Steel Soviet Union

After this report was handed over to Zhukov, there was no news from it as if it had disappeared into the sea. ReadМ

If Vatutin hadn't suddenly mentioned this, Malashenko would have thought that Zhukov looked down on the report he drafted, crumpled it like a piece of paper and threw it into the wastebasket.

In fact, the things Malashenko described in his report were basically what he actually did after taking control of the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division.

As long as you observe carefully, it is not difficult to find that since Malashenko took charge of this most special "super division" in the entire Soviet Army. The number of diversified specialized technical equipment assembled by Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division has been growing exponentially.

Although restricted by various restrictions in the war years, development was far from as smooth as in the peace years.

But even so, Malashenko still built the leader division step by step into a force with multiple capabilities such as heavy armored assault breakthrough, high-mobility direct fire support, high-mobility self-propelled artillery support, advanced light infantry coordinated assault, etc. A complete mechanized combined force of various arms.

The specific battlefield manifestation brought about by this is that the leader himself is enough to stand alone in most battlefield situations.

They can always flexibly take advantage of the integration of diversified specialized technical equipment in their hands to find the enemy's weaknesses and exploit their strengths to avoid weaknesses, and then find the right point to carry out fierce and highly targeted strikes.

And by spreading the wounds from the enemy's weak points to quickly expand the battlefield advantage, investing more specialized technical equipment to cooperate with each other, suppressing and even erasing one's own weaknesses, so that the enemy's counterattack will be unable to do anything, and then without the need for friendly troops With assistance, win the final victory.

As mentioned above and in view of this, today's Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division can be said to be "not worthy of its name" in all aspects.

Not only is the huge force scale far beyond the division-level structure, but the diversified composition of various arms is no longer what a standard tank division should look like.

Instead of calling it a tank division, the current leader division would be more appropriately called the "Stalin Guards First Heavy Combined Division of All Arms". The name does have Russian characteristics and is as long as the names of people born and raised in this land.

Behind all these appearances, Malashenko has been silently supporting Malashenko, providing him with whatever equipment and technical talents he needs, and basically meeting all the requirements. For Malashenko, the man who can definitely be called Bole - Marshal Zhukov, the God of War of the Red Army.

Now, having basically eliminated the Fascist troops from the territory of his motherland, and with more abundant war resources and better practical conditions, Zhukov decided to let go and launch a groundbreaking campaign in accordance with the complete plan proposed by Malashenko in that report. A pilot project to build the first truly integrated corps of various arms in the history of the Red Army.

"This report is very interesting, Zhukov. Was it really written by that little guy alone? Why does it sound like an old marshal who has been on the battlefield for a long time? It took half a lifetime of battlefield experience to summarize such a thing. "

About a week ago, in the most dazzlingly decorated office in the Kremlin, the seat of the highest power center in Moscow, the leader of the Soviet Union, Comrade Stalin, who held the highest power, indeed made such a statement to Zhukov, who had come to visit him to state the matter face to face. question.

Stalin's question was also Zhukov's biggest doubt, at least when Comrade Zhu just got the report.

But precisely because Malashenko was a person he single-handedly trained, Zhukov, who knew a lot about him and how he dealt with people, did not doubt Malashenko.

In fact, even Zhukov had never heard of such a concept before. He had never heard of it at all, and he did not have such a clear and systematic concept in his mind.

Zhukov has repeatedly held important positions in various senior positions such as Chief of General Staff of the Red Army and Frontline Commander. If a senior commander had such an idea, then Zhukov asked himself that it was impossible that he had never heard of any trouble.

In addition, Malashenko not only thought and wrote this, but also did it in actual actions, and used actual combat examples with remarkable results to prove that this so-called "synthetic force of various arms" could fight the Germans. It is as easy as chopping melons and vegetables, killing chickens and dogs, enough to silence anyone who has doubts or objections.

Thinking of this, Zhukov, who had already made up his mind, once again strengthened his belief and spoke again to Stalin, who was sitting behind the desk in front of him, with his usual calm attitude.

"I know and believe in Comrade Malashenko and Stalin. He has proved with his practical actions that he is not only the proposer and advocate of the concept of this troop formation, but also a practitioner who has taken practical actions, and this has been It has been proven to be usable and successful in actual combat.”

"Um"

Holding the report in the folder in one hand, he sat on the chair and thought for a while, lost in thought. The cigarette butt held in the other hand flashed red and smoke continued to flow from his mouth. Zhukov knew that this was Stalin's usual state of deep thinking, and it was best not to disturb him at this time.

When Stalin spoke again after a while, the tone of the words he blurted out had obviously changed, and there was more certainty and happiness than the initial doubts.

"What do you mean, do you want to implement this report on a pilot basis?"

Faced with the Supreme Leader's question, Zhukov once again answered with a firm demeanor without any hesitation.

"Yes, Comrade Stalin. The Leadership Division is currently the closest to the state of the concept of building a combined arms force described in the report. It has the most practical possibility and basis for implementation. It is also the drafter of this report and the proposer of the construction concept. The troops under Malashenko’s personal command have excellent practical operability in all aspects.”

"If what is described in the report proves to be feasible, it will also mean that it will point out a new path for the construction and development of the Red Army in the future. I think this path can continue for at least twenty years, or even three years. In ten years or more, the emergence of new types of equipment will only continue to strengthen the combat effectiveness of this new type of force, rather than eliminate this type of force formation. "

"This will open a new chapter for the future of the Red Army. In any case, I think it is worth a try, and the sooner the better. It is best to practice in actual combat and accept the test of actual combat. This is what I want to express the meaning of."

"Um"

Zhukov stated his thoughts in a complete, detailed and professional manner, which also made Comrade Stalin, who understood clearly, once again fall into brief contemplation.

A moment later, when Stalin, who had lowered his head to read the report, raised his head again, the final moment Zhukov had been waiting for finally arrived at this moment, and again without hesitation.

"Then, just do it. You will be solely responsible for this."

"If you are willing to believe in that Malashenko, then so am I. This young guy has brought us all too many surprises and surprises, time and time again. We cannot let the rigidity and dogmatism of the system limit us. An outstanding and creative young commander.”

"Let's take a look together and see how much surprise this little guy can bring us this time."