Chapter 654: Switching From Offense to Defense

Hearing Zhukov giving him orders on the other end of the phone, Malashenko, who knew what he should do, did not respond with too many words. He simply assured Zhukov that he would complete the task and then hung up the phone.

"How is it? What should we do this afternoon?"

As soon as Malashenko walked out of the tent, Lavrinenko, who had been waiting at the door of the tent, immediately came over like a curious baby and asked.

"Hold the position and stop the attack. But to be honest, I'm not even sure if we can hold the position. More than 5,000 people died in one morning. If I hadn't experienced it myself, I really want to ask if this is possible?"

Including the First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment and the three infantry divisions that accompanied the attack, more than 5,000 Red Army soldiers and officers and soldiers died this morning at the breakthrough point that Malashenko was responsible for.

Most of them died in the German air raid. Afterwards, not even a body was found, only scattered human body fragments and broken bones and flesh. There was no way to run in the open terrain. If the target was accurate, a 500 kg bomb, which was the most commonly used by the German army, could instantly destroy a battalion.

The power of heavy aerial bombs against unprotected soft targets was not comparable to any artillery attack. Even if the most powerful battleship was brought here, its charge coefficient was only a little brother in front of the aerial bomb. This morning's battle allowed Malashenko to thoroughly experience what it felt like to be pressed to the ground and bombed.

After listening to Malashenko's complaints, Lavrinenko paused for a moment, and then raised his head and asked back after thinking for a moment.

"But we must hold our position no matter what, don't we?"

Faced with Lavrinenko's slow opening, Malashenko, who was a little surprised, couldn't help but reach out to support a new tank cap that he had just taken from the regiment headquarters. Lavrinenko seemed to have some misunderstanding of what he had just said.

"Of course, we must not only defend but also let those Germans be killed everywhere. Let's finish today's battle first and then talk about tomorrow's affairs."

The three infantry divisions that received the order before Malashenko took the lead in building field fortifications.

Although nominally three infantry divisions were deployed together, it was impossible to pile all three infantry divisions together and concentrate them on one position. This would only make the German Air Force laugh even more and their blood boil.

The 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment received the assistance of an infantry division with heavy losses to deploy together. The reason for this situation was actually that Malashenko took the initiative to do so.

According to the actual situation of this infantry division, which had suffered more than half of its casualties, Malashenko estimated that it would not be able to hold out for even two hours under the German air-to-ground integrated armored assault offensive and its defense line would be penetrated.

Rather than letting this infantry division, which had lost more than half of its troops, to deploy defenses alone, it would be better to transfer it to our side to help. First, getting support from the infantry would make Malashenko feel more at ease. Second, it would be safer to entrust the mission objectives to the two infantry divisions with more manpower. The reason for making such a decision was simple.

After the continuous bombing of the German Air Force for a whole morning, many bomb craters of different sizes like the surface of the moon were left. Counting the already occupied German simple departure positions, it saved Malashenko some trouble in deploying defenses.

On the basis of the original simple departure positions of the German army, several infantry trenches and communication trenches were dug to connect them together. The bomb craters were slightly leveled and filled with soil to serve as anti-tank gun position shelters. A simple but effective field defense position was finally built before the German army attacked again.

The Red Army soldiers who had just finished digging the tunnels and trenches on the battlefield had no time to take a break, smoke a cigarette and catch their breath. Then, the deep roar of an old cow pulling a broken cart suddenly came into their ears from far and near.

"Artillery! German artillery! Lie down!"

When there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey will be the king.

The Soviet field artillery cluster was severely damaged or almost completely destroyed by the air strike this morning. The German artillery, which had been sitting still, could finally show its skills without restraint. These German artillery, which had a range and power inferior to the Soviet artillery, still had the power of destruction. The 105 and 150 howitzers blasted the battlefield so hard that they could almost completely overturn the entire ground.

"These damn Nazi bastards! If we still had artillery, we could blow them into pieces right now!"

The commander of the infantry division that Malashenko commanded with him was Colonel Chelchenkov, 38 years old, a Jew, a Communist, and a Red Banner Medal on his chest for his heroic fighting in the Battle of Moscow.

From Colonel Chelchenkov, Malashenko seemed to be able to see the inexplicable faint taste of the later Israeli Defense Forces. However, Malashenko was very sure that this faint similarity had nothing to do with the distinction between capitalism and communism.

Perhaps the Israeli Defense Forces' ability to fight and Colonel Chelchenkov's firm character were somewhat similar? Or was it just because Colonel Chelchenkov was a Jew that he was substituted for a certain preconceived subjective view?

Malashenko was not sure, and could only use the answer of "maybe" to evade himself and laugh it off.

The only thing that is certain is that Malashenko did not have any preconceived prejudices or views against Colonel Cherchenkov because he was Jewish. There was no trace of racism in Malashenko's heart, either in his past or present life.

Faced with the scolding of Colonel Chelchenkov, who was obviously a hot-tempered man, Malashenko, who was packing his personal equipment and preparing to board the vehicle to command the battle, smiled and replied.

"Those Germans won't be rampant for too long, Comrade Chelchenkov. They will soon be dead in front of our positions. I promise you."

The German armored group, as the vanguard attack force, quickly rushed up after half an hour of artillery preparation. The smell of gasoline and black smoke filled the dusty air and became stronger.

"One, two, three, four, a total of 38 vehicles. It seems that these Germans can't wait to play big!"

"Kirill, load the armor-piercing shells! Iushkin, aim at the long-barreled Type 4 tanks in the front and smash them first!"

The open and open terrain made it impossible for Malashenko to use the terrain to hide and launch a surprise attack like he did in Nibotrikaya Village last time.

All the remaining tanks of the entire 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment were deployed by Malashenko on the front line according to the plan. In addition to some tanks acting as mobile bunkers to support defense, a considerable number of the remaining tanks were used by Malashenko to carry out possible counterattacks and serve as reserves.