Chapter 1140: Dangers Lurking Everywhere

Malachenko did not specifically count how much ammunition and fuel he had left on the battlefield. He only kept enough for the minimum demand of the existing surviving tanks and vehicles according to the statistics reported by Karamov, and then kept all the remaining excess ammunition and fuel that would delay the retreat.

The 1st Stalin Guards Heavy Tank Brigade was an extraordinary force with a scale and organization far beyond its peers, and the quota supply of ammunition and fuel was also extraordinary.

The deliberate explosion of ammunition and fuel on the battlefield was a huge explosion, with a huge fireball engulfing the earth and a strong roar that almost turned the ground upside down. The flames and mushroom clouds that rose up in an instant were so high that even Malachenko, who had withdrawn ten kilometers away, could look back and see them, and the ground under his feet was shaking like an earthquake.

Malashenko, standing on the turret, looked at the scene not too far away. He raised the binoculars in his hand and looked around, but he could only see the black smoke that dissipated after the flames devoured everything. The whole world within the field of view of the binoculars was filled with the smell of destruction.

"This explosion is at least as strong as ten tons of TNT, or even more. How much did you let Karamov leave behind? Don't tell me that he left behind all the remaining supplies of our brigade.

Iushkin, who leaned out of the turret with Malashenko, couldn't help but sigh and show a half-joking surprise on his face when facing this scene.

It is true that Malashenko, who had just learned the bad news about the political commissar, was in a bad mood, but at the moment, right here. Seeing that the trap he ordered to set up was really triggered, Malashenko still raised his mouth because of the success of the plan.

"Sufficient quantity, for both us and those bastards. This can buy us some time. If the SS wants to catch up, it will take more time to gather troops. We have a chance to jump out of the encirclement before they finish. "

At this point in the battle, Malashenko can already judge the Germans' tactical arrangements in Prokhorovka more clearly.

The German army, whose strategic and tactical thinking has always been unrestrained, is still the same as always. They not only want to take Prokhorovka, but also intend to encircle and annihilate all Soviet troops in the Prokhorovka theater. This is a typical counter-defense-to-offensive, strategic-level counter-assault operation. The three SS divisions in Prokhorovka were arranged and prepared for this from the beginning.

Malashenko speculated that Hoth or Manstein might be dispatching more follow-up troops to rush to the Prokhorovka theater, intending to expand the results of the battle in this area and treat it as a decisive battle.

The Imperial Division and the Skull Division are racing against time, relying on their high mechanization advantages to complete the Soviet troops before they jump out. The encirclement formed an encirclement, dividing the entire Prokhorovka theater into two and closing the pocket. Vatutin was not idle either, and the reinforcements he asked for from his father Comrade Stalin were on the way.

The key is to see how many troops can be withdrawn before the German encirclement is completed. If enough troops are withdrawn, plus the support troops that have been confirmed to arrive as soon as possible, then Vatutin still has the capital to turn the tables. Not only is the Prokhorovka theater stable, but it is even capable of continuing to play against the Germans and fight.

But if the main force headed by Stalin's First Guards Heavy Tank Brigade cannot be withdrawn and is trapped in the encirclement.

Then what Vatutin should consider next is not how to play against the Germans, but how to use the pitiful troops at hand to turn the battlefield that has been cut off. On the other side, the main forces of the two SS divisions, the Death's Head Division and the Imperial Division, were rescued.

Oh, what's worse is that at the bottom of the pocket, that is, in another layer, there is the big trouble of the Guards Leibstandarte Division. If you think that the Soviet troops in the encirclement can cooperate with the friendly forces outside the encirclement, you are wrong. The Soviet troops trapped in the encirclement are the ones who are really attacked from both sides, and the Guards Leibstandarte Division will be the final executioner.

By then, the fate of the Soviet troops in the encirclement, who could not break out from the front and were chased and beaten by the Guards Leibstandarte Division from the back, is predictable.

Racing against time is a common saying in later generations. At the moment, Malashenko can be said to be experiencing the true meaning of this saying more strongly than ever before.

Malashenko had no way of knowing the true meaning of the Death's Head Division and the Imperial Division. What position has the division reached now, and at which expected coordinate point will it launch a siege and close the pocket.

Malashenko, who ordered the troops to march at full speed, also had to beware of the Imperial Division and the Skeleton Division that might suddenly appear in front of him. He also had to be careful when there might be pursuers from the Guards Flag Division behind him. It was necessary to keep in touch with the rear guard at all times. Even in the dangerous sky, there was a possibility that German flies might appear at any time.

After crossing to this era that did not belong to him, Malashenko had fought many battles, but it was the first time in history that he encountered such a disgusting and terrible situation.

At the moment, it was a truly dangerous situation. The troops in motion might encounter Germans in any direction at any time.

Although he had ordered all the burdens that could be thrown away, the Stalin Guards 1st Heavy Tank Brigade, which had a high mechanization ratio, still could not speed up.

The 9th Guards Airborne Division, which suffered serious losses in technical equipment, had basically no trucks left, but there were a lot of light and heavy wounded soldiers who needed to be taken care of.

It was unrealistic to expect these wounded soldiers to keep up with the main force on foot. Malashenko was forced to support the vacated oil and ammunition trucks to transport the wounded soldiers all over the 9th Guards Airborne Division. Infantrymen with heavy equipment such as mortars and machine guns also had priority to squeeze onto tanks, and only the most basic riflemen and assault riflemen were marching on foot.

But even so, after doing everything he thought he could do, Malashenko still sadly discovered that the troops' marching speed was still not fast enough, and was as slow as a snail. The purely mechanized vanguard had left the rear guard infantry troops, which had almost no tanks and cars available, far behind by several kilometers.

The retreating troops of the two Guards Divisions were stretched out on the grassland like noodles. If they suddenly encountered the enemy, they would definitely be defeated and severely damaged. However, Malashenko could not order to slow down for the sake of the formation. This was a dilemma between the two. There was no other option.

Even if Malashenko was half hanging outside the turret and was in a hurry, it was the same.