The eliminated kv1 were all packed up and sent away, but what happened next made Malashenko somewhat unexpected.
The 21st and 64th Group Armies stationed on the outskirts of Stalingrad received dispatch orders from their superiors and rushed to the Oboyan area on the southern line of Kursk to prevent the Germans who had successfully attacked Kharkov from continuing to go crazy.
, rushing forward, no matter what, they must block the German offensive to the west of Kursk.
Manstein tried his best to condense the offensive energy. By this time, there was actually very little left. Although the victory in Kharkov was huge, the Soviet troops rushing south from Leningrad and the reinforcements from Stalingrad were
The two fresh troops of the group army that Le had urgently dispatched were not the ones that could be eaten in one go in a short period of time.
The German army needed to take a breather and regenerate offensive energy to wait for an opportunity to launch a decisive offensive. However, the Soviet army had just experienced a new defeat and needed a long period of time to regroup and unite its forces.
The German army, which had been pursuing victory in the fierce advance, stopped, and the Soviet army, which had established a firm foothold, also stood firm and waited for reinforcements, daring not to act rashly.
The Kursk salient was formed with a length of 400 kilometers from east to west and a width of only 110 kilometers from north to south.
The situation of the entire Kursk salient was very unfavorable to the Soviet army. The Central and Voronezh Fronts were surrounded by German forces on three sides in the Kursk salient. The situation was critical.
In the north of Kursk, the German Army Group Center is stationed in Orel, while in the south, the German God of War Manstein, who has just won a great victory, is in Belgorod.
Two army groups faced off against two front armies. One was riding on a victory, while the other had just suffered a new defeat. The entire battlefield situation took a turn for the worse and was extremely unfavorable to the Soviet army.
It can be said that the occurrence of the above-mentioned events was within Malashenko's expectation, and is basically not much different from the existing historical trend.
But what really makes Malashenko feel depressed is that the 21st and 64th armies, which are also stationed on the outskirts of Stalingrad, have now moved in the direction of Kursk and are ready to participate in the next battle at any time.
Only the 1st Heavy Tank Brigade of the Stalin Guards under his command is still in Stalingrad and has not received any dispatch orders.
This not only confused Malashenko, but also disappointed many soldiers and grassroots commanders throughout the brigade.
Everyone is training hard and rehearsing various assault and defensive tactical formations, in order to rush to the front line as soon as possible and fight those bastard Germans to the death, and eliminate a lot of enemies.
But now it's good. Among the powerful integrated troops in the suburbs of Stalingrad, the only one left is the First Heavy Tank Brigade of the Stalin Guards. Even the tank soldiers of the 64th Group Army who like to bring used second-hand vehicles have already rushed to the front line.
The situation really puzzled the whole 1st Heavy Tank Brigade of Stalin's Guards, and they didn't know why.
"Still no reply?"
Malashenko, who was waiting around in the brigade headquarters anxiously, couldn't wait for any valuable news. Even the telegram sent to Comrade Lao Zhu has not yet received any reply.
Malashenko, who was getting angry with waiting, could not restrain his anxiety. He was about to tell the political commissar Petrov in front of him that he was going to send another telegram to Marshal Zhukov to urge him.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the communications staff officer who hurriedly appeared in front of Malashenko and Political Commissar Petrov, and without saying a word, he reached out and handed the telegram in his hand to Malashenko, the commander of the first brigade.
division.
Malashenko, who was facing this situation, could not hold back his anxiety, so he snatched the telegram from the hands of the communications staff officer in front of him and spread it out flat.
Political Commissar Petrov, who was originally standing across the table, couldn't hold himself back. Without Malashenko's need to say anything, he hurried over and stood beside him to read the contents of the telegram with the brigade commander.
However, neither Malashenko nor Political Commissar Petrov expected that the content of the telegram contained only an extremely concise sentence.
"The time is not yet ripe, continue to stand by!"
Malashenko and Commissar Petrov looked at each other with the contents of the brief telegram in full view. The blinking political commissars looked at me and I looked at you. Their expressions were full of astonishment and they had no idea what to do next.
.
"In your opinion, should we do as the telegram says? Or should we try something else?"
The question was raised by political commissar Petrov. Malashenko could only sigh while holding the telegraph newspaper tightly in his hand.
"Do a good job of pacifying the thoughts of comrades. If that doesn't work, hold a meeting at night. If necessary, I can speak on stage in person. An order is an order. No matter how strong your desire for war is, you must endure it. That's it!"
Malashenko, who still didn't let go of the telegraph newspaper in his hand, seemed a little hesitant. After only ten seconds of thinking time, he finally blurted out the words that came to his lips.
"Convene military and political cadres above the battalion level to come to the brigade headquarters for a meeting. I will personally preside over it. Everyone must be present. There are no excuses or reasons!"
Political Commissar Petrov could probably guess what Malashenko wanted to do. In fact, even Comrade Political Commissar himself had the same intention.
"Okay, I'll send someone to notify you right away."
Malashenko, who was left behind and continued to sit on the bench, was worried about how to appease the violent troops who were eager to fight.
At the same time, Comrade Zhu, who had been promoted to marshal, was sitting with Vasilevsky at the Red Army General Staff Headquarters, making final battle arrangements for the upcoming unprecedented battle.
When the details of the conversation came to the issue of troop deployment, an important presence that could not be avoided in any case: the 1st Heavy Tank Brigade of Stalin's Guards, naturally became the central focus of the topic.
"Battle groups and reserves in all directions have been drawn up. Most have arrived at the planned area, and a small number are still on their way. So far, the only important force that has not been mobilized is Stalingrad.
An elite Guards heavy tank brigade in the direction, your most capable general."
Vasilevsky adjusted his tone to be as relaxed as possible, hoping to liven up the atmosphere more or less, because what he was going to say next might make Zhukov, who had a bad temper, feel greatly dissatisfied.
"The recommendation given by the General Staff after study is to transfer the 1st Stalin Guards Heavy Tank Brigade to the Voronezh Front commanded by Vatutin, but before that, I would like to hear your personal opinion."