Steel Soviet Union

Battle of Time and Space Chapter 2: Beyond the Door

"What to do with this thing? General."

"Are you stupid? How to deal with it? This must be a trick played by the Russians to fool people. They almost lost and want to scare us away. Even children will not believe this kind of trick. I think it is better to just kill this piece of copper It’s better if the broken iron is smashed.”

"."

The staff officers and officers under him were all talking about the thing on the table in front of them, but Manstein, who had the power to make the decision, remained silent. After thinking about it again and again, he finally asked a question that everyone present was unexpected. The problem.

“Do the Russians have a marshal named Malashenko?”

"."

Manstein's answer was that the surrounding officers looked at each other in confusion and no one answered. In the end, it was the chief of staff who took the initiative to give a basically certain answer.

"Probably not, General."

"None of the current Russians and those who may be promoted to marshal have ever heard of a person named Malashenko. I also think this is a deception trick by the Russians. Although there are many weird things, we should not Do what the Russians want."

"You mean to maintain the offensive and continue the attack?"

Manstein's answer was an unthinking nod from the chief of staff. He had already hit this point. How could he give up so easily because of a little uncertainty?

Manstein, who had received an affirmative answer, was also thinking about it. Some things were indeed strange, but it would be even more ridiculous to be intimidated by the Russians.

"Send the order to continue the attack and drive the Russians into the sea. Regardless of whether the Russians have reinforcements or not, it is too late to say anything now."

When Manstein gave the order, the German troops in front who were still bombarding the city with artillery fire immediately took action. Armored troops and large groups of infantry swarmed towards the enemy's already dilapidated defense line. Victory seemed to be within easy reach and was just waiting to be won. .

At the same time, on the other side, Malashenko, who was in the cluster headquarters, had also received news that the German army had resumed its offensive again.

“He who digs his own grave will never know that it is he who is about to lie in it.”

"Stop talking nonsense to these scumbags and attack immediately, Kurbalov. Lead your troops through the gate and use the blood of these scumbags to honor our fallen comrades."

"Yes, Comrade Marshal."

After receiving the exact order, Iushkin immediately went to execute it. Soon, huge changes on the battlefield fell on the German army like an unstoppable storm.

"Damn it! Hans, that's... what's that? I've never seen such a big plane!"

"One, two, three, four suns! That damn thing has four engines! Wait, there are red stars on the wings, it's not our plane! It's the Russians!"

At the German air security post on the ground, two German soldiers holding binoculars were deeply shocked by this unusually huge four-engine strategic bomber.

The red stars on the wings shone bright silver in the sun, which made the two German soldiers who initially mistakenly thought that the aircraft belonged to their own side shouted something bad.

"Command! This is the No. 3 air defense post. There are Russian heavy bombers in the sky! They are very big, so big that I have never seen them before! There are many of them, at least thirty! They are attacking from the southwest, and they are almost there. To the top of my head!”

"Damn it! The Russians are dropping bombs! Take cover!!!"

woo woo woo woo--

The German soldier, who was holding the microphone in his hand and making an urgent report to his superiors, had not had time to finish the call. Another German soldier beside him, who saw the enemy planes starting to drop bombs, was already pulling his arm and shouting to run away and hide.

No matter how the German troops on the ground reacted or evaded, the Tu-95 strategic bombers arranged in dense formations for carpet bombing remained unmoved. Strings of FAB-500 aerial bombs fell like rain all over the sky. Yes, roaring straight towards the German troops who were fleeing and hiding on the ground.

Boom boom boom boom——

Every 500 kilogram aerial bomb is powerful enough. Any ground target, whether it is a tank, infantry, a position, or a temporary bunker, is equal to its 250 kilogram charge and there is no difference.

Amidst the roaring sounds and the soaring flames, even the wailing sounds were annihilated, leaving no trace of a struggle.

"What a hell! Where did these Russian bombers come from!? Why was there no early warning or response at all!?"

In the German command post, Manstein, who was overwhelmed by the urgent battle reports, couldn't help but get angry.

I can't imagine what Hermann Meyer's Air Force is doing to allow so many Russian bombers to swagger in and out of the battlefield and conduct intensive bombing.

The good news is that the Russian bombers did not come straight to Manstein's headquarters. Otherwise, Manstein, who was frightened for a while, estimated that he would be a pile of flesh and dust by now.

The bad news is that the Russians' bombing intensity and amount of bombs dropped are unprecedented. I have never heard of the Russians having such a terrifying large-scale bombing capability. Coupled with the fact that the air attack was unexpected and unprepared, the casualties reported by the German frontline troops were soaring exponentially.

There is no need to say anything about attacking the Russians just like this. It is difficult to protect ourselves, so we should think about how to retreat and reorganize.

Manstein, who could afford to take it on, knew he could no longer hesitate and must take action before the Russians might launch more bombings.

But he didn't expect that as he was about to give the order, even more shocking bad news would follow.

"General, it's bad! The forward troops reported a strong counterattack by the Russian ground forces. The Russian troops transferred from nowhere are attacking across the board, as if they appeared out of thin air! And moreover"

Looking at the incoherent speech of the staff in front of him, Manstein, who couldn't bear the panic, immediately forced the order.

"Gather your language before we speak! Major! Speak clearly. What's going on!? And what!?"

"And the Russians have invested a lot of unprecedented weapons and equipment, tanks, submachine guns, and flying and flaming artillery shells. There are too many new weapons that we have never seen before."

"."

When Manstein, who was trembling, heard this, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

All kinds of strange and weird things are happening one after another, and now it is completely beyond common sense. If we don't do something quickly, we may risk losing this battle.

Knowing that he could no longer hesitate any longer, Manstein immediately ordered a retreat to regroup and organize defenses. He did not want to attack for the time being and had to resist the Russian counterattack first. Don't think about engaging in "offense against attack" with the Russians after you have just suffered a major bombing. If you dare to do this, it is simply because you don't have enough casualties, not enough losses, and not losing fast enough.

There is still a certain delay and lag in Manstein's understanding of the front line. Many situations can only be understood from written descriptions and oral reports.

This was not the case for the German troops on the front line of the battlefield. They had been beaten to the point of doubting their lives under the enemy's ferocious and violent offensive.