Chapter 1855 Enemies in the North

The baby's problem has been solved, but Malashenko still has things to do next, and it doesn't mean that he can rest now.

"Any news? How are the commissar and his team now?"

Even though they are so far apart, Malashenko is still worried about the situation on the northern route of the commissar. I believe this is the same for Commissar Petrov.

The radio station temporarily set up in the station can get in touch with the commissar, and in the form of a telegram, Malashenko was able to learn the latest first-hand situation of the commissar.

"There is a reply. The commissar and his team are doing well, and they asked about the situation here."

Holding the telegram handed to him by Valosha in his hand, he read it quickly at a speed of ten lines at a glance.

The general content of the telegram said that the troops on the northern route have now arrived near the salient, and Commissar Petrov is preparing for the initial offensive of the first phase together with Kurbarov and Lavrinenko.

Because Malashenko was not at work, the command of the troops on the northern route was taken over by Lavrinenko, the deputy division commander, and Political Commissar Petrov, the deputy political commander, and they kept in touch with the front headquarters, that is, Vatutin.

Because the war was tight, it was necessary to remove the nail buried by the Germans as soon as possible, push the entire Bagration operation to the next stage as soon as possible, and not delay the overall strategic schedule, so the order issued by Vatutin was also very urgent.

Originally, after a long-distance cross-country maneuver, the tanks should have been given an overall overhaul and maintenance, but when Political Commissar Petrov led his troops to the target area, the Baltic Front, which was waiting for the arrival of the heavy armored forces, could launch the first phase of the offensive.

These guys, relying on the powerful naval gun support of the Baltic Fleet, did advance rapidly, rushing all the way along the coastline, and all the German sticks that blocked the way were bombed into slag and sent to the sky by naval guns.

In the end, when the main German forces were defeated, the remaining small German troops did not dare to approach the front. Even if they did, they would be cannon fodder for the naval guns and had to retreat.

It sounds like good news, but the political commissar also explained the bad side of this matter to Malashenko in the telegram.

A considerable number of the German fleeing troops who were driven away by the powerful naval guns of the Baltic Fleet retreated to the northern salient where a large number of German reinforcements were already stored.

This place is just outside the range of the Baltic Fleet's naval guns, and it is also the closest to the front line. Of course, it is also a solid foothold with the most solid defense and the most reliable backup. Many of the German fleeing soldiers who were bombarded to pieces ran to this place in a panic to seek shelter, fearing that they would be intercepted by the enemy halfway and die on the way if they continued to run.

Although most of the German troops who poured in later were fleeing soldiers who had been defeated once, they could not withstand the large number of people.

Intelligence provided by the Baltic Front showed that at least seven different Wehrmacht division-level troops had fled into the salient, not counting the other independent, lower-level fleeing German troops, let alone the stockpiled German troops already stationed there.

Combining a preliminary estimate with the existing intelligence at hand, Political Commissar Petrov felt that in this conical salient with a width of less than 12 kilometers from north to south and a depth of only 27 kilometers, there were at least five fully equipped infantry divisions, two relatively complete armored divisions, as well as seven incomplete fleeing infantry divisions, one incomplete fleeing armored division and an unknown number of other lower-level German combat units, as well as a small number of vassal troops and Ukrainian puppet troops who were just filling in the numbers.

According to a rough estimate, the total strength of this large enemy force must be at least 150,000 people, with a maximum of 200,000 people. There is no larger group of troops on the entire front battlefield than this enemy. The density of German troops in the salient is unprecedentedly high. Some of the severely damaged German troops may have withdrawn to a more rearward position outside the salient to rest.

However, Comrade Political Commissar judged that as long as the war is tight and necessary, these German troops may reorganize at any time, return to the battlefield after a little replenishment, and the Germans will maintain this last land hub connecting the two army groups in the north and south at all costs.

Therefore, in strategic prediction, we must not underestimate the enemy and be prepared to fight with the largest number of enemy troops in the worst case at any time.

The good news is that the Baltic Front and the Third Belarusian Front Command have learned of this news and are dispatching more follow-up reinforcements to help.

However, it should be pointed out that there are not too many tank units among these reinforcements. Now the entire Bagration operation has entered the climax of the war. Almost all tank units have tasks on their shoulders, or they are still fighting with the enemy and cannot get out of it, and cannot rush to the northern salient to join the battle.

In other words, the main tank unit in the encirclement and annihilation war in the northern salient was the invincible and meritorious Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division. A heroic unit with a divisional designation, but actually used by Vatutin as a tank army.

The actual situation in the northern salient was far more serious than expected. This was the most direct meaning expressed by the political commissar to Malashenko at the end of the telegram.

If possible, Malashenko had better finish the affairs in the south as soon as possible, rush north, and lead the main force of the division to meet up as soon as possible. The most important thing is that the division commander must be in charge of the next battle. After the first phase of the peripheral cleanup battle, we will soon face a real deep fight. This must be commanded by the division commander Malashenko himself and coordinate the overall situation.

"The situation is worse than expected. The Germans in the northern salient have a big pot of fat waiting for us to stew. Comrade Political Commissar and his men can't eat so much. We have to return to the team and meet them as soon as possible."

Malashenko, who put away the telegram, was still thinking about the last thing. After dealing with the last troublesome matter, he could immediately lead his troops to the north to meet up with Comrade Political Commissar and his men.

"How is the baby? We will leave immediately after the loading is completed. It has been almost forty minutes since the end of the battle. There is not much time to waste."

Just when Varosha was about to report the latest situation after hearing Malashenko's words, a messenger who ran into the house suddenly interrupted the conversation.

"Comrade Commander, this is an emergency!"