Chapter 1151 No Choice

For Lavrinenko at this moment, no news can be more inspiring than Malashenko's shouting "I'm here".

Listening to Malashenko's shouting from the other end of the radio, Lavrinenko, who couldn't suppress his excitement, immediately pressed the call button in his hand and replied loudly.

"The situation is urgent! The Germans are attacking the village from the east and west. You'd better bring people up to support!"

Malashenko had roughly guessed that the situation was not optimistic, but Lavrinenko's shouting on the other end of the radio was obviously more critical than expected. The situation has reached the last critical moment that cannot be delayed.

"Hold on! Reinforcements will arrive soon. Don't let the Germans rush into the village!"

On the way here, Malashenko had already held the war zone map in his hand, and roughly judged the battle outline and situation based on the situation described by Political Commissar Petrov on the radio.

This small village entrenched in front and being attacked by Lavrinenko and his men does exist and is marked on the map.

But what puzzled Malashenko was that the annotations on the map of this village stated that this village should have been abandoned and evacuated before the outbreak of the Battle of Kursk. And not only was it uninhabited and deserted, it was also attacked by the German Air Force on the first day of the Battle of Kursk.

Although the reason is unclear, it can be roughly guessed that the Germans probably regarded this place as a transit station for the Red Army, or a material storage point, a garrison point, or something like that. After all, there is only one village within a radius of more than ten kilometers. If there is really a material reserve and troop assembly, it can only be done here. A sudden bombing can indeed be considered as a precaution.

However, since this village was not only abandoned but also bombed to pieces, why did the SS, who could not be unaware of this, rush to this place like crazy?

Malashenko stared at the map for a long time with a flashlight in the turret, and finally came to the same conclusion: it is basically certain that this is the final closing point of the encirclement of the SS Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division.

If this is not the case, it is impossible to explain everything that has happened so far.

The vast Prokhorovka grassland can accommodate thousands of tanks and hundreds of thousands of troops, but they met their opponents in such a small place? Malashenko himself did not believe that the Germans did not advance from both wings and outflanke according to their possible retreat routes and then determine the final encirclement point.

But at this point, Malashenko, who has been ridden by the worst situation, has no other choice but to forcibly withstand this wave of premeditated and organized encirclement and interception battle, and take out his greatest courage and courage to lead the troops to meet it.

The IS6 heavy tank with the accelerator pressed to the ground was like a giant beast running at full speed on the grassland. Malashenko, who was anxious and afraid of missing the train, had just commanded his car to drive outside the village, and the sound of gunfire, which was more and more like a thunderstorm, came into his ears.

"Malashenko called! Political commissar, please answer!"

The tank had arrived at the outer position of the village. The bodies of both sides were lying everywhere, and the wreckage of the burning German tank was emitting black smoke. But the only thing that was not seen was the figure of the political commissar that Malashenko had been worried about. It stands to reason that he should not have fought with the troops.

Fortunately, the anxious Malashenko did not wait too long, and the voice of that nature came from the other end of the radio.

"I have brought people into the village and are supporting the battle on the west side of the village! Lavri is in charge of the battlefield on the east side of the village. Both sides are in urgent need of support! It seems that the Germans have mobilized all their main forces. In the telescope, there are countless SS tanks and soldiers moving towards us!"

Political Commissar Petrov did not ask Malashenko whether he planned to retreat, but instead replaced it with an affirmative sentence such as "both sides need support."

In fact, there is nothing to say about the battle at this point. The control of this village will be directly related to the development of the next battle situation and situation, and even the final victory or defeat.

If the village is lost, it will be forcibly driven out by the ferocious SS.

The Stalin Guards 1st Heavy Tank Brigade and the Guards 9th Airborne Division will not only lose their last hope, but also watch the pocket of the encirclement close and be completely surrounded. At the same time, even this field defense position, which is difficult to withstand the assault of the armored forces, but is "better than nothing", will also be lost.

The marching troops without positions to defend were forced into a battle on the open grassland by the enemy, which was mainly composed of armored troops, and the infantry and tanks launched a coordinated offensive. Anyone with a sound mind could guess what the battle would end up like.

Not to mention that Malashenko was the half-crippled Stalin Guards 1st Heavy Tank Brigade, even if Malashenko immediately replenished the troops to a fully equipped and fully staffed state, and the 9th Guards Airborne Division was included. Facing the three-sided attack of the three elite Waffen SS divisions, there was absolutely no chance of winning.

Even a fool knew that it was only a matter of time before the Guards Flag Division, which had been temporarily defeated, would make a comeback and catch up from behind.

But if he could capture and defend the village, Malashenko would at least have the capital to reverse the situation.

Even if he was blocked by the SS who once again relied on their superior strength to encircle the periphery and surrounded in the village. But as long as there is this pre-set position, coupled with the heavy tanks as anti-armor mobile barriers, it is not impossible to defend the position with strong firepower support, and the probability is at least much greater than fighting with three divisions of enemies in an open space.

Hearing Political Commissar Petrov's answer to him, Malashenko did not dare to neglect it. After a brief moment of thinking, he immediately made a decision.

"The 1st Tank Battalion and the 9th Guards Airborne Division will support the east side of the village, and the remaining tanks will follow me to support the west side of the village! Valosha, bring your people and follow me!"

Malashenko did not want to divide his troops. Dividing his troops means that the already limited combat strength will be further dismantled and compressed.

But at this point there was no other way. The SS, with its superior military strength, could squander its forces at will and could even launch a simultaneous attack from both the east and west fronts.