Chapter 635 Strong Support

The new urban combat mode proposed by Malashenko was unheard of by everyone present.

The suppression and rejection of new things by old things is an eternal truth.

Some tank commanders with rigid minds and stubborn minds questioned Malashenko's combat mode on the spot.

They believed that the urban tank combat mode should be like the plain field battle, where the absolute advantage of heavy troops should be deployed in the areas where victory can be achieved to form a fist, defeat the German offensive, crush the opponent's intentions, and recapture the occupied strategic locations. After all, this is what was done in the previous successful combat examples.

As for the new version of the urban tank combat mode proposed by Malashenko, some of the commanders who were sarcastic and a little jealous of the young man in front of them even said that the combat mode proposed by Malashenko was purely a fuel-adding tactic, which would waste the sacrifices of the Red Army soldiers and put the success or failure of the entire battle in danger, and should not be adopted at all.

Malashenko, who had no ability to "debate with scholars", had to give up when he was deliberately targeted. He crossed his arms and put on a posture of "OK, OK, OK, if you say it is, then it is, no quibbling", and expressed his attitude and dissatisfaction with silent silence.

Major General Nikishev, the chief of staff of the front who presided over the meeting, saw Malashenko's dissatisfaction, and also understood that some people with ulterior motives in front of him were deliberately targeting Malashenko because of jealousy and suspicion because of their seniority and high military rank.

Where there are human hearts, there is society. The two negative psychological emotions of jealousy and exclusion are inevitable wherever you go, even at the moment when the enemy is at hand. What's more, the combat mode proposed by Malashenko is too unrealistic. Even Major General Nikishev himself could not figure out whether this set of tactics would work, because it had never been tested before.

This matter was eventually reported to Vasilevsky and Yeremenko when it could not be resolved on the spot.

Just as Vasilevsky and Yeremenko finished their work and took some time to discuss how to solve the problem, Malashenko was still sitting in the combat meeting room like Xu Shu entering Cao's camp, and the news that Zhukov's private plane had arrived at Stalingrad Airport came immediately.

Zhukov listened to the cause and effect of Vasilevsky's retelling in one minute, then smiled and shook his head, took off his gloves and spoke.

"Before solving the problem, let me tell you a story, a story that just happened not long ago and most people present don't know yet."

Zhukov's speech was obviously unexpected at the beginning, and everyone present, including Vasilevsky, cast a complicated look at this Red Army war god without exception.

"Not long ago, our troops captured the latest tanks of the Germans on the Leningrad front. This new German heavy tank is very powerful, equipped with unprecedented strong heavy armor and a very powerful 88mm main gun, which is the tank gun version of the 88mm anti-aircraft gun."

Among the three elements of "firepower, protection, and mobility" of tanks, the issue of mobility is always intentionally or unintentionally ranked at the bottom.

In the eyes of most commanders and fighters of the Red Army tank forces, the tanks equipped by their command should have an indestructible main gun that can directly destroy the Nazi running dogs' garbage tanks at regular combat distances. At the same time, they must have strong and excellent armor with good defensive performance, which should be immune to the direct attack of German tanks at regular combat distances.

Only tanks that have both of these points are qualified to be called good tanks. As for the issue of mobility, it is not so important. As long as it can barely pass and not fall behind, everything is fine.

The best example of this kind of tank is the KV1 heavy tank.

At least in the past 1941, the Red Army's front-line troops generally gave a favorable evaluation of this strong and powerful heavy tank. It was much stronger than the "big toilet head" KV2 that even its own people disliked. The KV1 heavy tank was undoubtedly a successful product that could meet the needs of actual combat.

When everyone present heard from Zhukov that the Germans also had similar heavy tanks, the deep surprise that overflowed from their words was obvious.

"The Germans also have heavy tanks? This is not good news!"

"Putting heavy anti-aircraft guns on heavy tanks? It's hard to deal with just thinking about it. We should prepare for it early."

"I don't know how many new tanks the Germans have put into production. If we encounter such a monster, it will be troublesome!"

The scene of a drop of cold water falling into a hot oil pan is basically the same as the current one. Zhukov, who had expected such a result, forcibly interrupted the chattering of everyone present and continued to speak.

"After capturing the Germans' new heavy tank, we took great pains to send this ferocious steel behemoth back to the rear for technical analysis. You know, this monster weighs 56 tons."

"In Moscow, the supreme leader Comrade Stalin personally inspected this latest German heavy tank and was deeply impressed. He instructed the tank research and development department to analyze this new German heavy tank as much as possible and find effective countermeasures."

"But what I want to emphasize to everyone is not how difficult this new German heavy tank is to deal with, but that someone had accurately predicted that the Germans would adopt a similar design as early as last year."

"He once told me that after seeing our KV1 heavy tank, the Germans would combine a similar design with their most powerful land anti-tank weapon: the 88mm anti-aircraft gun. Create a new heavy tank with thick armor and unprecedented fierce firepower, and produce it at the fastest speed to try to reverse the tank disadvantage, just in the next year, which is now 1942."

Zhukov's words surprised the audience in less than three minutes.

Almost no one believed that someone could accurately predict the design and appearance of the German tank to such an extent. If there was such a person, his understanding of the Germans and his mastery of tanks must have reached an incredible height. But these words came from Zhukov's mouth, which was the final fact that did not need to be questioned.

Zhukov decided to support Malashenko from the beginning after listening to Vasilevsky's narration. This was not only an affirmation of Malashenko's new urban tank warfare mode, but also a firm support and trust for Malashenko.

Seeing that his suspense and foreshadowing had achieved the expected effect, Zhukov, still smiling, raised his hand and pointed, and then spoke quietly.

"If you want to meet him in person, I suggest you do it now."