Steel Soviet Union

After listening to the report from his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Huo Jin, Zhukov, who had never expected that Malashenko would come by such a "coincidence", immediately turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

"Send someone to tell Major Malashenko and ask him to arrange things at the dock and hand them over to his deputy. I will report to the front headquarters immediately. I will see him in person within an hour."

Hearing Zhukov's unkind words, he immediately felt a chill in his heart. Chief of Staff Huo Jin, who knew that Supreme Leader Comrade Stalin's beloved general would never talk empty words, immediately responded to the order and left.

Atop the bustling and noisy ruins of the pier, Malashenko, who was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, was directing his troops to rescue a car lying in a pit.

"Hang it slowly, wire rope! Pay attention to the wire rope! Right, right, don't break the wire rope!"

In order to rescue Malashenko's command vehicle from this super-large one-ton aerial bomb crater with a diameter of nearly 30 meters and a depth of five meters, the field maintenance company under Captain Karamov mobilized five trailers. Cable traction was used to try to pull it out of the bottom of the pit.

But even so, Malashenko's No. 177 Battalion Command Vehicle, which was upside down at the bottom of the crater with its legs in the air, was still rubbing against the earth wall of the crater like a snail crawling on the clear sky after the rain, almost motionless.

Obviously, if you want to drag this behemoth, which weighs nearly fifty tons, from a crater that is five meters deep, it will be difficult for the small-horsepower tractor-trailers of this era to do it, even if they work together.

Just as Malashenko, who was standing at the edge of the pit directing the on-site work, was at a loss what to do, a Gorky car accelerating from the direction of Leningrad was like a drag racer in Qiu Mingshan. It braked instantly and stopped a few kilometers away in an almost drifting manner. Rashenko was only a dozen meters away.

Attracted by the sudden sound of the brakes, Malashenko turned around quietly and saw a major officer wearing a uniform and a large-brimmed hat, who was facing him after opening the door and getting out of the car. The location was strode forward.

After striding to Malashenko's side, he quietly stopped. The silent young major officer finally spoke quietly after carefully studying Malashenko's body for a while.

"Are you Comrade Major Malashenko, commander of the 1st Independent Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion?"

Malashenko, who was confused by the sudden and unclear question from the person in front of him, and who didn't know who it was, also looked at the young major who was meeting him for the first time for a long time before he answered.

"Yes, it's me."

Having never seen Malashenko in person and having no reference to his photos, this major staff officer under the Front Army Headquarters assigned by Chief of Staff Huozin finally determined the identity of the target.

"Comrade Malashenko, I have been ordered to inform and lead you to report to the front army headquarters immediately. The headquarters instructs you to arrange the work at hand and hand it over to your deputy for temporary management. There are more important tasks waiting for you there. "

After hearing the words of the major staff officer from the Front Army Headquarters in front of him, Malashenko felt a chill in his heart and realized that the time at the moment had already passed the reporting deadline given to him by Zhukov.

"It's bad! Comrade Zhukov has been let go! Why the hell do they get together for everything? No, we have to get there quickly!"

All powerful armies that can gain a foothold in the forest of the world abide by the basic principles of military orders and prohibitions. This is especially true for the Soviet Red Army, which overthrew the entire German Third Reich during World War II.

When he thought that he was now being blamed for ignoring military orders, Malashenko felt his head grow bigger in an instant. Almost without thinking, he reached out and called Captain Karamov who was directing the tow truck operation.

"The front army headquarters called me to report immediately. The on-site work here is temporarily under your command, Karamov. After Lavrinenko leads the follow-up troops across the lake, I will hand over the command to him. We must find a way Rescue the equipment and prepare it as soon as possible. Those German planes will not call us in advance, do you understand?"

During this period of fighting together, Karamo and Malashenko have formed a tacit understanding with each other. They have a good impression of this direct boss who treats people equally and has no official airs. Karamo, who is aware of the urgency of the current situation, Captain Husband nodded almost without thinking.

"I know what to do, comrade battalion commander, don't worry and leave it to me."

After saying that, Malashenko, who had hurriedly explained the matters at hand, immediately followed the major staff officer affiliated with the headquarters and walked towards the Gorky car. The car closed the left and right doors almost at the same time. He stepped on the accelerator and sped away again in the direction he came from.

The busy and almost time-frozen headquarters of the Leningrad Front was filled with the extremely tense and almost suffocating atmosphere in a state of war.

General Zhukov, the commander of the front forces located in the historic and ancient palace of Smolny Palace, is learning about the latest battle developments on the front line from the report of his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Hozin.

"Colonel Donskoy just came to report that the 21st Infantry Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Border Guard encountered an all-out attack by at least one brigade-sized tank unit and no less than two infantry divisions of the German Army in the defense zone of Lyselburg. The Ministry of Internal Affairs Border Guard The 21st Division suffered heavy losses, but the position is still in our hands. Colonel Donskoy requested additional reinforcements. The situation is extremely critical, Comrade Commander."

He quickly read the telegram he received from Chief of Staff Huo Jin and threw it aside. After listening to the detailed report, Zhukov spoke immediately without any hesitation.

"How many reserves do we still have?"

Upon hearing Zhukov's question, Lieutenant General Hozin, who already knew the specific situation of the Leningrad Front after taking over the job of Chief of Staff, immediately responded.

"Only the 10th Infantry Division is left as the last organic division-level reserve. Apart from the militia and headquarters security forces that maintain public order in the city, this is the last unit that can be sent to the front line at any time."

Reserves are extremely important to every frontline field commander and commander.

I would rather hold it in my hand and not have any use for it than not have it when I need it urgently.

Although the war on all defensive fronts in Leningrad was now in full emergency, Zhukov, who had always been decisive and never hesitated in making decisions and orders, immediately issued the order decisively.