The Unknown Man Who Totally Screwed Germany

Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Lavrinenko didn’t have a moment to lose. It was November 18, 1941, and the Soviet tank ace had just received word the Germans were quickly surrounding them. A sizable panzer column was bringing up the rear. Hitler’s Wehrmacht was rapidly advancing on Moscow, and every decision would count if the Red Army were to have any hope of defending their capital.

Only one thing could work: a surprise ambush on the enemy. Lavrinenko had already used the strategy several times in previous battles to devastating effect. But as he cautiously maneuvered his T-34 to intercept the German tank column en route to the captured village of Shishkin, he soon realized that he would have his work cut out for him this time. The barren highway was completely devoid of any natural cover. He would have to pray his tank’s white paint would save him from detection against the bleak, snowy landscape.

Lavrinenko and his crew waited in nervous anticipation. Soon enough, the first German tanks began to roll into view, an imposing procession of daunting steel monsters. Lavrinenko counted them as they appeared. There were eighteen of their tanks against just his one. The odds were stacked heavily against him, but there was no time to dwell on the disparities. With the first panzer in the T-34’s sights, it was time for the battle to commence…



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