"Comrade Commander, Captain Malashenko of the 20th Tank Division is reporting to you. I wish you good health!"
Although Rokossovsky, who holds an important position, has heard such polite greeting reports countless times, when this commonplace words came from the subordinates who were admired by Rokossovsky himself,
When he blurted out the words, this outstanding general of the Soviet Red Army still smiled with a rather satisfied look on his face.
"Captain Malashenko, I learned from the battle report submitted by your division and from the mouth of Political Commissar Petrov that you have destroyed more than twenty German tanks. This kind of performance is not only for our Southwest Front Army but also for the entire front line.
All the Red Army troops have outstanding records and can be called the number one ace.”
In his words and deeds, he praised Malashenko's previous outstanding achievements without any concealment. It can be seen that Rokossovsky, who is currently shouldering a heavy burden, appreciates Malashenko's performance in the battle.
I am very satisfied with the positive performance.
"After you have eliminated so many enemies, Captain Malashenko, I would like to know your opinion on the strategy and tactics of our Red Army tank troops against those German armored forces. I hope you can summarize some of your tactical experience
And share it. If necessary, I will report your excellent tactics and combat skills to the superiors with your signature. The so-called "blitzkrieg" tactics mentioned by the German invaders are indeed very effective and extremely difficult to deal with."
I was a little surprised when I heard the question from Rokossovsky. I never thought that this comrade and military commander, one of the most outstanding generals of the Soviet Army in later generations, would lower his profile to ask me for a tactical summary.
, this sudden and without warning moment made Malashenko, who met Rokossovsky for the first time, feel a little flattered.
"Uh...this...this..."
With an embarrassed look on his face, he cast an inquiring look at the political commissar Petrov next to him from the corner of his eye.
Obviously, Malashenko, who met Rokossovsky for the first time and knew very little about his conduct and character, did not want to accidentally say something wrong that he should not have said.
"Ha, this kid is quite careful at critical moments..."
Commissar Petrov, who understood Malashenko's request for help and inquiry from the look that was directed at him, wanted to reach out to help Malashenko to smooth things over. He was about to speak, but he didn't expect that the same person in front of him was
After seeing Malashenko's inconspicuous little move, Rokossovsky immediately spoke first.
"I understand what you are worried about, Captain Malashenko. But your worries are unnecessary. I just hope to analyze some useful things from your successful combat cases and tactical experience to promote to our Red Army.
It’s open without any other thoughts or plans, so you can just say whatever you want without worrying about any bad effects these words will have on you.”
Hearing that Rokossovsky had already spoken like this, Malashenko, who had originally thought that there was some kind of trick or was digging a hole for him to jump into, breathed a sigh of relief and summed it up in his mind.
Then he immediately spoke as Rokossovsky asked in his words.
"It is obviously inappropriate for me, a young captain, to make arbitrary evaluations and judgments about macro-strategies that are too profound. Comrade Commander, I only have some personal armor tactics and suggestions for the development and improvement of our army's tank troops. I hope that I can
To bring you some reference value.”
"Objectively speaking, Comrade Commander, after I have experienced a series of actual combat confrontations with German armored forces, I personally think that although the tanks in the hands of the Germans are not as good as our Red Army's new T34 tanks, the performance of these German armored forces is
There is no doubt that the officers and soldiers have richer combat experience and advanced tactics than our Red Army tank divisions."
"In the earlier German blitzkrieg against Europe, France, which had been inseparable from the German and Austrian allied forces during World War I and persisted for four years, was completely conquered by the Germans in less than six weeks this time.
.”
"The fact that the British and French allied forces' tactical thinking and strategic application have not kept up with the times is indeed one of the reasons, but it also proves that the German armored forces already have this large-scale armored group combat tactic for invading other countries, and are still using it.
Actual combat tests have proven that this tactic is very effective, and this is what the Germans call the "Blitzkrieg" tactic."
After hearing this concise and concise statement from Malashenko, Rokossovsky, as the commander of the army, had never heard this from his staff officers and grassroots army officers.
Such unique and novel insights and perspectives.
While thinking about what Malashenko had just said, he seemed to feel that a bright new window had opened. Rokossovsky's eyes lit up and he immediately spoke with interest.
"That's very well said, Captain Malashenko, keep going, I'm very interested in your opinion!"
After hearing Malashenko say that the combat experience of his Red Army tank troops was not as good as that of the German invaders, Commissar Petrov, who specialized in political work and figured out people's hearts, originally thought that Rokossovsky was going to get angry and cause trouble, so he secretly prepared to smooth things over.
, but he never expected that the iron-fisted commander in front of him, who had always strictly governed the army, would suddenly light up and become interested.
Political Commissar Petrov, who was not very good at military command matters and was not within the scope of his duties, saw this scene and immediately stopped talking and interrupted the commander, Comrade Yaxing.
It was impossible for Petrov, who had already become a man.
"Yes, Comrade Commander."
As he opened his mouth to answer, he secretly glanced at the expression on Rokossovsky's face out of the corner of his eye, and realized that the face of the commander, one of the three most famous generals of the Soviet Army in later generations, did not show any displeasure.
Malashenko, who was finally relieved with a stone in his heart, continued to speak after thinking for a while.
"As for the reason why these German armored units were able to be invincible in battle, I think this is mainly due to two key factors."
"First, although the tank quality of these German armored units is obviously inferior to that of our army, the German air force support above them can be on call to launch timely ground attacks to make up for the shortcomings of their armored units."
"Many years later, modern warfare is no longer the trench warfare composed of infantry and artillery during World War I. The air force no longer plays a dispensable secondary role in the battle, but serves as a
A key factor that can turn the tide of the war."
"No matter how powerful the heavy tank is, it cannot withstand the attack of aerial bombs. The reason why those Germans were able to withstand our offensive in today's battle and finally turn defeat into victory is the timely and effective ground attack support of the German Air Force. The timely and effective ground attack support undoubtedly accounts for the cause and effect."