Steel Soviet Union

It cannot be said that Malashenko has been living well and comfortably in the past two days.

The incident of forcibly joining the 502nd Battalion was over because of the help of Comrade Political Commissar. However, Malashenko had other things that made him feel a little unhappy: the long-awaited battle was postponed. It was forced to be postponed. That kind of thing.

The offensive of the friendly troops on the front line was not smooth sailing. It was as if the more it stabbed the Germans in the heart, the more tenacious and fierce the resistance became. The closer to Berlin, every kilometer advanced would face a geometric increase in combat pressure.

The place that Zhukov ordered Malashenko to lead his troops to seize is known as the last big lock to Berlin: the Zero Heights. The German field troops entrenched in its surrounding areas have not yet been completely eliminated. That is to say The offensive road leading to the Zelo Highlands is still not completely clear, which means that it has not yet reached the "agreed time" when Zhukov asked Malashenko to appear.

In Malashenko's view, this incident is actually quite outrageous.

What kind of place is Zero Highlands?

In the existing history, because the surrounding area was bare and flat and there was no danger to defend, the German army had no choice but to choose this place to fight in a last-ditch battle to defend a gate-like strategic location leading to the final attack route to Berlin. Huge amounts of defensive troops were continuously invested here to try to resist the Soviet attack and ensure that Berlin was not directly bathed in offensive artillery fire.

But in this timeline, things are slightly different.

The fierce battle may indeed have to wait until they reach the Zero Highlands before starting, but one thing that can be confirmed is that the intensity of the fighting below the Zero Highlands is already considerable.

The German army mobilized a large number of front-line troops in this area, including armored troops, infantry troops, and the artillery troops, which were quite impressive considering the current situation of the German army, but were still being beaten by the Red Army artillery. They showed themselves to be fighting to the death. In the area below the Zero Highlands, a field battle began with the leading troops of the Red Army.

Relying on the long-range support artillery fire from the Zero Highlands, the German field group under the Zero Highlands, which was a mess, actually fought well. Although it was impossible to repel the Red Army's attack, and it was impossible to cause unbearable losses to the opponent and resolve the crisis, it did cause a lot of trouble to the Red Army's leading troops responsible for the attack.

The more anxious they are to push forward, clear out the remaining enemies, and open the offensive path to the high ground to complete the task, the more the Germans below the high ground who are unwilling to leave seem to be getting more and more angry, like a piece of brown sugar that they can't shake off. You can't chew it up even if you drop it. At least for a while, it's very difficult to chew it up as quickly as possible.

Seeing the fierce fighting in front, he led his troops behind to watch the fighting and sat on the bench. To say that Malashenko was not anxious would be a lie. He was as anxious as a little cat scratching his head and wanted to change immediately. Man, let the leader come forward. I'm sure you can take care of that group of German bugs below the high ground who don't know the heights of the sky.

But some things are like this, and it’s useless to rush.

Zhukov hoped that at the most critical moment, the leading division would be thrown into the battle in its fullest and most complete posture, so that he could win what was expected to be the most arduous battle in one go, break the Berlin Lock, and open up the road to the final general attack on Berlin.

Putting the leader division into the battlefield prematurely will not only consume the offensive energy of the leader division and exhaust the troops, but may even allow the enemy on the high ground to learn the news of the leader division's appearance in advance and be prepared, thereby losing the ability to launch the leader division in a surprise attack. The kind of surprise and unpreparedness that enter the battlefield.

No matter how you say it, an order is an order, and Malashenko has to wait for the time being. This is also the source of the trouble that Comrade Ma has been having in the past two days.

"You said we're all here, why can't we go up now to attack the main force? I understand that Comrade Marshal wants us to suddenly replace the forward attack force and appear on the battlefield to catch the Germans on the high ground by surprise. But, but I think It doesn't make any difference to rush forward and fight all the way to the high ground? It seems, after all, this is about strength, we have the ability to win that damn place."

Malashenko was a little unsure of himself when he said this, let alone the political commissar sitting across the table who smiled faintly.

"You don't have the confidence to speak for yourself. If I give you a chance to ask for a battle, you will definitely be driven back by Comrade Commander. Do you believe it?"

""

Although Malashenko was silent, his frustrated expression revealed his true thoughts. The political commissar comrade who saw this scene immediately continued.

"Comrade Commander has his own considerations. We just need to execute the order. And I think the time when we need to go on stage will come soon. It won't be long."

""

Malashenko was silent at first, but seemed to be a little unconvinced, and then blurted out unreasonable words.

"Really? I don't read much, don't lie to me."

"What?"

Comrade Comrade Political Commissar, a native of this era, could not understand Malashenko's cold jokes from the 21st century. Looking at Malashenko's expression, he did not look like he was serious and could only treat it as such. Lively jokes.

"In short, there is no other way but to wait. When I went to the front headquarters for a regular meeting in the morning, I also inquired about the news. I heard that the Germans under the high ground had obvious signs of shrinking the front and starting to retreat towards the high ground. , I guess their remaining troops will soon be unable to hold on, and the next step will be"

"Comrade division commander, comrade political commissar, urgent call from the front army headquarters!"

A figure coming quickly with a report interrupted Commissar Petrov's unfinished words.

Looking at the thin piece of paper held in the hands of the Communications Director, Comrade Political Commissar, who could roughly guess the content at this time, immediately turned his eyes, looked at Malashenko and raised the tea cup next to him. , take a sip.

"Would you like to guess what it says?"

He clearly said it was an urgent call, but he looked nonchalant. If Malashenko didn't know what Comrade Comrade Political Commissar meant, then spending so long together would have been in vain.

"I hope you're right, it's time to reveal the answer."

Taking the telegram from the hands of the communications director, he opened his hands and saw a few lines of short Russian text printed on it. The words without any redundancy brought only one piece of news.

"when?"

Seeing Malashenko's silly expression, he no longer had to guess the contents of the telegram. The political commissar who slowly put down his tea cup just stared at Malashenko, waiting for the answer.

"We'll leave early tomorrow morning and tonight."