Chapter 1712 Eye of the Storm

The ruins of the battlefield, which has not yet completely cooled down, are still in a mess. There are corpses lying on the ground and burning steel wreckage everywhere. The air is filled with the disgusting smell of blood mixed with the burnt smell. .

Malashenko, who could not count how many times he had experienced similar scenes, was indifferent to it and was not surprised.

The mission assigned by the Front Army Headquarters to the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division has been completed. Malashenko led his troops to the final encirclement point first and annihilated the German advance troops who arrived in a hurry. This can even be considered an excess. mission accomplished.

The encirclement has not yet been completely closed, and the follow-up main force of the Grossdeutschland Panzer Division may arrive at any time. Malashenko still cannot act rashly and needs to stay put and stand by.

Vatutin's next instructions will be related to what Malashenko needs to do next. With Malashenko's unwillingness to waste any time on the battlefield, he will definitely not wait for Vatutin to take the initiative to contact him. In that case, it would be unavoidable Some are too much of a waste of time.

In fact, as soon as the Forward Division arrived in the village and set up the telegraph machine, Malashenko asked Political Commissar Petrov to immediately draft a telegram to Vatutin to truthfully report all the current situation here and ask questions. One-step orders and battle plans.

"We must hold on here until the friendly encirclement troops arrive. Your question is actually a bit redundant.

The political commissar who had no need to hide anything from Malashenko expressed his true thoughts, but the response given by the division commander was somewhat unique.

"Don't worry about it so much. Send it first and ask. If there have been any changes to the order, won't we know everything when the call back comes?"

Comrade Political Commissar smiled and shook his head helplessly.

"Okay, you are the division commander. Do as you say. Sasha, give this telegram to the communications director and let him take a picture of it and send it to the front army headquarters."

"Yes, Comrade Political Commissar."

The waiting time is not long, especially since Malashenko has completed such an important task, Vatutin, who is always in command and coordinating the overall situation, naturally attaches great importance to this.

"Comrade Commander has called back. Here it is."

Comrade Lao Ma, whose chest was pressed against his back because of hunger, was leaning over the table eating haese and eating like crazy. Comrade Comrade Political Commissar holding a telegraph newspaper had already stood in front of the table before Comrade Division Commander raised his head and handed it over. Telegram in hand.

"This is what you've been waiting for, hurry up! Show it to me!"

Malashenko, who was talking nonsense, snatched the telegram and began to read it carefully. The reply from Vatutin was basically the same as what Comrade Political Commissar said.

To put it simply, Malashenko's first task is to lead the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division to continue to hold on to the final encirclement point, which is the village where they are currently stationed. This must be completed.

Secondly, for the follow-up German reinforcements that may appear at any time, Malashenko's task is to deal as heavy a blow to the enemy as possible, force them to retreat, and avoid German interference as much as possible while ensuring the completion of the first mission. Destroy the next stage of the Red Army's annihilation campaign against the enemy forces in the encirclement.

Finally, Vatutin also provided Malashenko with some latest intelligence support in the telegram.

The aviation reconnaissance force has confirmed the latest battlefield situation. Not only the Grossdeutschland Panzer Division, but also a large number of German armored units are now rushing towards the north, all in a state of rapid march.

In order to interfere with the delayed enemy's support operations and ensure that the next phase of the annihilation battle against the enemy forces in the encirclement circle will not be greatly affected, the Red Army's countermeasures plan actually started as early as this morning.

The Red Army aviation unit dispatched bombers and attack aircraft to conduct intensive air strikes against the enemy reinforcements on the march, focusing on the armored units. In addition, air raids were also carried out on almost all train stations and transportation hubs within the combat radius along the way, which greatly slowed down the assembly and march of German reinforcements, and was also slowed down by a large number of wounded.

An air raid of this magnitude does not seek to achieve great results, but only seeks to delay time and slow down the Germans' march.

Judging from this priority, the Soviet aviation unit undoubtedly completed its mission and achieved its expected goals.

This is also the reason why Malashenko did not receive any air support in today's battle.

Apart from the fact that Malashenko did not have a particularly urgent air support call request, the main reason was that the Red Army aviation units in charge of this area all had missions. Following Vatutin's orders, most of them were transferred to create trouble for the Germans who were rushing north for reinforcements.

The confirmation of this news also solved another problem that troubled Malashenko.

The delay in the arrival of the main follow-up force of the Grossdeutschland Panzer Division and the serious disconnect with the advance force were probably directly related to the fact that it suffered a large-scale air attack. Otherwise, Malashenko can't think of any other reason to explain all this. After thinking about it, it can only be this way.

At the end of the telegram, Vatutin assured Malashenko that all reinforcements were being dispatched towards his location.

According to the predictions of the Front Army Headquarters, it is expected that two or even three German armored units will arrive on the battlefield and launch an attack in tomorrow's battle. The specific number is unknown. Aerial reconnaissance cannot look so carefully, and the existing intelligence at hand cannot analyze the specific number of German reinforcements that are about to be put into the battlefield. Everything that follows can only be done by Malashenko himself.

A front army-level artillery unit is rushing towards Malashenko's position at full speed. It has a highly mechanized and enhanced firepower configuration. Its total strength is at the artillery division level, which also includes a front army-affiliated 203mm heavy howitzer battalion.

This heavy artillery division is one of the most powerful ace supports in Vatutin's hands. It is expected to arrive at the combat position and provide artillery support by tomorrow afternoon. The transfer and deployment of these bulky artillery will take time.

Artillery support could not arrive immediately, but Vatutin promised Malashenko that he would be assigned a ground attack aviation regiment to be on standby at any time. An entire regiment of IL-2 attack aircraft is always ready to take off at the frontline field airport to provide strong air support. All it takes is Malashenko's order.

In order to ensure that the final encirclement point is foolproof, Vatutin has tried his best to devote all available resources to this point, leaving it in the hands of Malashenko and entrusting him with important tasks.

It has to be said that this is a heavy responsibility. It seems that the hope of the entire front army is pinned on it. It exists like the eye of the storm. However, Malashenko, who has long been accustomed to being entrusted with important tasks, does not find it difficult. .

Looking at the sun that has set outside the fence of the small courtyard and is about to sink to the horizon, I feel that the blood in my body is rushing and boiling for Malashenko. At this moment, I can't wait for tomorrow's battle.

"Come on, let's see who is the real ace."