Chapter 15 War clouds gather

After hearing such explosive news from Kirill's mouth, the three people who were stunned on the spot couldn't help but look at each other with wide eyes after they recovered.

"Lieutenant Colonel Petrov, Kirill is Lieutenant Colonel Petrov's nephew? Oh my God!"

Among the three people who were shocked by the news, Malashenko was the most shocked. As the commander of car No. 177 and Kirill's direct boss, Malashenko could hardly believe what he had just heard.

But after a brief period of shock and disbelief, we finally had to face the facts before us. Judging from the next phase of the operational deployment that Lieutenant Colonel Petrov had previously asked the communications soldier to tell him, it seemed so and so The deep meaning behind the unclear arrangement is naturally obvious.

"Boy, I leave my nephew and the deployment of our next phase of operations in your hands. You'd better make plans before the operation begins. If Kirill makes any mistakes, I will think of everyone at that time. I don’t want to see that outcome.”

Although Lieutenant Colonel Petrov did not say such words directly, Malashenko, who was deeply surprised and thought about it carefully, guessed that his true purpose was roughly this.

When he reached the position of Lieutenant Colonel Petrov, the division-level political commissar's style of dealing with others was naturally much more steady and sophisticated. The outspoken way of doing things was already familiar to these veterans who had survived the Great Purge. It was thrown into the trash can.

The method of doing things by hiding half of a sentence and leaving the rest of the meaning to your own understanding is the best trick for these cunning old fools, but it is also the most difficult to figure out and guess the worst problem.

"Hey, it's such a hot potato that I have to take and can't get rid of."

When things got to this point, it was natural that Malashenko had no reason or possibility to pack and push back Kirill, who was directly assigned by Petrov's political commissar.

In this case, it is important to lead and protect Kirill, the new loader who is so silly that he is almost innocent and cute. Other trivial things can be said to be no longer important compared to Kirill. .

In the end, Malashenko, who felt a little regretful but also harbored endless speculations and reveries about the meaning of Lieutenant Colonel Petrov's actions, finally accepted Kirill's offer with a smile as if nothing had happened. A newly arrived loader of the "trust relationship".

And in accordance with the orders of the superior headquarters, he led the newly formed armored company under his command as the vanguard of the entire division and set off towards the next front line.

In fact, according to a series of exercises carried out by the Western Front of the Soviet Union after many simulated encounters with German invasion, the ultra-long-range mobile transfer deployment of armored units with a distance of more than 200 kilometers like the current one should actually be carried out by the Western Military District of the Soviet Union. The developed railway transportation network will do it for you.

If ultra-long-range strategic maneuvers measured in units of 100 kilometers are left to the grassroots troops to complete independently, the long march will inevitably exhaust the Red Army soldiers who travel through the stars and nights, thus affecting the actual combat effectiveness of the troops that will later participate in the battle. .

In addition, the underdeveloped road transportation network in the western part of the Soviet Union was basically in a primitive state, which not only greatly restricted the maneuverability and invasion speed of the German armored forces, but also made the Soviet army's own tank divisions unable to survive in this vast expanse. In the grassland cross-country environment, you have to withstand more severe tests and difficulties.

As a heavy armored unit driven by a traditional mechanical structure during World War II, it is not as durable as an off-road vehicle that is light in body and integrated with modern science and technology. During such a long-distance mobile journey, it is inevitable that parts will be lost or even the entire vehicle will break down for repair, and this will undoubtedly ultimately affect the actual combat effectiveness of the 20th Tank Division when it arrives at the front line. force.

But for Malashenko's 20th Tank Division headquarters, the decision to complete this long-distance cross-country maneuver of more than 200 kilometers on its own was really a last resort.

Long before the Barbarossa invasion officially began, the German army, which had prepared early, had learned in advance what might happen to the Soviet Western Front through a series of means such as buying off the staff of the Soviet Western Front, penetrating spies to gather intelligence, and radio and listening reconnaissance. The German invasion will mainly rely on the railway transportation network in the western part of the Soviet Union to complete the strategic mobile transfer plan of troops above the division level.

After learning of this situation, the German General Staff, which acted efficiently and rigorously, immediately modified some details of Barbarossa's invasion plan in a targeted manner.

The German Air Force's first phase air strike mission order after the invasion operation began, determined that all railway junctions in the Western Military District of the Soviet Union and along the important railway transportation network must be destroyed in a timely and complete manner.

Under such a highly targeted key offensive by the Luftwaffe, the railway transportation network and hub points of the Soviet Western Military District, which were originally planned to provide the Soviet Western Front with wartime mobile transfer capabilities, were soon replaced by JU87 Sri Lanka. Amidst the screams of Tuka dive bombers and Junkers 88 medium bombers, they were completely blown into a pile of twisted steel and waste bricks and rubble.

The destruction of the railway transportation network that was entrusted with heavy use in the plan not only dealt a heavy blow to the troop transfer and defense deployment of the Soviet Western Front. As a result, the Soviet Western Front, which hurriedly responded to the German blitzkrieg offensive, was unable to muster a force comparable to that of the frontal enemy to resist the German invasion. As a result, it lost the battle while retreating.

On the other hand, the destruction of the railway transportation network made the subsequent deployment of Soviet reinforcements a nightmare.

The method of leaving the reinforcements to the subordinate units to move to the designated location by themselves not only wastes a lot of precious time on the way, but also has to face the question of how much remaining combat power they can retain due to the long journey after arriving at the intended target location. cruel question.

But even so, the Soviet 9th Mechanized Army, tasked with the arduous and important task of blocking the German Army Group South from advancing towards Kiev, still had no hesitation. Under the leadership of its commander, Major General Rokossovsky, the 20th Mechanized Army The main forces of three divisions, the 35th and 35th tank divisions and the 131st Motorized Infantry Division, began to rush towards the German Army Group South, which was more than 200 kilometers away.

The scorching June sky is already covered with clouds, and a brutal armored battle involving steel and flesh is about to begin.