Steel Soviet Union

Kulbalov, who did not want to report his failure to complete the task to his comrade commander, tried his best while heading south.

The entire 610-kilometer straight-line distance on the map took only two and a half days to complete, even though Kulbalov was forced to march on a fully mechanized route.

On average, the distance shown on the map is 244 kilometers covered in one day, which really shocked Malashenko when he received the news.

Of course, running like this is not without cost.

The price was that there were hundreds of various armored combat vehicles abandoned halfway due to breakdown and needing repairs. This is a very terrifying number, and of course it has a considerable impact on the actual combat effectiveness of the Kulbalov Division.

Most of the vehicles that can be repaired in the short term are continuously followed up and repaired by the maintenance troops left by Kulbalov. As soon as it is repaired, it will immediately set off on the road to catch up with the large army, but sometimes it will happen that it is broken again before it can catch up with the large army after repairing.

I had no choice but to wait for the maintenance team behind to catch up and repair it again. Stopping and repairing it was like patching my crotch.

The good news is that Kulbalov, who was standing on the high ground on the outskirts of the city, raised his telescope and looked around, and immediately saw the shadows of several ships moored in the port, including transport ships.

This clearly proves that Kulbalov's trip was not in vain. No matter whether the Japanese army is now loaded or not, Kulbalov has made up his mind that the Japanese will not let the Japanese escape again once they get here.

"Comrade Commander has called back."

Kulbalov, who knew that the person behind him was the chief of staff without looking back, still maintained his posture of holding a telescope and looking into the city, and replied immediately.

"How to say?"

"Comrade Commander asked us to organize our troops to launch an effective offensive as soon as possible to seize control of the port area and prevent the Japanese army from completing the mission. If the Japanese army in the city dares to resist, they can be wiped out, but we must pay attention to civilian casualties and be careful. Attack the city with heavy firepower.”

"There is also an additional order. If the Japanese transport ship flees with its cargo, our ground troops will not be able to arrive in time to intercept it. If necessary, shelling can be launched on the Japanese transport ship to sink it in the harbor. Under no circumstances should it be allowed to escape with its cargo. , but the first priority is still to try to capture the target intact.”

After listening to the chief of staff's truthful report, Kulbalov put down the telescope in his hand and turned around to think for a moment, and then asked.

"What's the current situation of the artillery unit?"

"Not very good, Comrade Commander."

He took out the map from the document bag he was carrying, came to Kulbalov's side and spread it out. The chief of staff pointed at the rough path on it and continued to add.

"Although we have given priority to protecting our artillery units, as you know, our self-propelled artillery is huge and heavy. They are all heavy artillery."

"So far, only about 30% of the artillery has arrived with the vanguard. It is estimated that by tomorrow morning, this number will reach 70%. Most of the artillery is either in a hurry or has broken down halfway, Comrade Division Commander."

"That is to say, whether it is artillery or offensive troops, we can only organize an offensive equivalent to the regiment level now, is that right?"

The strength of a heavy-duty synthetic division could only be scraped together for a regiment-level offensive. Knowing that this was quite embarrassing, the chief of staff thought for a moment and found that this was indeed the case, and then nodded to Kulbalov in response.

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander. But the follow-up troops are still arriving in a steady stream, and our strength is increasing rapidly. It is estimated that by this time tomorrow, in 24 hours we will be able to basically gather all the troops that can arrive, at least It can have 70% of the combat power at full strength.”

"24 hours, 24 hours? It's a pity that the enemy will not give us such a long time. We cannot pin our hopes of victory on the enemy not to escape."

Before he finished speaking, Kulbalov had already handed over his telescope, pointed in the direction of the underground port, and then spoke.

"Over there, look at the port. These Japanese troops are quite impressive. They have 2 destroyers and 2 transport ships. I checked the models according to the identification manual. They are Akizuki-class destroyers of the Japanese Navy."

"This thing has 4 twin 100mm main gun turrets, a total of 8 main guns. In addition, there are at least 28 more 25mm anti-aircraft guns. With so many guns on a small ship, it is like a fire hedgehog. , one ship was already in some trouble, and now there are two ships in the port.”

"If we don't knock out these two damn broken ships, our troops will be directly exposed to the enemy's naval gun fire. The density of this firepower is too great. Once within the range, even heavy tanks can't resist it. We must Kill them before the ground troops attack."

The chief of staff, holding the division commander's telescope, could clearly see the shadows of ships in the port. From the leader's division to the current leader's army, he had fought countless battles and defeated various enemies.

However, it was the first time for him to encounter a battle like "Army vs. Navy". The Chief of Staff also found it difficult and agreed with the views of Comrade Division Commander. After thinking for a while, he immediately expressed his thoughts.

"I think we should organize artillery as soon as possible to seize the opportunity. Comrade division commander, bomb the enemy before they fire on us."

"There are many highlands outside the city. We can use this to carry out anti-slope strikes. We can deploy artillery observation posts on the highlands, deploy artillery firing positions on the anti-slopes of the highlands, and use large-angle direct artillery fire to attack Japanese destroyers parked in the harbor."

"This will not only ensure our own survivability, but also have a better strike effect. The shells falling at a large angle will directly hit the deck of the Japanese destroyer, and a large-caliber shell can destroy a large number of equipment and equipment on the deck. personnel."

"It would be better if it directly hits the Japanese bridge. The destroyer has almost no armor protection and relies entirely on structural resistance. As long as it directly hits the bridge, one shot can kill the entire Japanese command layer on the ship."

The chief of staff had also made a thorough review of the enemy navy's situation before coming, and had specifically studied how to better destroy the Japanese navy's destroyers by leading the army.

Kulbalov, who felt that this plan was feasible, raised his hand and looked at his watch, and knowing that it was not too late, he immediately gave the order.

"Assemble all existing artillery units to deploy firing positions, and start the bombardment in half an hour. Prioritize the fire on the two destroyers to sink them. Don't fire on the transport ships for the time being, and wait for my order."

"The ground troops are preparing for the offensive simultaneously. They are also gathering all the troops that have arrived so far and starting from the southeast corner of the city suburbs to attack the port. The terrain here is relatively open and there are not many buildings, which is most suitable for troops to deploy."

"Tanks and infantry fighting vehicles rush into the port! Drive all those who are stubbornly resisting into the sea. Under no circumstances can we let these Japanese troops escape!"