans, it would be a pity. At least it will not be this year, at least it will be Wait until next year.”

As he walked forward, Malashenko put the helmet in his hand on the top of his head. He took out his worn-out black leather gloves from his jacket pocket and put them on. As he walked, his tone sounded different. It's unusually relaxed and nonchalant.

"Hey, of course I know I don't expect to kill the Germans this year. But when you talk about completely defeating the Germans, I'm looking forward to something else, such as getting rid of the German accomplices and lackeys."

"When the time comes, the Germans will definitely push these guys forward to block the gunfire and die. We will deal with them first. I am looking forward to beating up those Finnish ghosts. None of these lackeys are good."

"Um"

Malashenko stepped to the side of his car, rested his right elbow on the sloping side armor of the IS4 heavy tank's huge body, and looked thoughtfully. Iushkin, who was sitting on the top of the turret, quickly responded.

"Let Finland go first, and you can look forward to dealing with those Polish fools. This piece of Europe is right at the door of our motherland. You must step on it when you go out. Whether you think about it or not, this is the inevitable step to the German mainland. Through the road.”

Malashenko, who was talking and taking action, had already climbed to the top of the turret, jumped in from the opened turret hatch, leaving half of his body outside, reached out and took the remaining half of the gun that Iushkin was holding in his mouth. He took off the cigarette and put it directly into his mouth, and then finished the rest of the words in his mouth.

"We will definitely have a tough battle with the Germans in Poland by then. The Germans will take advantage of the last bastion of defending their homeland and stop the Red Army from advancing at all costs, even if they beat Poland to pieces. I estimate that it will be possible by then. There will be a short-term battle that is no less intense than Stalingrad, but it won’t last as long. You’d better be mentally prepared.”

""

"But why did you take my cigarette? Don't you have it yourself?"

After hearing this, Malashenko grinned at the slightly confused Iushkin, stretched out his right hand and hit Iushkin directly on the bridge of his nose with a flick of his finger.

"What other reason do I need to whip you? Get in the turret and get ready to go!"

Except for a good meal of beef stew with potatoes and fresh bread, Malashenko still hasn't had even an hour of decent sleep.

The German's specialty coffee was worse than horse urine, and he smoked cigarettes that made him almost cry. Malashenko, who had used all the refreshing gadgets, still felt a little sleepy. As soon as he sat in the turret commander's seat, he immediately felt sleepy. He could fall asleep immediately if he just leaned against the turret bulkhead and closed his eyes for ten seconds.

"Ah, how many days have I not had a good night's sleep? It's been a week? I feel like I'm going crazy. It would be great if I had a bottle of Red Bull."

Malashenko, who was sitting in the commander's seat with his eyes wide open and somewhat dull, was mumbling to himself. Artyom, who was already on standby in the turret, heard the chattering of the commander's mouth and was curious. I couldn't help but ask questions.

"Comrade Commander, what are the red cows? Are there blue and red cows?"

""

Malashenko was speechless when he realized that he was in a trance and had spilled the beans. He pretended that nothing had happened and immediately spoke to put the matter away.

"Nothing, just a rather strange creature. Iushkin, check the gun scope and breech block, Artyom checks the ammunition rack, first put the armor-piercing bomb at hand. In this battle, we are going to chew the German turtle shell. Seryozha, start the train and get ready to go!”

Even without Malashenko's order, the skilled and tacit team members of No. 177 knew what they should do.

Iushkin, who has become accustomed to his new and enhanced sighting system, is making final adjustments, while Artyom is following Malashenko's order to adjust the position of the first ammunition rack at the rear end of the turret behind him. Fire 122mm projectiles for sorting and placement, and keep the high-priority projectiles you need at hand to ensure they are always within reach and can be loaded quickly during wartime.

"There is something wrong with our suspension system, Comrade Commander. There are a few road wheels on the right side that make strange noises and don't work well. When driving, you will feel some shaking on the right side. Let me remind you."

"Um?"

Malashenko, who had indeed felt that there was something wrong with his car, perked up, and then he bent down and asked Seryosha, who was alone at the front of the car, and asked.

"Didn't you go to Karamov to see what was going on? Why didn't you fix it?"

"I went to find it myself, and Karamov came to check it in person. He said it should be caused by the suspension rod being loose or severely worn, and too many off-road miles. This problem needs to be disassembled and repaired, but we don't have the time now. Karamov took people to do some maintenance and gave it a few simple hammer blows. He said that it can still last for at least 100 kilometers of cross-country mileage, and it will be overhauled after this battle. "

""

Hearing this, Malashenko was speechless for a moment and really didn't know what to say.

Until this battle, I have been running around non-stop all the way. Even when I was on the southern line of Kursk, I had never experienced such a torturous long-distance cross-country maneuver.

The entire army has not had a good rest at all from the beginning of the war until now. The daily maintenance of the tanks is carried out in a race against time after the battle during the day and at night. It is time-consuming and laborious to dismantle and overhaul the entire tank. In this field environment, there is no time, no equipment, no conditions, and it is impossible.

The comrade division commander's car has been messed up like this. You can naturally imagine what the situation is like for the other tanks in the division.

Fortunately, this battle, no matter how hard the Germans tried, was definitely the last battle in the Battle of Cherkasy. Otherwise, Malashenko estimated that his troops would be absolutely overwhelmed in the subsequent pursuit. Breaking down while running is just like the German men's zoo of delicate tigers and leopards.

"Hurry up and put an end to this, people and equipment can't stand it anymore!"

Malashenko, who was convinced of this idea, took one last look at the artillery fire covering the explosion in the distance, which had obviously weakened. Then he picked up the radio transmitter in his hand, brought it to his mouth, and spoke loudly.