Chapter 1024 The Lemon Is Sour

Lavrinenko had no big objection to Malashenko sending the tank away. After all, KV1 was the bottom of the list in the 1st Stalin Guards Heavy Tank Brigade. Many soldiers were complaining about why they had no new tanks to drive, but were still driving the old KV1.

However, an obvious problem in front of them was that the 1st Stalin Guards Heavy Tank Brigade did not have any direct superiors. To put it nicely, it was a member of the Red Army's rear strategic reserve, and to put it bluntly, it was a child without a mother.

Sending away the tanks that originally belonged to their own troops was not a small matter.

Lavrinenko was worried that if the superiors asked who gave the order to give the tanks away casually, there would be a lot of trouble waiting for the two brothers, and even the political commissar, the deputy political commander, would not be able to escape.

Malashenko's answer to Lavrinenko's concerns seemed calm and unconcerned.

"There is a Chinese proverb that goes, 'When the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up.'"

"I am the boss of the brigade, and I have the final say on any order. If something like that really happens, I will take the initiative to take responsibility. In addition, I think this is not a problem at all, and I have prepared the reasons."

"Our brigade's quota supply can't support 160 heavy tanks, and there is no direct superior to give us orders. The brigade headquarters of the Stalin Guards 1st Heavy Tank Brigade can only make the most appropriate judgment on its own. To put it another way, these tanks are not sent to the Germans, but to strengthen our Red Army's own tank units. What's wrong with this? What do you think?"

""

Lavrinenko, holding the report folder in his hand, blinked his eyes. He felt that he had never been a match for Malashenko in terms of his mouth and speaking skills.

What seemed to be a big problem here may not be as important as what to eat for dinner today when it came to Malashenko. It has always been like this.

However, since there was Malashenko's order, Lavrinenko, who gradually figured it out, just needed to do it.

The task of contacting the 64th Army was personally carried out by the Political Commissar. He also agreed with Malashenko's approach, believing that the quota of supplies for the Stalin Guards 1st Heavy Tank Brigade could not support so many iron turtles.

The Political Commissar, who was adept at political work, was also good at diplomacy. After arriving at the 64th Army, he was not only warmly received by the Chief of Staff of the Army, but also gained a great favor.

"Before you came, the commander and I were worried about the supply issue, Comrade Petrov."

"You know, our 64th Army suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Stalingrad. Although we have received some supplies recently, the quantity is very limited."

"When we heard that all the tanks sent to Stalingrad were delivered to your brigade, and our entire army did not get a single one, to be honest, many of the soldiers below were very dissatisfied. I am not complaining deliberately, Comrade Petrov, I just talk about it as an interesting thing. The priority and treatment of your brigade's replenishment are very enviable."

The chief of staff of the 64th Army is very good at talking. Even the experienced political commissar Petrov has to give him a high score. The atmosphere in the office was immediately activated and lively, as if it was not a business talk but a tea party.

Political commissar Petrov, who took a sip of the tea cup, smiled with the chief of staff. After chatting for a few more words, he looked at his watch and got up from the sofa.

"That's the basic situation and the details to be explained, Comrade Chief of Staff."

"You just need to send someone to drive the car away as soon as possible. The rest of the finishing work will be completed by our brigade. It's that simple."

Seeing that Political Commissar Petrov was about to leave, the hospitable Chief of Staff quickly stood up from the sofa.

"There is another question, Comrade Petrov. After we receive these tanks, we will report to our superiors for preparation. Do you have any questions that need to be explained now? We should communicate in advance to avoid any problems at that time."

The Chief of Staff's question hit the point. Although it may be a trivial matter in his opinion, it is indeed a problem for the Stalin Guards 1st Heavy Tank Brigade.

"Okay, we have no problem here, Comrade Chief of Staff."

Political Commissar Petrov dared to give a positive answer because he and a group of brigade leaders including Malashenko and Lavrinenko held a small meeting to discuss this matter before leaving.

The final conclusion was that this was not a big problem. The superiors had sufficient reasons to solve the problem after asking. Moreover, Malashenko was not a poor man without background. He knew many big men in the Red Army and had a say in them. He was not afraid of someone deliberately making trouble behind his back.

After a pleasant farewell to the chief of staff of the 64th Army, Political Commissar Petrov returned to the brigade headquarters around lunch time. In the afternoon, he saw several trucks of the 64th Army carrying a bunch of tank soldiers coming to pick up the vehicles.

According to Malashenko's order, Karamov and his men spent a morning carrying out the final maintenance of these idle KV1s.

Some parts that were about to be scrapped were directly dismantled and replaced with new ones, and the ammunition reserves in the tanks were also replenished to a full state. These KV1s that had experienced the counterattack in the late stage of the Battle of Stalingrad were now as brand new as when they were just shipped out of the factory, and there would be no problem even if they were immediately put into battle.

In addition to training every day, they would attend the political and ideological training meeting hosted by Political Commissar Petrov, plus eat, sleep and go to the toilet, day after day, and it was the same.

So when friendly troops came to take the old tanks that they had replaced, it was a rare event for the Stalin Guards First Heavy Tank Brigade, which had nothing to do but walk around.

The time point just happened to be at the end of a day's training, and they took a break, smoked two cigarettes and waited for dinner, and then went to the political and ideological training meeting after dinner.

Many soldiers and even tank commanders brought their crew members to come as spectators to watch the show. For a while, the entire tank handover site became extremely lively and crowded.

The 1st Stalin Guards Heavy Tank Brigade, which was honored as the father, was happy to see this, but for the tank soldiers of the 64th Army who came to receive the old tanks and were very happy about it, this scene was a different feeling in their hearts.

"Hey, look at those, they are all new heavy tanks we have never seen before! My God, there are so many here, all of them! I can hardly count how many there are!"

The IS1 and IS2 heavy tanks that had just completed a full day of training were parked in an open space not far away. Some of them had not even turned off their engines and were doing the final maintenance after the training to ensure that they could start smoothly tomorrow morning.

The densely packed group of steel behemoths really made the tank soldiers of the 64th Army, who had only driven KV1, drool with envy.

"Find out where you are! They are the 1st Heavy Tank Brigade of Stalin's Guards, the Guards of the Guards. The best tanks in the Red Army are here, and many people are trying their best to come here to defend the motherland."

The reminder made the surrounding tank soldiers silent, and after a long time, someone suddenly said something.

"I also want to drive these new heavy tanks, they look really great!"