Chapter 1946 Two Choices

Zhukov would not say to Malashenko, "I am satisfied with your answer." He just smiled and nodded slightly to Malashenko before continuing.

"This joint operation has come to a successful conclusion. You have completed the task assigned to you by your superiors very well, Comrade Malashenko. Here, on behalf of the Supreme Command, I would like to express my congratulations and praise to you."

Seeing that Zhukov was deliberately changing the subject to talk about something else, Malashenko smiled obediently and continued to speak.

"This is just what I should do, Comrade Marshal. Completing the tasks assigned to me by my superiors is my mission as a party member and soldier. It is the same at any time and in any place. This will never change."

Zhukov had to admit that talking to this kid Malashenko was a different feeling.

This kid spoke much better than too many brave generals who could win battles on the front line, and it was not just a little bit better, but much better. A simple answer can make this guy talk a lot. For people who are already capable, this is one of the best plus points. It is much better than those idiots who have no cowardice and are good at talking.

"Yeah"

Zhukov nodded slightly, still with a satisfied smile on his face, and continued to walk with Malashenko.

"There is one more thing. Before I set out, I learned about some recent new situations in your division. You haven't known your troops for a while. I guess you are also worried about this matter. I just want to tell you, the division commander, about it."

As he said, Zhukov really knows Malashenko too well. He knows Comrade Lao Ma's temper thoroughly. He directly scratched the most itchy part of Malashenko's heart.

It's true. Malashenko, who has not heard from his troops for half a month and is in a completely closed training state, and has no chance to see his beautiful wife, is really concerned about the recent situation of his troops and is extremely curious.

Seeing Malashenko's expectant expression, Zhukov, who was already talking, did not continue to deliberately tease him, and simply spoke to Malashenko directly.

"The superior's preliminary plan is to follow the report you submitted before. By the way, Comrade Stalin has read your report and has shown great interest in many details and key points in it. He also praised you to my face, saying that our Red Army should promote and train more such outstanding middle-level commanders and fighters with strong subjective initiative, active thinking, and good at being proactive, and asked me to give you as many opportunities as possible to let you do it boldly."

"Ah, this"

Being praised by the loving father was something Comrade Ma did not expect.

According to Malashenko's thinking, he was just a minor general, how could Comrade Stalin remember his name and often mention it? It is important for people to know themselves, and they should know their own weight, right?

But Malashenko was wrong about one thing. The troops he led were not ordinary troops. They were the top trump cards and super elite of the Red Army, and they were the "face division" of Comrade Stalin, the father of the emperor.

If Malashenko's division was defeated, the Germans could make a big fuss and say, "Look, Stalin is just like this, and his guards and imperial guards are just like this. As long as Germany wants, it can easily conquer them."

If that were the case, where would you put the face of the father of the emperor? The effect was no worse than when Malashenko commanded the troops and beat up the SS Guards Division in Prokhorovka. It was just the opposite effect.

How happy Comrade Stalin was at that time, how furious Comrade Stalin would be after being humiliated by the German propaganda machine. It was roughly the same as Hitler's angry expression when he heard that the three ace divisions of the Waffen SS failed to kill a brigade in Prokhorovka, and even the Guards Division with his own name was beaten up and suffered heavy losses.

Based on this reason, it was natural for Comrade Stalin to often ask about the situation of the leader division.

Asking about the leader division would inevitably ask about Malashenko, the little guy who was particularly valued by Zhukov and promoted to his current position, and the answer he got was quite satisfactory. It was quite glorious for the face of his leader. It sounded as if Stalin had beaten the Germans to a pulp himself. This was the most fundamental reason why Comrade Stalin could praise and appreciate Malashenko in front of Zhukov.

Malashenko, who heard this "surprise", reacted as usual and smiled, saying that this was what he should do.

Zhukov did not drag it on any longer, and soon got to the point.

"The superiors have decided to reorganize your division as described in the report. The original three main tank regiments will be merged and expanded to add two new tank brigades. Each brigade will have two tank regiments, and the entire division will have a total of four main tank regiments. The technical equipment of the missing regiment has almost arrived in the past few days. This is the most important change in the main tank force."

"There is a question that needs your decision. The superiors have decided to delegate the appointment power of the two brigade commanders to your division headquarters. You need to draw up a list."

"You can promote from the existing regimental cadres, or if you have your eyes on someone from other friendly forces, you can also report the name. As long as the conditions allow, I will try my best to help you transfer, and give priority to ensuring the combat effectiveness of the expanded and upgraded leader division. Comrade Stalin personally asked about it and required it to be strictly implemented. It is necessary to let other things give way to this."

""

Zhukov gave Malashenko two choices: internal promotion or transfer by superiors.

In fact, in the final analysis, there is no essential difference between these two choices for Malashenko, and both are decided by Malashenko. The difference is nothing more than that if Malashenko feels that he does not have enough people, and sees that other people are more capable, he can pull people over by just reporting their names to Zhukov, and use a transfer order to make him follow him honestly.

Internal promotion represents the absolute trust of the superiors in the leader division headquarters, and fully affirms the leadership and vision of Malashenko as the division commander.

The transfer by superiors represents the absolute recognition of the combat effectiveness of the leader division. The middle-level officers and soldiers who can correspond to the position of brigade commander, no matter which unit they are transferred from, will not have the embarrassing situation of "fish moving from the pond to the small water tank" and being unable to display their strength. The unique combat configuration of the leader division can only be a larger and more powerful stage.

Therefore, these two choices have actually given Malashenko the greatest authority, and there is no better third choice than this.

Malashenko felt a little "flattered" to receive such treatment.

After thinking about it for a while, Malashenko immediately gave an answer that Zhukov did not expect.