Chapter 665: Hell Hill

There were only three cities in the Soviet Union, Moscow, Stalingrad, and other cities.

When Malashenko was thrown into the center of the eye of the storm in the Battle of Stalingrad, and was immersed in the whirlpool of the storm and experienced the baptism of the most brutal moments of this battle, Malashenko finally understood the time in his previous life. What exactly did Rosov mean by what he told himself.

After four consecutive days of short counterattacks ended without victory, Malashenko followed Zhukov's transfer order and was sent to a location that would become world-famous in later generations: the Mamayev Hills where the 62nd Army Headquarters was located.

The person serving as the commander of the 62nd Army at this moment is the famous Lieutenant General Chuikov.

Malashenko, who hurried to the headquarters of the 62nd Army on Mamayev Hill to report, when he saw Lieutenant General Chuikov for the first time, he felt that the person in front of him was very different from the one in the later photos. It seemed that he was much different from those in black and white. The images recorded in the photos have a touch of courage and perseverance, and can therefore make enemies experience more fear.

Zhukov transferred the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment to Mamayev Heights in the city center where the 62nd Army was stationed. There were two reasons why Zhukov did this.

First, the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment was a hastily joined anti-communist plan and was poorly prepared. After the attack was launched, it suffered greater losses due to a serious decline in the overall combat effectiveness of the unit. It was targeted and bombed by the Luftwaffe, resulting in many losses. Heavy casualties and equipment losses.

Zhukov, who was almost running out of troops, was trying to find ways to dispatch more reinforcements to Malashenko. Almost all the skirmishers, broken troops, and gathered troops that could be linked to the tank soldiers were all packed together by Zhukov and thrown to Marashenko. Ke Yun passed.

The last pieces of equipment at the Stalingrad Tractor Factory had been blown up in advance for fear of being captured by the Germans.

Zhukov called to ask if there were any ready-made tanks available in the past. The answer given on the other end of the phone was yes, but it would take a little more time. It would cost a lot to repair the scrapped tanks that were sent in due to serious damage by hand. of effort.

Zhukov, who urged the tractor factory to speed up the work pace, called the Red October Steel Plant again. Can the tank production equipment that had been moved to this safer factory still be used? Even if the output is low, it is better than nothing. You have to use force.

The steel factory's reply to Zhukov was equally bleak.

The types of tank production equipment that were sent were not all available, and their quality was also uneven, which is worrying. The lathes used to manufacture many key parts were not delivered. After checking the material list, the person in charge of the steel plant found that these key machine tools and equipment had either been dismantled and transported out of the city in advance, or they were too bulky. Blown up at the tractor factory.

Under Zhukov's repeated questioning, the answer given by the steel factory was to try to produce some tanks, but they did not have enough equipment and manpower, and they were not even sure whether the products they produced were up to standard. I hope Zhukov will be prepared in advance. Prepare.

Zhukov was very unhappy when he failed to get a satisfactory answer, but faced with such a situation, he had no choice but to do this.

Over the next two days, reinforcements for Malashenko were gradually filled, with approximately 30 tank crews and 22 T34 medium tanks.

Although this is the limit of what Zhukov can do, it is still a problem for the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment, which suffered heavy losses from the Luftwaffe in the previous local counterattack, with almost half of the casualties. A drop in the bucket.

Even after adding these reinforcements, the total strength of the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment was only a little over half of its full strength. Malashenko, who has never been fully prepared since he arrived in the main city of Stalingrad, has lost count of the number of supplements he has received in the past month.

In addition to the idea of ​​withdrawing the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment for temporary rest and replenishment, Zhukov's other consideration was that Chuikov, commander of the 62nd Army, made a request to the front army headquarters.

"The 62nd Army needs more tanks, preferably powerful and elite tank units. I need to invest these decisive breakthrough forces at critical moments to turn the tide of the war."

After much thought, Zhukov finally agreed to Chuikov's request and transferred the last direct tank reserve unit in the hands of the front army headquarters, the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment led by Malashenko, to Chuikov's 3rd Tank Regiment. The 62nd Army increased its strength.

"General Zhukov spoke highly of you, Lieutenant Colonel Malashenko. He said that you are the best front-line tank commander in the entire front army and even the entire Red Army tank force."

"But I want to remind you, Malashenko, the battle we are about to face will be more violent than the previous storms. Mamayev Heights is the center of the entire Stalingrad, her heart, her lifeblood! No matter what, we can’t lose this place. Losing this place means losing everything!”

"I ask you to set an example during the battle and implement Order No. 227 of Supreme Leader Comrade Stalin! Turn Mamayev Heights into a tomb for those fascist lackeys. Any unauthorized retreat or rout is strictly prohibited. Forbidden! You have the right to deal with cowards who run away from battle, if such a thing happens."

Before the war, Mamayev Kurgan was not yet shrouded in the blazing hellish flames of war. Malashenko, with Chuikov's words in his mind, stood on the top of the hill, looking at the panoramic view of Stalingrad in the distance, and the lush green lawn at his feet was flashing with the color of life growing vigorously.

Chuikov was right. Mamayev Kurgan was a target that the Soviet army must defend no matter what.

This hill formed by the gradual accumulation of ancient tombs is located in the center of Stalingrad. Whether facing north or south, you can have a panoramic view of the city.

For the German army, occupying this high ground can not only split the entire city of Stalingrad built on the Volga River into two, but also the German long-range artillery deployed on the high ground can also bring all the key points in the city into the range of firepower, and even directly bombard and destroy the Soviet docks on the east bank of the Volga River that tried to assist the city.

Anyone who tried to approach Stalingrad via the Volga River would be completely destroyed by the German long-range artillery fire.

It was precisely because Mamayev Kurgan was so important that Malashenko, who knew how fierce the battle was on Mamayev Kurgan, could almost smell the faint smell of blood in the air even now.