Chapter 1242 A more important task

Roaring and roaring steel machines are the love of every passionate man. Men with passionate square steel are born with a lack of immunity to such things, even if they are more attractive to the opposite sex.

This is no exception even for Comrade Lao Zhu, who became the marshal.

"How many of these new heavy tanks have your division received now? How effective are they in actual use?"

Zhukov was very interested in the detailed situation, which was directly related to the specific combat effectiveness of the Stalin Guards 1st Tank Division led by Malashenko in the upcoming battle.

Zhukov's instinctive worry and worry about new equipment prevented him from having 100% absolute trust in this seemingly powerful and mighty new heavy tank.

From the initial birth to the complete perfection of any equipment on the battlefield, it is a process of continuous improvement, upgrade and optimization. Zhukov, who knows this well, hopes to get a reassuring answer from Malashenko.

"Not many, Comrade Marshal."

"Because it is a new type of equipment that has just started mass production, Comrade Kejing told me that based on the current production capacity conversion estimate, he can only maintain a monthly output of about 40 vehicles before March at most."

"After March, this number will increase, but at present, this is the limit considering the production of IS2. We cannot stop all production lines at once and replace them with IS6 production lines. The impact on the monthly production of heavy tanks would be unacceptable."

The huge gap in heavy tanks in the frontline forces makes it impossible to immediately switch to IS6 production. Kogin needs to gradually convert more production lines to IS6 heavy tanks while maintaining acceptable production efficiency of IS2 heavy tanks. tank.

The advantage of this is that it will not have a big impact on the total monthly production of heavy tanks, and at the same time, it will also take into account the development and production increase of new heavy tanks.

It can be said that this kills two birds with one stone, but it is not a bad idea to say that it is a compromise. The key lies in the angle from which to look at this matter, and Malashenko, who understands why Kogin did this, certainly chose former.

"Our division has currently received a total of 51 new heavy tanks of this type. In addition to the necessary distribution of command vehicles at the regiment, battalion, and company levels, the rest are all equipped with the First Heavy Tank Regiment as the main force. , Colonel Kurbalov will be in charge of commanding the operation. I am ready to gather this elite force and use it as an assault knife to tear apart the enemy's defense lines."

"Oh, one more thing, Comrade Marshal. These new heavy tanks perform very well. They have larger diameter road wheels and better engine output. Their maneuverability and cross-country passability are much better than those of the IS2. .

"The tests over the past few days have not found any major problems with them. Comrades have responded well to the feedback on this new heavy tank. It is fast, efficient, has strong protection, and its firepower is indestructible. Except for the relatively short reload time of large-caliber artillery shells, Slower, there are no other disadvantages, those fascist lackeys are about to learn their powerful power."

Whether a weapon or equipment is useful or not is not decided by its designer, but by the actual users, that is, the soldiers on the front line.

After hearing Malashenko's statement, Zhukov, who had generally come to a basic conclusion, nodded slightly, and finally stopped together with Malashenko when they reached the end of the review queue.

"Then, use them well! Let the enemy fully appreciate the powerful power of our Red Army heavy tank troops, Malashenko."

"I will suggest to Moscow that more production resources be allocated to this new type of heavy tank, but this will take some time. If you can use them to show more brilliant results on the front line, I believe my suggestion will also The implementation will be much smoother. Comrade Stalin has been paying close attention to the details of the frontline battle situation, and he will definitely notice this change."

Regarding the "small request" put forward by Comrade Lao Zhu, Malashenko could only respond with a smile, indicating that Zhukov only needed to wait patiently.

"I will go to see the more specific situation of other regiments in your division. Let Comrade Petrov take me there. We have met before. He is a very good and respectable old Red Army and an excellent Communist Party member. , I happen to have something to discuss with him about your teacher’s spiritual outlook and ideological education.”

"As for you, you have other more important tasks here."

Other more important tasks?

Zhukov did not clarify his words directly, but made a little joke out of it, which made Malashenko a little confused. Our old Comrade Ma really can’t understand what can be done now that is better than him as a military officer. Chief, it is more important to accompany the marshal to inspect the troops.

"See those reporters over there?"

Zhukov raised his hand and pointed far away, and Malashenko looked in the direction of the finger.

"I saw it, Comrade Marshal, but what does this have to do with me?"

Before Malashenko could finish speaking, Zhukov, who was already preparing to issue an order, interrupted Malashenko's speech and spoke.

"Your task is to deal with that group of reporters, but they are not our own reporters. You can decide whether to accept interviews based on the situation. The key is the Americans and British."

"American and British?"

Malashenko had a question mark and disbelief on his face, as if he was wearing big black pants when he went to bed last night, and when he woke up this morning, he found that he had changed into a pair of red pants without realizing it. Which one was sung?

"Yes, those reporters from the United States and Britain."

"I think you should all know that the coalition forces composed of the United States and the British have just landed in Sicily and lit a fire in the back garden of Fascism. We have intelligence that Hitler is furious about this and angrily scolds his generals. They are a bunch of idiots with no strategic vision or ability to predict, leaving all strategic decisions to him alone.”

Regarding Zhukov's remarks, Malashenko could only slowly shake his head and smile helplessly. If the head of state were not like this, would he still be called a head of state? Only the raging head of state has inner taste.

"The war on the European continent is approaching, and the cooperation between Britain and the United States is also deepening. These American and British reporters are here to interview and report on the fighting with the Germans. Their governments hope to give soldiers more time before a large-scale war begins. It creates an image that the Fascists are not invincible and are only waiting to be conquered, and increase the morale and determination of the troops to fight.”

"They have already gone to the Fighter Aviation Unit before and interviewed Major Pokryshkin, who has outstanding combat achievements. Now they want to understand the situation on land, and it is best to have a deep understanding of how to contain the Fascist armored forces. Frontline commanders and combatants, this is what they ask for.”

"Teach those British guys and Americans a good lesson, Malashenko! This is the task I assigned you. But remember, don't tell everything. Do you understand what I mean?"