Steel Soviet Union

At the end of the telegram, Malashenko was given further combat tasks.

Continue to assist in defending the direction of the tractor factory and wait for subsequent orders to be conveyed.

As above, this is the entire content of this telegram.

Malashenko, who felt unhappy no matter how he read the telegram in his hand, frowned. Our head of the University of Malaya did not get what he wanted from the telegram.

"That's it? Nothing else?"

Malashenko's action of shaking the newspaper on his phone with one hand made Commissar Petrov confused for a moment. Based on the political commissar's understanding of Malashenko, he really couldn't guess what Malashenko was referring to. What is.

"What do you mean? Is there anything else you want to know, or is there something in your plan that was missed in the telegram?"

Seeing Commissar Petrov's answer, Malashenko, who was probably completely hopeless, sighed like a deflated rubber ball, and even his expression looked a little lonely.

"I mean, didn't we get any promised reinforcements? Even air support!"

"The Germans on the opposite side have superior troops and have planes on call. In the battle just now, we played dirty tricks and caught the Germans off guard, but if we open up and start a real fight, it will not be the same situation just now. "

"An armored division plus an infantry division, followed by a large number of reinforcements. According to the German's vengeful character, within an hour there will definitely be another wave of offensive that is two or three times more violent than the previous one. It is estimated that it will be even more fierce. There will be a lot of iron bombs dropped on our heads."

"Without a little bit of support, we suffered huge losses at the tractor factory last time. We will probably make the same mistake again this time. Don't you think our current situation is too similar to the last time we were here? Except for defeating the Germans at the beginning. It was an unexpected surprise.”

Malashenko is not a timid person, and Commissar Petrov is quite clear about this.

Except that Malashenko sometimes makes early plans in order to protect the troops and considers how to withdraw with the troops at the most irreversible moment of destruction. This is just understandable human nature.

What Malashenko said is absolutely correct. Last time, the First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment used those junk tanks supported by the British at the tractor factory, so that they could not be killed alive by the Germans' joint open-land strangulation. on the ground.

In fact, it is not just the battle at the tractor factory. From last year to now, the biggest source of losses to Malashenko has always been the German air force overhead.

Most people who underestimate the accuracy of Stuka dive bombing have gone to another world to report to Comrade Lenin.

There are not many rookie German pilots who drop bombs early, change out of dives, and pull up at light speed when their accuracy fails. Perverts like Rudel who master the unique skill of accurately throwing bombs onto the tank's sky cover are very few in the tip of the iceberg.

The vast majority of German Stuka pilots hovered in the huge central area above the rookie and below Rudel.

To say how good their accuracy is is actually far from abnormal, but it is not a big problem to use an aerial bomb with a mass of 500 kilograms and a 250 kilogram charge to destroy one of your tanks. After all, only a few people miss it. Condition.

It is not only Malashenko who understands this, but also the political commissar Petrov who has gone through hardships together to get to this day.

Ground combat without air supremacy is indeed very difficult. This is a fact that both the silent political commissar Petrov and Malashenko know very well.

The production of La-5 fighter jets in mid-October 1942 was not enough to completely reverse the battle, and it was difficult to even concentrate its forces to partially suppress the Luftwaffe. This was why the Soviet fighter aviation mentioned in the telegram was at a disadvantage in the battle for air supremacy. The real reason is that air support is far from being available for Malashenko to be on call when the overall situation is unstable.

I don’t know how long he had been silent. Political Commissar Petrov, who had been thinking about how to withstand the heavy bombardment of the Luftwaffe, decided to change the topic temporarily. Continuing the stalemate would only be a waste of time and have no meaning.

"The support is not completely lacking. In the first telegram received when the regiment headquarters was just set up, it was mentioned that the artillery position at Mamayev Heights has been set up and can provide support to us. Since the last time it was occupied by our regiment, After we captured it, it was well defended. The Germans tried to take it back several times but failed. Now it's time to repay our efforts. "

After hearing this, Malashenko was stunned for a moment. At this critical juncture of the critical situation, he could actually receive artillery support that he had never expected. This was really unexpected for Malashenko.

Malashenko has forgotten the last time he saw the overwhelming artillery barrage from the Red Army field artillery group. That majestic and violent momentum is definitely the best moment to release the violent gene in a man's body.

There is nothing better than seeing the human remains and weapon remains of the Germans through the telescope, being blown up all over the sky in the overwhelming force of the roaring artillery fire, shattering bones and ashes, and then quickly being annihilated in the wave of flames. Very exciting.

There is no air force support but there is artillery support. This crucial factor is too important, enough to give Malashenko a lot of absolute confidence in winning this battle.

But before dropping steel cannonballs on the Germans' heads to enjoy the beautiful scenery, there are still several crucial issues that must be determined as early as possible.

"Do you know the specific size of the artillery? What is its caliber? How long and how many ammunition bases can we get artillery support? Is this on call or does it have a specified time period?"

Malashenko's mouth was like a Deshka heavy machine gun. He spit out a lot of questions in succession, which made Petrov, the political commissar who was always familiar with Malashenko, secretly shake his head. It seems that the comrade leader is really... I'm a bit "poor" and crazy, and after living a hard life, I get so excited when I hear that all the hardships will come to an end.

"This is also the point I want to make to you."

"I called Mamayev Heights to confirm. Just a few minutes before you came in. The person on the phone replied that the artillery position is not large in size. The main reason is that the German air raid threat is too great. Recently, In the past few days, more than a dozen artillery pieces have been blown up by German planes on the mountain after being exposed by fire. Basically, the artillery was transported up the mountain at night, and the time it could survive after dawn the next day could only be determined by a countdown of several hours. calculate."

"Air defense firepower has been strengthened on the top of the mountain and surrounding neighborhoods, and our fighter jets have also been deployed here to ensure air superiority over Mamayev Heights. However, the actual effect is still limited, otherwise there would be no Germans. Bombs can be dropped on artillery positions."

"There are only one battalion of 152 guns and one battalion of 122 guns on the mountain. There is only so much support that can be obtained. The muzzles of the guns have been pointed in the direction of the northern heavy industrial zone. The reaction time is very short. Everything depends on your own decision."