Steel Soviet Union

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The headquarters of the Southwestern Front was located near the edge of Stalingrad. It was not difficult for Ivushkin and Malashenko, who had been fighting in this city for half a year, to find it. The crooked Willys Jeep drove all the way and soon arrived at the designated destination.

"Welcome, Comrade Malashenko! The commander has specially instructed me to come and pick you up. He is waiting for you now. Come with me."

The treatment of the front chief of staff running to the door to greet him really made Malashenko a little overwhelmed. Fortunately, Malashenko soon met the real person he was going to see: the commander of the front, Vatutin, and this little episode was quickly passed over.

"Comrade Petrov has already reported to the outside world and told me the complete details of the whole process. Your brigade has performed very well in the entire strategic counterattack. Malashenko, the front headquarters highly recognizes your heroic performance and has decided to immediately apply to the Moscow Supreme Command for your honorary award."

Seeing the chubby commander comrade Vatutin again, Malashenko always felt that this amiable commander comrade was very close to him.

Maybe this is an illusion, but Malashenko is sure that his performance is enough to win Vatutin's recognition, and Malashenko will not be hypocritical or artificial for the deserved honor.

"Thank you, comrade commander! All the Red Army commanders and soldiers have tried their best in this great defense battle. This is a common honor for the collective!"

Compared to Vatutin, who was dressed in a casual suit, Malashenko, who never paid attention to his appearance, was still wearing the tattered cotton jacket with broken threads and the standard two-piece suit of tank soldier combat uniform.

Although he was sloppy all over, Vatutin didn't care about these details. On the contrary, he thought that this was the dress that a brave front-line commander should wear. He couldn't be Paulus's old nest headquarters if he sat in the headquarters with a dignified appearance.

"Sit here, Malashenko, let's sit down and talk slowly. We all have a lot of time now."

"Yes, comrade commander."

The sofa in Vatutin's office was really clean. It looked like someone often cleaned it and kept it tidy.

Malashenko walked to the sofa and looked at his dirty appearance. He hesitated for a moment. After thinking about it, he finally sat down according to Vatutin's order, but only half of his butt sat on the sofa, and the rest of the half was hanging in the air. The small details really made Vatutin, who had just sat next to Malashenko, laugh.

"That's just an ordinary sofa, which I reserved for the hero of our Red Army, Comrade Malashenko.

Vatutin did not say it outright, but looked at Malashenko with a suggestive smile. Malashenko, who almost had embarrassment written on his face, had to move his butt and sit on the well-maintained sofa.

Both of them sat down, and the orderly brought two cups of tea. Malashenko, who enjoyed such high-standard treatment for the first time, soon welcomed Vatutin's slow opening.

"I saw in the report that the loss of technical equipment and casualties of your brigade were not large. Compared with the losses of other tank units that have been reported, your brigade's loss rate is the lowest. Of course, the main factor is that you are a commander and fighter, but I want to know if there are any other reasons, tactics or other aspects, Malashenko. ”

Post-war summary is a compulsory course that must be taken. Only by constantly summarizing shortcomings and making improvements can there be growth, from a person to an entire army. This is the reason why Vatutin is interested.

Vatutin's question was not beyond Malashenko's expectations. At the same time, this is also a good opportunity for Malashenko to achieve his long-term goals.

Malashenko, who hardly thought about it, quickly answered.

"I think it should be the equipment factor, comrade commander."

"You know, our First Guards Heavy Tank Brigade has a battalion of new heavy tanks that have just been replaced. The new heavy tanks are named after the great leader Comrade Stalin."

"Through a series of actual combat performances, this new heavy tank has been proven to be an extremely effective weapon and equipment."

"Its armor is thick enough to effectively withstand the direct fire of the German armor-piercing shells, and its mobility is better than KV1. The firepower is enough to deal with the current German main tanks. Although it is slightly insufficient when dealing with the German's new Tiger heavy tanks, this can be improved and upgraded later. ”

“To be precise, this tank is actually a very good platform. That’s my conclusion.”

“Given that the Germans have already started to put the new Tiger heavy tanks into the front line, I think we should immediately start mass production of Stalin heavy tanks to continue to maintain the quality advantage of our Red Army tank forces!”

“This year’s battle will definitely be more brutal than the one in 1942. The Germans will definitely continue to counterattack unwillingly. Although they have destroyed a main army group, they still have strength. I think we should be fully prepared for this and make good use of the breathing opportunity brought by this victory, especially in terms of technical equipment.”

Vatutin, who was holding his chin in his hand, listened very seriously and nodded cautiously. Just as he had heard earlier, Malashenko was able to make a clear analysis and judgment of the overall battle situation based on his own frontline encounters. It is this point that is most valuable.

"Moscow has been paying attention to the actual combat performance of the new heavy tanks, and your brigade is currently the only unit that has been equipped with this new heavy tank."

"Well, I think you should write a written report summarizing this, Malashenko. Use data and detailed combat examples to support your views and opinions. After you complete it, the front army headquarters will submit this report. I My name will be attached to show your support."

"In addition, you may not know that General Zhukov has already submitted a report to Moscow in advance. After your brigade eliminated a company of the German 502 Heavy Armor Battalion, he is now the biggest one on your side. Strong supporter.”

Malashenko really didn’t know that Comrade Zhu had already taken the lead and submitted the report again, but when he thought about it, Zhukov had expressed clear support for him when talking in the village before, and he wanted to kill the German’s latest tiger. The Type heavy tank just happened to be able to strike while the iron was hot, so I quickly recommended it. It can only be said that Zhukov, with his keen sense of smell, grasped the timing very accurately.

That is, at the moment when Malashenko was recalling the previous memories in his mind, Vatutin, who took a sip from the tea cup, suddenly changed the topic.

"By the way, Comrade Petrov also applied for leave in the report sent by Comrade Petrov. I personally think there is no problem with this. It just so happens that your brigade also needs to take a rest and receive a batch of new equipment to form combat effectiveness. Do you plan to take leave immediately or wait? a period of time?"