Chapter 1370 Target 239 Heights

Malachenko's tactical concept did not wait too long before it was responded to. A telegram from the front headquarters confirmed the conjecture of Malachenko and the political commissar.

Now, the Cherkassy steel encirclement, which has been shrinking and tightening, has been reduced to the final diameter of 8 kilometers.

It may sound relatively large, but you have to know that this encirclement now contains a Wehrmacht armored army, an ace division of the Waffen SS, and some miscellaneous Wehrmacht secondary units with incomplete structures, as well as Ukrainian traitors who were either forcibly conscripted or volunteered to work for the Germans.

Including the 20,000 troops that Malachenko wiped out from the Germans' existing combat forces, the front headquarters estimated that there were about 50,000 enemies left in the encirclement. Although the losses of various technical equipment were large, they were not to the point of exhaustion.

In other words, the Germans in the encirclement still have the capital to fight. And they also have the last large field airport connected to the outside world: Cherkassy Airport. Although the land transportation had been cut off by the Red Army, this air corridor was still maintained.

The current situation was similar to that in Stalingrad. The Sixth Army was barely hanging on to its last breath with the air transport line. The Germans in the Cherkassy encirclement were also in this situation.

But the supplies needed by an army of about 50,000 people could not be obtained by an air corridor transport line.

The air supremacy in the theater is now in the hands of the Red Army. The hunting team composed of fighter units will search for targets every day. If they catch the German transport planes, there will be a battle for heads.

What? You mean the escort fighters of the German Air Force?

Don't be funny. They couldn't beat the Red Army in the large-scale air battle to seize the air supremacy in the theater. They lost even their underwear. Do you expect them to keep a pair of socks? Even if the escort fighters dare to come, they will not play any role. At most, they will add a few more dazzling red stars to the cars of the fighter pilots. That's all.

Since external reinforcements could not get in, it was imperative for the Germans inside to break out.

Multiple different intelligence channels, such as catching tongues and aerial reconnaissance, have now concentrated on showing that the Germans are trying to tear a hole in the north of the encirclement and break out.

A key coordinate position was pointed to the high ground named No. 239 on the war zone map, which was the key obstacle to prevent the German army from escaping to the north. The telegram sent by the front headquarters pointed out that this place currently gathered the most elite heavy armored group of the besieged German army in the encirclement, and the 3rd Armored Army and the SS Viking Division were gathered nearby.

As of the time of the telegram, this group of heavily armed Germans, fighting desperately, had been attacking the No. 239 high ground firmly controlled by the Red Army for a whole morning.

The Red Army suffered heavy losses, but the Germans suffered even greater losses.

The Red Army infantry division stationed here pulled the divisional artillery to the top of the high ground, and bombarded with all its strength from a high position with the ultra-long range further extended by the height difference. The rain of bullets from various 152 howitzers and 122 cannons covered the sky and flew everywhere. The Germans on the high ground ran around like frightened rabbits and suffered heavy losses.

The Germans, unwilling to fail, gathered and attacked again and again against the artillery barrage, with the latest Tiger King heavy tanks in the front, accompanied by medium tanks and assault guns. Even if a large number of infantrymen were under the rain of bullets, they had to follow the tanks and continue to charge. It was inevitable that there were corpses and destroyed armored vehicles everywhere.

However, even if the battle was like this, the Germans still didn't think of giving up.

The attack was still going on, and Vatutin was trying to see if he could transfer a few strong reinforcements to Hill 239 to stabilize the front line.

A quick glance at the map shows that the location of Malashenko's troops, which has been updated with real-time dynamics, and the small red flag representing the mixed forces of Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division and the 5th Guards Tank Brigade, is marked at a location only 6 kilometers away from Hill 239.

For a highly mechanized tank unit, this 6-kilometer straight-line distance is equivalent to two steps.

As soon as the transfer order arrives, Vatutin estimates that Malashenko's troops will basically be able to rush over immediately and give a surprise to the Germans who are attacking Hill 239.

Previously, Malashenko faced a situation where there was a general order, but he could play his own way in the specifics of the fight. Vatutin gave him enough power to exercise his subjective initiative.

But now, with the issuance of this updated transfer order, Malashenko must fight in the direction indicated by Vatutin in the future, and can no longer choose his prey and attack everywhere.

However, Malashenko originally intended to block the Germans' breakout, and Vatutin's order coincided with Malashenko's idea.

So whether it was out of a soldier's duty or his own subjective will, Malashenko was willing to do this job.

An armored corps plus a well-known elite division of the Waffen SS, if this job was done, then there would be something to brag about in the future.

However, the opponent's strength is basically more than half of all the Germans in the encirclement, and it is probably unrealistic to eat them all up in one go. Malashenko, holding the telegram, stroked his chin and pondered for a long time. He felt that it would be more practical to first relieve the siege of Hill 239. It would be best to cut off this armored army and the Viking Division and separate them first.

In this way, not only will the offensive collapse instantly, but the next thing to do will naturally be much simpler.

"Gather the troops and prepare to set off, target Hill 239. This time we are going to remove the threat to Hill 239 and block the Germans' attempt to escape to the north. Time is tight so we won't hold any combat meetings. Turn on the radios of the command vehicles on the way. I will explain in detail on the channel and notify the several regiment commanders including Kulbarov."

"The attack plan is based on the preset Plan 2. The Germans are urgently moving to the bottom of Hill 239 to start the attack. It is estimated that there is only a starting position at most and lacks a decent and solid defense system. The first wave of assaults must strive to tear through the defense before the Germans react, leaving them no time to react."

"Okay, that's the general idea. I will arrange and convey the details on the way by radio. Time is tight, so hurry up and prepare to set off, refuel and load ammunition and start the action immediately."