Steel Soviet Union

Malashenko's tactical concept did not wait long for a response. A telegram from the front army headquarters confirmed the suspicions of Malashenko and the political commissar.

Now, the Cherkasy steel circle, which is constantly compressing and tightening, has been reduced to the last 8 kilometers in diameter.

It may sound relatively large, but you must know that this encirclement currently contains an armored corps of the Wehrmacht, plus an ace division of the Waffen SS, as well as a miscellaneous number of incompletely organized secondary units of the Wehrmacht, and or Ukrainian traitors who were forcibly recruited or simply volunteered to work for the Germans.

Counting the 20,000 troops that Malashenko eliminated from the Germans' existing combat strength, the front army headquarters estimates that there are still about 50,000 enemies left in the encirclement. Although the losses of various technical equipment are huge, they are still It won’t reach the point where everything is exhausted.

In other words, the Germans in the current encirclement still have the capital to fight. And it also has the last large field airport connected to the outside world: Cherkasy Airport. Although land transportation has long been cut off by the Red Army, this air corridor is still maintained.

The advantages of the current situation are similar to those in Stalingrad. The Sixth Army was barely hanging on to its last breath by relying on air transportation lines. The Germans in the Cherkasy encirclement are also in the same situation now.

However, the supplies needed by an army of about 50,000 people cannot be provided by an air corridor transportation line.

The air supremacy in the theater is now in the hands of the Red Army. Safari groups composed of fighter units will search for targets every day. Catching the German transport planes will inevitably lead to a head-grabbing battle.

What? You mean the Luftwaffe fighter escorts?

Don't be ridiculous. The Red Army couldn't defeat the Red Army in a large-scale air battle for air supremacy in the war zone. The loser even lost his pants. How do you expect him to keep a pair of socks? Even if the escort fighters dare to come, it will not have the slightest effect. At most, it will add a few more dazzling red stars to the vehicles of the fighter pilots, nothing more.

External reinforcements cannot come in, and it is inevitable for the Germans inside to break out.

There are many different ways to obtain intelligence, such as tongue grabbing and aerial reconnaissance. At present, they all show that the Germans are trying to tear a hole from the northern part of the encirclement and break out.

A key coordinate position was pointed to the highland named No. 239 on the theater map. This was the key obstacle that prevented the German army from escaping northward to break through. The telegram sent by the front army headquarters pointed out that this place is currently gathering the most elite heavy-armed group of the besieged German troops in the encirclement circle. The 3rd Armored Corps and the Viking Division of the SS are all gathered nearby.

As of the time the telegram was published, this group of Germans who had gathered heavily and fought against the trapped beasts had been attacking Highland 239, which was firmly controlled by the Red Army, for a whole morning.

The losses of the Red Army were not small, but the losses on the German side were even greater.

The Red Army infantry division stationed here pulled the division's artillery to the top of the highland, and bombarded them with all their strength from a high position with the ultra-long range further extended by the height difference. The bombs from various 152 howitzers and 122 cannons were overwhelming and flying in all directions. The Germans under the highlands were running around like frightened rabbits and suffered heavy losses from the bombing.

Unwilling to fail, the Germans faced artillery barrages and massed attacks again and again. The latest King Tiger heavy tanks were in front, accompanied by medium tanks and assault guns. Even if a large number of infantrymen braved the rain of bullets, they had to continue charging behind the tanks. It was inevitable that corpses and destroyed armored vehicles were everywhere.

However, even if the battle ended like this, the Germans still did not think about giving up.

The attack is still continuing, and Vatutin is trying to see if he can send some strong reinforcements to Highland 239 to stabilize the front.

At a glance on the map, the location of Malashenko's headquarters, which has been updated with real-time dynamics, and the small red flag representing the mixed force of Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division and 5th Guards Tank Brigade, are marked at a distance of 239. The straight-line distance to No. 1 Highland is only 6 kilometers.

For a highly mechanized tank force, this 6-kilometer straight-line distance is equivalent to two steps.

As soon as the transfer order comes, Vatutin predicts that Malashenko's troops will be able to attack immediately, giving the Germans who are assaulting Hill 239 a surprise.

There was a general order for the situation Malashenko faced before, but he could leave it to himself on how to fight. Vatutin gave himself enough power to use his subjective initiative.

But now, with the issuance of this updated transfer order, Malashenko must follow the direction indicated by Vatutin and can no longer choose his own prey and attack everywhere.

However, Malashenko's original intention was to block the Germans' breakout gap, and Vatutin's order coincided with Malashenko's idea.

Therefore, whether it is out of his bounden duty as a soldier or his personal subjective will, Malashenko is willing to do this job.

An armored corps plus a well-named elite division of the Waffen SS. If this is done, then the future will be awesome.

However, the strength of the opponent is basically more than half of all the Germans in the encirclement. It is probably unrealistic to eat them in one go. Malashenko, who was holding the telegram, put his hand on his chin and pondered for a long time. He felt that it would be more practical to relieve the siege of Highland 239 first. It would be better to cut off this armored army and the Viking division together. , split first.

In this way, not only will the offensive fail and disintegrate in an instant, but the next thing to do will be much simpler as it should be.

"Assemble the troops and prepare to set off. The target is Hill 239. This time it is to remove the threat to Hill 239 and block the Germans' attempt to escape north. Since time is tight, we will not hold any combat meetings. We will turn on the radios of each command vehicle on the way. , I explained in detail on the channel and informed Kulbalov and the other group leaders.”

"The attack plan is based on the preset plan No. 2. The Germans urgently moved to the bottom of Hill 239 to start the attack. It is estimated that there is only one starting position at most and lacks a decent solid defense system. The first wave of assault must strive to attack the Germans Break through the defense before reacting, leaving no time for them to react.”

"Okay, that's it for the general outline. I'll arrange and communicate the details via radio on the road. Time is tight and get ready to go. Refuel and reload and start taking action immediately."