Steel Soviet Union

Vatutin did not criticize Malashenko too much in the telegram, nor did he mention anything bad about Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division.

Just using ambiguous and slightly unclear expressions, it realistically stated the fact that Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division let go of a large number of German troops. He also added that this is a tactical mistake worthy of attention, and it is necessary to study it thoroughly and carefully analyze how to avoid it next time, and so on and so on.

Of course, compared to Vatutin's always affable and always smiling attitude towards Malashenko.

The contents of such a matter-of-fact and serious telegram can be regarded as "somewhat unhappy". The political commissar did not lie to Malashenko. In the final analysis, this feeling is still the type that can only be understood but cannot be expressed.

In terms of his true thoughts, Malashenko, who was still grateful to Vatutin, paused for a moment, then raised his head and spoke slowly to Commissar Petrov.

"I understand the content of the telegram. Now tell me the specific details on the battlefield."

There are some things that Malashenko does not need to say much, as Comrade Political Commissar himself intends to do so.

"The one who let the Germans escape was the defense area of ​​the Third Regiment. It was close to the northwest of our entire defense line, and further north there was no friendly forces to coordinate and cooperate. There was a huge blind spot for defense from the beginning. But you have to be clear. , This is not caused by our subjective tactical layout error, it is just because of our insufficient strength, it is as simple as that.”

After saying these necessary prerequisites, Commissar Petrov's next words began to get to the point.

"The Third Regiment does not have enough troops to defend such a large area, so it can only concentrate its main forces on one point in the center and send mobile night patrols in both directions to the north and south at the same time to ensure that no detail is missed."

"The problem is that the Germans are smarter and more cunning than we expected. They are obviously well prepared. According to my guess, they have done some more or less reconnaissance beforehand, otherwise they would not be able to do it so nearly perfectly."

"The patrol of the third regiment to the north will take three hours of back-and-forth movement between the starting point and the end point, which means that the one-way patrol will take an hour and a half."

"It's unclear at the moment around what time the Germans touched down. In short, they have grasped this time pattern through close observation. The northern patrol team in the third regiment's defense area has not found any trace of the Germans from beginning to end, but the reconnaissance aircraft reported From the perspective of the position, the Germans' breakout route is indeed inserted directly from the patrol line, which can be determined.

""

Malashenko stared at the war zone map spread out on the table in front of him without saying a word. It was as if he was offline. He didn't know what he was thinking about. After thinking for a while, he asked the political commissar. The comrade spoke slowly.

"What you mean is that the Germans acted in a targeted manner. They knew where our weaknesses were and how to exploit them. They moved towards the most critical position from the beginning of the breakout. And the south direction started from A group of Germans breaking through the defense zone are just a group of scapegoats sent to die to attract our attention? "

Malashenko's statement was a bit too final. After thinking for a while, the political commissar still gave a verbal reply instead of a direct nod.

"Not entirely. There are many doubtful points in the German's action plan that are worthy of consideration, and I can't figure them out for the time being."

"For example, how do they know the weakness of our defense zone? How do they determine the direction of our defense weakness? Why is there a feint attack force in the south instead of the main breakout force? There is a 50% chance of choosing one of the two, but the same There is also a 50% chance of failure. Putting it as a coincidence here is a bit too perfunctory, and I don’t think it can be regarded as the final explanation.”

"Besides, don't you think it's too abnormal to withdraw tens of thousands of troops and equipment in one and a half hours of patrolling? Malashenko. At least it's impossible to withdraw them all at once. This has to happen at least twice, maybe more.”

"If the Germans only determine the patrol interval after arriving at the scene for ambush and investigation, are they really sure that they have enough time left? What if the patrol team's turnover time is not fixed? Instead of doing this, it is better to eliminate the patrol team and force a breakout. At least this will save you time."

"I don't believe that the enemy's commander can make such a bold and calm decision. The probability of failure is almost unimaginable and the probability of success is extremely slim. There is a big problem with this, Malashenko. If this is really the case, then order this The enemy commander who gave the order is either a madman or a fool, but I prefer to believe in normal circumstances."

""

After hearing this, Malashenko fell silent again and did not say a word for a long time.

Although Comrade Political Commissar did not clarify his words on the spot due to the large number of people, Malashenko, who spent time with Comrade Political Commissar day and night, had more or less heard the implications.

This is a kind of tacit understanding and communication between minds, not just random guesses.

"You want to say that in our team, there are"

Malashenko, whose eyes were slightly condensed, slowly raised his head and glanced at Comrade Comrade Political Commissar. Commissar Petrov just responded by winking at Malashenko quietly.

"Don't make unreasonable doubts without evidence. This matter is within my scope and my responsibility. If this is the case, it is also a matter of dereliction of duty on my part. It happened because of me and I am responsible for it, so leave it to me." I'll handle it, give me some time, and I'll give you a satisfactory result. Trust me, it won't take long."

Malashenko certainly believes in Comrade Political Commissar and believes that he will do what he says and will never compromise in the slightest.

But if this cruel assumption is true.

Malashenko couldn't help but start to think about what he would do if there was a traitor in his army. Could that person be someone you know and are familiar with? When did it start? How much key information and intelligence was given to the Germans? Was he bribed by the enemy, rebelled on his own initiative, or had another hidden secret?

In 1944, when victory was imminent and the enemy was gone, such a bad thing happened. Malashenko really didn't dare to think about the bad consequences if this thing spread, especially if the traitor's position and identity were enough. If it's high.

The more he thought about it, the more horrified he felt. Malashenko shook his head vigorously, forced himself not to think about these bad things, and turned to face the political commissar and spoke again.