Steel Soviet Union

When Vatutin's motorcade stepped on the accelerator and arrived at the front-line field division headquarters of Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division, he led a large number of personnel from the division headquarters to line up and wait for him. Commissar Petrov, whose health is deteriorating.

The guard got out of the car from the passenger seat first, then walked around the front of the car to the rear door.

Before he could step forward and reach out to open the car door, he saw the car door quietly opened from the inside out. The person who opened the car door and got out of the car by himself, who seemed a little impatient, was Vatutin.

"Comrade Commander, you are welcome to inspect the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division. On behalf of all the commanders, fighters and political staff of the division, I welcome your arrival."

Political Commissar Petrov stood in front of him with one arm and raised his hand in salute. After taking a deep breath, Vatutin could not see any expression of joy, anger, sorrow or joy on his face. He just continued to maintain this look. With an expressionless poker face, he returned the favor and spoke quietly.

“Where is Malashenko now?”

"Comrade Division Commander is on the front line. Every time there is a war, he will go to the front line to command the battle. This is already the practice of our division, Comrade Commander.

The underlying meaning of Comrade Political Commissar's words was "You know about Malashenko's old problem." Of course Vatutin could also understand the meaning, and it didn't seem too big after hearing such an answer. Unexpectedly, I just wanted to confirm my guess that I felt was pretty close, nothing more, and then I continued to ask.

"What about the deputy division commander? Where is the deputy division commander?"

""

Comrade Comrade Political Commissar's bad expression indeed started from this moment. The experienced and experienced Political Commissar Petrov had already realized that something was not right about the situation. Comrade Commander's hurried "trip with unknown purpose" might not be successful. not simple.

Although he realized that the true answer would most likely not satisfy Vatutin, and might even make Vatutin look downright angry and get angry, Comrade Comrade Political Commissar, who knew that he should and must tell the truth, finally gave the truth.

"The deputy division commander has also gone to the front line, Comrade Commander. This battle involves three fronts, and each front is very important. People who can take on heavy responsibilities are needed to manage and command independent fronts. Comrade Deputy Division Commander was personally selected by Comrade Division Commander and Assigned.”

Sure enough, what happened next after finishing the sentence was as expected.

After hearing this, Vatugin had a poker face with unchanged expression but twitched his eyebrows. He obviously had a bad look on his face. He didn't know whether he was suppressing his anger or not accumulating enough anger to explode. All in all, there was indeed no obvious smell of gunpowder in Vatugin's words when he spoke again, but it still made people feel that the situation was not good.

"So, the military command authority has been completely separated from the field division headquarters of your division. This is just a logistics coordination and liaison center, is that right?"

""

If Commissar Petrov still can't figure out what Vatutin means, then don't mess around. He has lived in a dog's belly for most of his life. At the moment, Vatutin is probably only one step away from going berserk on the spot. a step far.

"Forgive me for not being able to deny it. Comrade Commander, I'm afraid what you think and describe is correct. It is indeed the case."

""

This time it was Vatugin's turn to be speechless, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Political Commissar Petrov's frank admission made Vatutin feel so angry that he almost wanted to laugh. But if you think about it carefully, such a situation is not something he can control or decide. On the contrary, the person who allows this situation to occur and continue happens to be him. Strictly speaking, he should not, let alone have the qualifications to deal with this matter. Trouble with Commissar Petrov.

At least, that's what Vatutin thinks in his heart.

"Take me to the division headquarters. You are all standing here to greet me. Don't you all have the work you should do? Don't forget that what we are most in need of is time, comrades."

In a less serious tone, he reminded everyone present. Vatutin, who had no extra time to waste, immediately went straight to the tent of the field division headquarters under the leadership of political commissar Petrov, and walked straight to the center. He stopped and stood in front of the war zone map hanging in a conspicuous position.

Vatutin's eyes were very careful and slow, refusing to let go of every detail on the map in front of him for fear of missing something.

Political Commissar Petrov, who was accompanying him, just stood there quietly without any unnecessary actions.

Until Vatutin actually takes action and raises questions, Comrade Political Commissar only needs to remain on standby.

It is never a wise move to rashly interrupt Shangguan's train of thought and concentration. The political commissar who is already over fifty years old naturally understands this and is fully aware of it.

After about two minutes of staring at the map carefully, Vatutin, who had not spoken since entering the division headquarters, finally uttered his first words.

"The troops were divided into three lines and attacked simultaneously on three fronts. They made deep penetrations and roundabouts to cut off the enemy's retreat, and launched a large-scale encirclement and annihilation operation in the great plains."

"If I guess correctly, this must be Malashenko's battle plan, right?"

Comrade Comrade Political Commissar did not lie or deny it unnecessarily, but nodded towards Vatutin with an affirmative look on his face.

"It seems that I understand him quite well. This is his fighting style, or that's the kind of person he is. It seems reckless and underestimates the enemy, and goes deep alone, but it is the most suitable tactic for opening up and closing down. Once successful, he can To achieve the greatest results, the absolute strength is enough to suppress the enemy, which is somewhat similar to Marshal Zhukov's command style. "

Vatugin's comments were first suppressed and then expanded upon, and by the way, Comrade Lao Zhu was brought in. Naturally, the surrounding personnel from the Front Army Headquarters nodded in agreement. Anyone with a discerning eye would naturally know that Vatugin was like this. The words have several meanings.

To be precise, you can tell from just this sentence that Comrade Commander is far from getting really angry and wants to do something to Malashenko. Most likely, he is just feeling the sudden and difficult situation. There is just a "little bit" of dissatisfaction, that's all.

"Won't you explain to me the latest situation? Comrade Political Commissar, the front army headquarters does not have such a detailed combat map as your division headquarters."

The battle map that coordinates the overall situation is naturally not as detailed as the theater map that outlines the main operational directions at the division level. This is normal. Political Commissar Petrov, who heard Vatutin's request, was already prepared and without much thought, he stepped forward to the map and then spoke quietly.

"The current situation is like this, Comrade Commander"