Steel Soviet Union

The Front Army Headquarters sent not only messages, but also the Operations Staff of the Front Army Headquarters who were driven by car, the latest first-hand combat information, frontline briefings, and a lot of other things that the leader division must use in the next battle. thing,

This was Zhukov's last gift to Malashenko before the war. It almost filled a large box, which contained enough information and intelligence for Malashenko to fully understand the entire current war situation.

For the sake of confidentiality and timeliness, these things were not delivered until the last moment before the leader division was about to set off and enter the battlefield. The remaining time was enough for the leader division to digest and absorb this large box of confidential information. use.

Malashenko, who knew he was pressed for time, certainly had no unnecessary nonsense. He immediately instructed the division organization of the leading division to start operating at full capacity and analyze intelligence. It was necessary to produce a complete and credible report and hand it to the division commander before departure.

At this time, not only the entire staff team of the division, but also the political commissar comrades, along with the political work team who temporarily helped, were involved in the intensive summary of the battle situation and intelligence analysis.

Key information that could play a very important role was sorted out and compiled one by one. The busy people were like every screw and every part on a precision machine.

The leader division's own operational outline must be analyzed, summarized and compiled by itself according to combat needs. This is a task that the division organization of the leader division must complete independently, and then allocate specific tactical tasks to lower-level combat units based on combat objectives.

The front army headquarters has no obligation to do such specific work for the leading division. This has been the case in the past and is still the case now. Whenever a war is imminent, the division organization of the leading division is always the busiest time, without exception.

"The call is over? What did Comrade Commander say?"

Malashenko had just returned from a phone call, and the political commissar who was sorting out the documents that had just been sent to him immediately started asking questions, but Comrade Ma's expression didn't seem to be good at the moment.

"What else can I say? It sounds like the situation on the front line is terrible now. Comrade Marshal is very dissatisfied. Even I, who haven't led the troops yet, have been affected. In addition to being scolded directly, the rest have been treated badly. Basically, I heard it on the phone. I repeatedly promised to complete the combat mission and issued a military order twice, and finally the other party was willing to put down the phone. "

Malashenko shook his head slowly and didn't quite understand what happened on the front line to make Zhukov so angry. He was fine when he got the call in the morning, but he became like this in the evening.

"I think I know some of the reasons for coming here."

Malashenko, who went to answer the phone, had not had time to understand the latest battle situation on the front line that had just been sent. Seeing that Comrade Political Commissar seemed to be explaining intentionally, Malashenko immediately leaned forward and came to hang on the wall behind Comrade Political Commissar's desk. In front of the war zone map, I stood together with the political commissar comrade who had just finished sorting the documents.

"The battle reports on the front line are very complicated. I will pick out the important ones for you and tell them as soon as we can use them. Listen carefully."

"The latest battle situation is that the enemy resistance along the way from the Küstrin Bridgehead to the Zello Highlands has basically been eliminated. Just like the overall strategic situation, the enemy resistance was very slight at first, and our offensive progressed smoothly. But the more The intensity of the enemy's resistance increases exponentially as we get closer to the core area of ​​the Zero Highland Defense Area."

"The most difficult battles took place here and here, over the high underground canal bridge and this large swampy gully."

"You don't need me to tell you why the former is so difficult to fight. The German artillery fire on the high ground kept bombarding this place, and our artillery continued to counterattack and suppress it. The two sides were either engaged in an artillery battle or were about to start the next round of artillery battle. To capture the The troops at the Canal Bridge almost rushed over under the gunfire and suffered a certain amount of losses, but the most important thing was that it seriously slowed down our attack speed. "

"The latter should be an important reason why the Leader Division has not been put into battle before. The gullies and swamps in this muddy land seriously restrict the advancement of the large corps's multi-arm coordinated forces. Because the tanks have strong cross-country passability, the situation is actually not bad. It is affected by the terrain. Minimum.”

"The main problem lies in the coordination of tank troops. The advance speed of infantry, vehicles, and towed artillery has been greatly slowed down. Many of them are stuck in the mud and fighting in the mud. The lack of coordination between arms seriously limits the combat effectiveness of tank troops. , so it is very difficult for the troops to attack.

"We fought for a whole day, using all artillery fire and air strikes, but we only advanced 8 kilometers throughout the day, and the slowest progress was only 5 kilometers. It's no wonder that Comrade Commander is angry."

"But fortunately, the offensive path to the foot of the Zero Highlands has been completely opened. Chuikov's troops have taken over the two outermost defense lines at the foot of the high ground and are preparing to attack the third line of defense on the slopes of the high ground that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Launch an attack and prepare for an attack."

"In terms of the entire battlefield situation and process, there is no time more suitable for leading the division to go into battle than now. Going into battle at other times will only be less effective, and the casualties and losses and rewards will be more unacceptable. Comrade Commander clearly reminded After passing us, the leading division must immediately participate in the next siege of Berlin, so there must not be too many casualties in this battle. Now do you understand why you are being benched? "

Malashenko, who really understood better why Zhukov did what he did, nodded, but did not take over the right to speak. Comrade Political Commissar clearly had something to say.

"Our mission is to assist Chuikov's troops to seize the third line of defense leading to the top of the highland, and then continue to attack upward until the remaining enemies are completely eliminated and the Germans are completely driven off the highland."

"Although it is coordinated, we are responsible for the main attack mission. It is expected that the next battle will only be more difficult. The deeper we break into the high ground, the crazier the enemy's resistance will be until they completely collapse. This is the tough battle you have been looking forward to , the moment when the leader can fully exert 100% of his combat energy.”

Malashenko could smell the gunpowder in the air that the battle was about to begin. A complete advance path to the Zelo Highlands had been opened. The friendly troops had made arduous sacrifices in battle to open up a path that would allow the leader's division to move forward unimpeded and advance directly. Huang Long's road to the decisive battle is the prelude to the ultimate moment that Malashenko is looking forward to.

Before the final action began, Malashenko had one last question.

"Do we have any support? The marshal didn't tell me on the phone what kind of support there is. I guess it's probably none, right? You should know more here than me."

Malashenko's guess was correct. Some words were indeed inconvenient to be discussed at length on the phone, and then turned into written documents. Comrade Political Commissar's next words gave Malashenko's answer.

"A newly formed long-range heavy bomber division with the latest equipment. This is their first battle test."

"They will be responsible for bombing support missions, spreading skyfire over the heads of the Germans who are entrenched on the bare hills, destroying a huge amount of fortifications, resistance, bodies, and morale. The heaviest firepower in the entire Red Army aviation unit will definitely Being able to send all those Germans to the sky is also the result of the lessons you gave to those Americans and British people. "