The headquarters of the Southwest Front is located near the edge of Stalingrad. It is not difficult for Iushkin and Malashenko, who have been fighting in this city for half a year, to find it.
The crooked little Willys Jeep quickly arrived at the designated destination.
"Welcome, Comrade Malashenko! Comrade Commander has specifically told me to come and pick you up. He is waiting for you to come over now. Come with me."
The treatment that the Chief of Staff of the Front Army came to the door to greet him was really unbearable for Malashenko. Fortunately, Malashenko soon met the real person he wanted to meet during his trip: Commander of the Front Army Vatu.
Jing, this little incident was quickly brushed aside.
"Comrade Petrov has specially reported to the foreign affairs department and told me the complete details of the entire process. Your brigade's performance in the entire strategic counteroffensive was outstanding. Malashenko, the front army headquarters highly recognizes your heroic performance and
Decided to immediately apply to the High Command in Moscow for an honorary award to you."
Seeing the chubby commander comrade Vatutin again, Malashenko always felt that this amiable-looking comrade commander was very close to him.
Maybe this is an illusion, but Malashenko is convinced that his performance is enough to win Vatutin's recognition, and Malashenko will not show any hypocrisy or pretentiousness about the honor he deserves.
"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 that belongs to the collective!"
Compared to Vatutin, who was dressed in formal clothes, Malashenko, who had never paid much attention to his appearance, was still wearing the standard two-piece suit of a ragged cotton-padded jacket and a tank soldier's combat uniform.
Although his whole body exudes a slovenly atmosphere, Vatutin does not care about these details. On the contrary, he believes that this is what a heroic frontline commander should wear, and he sits in command with a dignified appearance.
The ministry could not deal with Paulus' headquarters.
"Sit over here, Malashenko, let's sit down and talk slowly. We both have a lot of time now."
"Yes, Comrade Commander."
The sofa in Vatutin's office is really clean. It seems that it is often cleaned and kept tidy.
Malashenko walked to the sofa and looked at how dirty he was. 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.
Most of the rest was hanging in the air, and the small details really made Vatutin, who had just sat down next to Malashenko, laugh.
"That's just an ordinary sofa. I reserved it for our hero of the Red Army, Comrade Malashenko."
Vatutin did not clarify what he said on the spot, but looked at Malashenko with a smile full of hints. Malashenko, who was almost embarrassed, had to move his buttocks.
He sat down on this well-kept sofa.
The two of them had already sat down, and the orderly brought two cups of tea. Malashenko, who was enjoying such high-level treatment for the first time, was soon greeted by Vatutin's slow opening.
"I saw in the report that the loss of technical equipment and casualties of your brigade are not large. Compared with the losses of other tank units that have been reported, your brigade's loss rate is the lowest. Of course, you are among them.
The main factor, 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 done. Only by constantly summarizing deficiencies and making improvements can we grow. This can be true for one person or an entire army. This is why Vatutin is interested.
Vatutin's problem was not unexpected by Malashenko. At the same time, it was also a good opportunity that Malashenko considered to be an excellent opportunity to achieve his long-term goals.
Malashenko, who barely thought about it, quickly answered.
"I think it's due to equipment factors, Comrade Commander."
"As you know, our 1st Guards Heavy Tank Brigade has a new heavy tank battalion that has just been upgraded, a new heavy tank named after the great leader Comrade Stalin."
"Through a series of actual combat performances, this new type of heavy tank has proven to be an extremely effective weapon and equipment."
"Its armor is thick enough to effectively withstand direct fire from German armor-piercing projectiles, and its maneuverability is better than KV1. Its firepower is enough to deal with the current German main tanks, although it is slightly less effective against the Germans' new Tiger heavy tanks.
It’s not enough, but it can be upgraded through later improvements.”
"To describe it accurately, this tank is actually a very good platform. This is my summary."
"Since the Germans have begun to put the new Tiger heavy tanks into the front line, I think we should immediately start large-scale mass production of Stalin heavy tanks to continue to maintain the quality advantage of our Red Army tank force!"
"This year's battle will definitely be more brutal than the 1942 that just passed. The Germans will definitely continue to counterattack unwillingly. Although they have been wiped out a main group army, they still have strength. I think we should be fully prepared for this.
Take advantage of the breathing space this victory brings, 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 the 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, it will be submitted by the front army headquarters
I will attach my name to this report to express my support for you."
"In addition, you may not know that General Zhukov has already submitted a report to Moscow in advance. Just 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 he talked in the village before, and he wanted to kill the German's latest tiger.
Type heavy tank is just right to strike while the iron is hot, so I quickly recommend it. I can only say 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?