Steel Soviet Union

Speaking of which, if Chuikov hadn't reminded him, Malashenko would have almost forgotten that he had saved Chuikov's life.

Now that I think about it, that must have happened at the end of the Battle of Stalingrad.

At that time, the troops under Malashenko were dying out in the cruelty day after day. The Germans on the opposite side, who suffered equally heavy casualties, were gritting their teeth and holding on for the last breath, as if whoever could hold on to the end would usher in the victory. The ultimate victory.

The eager Germans saw that it was difficult to open up the situation and achieve a quick victory through conventional means. In desperation, they quickly raised a commando team composed of elite light infantry, or a "youth version of the special forces", whatever you want to call it. Under the cover of the main force's frontal attack, this elite small force was used to achieve a comeback, destroy Chuikov's headquarters in one fell swoop, and win the victory.

The action of this small force was indeed successful, and 90% of the German army's intentions were basically realized.

The elite infantrymen, who were armed to the teeth, blew open the entrance to the tunnel and rushed into Chuikov's underground command room, killing him indiscriminately. The soldiers in charge of guarding the headquarters fell one after another. They were unable to withstand the powerful assault firepower of the well-prepared elite German infantry and almost lost the position.

Chuikov, who was about to lose control of the situation, saw his life in danger. The Germans were only one step away from victory and were about to be beheaded.

But at this moment, Malashenko, who had lost his tank and became an infantryman, appeared in time and personally led the team to follow the German guy into the tunnel. What followed was a bloody battle. Can fight hand-to-hand combat and close combat.

The grenades alone were thrown like a snowball fight in winter, and the small-arms bullets were splashing in the face like heavy rain and typhoons. The intensity of the battle was almost as high as any hand-to-hand battle during the Stalingrad street fighting.

The final result of the battle was that Malashenko won. This improvised infantry unit, a hodgepodge of armed workers, tank crews, and scattered infantry, won the victory. He used his tenacious fighting spirit and superior endurance to crush this elite German infantry squad with insufficient stamina, and finally prevented Chuikov from reporting to Comrade Lenin in advance.

To be honest, Malashenko felt that this matter was not worth mentioning.

In Stalingrad, which is so cruel that one can close his eyes every night and see the scenes of fighting during the day, and wake up to fight again. There were so many hand-to-hand battles like this that Malashenko himself could not even count how many he had experienced. , there is really nothing too special about this battle that can be impressive.

Regarding the rescue of Chuikov, Malashenko did not think it was anything serious.

After all, Chuikov was originally an immortal in existing history, but this Vatugin was different.

Even if he did not lead his team to rescue him, Malashenko estimated that his butterfly effect would not have been able to incite Chuikov to death in Stalingrad. It is estimated that Chuikov had some other way or chance to escape. Born in heaven.

After all, Chuikov's headquarters was also raided by German commandos in history. This incident happened in the original history, but Chuikov still managed to escape and survived. Malashenko felt that this time The results on the line should not fundamentally change either.

Leading a team to rescue the driver himself would be considered an interlude at best.

In Malashenko's view, this kind of thing that does not change history is not worth taking too seriously. It is essentially different from the matter of saving Vatutin. Therefore, Comrade Lao Ma, who is known as "noble people tend to forget things", had basically forgotten about this matter. He finally remembered it until Chuikov mentioned it again.

"That's nothing, Comrade Commander, it was just what I should have done as a subordinate at the time. It was my duty and duty to protect Comrade Commander, and I believe that other comrades would have done the same thing as me."

As usual, he still pushed out this contribution that was recognized and thanked by Chuikov. There was no need to pretend, and Malashenko really felt that this kind of thing was not worth mentioning.

But Chuikov himself obviously didn't think so, and still had a warm smile on his face.

"You have your thoughts and your opinions, and I don't interfere with that, but just like I have mine."

"No matter how you say it, I owe you once, Malashenko. If others are kind to me, I will always remember it. This is Chuikov's principle. I hope that one day I will have the opportunity to return this favor to you."

Although there was a warm smile on his face, Malashenko could clearly feel that Chuikov's attitude was absolutely serious, without any pretense or joking.

When a person like him can tell you this, it actually speaks volumes. Chuikov, as a superior, has no need to waste time with Malashenko by saying such nonsense. He can say this. The only reasonable explanation is that he really wanted to do it and really meant it.

"How many troops did you bring? I didn't even have time to ask Comrade Marshal how many men, horses and equipment the current leader's division has. I know that this is the most special field group in the entire Red Army. It is far from being judged and measured by the normal establishment, right? "

Chuikov's switching of topics was indeed fast enough.

One second he was chatting with Malashenko about personal matters, and the next second it turned into a business discussion. Malashenko, who could keep up with his thinking, had a confident smile on his face, and then He spoke quietly.

"Not many, just close to 300 tanks of various types, and about half of this number of self-propelled artillery and rocket launchers, plus a small amount of other special combat equipment, such as infantry fighting vehicles and rocket assault tanks. The total number is close to 20,000 Human combat forces, as well as sufficient logistical support to sustain these combat forces in sustained high-intensity operations, provided sufficient supplies are delivered.”

"It seems that there is nothing missing? In my impression, this is all worth saying. Are you satisfied with the reinforcements from the Leader Division? Comrade Commander."

""

Before this, Chuikov only knew and heard that the Leader Division was a powerful synthetic field group with a full strength far exceeding that of troops of the same level. However, the specific situation of the leader division is not well understood, because the detailed establishment and composition of the leader division, detailed battle reports, etc. are all high-level internal reference information with a high degree of confidentiality.

With Chuikov's status, it is not impossible to understand, but he has to write an application report to his superiors and wait for approval, so that he can get some leadership information that can be shown to everyone, which may not be enough. , even more appetizing.

The level of confidentiality of this elite field group, which is an experimental force formation, is definitely one of the best within the Red Army. If you want to study the leadership division in depth, you must go through strict examination. This is the same for the vast majority of Red Army commanders in high positions.

Chuikov, who only knew that the leader was "very strong", but never expected to be so "arrogant and unreasonable", after hearing Malashenko's indifferent words, he just opened his mouth and was shocked for a long time. Unable to speak, he just blinked and gasped.