Steel Soviet Union

The anxious advice from Chief of Staff Huo Jin obviously could not stop Zhukov's firm determination. Once a decision was made, Zhukov would never waver again. The same was true this time.

"No need to think about it anymore! If Uritsk falls and the German armored forces break into the city of Leningrad, I don't need to tell you what terrible consequences such a disaster will eventually lead to. What's the point of using those planes to break out?"

The do-or-die hint hidden in Zhukov's words was very obvious. Chief of Staff Hozin, who had never thought about leaving the lost Leningrad alive, simply gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"You are right, Comrade Commander, I thought everything was too simple. Leningrad must be defended no matter what, and no matter how big the risk is, it is worth taking for this ultimate goal!"

With the personal orders from Zhukov's mouth, the Baltic Fleet shore-based aviation pilots, who had narrowly escaped death in airborne operations again and again, once again dragged their extremely tired bodies to the runway and boarded the aircraft. Their respective landlines have been filled with numerous bullet marks.

The roaring crimson war eagles rushed into the sky without hesitation to face those extremely powerful opponents. The comrades around them were getting fewer and fewer as the fierce air battles continued to break out. How many of the crimson war eagles could return? It is unknown, but only the firm patriotic enthusiasm and belief and the passion to serve the country will be swayed in the sky to be destined at this moment.

The rumbling sound of artillery that got closer and closer with the continuous march and charge finally landed very close to Malashenko's car after a loud bang. All the "tank knights" outside the car he was sitting in had already put down their cars. Malashenko immediately turned the commander's periscope in his hand and immediately gave an order.

"Iushkin! Two o'clock, the German number three, kill him!"

"You have the final say! Comrade Commander!"

"Armor-piercing bullets are good!"

"put!"

boom--

The Panzer III, which was hidden behind a low-lying gentle slope with only one turret exposed to reduce the area of ​​the front of the vehicle that was hit by bullets, still could not escape death.

In order to ensure that Malashenko's car was penetrated, the move of approaching to a distance of less than 150 meters before firing was not only in vain, but also allowed Iushkin, who was beaten and hurriedly responded to the enemy's rear, to attack the seemingly huge square. The turret was firmly set in his sight, and he instantly stepped on the firing pedal under his feet.

The German loader, who was holding a Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing round in his hand but had not yet had time to load it, was immediately swallowed up by the ferocious explosion and flames, and the commander and gunner beside him who were fighting together in the turret were instantly killed. on the spot.

Seeing the turret of the No. 3 tank dragging the flames flying up to a height of seven or eight meters vertically before falling heavily, Iushkin, who successfully killed his opponent with one blow, immediately turned the turret steering gear in his hand and started Using the main gun sight to find the next target, Malashenko, who was sitting side by side with a huge gun breech next to Iushkin, was also using the commander's periscope in his hand to constantly search for the enemy.

After leading the support troops to the front line in the small town of Uritsk, Malashenko realized that the current battlefield situation was far more chaotic than what Second Lieutenant Oleg had told him personally.

The German troops, covered by planes in the sky and bombarded by artillery and tanks on the ground, were overwhelming all the way. The Soviet 42nd Army, which had already suffered heavy losses in the previous battle and had not received any support, could not withstand the three-dimensional attack of four fully equipped German divisions. A blitzkrieg attack quickly appeared in the defense line.

The commander of the 42nd Army, who had already exhausted all the reserves at hand, was helpless in the face of multiple gaps in the defense line that appeared at the same time. After tearing open the frontal defense line, the German armored forces increased their horsepower and drove straight in. The enemy, the Soviet Army, had no tanks. The most important point of death.

The German armored forces, which had no need to worry about being counterattacked by Soviet tanks, took less than an hour to tear the 42nd Army's suburban field defense line organized around the small town of Uritsk into six pieces. A massive position that is isolated from each other and unable to care for each other.

The German infantry that followed immediately took this opportunity to engage in encirclement operations, launching a final general attack on the cut positions of the Soviet army, which was at the end of its strength.

Malashenko, who followed the existing advance route and arrived at the nearest cut and surrounded Soviet defensive position, said nothing, and immediately commanded all the tanks under his command and a battalion of Ministry of Internal Affairs border guard infantry into the battle.

The already bloody battle had just begun and entered a cruel stage of deterioration.

On the position where there was no decent anti-tank gun available, the Soviet infantry simply dragged the M1939 85mm anti-aircraft gun onto the position. Just like the Germans used the 88-gun anti-tank gun, they flattened the muzzle of the 85mm anti-aircraft gun and began to aim and fire directly. German tanks.

The German tanks, which faced direct fire from the few remaining 85mm anti-aircraft guns of the Soviet army, ran over the infantry trenches and forced their way into the position. Not to be outdone, the German tanks directly smashed the nearest 85mm anti-aircraft gun into a human body.

Needless to say, Malashenko, who witnessed this scene with his own eyes through the periscope of his commander, Iushkin, who only saw German tanks, stepped on the ready launch pedal without even giving an order.

The 76mm hooded armor-piercing grenade that escaped from the barrel turned the German Panzer IV tank, which still had pieces of human flesh hanging on its tracks, into a blazing steel coffin without any doubt.

After another successful attack, before Iushkin could raise his hand to wipe away the sweat that had flowed down his forehead to the corners of his eyes, a Soviet heavy tank unit that had been extinct for a long time appeared on the ground. The Stuka immediately screamed down towards Malashenko's car with the fury of a tiger's whiskers.

The fateful moment of a lightning flash was not even enough to make Malashenko feel any despair or curse. At the last moment, the Schwark cannon roared into action almost at the same time as the Stuka pilot's finger pressing the bomb button. Play.

Dong dong dong——

call out--

The fatal blow fired 0.5 seconds earlier was extremely lucky to save Malashenko's life that should have ended here.

At the last moment before the bomb detached from the belly pylon, the Schwark cannon penetrated the wing, destroying the flight aerodynamic layout and deviating from the originally aligned dive attack course.

The 500-kilogram aerial bomb dropped subconsciously by the German pilots who had no time to react, deviated five degrees to the left from the aiming angle and then roared down.

The explosion dust that shot up into the sky carried a shock wave that could sweep away any infantry, and instantly knocked Malashenko's nearly 50-ton combat vehicle to the ground and shook it like a baby stroller.