Chapter 1141 The Worst News

"Thank you for being here, Comrade Malashenko. If your troops hadn't dared to come to support us, I simply can't imagine how our division could have jumped out of this encirclement on its own. Your brigade's tanks and cars are simply better than any division I've ever seen. There are so many first-level troops, it’s really enviable.”

If it was a peaceful chat, Malashenko would probably brag to Commander Suvorov.

Brother, what you see now is not that our brigade is fully equipped with equipment. We only have this little possessions left after fighting several tough battles. Otherwise, it would be no problem to load the whole division directly into the vehicle and take it away, but the comrades hanging outside the tank must be careful not to be squeezed out of the vehicle.

However, the current situation is not a time for bragging. Enemies like vicious dogs may appear in any direction at any time, and are surrounded by dangers.

Malashenko, who had a war zone map unfolded in his hand, had no time to get out of the car and started a combat meeting directly on the turret. He used the turret dome as a conference table to spread out the map, held the open top cover while the tank was moving, and blurted out to Division Commander Suvorov on the engine room at the rear end of the turret.

"We can talk about the unnecessary things later, comrade division commander, now we have to pay attention to the situation on the battlefield."

"If there is no deviation between our planned retreat direction and the actual marching route, it will take us two hours to round up with the nearest rear troops at the current marching speed. The entire Prokhorovka attack force has been scattered , there may be evacuating friendly troops and German pursuers everywhere, but we just didn’t encounter them along our route.”

"We don't know the specific situation now, but we have to consider the worst case scenario. In the next two hours, the chance of hitting the Germans will increase sharply. I mean the garbage in front of us, not behind. We should catch up. Considering the possibility that the enemy's encirclement has been successfully encircled, I think we must be prepared for battle. "

Malashenko pointed to the map and spoke quickly, as if he were holding a candy ball in his mouth to explain his judgment and opinions. Division Commander Suvorov nodded frequently while holding on to the steel handrails specially welded on the rear end of the turret for the convenience of infantry to stabilize his posture. His eyes were all focused on the map.

"My opinion is the same as yours, Comrade Malashenko. Looking back on the battle just now, it is obvious that the group of SS bastards were trying to delay time, slow down our retreat, and buy time for their encirclement to close. They want to eat us all in one go. Hmm, the Germans have a big appetite, but they don’t have that much ability yet.”

The 1st Stalin Guards Heavy Tank Brigade is a force with extremely strong offensive energy. Even if such a force is retreating, it is very difficult to intercept it through mobile warfare.

Especially when the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division had just united and closed the encirclement, Malashenko and his men rushed over at once, and for the Germans there was even a danger of the encirclement being broken through. And if the encirclement is broken like this, more than one or two troops may rush out through this gap. The entire encirclement plan that has been painstakingly planned has the risk of losing everything.

To be on the safe side, it seems to be a good idea to forcibly trap the Russian steel monster in the position, unable to move. This was also the situation Malashenko eventually encountered.

The Guards Division paid a high price for this, but what it may have gained in exchange was a perfect encirclement, which contained all Soviet troops in the entire theater.

Seeing that Division Commander Suvorov understood what he meant and had the same view, Malashenko nodded briefly and was about to discuss in detail how to cooperate with the attack deployment to win a battle if he encountered an enemy that had successfully encircled him. Rush out with a breath.

But before he could say anything, Iushkin, who had returned to the turret and said he was going to get a pack of spare cigarettes, made some noise and walked straight out of the turret holding a wired wireless transmitter in one hand.

"Comrade Political Commissar is looking for you. It seems that the leading investigation team has discovered it."

"Comrade Political Commissar?"

Malashenko, who seemed to have a question mark on his face, glanced at Iushkin's head sticking out of the turret. Political Commissar Petrov indeed asked to lead the vanguard in person to facilitate communication and command, but instead placed him in the middle with Suvoro. Malashenko, who stayed with his husband and commander, was left behind. But that was with Lavrinenko, and it shouldn't be the frontline reconnaissance force.

Malashenko, who imagined that Comrade Comrade Political Commissar would lead the investigation in person, was a little scared. What the hell would it be like if he encountered some unexpected situation? He quickly turned around, took the microphone from Iushkin's hand, and pressed the button.

"I'm Malashenko, please speak!"

"The situation is not good, Comrade Brigade Commander. The reconnaissance force discovered the enemy about five kilometers away from your current position. A group of Germans are building a position outside the ruins of a village on our only way. Depending on the situation, the enemy Already faster than us, the encirclement may have been completed.”

Comrade Political Commissar's voice was all too familiar. Malashenko, who was holding a microphone in his hand when he heard the news, felt his heart skip a beat. After all, he couldn't believe that the deterioration of the situation was indeed as bad as he had expected. .

"How many people are there? Do they carry heavy weapons? Are anti-tank positions deployed and armored troops present? Is the terrain of the entire village conducive to a breakthrough?"

Malashenko asked this series of questions almost without thinking. The political commissar who knew Malashenko very well was already prepared on the other end of the microphone, and then pressed the button again to give the answer.

"There are not many of them, probably only one battalion. The tanks have arrived outside the village. They are the latest Panther tanks, but they are in a minority. Most of the rest are old No. 3 and No. 4 tanks. You can see The number of them is about ten or so, and I don’t know if there are other invisible ones hidden in the blind spot.”

"The anti-tank gun position was being built. Some soldiers saw the enemy unloading the artillery from the tractor. They must have just arrived. Heavy artillery and other heavy weapons were not seen. Lavery was leading people to prepare for the first wave of attack. He The tanks have been warmed up and started, and the Germans have also discovered us. The outside of the village is very lively now. "

The strength of one battalion plus a dozen tanks carried no other heavy weapons except anti-tank guns.

With the support of these key information, it can at least prove that even if the enemy's encirclement has been closed, it has just been completed.

If it is just this level of joint strength, then Malashenko still has hope of breaking through and fighting out. The key lies in how many German follow-up troops are rushing towards this imminent breakthrough point.

There is no doubt that Malashenko has now reached the final moment where he must race against time.