The Prokhorovka battle was the closest Malashenko had come to death so far. It is no exaggeration to say that his life was in the hands of the god of death. If he pulled a little, his brother would die immediately.
Vatutin's words also made Malashenko recall the days of the bloody battle in Prokhorovka. Although it was extremely cruel, it was over anyway. It would be too much to dwell on these trivial things that are already yesterday's news.
This is a sissy. Besides, Vatutin, who has slowed down his pace, still has a lot to say next. This is obvious.
"The next step is the Battle of Korson-Shevchenkovsky (Corky's note: Battle of Cherkasy)."
"You were responsible for leading the troops to rampage in the belly of the Germans, causing chaos and chaos on both the front and rear of the Germans. However, there were indeed huge macro-strategic crises."
"The Germans' breakout group was only one step away from penetrating the high ground and breaking through the pocket. My mistakes in macro-strategic decision-making ultimately affected the changes and development of the overall battle situation. Your division had been fighting for many days and was quite exhausted. I couldn't help but
Make sure you can arrive in a hurry with a force far weaker than the enemy, delay their breakout, and block this possible gap."
"In the end, I decided to give it a try, even if I failed, I would not regret it. However, you once again created a miracle, Malashenko, and once again surprised and delighted me. Not only that, you even led the team to annihilate the evil villain
, the Viking division whose hands are stained with the blood of the Soviet people, even Comrade Stalin happily requested to publish a special report in the most conspicuous position of Pravda."
"You turned the situation around and won honor for the entire First Ukrainian Front. Comrade Konev also expressed congratulations on behalf of the Second Ukrainian Front that cooperated with us in fighting. Everything is fine. This is the best result, Korson-
The complete victory of the Battle of Shevchenkovsky will be recorded in history, and your name will be the most wonderful and glorious chapter in it."
...
Ah this...
Vatutin was right about one thing, that is, Malashenko did not feel much about this major macro-strategic crisis.
After all, Malashenko is not the commander of the front army who sits at the front army headquarters and coordinates the overall situation. He is just a front-line troop commander who leads the troops in battle, charging forward and retreating behind.
When it comes to commanding the entire army, Malashenko does still lack a lot and has no practical experience. It is normal for him to be unaware of this.
But from the tactical level of the actual regional battle, Malashenko was indeed the biggest contributor to blocking the breach. Stalin's Guards 1st Tank Division rushed to the high ground and was killed by the cavalry before the breakthrough, completely cutting off the last chance of a successful German breakout.
A glimmer of hope was the straw that broke the camel's back, eventually causing the German army to be forced to move in a new direction to break through and eventually be completely destroyed in the pocket.
This achievement was indeed achieved by his own leadership, and Malashenko also knew this was a fact.
Thinking about it from another angle, if this hole is not blocked and the tens of thousands of Germans who are responsible for the pot are let go, Vatutin, as the commander of the Ukrainian First Front who is responsible for the specific encirclement and annihilation battles, will definitely be blamed.
, most likely they will still be severely reprimanded by their loving father, deprived of the honor of this battle, and ultimately end up with a miserable result that is time-consuming, laborious, and thankless, just like in the existing history.
In short, I had to fight all the bad battles, and in the end I didn’t get any of the credit for it. It was all about Konev and the Ukrainian Second Army who were blocking the outside. They even got scolded by Comrade Stalin.
He is not a human being on the outside. It makes no one feel good to have this kind of thing happen to him, even Vatutin, who has always been good-tempered.
However, because of the existence of this singular point in time and space, none of this happened.
All the besieged German troops put into the pockets of Cherkasy, whether they were Wehrmacht or SS troops, eventually ended up either participating in labor reform or turning into land fertilizer. The entire First Ukrainian Front,
For this reason, they all received commendations and honors from the army-wide bulletin drafted by Comrade Stalin himself, and Vatutin was also awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award.
Malashenko didn’t mean to say anything. Since some things are really facts and cannot be escaped, it’s time to admit them. Sometimes, too much rejection of things that are attributed to oneself can become hypocritical and pretentious.
.
Vatutin was walking and listening without saying a word. Vatutin was obviously not done yet and was still making his final speech.
"This last time, it's out of personal friendship, Malashenko."
"No one is perfect. Of course I have shortcomings. Even though Marshal Zhukov advised me not to do this, I still took a small team of people to the front line to understand the situation."
"It's really unexpected. Who would have thought that at that time, local bandits from Ukraine would come to attack the Red Army convoy. It's so bold that it's no longer enough to describe it."
"But I don't know why, I believe you can create miracles again. Although I am a little embarrassed, I did believe you could save me at that time. I, Vatutin, cannot die in that place. The motherland still needs me to help.
She does a lot of things that I can't sacrifice in this way."
"What happened next, huh? Of course it was as expected. The strongest tank hero of the motherland once again created a miracle. Am I right?"
Vatutin smiled, his smile was very warm and heroic, without any pretense or hypocrisy.
Seeing this, Malashenko also smiled, but he didn't want to brag too much about his achievements.
Saving Vatutin was something he had thought about and made a plan for a long time. It had nothing to do with anything else. It was purely a choice and action based on his own will.
From the beginning, Malashenko never expected that this choice would bring him anything. He just wanted to save Vatutin and prevent him from dying in such an unclear way. It was such a simple and pure idea.
That's all.
After laughing, there were final words, which were of course the true words that Vatutin wanted to tell Malashenko the most.
"No matter when or what the situation is, I will remember everything about that day and the turbulent years we have experienced together."
"I owe you, Malashenko, but you don't have to worry about it or have any burden. Maybe I won't be able to repay such a big life-saving grace in my life, but if one day I really need my help, please
You must remember that you have a big brother who is like a real brother and is always willing to do whatever he can for you. This is a promise I have made to you."