Chapter 200 Late

After listening to the opening report of his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Khozin, Zhukov's face darkened as dark as the bottom of a pot.

"Send someone to tell Major Malashenko to arrange the matter at the dock and hand it over to his deputy. I will report to the front headquarters immediately. I want to see him in person within an hour."

After hearing Zhukov's unfriendly words, he was immediately shocked. Chief of Staff Khozin, who knew that the supreme leader Comrade Stalin's favorite general would never talk nonsense, immediately responded and left.

On the ruins of the dock, which was noisy and chaotic, Malashenko, who was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, was commanding his troops to rescue the car lying in the pit.

"Lift it up slowly, the cable! Pay attention to the cable! Right, right, don't break the cable!"

In order to rescue Malashenko's command vehicle from this one-ton bomb crater with a diameter of nearly 30 meters and a depth of five meters, the field maintenance company under Captain Karamov mobilized five trailers to use the cable to try to drag it out from the bottom of the crater.

But even so, Malashenko's No. 177 Battalion Command Vehicle, which was upside down at the bottom of the crater with its four legs facing the sky, was still rubbing against the soil wall in the crater like a snail crawling after the rain, and it was almost motionless.

Obviously, it was difficult to drag this nearly 50-ton behemoth out of the five-meter-deep crater with only the low-horsepower traction trailers of this era, even if they worked together.

While Malashenko was standing at the edge of the pit directing the on-site work and was at a loss, a Gorky sedan that was speeding from the direction of Leningrad City braked in an instant, just like a car racing on the Akina Mountain, and was just a dozen meters away from Malashenko in a drifting posture.

Attracted by the sudden sound of emergency brakes, Malashenko turned his head quietly and saw a major officer wearing a regular uniform with a large brim hat, who was walking towards his position after pushing the door and getting out of the car.

After walking to Malashenko with big strides, he quietly stopped. The young major officer who didn't say a word finally spoke quietly after carefully observing Malashenko's whole body for a while.

"Excuse me, are you Comrade Major Malashenko, the commander of the First Independent Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion?"

Being a little overwhelmed by the sudden question of the person in front of him, Malashenko, who didn't know who the person was, also looked at the young major in front of him for a long time before answering.

"Yes, it's me."

Having never seen Malashenko in person and not having a photo of him for reference, the major staff officer of the front headquarters assigned by Chief of Staff Khozin finally confirmed the identity of the target.

"Comrade Malashenko, I have been ordered to inform and lead you to report to the front headquarters immediately. The headquarters instructs you to arrange the work at hand and hand it over to your deputy for temporary management. There are more important tasks waiting for you there."

After hearing the words of the major staff officer of the front headquarters in front of him, Malashenko, who was startled, realized that the current time had long passed the reporting deadline set by Zhukov for himself.

"It's bad! Comrade Zhukov has been stood up! How the hell did everything come together? No, I have to go quickly!"

Any powerful army that can stand in the world has always adhered to the basic principle of military orders and strict discipline, and the Soviet Red Army that pushed the entire German Third Reich during World War II was even more so.

When Malashenko thought that he had been blamed for disregarding military orders, he felt a headache in an instant. He reached out and called Captain Karamov, who was directing the towing operation, without thinking.

"The front headquarters summoned me to report immediately. The on-site work here is temporarily handed over to you, Karamov. After Lavrinenko leads the follow-up troops across the lake, the command will be handed over to him. We must find a way to rescue and prepare the equipment as soon as possible. Those German planes will not call us in advance to notify us. Do you understand?"

In the joint battles in the south and the north during this period of time, he and Malashenko have formed a tacit understanding with each other. Captain Karamov, who treats people equally and has no official airs, has a good impression of this direct superior who treats people equally and has no official airs. Knowing the urgency of the current situation, Captain Karamov nodded without thinking.

"I know what to do, comrade battalion commander, leave it to me."

After saying that, Malashenko, who had hurriedly entrusted the matters at hand, immediately followed the major staff officer of the headquarters to the Gorky sedan. The sedan, which closed the doors on both sides almost at the same time, stepped on the accelerator and sped away in the direction it came from.

The busy and almost frozen Leningrad Front headquarters was filled with the extremely tense and almost suffocating atmosphere of war.

General Zhukov, the commander of the front, who was located in the historic ancient palace of Smolny Palace, was learning about the latest battle situation on the front from the report of his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Khotin.

"Colonel Donskoy just reported that the 21st Border Guard Infantry Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs encountered a full-scale attack by at least a brigade-sized tank unit and no less than two infantry divisions in the Lusselburg defense zone. The 21st Border Guard Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs suffered heavy losses, but the position is still in our hands. Colonel Donskoy requested reinforcements. The situation is extremely critical, Comrade Commander."

After reading the telegram from Chief of Staff Huo Jin at a glance, Zhukov threw it aside. After listening to the detailed report, he spoke without hesitation.

"How many reserves do we have?"

After hearing Zhukov's question, Lieutenant General Huo Jin, who had taken over the work of Chief of Staff and was familiar with the specific situation of the Leningrad Front, immediately answered.

"Only the last organized division-level reserve, the 10th Infantry Division, is left. In addition to the militia and headquarters guards who maintain public order in the city, this is the last unit that can be sent to the front at any time."

Reserves are extremely important to every front-line commander and commander.

It is better to hold them in your hands and not use them than to have them when you need them most urgently.

Although the war on all defensive fronts in Leningrad is now in a state of emergency, Zhukov, who has always been decisive and never hesitated in making decisions and orders, still issued an order immediately and decisively.