Bloody Kharkov I: February 1943 (Bloodied Wehrmacht) by Andrew McGregor

Author:Andrew McGregor [McGregor, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2016-05-14T04:00:00+00:00

Back in the Hanomag, Donatello and Udet started to unpack some basic food rations from the stowage bins, preparing sliced sausage they had scrounged from the young cook with bread and jam as a late breakfast. Sergeant Moretti stared back down into the valley behind, an infantry company now trudging down the opposite slope towards the narrow river, their bodies spaced across the snow and rifles raised. The lone Panzer IV still stood smouldering, black lines of oiled smoke covering the right side of the turret. The older Italian pondered how many of the crew had perished inside, his realisation that placing the Hanomag where it had been may have saved the other tankers. Several bombers flew high overhead, the escorting ME109 fighters beginning to peel away from the heavier, more cumbersome planes, the single seaters streaking across the sky as they flew towards the terrain to the north.

Petru stood with Hase, the Romanian smiling fondly at the younger Russian’s perplexed expression, his hand running across the numerous scratch and groove marks on the left side of the carrier’s armoured plate, several of the deep intrusions scorched from the high velocity impacts. The older man reached out and grasped the back of Hase’s neck beneath his helmet, shaking his head forward and back gently in encouragement, the smile evident in his voice, ‘They will give you another one if you break this one…failing that, Tatu and I will repaint it for you!’

Hase grinned sheepishly, his cheeks flushed with the cold and embarrassment, his gloved hand rising to wipe his nose, ‘I just feel I contribute…or am more useful driving this…’

Petru’s eyes widened in astonishment, his tone edged with uncertainty, ‘Young Hase, I think the Leutnant values your loyalty just as much or even more than the rest of us…’ He slapped the Russian’s shoulder playfully, grunting with dismissal, ‘Dummkopf! Now get back into your little carrier and have breakfast…you have a long drive ahead of you today!’

Hase nodded thoughtfully, turning to smile at the Romanian with a devious wink, ‘Just repaint it…I like this model a lot…’ They glanced round startled as three nearby Panzer IV’s fired in unison, their hulls jolting backwards as smoke billowed from the muzzles, ‘We had better fill the tanks with fuel for Hausser…’ Hase turned and walked towards the back of the carrier, ‘Then I will eat…’

To the south, the thumps of heavy artillery began, heavier gun batteries now positioned on either side of the railway siding they had just arrived on, a fresh steaming Reichsbahn locomotive sitting next to the engineer’s platform, the armoured train firing from the main track further east.

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