Chapter 1914: Combination of Arms

The conversation between Malashenko and Vatutin continued, and the topic soon shifted to the issue that Malashenko was most concerned about.

"As for the upcoming overseas operations"

Malashenko immediately became excited when he heard this. In Malashenko's opinion, abandoning his troops and not fighting in order to teach the British and Americans a lesson is the most unprofitable and huge loss. As the commander of the front, how Vatutin arranges this matter will directly affect Malashenko's next actions.

"Although a detailed troop deployment plan has not yet been drawn up, the first battle abroad will definitely be in Poland, that's for sure."

"From the intelligence sent back so far, the German troops stationed in Poland are basically concentrated near the capital Warsaw. Several SS armored divisions and the more elite divisional units of the Wehrmacht are all there. The Germans are likely to rely on Warsaw as a core point to fight us head-on. They still have some decent strength at hand."

"So the initial operations against Poland are not expected to encounter too much resistance. There are not many things I can guarantee, but at least you can return to the front before launching a large-scale offensive against Warsaw. There is no problem with that.

"In addition, you can also set off to return in advance. Judging from the progress of your current offensive, I judge that by tomorrow at the latest, the troops that cut off the root of the salient will be able to join forces in the north and south and complete the first phase of the encirclement operation. Your division's mission is considered completed here. "

"The troops are exhausted and the fighting has been going on for a long time. It's time for you to retreat and rest. Let other troops annihilate the remaining enemies in the encirclement. There is no need to waste your division in a battle where victory is only a matter of time."

"In addition"

Having said this, Vatutin suddenly changed the subject, and the next words were even more unexpected for Malashenko beside him.

"I guess you don't know yet, but the superiors plan to carry out a new round of reorganization, expansion and upgrading of your division after the Bagration operation, that is, before going abroad to fight. By then, there will be a large number of new technical equipment and personnel expansions in place. It takes time to reorganize the troops and form combat effectiveness, so this is not just a matter of you teaching, the troops also need time, and these two things can be carried out at the same time without delaying each other. ”

“”

What the hell? The troops are going to be upgraded, and I’m going to be the army commander???

Malachenko’s first reaction was as described above, and his face was full of surprise, full of “I really didn’t expect it”.

Vatutin probably expected Malachenko to have such a reaction, and knew what kind of questions Malachenko wanted to ask after he recovered, so he simply continued talking without waiting for Malachenko to speak.

“Although it is a new round of reorganization, expansion and upgrading, it does not upgrade your division to an army-level unit. Instead, it will further supplement and expand the subordinate troops on the existing basis, and add more technical equipment. The organization remains unchanged but the strength is expanded. Do you remember the concept and plan of troop construction that you submitted to Marshal Zhukov? Comrade Marshal intends to try it according to your idea first, and the effect depends on your command ability and battlefield performance. ”

“”

Speaking of which, Malashenko hadn’t seen Comrade Zhukov for a while, and didn’t know how his great benefactor was doing recently.

But then again, if it was Zhukov who advocated that the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division further expand its strength, Malashenko honestly felt that this was not surprising.

As Vatutin said, he did submit a report to Zhukov entitled “Concepts and Plans on the Composition of Troops and the Future Development and Construction of Our Army”. The time was after the Battle of Prokhorovka, when Malashenko was discharged from the hospital after recovering from his injuries and returned to the front line to take up his post in the newly formed Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division.

In this report, Malashenko gave Zhukov a detailed overview of the tactical skills and tactics that he had studied and summarized based on actual combat experience, and proposed a new concept in the development and construction of the troops: the synthesis of various arms.

“In view of the fact that the development of modern warfare today is no longer the traditional single-dimensional and single-environment warfare of the past, this is especially true in ground combat. ”

“A corps-level unit that performs the main combat mission needs to cope with a variety of combat missions in a complex and ever-changing battlefield environment. The traditional method of concentrating single technical equipment into one unit and implementing the coordinated combat tactics of multiple independent units with a large number of specialized technical equipment has been difficult to adapt to the development and changes of the times and the needs of actual combat. The reasons are as follows. ”

“In view of this, I suggest that the superiors should start researching and preparing early this morning to break up and reorganize the specialized technical equipment that was originally concentrated in a single combat unit under the background of modern warfare in the new era, and integrate them into a unit with a certain strength and scale to conduct coordinated operations of various arms. ”

“Please note that this concept of unit composition is fundamentally different from the current method of concentrating specialized equipment in one unit and conducting coordinated operations of multiple independent units. ”

"The new combined arms force will be able to fully adapt to any currently known combat environment and complex and changeable battlefield conditions. This will create great advantages in terms of troop mobilization and coordinated operations, and will be used in actual combat. It will provide commanders and fighters with more flexible tactical options, and it will become easier to find and contain the enemy's weaknesses and carry out targeted strikes by taking advantage of the diversified combination of specialized technical equipment."

"But the realization of this idea needs to be based on the premise of sufficient and reliable support of diversified specialized technical equipment. In addition, the tactical thinking and practical application of commanders and fighters must also keep pace with the times, and cannot be based on the war acumen of the old era. Commanding a new combined force of various arms to fight puts high demands on the personal qualities and abilities of commanders and combatants.”

"In addition, the division of labor and cooperation between various types of specialized technical equipment must fully cover any possible battlefield environment. The more complete the coverage, the better the actual combat performance of the troops. But campaign-level support Units should still be independently under direct command at the corps, group army, and front army levels, and can be used flexibly in various battlefield environments as a decisive force.”

The following content is basically some specific and detailed troop composition discussed by Malashenko, as well as thoughts on actual combat applications. The length of the book has expanded to several pages. Malashenko, who was the original author of the book, hardly remembers how he wrote so many words in a long and thoughtful manner.