Steel Soviet Union

Kirill received the latest order: to form the incomplete infantry regiment of friendly forces that cooperated with his attack into one with his own infantry company of the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division, and send support southward in less than a month. An infantry encounter broke out 5 kilometers away.

If this group of German infantry not far to the south of the village is not cleared away in time, the safety of the Marinovo village that Kirill led as a bridgehead for subsequent attacks will not be guaranteed, and the German army may still continue to threaten Marino from the south. Wo Village.

If the infantry is removed and only tanks are left, will only tanks be left in the village to defend it?

of course not.

The telegram mentioned that a follow-up battalion of the Varosha Infantry Regiment would arrive soon. These mechanized infantrymen riding on half-track armored vehicles assisted by the Yankees had a very high marching speed.

In other words, Kirill will probably face a gap period of about one hour, or shorter, when no infantry is available.

Strictly speaking, this is certainly very dangerous. It is okay to encounter a small group of German infantry attacks. The powerful firepower of heavy tanks can easily repel them in an open area. However, if you encounter a surprise attack by a large group of German troops, a mixture of infantry and armored forces, That would be dangerous. Kirill, who only had tanks and no infantry available, would be hard to resist.

But the objective fact is that the encounter in the south is more imminent and must be dealt with as soon as possible. The fact that the village encountered a counterattack by the German troops that had just been repulsed in a short period of time is a low-probability and uncertain event.

Especially under the premise that Kirill only needed an hour to obtain a stronger mechanized infantry support, Lavrinenko, who was responsible for replacing Malashenko as interim division commander, finally made such a seemingly risky decision. .

But before the order was actually arranged to be implemented, Lavrinenko still checked with the political commissar comrades to check and discuss such a major matter. It is still necessary for the political commissar comrades to know and participate in the decision-making, and it must be considered that Kirill and the political commissar comrades have a layer of understanding. There is a special relationship where "everyone understands without saying it explicitly".

"This order is indeed risky, Comrade Political Commissar, but the war has come so suddenly that we have no choice."

"The friendly infantry near the target village are all members of the Baltic Front. They spread their troops too thinly and have insufficient strength. If they do not provide support, there is a risk that the Germans will break through and intercept them and attack the village northward. Best case scenario It was these German guys who broke through and escaped, and in the end they were the problem again.”

The troops of the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division heading north after a long-distance motorized march are currently undergoing emergency maintenance after arriving in the war zone. The company commanded by Kirill was the first to complete emergency maintenance, and then went to the battlefield as a vanguard unit to support a battle in which the friendly infantry failed to defeat the enemy for two days.

After listening to Lavrinenko's discussion and description of the situation, Commissar Petrov, who was noncommittal and did not answer immediately, then turned his head and looked at the large number of tanks and tanks parked in the open on the grassland behind him, which were undergoing emergency maintenance. Vehicles and other heavy equipment.

The reality that the main force is still unable to move is really worrying. The limit that can be achieved is to immediately put one unit into the battlefield after overhaul and maintenance. But at the moment, there is really no other way to do it. So done.

"Go and tell Karamov to prioritize the maintenance and overhaul of the infantry's half-tracks and trucks. Go as fast as possible. Once completed, immediately set off to join Kirill's company."

"Yes, Comrade Political Commissar."

Looking at the figures of the orderlies hurriedly leaving after recording the orders with pen and paper, Lavrinenko already realized that Comrade Political Commissar agreed with his suggestion. It seemed that even with the "omnipotent" Comrade Political Commissar I can't think of a better way.

"It won't be a big problem, don't worry, comrade political commissar. It's just a short gap of less than an hour. The Germans have just been driven out of the village. How can they come back at this time?"

Lavrinenko is right. In fact, anyone who is familiar with and understands common sense will think so. This is not surprising.

Once the organized enemy troops are defeated and retreat, if they want to come back and launch a counterattack again, it will take a lot of time to regroup the troops and prepare for the attack.

The number of Germans who were driven out of the village was quite large. In terms of organization, they were the size of an infantry regiment. You want to say that this bunch of bastards who had just suffered a huge defeat and were still running on two legs could regroup and rush back to the village within an hour.

Lavrinenko felt that if the Germans had this ability, they would not be beaten so badly today. Not to mention now, even the Germans who were in better shape last year and have not completely gone downhill did not have this ability. There is really no need to do it for Worry about nonsense.

Not only Lavrinenko, but also Political Commissar Petrov thought carefully that there was no fatal problem in this situation, at least on the surface.

But somehow, there is always an indescribable uneasiness and worry lingering in the hearts of political commissar comrades that cannot go away.

This feeling cannot be explained clearly, nor can it be described exactly what it feels like, or it can be described as a strong and uneasy premonition.

After thinking over and over in his mind for a long time, he could not come up with a satisfactory result. Commissar Petrov shook his head slowly and could only attribute all this to "maybe he is too tired" or "Mara" Shenke is not here and thinks too much about the frontline battle." This is the reason.

"I hope nothing will happen. Malashenko will be back soon, and all the problems will be solved when he is in place."

At the same time, at the edge of the village of Marinovo, where the fierce battle had just ended, Calvus and Kosher, who had only their heads exposed and peered through the telescope at the village ahead, had become Voldemort. If they had not left, If you look closely, you can hardly find two people hiding in the inconspicuous bushes on the roadside.

But in the telescope, the large group of infantry drove out of the village, but only one tank was missing, which is really confusing.

"Karl! Is there something wrong with the intelligence!? Why are there only Russian infantry here? I didn't even see a tank, not a single one. Did that bastard lieutenant colonel of the infantry regiment lie to you?"

""

Calvus, who was thinking about things in his mind and summing up various situations, did not lower his voice and speak in a low voice like Koshel did. Instead, he put away the telescope and tapped his buddy on the shoulder to indicate that he could retreat and end the investigation until he returned. I told Koshel while driving the bucket truck on the way.

"Just in time, this is what I want to see. The Russian infantry left the village. The number of people we saw is consistent with the approximate number that the lieutenant colonel told me. This also means that the Russian infantry in the village It’s basically emptied, and there aren’t many tanks left in the village. Can’t we find out if we go in and take action now?”