Steel Soviet Union

The important things have been said, but the conversation between Malashenko and Vatutin has not stopped there. Malashenko still has very important things to state to Vatutin face to face.

"Comrade Commander, before I came here to find you, I had already investigated the situation and captured two surrendered prisoners for questioning."

"The group of people who attacked you are not the lackeys of the Germans. They are a group of local Ukrainian bandits in Cherkasy. The weapons in their hands are all the battlefields and materials that were taken advantage of the chaos in 1941 and were too late to clean up. I got it from the storage point. It has quite a lot of firepower and a lot of machine guns.”

"What's more important is that this group of bandits has not been completely wiped out. Before he died, a bandit leader who was beaten half to death said that the leader of this group of bandits had run away. He probably ran back to his hometown to collect the loot he had collected over the years. We have obtained the specific location coordinates of the bandits’ den and the detailed route map. I plan to take people there immediately and pursue them to eliminate them completely. This group of lawless Ukrainian bandits must be punished!”

"We can no longer hesitate, we must strike hard! Destroy them completely!"

Malashenko revealed all his next plans without any hesitation. As for whether to allow it, it depends on whether Vatutin is willing.

Malashenko wished that Vatutin would agree quickly. These Ukrainian idiots almost killed him. Malashenko thought that Vatutin would give him the order to go and kill them completely.

"Well, if that's the case, how far is the bandit's den from here? I don't know how strong the defense is?"

Vatutin did not directly say yes or no, but changed the subject and started asking about Malashenko's detailed situation, which surprised Comrade Ma.

However, it’s not that I can’t say it. Since you asked, I’ll just say it.

"The den is not far from here. From the map, it is less than ten kilometers away in a straight line at most. As for the defensive strength, I don't think this is a problem. They are just a bunch of bandits who rely on picking up rags, robbing, and bullying the weak to strengthen themselves. , what kind of decent combat power and heavy weapons can it have? The bandit den tanks were flattened without any effort at all."

""

"Well, what you said does make sense. But can your troops still be able to withstand it? I mean the loss of equipment. Your division has been fighting since the battle of Cherkasy without stopping for a moment. , and it is also a mobile annihilation war, which consumes a lot of equipment and personnel. "

"If it really doesn't work, you can ask other troops to do it. There are troops from our front army everywhere around here. The main battle is over. Any troop can do the task of suppressing bandits. Your division should really take a good rest. "

If it were not for the requirements of the war situation and the force of the war, Vatutin would not have wanted to use an elite tank unit such as the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division so solidly. field.

Although the full siege of Cherkasy lasted less than half a month, leaving aside the blockade of external encirclement and reinforcements, the actual number of combatants on both sides in the internal encirclement was only in the hundreds of thousands.

A battle of this level can be called a large-scale battle on other battlefields, but on the battlefields of the Great Patriotic War, a battle with less than a million combatants on both sides does not deserve to be called a large-scale battle. You must know that from the Battle of Moscow to Stalingrad to the Battle of Kursk, the number of combatants on both sides in each battle was millions of troops, and there were hundreds of thousands of casualties in the end.

Therefore, even though the battle at Cherkasy seemed small in scale, the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division, which accounted for nearly half of the entire front's record in annihilation of enemies, was indeed depleted of men and horses, suffered extremely serious equipment losses, and its tanks were motorized for hours. They were all stunned because of the cross-country race. Now if you want to say that Vatugin doesn’t feel sorry for this ace unit, it’s a lie.

Any commander who coordinates the overall situation will cherish the ace troops in his hands, and Vatutin is certainly no exception.

Now that the battle is over, Vatutin naturally wants to let the troops have a good rest quickly, even Malashenko, who has been commanding the battle for many days, is the same. Vatutin, who cherishes talents, does not want to see such a dazzling Red Army star fall from exhaustion at such a young age.

You must know that Malashenko's boss: Marshal Zhukov, is still at the front army headquarters. If Malashenko is admitted to the hospital, he will not be able to give an explanation to Comrade Marshal.

Zhukov always treated Malashenko's baby tightly and protected his calf very well, as if he regarded Malashenko as his personal disciple. He did not hesitate to praise Malashenko in front of Comrade Stalin. , this is a well-known thing among the senior commanders and fighters of the Red Army.

But even though Vatutin had made it clear what he wanted to hear, Malashenko's next answer was still that he would not change his mind.

"Our division is fine and can continue to fight another battle, Comrade Commander!"

"As a division commander, I know the specific situation of the equipment and soldiers. The soldiers are very motivated now! After learning that a group of bandits almost killed the comrade commander, they all wanted to rush over and crush the enemies one by one without mercy. ! I hope you can give the soldiers a chance! This is my only request."

Hearing Malashenko's words, even the well-informed Vatutin couldn't help but laugh on the spot because of his loyal subordinate who was really good at what he said. He pointed at Malashenko repeatedly. Sighing with a smile.

"Haha, you kid! If I don't let you go, it will be as if I have become a villain who prevents the soldiers from fulfilling their wishes. Where did you learn this method? Why don't you learn something good in one day? Isn’t this a big criticism?”

Seeing that his little thoughts and tricks were exposed by Vatutin in front of him, Malashenko, who knew that Vatutin was joking with him, scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, stopped talking, and smiled foolishly. Waiting quietly for Vatukin's almost predictable order.

"Well, you, the division commander, must know more about the situation in your division than I, the commander of the front army. Since you have said so, let's take action. I allow you to completely wipe out these bandits!"

"But remember to make a quick decision and don't delay it for too long! The war has just ended, and your division still needs you, the division commander, to go back and take charge of many upcoming matters. Don't be away from duty for too long. Remember to let me know as soon as possible after you return. You are in your rightful place, do you hear me clearly?"