Steel Soviet Union

There is a reason for Malashenko's worry. This does not mean that Comrade Division Commander is worrying blindly about his comrades in the aviation force. Furthermore, Malashenko, who is currently wallowing in the mud and having too much time to take care of himself, does not have the time to care. How others are.

What Malashenko is really worried about is whether the Germans who brought a huge amount of technical equipment to the highlands without suffering any big losses, including the unknown self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, will treat their leader next What troubles the teacher has caused that are difficult to solve.

Everyone knows the effect of converting anti-aircraft artillery into horizontal fire. Although the damage to thick-skinned heavy tanks is limited, the damage to light armored units and infantry is fatal.

Let’s put it this way, the current BMP43 infantry fighting vehicle of the leader division is very effective against light armored units and infantry soft targets. If it is replaced by the German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a rate of fire that is many times faster, it will have no effect at all. Doubts will increase exponentially.

The killing principle of small-caliber rapid-fire weapons is very simple. Under the premise that the calibers are almost the same or the gap is very small, simply comparing the quality of firepower projection per unit time is enough to determine the outcome.

According to the descriptions reported by those Il-10 pilots, Malashenko estimated that this should be a small-caliber high-level dual-purpose cannon with a much faster rate of fire than the main gun of the BMP43 infantry fighting vehicle.

In fact, the reason is very simple. Not only can the pilots' report descriptions be used as the basis for judgment, some of them can be deduced using basic logic.

The 25mm main gun of the BMP43 infantry fighting vehicle is not a gadget born under high-tech technology. In essence, it is a product of pre-war scientific and technological research, whether it is the rate of fire, firepower, or design configuration and The types of ammunition used followed tradition, and they did not expect that the low-altitude air defense pressure after the outbreak of war would be so great, let alone design accordingly.

And what about the German’s unknown new main gun?

It was a product of wartime technological research and development. It had sufficient ready-made experience and obvious practical needs to finalize its design and development.

Malashenko knew very well that with the Germans' cannon-making skills, as long as those bastards hadn't had their heads twitched, pulled out their brains and poured iced tea water into them with big needles, then their design would be useless. The new small-caliber rapid-fire cannon must be more powerful than the BMP43's main gun, and it can be said to be leading in almost all aspects of performance.

Although this was just his own speculation and analysis, Malashenko's current expression was not very good, so much so that even Lavrinenko, who was sitting next to him, noticed this strangeness.

"What's wrong with you? You look like you've eaten a fly. I mean, isn't it just one or two German divisions that have gone up to the high ground? We'll just clean it up for him tomorrow, and it just so happens that they can attack Berlin to relieve us of the pressure."

"The more troops the Germans invest in the highlands, the less trouble we will encounter when we attack Berlin. Sooner or later, there are problems that have to be solved. It may be better to solve them on the highlands than in Berlin. Much more. I will never forget how I survived the difficult days of Stalingrad. No matter what the propaganda said, it was an experience worse than death."

Although I don’t know what Malashenko is thinking, Lavrinenko’s analysis is not unreasonable.

Experiences like the Battle of Stalingrad were a nightmare that haunted everyone who lived through it and emerged from that ruined city alive.

The Red Army won, but the price was extremely painful and almost unbearable. Countless heroic defenders of the motherland and united civilians died unjustly and fell forever in the city that had been defended with countless blood sacrifices.

At this juncture when the final victory is about to come, Lavrinenko does not want to have a more painful experience than this. He also wants as many comrades as possible who have already come here to witness the moment of final victory with their own eyes. .

The fewer German garrison forces in Berlin, the better. If possible, the more Germans lured by the fat and tender bait of Zero Heights, the better.

The more Germans die on this high ground, the less pressure there will be on attacking the city of Berlin. After all, the Germans' dispatchable forces in the same war zone are fixed and limited. We won't say that today one hundred thousand Germans died on the Zero Heights, and tomorrow we will use necromancy to immediately resurrect one hundred thousand troops in Berlin and make up for it in an instant.

Although highland offensive and defensive battles are difficult to fight, street battles in the city will only be more difficult to deal with. The Germans hiding in various corners of the city will make you go crazy. At the time of Stalingrad, it was even more difficult to fight. It becomes more nightmare-ridden and the difficulty rises to a higher level.

After all, Stalingrad was a home game at that time. Advantages such as familiarity with the terrain, local supplies, and mass support cannot be ignored, but Berlin City did not. On the contrary, these home field advantages went to the Germans. The Red Army was equivalent to changing its role and becoming the Sixth Army of the year.

Although the strength is not at the same level at all, the environment they face is the same.

Lavrinenko's idea is simply "If you can get the Germans out of the city, kill them as much as possible. The manpower and material resources and combat power consumed by staying in the city will only increase."

Although Lavrinenko's concerns are different from his own, Malashenko can also understand this and can reach an agreement with his good brother and best friend on this point of view. It can even be said that Lavrinenko What Ko is worried about and what Malashenko is thinking actually have something in common.

Yes, Lavery is right.

Even if those German anti-aircraft vehicles are not solved on the high ground, these troubles will still not go away. It does not mean that if you don’t kill them on the high ground, these bastards will just surrender and use the new equipment. Give it up and let you capture it.

As Lavrinenko said, the core problem will remain in the city if it is not solved in the highlands.

Just imagine, there are one and two XZs hiding in the east part of the city. There are Kraut anti-aircraft vehicles everywhere among the ruins and in the half-collapsed buildings beside the streets. Compared with the anti-aircraft vehicles on the high ground, which are still relatively unobstructed and easier to spot. , which one is better to deal with between these two things.

The answer is undoubtedly that the latter is easier to deal with.

This is always a hurdle that cannot be bypassed directly. You have to face it even if you don't want to face it. In other words, you should be glad that you are facing it on the high ground instead of in the street fighting in the city.

Malashenko, who had figured it out and convinced himself at this point, finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his brows that had been together gradually relaxed. Then he raised the corners of his mouth slightly and looked at the "initiator of all this" beside him. "Lavrinenko.

""

"Why are you staring at me? Is there something dirty on my face?"

Unlike Lavrinenko, who was confused, Malashenko's next expression was just one of relief and firm eyes, returning to his usual normal state.

"Nothing, it's just that I was thinking that you were right. We should be happy that the Germans sent more troops to reinforce the Zero Highlands. This is because they are digging their own graves with their hoes."