Steel Soviet Union

Malashenko's IS prototype tank vehicle is parked outside the door, and the driver Seryosha who remains on standby in the vehicle has preheated the engine and is ready to attack at any time.

Malashenko ran out of the house in a hurry and felt a wave of scorching hot air rushing towards him as soon as he went out. The heat in Stalingrad in August was already unbearable, and the temperature reached 35 or 6 degrees Celsius near noon. Germany The airwaves from the tank shells that exploded in the factory area further contributed to the heat wave. Malashenko, who was sweating profusely, could even feel the sweat on his face evaporating.

"Damn, fighting in this damn weather is really deadly!"

I cursed secretly in my heart, but I didn't dare to neglect the kung fu under my feet.

Surrounded by the sound of shells exploding and factory sirens, Malashenko climbed onto his car as quickly as possible, jumped into the open turret roof and entered the turret.

Gunner Iushkin and loader Kirill were already in position before Malashenko, and Malashenko, who pulled up the overhead hatch, immediately gave the order.

"Get out! Block those Germans outside the factory and buy time for the factory to retreat and blow up the equipment!"

It can be said that Malashenko and the entire Stalingrad Tractor Factory were attacked by the German army without preparation.

Yesterday afternoon, the phone call Malashenko received also said that the German army had advanced to a place 35 kilometers away and was engaged in a fierce battle with friendly forces over a relatively high hill. The battle was so fierce that it was difficult to determine the winner for a while.

According to this schedule, the German army would have to arrive at the tractor factory someday or even the day after tomorrow. Malashenko arranged the deployment according to the timetable jointly calculated with Petrov's political commissar.

But what Malashenko never expected was that a phone call he received at 8:30 in the morning disrupted all his preparations and caught him off guard.

Facing the vanguard of German tanks that were riding on his face, Malashenko could only order all the tanks in the factory to be activated. Whether they were British tanks or Soviet tanks, they were all loaded with shells and filled with fuel and went into battle.

Although the newly sent crews to collect the defeated vehicles and the recruits who graduated from the tank academy were already in place, Malashenko also understood that these people were completely incomparable with his original Guards First Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment.

They have never fought a tough battle and have no tacit cooperation. Many people have never even been exposed to the combat mode of fully equipped vehicle-mounted radios, and do not know how to make tactical changes in this more advanced combat mode.

Malashenko, Lavrinenko, and Commissar Petrov, who had barely slept for two consecutive days, went to the battle to teach these newbies how to use communication advantages on the battlefield and translate them into actual tactics to defeat them. The enemy, after finishing the class, was still conducting simulation drills in the nearby suburbs for fear that these raw melon-and-egg Zhao Kuo would not know anything about actual combat.

But even so, as long as Malashenko recalls the poor training results and his confused face in class, the deep uncontrollable worry will linger in his heart instantly.

"The time is really too short, there is no chance to form actual combat effectiveness, fuck!"

The First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment led by Malashenko, whose members are all equipped with vehicle-mounted radios, is not only an elite force, but also more like a specialized pilot unit. Similar to the tank unit equipped with all vehicle-mounted radios, the This is the only tank corps in the entire Soviet army.

There was no chance to convert the ready-made advantage at hand into actual combat effectiveness. Malashenko, who was cursing the lack of time, could only lead his troops to push forward.

The only good thing is that those British tanks with seriously unreliable main guns, thanks to the concerted efforts of the entire factory workers and the bare-chested efforts of the remaining veterans under Malashenko, finally completed the replacement of all personnel with Soviet-made tanks as scheduled. The F-34 2mm tank gun plan has achieved a qualitative improvement in firepower.

The 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment fighting at the Stalingrad Tractor Plant was not alone.

Staying here with Malashenko are not only the spontaneously mobilized militia and workers' armed forces, but also the 99th Tank Brigade, which was just withdrawn from the front line the day before yesterday and went to the tractor factory for replenishment and repairs.

Brigadier Roskov, who temporarily assumed this position to replace the brigade commander who died in the battle, is a man just over thirty. Born in the Caucasus, a cold place, he has the unique Chechen style of toughness and fear of death. His spirit, dark weather-beaten face and strong body like an iron tower can even remind Malashenko of his deceased old comrade Lieutenant Colonel Yakov.

Malashenko, who was chatting with Lieutenant Colonel Roskov so much that he could pee in a pot, was generous and directly gave away all the newly manufactured T34 medium tanks in the past week to the 99th Tank Brigade, which suffered heavy losses. , although the output of these hand-made T34 tanks is not large and the quality is not guaranteed, but some are better than none.

After a round of major blood transfusions, the First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment led by Malashenko has regained great strength. It has 50 British tanks with replaced guns and 30 hand-made T34 medium tanks, plus The remaining heavy tanks originally had 88 tanks available.

It cannot be compared with the treatment of the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment, a unit directly under the Front Army Headquarters. The 99th Tank Brigade led by Lieutenant Colonel Roskov did not win for itself the honorary Guards title that could give priority to replenishing losses. Even with Malashenko's generous offer of favors, after supplementation, there were only 43 T34 medium tanks, less than half of the Guards' First Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment.

The funny thing is not only that one brigade has less than half as many tanks as a regiment.

What makes Malashenko feel even more aggrieved and helpless is that his First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment has stumbled all the way until now and has been divided into three parts: British infantry tanks, Soviet medium tanks, and Soviet heavy tanks. A mixed, so-called "Guards Heavy Tank Force" with only eight heavy tanks.

A large group of hodgepodge and improvised tanks took up positions outside the tractor factory. The German armored soldiers who were speeding up had already seen the power of the British tanks in the hands of the Soviets.

Regarding these British Matilda "heavy tanks" that had caused too much trouble for the French B1 heavy tanks on the French battlefield, some German veteran tank commanders who had participated in the battle at that time were the first to react and issue orders. .

"Ignore those British Turtle tanks for now and concentrate on dealing with the Russian T34s. These guys are even more of a threat!"