Steel Soviet Union

While Kotin and Malashenko were standing here in amazement, a certain high-ranking boss among everyone present had slowly arrived. Even the stunned Malashenko and Kotin had not yet heard about it. Before he could notice anything, he had already arrived in front of the two of them.

"You two are quite on time, no, you are even on time ahead of time, nearly half an hour earlier than the agreed time."

Well

Needless to say, the identity of the visitor was Zhukov, who had fulfilled Malashenko's request and personally applied to transfer the red Stalingrad to the front line. He called the two of them at a distance that was not far away. It was Comrade Lao Zhu who came.

"It's better to come early than to be late, Comrade Marshal. I pulled Malashenko out of bed early in the morning before dawn, and he complained to me that he only slept for less than four hours last night. , He hasn’t had a good rest after winning the battle. He has really worked hard recently.”

"Um"

Following Kogin's joking words, Zhukov, who quite agreed with this and nodded, then moved his gaze to Malashenko, looking up and down at this man who was frightened by the news and trained by himself. "Tank Hero", with both relief and pride in his eyes.

"I have read the detailed summary of the battle, and I have to admit that your division did a good job in the battle at Zero Highlands.

Zhukov didn't mince words, he went straight to the point and praised Malashenko first. Malashenko, who didn't expect Zhukov to mention this as soon as he came up, scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, and then Then he opened his mouth and smiled.

"It's all the credit of the comrades. I just did what I should do. The comrades who sacrificed have paid so much, and I shouldn't take credit from them."

Malashenko is not just talking, but the casualties of the leadership division in this battle are indeed

It is indeed a little bit beyond expectations, slightly higher than the better situation previously expected. Although it is far from "heavy casualties", a large amount of investment in technical equipment and aviation support has allowed the casualties of the Leader Division to be well controlled. However, compared with the various crushing battles fought by the Leader Division in the past, the casualties this time were lower. Still slightly too big.

The more important point is that the leadership division will fight in Berlin next. This is the key that Malashenko cares about most.

The more troops lost on the Zero Heights, the fewer troops could be committed to Berlin. No commander would find it difficult to have too many troops, especially at a time when "the more the better" is extremely needed. Malashenko naturally hopes to have as many available troops as possible, even at the cost of slightly more than expected casualties. After the price, it was indeed a bit distressing.

After hearing this, Zhukov nodded first, and of course he knew what Malashenko cared about most. In other words, he had already anticipated Malashenko's difficulties and prepared countermeasures.

"I also know the casualties and losses. In addition to the equipment that Kogin brought to your division, I have also prepared two supplementary battalions for you outside Berlin. They are on standby. These two battalions are They are drawn from a reserve infantry division, with a certain proportion of veterans assigned to them. They have a complete unit structure and are not just a large group of new recruits thrown at you. "

"I have already arranged the handover. When we get outside Berlin, these two supplementary battalions will be yours. As for how to allocate decentralization and specific supplements, it is up to your division to decide on your own, and your superiors will not interfere."

"I know that two supplementary battalions may not be enough for you now, but I still hope that you can make them play their maximum role. This is the only high-quality supplementary force I can allocate to you at the moment. What do you think? Are you confident to complete the mission? Let the flag of the Red Army fly over the city of Berlin and bring the news of final victory to the motherland.”

Having said that, Malashenko naturally had nothing else to say. Giving Zhukov a military salute and then making a guarantee was the only thing he could do.

"Yes! I promise to complete the mission. The leader has absolute confidence and the courage to win to conquer the city of Berlin!"

Although these words are indeed quite meaningless, Zhukov, who holds such a high position, has heard such assurances many times in his daily life.

But sometimes, some words that sound very nutritious still depend on who said it.

When these words came out of Malashenko's mouth, Zhukov could not help but show a satisfied smile after hearing the words, and then raised his hand and patted Malashenko's arm to encourage him, and then continued As he turned around, he spoke again.

"Kogin should have told you that the reason for bringing you here this time is for nothing more than to satisfy your eyes and see the red Stalingrad's war debut."

"When you made a request to me last time, I thought about it carefully and felt that it was almost feasible. I also discussed it with several other comrades. They also felt that it was necessary to use all possible means for an offensive campaign against such a solid city. It may be necessary to use strong siege firepower, especially when the Germans have deployed a large number of strong defenses in the city."

"Almost all the people I called to discuss agree with your views and reasons, Malashenko, so I finally decided to report this application and implement it as soon as possible."

"Comrade Stalin personally approved this matter and asked me to personally supervise this matter and do it well, so that the red Stalingrad can display its due value and make full use of it."

"The transportation operation started more than a month ago. It must be said that transporting such a land-based cannon system weighing thousands of tons is not an easy task. It took almost a month just to organize and draft the transportation plan. It took a whole day. It was finally decided to let the railway car part for the artillery arrive first, and the engineering troops immediately started some basic system deployment work, and then waited for the other parts of the entire artillery system to arrive one after another for installation. "

"To put it simply, it means transporting one part and installing the other part, instead of waiting for all the parts to arrive before assembling them. This can maximize the efficiency of time utilization and shorten the assembly and deployment time of the entire artillery system. The disadvantage is that it affects the entire weapon system. The familiarity is a test, and how to ensure that the packaged parts arrive in the order of construction is a problem. "

"But after all, this is the first actual combat deployment. To be honest, it is still full of uncertainties, and I am not very confident."

"Now you two have seen here that although there have been some minor troubles and setbacks so far, the overall progress of the project is still going smoothly. The entire system is about to be assembled. The artillery barrel was just hoisted and spliced ​​yesterday. We will start later The first main gun pitch test will be conducted, and you are here just to witness this scene with your own eyes.”