Chapter 1769 Comrade Commander Is at the Front

When Vatutin's motorcade stepped on the accelerator and rushed to the front field division headquarters of Stalin's 1st Guards Tank Division, it was Political Commissar Petrov, who had been in poor health recently and whose health was deteriorating, who led a large number of personnel from the division headquarters to wait for him.

The guard got out of the co-pilot seat first, and then followed closely around the front of the car and came to the rear door.

Before he had time to reach out and open the door, he saw that the door was quietly opened from the inside out. The person who opened the door and got out of the car by himself, looking a little impatient, was Vatutin.

"Comrade Commander, welcome to the 1st Stalin Guards Tank Division for inspection. On behalf of all officers, soldiers and political workers of the division, I welcome you."

Political Commissar Petrov, who saluted with one arm, stood in front of him. Vatutin took a deep breath and showed no expression of joy, anger, sorrow or happiness on his face. He just kept his expressionless poker face and returned the salute, and quietly replied.

"Where is Malashenko now?"

"Comrade Division Commander, he is at the front line. Whenever there is a big battle, he will personally go to the front line to command the battle. This is already a routine of our division, comrade commander.

The superficial meaning of the comrade's words is "You know Malashenko's old problem." Vatutin can certainly understand the meaning of it. After hearing such an answer, he didn't seem very surprised. He just wanted to confirm his guess that he felt was almost right, that's all, and then he continued to ask.

"What about the deputy division commander? Where is the deputy division commander? ”

“”

Comrade Political Commissar’s bad face indeed began from this moment. The experienced and well-informed Political Commissar Petrov had already realized that something was wrong. The Commander’s hurried “trip of unknown purpose” might not be simple.

Although he realized that the true answer would most likely not satisfy Vatutin, and might even make Vatutin’s face turn sharply down and fly into a rage, the Commissar, who knew that he should and must tell the truth, finally gave the truth.

“The deputy division commander has also gone to the front, Comrade Commander. This battle involves three-front operations, and each front is important. It requires people who can take on the heavy responsibility to manage and command independent fronts. Comrade Deputy Division Commander was personally selected and appointed by Comrade Division Commander. "

Sure enough, what happened next was as expected.

After hearing this, Vatutin had a poker face but shook his eyebrows, obviously looking unhappy. It was unknown whether he was trying hard not to get angry or if he really hadn't accumulated enough anger to explode. In short, when Vatutin spoke again, there was indeed no obvious gunpowder in his words, but it still made people feel that the situation was not good.

"So, the military command has been completely separated from the field division headquarters of your division. This is just a logistics coordination and liaison center, is that right?"

""

If Political Commissar Petrov still couldn't hear what Vatutin meant, then he should just forget about it. He had lived in vain for most of his life. At the moment, Vatutin was probably only one step away from going berserk on the spot.

"Forgive me for not being able to deny it, Comrade Commander, I'm afraid that what you think and describe is correct, and it is indeed the case. ”

“”

This time it was Vatutin’s turn to be speechless, and he didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Commissar Petrov’s frank admission made Vatutin feel so angry that he almost wanted to laugh. But thinking carefully, such a situation was not something he could control or decide. On the contrary, the person who allowed this situation to occur and continue happened to be himself. Strictly speaking, he should not and was not qualified to trouble Commissar Petrov about this matter.

At least, Vatutin thought so in his heart.

“Take me to the division headquarters. You are all standing here stupidly to greet me. Don’t you have your own work to do? Don’t forget that what we lack most is time, comrades. "

In a not-so-serious tone, he reminded everyone present. Vatutin, who had no extra time to waste, went straight to the tent of the field division under the leadership of Political Commissar Petrov, and stood in front of the war zone map hanging in a prominent position in the center.

Vatutin's eyes were very careful and slow, and he was unwilling to miss any details on the map in front of him, for fear of missing anything.

Political Commissar Petrov, who was accompanying him, just stood there quietly without any extra movements.

Before Vatutin actually took action and raised questions, the Political Commissar only Just stay on standby.

It is never a wise move to interrupt the superior's thinking and concentration. The political commissar, who is over fifty years old, naturally understands this and knows it well.

After staring at the map carefully for about two minutes, Vatutin, who had not spoken since entering the division headquarters, finally uttered the first sentence.

"Divide the troops into three routes and three lines to attack at the same time, penetrate deep and cut off the enemy's retreat, and launch a large encirclement and annihilation operation in the plains."

"If I'm not mistaken, this must be the battle plan formulated by Malashenko, right?"

The political commissar did not lie unnecessarily to deny it, but nodded to Vatutin with an affirmative look.

"It seems that I know him well. This is his fighting style, or he is just such a person. It seems reckless and underestimates the enemy, and he is alone in deep, but it is the most suitable tactic of opening and closing. Once successful, it can achieve the greatest results. The absolute strength is enough to suppress the enemy. This is somewhat similar to Marshal Zhukov's command style."

Vatutin's comments were first negative and then positive, and he also dragged Comrade Lao Zhu into it. The surrounding front headquarters' accompanying personnel naturally nodded and agreed. People with a discerning eye naturally knew what Vatutin meant.

To be precise, you can hear from this sentence that the commander is far from being really angry and wanting to do something to Malashenko. It is likely that he is just "a little bit" dissatisfied with the sudden and difficult situation, that's all.

"Won't you explain the latest situation to me? Comrade Political Commissar, the front headquarters does not have such detailed combat maps as your division headquarters."

The overall battle map is naturally not as detailed as the war zone map of the main combat direction at the division level. This is normal. Hearing Vatutin's request, Political Commissar Petrov was already prepared and didn't think much. He stepped forward to the map and spoke quietly.

"The current situation is like this, Comrade Commander"