There is a reason for Malashenko's worry. This does not mean that the division commander is worrying blindly about his comrades in the aviation force. Furthermore, Malashenko, who is currently wallowing in the mud and has too much to take care of, has no time to care.
How others do.
What Malashenko is really worried about is whether the Germans who brought a huge amount of technical equipment to the highlands without suffering any big losses, including the unknown self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, will treat their leader next
What trouble has the teacher caused that is difficult to solve?
Everyone knows the effect of converting anti-aircraft artillery into horizontal fire. Although the damage to thick-skinned heavy tanks is limited, the damage to light armored units and infantry is fatal.
Let’s put it this way, the current BMP43 infantry fighting vehicle of the Leader’s Division is very effective against light armored units and infantry soft targets. If it is replaced by the German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a rate of fire that is many times faster, it will have no effect at all.
Doubts will increase exponentially.
The killing principle of small-caliber rapid-fire weapons is very simple. Under the premise that the calibers are almost the same or the gap is very small, simply comparing the quality of firepower projection per unit time is enough to determine the outcome.
Judging from the descriptions reported by those Il-10 pilots, Malashenko estimated that this should be a small-caliber high-level dual-purpose cannon with a much faster rate of fire than the main gun of the BMP43 infantry fighting vehicle.
In fact, the reason is very simple. Not only can the pilots' report descriptions be used as the basis for judgment, some of them can be deduced using basic logic.
The 25mm main gun of the BMP43 infantry fighting vehicle is not a gadget born under high-tech technology. In essence, it is a product of pre-war scientific and technological research, whether it is the rate of fire, firepower, or design configuration and
The types of ammunition used followed tradition, and they did not expect that the low-altitude air defense pressure after the outbreak of war would be so great, let alone design accordingly.
And what about the German’s unknown new main gun?
It was a product of wartime technological research and development. It had sufficient experience and clear practical needs to finalize its design and development.
Malashenko knew very well that with the German cannon-making skills, as long as the heads of those little bastards hadn't been twitching, the brains had not been pulled out, and the iced black tea water was poured in with a big syringe, then his design would be impossible.
The new small-caliber rapid-fire cannon must be more powerful than the BMP43's main gun, and it can be said to be leading in almost all aspects of performance.
Although this was just his own speculation and analysis, Malashenko's current expression was not very good, so much so that even Lavrinenko, who was sitting next to him, noticed this strangeness.
"What's wrong with you? You look like you've eaten a fly. I mean, isn't it just one or two of the Germans' divisions that have gone up to the high ground? Tomorrow we will just clean it up together for him, and it just so happens that he can also attack Berlin to relieve us of the pressure."
"The more troops the Germans invest in the highlands, the less trouble we will encounter when we attack Berlin. Sooner or later, there are problems that have to be solved. It may be better to solve them on the highlands than to solve them in Berlin.
Much more. I will never forget how I survived those difficult days in Stalingrad. No matter what the propaganda said, it was an experience worse than life."
Although I don’t know what Malashenko is thinking, Lavrinenko’s analysis is not unreasonable.
Experiences like the Battle of Stalingrad are simply nightmares that haunt everyone who has experienced it and walked out of that ruined city alive.
The Red Army won, but the price was extremely painful and almost unbearable. Countless heroic defenders of the motherland and united civilians died unjustly and fell forever in the city that had been defended with countless blood sacrifices.
At the moment when the final victory is about to come, Lavrinenko does not want to have a more painful experience than this, and wants as many comrades as possible who have already come here to witness the moment of final victory with their own eyes.
.
The fewer German garrison forces in Berlin, the better. If possible, the more Germans lured by the fat and tender bait of Zero Heights, the better.
The more Germans die on this highland, the less pressure there will be to attack Berlin. After all, the Germans' dispatchable forces in the same war zone are fixed and limited. It cannot be said that a hundred thousand people died on the Zero Heights today.
Germans, use necromancy to immediately resurrect an army of 100,000 men in Berlin tomorrow, and make up for this in an instant.
Although highland offensive and defensive battles are difficult to fight, street battles in the city will only be more difficult to deal with. The Germans hiding in various corners of the city will make you go crazy. At the time of Stalingrad, it was even more difficult to fight.
The nightmare is even more entangled, and the difficulty is raised to a higher level.
After all, Stalingrad was a home-field battle at that time. Advantages such as familiarity with the terrain, local supplies, and mass support cannot be ignored, but Berlin City did not. On the contrary, these home-field advantages were given to the Germans.
Over there, the Red Army changed its role and became the Sixth Army.
Although the strength is not at the same level at all, the environment they face is the same.
Lavrinenko's idea was simply "If you can get the Germans out of the city, kill them as much as possible. The manpower and material resources and combat power consumed by staying in the city will only increase."
Although Lavrinenko's concerns are different from his own, Malashenko can also understand this and can reach an agreement with his good brother and best friend on this point of view. It can even be said that Lavrinenko
What Ko is worried about and what Malashenko is thinking actually have something in common.
Yes, Lavery is right.
Even if those German anti-aircraft vehicles are not solved on the high ground, these troubles will still not go away. It does not mean that if you don’t kill them on the high ground, these bastards will just surrender to you and use the new equipment.
Give it up and let you capture it.
As Lavrinenko said, the core problem will remain in the city if it is not solved in the highlands.
Just imagine, one vehicle and two XZ vehicles are hiding in the east of the city. There are Kraut anti-aircraft vehicles everywhere among the ruins and in the half-collapsed buildings next to the streets. Compared with the anti-aircraft vehicles on the high ground, which are still relatively unobstructed and easier to spot.
, which one is better to deal with between these two things?
The answer is undoubtedly that the latter is easier to deal with.
This is always a hurdle that cannot be bypassed directly. You have to face it even if you don't want to face it. In other words, you should be glad that you are facing it on the high ground instead of in the street fighting in the city.
At this point, Malashenko, who had finally figured it out and convinced himself, finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his brows that had been together gradually relaxed. Then he raised the corners of his mouth slightly and looked at the "initiator of all this" beside him.
"Lavrinenko.
"."
"Why are you staring at me? Is there something dirty on my face?"
Unlike some confused Lavrinenko who was confused, Malashenko's next expression was just one of relief and firm eyes, returning to his usual normal state.
"Nothing, it's just that I was thinking that you were right. We should be happy that the Germans sent more troops to reinforce the Zero Highlands. This is because they are digging their own graves with hoes."