Malashenko did not have specific statistics on how much ammunition and fuel he left on the position. He only left as much as needed for the retreat based on the statistics reported by Karamov according to the minimum needs of the surviving tanks and vehicles.
, and then kept all the remaining excess ammunition and fuel that would delay the retreat.
The 1st Stalin Guards Heavy Tank Brigade is an extraordinary unit with a size and organization that far exceeds its level, and its supply of ammunition and fuel is also extraordinary.
The intentional explosion of ammunition and oil that followed on the position was a loud noise that soared into the sky. The huge fireball devoured the earth, and the strong roar almost turned the land upside down. The flames suddenly jumped up.
The mushroom cloud was so high that even Malashenko, who had withdrawn ten kilometers away, could look back and see that the ground beneath his feet was shaking like an earthquake.
Standing on the turret, Malashenko looked at the scene that was not too far away. He raised the telescope in his hand and looked around, but he could only see the black smoke that dissipated after the flames devoured everything.
The whole world is filled with the smell of destruction.
"This explosion is equivalent to at least ten tons of TNT, or even more. How much stuff did you ask Karamov to leave behind? Don't leave behind all the remaining supplies of our brigade."
Facing this scene, Iushkin, who leaned his upper body out of the turret together with Malashenko, could not help but sigh, with a look of half-joking surprise on his face.
It is true that Malashenko, who had just learned the bad news about Comrade Political Commissar, was in a bad mood, but right now, right here. Seeing that the trap he ordered to lay out was actually triggered, Malashenko was still overwhelmed by the success of his plan.
The corner of his mouth raised.
"It's enough, both for us and those bastards. This can buy us some time. The SS will have to spend more time gathering troops if they want to catch up again. We have every chance
Chance to jump out of the encirclement before they finish."
Now that the battle has started, Malashenko has been able to clearly judge the German tactical layout in Prokhorovka.
The German army, which has always been unscrupulous in its strategic and tactical thinking, is as usual. They not only want to capture Prokhorovka, but also intend to encircle and annihilate all Soviet troops in the Prokhorovka theater. This is a typical counter-defensive move.
Attack, strategic-level counter-assault operations, the entire three SS divisions of Prokhorovka were arranged and prepared for this from the beginning.
Malashenko guessed that Huot or Manstein might be dispatching more follow-up troops to rush towards the Prokhorovka battle area, intending to expand the results in this area and fight it as a decisive battle.
The Imperial Division and the Skeleton Division were in a race against time, relying on their high mechanization advantage to complete the encirclement before the Soviet troops jumped out, split the entire Prokhorovka theater into two, and closed the pocket. And Vatutin also
He was not idle in idleness. The reinforcements requested from his loving father, Comrade Stalin, were already on the way.
The key depends on how many troops can be withdrawn before the German encirclement is completed. If enough troops are withdrawn, plus the support troops that have been confirmed to arrive as soon as possible, then Vatutin will still have the capital to make a comeback. Not only is Provost
The Khorovka war zone is safe, and it even has the ability to continue playing against the Germans and gesticulating.
But if the main force, headed by Stalin's 1st Guards Heavy Tank Brigade, could not withdraw, it would be trapped in an encirclement.
Then the next thing that Vatutin should consider is not how to play against the Germans, but how to use the pitiful forces at hand to separate the two SS units of the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division on the other side of the cut battlefield.
The main force was rescued.
Oh, what's even worse is that at the bottom of the pocket, that is, on the other level, there is the big trouble of the Guards Division. If you think that the Soviet troops in the encirclement can cooperate with the friendly forces outside the encirclement, then you can
That's a big mistake. The Soviet troops who are trapped in the encirclement are really being attacked from both sides, and the Guards Division will be the pursuit executioner in the final execution.
By that time, the fate of the Soviet troops in the encirclement circle, unable to break out from the front and being chased by the Guards Division on the back, was already predictable.
Racing against time is a relatively common saying in later generations. It can be said that Malashenko is experiencing the true meaning of this statement as never before.
Malashenko had no way of knowing where the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division had progressed, and at which expected coordinate point they would launch an encirclement and close their pockets.
Malashenko, who ordered the troops to march at full speed, also had to be wary of running into the Imperial Division and Skeleton Division troops that suddenly appeared in front of him. The same thing happened when the Guards Division's pursuit troops might appear behind him.
Be careful, it is necessary to maintain communication with the rearguard troops at all times, even in the dangerous sky, there is a possibility of Kraut flies appearing at any time.
After traveling to this era that did not belong to him, Malashenko had fought many battles, but this was the first time in history that he encountered such a disgusting and terrible situation.
It was a real crisis-ridden situation at the moment, and troops on the move could encounter Germans in any direction at any time.
Although orders have been given to throw away all the burdens that can be thrown away, the 1st Heavy Tank Brigade of Stalin's Guards, which has a high mechanization ratio, still cannot get up fast.
The 9th Guards Airborne Division, which had suffered severe losses in technical equipment, had basically no trucks left, but there were a lot of lightly and seriously injured people in need of care.
It is simply unrealistic to expect these wounded to keep up with the large troops on foot. Malashenko was forced to support the vacated fuel and bomb-carrying trucks, specifically used to transport the wounded from the 9th Guards Airborne Division. Carrying heavy loads
Infantrymen equipped with equipment such as mortars and machine guns also gave priority to crowding onto the tanks, while only the most basic riflemen and submachine gunners marched on foot.
But even so, Malashenko, who had done everything he thought he could do, sadly found that the troops were still moving at a snail's pace. The purely mechanized vanguard had almost no tanks and
The rear-guard infantry units, which could be used in cars, were far behind and fell several kilometers away.
The retreating troops of the two Guards divisions were stretched out on the grassland as slender as noodles. Under such circumstances, if they suddenly encountered the enemy's designated calf, they would be severely damaged, but Malashenko would not be able to do it for the sake of the formation.
And ordering to slow down is a contradictory dilemma, with no other options available.
Even if Malashenko, half of his body hanging outside the turret, was so anxious that his buttocks were on fire, it was the same.