Steel Soviet Union

Lieutenant Colonel Kurbalov, acting brigade commander of the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Brigade, although little-known, is a real tank hero like himself.

The above is Malashenko’s initial impression of Kulbalov after he met and briefly chatted with this comrade who looked more like a gang leader than a Red Army tank lieutenant colonel. .

When Operation Barbarossa was first launched, Lieutenant Colonel Kurbalov was attached to the tank unit of the Western Front.

Under the leadership of Pavlov, the "shrewd" commander who made his loving father Comrade Stalin so angry that he nearly tore off the roof of the Kremlin, Kulbalov, who was still just a captain at the time, commanded his own tanks. The battle was extremely difficult and the army was defeated in succession. He fell into the encirclement of the German army several times, and ended up escaping many times with the dual blessing of strength and luck. He kept repeating this kind of bad battle either in the encirclement or on the road to being surrounded.

During the Battle of Moscow, the tank battalion commanded by Kulbalov was transferred to participate in the battle to defend the north of Moscow, which was exactly opposite to the battle on the southern front where Malashenko was at that time.

During the battle, Kulbalov and his troops were almost completely wiped out by the overwhelming and crazy German offensive.

The KV1 heavy tank under his command came under intensive fire from German anti-tank guns, light tanks, and medium tanks. All kinds of hooded armor-piercing bullets and tungsten core armor-piercing bullets were thrown at them like they were free of money.

The vehicle with extreme armor fatigue was shattered by repeated impacts. The upper armor plate of the vehicle body was smashed. A Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing bullet from a 50mm tank gun penetrated the armor and set off a large number of armor fragments, killing the vehicle instantly. All crew members except Kurbalov.

The seriously injured Kurbanov passed out on the spot in his commander's position, completely unconscious. The Germans, who mistakenly thought that the Soviet heavy tank had been completely destroyed, did not bother to check it and directly chose to regard it as a wreckage. He ignored it and continued to move forward to charge.

Fortunately, the frenzied German offensive only advanced less than one kilometer before being pushed back by the Soviet counterattack troops that were urgently mobilized to block the gap.

Not only was the planned offensive mission not completed, but part of the territory previously captured was also taken back by the Soviet army. The German army lost its troops and generals. It can be said that they lost their wives and troops, but they should have died of excessive blood loss because of this. of Kulbalov.

Kulbalov was dragged out of the zombie tank and sent to the nearest field hospital for emergency treatment. Although he lost his entire right foot and unfortunately had it amputated, he at least saved his life.

Unwilling to leave the battlefield, Kulbalov tried every means and asked his comrades to contact a well-known old carpenter in the suburbs of Moscow. He asked the man in his seventies to tailor-make his right leg. A prosthetic foot made of wood was forcibly tied to his amputated right leg with a steel plate and wire, and the difficult rehabilitation training began.

At first, Kulbalov could not even walk without falling. The prosthetic foot made of wood doesn't listen at all and can only play a supporting role. Without the joints of the foot to move, the right leg feels like it doesn't belong to him. It feels extremely awkward to move even a step.

Unwilling to sink, Kulbalov gritted his teeth and continued to train every day. From falling dozens or hundreds of times a day at the beginning, he trained hard to being able to fall only a few times with a cane. In the end, he even threw away the cane. Can trot. Kulbalov, who was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, was finally allowed to return to combat, and the time on the calendar was clearly fixed on October 8, 1942.

Among the personnel temporarily transferred to form the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Kurbalov had the most experience in actual combat command, and thus became the Guardsman before Malashenko took office. The temporary acting brigade commander of the 1st Heavy Tank Brigade is responsible for coordinating the deployment of materials, equipment and personnel for the new 1st Guards Heavy Tank Brigade until Malashenko's arrival.

"Now my right leg is no different from a normal person, Comrade Brigadier. If you don't believe it, I will run outside immediately and show you. Maybe I can run faster than you. I am suffering from this. It took me half a year to practice.”

Kulbalov claimed that his special running skills allowed him to run faster than a normal person like Malashenko. Malashenko, who smiled indifferently, did not take it seriously. He took it as what Kulbalov said. It's really good.

"Before you came, I prepared a list of our brigade's equipment, personnel, and all supplies that have been received so far. These lists will be updated every day, and I will fill in and supplement all the latest items. In addition, There is a list of items that are expected to be in place and those that are about to be in place, and the rest are expected to be in place within the next week.”

"That's basically it, Comrade Brigadier. If you have any other questions, please tell me and I will try my best to solve them as soon as possible."

Kulbalov prepared all the materials needed for Malashenko to take over the work. A large number of documents were spread out on the table one by one under Kulbalov's introduction. Next to Love, Malashenko listened carefully to the introduction one by one, and soon became very interested in one of the documents.

"Organization list? Just to see how many troops I can command after upgrading."

During the previous period of the First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment, the troops under Malashenko were actually a large-scale Guards Tank Regiment with a lot of overstaffing. In terms of organization alone, it is far beyond the regimental level, comparable to brigade-level organizations, and even has more technical equipment than some shabby ordinary tank divisions.

Of course, judging from the actual combat effectiveness and the key role it plays in the overall strategy, the First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment is far more important than a tank division.

After this organizational upgrade, what kind of organization will the First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment have next? How many tanks are there? How much more troops are there than before? This has become one of the key points that Malashenko is most interested in.

Holding the knitting table in his hand and looking at it carefully from top to bottom, Malashenko's expression changed several times. Kulbalov who was beside him also stopped and looked at the introduction. Looking at Malashenko's ever-changing expressions like a slide show is a bit "amazing".

"What's wrong? Comrade Brigadier, is there something wrong with the establishment list?"

Malashenko held the organization table in his hand and looked at it for almost a minute, and then put it back on the table again. There was already a smile on his face.

"No, everything is fine, Comrade Kurbalov."