As expected, orders from superiors came down quickly...Rokossovsky could not withstand the pressure from Mahlis, after all, Mahlis represented the Supreme Command.
"Continue the attack!" Rokossovsky ordered helplessly: "Obey Comrade Maihelis's command and hand over Rzhev to the 117th Division!"
The 117th Division was one of the nine divisions that escaped from the German encirclement. At this time, they were resting on the flanks of Rzhev.
Shulka and Katukov were speechless when they heard this order. This does not mean that the 1st Guards Tank Brigade needs to rest and recuperate, although the 1st Guards Tank Brigade does need to rest and recuperate. They fought all the way from Tver here.
More than half of the tanks have been lost...part of them are battlefield losses, and more are due to malfunctions.
The failure rate of the "Matilda" tank is not low at all, let alone in extremely cold conditions.
But what's more serious is not this.
From Katukov's point of view, the German reinforcements had arrived at the front line, and they also had enough clothing and supplies to recharge the several armored divisions that had just arrived from Germany.
At the same time, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade has exposed the shortcomings of the "Matilda"'s slow maneuvering speed due to previous battles. In addition, they are also the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, and the 1st Guards Tank Brigade has attracted the attention of the German army.
The brigade... under such circumstances would be easily surrounded and annihilated by the German armored forces if they went forward to fight.
From Shurka's point of view, he knew that starting from Rzhev and going west, there were a series of important positions of the German army such as Holm.
If the Soviet army paid attention to these key areas, they might be able to capture them.
The problem is that the Soviet army from top to bottom is too optimistic about the current situation. They believe that this battle will undoubtedly drive the German army out of the country. The strategic goal of the Supreme Command is to at least reach the front line of Kiev.
Therefore, no one paid much attention to a small place like Holm, and certainly did not regard it as a threat. Most of the main forces crossed the strongholds of Holm to pursue the German army.
As a result, these troops will not be able to return when the ice and snow melt in spring.
If the 1st Guards Tank Brigade continues to attack... they will even drive a "Matilda" with a speed of less than 10 kilometers per hour, and they will not be able to escape even if they want to.
But Mahlis didn't care about this. He looked at his watch and said, "I'll give you two hours to prepare. We'll set off on time in two hours!"
"Yes, Comrade Maihelis!" Katukov replied, then reluctantly raised his head to the staff officer and asked him to give the order.
"Comrade Shulka!" said Mahlis, "come to my headquarters!"
Mahlis already has a headquarters in the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, which represents the headquarters of the Supreme Command.
It is located next to Katukov's headquarters and was originally Katukov's lounge... Katukov was in poor health and went to the front line to command with only one kidney, so he often needed to rest.
"How's it going, Comrade Shulka!" Mahlis asked Shulka: "Are you confident in this battle?"
"Yes, Comrade Mahlis!" Shulka replied insincerely: "Of course I have confidence!"
Shulka knew that it was useless to say anything else at this time. Katukov had already said what needed to be said.
"Very good!" Mahlis nodded with satisfaction: "Comrade Shulka, I think you are a courageous and wise man. You will not join the ranks of those cowards! They are simply a disgrace to our army.
, is the enemy of the people. At this time, he doesn’t even know how to take advantage of the victory and give the enemy a chance to breathe..."
Then there were a lot of "blah blah blahs". What made Shulka unbelievable was that what he said was quite reasonable, at least that's what it sounded like, and what he said was righteous and majestic.
Shulka even suspected that the Mahlis in front of him was not the same person as the lieutenant general who almost wet his pants in fear when the Germans were chasing him.
After talking for a while, Mahlis changed the topic and said to Shulka: "I admire you very much, Comrade Shulka! I can see that you are a soldier who can really fight on the battlefield. Like you
You're just a captain...I don't think that's in line with your talent at all."
"No, Comrade Mahlis, I lack command experience!" Shulka was a little worried that Mahlis would be promoted indiscriminately, which would be counterproductive and would also cause others to think he was flattering Mahlis.
You can't get a promotion just by being around people like this.
However, Shulka soon realized that his worries were unnecessary, as Mahlis had no intention of doing so.
Mahlis nodded and said: "Yes, I looked at your file and found that you were promoted from private to captain in the past few months... This is what you deserve, and I even think you deserve more."
More. But commanding troops in combat is not the same as personal merit. You need more training and command experience!"
"Yes, Comrade Mahlis!" Shulka couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time he was a little strange as to what exactly this Mahlis wanted to say.
After chatting for a while, Mahlis said: "But Comrade Shulka, you don't need to worry about your idea not being realized. You can report it to me, understand? What I mean is that if the military rank is
Your idea is restricted by your position, you can report it to me...if it is feasible, I will apply it to the battlefield!"
Then Shulka understood.
Mahlis hopes to use Shulka to gild himself.
This was one of the reasons why Mahlis promoted Shulka explicitly. He did not want others to think that he relied entirely on Shulka for advice.
There is a saying that "the more something is missing, the more it shows off."
Mahlis also has the same mentality. He rose to power by snitching. He is well-informed and of course knows how others describe him behind his back.
He wants to take off his hat as the "King of Small Reports", to let others see him in a different light or to give him more bragging rights.
But because he doesn’t know how to fight, he can only give random commands on the front line and often gets into trouble with the frontline commander... In fact, Mahlis’ command can only attack, attack, brave attack, and nothing else.
.
The reason why I was chased and beaten by the German army before was because I was chasing the German army too closely and was counterattacked.
Mahlis, who was scared to death, originally planned to stay away from the battlefield and give up the idea of gilding. The appearance of Shulka made his eyes light up: This is the legendary "breakout hero", why not use his
What about battlefield talents?"
At this time, Shulka felt a little more relaxed, because he knew that if he grasped the mentality of Mahlis, then things would be much easier to handle.