Steel Soviet Union

The conversation between Malashenko and Vatutin continued, and the topic quickly shifted to the issue that Malashenko was most concerned about.

"As for the upcoming overseas combat issue"

Upon hearing this, Malashenko immediately became energetic. In order to teach the British and Americans a lesson, he abandoned his troops and did not fight. In Malashenko's view, this was simply the worst loss. Big deal. As the commander of the front army, how Vatutin arranges this matter will be directly related to Malashenko's next actions.

"Although a detailed troop deployment plan has not yet been drawn up, it is certain that the first battle abroad will be in Poland."

"Judging from the intelligence returned so far, the German troops stationed in Poland are basically hoarded near the capital Warsaw. Several SS armored divisions and relatively elite division-level troops of the Wehrmacht are there. The Germans are very It may be that they plan to rely on Warsaw as a core point to fight us head-on, and they still have some decent strength. "

"So the initial operation against Poland is not expected to encounter much resistance. There is not much I can guarantee, but at least there is no problem in letting you return to the front line before launching a large-scale offensive operation in the Warsaw area.

"Also, you can set off and return early. Judging from the progress of your current offensive, I judge that by tomorrow at most, the troops that cut off the root of the protrusion will be able to join forces from the north to the south and complete the first phase of the encirclement operation. Your division's mission It’s done here.”

"We have been fighting fiercely for a long time without troops and men. It is time for you to retreat and start to rest. Let other troops do the encirclement and annihilation of the remaining enemies in the encirclement. There is no need to waste your division in a battle where victory is only a matter of time. "

"in addition"

Having said this, Vatutin suddenly changed the subject, and what he said next caught Malashenko beside him even more unexpectedly.

"I guess you don't know yet, but your superiors plan to carry out a new round of reorganization, expansion and upgrading of your division after Operation Bagration is over, that is, before going abroad to fight. There will be a large number of new technical equipment and personnel. Once the expansion is in place, it will take time to organize the troops and form combat capabilities, so it is not just a matter of you teaching, the troops also need time, and these two things can happen at the same time without delaying each other. "

""

What the hell? The army needs to be upgraded. I want to be the army commander? ? ?

Malashenko's first reaction was as mentioned above, and his face was one of astonishment, with "I really didn't expect it" written all over it.

Vatutin probably expected that Malashenko would react like this, and also knew what kind of questions Malashenko wanted to ask after he recovered, so he continued without waiting for Malashenko to speak. .

"Although it is a new round of reorganization, expansion and upgrading, it does not mean upgrading your division to a corps-level unit. It is about further supplementing and expanding the subordinate units on the existing basis, and adding more technical equipment. The organizational structure remains unchanged. But the strength is expanded. Do you still remember the idea and plan of troop building that you submitted to Marshal Zhukov? Comrade Marshal intends to try it according to your wishes. The effect will depend on your command ability and battlefield performance. "

""

Speaking of which, Malashenko hasn't seen Comrade Zhu for a while, and he doesn't know how his great benefactor is doing recently.

But then again, if Zhukov advocated allowing Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division to further expand its strength, Malashenko honestly thinks this is not surprising.

As Vatutin said, he did submit a report to Zhukov titled "Conception and Plan on the Composition of the Troops and the Future Development and Construction of Our Army" after the Battle of Prokhorovka, Mara After Schenke recovered from his injury and was discharged from the hospital, he returned to the front line when the newly formed Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division took office.

In this report, Malashenko gave Zhukov a detailed overview of the tactical skills and tactics he has currently researched and summarized based on actual combat experience, and proposed a brand new concept in the development and construction of the army: the synthesis of various arms. .

"Given that the development of today's modern warfare is no longer the traditional single-dimensional, single-environment warfare of the past, this is especially true in ground combat."

"A legion-level force that serves as the main combat mission needs to deal with a variety of combat missions in a complex and ever-changing battlefield environment. Traditional single technical equipment is integrated into one force, and multiple independent organizations have a large number of expertise. The combat tactics of troops with advanced technical equipment and mutual cooperation are currently difficult to adapt to the development and changes of the times and the needs of actual combat. The reasons are as follows. "

"In view of this, I suggest that superiors should start studying and preparing this morning to break up and reorganize a variety of specialized technical equipment that were originally centralized for a single combat force in the context of modern warfare in the new era, and integrate it into a team with certain capabilities. Conduct coordinated operations among various arms within the strength-strength military establishment.”

"It is important to note that this concept of force composition is fundamentally different from the current strategy of centrally allocating specialized equipment to one force and conducting coordinated operations with multiple independent organic units."

"The new combined arms force will be able to fully adapt to any currently known combat environment and complex and changeable battlefield conditions. This will create great advantages in terms of troop mobilization and coordinated operations, and will be used in actual combat. It will provide commanders and fighters with more flexible tactical options, and it will become easier to find and contain the enemy's weaknesses and carry out targeted strikes by taking advantage of the diversified combination of specialized technical equipment."

"But the realization of this idea needs to be based on the premise of sufficient and reliable support of diversified specialized technical equipment. In addition, the tactical thinking and practical application of commanders and fighters must also keep pace with the times, and the war acumen of the old era cannot be used. Commanding a new combined force of various arms to fight puts high demands on the personal qualities and abilities of commanders and combatants.”

"In addition, the division of labor and cooperation between various types of specialized technical equipment must fully cover any possible battlefield environment. The more complete the coverage, the better the actual combat performance of the troops. But campaign-level support Units should still be independently under direct command at the corps, group army, and front army levels, and can be used flexibly as a decisive force in various battlefield environments."

The following content is basically some specific and detailed troop composition discussed by Malashenko, as well as thoughts on actual combat applications. The length has even expanded to several pages. Malashenko, who was the author of the book himself, hardly remembers how he wrote so many words in a long and thoughtful manner.