Steel Soviet Union

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"In a hurry?"

Malashenko couldn't guess what urgent matter Comrade Political Commissar wanted to find him, but since it was Comrade Political Commissar who was looking for him, it must be really urgent. Otherwise, he would not have sent a radio call when he knew that he was commanding the troops and fighting with the Germans. Comrade Comrade Political Commissar was not a person who did not know his sense of proportion. He knew that this would inevitably affect Malashenko's command of the battle and distract him.

It is precisely because he is aware of this that Malashenko knows exactly what he should do next.

"I understand, I will contact you later, just wait for me for two minutes."

After saying that, Malashenko hung up the radio without waiting for a reply, turned to adjust the radio station and connected to another channel.

"Lavery, you come to take overall command. I want to leave the battle for a while. Comrade Political Commissar makes an emergency call."

At this moment, Lavrinenko was with Kulbalov's central group, responsible for the main frontal battlefield battle, and was attacking the Germans' defensive positions in depth.

Hearing Malashenko's call, Lavrinenko, who had no time to ask, responded without thinking too much.

"I know, be careful and contact me anytime if you need anything."

"Roger, the call is over."

Putting down the radio transmitter in his hand, Malashenko immediately began to direct his vehicle to retreat. Together with the guard companies who were escorting the division commander's command vehicle to coordinate the attack, they also followed the usual battlefield regulations as required. Withdrew with Malashenko.

This has nothing to do with whether the battle is progressing smoothly or not. It is just that the division-directed guard tank company accompanying Malashenko is charging beside the comrade of the division commander who is on the front line and personally commanding the battle on the battlefield. The last layer relies on the protective barrier.

As long as Malashenko goes to the battlefield, appears on the front line in his command vehicle, directly participates in the battle and directs the battle, then the guard company must always follow him, like a continuous shadow.

This is not only stated in the combat doctrine, but also requested personally by the political commissar comrades. It is a matter of principle that cannot be ignored. If this is not possible, or Malashenko does not agree to do this, then the political commissar will have to report to his superiors on whether the division commander should sit in the rear and command, or lead the army to charge on the front line.

Other things can be discounted, but not this matter.

Malashenko also understood the reason for this. In the final analysis, it was all because of himself, so he didn't worry too much and followed the wishes of the political commissar.

However, what Malashenko did not expect, who did not think too much, was that the dozen heavy tanks headed by his command vehicle suddenly stopped and then retreated at the final distance when they were about to rush into the German position. This situation immediately attracted the attention of someone on the opposite side who happened to see this scene.

"General, the Russians are retreating! They suddenly withdrew a group of heavy tanks, a lot of them!"

Although the first defensive position is already crumbling, it has not yet been truly breached.

There were very few anti-tank firepower points remaining on the left wing of the position, and there was almost no resistance to the Russian mechanized group rushing towards them at full speed. Especially those IS6 heavy tank clusters with high mobility and heavy armor, slamming on the accelerator and rushing to the front. The shabby anti-tank weapons in the hands of the Germans on the position were of no use at all.

It stands to reason that shouldn't this be a good time to take advantage of the strength of the troops, charge into the enemy's position in one go, and win a complete victory? Or are the Russians so confident that it would be a waste to push so many troops up in one go? They want to save some diesel fuel and mechanized marching hours and just let the withdrawn tanks stay behind to enjoy the scenery?

The chief of staff, whose tone was inevitably a little surprised, couldn't figure it out, but he spoke quickly and waited. He was standing aside and had withdrawn to the forward command post of the second line of defense. He also saw the strange appearance of the left-wing Soviet mechanized cluster. Manteuffel's answer.

"I saw that the Russians were in an unusual situation."

"Their losses were not large. They did not need to retreat at all. The remaining large forces are still continuing to charge and attack, and now is the time to concentrate their forces."

"Withdrawing a highly mobile heavy tank unit now, the Russians may be planning some new conspiracy. Inform all units to be prepared. The Russians may soon rush towards our lateral defenses. I have a feeling that a certain commander on the opposite side is already eager for victory."

Based on his own experience and analysis, Manteuffel believed that this was the Soviet commander on the opposite side planning to start an early attack, at least to first explore the weaknesses of the second line of defense. Be prepared for the subsequent large forces that are about to conquer the first line of defense and rush over. Therefore, this small detachment of Soviet heavy tanks should be heading towards the second line of defense soon. .

So this means at least two things.

First, the Soviet army did not plan to take a break to catch their breath after winning the first phase of the offensive. There was a high probability that they would rush directly to the second line of defense without stopping and pursue the victory. Otherwise, they would not have started dividing their troops so hastily. Prepare for a probing attack.

Secondly, this also shows that the time left for you to use is more urgent. Don't expect that the Russians can take a short rest to strengthen their defenses. The possibility that you can wait for the Skeleton Division's reinforcements arrives again. A little more of this kind of thing.

Following this line of thinking, he was convinced that his conclusion should be the same as Manteuffel's. Naturally, he had to make some adjustments to his subsequent tactical arrangements and defensive deployments, which would directly affect the outcome of the battle. , must adapt to changes.

At the same time, Malashenko, who had just retreated a few hundred meters to a relatively safe area, had no idea what the German commander on the opposite side was thinking in his head, let alone the simple rearguard that he didn't even care about. Retreating will make the opponent think so much, and it is also impossible to realize that it will have a direct impact on the subsequent battle.

Malashenko, who was holding a radio transmitter in his hand, was still busy communicating urgently with his political commissar comrades. He couldn't think about the nonsense of the Germans opposite him.

"What are you talking about? There are Germans too!? Those bastards from the Skeleton Division are also coming from the north???"

He originally thought that he would be lucky to catch the scoundrels of the Grossdeutschland Division and give them a good beating, but Malashenko did not expect that some idiots would come to his door at this time. On the other end of the radio, the old man The political commissar comrades who held the online meeting gave a very convincing answer.

"There is no mistake. The comrades in the intelligence department have just confirmed the latest situation. The group of SS soldiers coming all the way south from the north is the Skeleton Division. They are now less than 20 kilometers away from the battlefield where you are in a straight line. "

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