Steel Soviet Union

The proposal for a new urban combat model proposed by Malashenko was unheard of for everyone present.

The suppression and rejection of new things by old things is an eternal truth.

Some tank commanders with relatively rigid minds and some stubbornness questioned Malashenko's combat mode on the spot.

It is believed that the urban tank warfare model should be like a plain field battle, in which an overwhelming number of troops are invested in the winning areas to form a fist, defeat the German offensive, crush the opponent's intentions, and recapture the occupied strategic areas. After all, in the previous examples of successful battles, That's what it does.

As for Malashenko's proposal for a new urban tank warfare model, some commanders who were sarcastic and a little jealous of the young man in front of them even said that the combat model proposed by Malashenko was purely a refueling tactic and would be wasted. It should not be adopted at all if the sacrifices of the Red Army soldiers were sacrificed and the success or failure of the entire campaign was put in jeopardy.

Malashenko, who has no ability to "talk to the crowd", had no choice but to give up when he was deliberately targeted. He crossed his arms and put on a silent posture of "Okay, okay, you said yes, that is, no quibbles." , express one's attitude and dissatisfaction with silent silence.

Major General Nikishev, the Chief of Staff of the Front Army who presided over the meeting, saw the dissatisfaction of Malashenko and also understood that some people in front of him had ulterior motives and were deliberately targeting Marashchenko out of jealousy and suspicion due to their seniority and high military rank. Shenke.

Where there are people, there is society. The two negative psychological emotions of jealousy and rejection are unavoidable wherever they go, even in the current moment when the enemy is present. What's more, the combat model proposed by Malashenko was so unreasonable that even Major General Nikishev himself couldn't figure out whether this style of play would work, because it had never been tested before.

The matter could not be resolved on the spot and was finally reported to Vasilevsky and Yereomenko.

And just when Vasilevsky and Yeremenko finished their work and took some time to figure out how to solve the matter, while Malashenko was still sitting in the combat conference room like Xu Shu entering Cao's camp, Zhukov News came immediately that the special plane had arrived at Stalingrad Airport and landed.

Zhukov spent a minute listening to Vasilevsky's explanation of the causes and consequences, then smiled, shook his head, took off his gloves, and spoke.

"Before I solve the problem, let me tell you a story. It happened not long ago and most people here don't know it yet."

The beginning of Zhukov's speech was obviously unexpected. Everyone present, including Vasilevsky, without exception, cast somewhat complicated eyes on the Red Army God of War.

"Not long ago, our troops captured and captured the latest German tanks on the Leningrad front. This new type of German heavy tank is very powerful, equipped with unprecedented strong heavy armor and a very powerful gun. The 88mm main gun is the tank gun version of the 88mm anti-aircraft gun.”

Among the three elements of "firepower, protection, and mobility" about tanks, the issue of mobility is always ranked at the bottom, intentionally or unintentionally.

In the opinion of most Red Army tank unit commanders and fighters, it is best for the tanks under their command to have indestructible main guns, which can destroy the junk tanks of the Nazi lackeys head-on within regular combat distances. At the same time, it must have strong and excellent armor with good defensive performance, which must be enough to be immune to direct attacks from German tanks within conventional combat distances.

Only tanks that have both of these two points are qualified to be called good tanks. As for the issue of mobility, it is not that important. As long as it can barely pass the standard and not lose its chain, everything will be easy.

The best example of this type of tank is the KV1 heavy tank.

At least in the past 1941, the front-line troops of the Red Army generally gave a favorable evaluation of this powerful and powerful heavy tank. It is much better than the "big toilet head" KV2 that even its own people do not like to see. The KV1 heavy tank The tank is undoubtedly a successful product that can meet actual combat needs.

And when everyone present heard the news from Zhukov that the Germans also had similar heavy tanks, the expressions of deep surprise were obvious.

"The Germans also have heavy tanks? This is not good news!"

"Moving heavy anti-aircraft guns onto heavy tanks? This is difficult to deal with just thinking about it. We should have prepared for it in advance."

"I don't know how many of the Germans' new tanks have been put into production. If we encounter such a monster, we will be in trouble!"

The scene of a drop of cold water falling into a hot oil pan was basically the same as now. Zhukov, who had already expected such an outcome, forcibly interrupted the chattering of everyone present and continued to speak.

"After capturing the Germans' new heavy tank, we spent a lot of effort to send this ferocious steel beast back to the rear for technical analysis. You must know that this monster weighs 56 tons."

“In Moscow, Supreme Leader Comrade Stalin personally inspected this latest German heavy tank and was deeply impressed, instructing the tank research and development department to try its best to analyze this new German heavy tank and find effective countermeasures. method."

"But what I want to emphasize to everyone is not how difficult this new German heavy tank is to deal with, but that someone accurately predicted that the Germans would adopt a similar design as early as last year."

"He once told me personally that after the Germans saw our KV1 heavy tank, they would combine a similar design with their most powerful land anti-tank weapon: the 88mm anti-aircraft gun. Create a vehicle with thick armor and high firepower. A new type of heavy tank with unprecedented ferocity was produced and put into battle as quickly as possible in an attempt to reverse the tank's disadvantage. The time was exactly next year, which was now 1942. "

Zhukov's sudden words brought too much surprise to everyone present and in the audience in less than three minutes.

Almost no one believes that someone can accurately predict the design and appearance time of German tanks to such an extent. If so, this person's understanding of the Germans and tank proficiency must have reached an incredible level. But these words came out of Zhukov's mouth. This is the final fact that does not need to be questioned.

Zhukov decided to support Malashenko from the moment he listened to Vasilevsky's narration. This was not only an affirmation of Malashenko's new concept of urban tank warfare, but also a kind of support for Malashenko. Unwavering support and trust.

Seeing that his pretense and foreshadowing had achieved the expected results, Zhukov, still smiling, raised his hand and pointed, and then spoke quietly.

"If you want to get to know him personally, I suggest you do it now."