The fierce battle ended before dark. Now that the city center has been largely occupied, the remnants of Soviet troops have been driven into the rubble and rubble, still holding on to sporadic resistance.

Xia Ming leaned on the edge of a tank, watched the sky gradually darken, and took a puff of cigarette silently.

As a reinforced company directly subordinate to General Kurzbach of the 51st Army, they naturally received a lot of preferential treatment. Soon after the battle, he withdrew and rested in a relatively safe location.

It is surrounded by defense zones of friendly forces, and there is no need for even the task of garrisoning.

Of course, no one will feel unfair about their special treatment.

They deserve it. Now the 51st Army and even the team attacking the center did not know the name of their iron-blooded assault armored company.

General Kurzbach personally pointed, and the combat effectiveness really exploded.

In particular, their special storm troop trumpet, as soon as they heard it, they knew that they were going to rush forward en masse again.

Although his name is known to more and more people, Xia Ming feels more and more pressure.

He now kind of understood why Captain West had been frowning all day.

When you are a soldier, you just need to do your job well. But when you become a chief, you have to worry about a lot of things.

Everyone is watching you, and you can't be lazy if you want to.

Fortunately, he has a lot of right-hand men under him, otherwise he would really vomit blood.

"Chief Xia Ming, what are you thinking?"

While he was smoking alone, a lieutenant in his 20s crouched in front of him and handed him a can of meat with a smile. The shell was completely removed, just waiting for him to take the fork and eat.

He was the tank commander of his company, Hook, who was particularly accurate in shelling, and was in charge of 5 tanks.

At that time, I heard that I was reluctant to be transferred to the company, but these days of fighting made him happy and convinced of Xia Ming, and he felt more enjoyable than fighting in the regular armored army.

In just four days, he hit more important targets than he had in a month in his previous unit. You know, it's all written in the merit book, and you may be able to receive a commendation soon.

"Well, you kid has a future." Xia Ming snuffed out the cigarette butt and took the can and nodded to Hook, just hungry.

Being a commander is hard, but it is also beneficial. Clothes come to reach out for food to open their mouths, when hungry someone brings food, when thirsty someone brings water. It's not in vain that he takes it so seriously.

Hook smiled slightly when he saw Xia Ming gobbling up regardless of his identity. This commander really doesn't have any swagger at all, and usually looks lazy, but when he arrives on the battlefield, he looks like a tiger that has just come out of the cage. Not only is it well commanded, but it also takes the lead.

"Hey, company commander, you're really laid-back, let me look around. Lieutenant Joseph asked me if you would like to assemble for a lecture tonight. Mueller saw Xia Ming from a distance and quickly walked over and sat down beside him. He is now also promoted to sergeant major, and now follows Xia Ming as a guard squad leader.

“... What are you looking for Captain West for this kind of thing, what are you looking for me? Xia Ming pursed his lips slightly and looked at Mueller with an unhappy expression.

"Haha, if you want to blame Captain West for everything, then it's too easy for you to be the company commander."

Xia Ming raised his eyebrows slightly. This thing was originally said to be good, he only cares about fighting, and doesn't care about anything else, otherwise he won't be tired to death.

Hook stood aside and looked at the two of them, looking at Mueller with envy. It would have been nice if he had followed Chief Xia Ming from the beginning, and now he must be a brother who has nothing to say.

"Oh, that's right! Actually, I came to you for another very interesting thing, you look at this. Mueller said as he handed Xia Ming a small briefing.

Xia Ming took the briefing and looked at the report on it thoughtfully. The whole text is in Russian, which is completely incomprehensible. Still, a young Soviet soldier with a rifle caught his eye.

Looking at Mueller with a slight frown, "You know I don't know Russian." ”

"Sir, I know this person." Hook finally couldn't help but speak.

"Oh~ Tell me about it.." Xia Ming nodded at Hook and encouraged.

"This man is the sharpshooter that the Soviets have been propagating lately. I've picked up this kind of briefing several times, and I know some Russian so I can read it. The report blew him up in a magical way, and said that he had killed a captain of the Panzer Corps, and that there would be a daily briefing on him. At least 5 or more officers and soldiers were killed by him, and I think this was blown out by the Soviet army in order to set an example. ”

Hook looked at Xia Ming very seriously, to say that the commander in front of the sharpshooter was. These Soviet troops are a group of miscellaneous soldiers with underground combat qualities, and this kind of person can also become the target of their propaganda, which is really a big joke.

"Hook is right, I don't know Russian either, Captain West translated it for me. The above boasted about him very outrageously. What has the eyes of an eagle and the will of steel, and can hunt ice wolves at the age of 6. I don't think they have any fighters to brag about, a hundred times better than you are in battle, and we don't have such a hype. ”

Mueller nodded in agreement with Hooke. On the one hand, he despised this soldier very much, and on the other hand, he was very dissatisfied with his own propaganda department. Xia Ming's record should have become a model in the army long ago. The Propaganda Department is simply a bunch of idiots who eat dry food.

"What's his name??" Xia Ming took the briefing, but he actually had the answer in his heart.

"Vasily... I guess that's how it translated. Hook thought for a moment and replied.

"Sure enough..."Xia Ming secretly took a breath. The Russian combat hero finally appeared, and it felt as if it was a little earlier than expected.

He had thought it would be October before he could hear from him.

In fact, he was already prepared. I'm looking forward to dubbing it out on the battlefield with this sniper hero.

He didn't dare to be careless.

Battles between snipers are often just a matter of thought, and the devil is in the details.

Thinking of this, Xia Ming patted Hook on the shoulder and said, "In the future, I will translate a copy of his report, the more detailed the better." ”

“... Be! "Although Hook didn't quite understand why the chief paid so much attention to him, he would definitely carry out orders meticulously.

***************

Fast forward to October 15, 1942.

"Bang!!" At this time, at the headquarters of the Sixth Army, a general wearing a fur-collared cloak slapped the table heavily.

Looking at the generals standing below, he sighed deeply.

He picked up a newspaper from the table and said angrily: "Look at it, look at the enemy's newspaper." This sniper, Vasily, has killed 107 of our servicemen in less than 20 days. ”

“... Your Excellency, their reports are all self-aggrandizement. The next major general couldn't help but say.

"I don't care if they're exaggerating or not, I just know that since we started our offensive against the northern industrial zone, every hour of the day I have received requests for additional officers.

Just yesterday, we lost another 27 officers of all ranks. And that's just the debriefing I received... And that's just the officers, how many soldiers fall on their guns every day??

Today, our army can only advance in meters every day, and these snipers have taken a serious toll on our morale.

If this continues, when will we be able to take the city??

And this Vasily is their example and benchmark. Let him continue to fight like this, and our morale will be completely broken. And their morale will be completely boosted...

I am already planning to report to the Führer, and before that I would like to hear your views. ”

The commander-in-chief of the Sixth Army, General Paulus, stared at his generals.

The Battle of Stalingrad was now too much of his control. He wanted to withdraw his troops in his heart, but he did not dare to report his true thoughts to the Führer.

Not long ago, the Führer sent a large number of new reinforcements to the front, more than 200,000 people. Including 90 artillery battalions and 40 siege-trained engineer battalions.

This already sent a signal to him that he would also complete the task of capturing Stalingrad to the death.

Paulus sighed heavily, seeing that the generals below couldn't even do a sniper, this battle was really uncomfortable.

Does he really want to ask for help from the rear? Isn't there a single soldier in front of him who can take on the heavy responsibility of completely dismantling the damned Russian sniper team??

But don't underestimate the power of example, especially in today's tough tug-of-war.

One hero can evoke countless warriors.

Paulus felt that he had made a big mistake by not paying attention to the issue earlier.

But now he suddenly wants to find a combat hero in the army, but he can't find it.

This kind of talent is often hard to come by.

After all, the Army's casualties are very high, and it is often difficult for excellent combat personnel to survive all the time.

“... General, I have a candidate who will definitely take on the big responsibility. Just then General Kurzbach walked out.

"Oh~ who is it?" Paulus looked at him very seriously.

"He is Xia Ming, the commander of the independent assault battalion directly under our department. Since he participated in the battle, he has made achievements far more than this Vasily, in fact, I have already reported to you several times. He should have been a role model for our army a long time ago, and I highly recommend him to deal with this group of snipers. I'm sure we'll be able to get the job done. ”

Kurzbach was actually still a little dissatisfied with this matter, and General Paulus was too conservative in his operations. And often more willing to recommend the Air Force model. In his eyes, the army is all consumables, and even he, the army commander, rarely pays attention to it, let alone a soldier under him.

This may be the drawback of his long-term service as a combat staff officer. I have almost never been a master and do not know how to empathize with my subordinates. He may not be wrong in the big strategic direction, but as the commander in chief...

In short, the Führer wanted to find an obedient one, in fact, everyone understood.

Although the Air Force is excellent, it cannot solve the fundamental problem. In fact, the Army is what really needs to be inspired.

“... Assault battalion commander .. Xia Ming? You are all generals who fought on the front line, do you have anything to say about him? Paulus was slightly unhappy with Kurzbach's tone, but now that he was hiring, he didn't bother with these minor issues.

"Report to Your Excellency the General. Actually, General Kurzbach doesn't say it, I would also like to recommend him. His marksmanship is the most accurate fighter I've ever seen. The most important thing is that he has a clear mind.

Actually, I think it's overkill to send him against these snipers.

But in today's situation, we really need to get rid of these nasty nails and demoralize the enemy.

This is a matter of dignity and glory for the soldiers of the two armies.

I also highly recommend him. At this time, another general also stepped forward.

Although some other generals had not directly observed Xia Ming, his name was now thunderous in the front-line theater.

There were even many remnants of the army who had withdrawn and asked to join his troops.

From a company to a battalion, the number of people has increased more and more.

"You all recommend him?" General Paulus looked at his generals in surprise. They don't usually be so uniform.

In fact, there are some generals who are also unexpected. Since someone recommended it, I agreed to it. Anyway, when the mission fails, it won't be his face that will be lost.

"Good! Now I order Xia Ming to build his own sniper team, and the number of personnel is determined by him. Be sure to kill Vasily within two weeks, and do your best to clear the enemy of snipers.

If the mission is completed, I will take credit for him on behalf of the Sixth Army. ”

"Yes!" General Kurzbach stood up and saluted.

"By the way, you can prepare a copy of his information for me, I want to take a good look at his exploits."