Steel Soviet Union

The reporting phone call on the night of August 23 finally resulted in Malashenko not knowing what to say.

In view of the fact that Malashenko's 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment has suffered heavy losses recently and has always insisted on the front line of the fierce battle, Vasilevsky finally issued the order after comprehensive discussions and careful consideration with Commander Yereomenko. Let Malashenko's troops temporarily withdraw deeper into the city to avoid the German edge.

On the phone, Vasilevsky told Malashenko that some tank units that had been regrouped after being defeated on the front line had begun to take shape. In addition, there were some tanks that were damaged on the battlefield or temporarily disabled due to mechanical failures. The tanks that have been put into battle are currently seizing the time to recover and repair them so they can be put to use soon.

"There are still many battles to be fought, and more brutal and fierce battles are waiting for us. Use this last precious time to prepare, Malashenko, I hope the answer waiting for me is that you are ready. "When you and your troops are needed most."

Malashenko, who was holding the phone in his hand, had no expression on his face.

In just three months, Malashenko's First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment lost at least more than 120 tanks.

The tank crew members changed one after another, and Malashenko was a little dizzy with the unfamiliar faces that came one after another. He even had no time to remember their names.

After a cruel and unusual blocking battle at the tractor factory, he had to go through the same thing again. Malashenko, who was already numb to this, finally just spoke softly and replied to Vasilevskiy with some simple responses, and rushed to the scene before dawn. The position handover work has been completed with the two infantry divisions that came to change defenses.

Malashenko squatted on the roadside of the ruins, holding a cigarette with green smoke that had just been lit in his mouth. What rumbled past him was the First Guards heavy tank that had once again suffered heavy losses and lost nearly half of its breakthrough. Regiment, and striding past on the street in front of them were a large number of Red Army infantry division troops with high morale.

"It would be more appropriate to leave the defensive task to them. It would be disadvantageous for us to sink our feet into the fixed defensive position of the tractor factory. Let the troops take a good rest and prepare for the next battle. In the past few months, we have It’s really exhausting.”

It was political commissar Petrov who stood next to Malashenko and started persuading him. Whenever Malashenko seemed lost or dazed, he would always be the first to stand up and persuade him.

Malashenko, who beat the brains out of a dog with the German army in this small tractor factory, may be unwilling to do so, but it may also be for other reasons.

All in all, even Malashenko himself at this moment was not sure why he felt a little disappointed at being ordered to be removed from the front line.

"It's the same wherever we go, Comrade Comrade Comrade. We always have to keep fighting in the city, and the good old days of launching attacks on the Germans on the open grasslands are gone forever. We have to prepare the troops for their actions. Preparation for war in the city."

He took a long puff of the cigarette butt in his mouth, then threw it on the ground and stamped it out with his foot.

Malashenko knew very well that being removed from the front line this time was probably the last time he waved goodbye to fighting in an open area.

The next time he obeys the order and goes to the battlefield, what awaits him is probably a difficult battle with the German army fighting for every house among the ruins.

In accordance with the order, he withdrew deeper into the city to rest and wait for replenishment. In the past few days, Malashenko has been shuttling back and forth between the front army headquarters and his regiment headquarters.

The regiment headquarters was basically busy with matters related to the reorganization and reorganization of the troops. As for the front army headquarters, there were some meetings about the specific use and details of tank units in urban operations. Malashenko was regarded as a tank expert. Special invitations were made to attend and express their opinions.

Meetings at this level are not high-level, and Vasilevsky and Yeremenko generally do not host them in person. At most, the director of the Operations Department or the chief of staff of the front army comes to attend and preside over the meeting and briefly speak a few words.

Most of the people who came to attend the meeting were tank unit commanders at the brigade, division, and deputy corps levels. The lowest military rank was colonel. There was only one lieutenant colonel commander like Malashenko who came to attend the meeting.

Even though the German army has not yet invaded the city, the Stalingrad Front Army Headquarters, which had foreseen the dark clouds coming over the city, had already thought about how to use the tank troops in urban operations.

No one knows how to deal with this new combat environment and mode. It is obviously a big problem to transform the great plains movement and assault tank combat environment that have worked well in the past into combat in a narrow city, but it is a big problem for those who have traveled through time with the memories of future generations. Malashenko is obviously not within the framework of this big issue.

Malashenko, who has a high enough voice, put forward his own unique suggestions at the meeting, which mainly included breaking up the large-scale tank units into parts, and cooperating with infantry, assault engineers and other arms to form combat teams and work closely together. Cooperate and be responsible for solving various sporadic troublesome battles in the small and medium-sized roads and alleys in the city.

For urban main roads and wider areas such as factories and railway stations that are easy to defend and difficult to attack, Malashenko also recommended not to use large-scale tank troops to charge in clusters.

No matter how wide the main roads in the city are, they cannot accommodate dozens or hundreds of tanks charging at the same time. The wreckage of the tanks destroyed in the front can only block the road and the line of sight of the tanks behind, making more tanks become live targets for the German anti-tank firepower.

For these occasions that are still wide enough to accommodate small-scale tanks fighting collectively, Malashenko suggested that tank units at the platoon and company level can be used as the basic combat organization, combined with company, battalion or more infantry to cooperate in combat and launch offensives, which can achieve more effective results than a large group of iron turtles blocking the land at the same time.

In short, Malashenko emphasized that as little as possible should be invested in collective combat of whole-organization and large-scale cluster tank units in limited urban space under the premise of winning victory.

Malashenko still remembers that when he was studying abroad at Moscow University in his later life, it was clearly written in the war history materials he read in the school library.

The 26 non-monkey T72 main battle tanks of the 131st Russian Brigade advanced alone in the street fighting in Grozny. A large number of iron turtles headed straight for the central city and the railway station without the support of infantry.

Unexpectedly, they were beaten to a pulp by the Chechen rebels. All 26 T72 main battle tanks were "manned in space" and their heads were blown off. In the end, the whole army was annihilated.