Steel Soviet Union

Chapter 797: Memories of Artillery Fire

At the end of the telegram, Malashenko was given further combat tasks.

Continue to assist in defending the direction of the tractor factory and wait for subsequent orders to be conveyed.

As above, this is all the content of this telegram.

Holding the telegram paper in his hand, Malashenko frowned, feeling unhappy no matter how he read it. Our commander Ma did not get what he wanted from the telegram.

"That's it? Nothing else?"

Malashenko shook the telegram paper in his hand with one hand, which made Political Commissar Petrov a little confused for a while. With the Political Commissar's understanding of Malashenko, he really couldn't guess what Malashenko meant for a while.

"What do you mean? Do you want to know something else, or is there something missing in the telegram that you planned?"

Seeing Political Commissar Petrov's answer, Malashenko, who was probably completely hopeless, sighed like a deflated ball, and even his expression looked a little lonely.

"I mean, didn't we get any promised reinforcements? Even air support!"

"The Germans on the other side have more troops and planes on call. We played dirty and caught the Germans off guard in the previous battle, but if we really start fighting, it will be a different situation."

"An armored division plus an infantry division, and there are a lot of reinforcements behind them. Given the Germans' vengeful character, there will definitely be another wave of attacks two or three times more fierce than the previous one in less than an hour, and there will probably be a lot of iron bombs thrown on our heads."

"If there is no support at all, how much we lost in the tractor factory last time, this time we will probably repeat the same mistake. Don't you think our current situation is too similar to the last time we were here? Except for the fact that we caught the Germans off guard at the beginning."

Malachenko is not a person who will be afraid of fighting, and Political Commissar Petrov is quite clear about this.

Except that Malashenko sometimes makes early plans to protect the troops and consider how to withdraw with the troops at the most irreversible moment of destruction, this is just understandable human nature.

Malashenko is right. The last time the 1st Heavy Guards Tank Breakthrough Regiment used those garbage tanks supported by the British at the tractor factory, it was almost pinned to death by the Germans' air-to-ground joint stranglehold.

In fact, it is not only the battle at the tractor factory. From last year to now, the biggest source of losses to Malashenko has always been the German Air Force above his head.

Most of those who underestimate the accuracy of Stuka dive bombing have gone to another world to report to Comrade Lenin.

There are German rookie pilots who drop bombs early, change dives, and pull up at the speed of light if they are not accurate. There are even fewer perverts like Rudel who have the skill of accurately dropping bombs on the top of the tank.

The vast majority of German Stuka pilots are hovering in the huge central area above rookies and below Rudel.

In fact, their accuracy is far from abnormal, but it is not a big problem to destroy your tank with a 500 kg aerial bomb with 250 kg of explosives. After all, it is only a rare case that they miss.

Not only Malashenko knows this, but also Political Commissar Petrov, who has gone through hardships together to get to where he is today.

Ground combat without air superiority is indeed very difficult to fight. This is a fact that both Political Commissar Petrov and Malashenko, who are silent, are very clear about.

The production of La-5 fighters in mid-October 1942 was not enough to completely reverse the front line, and it was difficult to even suppress the German Air Force locally with concentrated forces. This is also the real reason why the Soviet fighter aviation is at a disadvantage in the struggle for air superiority mentioned in the telegram just now. Air support is far from being available for Malashenko to call at any time when the overall situation is unstable.

I don’t know how long he was silent. Political Commissar Petrov, who has been thinking about how to withstand the fierce bombardment of the German Air Force, decided to change the topic temporarily. Continuing the stalemate would only waste time and have no meaning.

"It's not that there is no support. The first telegram we received when the regiment was just set up mentioned that the artillery position at Mamayev Kurgan has been set up and can provide support to us. It has been well defended since our regiment captured it last time. The Germans have tried to take it back several times but failed. Now it's time to repay us for our efforts."

Malachenko was slightly stunned when he heard this. At this critical moment, he could get artillery support that he had never expected. This was indeed quite unexpected for Malachenko.

Malachenko had forgotten when he last saw the overwhelming artillery barrage of the Red Army's field artillery cluster. That magnificent and violent momentum was definitely the best time to release the violent genes in a man's body.

Nothing is more exciting than seeing the human body parts and weapon debris of the Germans in the telescope, being blown up and flying all over the sky, crushed to ashes, and then quickly annihilated in the waves of flames.

There is no air support but there is artillery support. This crucial factor is too important to give Malashenko absolute confidence in winning this battle.

But before dropping steel shells on the Germans' heads and enjoying the beautiful scenery, there are still several crucial issues that must be determined as soon as possible.

"Do you know the exact size of the artillery? What's the caliber? How long can we get artillery support and how many ammunition bases? Is it on call or is there a set time period?"

Malachenko's mouth was like a Deschamps heavy machine gun, spewing out a lot of questions in a row, making Political Commissar Petrov, who was always familiar with Malachenko, secretly shake his head. It seems that the regiment commander has really gone crazy with poverty during this period. He has been through a hard time and is so excited to hear that the hardship has paid off.

"This is also the point I want to emphasize to you."

"I called Mamayev Kurgan to confirm, just a few minutes before you came in. The person on the other end of the phone said that the artillery position was not large, mainly because the threat of German air raids was too great. In recent days, more than a dozen artillery pieces have been blown up on the mountain by German planes after being exposed during firing. Basically, the artillery pieces are transported to the mountain at night, and the time they can survive after dawn the next day can only be calculated by a countdown of hours."

"The anti-aircraft firepower has been strengthened on the top of the mountain and the surrounding blocks, and our fighter jets are also concentrated here to prioritize air supremacy over Mamayev Kurgan, but the actual effect is still limited, otherwise there would be no German bombs that can be dropped on the artillery positions."

"There is only one battalion of 152 guns and one battalion of 122 guns on the mountain now, and the support they can get is so much. The muzzles are already pointed in the direction of the northern heavy industrial zone. The reaction time is very short, and everything depends on your own decision."

Chapter 797/3254
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