Steel Soviet Union

Malashenko did not stay with Division Commander Mikhail for too long. Malashenko, who was eager to solve the problem of troop replenishment, quickly moved on to the front army headquarters. Malashenko hoped to be able to work in West China Admiral Levsky had gratifying results.

The headquarters of the Stalingrad Front is located in the city. It did not take much time to transfer from Division Commander Mikhail's division headquarters to the front headquarters. Vorokov, a skilled veteran driver, quickly drove the horse. Rashenko sent him to the destination he wanted to go to.

"We are here, Comrade Malashenko, this is the front headquarters."

Malashenko, who didn't know what was going on in his mind, was a little distracted. It took several seconds after Vorokov's reminder voice fell to finally react.

Compared with the front headquarters that were located in field conditions in the past, the Stalingrad front headquarters that has been moved to the city has a different flavor to Malashenko.

The German bombing of this glorious city named after the Supreme Leader of the Soviet Union had already begun.

When Malashenko opened the door and stepped out of the passenger seat of the car, he saw a scene of ruins after being bombed.

Malashenko once thought that the scenes of the bombing of Leningrad and Moscow he saw last year were quite miserable, but it was not until he saw the street in front of him that fully deserved the name of ruined walls that Malashenko realized that he had How naive the idea is.

Perhaps seeing the deep surprise on Malashenko's face, Vorokov, who also opened the door and stepped out of the driver's seat, spoke.

"The German bombing has been going on for some time, as if they thought they could destroy this impregnable city by bombing alone. The main streets of the city are visited by German bombers almost every day. And those factories, Those places were also the focus of bombing by the Germans, who would often bomb them twice after they were reduced to rubble.”

Daytime high-altitude bombing does not pose much of a threat to ground mobile units. It is difficult for unguided low-resistance aerial bombs to hit mobile targets such as tanks in a high-altitude horizontal bombing posture. However, it can be used for buildings with fixed targets and a wide area. Two said.

The German army, determined to win Stalingrad, launched an early bombing of the city.

Although the current density of bombing is not too high and cannot be compared with the weeks at the peak of the street fighting in Stalingrad, it has already caused great trauma to this industrialized city.

The soldiers and civilians of Stalingrad were almost enveloped in the terrifying roar of German fighter planes, working overtime to complete their work. Everyone was united and devoted themselves to the work of defending the city. What Malashenko had just seen The bustling construction site outside the city is just the tip of the iceberg of Stalingrad.

While stopping and staring, suddenly a group of Red Army soldiers who looked like street patrols rushed out from the corner of an alley not far away. The rapid footsteps and the greeting of the second lieutenant leading the group quickly attracted Malashenko's attention.

"Speed ​​up! Comrades, hurry up!"

The anxious words of the second lieutenant who led the team obviously meant that something urgent had happened. Malashenko, who was curious, asked Vorokov next to him out of the inconvenience of disturbing the other party.

"What are they going to do? Why are they in such a hurry?"

Faced with Malashenko's question, Vorokov, who didn't know why he was in this situation, answered frankly.

"I don't know, Comrade Malashenko. Maybe a dilapidated building that was bombed by the Germans collapsed and people were buried inside. In this case, nearby patrol teams will usually be summoned to participate in emergency rescue. These days, there have been This happened many times, and I heard about it all the time when I was stationed outside the city.”

"The dilapidated building collapsed? Are people buried inside?"

Hearing Vorokov's answer, he couldn't help but be a little surprised. Malashenko, who was very surprised by this, then asked a question that seemed quite puzzling to him.

"Since the Germans bombed the house into a dangerous state, why do you still stay in it? Can't you evacuate people to a safe place?"

"Safety?"

Compared to Malashenko's subconscious question without thinking, Vorokov, who already knew the situation in the city, had a wry smile on his face.

"There is no safe place here, Comrade Malashenko. As soon as the air defense siren goes off, the German bombs will fall like raindrops. They can bomb wherever they want, and our planes can't even It’s less than one-fifth and it can’t stop them at all. No one knows where is safe when the air raid siren sounds.”

"Many people are unwilling to leave their homes. We cannot persuade everyone. After the bombing, there will always be people who quietly return to their homes. There is too much work to be done. The troops in the city only patrol and maintain order and distribute supplies. We don’t have enough manpower to check every house one by one to see if there is anyone inside.”

Volokov's answer was obviously unexpected for Malashenko, but compared to this, Malashenko, who had been staring at the red army patrol flying away for a while, suddenly changed his mind. Got the idea.

"Follow them, Comrade Vorokov, and we'll go over and see what's going on."

"Aren't you going to report to the front army headquarters?"

"We'll go there later. Let's go over first to see what happened. Maybe it's some other emergency."

After finishing speaking, Malashenko ran away without waiting for Vorokov beside him to react. Unexpectedly, Vorokov had to pick up the car he had placed next to the driver's seat. Bobosha submachine gun quickly followed.

"Comrade Malashenko, please slow down and wait for me!"

Although it was important to complain to Vasilevsky to ask for equipment and supplies, Malashenko, after weighing it a little, felt that since he had withdrawn into the city, he would be safe for a while. On the contrary, it was curiosity that killed the cat. Malashenko is even more "yearning for it".

One after another, he followed the patrol that was running at the front a hundred meters away. When Malashenko ran a full three blocks on foot, he finally stopped and took a breath.

Malashenko, who usually travels in a tank, really lacks exercise. His panting appearance is in sharp contrast to Vorokov, who is only panting next to him.

"The house really collapsed. Look over there, Comrade Malashenko!"