Chapter 1910 No Matter When

The Prokhorovka battle was the closest battle to death for Malashenko so far. It is no exaggeration to say that his life was in the hands of the god of death. If he was pulled a little, he would die immediately.

Vatutin's words made Malashenko recall the days of the bloody battle in Prokhorovka. Although it was extremely cruel, it was over. It would be too sissy to dwell on these trivial things that were already yesterday. Besides, Vatutin, who slowed down his pace, had a lot more to say next, which was obvious.

"Next, it's the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Campaign (Corky's Note: Cherkassy Campaign)."

"You were responsible for leading the troops to charge and smash through the German belly, causing chaos in the front and rear of the Germans, but there was indeed a huge crisis in the macro-strategy."

"The German breakout group was only one step away from breaking through the high ground and breaking through the pocket. My macro-strategic decision-making errors ultimately affected the changes and developments in the overall battle situation. Your division had been fighting for many days and was quite tired. I was not sure that you could rush in with a force far weaker than the enemy and delay their breakthrough and block this possible gap."

"Finally, I decided to give it a try, even if I failed, I would not regret it. However, you once again created You created a miracle, Malashenko, and once again surprised and delighted me. Not only that, you even led your team to completely annihilate the Viking Division, which was full of evil and had the blood of the Soviet people on its hands. Even Comrade Stalin happily asked to publish a special report in the most prominent position of Pravda. "

"You turned the situation around and won honor for the entire First Ukrainian Front. Comrade Konev also congratulated us on behalf of the Second Ukrainian Front, which cooperated with us in the battle. Everything is good. This is the best result. The complete victory of the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Campaign will be recorded in history, and your name will be the most brilliant chapter in it. "

Ah, this

Vatutin was right about one thing, that is, Malashenko did not feel much about this major crisis in the macro-strategy.

After all, Malashenko was not a front commander who sat in the front headquarters to coordinate the overall situation. He was just a front-line commander who led troops to fight, charged in front, and retreated behind.

As for commanding the whole army, Malashenko is indeed lacking a lot and has no practical experience, so it is normal that he is unaware of this.

But from the tactical level of actual regional combat, Malashenko is indeed the biggest contributor to plugging the hole. Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division rushed to the high ground before it was broken through, completely cutting off the last glimmer of hope for the German army to break through successfully, which was the last straw that broke the camel's back, and eventually forced the German army to move to a new direction to break through and finally completely destroyed in the pocket.

This credit was indeed won by his own team, and Malashenko also knew that this was a fact.

Thinking from another angle, if this hole was not plugged and tens of thousands of Germans were allowed to escape, Vatutin, as the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front responsible for the specific encirclement and annihilation battle, would be blamed. Most likely, he would be severely reprimanded by his father and deprived of the honor of this battle as in the existing history, and finally end up with a miserable result that was time-consuming, laborious and thankless.

In short, he fought all the tough battles, but in the end, he didn't get any credit. All the credit went to Konev and the Second Ukrainian Front who were blocking the outside. In the end, he was scolded by Comrade Stalin and was not a good person. This kind of thing is not easy for anyone, even Vatutin, who has always had a good temper.

However, because of the existence of this time and space singularity, all this did not happen.

All the besieged German troops that were put into Cherkassy's pocket, whether they were the Wehrmacht or the SS, ended up being annihilated, either participating in labor reform or turning into soil fertilizer. The entire First Ukrainian Front was therefore honored by the military notice drafted by Comrade Stalin himself, and Vatutin was also awarded the Soviet Hero Award.

Malashenko didn't mean to say anything. Since some things are really facts and cannot be avoided, they should be admitted. Sometimes, if you refuse too much, things that are attributed to you will become hypocritical and artificial.

Vatutin walked and listened without saying a word. Vatutin obviously had not stopped there and was still making his final statement.

"This last time, it was out of my personal friendship, Malashenko."

"No one is perfect. Of course, I have shortcomings. Even though Marshal Zhukov advised me not to do this, I still took a small team to the front to understand the situation."

"It was indeed unexpected. Who would have thought that at that time, local bandits in Ukraine would come to attack the Red Army convoy? It was not enough to describe it as audacious."

"But I don't know why. I believe you can create a miracle again. Although I am a little embarrassed, I really believed that you could save me. I, Vatutin, could not die in such a place. The motherland still needs me to do a lot of things for her. I can't sacrifice in this way."

"What happened later, huh? Of course it was expected. The strongest tank hero of the motherland once again created a miracle. Am I right?"

Vatutin smiled, and his smile was very warm and heroic, without any pretense or hypocrisy.

Seeing this, Malashenko also smiled, but did not want to brag too much about his achievements.

Saving Vatutin was something I had thought about and planned long ago. It had nothing to do with anything else. It was a choice and action made purely out of my own will.

Malashenko never expected this choice to bring him anything from the beginning. He just wanted to save Vatutin and not let him die so unclearly. It was such a simple and pure idea, nothing more.

After laughing, there were the last words, which were of course the sincere words that Vatutin wanted to tell Malashenko the most.

"No matter when or what the situation is, I will remember everything about that day and the glorious years we have experienced together."

"I owe you, Malashenko, but you don't have to worry about it or feel any burden. Maybe I can't repay such a great life-saving grace in my lifetime, but if one day you really need my help, please remember that you have an elder brother who is like a real brother and is always willing to do anything for you within his ability. This is my promise to you."