Steel Soviet Union

Unfavorable battles on the front line will not be published in newspapers for morale reasons, but Malashenko has other channels to learn about the latest developments on the front line, some internal channels that only work in the army.

On this morning, Malashenko, who was not in the mood to sleep in, got up early and washed up. He sat at the command table in the brigade tent and ate breakfast with the CC telegram in his hand. While eating, he looked at the forehead His eyebrows soon started to look strange.

"Hasn't our brigade received the news to go to the front line yet?"

Malashenko himself couldn't remember how many times he had asked questions like this in recent days, but the results he got each time were roughly the same, and this time was no exception.

"You asked that question last night and my answer was no. Now it's the next morning and my answer is the same as last night."

Political Commissar Petrov was too lazy to repeat the same words, even for Malashenko.

When our brigade commander heard such an answer, he was not surprised at first, but in the end he swallowed the last bite of bread in his hand and sighed slowly.

"The Germans beat our brother troops black and blue on the front line, and Kharkov is now in danger. We are the elite of the Southwest Front Army, and are the troops directly under the Front Army Headquarters! Why did Commander Vatutin fight so hard on the front line? But who made this decision and left us behind?"

At first, his tone was still complaining, but as he spoke, Malashenko's tone gradually became a little anxious.

As the commander of the 1st Heavy Tank Brigade of the Stalin Guards, Malashenko, who had just received the honorary designation award, could not wait to prove himself, and by the way, he used the Germans to test the power of the new equipment.

But I don’t know why, but reality made a big joke on Malashenko.

The fighting was in full swing on the front line, and the front army where he was was almost kicked to pieces by the Germans. However, an elite core unit directly under the front army was left on the bench in the rear.

The political and ideological training meeting hosted by Political Commissar Petrov has reached its eighteenth session. Even Iushkin, who wanted to sleep during the class, was forced by Malashenko to rush to the class because of the venue. He slept on the table and snored loudly. He was ordered by his political commissar comrades to pick up a week's worth of feces and clean the toilets, which made the somewhat introverted Kirill make fun of him.

You said that everyone has enough time to spare, why don't they go to the front line and fight the Germans?

Malashenko couldn’t figure it out, and neither could Commissar Petrov.

An old man and a young man sat here and stared at each other, you looked at me, I looked at you. Finally, Commissar Petrov sighed and broke the silence.

"How about we send another telegram inviting war?"

The unhappy Malashenko shook his eyebrows when he heard this.

"Who should be photographed? We have even separated from the Southwest Front Army. We don't know where our biological mother is without her stepmother. Who do you think this telegram should be photographed for!?"

The last telegram calling for war was sent out about a week ago. At that time, Vatutin, who was busy commanding the troops and putting out fires everywhere, hurriedly replied to the telegram to Malashenko.

The general content is that the Stalin Guards 1st Heavy Tank Brigade is no longer affiliated with the Southwest Front Army, but has been unified into the strategic reserve category by the Red Army General Staff Headquarters, waiting for the next order.

At the end of the short telegram, Vatutin comforted Malashenko in his own personal tone, asking our brigade commander to step up the preparation of troops in the rear and wait for follow-up orders. A fierce fight with the Germans could come at any time. , maybe he will receive an order to rush to the front line urgently tomorrow. As an old commander, Vatutin asked Malashenko to make all preparations.

But now the problem lies precisely here.

The 1st Stalin Guards Heavy Tank Brigade is usually directly under the direct command of the front army headquarters. Unless it is assigned to the group army level, like the 62nd Group Army that was previously assigned to Chuikov's command to take orders for combat, otherwise the arrogant Malashenko It is absolutely possible to say, "You have the fucking ability to go to the front army headquarters and sue me, so why should I obey your orders!?"

Although Malashenko did not say so.

Now he was kicked out of the Southwest Front Army and became a miserable child without a mother.

There are many friendly forces stationed around Stalingrad. The 21st and 64th Army groups are on standby here, but Malashenko doesn't know who he should take command of now and who he should report to. Right now, I don’t even know where to take pictures of this telegram.

Although it sounds a bit ridiculous, the reality is this. Political Commissar Petrov rarely wonders about this strange situation. He has never seen this strange situation in his decades of military service, and he doesn't know what to do for a while.

After thinking in silence for more than half a minute, Political Commissar Petrov tried to test his tone and spoke tentatively again.

"Otherwise, you can send a telegram to Marshal Zhukov to inquire. You can use a chatting tone and ask what our brigade should do next."

"Marshal Zhukov? You uh"

Political Commissar Petrov knew that Malashenko had a close personal relationship with Comrade Zhukov, who had just been promoted to Marshal.

As Malashenko, he is fully qualified to send a telegram to Marshal Zhukov and inquire about the next direction in his own name, if Malashenko really wants to do this.

At first, Malashenko thought Commissar Petrov's suggestion was a bit ridiculous, but this subconscious thought only lasted a few seconds.

Malashenko, whose brain circuit gradually opened up, thought for a while and felt that Comrade Lao Zhu seemed to have never even received a blessing after he was promoted to marshal. From an old subordinate, this is indeed a bit unhuman and unjustifiable. Now he takes this opportunity to find out. The direction of the wind is not a bad idea, it seems to be the case.

"It seems feasible, but is it really okay to do this?"

Malashenko, who felt a little unsure, finally spoke to Commissar Petrov again, hoping to get some words that would strengthen his heart. While talking, my elbow, which was a little restless due to anxiety, accidentally touched the calendar on the table next to me. The time on the paper had been clearly turned to March 8th.

That is, after Political Commissar Petrov said a few more "brief" words, which took almost ten minutes.

Malashenko, who felt that this method was still worth a try, was about to call the communications staff to personally give the order. He never thought that the tank cap on his head was half-way while running wildly, and his face was black and black with oil stains everywhere. Lavrinenko, who looked like he had just survived a mining accident and was absent from work, suddenly rushed into the brigade tent at lightning speed and shouted loudly.

"New car! Malashenko, our new car has arrived! Come and take a look!"