A soldier's bounden duty is to obey orders, and knowing this, Kulbalov will naturally obey Malashenko's orders.
It's just that the use of heavy tanks for defense is indeed worthy of consideration. How to arrange the troops, whether to keep reserve teams, and how many reserve teams to keep are all issues worthy of consideration.
Although there had been a defensive battle in Kursk before, the situation at that time was completely different from now.
Not only is the overall military strength much larger than that then, but even the vital technical equipment has been completely replaced. It seems a bit inappropriate to use the tactics of the past to fight today's battle. For the sake of safety,
Kulbalov hopes to get more accurate and detailed orders from Malashenko.
"Uh, well..."
Without Comrade Political Commissar, all matters regarding command and tactics need to be decided by Malashenko alone.
Although Comrade Chief of Staff has excellent abilities and good work efficiency, compared with Comrade Political Commissar's independent role, it is still far behind, not even a little bit behind.
Malashenko, who knows this clearly in his heart, understands that now is the time for him to stand up and take charge of his own affairs. Regardless of whether he is willing to do so subjectively, he must do it. Even if difficulties arise, he must catch up with the ducks and force himself to stand up. There will be no failure or retreat.
Reasons for timidity.
"Let's do this. One of your regiments is reserved as a reserve force. The most elite troops must be reserved for the most critical moments before being used. Our division emphasizes a high degree of mobility and mechanization, and the infantry does not have many handy anti-tank guns.
Available. Leave the positional anti-tank mission to the Second and Third Regiments, but you must not take it lightly just because it gives you a temporary rest."
"On the contrary, once the Germans are in decline or I need you to attack, your group must use all their strength to press me up. You can make the Germans as miserable as you want, and you must never show mercy.
For the time being, the troops will be placed at the back of the left wing of the position. I will ask the 4th Guards Tank Brigade to help defend the same position on the right wing. Then you will have to cooperate in the battle."
Malashenko gave the answer almost without much hesitation. This is a solid tactic that does not have much new ideas but is a sure-fire way to win and rely on strength to speak for itself.
According to the usual behavior of the Germans, Malashenko estimates that the Germans, who were defeated in the frontal attack, will definitely try to encircle and encircle them, cutting off the back route. The premise is that the Germans really want to take a breath.
If you eat all of yourself.
Deploying heavy tank units with high mobility, heavy armor and heavy firepower on both sides of the position can effectively contain the spearhead of the German armored forces and ensure the security of the left and right flanks of the position.
In addition, Malashenko also has to consider that once the Germans give up the attack and start running away, all the tank units on hand must move up at the fastest speed and quickly launch a pursuit. A long snake formation
The marching procession is a taboo for military strategists at this time and must be absolutely avoided at this time.
Based on the dual considerations of tight defense and ease of pursuit, Malashenko finally made up his mind to execute this order.
Maybe this tactic is new wine in old bottles, and there is nothing new in changing the soup without changing the medicine, but the victory lies in the fact that the troops and technical equipment in the hands of Malashenko are definitely strong enough, and he is fully capable of fighting to the death with the German enemy in front of him.
of capital.
When you rely on hard power, you often don’t need high-end command skills. Didn’t the Americans who conquered the world in later generations say this? If the brain can kill the elephant, then why do you need a shotgun?
Strength is the most essential asset of self-confidence and arrogance, nothing else.
After receiving the specific plan from Malashenko, Kulbalov quickly took the order and left. At the same time, he was also responsible for conveying combat orders to several other regiment commanders. Time was so tight that Malashenko on this job
, there is no extra time to communicate everything one by one, and it is undoubtedly the most appropriate thing to hold a bullshit combat meeting and let Kulbalov, whom he trusts, do this.
"There isn't much time left, so get ready to get in the car and start driving..."
Malashenko, who felt that he had basically taken care of all the important matters, was about to go back to his car to make final preparations. Unexpectedly, at this moment, the chief of staff who had just reported to him
Colonel Dudabovsky suddenly trotted up to him again waving the telegraph newspaper in his hand.
"Comrade Division Commander, you have to take a look at this! The friendly forces in Highland 239 sent us a contact point report. They have learned about our timely support and combat situation from the front army headquarters, and expressed their gratitude to us for this."
"In addition, and most importantly, the field artillery group on Highland 239 can provide us with long-range artillery support, but the specific artillery coordinates must be reported by us to define the scope for them in advance."
"Because we just arrived and there is no telephone line, and the radio communication distance is not enough, we can only use telegraph. There is a certain message lag, so we can only use fixed bombardment coordinates, that's it."
"..."
Malashenko originally thought that the brothers on Highland 239 were now like mud Buddhas crossing the river and could not protect themselves, but he never expected that he would be able to provide help at the critical moment and provide him with some artillery support. This is completely worthy of his praise.
It was an unexpected surprise.
"What is the strength of the artillery on Highland 239? How many cannons are there and what are their specific calibers?"
To be honest, Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division was forced to abandon the powerful combat power of traditional towed artillery because it pursued a high level of mechanization.
In terms of the actual strength of Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division, such a large and elite mechanized heavy-arms unit was only supported by two battalions of artillery. This is like a Guards Tank Corps equipped with two
It's the same as the artillery of the battalion, which is actually a bit funny.
Malashenko is very aware of the shortcomings in artillery strength.
However, you cannot have your cake and eat it too. If you want high mobility and a high level of mechanization, those towed artillery units that are more troublesome to deploy and recover must be discarded and a trade-off must be made.
Under such circumstances, being able to receive unexpected long-range artillery support from Highland 239 was no less than a refreshing feeling for Malashenko.
Understanding the specific strength of the field artillery group on Highland 239 is a key detail that Malashenko must know in order to modify his combat plan.
The chief of staff, who guessed that Malashenko might ask this question, did not hesitate much and blurted out the specific details quickly without thinking.