Steel Soviet Union

It is true that the leading division has been assigned to Chuikov's group army by Zhukov, and the command authority has also been delegated from the front army headquarters to the group army headquarters.

The specific combat deployment plan is entirely the responsibility of Chuikov. Zhukov only just reviews and approves it. In principle, it does not interfere with Chuikov's deployment and command. As long as he doesn't make anyone take a look at the combat plan, he will say "" This is just outrageous stuff like "throwing the leader into a pit of fire".

It seems that Chuikov is a happy group. He has obtained the most elite synthetic field group in the Soviet Army. It is not so good that a division can fight better than an army.

But this thing is actually relative. While there are relative benefits, there are also relative disadvantages.

No matter how you put it, the Leader's Division is only a secondment of troops. It was temporarily allocated to Chuikov by Zhukov to enhance the strength of his group army. As a kind of compensation for sending him important combat missions to gnaw hard bones, if you dare to take over the Leader's Division, you must You have to complete the hell-level mission I gave you.

Do you know the story “If you want a horse to run fast, feed it enough grass first”?

Chuikov and his army group are the horses, while Malashenko and the leading division play the role of grass here.

For Chuikov in this situation, an objective problem that cannot be ignored is that even though the leader's division is under his command, it is still very different from his own troops.

As Comrade Political Commissar said, the Leader's Division itself is not Chuikov's unit. It is more appropriate to say it is a guest army under his command, and this is precisely where the problem lies.

If the leading division fights too well and the main combat tasks are all monopolized by the leading division, Bao Yuan, and as a result, the leading division is almost defeated, and Chuikov’s own troops can’t chew or swallow the German sticks in front of them, then guess what? Who will be embarrassed then?

Anyway, it’s not Malashenko, and of course it’s not Zhukov who is in charge of the overall situation from the rear.

"Didn't he say anything else on the phone? For example, did he want us to help or be on standby? Did he mention our next specific order?"

Malashenko, who thought about it for a moment, simply asked "three questions in a row". The political commissar comrades who knew that Malashenko would ask this question answered fluently without thinking.

"I didn't talk about the things you thought of. As for the reasons, I don't think I need to say more. There are many possibilities that I can think of. But no matter what, this is good news for us, which means that we can let go and continue to work. The group army headquarters has coordinated the overall battle situation and made a decision to keep up with and cooperate with us. "

"Commander Chuikov is a person who has fought hard and tough battles. Based on his command style and past battles, I believe he is not a gambler who takes huge risks. In other words, since he can make such a decision, no matter what method he uses, , He must be sure of how he directs, and has delegated the maximum freedom of action to us. Don't you always like this? "

Faced with the smiling rhetorical question from Comrade Political Commissar, Malashenko, who smiled dumbly and nodded to himself, also spoke.

"Yes, I don't like to be tied down, especially when I can do greater achievements. Speaking of which, I am quite lucky. I have never met a superior who has given me a headache in this matter. I don’t know who to thank for this, what do you think?”

Hearing this, Comrade Political Commissar and Lavrinenko looked at each other and smiled in unison, but it was Lavrinenko who was the first to reply.

"What is the Khitan saying you told me last time? Pretending to be confused while pretending to understand? This is a good description, especially for someone nowadays, Comrade Political Commissar, don't you think so?"

Well, something that Malashenko has long been used to, but still finds a bit funny.

China in Russian is called "Khitan" in Kong'er's transliteration. Your Maozi's understanding of China is indeed somewhat biased due to historical factors.

"Okay, let's not talk about these things. Since it is a good thing, let's take it. Tomorrow we will continue to carry out the combat mission as originally planned. We have already eaten two of the entire defense lines on the Zeluo Highlands in one go. Now only Next is the core and final third path.”

"Tomorrow's battle will be predictably difficult, but after this battle, nothing will be difficult to defeat or stop us. Once we level this damn high ground, we will be able to overlook Berlin, which is nothing but shit. What a hell, I can’t wait to see our tanks racing on the streets of Berlin. This time we will solve all the problems once and for all without leaving any consequences!”

What Malashenko is thinking about is not whether the fight can be won tomorrow, but the longer-term issue after the battle in Zelo Heights. This can actually explain one thing. The rumored "blood in Zelo Heights" After a day of fighting, "Highland" seems to be "just like that" in the eyes of Malashenko.

The efficient artillery bombardment and the fast and sharp infantry-tank assault were almost invincible. In today's battle that lasted all day, no German sticks could catch this seemingly simple trick, and no German garrison could make it. The tracks of the Leading Division broke down in front of its defensive lines.

Encountering temporary difficulties can only mean one thing: the bombardment is not strong enough, and another round of bombardment will definitely solve the problem.

The cannons exploded, the tanks charged, and after the tanks charged, they exploded again. If they couldn't move, they exploded twice as fast. In short, it was just "explosion, explosion, explosion."

Otherwise, the accumulation of firepower is really addictive. The further Malashenko fights, the more he discovers that accumulating more powerful firepower can solve almost any problem he faces. If it cannot be solved, it must be that the firepower is not strong enough, the explosive power is not strong enough, or the response time of the artillery attack is too long and delayed. Anyway, it must be a firepower problem.

For example, after being equipped with such a good thing as TOS-1, look at how big the change has been, and how much trouble it has solved for Malashenko?

In the past, there was no problem with the solid position targets that the attacking troops could not attack in the past. They retreated a short distance and called TOS-1 to concentrate firepower for one round. After the explosion, they stepped on the accelerator and rushed forward to ensure accuracy. It doesn't matter if the reinforcements of the Germans are coming. Let's call TOS-1 to fire and explode for a round. The medicine will cure all diseases and treat all kinds of German sticks that come to your doorstep and cause death and disobedience.

In the past, the response efficiency of the rear heavy artillery cluster was not efficient enough, and the artillery coverage and cooling time were long. Now, all the problems have been solved very well. This is exactly what Malashenko said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Pravda two months ago. "Classic lines".

"In the past, at present, and in the foreseeable future, the most urgent problem that leaders and division chiefs need to strengthen has always been the problem of multi-level "insufficient firepower" under the new troop organization framework."

"How to fill in the firepower shortages of troops at all levels under the new organizational framework, and use them rationally to maximize efficiency. This is what I personally, as well as all the command and division personnel of the leadership division, must consider and prioritize. Question. This is responsibility to the name of the leader, responsibility to the motherland, and responsibility to the soldiers. It is always our responsibility."