After all, the story with Gil can only be regarded as a brief interlude in Malashenko's busy day.
Regardless of the outcome, Malashenko has his own responsibilities that he must bear and what he must do must be completed, just as Comrade Political Commissar came here specifically for this purpose.
"Are you in good condition?"
Comrade Political Commissar opened his mouth to ask questions, and Malashenko, who had just thrown the ashtray, also closed his eyes and concentrated, then raised his head and asked rhetorically.
"Fortunately, it doesn't have any impact. Tell me, what's the matter?"
For Malashenko, who has long been accustomed to self-regulation, the episode that just happened was actually not a big deal, and it was far from enough to cause Malashenko to lose his composure.
The political commissar who saw this scene also nodded, choosing to believe Malashenko's self-judgment, then picked up the folder at hand, pulled out one of the reports and held it in the palm of his hand.
"Well, there is something I want to confirm with you first."
"Towards the end of the battle in the evening, the sound of artillery suddenly came from the city and lasted for about ten minutes. What was going on?"
"The sound of gunfire? Oh, you're talking about that."
Of course Malashenko knew what Comrade Comrade Political Commissar was referring to.
That group of somewhat obstructive American journalists were driven out of the area near the firing line because of this bad thing. Malashenko also had to arrange someone to protect this group of guys who came here to make big news just for money and reputation.
, I still feel uncomfortable thinking about it now, but it doesn’t affect Malashenko’s ability to complete his mission.
"It's not a big deal, just a little surprise."
"In a small square close to the firing line, there were several surviving German artillery trucks, open-top self-propelled artillery. In order to resist the attack of the siege detachment, the Germans used this artillery to fire and shell. The first one to meet them
The attack did make our people a little confused. To be honest, we didn't expect to encounter the organic German direct-fire artillery at this time."
"Fortunately, the divisional artillery positions on the highlands on the outskirts of the city were on standby. The situation was urgent at that time, so I crossed the division headquarters and directly issued the counter-artillery combat order. It happened that I had previously captured the urban defense map from the Germans, and based on the incoming artillery fire
The direction quickly determined the location of the enemy artillery position and obtained the coordinates."
"You probably know what happened after that. It was a ping-pong-pong-pong-pong artillery battle. No, it wasn't even an artillery battle. It should be said to be a one-sided artillery massacre, and then the Germans' broken cannons were wiped out. They were caught.
The German prisoners did admit that they had deployed a small self-propelled artillery unit in the small square where the artillery fire hit. It seems that they were lucky this time and caught the right one."
The situation described by Malashenko basically completed the general situation that the political commissar knew in advance, and was consistent with what the political commissar had guessed.
After confirming this small matter, the political commissar nodded, then handed the prepared documents in front of Malashenko, and continued to speak.
"Let's take a look at the latest combat order issued by the Army Group Headquarters. Comrade Commander asked us to prepare for an attack tomorrow."
"Preparing for an attack? So soon? I thought it would take two days before we really planned to take action."
The so-called "preparation for attack" does not refer to the series of "small fights" that Malashenko is currently conducting with the division organization as the organizer. The scale of the participating troops invested in the battle is unprecedented, and it is only a regiment-level battle.
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Obviously, what Chuikov calls an "attack preparation" operation can only be a full-scale attack at the group army level, and confront the German copycats head-on, and do it for real.
The actual result was just as Malashenko expected. The combat order issued by the Army Group Headquarters was concise and concise.
To put it simply, Malashenko's leading division is required to make complete offensive preparations tomorrow, deploy division-level combat troops, and make a decisive breakthrough in the main offensive direction.
Because among the various units participating in this combat operation, Malashenko's leader division is the absolute main force with the best geographical location, the best offensive starting position, the strongest combat effectiveness, and the richest combat experience. As the offensive force
The number one sharp knife is naturally his duty.
This situation was not unexpected. Malashenko, who had been mentally prepared for it, knew that this day would come.
As the implementer, Malashenko is not repelled by this, and is even gearing up to do something big. However, there are indeed some questions that still need to be answered.
"It didn't say the attack time, Group Army Headquarters. No, should it be said that the Front Army Headquarters hasn't decided yet?"
Such a large-scale offensive must not be carried out by Chuikov's army alone. This kind of large-scale offensive can affect the whole body. Looking at the entire city of Berlin, there is only one person who has the authority to make such a decision and issue an order. In addition to
There was no one other than Zhukov who was at the front headquarters.
"We haven't said anything yet. It's probably because of the confidentiality policy, but it may also be that it hasn't been finalized yet. We just want to prepare for war first."
"The rumor is that the transportation of combat readiness materials has almost been completed in the past two days, and all participating troops participating in the Battle of Berlin have basically arrived at their respective preset positions and deployed offensive starting positions."
"If we also take into account that it is impossible to put all the troops into the city in one go and fully launch the siege street battle, in fact, the first stage of the peripheral siege operation does not require 100% of the complete force. So I guess that the start of the battle
The time may be two days after tomorrow, and it should not be more than the day after tomorrow at the latest. If it is delayed any longer, the gains it can bring to the offense will have marginal effects and become less and less."
Comrade Political Commissar made sense, and Malashenko nodded slowly in agreement.
However, how to complete the preparations for the battle and how to fight the actual battle is another matter that needs to be carefully considered.
"Let's do it this way. I'll take Kulbalov back to the town in the evening, and you can gather the others over there, and we'll have a meeting to discuss this matter."
Malashenko, who was talking and watching, was still looking through other documents that Comrade Political Commissar had just handed over, but Comrade Political Commissar thought of another real problem that needed to be finalized, and then asked Malashenko another question.
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"Then do you want the troops to continue to expand the offensive tomorrow? Or do you want to cease fire for one day to prepare for the attack?"
"Ceasefire? Well, that may not be necessary."
He casually threw the document on the table. Malashenko, who had already tried out the weight of the German in today's battle, now has a lot of experience.
"The game is picking up now, and the Germans are very willing to compete with us for every inch of territory. This is a good thing."
"It is a good thing to block these scum in the outer city area where the defense system is relatively weak, and to destroy them as much as possible. It also reduces the trouble for ourselves. The effect of cutting sausages today is quite good, and there are no less Germans killed than yesterday. We
The casualties are also lower than yesterday. It not only expands the control area but also kills the enemy's effective forces. The important thing is that the cost is not high. Why should I refuse such a good thing?"
"We will continue to fight tomorrow. I want these German guys to be in panic all day long. Their nerves are tense every day, and they will hit them hard every day with a small hammer. The deployment of regiment-level combat troops will not affect our offensive preparations. The remaining
Just carry out what the large troops should do, as usual. From another perspective, this can actually paralyze the enemy, which is beneficial in all aspects."
"Besides, if you suddenly stop attacking and stop even though you have the advantage, then I think the nervous guys on the other side will be more careful now."