Steel Soviet Union

The Battle of Zero Heights is over. The last shackles blocking Berlin have been smashed. The road to victory is clear. All that remains is to go straight to the heart of Santoku and fight the last wave of stubborn enemies. The German said something heartfelt.

This should have been the long-awaited exciting moment, but at this moment Malashenko was not happy anyway.

You want to ask why?

The reason is actually very simple. Some numbers written on paper are very ugly, and just placing them on the table is enough to make people frown.

"So how long will it take for these cars to be repaired? Where is Karamov and the others? Why don't you see him come to the meeting?"

The division commander, who looked as if he was in a bad situation, was sitting at the head of the conference table. Night had fallen outside the fortifications. This was the first night after the successful capture of the Zero Highlands.

The large-scale underground command center left by the Germans is quite magnificent. Not only is it spacious enough, but the infrastructure is complete, and even bedrolls and drinking water are ready. The Germans, who were defeated too quickly, had no time to evacuate or destroy these things. Now they have taken advantage of Malashenko. Even the conference table in front of Malashenko was "generously donated" by the Germans.

"Karamov is leading emergency repairs. All non-permanently damaged vehicles on the battlefield have been recovered and sorted, and repairs are being carried out according to different levels of damage. ׺°"˜˜`"°º×Karamov has formulated a Detailed classified maintenance plan, not only all the maintenance troops under his command, but also he himself led a temporary maintenance team to go into battle. "

"He received the meeting notice, but he said that completing the maintenance task is what he needs to do most now, and on-site command cannot do without him. The trustee conveyed to the division commander that he promised to complete the task and allowed him to use the meeting time at work."

""

Listening to the words of Comrade Political Commissar, Malashenko, who looked unhappy, frowned and his eyelids twitched upward. He felt a headache and could not say anything more about Karamov's pragmatic spirit.

"There are 89 tracked armored combat vehicles and 181 wheeled vehicles, all of which have battle damage, wear and tear, adding up to more than 200 and nearly 300 vehicles. All of them need to be disassembled for parts replacement and repair."

"Today's night plus tomorrow's day, the rest time is just over 24 hours. Even counting the time to clean the battlefield, regroup the troops, and rush on the road, the actual time that can be used to repair the car is not even 24 hours."

"I don't doubt Karamov's ability, but the leadership division has never had the experience of repairing three hundred vehicles in the field within 24 hours. I'm really worried that this is beyond Karamov's ability. The time left for us is unprecedentedly tight. , Time is probably a more powerful enemy than the Germans, especially for us now."

Everything Malashenko said was true. The bloody battle in the Zero Highlands caused a greater loss of technical equipment than Malashenko had previously expected.

Most of the losses of tracked armored combat vehicles are battle losses. The equipment in their hands may not be very good, but it is true that the Germans who resisted until they could no longer survive and chose to surrender did indeed give the heavy armor to the leader of the division. The chariots caused a lot of trouble, even a lot of trouble.

The track was interrupted, the engine was paralyzed, the sight was blown to pieces, the gun tube was blown out of the chamber, and the basic armor was seriously damaged or penetrated, requiring on-site welding and patching with reinforcing blocks.

Almost all the leading divisions after the First World War in the Zero Highlands encountered various problems and battle damage that tanks may encounter on the battlefield. These all require a lot of time to repair. There are a total of 89 battle-damaged tanks and infantry battle tanks. The amount of maintenance required for self-propelled artillery is enough to make any maintenance force officer scratch his head.

The fatal problem doesn't stop there. The wear and tear of wheeled vehicles and the need for repairs are no better than that of tracked armored combat vehicles. It can even be said to be worse.

The heavy-armed field group of the leading division fought desperately on the Zero Highlands, using up its maximum firepower to hit all the Germans who dared to stand in front of them. Use destructive artillery fire to bombard the heavy-armored group charge, ravaging the enemy's will and destroying the enemy's flesh and blood again and again, until the Germans' crumbling and riddled defense line is completely defeated and penetrated.

It sounds addictive, powerful, and extremely ferocious. It is a fighting method that any strong-blooded old man will say is "exhilarating" after seeing it, but it comes at a price.

The price is that the logistics equipment of the leading division even borrowed the trucks of the combat troops, and in addition used their own trucks and even jeeps. Hundreds of wheeled vehicles moved from the Zello Highlands to the Zello Highlands day and night. Transporting ammunition and supplies, of which large-caliber artillery shells and rockets account for the vast majority, are the most consumed items in battle.

Every time we go up, there are fully loaded logistics vehicles. There are no paved roads in the Zeluo Highlands. The bad roads that are purely off-road have been severely worn.

Suspension, engine, brake pads, even tires that are supposed to be durable.

Wheeled vehicles have little battle damage, which is good, but the wear and tear caused by tossing up and down the Zero Highlands is greater than the battle damage. Karamov has calculated that there are as many as 181 wheeled vehicles in need of repair. There are more or less problems, and it is not recommended or simply impossible to force them into use.

The mechanized troops are engaged in logistics. Of course Malashenko knew this and thought he was mentally prepared in advance.

But the pressure on the logistics of the Battle of Zeluo Highlands was greater than previously thought. If it weren't for the strong foundation of the leader and the strong family background, it might have been completely destroyed in just one battle.

The problem now is that time waits for no one. Chuikov will have his troops to move out early tomorrow morning and press down on the city of Berlin. Or should they take into account that the leading division has just experienced a bloody battle and give Malashenko another day of grace? Let Malashenko then lead the team to follow.

But whether there is enough time in this day, Malashenko can only say "hanging", really hanging.

Even if that boy Karamov has extraordinary abilities, he is still at a loss this time, so much so that Malashenko, who has no idea at all, has not yet replied to Chuikov, unsure of the accurate time for the troops to depart.

Looking at Malashenko's expression as if he had eaten a fly, Lavrinenko, who also knew the problem, thought for a moment and then tentatively spoke.

"How about you call Marshal Zhukov? Ask him to coordinate and give us one more day of grace, two days in total."

Lavrinenko's suggestion cannot be said to be unreasonable. In fact, it is somewhat feasible from the perspective of ordinary people. But the problem is that Malashenko, who has dealt with Comrade Lao Zhu more than anyone here, knows that now Talking about this possibility is simply impossible.

"Guess who gave the order to Commander Chuikov to let the leading division rest for only one day? Do you really think this order was made at the level of the group army commander?"