Chapter 1814 Hot Potato

No matter what, the 218th Battalion had not yet had a chance to kill people in Warsaw as in the past, but had already surrendered to the 122mm cannon of the benevolent father and was defeated on the Eastern Front. Only this obvious thing can be confirmed.

"What are you going to do with that batch of equipment? I just went to see it. These are all brand new self-propelled artillery, and the vehicles are basically in good condition. If we arm ourselves, this will be a new self-propelled artillery battalion. I know you must have considered this issue. What do you think?"

The news that Kurbalov led his men to seize the self-propelled artillery of the German battalion also reached the ears of Comrade Political Commissar. Comrade Political Commissar, who had just led the forward division to the position, heard this and couldn't wait to run to see it with his own eyes and feast his eyes.

He was also shocked by the row of German self-propelled artillery in front of him, but after a brief shock, Comrade Political Commissar immediately considered a more far-reaching problem: how to deal with this batch of precious and rare things next?

Keep this batch of Grizzlies for your own use?

As the political commissar said, Malashenko did have such an intention and considered similar problems and situations.

But a more troublesome problem is that Malashenko may not be able to gather enough people to play with this battalion of self-propelled artillery, and it will not be able to form actual combat effectiveness in the short term.

The Grizzlies are new equipment that have never been touched before, and Malashenko does not have any professional talents who can play with this thing to a proficient level. )

It is true that Malashenko has a battalion of professional German prisoners under his command, but you can't let these prisoners continue to use their original equipment and work under you to bomb their former comrades, right? Even if Malashenko wants to try this idea, his superiors will definitely not agree with Comrade Lao Ma to do so recklessly. This is a fundamental principle issue.

Let the German prisoners teach professional knowledge and provide training on how to use it, which is feasible.

But Malashenko didn't have time to wait for these "German teachers" to teach his soldiers how to use it. The urgency of the war and the tight time are the most important problems that Malashenko cannot ignore.

The Grizzlies are indeed very good equipment. They are mature and reliable in quality, and their performance is even better. They can not only suppress firepower directly but also provide indirect fire support. They are very good choices for frontal assault or as support artillery.

Among the new things that the Germans have come up with in the past two years, Malashenko thinks that the Grizzlies are probably the only new thing that meets his definition of "good equipment". If conditions permit, it is really good to use it for personal use, but at present, the conditions really do not allow it, and Malashenko does not have so much time to waste.

Moreover, the Grizzlies can only be regarded as "not bad" or "pretty good". They have serious shortcomings in frontal high-intensity attack and anti-tank capabilities, which are far inferior to the ISU-152 self-propelled artillery equipped by Lao Ma.

The latter can not only do all the work that the Grizzlies can do, but also can go to the front line with its thicker armor and super-large caliber armor-piercing shells, and directly undertake anti-tank tasks. If necessary, it can also charge with heavy tank troops. After being equipped with Stalin's First Guards Tank Division for so long, it is also well received and is honored by the soldiers as "Giant Bear".

It can be used, and it is quite good, but it is not necessary.

After thinking about it carefully, the above words are the final conclusion of Malashenko for this battalion of Grizzlies assault guns.

"I don't have time to wait for this kind of thing, which is a new weapon for the Germans, to slowly run in and form combat effectiveness in our hands. Now is the climax of the strategic counterattack. The distance we advance a day is often several times that of the past. We are either fighting or on the way. We really don't have extra time to calm down and figure out these things."

Malashenko's slightly helpless summary was recognized by the political commissar, and the slightly nodding expression of approval was proof.

"Since you don't need them, what are you going to do with them? Give them away?"

After hearing this, Malashenko sighed. To be honest, it is not easy to deal with such a large number of special heavy equipment.

"If we can only get a few, even a dozen, it would be easy for me to give them away."

"But this number is a bit too much. A fully equipped assault gun battalion has a total of 45, and one is not bad."

"At this point, it is no longer my decision. Let's keep it in our hands for the time being. I have to ask a few more big shots to see what to do. Maybe Kotin will be interested in this thing, and he might even take some away for research. I heard from him in a telegram a while ago that he was also tinkering with some new self-propelled artillery."

"Speaking of this, the heavy tank troops on the front line don't have much equipment pressure, and Kotin's R&D force has been idle recently. In addition to the group of people Shashmulin brought to Leningrad, the group of R&D personnel he left behind have some work to do. But they can't be idle, so they just started the self-propelled artillery they had conceived before. The specific situation is not clear, but he urged me to go over and take a look when I am free, saying that he lacks inspiration for the next stage of R&D design."

This was how the two men chatted. Many times, the topic would drift to one side without even realizing it. But in the end, the two of them worked together to temporarily solve the problem of these grizzly bears. We, Comrade Lao Ma, do not intend to keep covering this hot potato in our hands. Let whoever wants to take it next take it.

But there was only one thing that Malashenko didn't expect. News about these grizzly bears would spread like wildfire so quickly. Before Malashenko could report to the superiors, a big boss came to visit him personally. Vatutin's sudden visit shortly after the battle was really unexpected to Malashenko.

"Comrade Commander, why didn't you inform me before you came? I have to at least do some security work and send a capable force to pick you up. This is a frontline war zone. It's too dangerous to do so."

When he saved Vatutin, Malashenko didn't feel anything special yet.

But now, Malashenko really understands the reason why some people in later generations said that Vatutin's death in 1944 was "his own doing". This guy really loved to run around too much! Moreover, he was traveling lightly and without any pomp and circumstance.

Have you ever seen a front army commander with a squad of guards, a few entourage, and three or four vehicles, and dare to run around on a battlefield where the enemy and us often enter with divisions and divisions to kill people? ? If you haven’t seen him before, there’s no need to look for him, Vatutin is such a popular person.

Even though he almost lost his life because of this last time, if Comrade Lao Ma hadn't foreseen that something was going to go wrong in advance and came to the rescue, Vatutin would have been buried in the ground like a skeleton and bones, freezing to the core. , but even so, the "old habits will not change", and he can continue to "return to the old business" after everything is done.

Malashenko can save Vatutin once, but only once that can be predicted in advance based on existing history, just like Tiantianya can bring the dead back from the underworld once, but cannot be resurrected twice to extend his life indefinitely.

Malashenko is not a god. It is impossible for him to know when Vatutin will be in danger again and run to the rescue accurately. Strictly speaking, Vatutin should be a dying person. After that rescue, Comrade Lao Ma cannot predict anything that happens in the future.

Therefore, Malashenko, who was anxious and helpless, could only offer good words to this comrade commander who "loved to run around everywhere" and continued to nag him with sincerity and sincerity.

After all, whether in terms of personal emotions or responsibilities, Malashenko does not want anything unexpected to happen to Vatutin. There are quite a few big bosses that Comrade Lao Ma knows and can talk to. There are also many people who are higher and more prominent than Vatutin, but there are not many "good leaders" who can urinate into a pot. of.

After experiencing so much together, Malashenko was very convinced that the model superior-subordinate relationship between himself and Vatutin was the kind that most soldiers could only encounter in their lives.

It is no exaggeration to say that working under Vatutin is indeed the "good time" when I can let go and do whatever I want.