Chapter 2074: Others' Victory
"Hmm? Continue to go south? Let me see!"
I was not curious just now because Malashenko wanted to try whether his guess was correct. Now the result has come out. Comrade Lao Ma did guess wrong as Comrade Political Commissar said. It is reasonable to see the correct answer after guessing wrong, right? Isn't it?
"Cooperate with the First Ukrainian Front to encircle and annihilate the German army group on the southern line? Pursue the retreating enemy and complete the interception mission, and annihilate as many enemy forces as possible? Isn't this, why do I feel that this order looks a bit strange? Don't you think so?"
When saying the first half of the sentence, Malashenko's voice was still relatively high, and there was a lot of surprise in his words. It can be seen that he really didn't expect it.
However, the tone of the second half of the sentence has changed. Malashenko deliberately lowered his voice and spoke in a low voice only to the extent that he and Comrade Political Commissar could hear.
For no other reason, I just want to know whether Comrade Political Commissar has the same views and opinions on this seemingly strange command telegram as I do.
Why do you say this order is a bit strange? Because Malashenko knew long ago that Konev, who had a million soldiers, did not need his own division at all. He could kill the Germans with just a pile of people. Logically, he was the one who needed the least reinforcement from friendly forces.
If you say that the main forces in other directions went to fight in the direction he was responsible for without the approval of the military commander in the supporting direction or even the initiative to apply, Malashenko would never believe it. Because the prior combat plan was not arranged in this way at all, and now this is a temporary adjustment after the battle started.
Then who made this adjustment?
Malashenko did not dare to make a promise immediately. It is not a good habit to doubt and discuss superiors.
But Malashenko remembered something that Zhukov had told him before: Vatutin and Konev went to Comrade Stalin, the father, for the ownership of the leadership division and asked for a top-down decision.
If we follow the normal procedure, and you ask Malashenko to say which direction he is most likely to be transferred to next, Malashenko will of course think that returning to the old unit, continuing to work with Vatutin's men, and preparing for the offensive campaign against East Prussia is the most likely.
Not only did the leader division originally belong to the Third Belorussian Front, which is the unit under the command of Vatutin, but it was only temporarily transferred to the First Belorussian Front to work for driver Luo. This was clearly stated in the previous command telegram and there is no doubt about it.
Moreover, the German army on the north road has been beaten to pieces and has been defeated. There is no German heavy army group to resist between the Third Belorussian Front and East Prussia. The strategic offensive road from Poland to East Prussia seems to be unobstructed.
What is East Prussia? It is a decisive battle place where the Germans will fight to the death even if they risk their lives.
This means that if Vatutin wants to launch a strategic offensive against East Prussia, the return of the leader division is essential, at least in theory. Everyone knows how powerful the leader division is in the offensive operations of siege and capture. Malashenko and his men are like "human self-propelled German stick crushers", which is no exaggeration.
In this case, not only did they not go north, but they also went south. This made Malashenko feel that something was strange and abnormal, especially since the highest military commander in the south was still Konev, which made Comrade Lao Ma feel even more wrong.
What? After such a big detour, the leader division finally worked under Konev? Does this mean that Konev is a loser or a shrewd man? Or did he trick Vatutin?
This is just what Malashenko thinks in his mind for the time being. Comrade Lao Ma wants to hear the views of Comrade Political Commissar before making a decision. After all, Comrade Political Commissar never disappoints people in making plans and analyzing situations.
Holding the telegram in his hand and holding his chin with a thoughtful expression, the political commissar spent about ten seconds thinking about this matter. He did not comment at first. After having a preliminary analysis that convinced him, he whispered to Malashenko.
"You wrote everything you were thinking on your face. Coincidentally, my thoughts are basically the same as yours. You know what I mean. This is a self-analysis and judgment based on my past experience. Although I can't say for sure that the facts must be like this, I can only say that we guessed the same thing. That's it."
The political commissar didn't mention a single name, but he gave the answer that Malashenko wanted in the shortest way. You really have to say that the old ones are the best.
However, just "thinking the same thing" doesn't work. Both the political commissar and Malashenko know this very well.
The current situation is that the command telegram issued in the name of the First Belarusian Front Command, which temporarily took over the command of the Leader Division, has been sent to the Leader Division Headquarters and handed over to the military commander Malashenko, and has been fully understood.
Then it seems that there is only one way left for Malashenko to go, no matter what Malashenko thinks or guesses.
"Put aside the doubts in your heart for the time being, Comrade Division Commander. We are all soldiers, and obeying orders is our obligation and duty. I think we have to leave Warsaw and head south as soon as possible. We don't have much time left."
""
Malashenko, who was in a very unhappy mood, seemed to want to say something, but he didn't seem to know how to say it. After holding it in for a long time, he just said this.
"That's it? Just obey orders and that's it???"
Comrade Comrade Political Commissar knew that Malashenko was unwilling to give in. No matter how outstanding Comrade Commander was, he was still a young man. It would be strange if someone of this age could be suppressed so easily.
"Let's go first, and then I will contact Commander Vatutin. Leave this matter to me. I have my own way, and I will convey the results to you as soon as possible."
No matter what Malashenko thought or was reluctant to do so, after overnight preparations, the leading division finally set off early the next morning after the friendly troops who came to change defenses arrived and headed south out of the city. The time spent in Warsaw was only a mere day.
There were citizens of Warsaw who came to see the leader off. After all, Malashenko still brought hope to the people here, so there must be many people who are grateful for this.
But compared to those who came to see off the Red Army, there were obviously more people celebrating the liberation of Warsaw.
The streets and alleys were full of celebrating Warsaw citizens. On his way out of the city to the south, Malashenko even saw many members of the Warsaw Uprising Army. Most of them were carrying guns in one hand, hugging women in the other, or carrying bottles full of wine. Wandering around in the streets, I looked at the Red Army with eyes that were not filled with deep hatred, but definitely not very good either. Some of them were even gritting their teeth, secretly.
"I guess these Polish ghosts will definitely say that the victory in Warsaw is their own doing and their own."
Malashenko, who was in a bad mood and did not sit in the tank but in the back seat of the Gas Jeep, spoke quietly while looking out the window at the street scene.
"Yes, it is indeed the case. There are already such rumors in the city. However, I have fully reported our actions and the entire process to Commander Vatutin. He should be aware of it by now."
After listening to the words of the political commissar next to him, Malashenko took a long breath and just closed his eyes slightly, leaned on the back seat, and no longer looked out the window.
"Then that's enough, let's go."
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