It must be admitted that Malashenko had long wanted to go home and have a good rest, and had talked about this matter with Political Commissar Petrov many times.
But when the vacation suddenly hit his head, Malashenko felt a little rushed and at a loss. He didn't even think about how long he wanted to take vacation.
As if he read something from Malashenko's "unprepared" expression, Vatutin quickly spoke quietly again before Malashenko could think of a reply.
"Let's do this, Malashenko."
"Given that you will definitely have some official work to do during this vacation, it will definitely take up a lot of your personal time, and the round trip will also take time to complete. The total vacation approved by the Front Army Headquarters for you is two weeks. Of course, this is just
I will consider the future plans based on my personal perspective.”
"If you have any needs, feel free to put them forward, Comrade Malashenko. We can discuss it during the vacation. This is all negotiable."
Vatutin did not say anything directly, but left Malashenko some room for maneuver. This actually made Malashenko, who thought that it would be good to take a week off, a little bit.
ecstatic.
"No, no, no, I don't have any other needs, Comrade Commander, a two-week vacation is enough for me! I am very grateful to the Front Army Headquarters for approving this two-week vacation for me!"
After hearing this, Vatutin stared at Malashenko for a while, and then nodded after confirming that Malashenko really responded with such thoughts.
"Since you said so, we will implement this plan. When you leave later, go to Comrade Chief of Staff to go through the formalities, fill out a few forms and sign them, and then go back to your first guard.
The heavy tank brigade headquarters must arrange the handover and related tasks, and I will go down to inspect it personally after you leave."
Vatutin reminded Malashenko of the key points with a smile on his face, and Malashenko naturally nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice.
"Of course, I understand, Comrade Commander! I will definitely arrange all the work of our brigade before leaving, so you can rest assured."
"Okay, now let's talk about other things. Besides, the tea is almost cold. You can take a sip first. It tastes quite good."
Malashenko and Vatutin still had many things to talk about. Iushkin, who arrived with Malashenko, was not idle at the moment, and he seemed to have become a "red man" in the front army headquarters.
"Comrade Iushkin, we have all heard! You are the gunner of Brigadier Malashenko's vehicle! You must have witnessed the scene of capturing that old bastard Paulus alive. Tell us what it was like.
Feel."
"Yes! Comrade Iushkin, this kind of scene is rare. You have to share your joy with all of us."
"That's right! Say it quickly, Comrade Iushkin, don't wait any longer."
The front army headquarters, which was originally as busy as a spinning machine, immediately seemed much more relaxed after the news of the victory came.
Those staff officers and correspondents of the front army headquarters who were similar in age to Iushkin seemed to regard Iushkin as Malashenko's right-hand man who would take him wherever he went, especially after hearing about Iushkin.
It was even more impressive after Shkin was the gunner of Malashenko's crew. He immediately surrounded Iushkin with all kinds of chatter, asking him to quickly tell those exciting and exciting experiences.
"Uh... well... let me think about it first and organize my language, comrades."
Although Iushkin is usually the dramatist and funny person in Malashenko's crew, that is only when he is with his comrades in the same crew.
Iushkin will be very nervous when meeting strangers, especially many strangers. He stutters and seems to have forgotten how to speak for a while. He puts his hand on his chin and thinks for a while under the gaze of a bunch of eyes.
It took a minute before he spoke slowly.
"First of all, I want to say that those Germans are really difficult to deal with, comrades."
"Even at the last moment, these Germans who faced defeat still did not give up the fight. The only food they could use to satisfy their hunger every day was one hundred grams of bread slices. If they wanted to drink water, they would dig a spoonful of snow outside the house.
When you come back, use the fire to bake the lunch box and heat the snow to turn it into water."
"But sometimes the Germans couldn't light a fire, because we were very close to them, only one house away. The smoke from the fire would reveal their specific location, and then a few grenades would be thrown in through the window, destroying the Germans.
The person who exploded was knocked off his back."
"So when they can't light a fire, these Germans just eat snow and bread slices, a bite of snow, a bite of bread, melt the snow in their mouths, and then swallow the bread. Enemies with such a will to fight are the most difficult to deal with, and there are many.
Sometimes these Germans are forced to a dead end by us, and they will finally surrender when they have no choice but to fight to the end if there is even a little hope."
Although Iushkin's words were somewhat incorrect, such a wonderful frontline battle plot was something that these young staff officers and correspondents who had been staying at the front army headquarters had never seen before. Almost everyone listened attentively.
, for fear of missing the most crucial details.
"Comrade Iushkin, I have a question! Those Germans were beaten like that. They were neither defending the motherland nor for justice, and they were not supported by communist beliefs. What supported them in fighting?
Where’s the one going down?”
People who have cultural knowledge in their stomachs will naturally ask different questions from those who cannot read a word. This is a normal and reasonable situation.
But to be honest, Iushkin himself has not taken many party classes. Although he is a party member, he can only reach the level of ideological awareness that just passes the test.
To say that Iushkin has the depth of research and understanding of communism and ideology as Commissar Petrov did, is sheer nonsense. So don’t look at what Iushkin just said so plausibly, once
When it comes to issues in the ideological realm, one's eyesight is completely blank: pure blindness.
"This... this question is really difficult to answer, comrade. After all, I am just a tank soldier. If you really want to know the answer, you can ask the political commissar of our brigade. He is an expert in this field."
"Hahahaha, Comrade Iushkin can't do it!"
The burst of laughter that suddenly broke out around him made Iushkin feel quite embarrassed. Iushkin scratched his head and thought about something to answer, and finally choked out another sentence.
"I think it may have something to do with the Germans themselves..."
"I heard some German prisoners say that their commanders told them that as long as they were captured, they would die, saying that our Soviet Red Army would kill all the German prisoners of war. Kill 95% of them and let the rest
Five percent of the people are responsible for digging and filling pits, transporting corpses, and finally killing everyone! How ridiculous does this have to be, you think?"