Malashenko couldn't guess what urgent matter Comrade Political Commissar wanted to find him, but since it was Comrade Political Commissar who was looking for him, it must be really urgent. Otherwise, he would not know that he was commanding the troops and was in contact with Germany.
When the enemy was fighting, he sent a radio call over. Comrade Comrade Political Commissar was not a person who knew no sense of proportion. He knew that this would inevitably affect Malashenko's command of the battle and distract his attention.
It is precisely because he is aware of this that Malashenko knows exactly what he should do next.
"I understand, I will contact you later, please wait for me for two minutes."
After saying that, Malashenko hung up the radio without waiting for a reply, turned to adjust the radio station and connected to another channel.
"Lavery, you come to take overall command. I need to leave the battle for a while. Comrade Political Commissar will make an emergency call."
At this moment, Lavrinenko was with Kulbalov's central group, responsible for the battle on the main frontal battlefield, and was attacking the Germans' defensive positions in depth.
Hearing Malashenko's call, Lavrinenko, who had no time to ask, responded without thinking too much.
"I know, be careful and contact me anytime if you need anything."
"Received, call ended."
Putting down the radio transmitter in his hand, Malashenko immediately began to direct his vehicle to retreat. Together with the guard companies who were escorting the division commander's command vehicle to coordinate the attack, they also followed the usual battlefield regulations as required.
Withdrew with Malashenko.
This has nothing to do with whether the battle is progressing smoothly or not. It is just that the division-directed guard tank company accompanying Malashenko is charging beside the comrade of the division commander who is on the front line and personally commanding the battle on the battlefield. The last layer relies on the protective barrier.
As long as Malashenko goes to the battlefield, appears on the front line in his command vehicle, directly participates in the battle and directs the battle, then the guard company must always follow him, like a continuous shadow.
This is not only stated in the combat doctrine, but also requested personally by Comrade Political Commissar. It is a matter of principle that cannot be ignored. If it cannot be done, or Malashenko does not agree to do this, then Comrade Political Commissar will have to do it under the command of the division commander.
Comrades should give a good report to their superiors on whether they should sit in the rear and command, or should lead the troops to charge on the front line.
Other things can be discounted, but not this matter.
Malashenko also understood the reason for this. In the final analysis, it was all because of himself, so he didn't worry too much and followed the wishes of the political commissar.
However, what Malashenko did not expect, who did not think too much, was that the dozen heavy tanks headed by his command vehicle suddenly stopped at the final distance when they were about to rush into the German position, and then withdrew.
This situation immediately attracted the attention of someone on the opposite side who happened to see this scene.
"General, the Russians are retreating! They... they suddenly withdrew a group of heavy tanks, a lot of them!"
Although the first defensive position is already crumbling, it has not yet been truly breached.
There are very few anti-tank firepower points remaining on the left wing of the position, and they are almost defenseless against the Russian mechanized group rushing towards them at full speed. Especially those with high mobility and heavy armor, they will be trampled to death.
The is6 heavy tank group was rushing forward with the accelerator all the way. The shabby anti-tank weapons in the hands of the Germans on the position were of no use at all.
Logically speaking, shouldn't this be a good time to take advantage of the strength of the troops, charge into the enemy's position in one go, and win a complete victory? Or is it that the Russians are already confident and feel that it is a waste to use so many troops to push forward in one go?
How about saving some diesel fuel and mechanized marching hours and letting the withdrawn tanks stay behind to enjoy the scenery?
The chief of staff, whose tone was inevitably a little surprised, couldn't figure it out, but he spoke quickly and waited. He was standing aside and had withdrawn to the forward command post of the second line of defense. He also saw the strange movement of the left-wing Soviet mechanized cluster.
Manteuffel's answer.
"I saw that the situation of the Russians was very abnormal."
"Their losses were not significant. They did not need to retreat at all. The remaining large forces are still continuing to charge and attack, and now is the time to concentrate their forces."
"Now that we are withdrawing a highly mobile heavy tank unit, the Russians may be plotting some new plot. Inform all units to be prepared. The Russians may soon rush towards our lateral defenses.
I have a hunch that a certain commander on the opposite side may be impatient for victory."
Based on his own experience analysis, Manteuffel believed that this was the Soviet commander on the opposite side planning to start an early attack, at least to first explore the weaknesses of the second line of defense. In order to conquer the first line of defense immediately, and follow
As for the follow-up large forces that rushed over, they were ready, so this small detachment of Soviet heavy tanks should be heading towards the second line of defense soon.
So this can mean at least two things.
First, the Soviet army did not plan to take a break to catch their breath after winning the first stage of the offensive. There was a high probability that they would rush directly to the second line of defense without stopping and pursue the victory. Otherwise, they would not have started to divide their troops in such a hurry.
Prepare for a tentative attack.
Secondly, this also shows that the time left for you to make use of is more urgent. Don't expect that the Russians can take a short rest to strengthen their defenses. The possibility that you can wait for the reinforcements of the Skeleton Division arrives again.
There are a few more such things.
Keep thinking along this line of thinking, and I am convinced that my conclusion should be consistent with Manteuffel. Naturally, I will also make some adjustments to the subsequent tactical arrangements and defensive deployment, which will directly affect the success or failure of the battle.
, must adapt to changes.
At the same time, Malashenko, who had just retreated a few hundred meters to a relatively safe area, had no idea what the German commander on the opposite side was thinking in his head, let alone the simple rearguard that he didn't even care about.
Retreating will make the opponent think so much, and it is also impossible to realize that it will have a direct impact on the subsequent battle.
Malashenko, who was holding a radio transmitter in his hand, was still busy communicating urgently with his political commissar comrades. He couldn't think about the nonsense of the Germans opposite him.
"What are you talking about? There are Germans too!? Those bastards from the Skeleton Division are also coming from the north???"
He originally thought that he would be lucky to catch the scoundrels of the Grossdeutschland Division and give them a good beating, but Malashenko did not expect that some idiots would come to his door at this time. On the other end of the radio, with the old man
The political commissar comrades who held the online meeting gave very convincing answers.
"There is no mistake. The comrades in the intelligence have just confirmed the latest situation. The group of SS troops coming all the way south from the north is the Skeleton Division. They are now less than 20 kilometers away from the battlefield where you are in a straight line.